- they claim the toddler approached the dog (the mother of the boy says they were merely walking by when it grabbed him. I'm inclined to believe that because of the location of the bite. The dog grabbed him from the side. If the little boy were approaching the dog he'd have been bitten right in the face)
- they're now claiming the dog they described on their adoption pages as a Pit Bull-Lab mix is now NOT a Pit Bull-Lab mix
- they're practically begging for people to try to persuade authorities not to euthanize this dog, that they'll spend their entire budget to 'rehabilitate' it... leaving how many dogs to die b/c they've spent all their money on "Rusty the rescue dog"?
* * * * * *
An update regarding the incident at Klyde Warren Park
Dec 28, 2017
As you know, there was an incident at one of our adoption events earlier this month where a rescue dog bit a child. After taking the time to perform a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, we have come to the conclusion that Rusty (the rescue dog), who has no history of aggressive behavior or biting, most likely bit the child out of fear.
Or possibly Rusty "the rescue dog" selected his target and waited for the opportune time to attack...
While the child had been in the area prior to the incident with his mother, at the time of the incident he had approached Rusty on his own. Rusty was on a leash and in a seated position and had shown no signs of aggression at the event. This leads us to conclude that when the unattended child approached Rusty, the dog likely reacted in fear. Unfortunately, although Rusty was on a leash, he bit the child once in the upper arm and chest area.
“The [Pit Bull] lunged out and grabbed him in the right arm and chest, pulled him to the ground and was like flailing him around,” Cho said.
"Four to five large men had to come in and literally pry the dog off of him," Cho said. "One of the guys was punching the dog and the dog wouldn't let go of him. It seemed like forever, but I'm sure it was just a minute or two."
We have now been notified by Dallas Animal Services and the City of Dallas that Rusty is being seized for having caused “serious bodily injury” under Texas Health & Safety Code 822.001 – 822.004. This would allow a court to order Rusty be killed. While we agree that all dog bites need to be taken seriously, we firmly believe that the death of an animal should never be a first step.
Given the lack of any prior aggression or bite history (either at Dallas Animal Services or since Rusty has been in the care of Dallas Pets Alive) we believe that rehabilitation offers a positive solution to ensure that our community remains safe and that Rusty is given a chance at life.
WHY DOESN'T DALLAS PETS ALIVE FOCUS ON SAVING THE FRIENDLY DOGS ON DEATH ROW THAT HAVE NEVER SHOWN AGGRESSION, NEVER ATTACKED ANOTHER PET, NEVER ATTACKED A HUMAN BEING?
There are TENS OF MILLIONS of perfectly adoptable dogs that are euthanized every single year in the United States - dogs that have NEVER shown aggression, NEVER bit any other animal, NEVER bit a human being. Why not save them instead of putting your money and resources into this one, a known attacking dog? Don't their lives matter???
While we are committed to putting an end to the killing of companion animals in Dallas, we would never intentionally sacrifice the safety of our community in favor of a knowingly aggressive animal. We strongly believe that there is a positive outcome available that ensures both the safety of our community and Rusty’s well-being. We hope that the City of Dallas will work with us toward an agreement that addresses the concerns of all involved parties.
They say they care about safety of the community, but if "Rusty the rescue dog" is allowed to be rehomed (aka sold), will every single member of this rescue group sign off on a liability release AGREEING TO PAY ANY AND ALL DAMAGES TO ANY AND ALL VICTIMS AND VICTIM OWNERS OF PETS INJURED AND/OR KILLED BY "RUSTY THE RESCUE DOG"? Yeah, I didn't think so...
Our first priority always is the safety of potential adopters and children who attend our events and this is the first time we have experienced an incident such as this. In the course of our investigation we reviewed our existing policies and procedures for adoption events and have implemented additional policies regarding children and our rescue animals in an effort to even further minimize the likelihood of this happening again. We are very glad that Luca (the child who was bitten by Rusty) is doing well and recovering quickly.
Finally, we want to clarify that Rusty’s true breed is unknown and without a DNA test there is no way to definitively confirm his breed mix. It would be irresponsible to guess at his breed mix or claim he is a specific breed without confirmation especially given that breed is not an accurate predictor of whether or not a dog will bite. More than 30 breeds of dogs and mixes are incorrectly identified as “pit bulls” in dog bite incidents, attributing the pit bull with an unfair and overstated number of incidents.
Unfair? Overstated? Seriously? These people have destroyed whatever shred of credibility they still had.
If they don't know Rusty's true breed, why did they advertise him as a Pit Bull Labrador mix???
"He’s a russet-colored Labrador Retriever/Pit Bull Terrier mix with a loving disposition looking for a fur-ever home this Autumn. Meet Rusty!" -- Dallas Pets Alive Dog of the Month for October 2017 listing
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