Recent pit bull attacks rekindle controversy

To many owners, pit bulls are loving and loyal companions, but to plenty of other people, they are ferocious, highly dangerous and easily provoked.

And these dogs are once again are in the local spotlight after attacking two residents within the last month.

On the evening of Nov. 15, Carol Keating and a friend were walking dogs at Flanigan Way and Culpepper Drive when a pit bull sped toward them, knocking Keating to the ground with “unbelievable force,” she said. The pit bull then began to attack their dogs, so the friend started hitting it on its back.

People started coming out of their homes to help, and a man grabbed the dog by the collar and separated it from the victims.

“Then the owner of the pit bull came out of his house, and took it away,” Keating said. “But he didn’t even ask if we were OK. He showed no concern for us.”

Then, on the morning of Dec. 2, Steve Rubardt was walking his little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel along the Webster Street Extension, above Bodega Avenue, when two nearby pit bulls broke free from the woman who was walking them, and lunged at Rubardt. They snapped and snarled as he lifted the dog over his head so they could not attack it.

“I still haven’t calmed down about the situation — something has to be done,” Rubardt said. “I don’t feel that I can send my kids out to walk our dog anymore.”

Keating filed a complaint with Petaluma Animal Services about her incident. The pit bull involved was previously designated as potentially dangerous after attacking another dog, and now could be designated as dangerous. This could lead to the euthanization of the dog, although its owner, who was not identified, can file an appeal.

“A friend of mine said she was attacked outside of her home by the same pit bull within a month of my incident,” Keating said. “She was bleeding all over the place.

“Part of me wants to say that the dog should be taken away, but it’s really not the dog’s fault — it’s the owner’s fault.”

“Pit bulls can be sweet dogs, and their owners often feel that they’re unjustly persecuted,” added Rubardt, who said that he also intends to file a complaint. “But if owners can’t control these dogs, they need to be given citations.

“The owners aren’t necessarily bad people, but they need to be held responsible. Some of them don’t understand what they’re dealing with.”

Keating and Rubardt were prompted to write letters to the editor of the Argus-Courier about their incidents, and Petaluma resident Skyler Timko, a former member of the Petaluma Animal Services Committee, wrote a subsequent letter.

“A lot of dogs will act aggressively toward other dogs in certain situations,” he wrote. “Dogs are also individuals — what one dog of a certain breed does, another doesn’t. It would be ignorant to say that all German shepherds are aggressive, just as it is ignorant to suggest the same thing about pit bulls.

“It is the responsibility of dog owners to ensure that their dogs are good canine citizens. When they don’t, it should be the dog owners who pay the price, not their dog.”

Nancy Tavares, the manager of Petaluma Animal Services, says that in general, pit bulls — like Rottweilers and some other breeds — often have a tendency to be more aggressive toward other dogs than most other breeds, and should be harnessed when walked.

“But there are bad dogs of any breed. There are a lot of pit bulls in the community, but we don’t see many of them having problems,” she said.

Dogs are designated “potentially dangerous” in Petaluma if they force anyone to take a defensive action. Owners of these dogs sometimes need to obtain an insurance bond for them, can only allow them to be walked by people 18 years of age and over, must use leashes no longer than six feet and in some cases must put a muzzle on them during walks.

Petaluma Animal Services conducts a thorough temperament evaluation before putting dogs up for adoption, and offers special training classes for “bully breeds.”

“A lot of teenagers want to adopt pit bulls because they like the image of having a tough dogs,” she said, adding that this sometimes creates problems.

Tavares says that the treatment of pit bulls and other dogs significantly affects their behavior.

“In some ways, pit bulls have received a bad rap,” she said, with her 90-pound Rottweiler by her side.

(Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com)