Mall Santa refuses to see kid

[Ramnares P.E.]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/california-santa-refuses-autistic-girl-7-dog-article-1.2033655

 

[engineergurl]

We have been following this on the German Shepard Dog community.

 

[IlPadrino]

I agree. Abcde is a silly name for a human.

 

[Ramnares P.E.]

Silly names aside (can't blame the little girl, it's her parents that burdened her with that), it's a bit ridiculous to refuse to see a kid because of a stereotype. There isn't any information that I've seen regarding the legitimacy of the Santa's claim to be allergic to dogs so I can't comment on that.

 

[matt267 PE]

wasn't the real Santa anyway.

 

[MA_PE]

Naming your kid Abcde and giving her a pitbull as a "service dog"....gimme a break. That aside, they said that they'd take the dog away while she went up to see Santa so "Santa" is an a$$-hat.

Nice twist of the knife "The girl actually waited in line for 30 minutes because she wanted to ask Santa what he wanted for the holiday, said the family's spokeswoman Julie Miller in the post." I think I'm going to throw up.

 

[Ramnares P.E.]

I have no problems with Pitbulls being used as service dogs. If raised correctly dogs are no danger. Also, if the dog was certified as a service dog then it obviously was vetted.

I agree that the journalism is a bit dramatic regarding the girl waiting to ask Santa what he wanted...

 

[engineergurl]

giving her pitbull as a "service dog"....gimme a break.

Owners typically don't choose what breed their service dog is. These are animals trained by organizations to provide specific assistance and are then matched based on the applicants need. GSD's, Labs, Great Danes, Malinois, Border Collies, Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Samoyed crosses all have special talents that have made them easier to train for different things.

I have major issues with breed specific legislation (for obvious reasons for those of you who know me) and get so frustrated by the term Pit Bull since it's not even a registered breed, it's a group of animals that falls under a list of types of mixed breeds.

 

[MA_PE]

Respectfully disagree. I don't have a problem if people want to own "volatile" dogs and in my opinion pitbulls are volatile. However, volatile dogs should be constantly restrained and closely supervised at all times.

Using one as a "service dog" does no one any favors as...like it or not...pits have a reputation and many people don't like them and feel very uncomfortable around them. There's no denying that they are powerful dogs and should they go "wild" often times their owners cannot control them.

It's like a license to carry a firearm or any other potential danger to the public. "Santa" or anyone else doesn't need to tolerate being exposed to something they fear or that makes them very uncomfortable.

"Also, if the dog was certified as a service dog then it obviously was vetted."

maybe not....

http://www.servicedogregistration.org/product/professional-service-dog-certification-kit/

 

[Road Guy]

I agree that its usually the owners who are responsible for the dogs temperament, however its interesting that if you own a Rottweiler or a pit bull (type) you cannot get insurance from State Farm and a lot of other insurance companies. I am sure some statistics come into play there..

 

[MA_PE]

giving her pitbull as a "service dog"....gimme a break.

Owners typically don't choose what breed their service dog is. These are animals trained by organizations to provide specific assistance and are then matched based on the applicants need. GSD's, Labs, Great Danes, Malinois, Border Collies, Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Samoyed crosses all have special talents that have made them easier to train for different things.

I have major issues with breed specific legislation (for obvious reasons for those of you who know me) and get so frustrated by the term Pit Bull since it's not even a registered breed, it's a group of animals that falls under a list of types of mixed breeds.

http://pets.thenest.com/staffordshire-bull-terrier-vs-pit-bull-12987.html
"While temperament and personality varies from dog to dog, some expectations exist when it comes to these breeds. The AKC says that Staffordshire bull terriers should be courageous, tenacious, highly intelligent, trustworthy and affectionate to those they know. The UKC states American pit bull terriers should be strong, confident, eager to please and have a zest for life. They say that aggression toward humans is highly undesirable, but some level of dog aggression may be expected. Both breeds are noted as making exceptional family pets and being good with children."

EG: every other breed on your list is known first as a nice, friendly, family, pet that can be trained to be aggressive. The bull terriers have a reputation for being aggressive dogs that can be trained to be gentle. There's a difference. FWIW, I consider my self a dog person, but I'm very leery of rotties, Dobermans, and bull terrier mixed breeds.

 

[Road Guy]

Some things you just cannot break from a dog / animal. We have a border collie, who is 3 “generations” removed from doing actual border collie work. However if you let her loose around a pack of kids/cats/birds/other dogs/sheep/etc she will “herd them” although she has never been trained by us to do any “herding” It will freak parents out from time to time.. so we always keep her leashed around any other people

 

[MA_PE]

Some things you just cannot break from a dog / animal. We have a border collie, who is 3 “generations” removed from doing actual border collie work. However if you let her loose around a pack of kids/cats/birds/other dogs/sheep/etc she will “herd them” although she has never been trained by us to do any “herding” It will freak parents out from time to time.. so we always keep her leashed around any other people

yeah but they do it in a friendly fun way. A lot of barking which startles some people, but no growls or menacing behavior at all. My shelties have always done the same thing. Most kids thinks it's hysterical and start playing with the dog...which the dog loves too.

