With Pet Ownership Comes Responsibility

Local resident Linda Leggette spoke to both the Grant County Commission and the Ulysses City Council regarding some of her livestock which had been attacked by a local pet owner.  The attack occurred in the county but the pets were owned within the city limits.

This attack, involving two pit bulls, caused me to remember a similar incident several years ago, that could have had a very bad outcome.

My late father and my three daughters had just stopped at some of his property on the outskirts of the city limits to feed their livestock. My dad had polio and walked with the aide of braces on both of his legs. My daughters were very young at the time.

They were just getting ready to exit my dad's pickup when two very large, Great Pyrenees dogs came growling and running towards them. The dogs were covered with blood.

My dad yelled at my girls to stay in the truck and he himself barely got his door shut before the dogs reached them.

We later learned the dogs had attacked and killed several of my dad's pigs - thus the blood they were covered in.

Those dogs did not belong to my dad. They belonged to another. The dogs had been consistently getting out and away from their own property. Not only had they attacked my father's livestock that day, but others as well. They were making a day of it.

And they now had the taste of blood.

My dad and my daughters could have been their next victims. Thank goodness they had angels watching over them.

In this latest incident I feel sorry for the Leggettes and empathize with them on their losses. I also feel sorry for the two dogs. My daughter has a pit bull that she rescued. Her dog, Faith, was obviously mistreated, but is now a very sweet dog who is protective of her "family".

The two dogs that attacked the Leggette animals should never have been running loose in the first place. From my understanding, their running loose has been a common occurrence. I don't know why they had not been able to be kept in and on their property where they belong. Perhaps there are extenuating circumstances - I don't know.

I know it does happen with pets. But when it does - the owners should find a way to prevent it from happening again.

Being a pet owner means being responsible for that pet. Whether it be a dog, cat, chicken, horse, etc. If you have it - it's yours. That means you are to care for it and make sure that not only it is safe but that it doesn't cause harm to others or other people's property.

Nobody who does not own a particular animal should have to deal with cleaning up their messes, losing property that they destroy, or worse case scenario deal with them killing their animals or hurting or killing a person such as a child.

And sometimes, it is just being around them that can cause issues. I have a granddaughter who is allergic to cats. She has an asthma attack when she gets around them - thus, she doesn't have any. So why should she have to worry about someone else's? Everyone should be able to go outside on their property or take a walk on a public roadway and not have to worry about someone's "pet" being out on a great adventure.