I came across a disturbing article on Facebook today.
Thanks to Bringing Up Bella for posting this article about a pitbull that was put to sleep by the Minneapolis Animal Care and Control.
Putz, the dog was defending his mistress from her ex-husband. The ex-husband had already kicked Putz and had rolled up his fist in order to hit his ex-wife when Putz intervened, biting the man on the wrist.
Putz was then impounded and Minneapolis Animal Care and Control assessed Putz and deemed him dangerous and suggested he not be returned to his owner.
An animal rights group became involved and offered to have Putz sent to an animal sanctuary where Putz could live his life without the possibility of being re-homed. Despite their best efforts the judge involved in the case disregarded the offer and ordered Putz be put to death. Putz was euthanized on Saturday.
I don’t think I have the words to express the outrage I feel at this miscarriage of justice. A dog was protecting his mistress from harm, had he been a truly vicious dog (as MACC said) this dog could have done a lot of damage to the ex-husband, instead he simply bit him on the wrist preventing serious harm to his mistress and for his loyalty and love, he was murdered. Surprisingly the ex-husband’s record of domestic violence wasn’t taken into consideration.
I fully believe most dogs don’t bite without provocation and in an instance of a dog bite all circumstances should be taken into consideration. I can’t believe in this day and age stuff like this still takes place.
It scares me to think that my dog could be killed just for protecting me. What scares me even more is I don’t know what to do to stop this Salem Witch mentality.
I will start by signing the petition to bring justice for Putz, if you’re interested you can find the petition here.
I will also do some research and see if I can find out the name of the judge who ruled on the case and drop him/her a line with my thoughts. I do know if I lived in Minneapolis I would probably be picketing somewhere.
Book Update: My book has 5,249 words.
jodistone 
Comments on: "Justice For Putz" (23)
I think if a person chooses to use a pitbull to defend themselves, they should be aware that it will probably mean the end of the dog regardless of provocation. It is a sad but true reality in today’s world.
I have an even sadder case (imo) for you:
http://www.freep.com/article/20111110/NEWS01/111110059/City-euthanizes-Ace-pit-bull-despite-outpouring-from-rescue-groups
This dog bit no one and a rescue would have taken it and the judge did the right thing, but still…
In this case, I don’t think the woman was intentionally using the pitbull to defend herself, I think the ex-husband had already kicked the dog and then went to punch the woman. I don’t the woman intended the dog to protect her, he just did.
You’re right that is a very sad case, I can’t believe in this day and age this kind of stuff goes on. If the judge issued the order why wasn’t it carried out? What happens now, are they in contempt of court? Do they really think the public outcry will stop?
Oh…..I need to put the soapbox away. 😦
Chessies are protective by nature. I have said that before. We constantly work to teach the dogs that they are not to protect us. We are in charge of protection. It is the only way I know to keep them safe because if they bite someone, the chances that they would be labeled dangerous is great. Then there is the insurance issue. No doubt if they escaped being seized, the insurance company would require that we get rid of them due to liability. Thank you trial lawyers. It is a fine line between a dog that bites to protect and a dangerous animal and I have no doubt there was another side to the story (who knows because we were not in the courtroom to see the testimony). It looks like independent evaluators judged that dog dangerous and so imo the owner should have made sure to keep that dog from being in a position to bite, regardless of provocation. The owner failed that dog as much as the system imo.
As for the case in Detroit, I do not believe they will change their policy due to liability considerations.
My little male Poodle has bitten two men who he thought were going to hurt me. They weren’t, but Timmy has no sense of humor. If he had been a Pit Bull he could easily have suffered this fate just for protecting me, as dogs have done for thousands of years. So sad what we have come to.
Jan
Jan, did the ‘authorities’ take any action in regards to Timmy. How severe were the bites.
It is very sad, it makes me feel very helpless.
I don’t know where that heading came from. It just appeared.
I wondered what that was about?
Seems to be that not all the facts were taken into consideration in this case and Putz paid the penalty. He was protecting his mistress of his own accord, not under any commands from her. Why wasn’t the ex-husband’s record of domestic violence not taken into consideration I ask myself.