 

[engineergurl]

Most kids thinks it's hysterical and start playing with the dog...which the dog loves too.

So it's okay for your dog to have behavior such as this (which may scare someone), but I have to have my dog on a leash, muzzled because if she exhibits the same playful herding because she is scary.

Sorry this all comes down to the whole "you can have your rights as long as they don't scare me/align with my views" argument.

I pay higher renter insurance premiums, I keep my dog leashed in public, and will go so far as muzzling her depending on the situation and chances are she is trained 200 times better than most of those yippy purse dogs. Dog aggression can come from any dog if the interpret the situation to be threatening to their owner/land/space/selves and is not specific to any kind of breed.

 

[snickerd3]

i'd take your german shepard over some yip yip chiwawa like thing any day. those little ***** are vicious

 

[MA_PE]

Most kids thinks it's hysterical and start playing with the dog...which the dog loves too.

So it's okay for your dog to have behavior such as this (which may scare someone), but I have to have my dog on a leash, muzzled because if she exhibits the same playful herding because she is scary.

Sorry this all comes down to the whole "you can have your rights as long as they don't scare me/align with my views" argument.

I pay higher renter insurance premiums, I keep my dog leashed in public, and will go so far as muzzling her depending on the situation and chances are she is trained 200 times better than most of those yippy purse dogs. Dog aggression can come from any dog if the interpret the situation to be threatening to their owner/land/space/selves and is not specific to any kind of breed.

If you've got a pit...I say yes. I recall you have shepards. They don't bother me at all. However, if yours are very "protective" such that if you or the dog is approached (say to pat them) and they're going to react with aggression, then yeah for everybody's sake they should be muzzled when in public or you need to have complete control over them. If she's just being playful, then it's not my fault that the size is intimidating. You're a responsible dog owner, why all the hostility?

FWIW, shelties are not "purse dogs". My dog does not have an aggressive bone in his body. He runs away from any sort of threat (to the point of being embarrasing that he's such a wimp) and I truly wonder if he were cornered if he'd lash out. Your generalization that any dog can be aggressive is just not true.

Lastly, I have enough of this "you can have your rights as long as they don't scare me/align with my views". stuff with all of these protests going on please don't start with the "rights" thing.

 

[engineergurl]

If you've got a pit...I say yes. I recall you have shepards. They don't bother me at all. However, if yours are very "protective" such that if you or the dog is approached (say to pat them) and they're going to react with aggression, then yeah for everybody's sake they should be muzzled when in public or you need to have complete control over them. If she's just being playful, then it's not my fault that the size is intimidating. You're a responsible dog owner, why all the hostility?

FWIW, shelties are not "purse dogs". My dog does not have an aggressive bone in his body. He runs away from any sort of threat (to the point of being embarrasing that he's such a wimp) and I truly wonder if he were cornered if he'd lash out. Your generalization that any dog can be aggressive is just not true.

Lastly, I have enough of this "you can have your rights as long as they don't scare me/align with my views". stuff with all of these protests going on please don't start with the "rights" thing.

Ana can be pet if a person approaches me and allows me to let her know that it's okay. I muzzle her in public because there are many people out there that don't have the self control to understand you can't go running up to any dog and love on them. I am hostile because I've had incidents/situations that ended up looking unfavorable on her where all she was doing was reacting exactly how she was trained to (not being aggressive, but being on "guard" aka, barking while separating me from the perceived danger).

I wasn't referring to your dogs when I said purse dogs, I said purse dogs because those seem perfectly acceptable to carry around in any and all public places thanks to Paris Hilton or whoever started that trend.

And I only made the other comment because of your reference to guns and Santa not having to be exposed. I get that people can be uncomfortable and not want to face situations, but that doesn't excuse the fact that people seem to think that affords them an excuse to not handle the situation with tact.

How hard would it have been to pull a parent aside and explain that Santa was uncomfortable "with dogs" because they like the smell of the reindeer too much and ask if the dog was required to remain with the girl while she talked with the big fat jolly man? The parents would have been afforded the opportunity to make a choice and the little girls feelings could have been spared because if they choose to refuse to let her go alone, at least she could have been told they had to come back after santa changed his pants so he didn't smell like reindeer.

 

[MA_PE]

Naming your kid Abcde and giving her a pitbull as a "service dog"....gimme a break. That aside, they said that they'd take the dog away while she went up to see Santa so "Santa" is an a$$-hat.

EG: I did not and am not disagreeing with you.

 

[Road Guy]

& Santa was fired......

 

[wilheldp_PE]

Dog aggression can come from any dog if the interpret the situation to be threatening to their owner/land/space/selves and is not specific to any kind of breed.

Statistics disagree with the bolded part. There are thousands of cases of "well-trained" bull terriers attacking people. You never know when the dog will interpret something as threatening when it is really playful or benign, and bull terriers are proven to be more susceptible to this behavior than other breeds. I am an animal person, and I love all pets. But I think that breeding and owning certain breeds is irresponsible.