Is this charge FAIR?


Girl Attacked By Dog; Owner Charged

POSTED: 12:38 pm EDT April 9, 2008
UPDATED: 12:45 pm EDT April 9, 2008


WALTON COUNTY, Ga. -- The owner of a dog that mauled a neighborhood child has been charged.

Police said a chained Rottweiler attacked a 2-year-old girl Tuesday who wandered into his yard in Social Circle.

Investigators charged the owner of the dog with reckless conduct. Police said Wilbur Pittman should have done more to control his dog.

Pittman’s sister, Penny, disagreed with officials and told Channel 2, “This is the chain he’s always been on ever since I’ve been seeing the dog. He’s always been on this chain. You can see how heavy it is and he didn’t break it.”

The 2-year-old victim is in the hospital.

Rescue crews flew her to Atlanta because her injuries were so severe.

why was the 2 yr old wandering?

you don't get all the info- why was he chained in the front yard (assuming that's how a kid had access to the dog) if he was dangerous? if the kid dashed away from her parents who did have an eye on her that's one thing, but if they weren't watching her closely enough they should have negligence charges or something brought against them as well.

The story doesn't really give much info.

As a person who previously owned a Rottweiler....it was irresponsible if they knew the dog was aggresive. Also, chaining the dog probably fed his aggression. People sometimes chain dogs instead of taking care of them and socializing them. However, if the parents allowed the child to be eaten by an alligator near a pond they knew was infested, who is responsible? After all, the dog was restrained.

There is no way in hell my 2 year old would wander over to ANY dog without my knowledge--the parents are stupid. The kid was allowed to tresspass and walk up to a chained animal. WTF--the parents were negligen, and they are certainly more at fault.

StillGotIt said:

Do u think it's right that the owner was charged?

Graycap23 said:

I think the way they see it is that the owner has to take resposibility to where he chained the dog.

There are so many bad decisions made when bad things happen on peoples private property.

Like when burglars sue the people who they are burgling for GBH because they get caught in the act and hit and restrained by their victims. What rubbish is that?

mentalist said:

I'm struggling with this one. On the 1 hand, the man did nothing wrong and had the dog restrained on his own property. On the other hand, I don't think people should own animals that can KILL or maul humans.

Graycap23 said:

Agreed! There are some species of 'domestic' animals that are just not quite domestic!

Unfortunately certain animals get linked with trends, or help alot of people compensate for their petty insecurities!

The trend in the U.K. at the moement is for everyone to own a Bull Terrier to look Hard!!!! ( a trend that repeats every 5/6 years!)

The problem for me is they are my favourite dogs. They are quite gentile - until provoked by another of the same dog, followed by then anything that gets within 6" of them.

Graycap23 said:

Any dog can kill if it isn't one of those toy dogs.... a Dalmatian gone bad can inflict serious wounds too, and yes even kill. I am with Still on this one, gotta watch your children at all times, and certain breeds are NOT meant to be chained up and neglected. I've seen too many kids abuse chained up and fenced in dogs, so these dogs tend to become dangerous over time, better to keep the dogs with you so foolish passer bys do not abuse the animal.

paintedlady said:

It's funny that you mention Dalmations cause my family had one when I was a baby and it was really agressive, so my Dad gave it to a friend who had a company that had 3 Doberman guard dogs, and even they were crap scared to go near it!

I also agree that more care should have been taken on keeping an eye on the child, and it does seem unfair that the incident took place on private property.

If it was more that the owner was walking the dog in a public place with no muzzle, and the dog went wild then that's different.

paintedlady said:

I don't get "pet" ownership so.....

Graycap23 said:

Basically the law see it as if you choose to own a dangerous (or any animal) animal, you must take responsibility for its actions!

Including simple things like loud barking at unsocial hours - like a dog knows it is annoying the neighbours or can tell the time!!!

Even down to scraping its crap off the street!!!


When there are laws, someone has to be held accountable for when things go wrong - and it's easier to charge the owner rather than a dumb animal!!!

Hell no, he should not have been charged. Is there some rule you can't have a dog chained anywhere you want on your own property? Why weren't her parents holding on to her? i'm not letting some two year old kid walk down the street by herself.

I don't understand how the owner was negligent. The dog was on his property and was chained. What more was he supposed to do? The people at fault are the parents who allowed their child to wander off. I don't think this case is going to stick.

illimack said:

No way it sticks.

Graycap23 said:

I would be pissed if I was an owner and I was charged. My rottweiler was super aggressive towards other animals and certain individuals. We had warning signs, we had a locked fence AND he wasn't outside unless we were nearby simply because I knew he could kill a child or another pet. I just didn't take chances. (Now if you broke into my house...he'd eat your ass and I wouldn't feel bad about it) I think if the dog wasn't fenced in, the owner should have had an expectation that the dog would make contact with outsiders. That was stupid...just as stupid as the parents of the 2 year old.

yes she is resposible for her dogs actions. rotts become very aggressive when chained up. you must be ready to take care and train the dog you pick. rotts are usually big babies when raised correctly. tie yourself to a tree for a few days and see how angry you get. dogs are bred for many purposes be aware of them. i have worked with rotts and pitts for over 10 years in rescue situations.

evenstar said:

dont worry! child services is always called in on something like this! even if a animal activist has to report it in case it slips the police dept minds

i realize there's limited information in this article. that said, if the kid climbed a fence or wandered into someone's backyard, i don't care how agressive the dog is, there's no way i can go along with the owner being charged. if the dog was in the front yard, that's different. but if the former occured, then charges should be brought against the parents.