The reality is, pitbulls don’t stand a chance in these kind of circumstances, and that is so sad.
If I lived in Minneapolis, I would definitely be picketing.
I agree Barb. And I don’t know why the ex-husband’s violent tendencies weren’t taken into consideration. If you read the article it says he even threatened to slit one of her dog’s throats while he was holding a knife!
Yet the kill and innocent dog and let that psycopath live. Pitbulls really have a bad rap.
I thought we were supposed to be their best friends? That’s a one-way street. Anyone went near my mom I’d take out their throat and damn the consequences.
Love Bones
Yes Bones, unfortunately humans have failed dogs in many, many ways. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.
That’s a terribly sad case. I have no doubt that if someone were to try to harm me on our walks Flo would defend me by biting them. I am also confident that they would have to try to do something to me before she would bite – my neighbour has come into the garden before and Flo has baled him up, barking and barking at him, very close to him, but she didn’t bite. I like to think that people in Darwin are fairly sensible in these situations and would rally behind a dog who defended their owner. Actually, come to think of it, this happened to a colleague a couple of months ago – her dog bit someone who attacked her daughter while she was out walking. The dog has been hailed as a hero. Justifiably.
Unfortunately in the states we have had some really ugly cases involving pitbulls (and some not pitties) it is very scary.
Delilah is the same way, one morning I had the back door open and I had forgotten they were coming to spray the yard. The man came across the back and I saw him the same instant Delilah did, but she was much quicker than I was. She ran right up to him barking in his space, but she didn’t attempt to hurt him.
Thank goodness the people in your country have more sense Barb.
That’s so sad! I figure, no matter how well a person trains their dog to be ‘safe’, if that person is terrified, and being attacked, their dog is going to try and do something about that.
A man in my area told me about his family friend – She was walking in the woods with her two huskies, and a man attacked her, trying to rape/kill her. The dogs killed him. They were given an award by the police, as heroes, for protecting their owner from a monster.
Why is it that animals aren’t allowed to defend themselves and those they love?
It makes me angry too. Sadly, the instinctive reaction of most law enforcement in cases like these seems to be euthanize first, ask questions later. There just isn’t the value for canine life in our legal systems. They see dogs as just dogs, no more important than raccoons or skunks or bears or any other animal. I am not saying they should be necessarily, but society in general does not value animal life. Once a dog is labeled “dangerous”, it’s really hard to go back.
Hopefully this will change in the future. The more people make it clear they care, hopefully the more the legal system will change.
It breaks my heart and sickens me to my core. We need stronger rights for our best friends who would willingly, without blinking an eye lay down their lives for ours.
I pray it changes, I really do.
This story is infuriating and upsetting. The woman and the dog were the victims here. 😦
They were, when did the victims start having less rights than the criminals?
[…] I really only want to follow-up with Justice For Putz. […]
How awful Jodi. As an owner of a protective dog (Leah, even before her recent issues), I take great care to not put her in situations where she might bite. I lock her up when children visit, I only introduce her to people like friends or family that she will be seeing again in the future, I don’t bother introducing her to repairmen, mailmen, etc – and I sure don’t bring her to Petco. But, as careful as I am, how do you prevent a dog from biting a supposed “loved one” who is attacking you in your own home? You can’t foresee that coming, and not for nothing, the dog was not just protecting the owner, it was protecting itself. How awful that the dog was put down for this.
You are like me Donna, one time we had Sears delivering a washer/dryer. Delilah about lost her stuff. She was at the end of the leash and lunging almost pulling me down. I had to isolate her in a room until the delivery people had left.
My plumber was there at the time and he said, I’m not leaving while they’re here, if she is that upset there must be something wrong.
As soon as I let her out she made a charging/screaming beeline for where she KNEW they had been, my plumber was in that area and said, “whoa it’s ok, it’s me” and she calmed right down, but I cannot be sure she wouldn’t have bitten one of those men, if I hadn’t locked her up.
I think it’s sad that this society still reacts in this manner.
I read about this too that day and I am so disgusted and upset. I agree, that judge definitely needs to hear your opinion of his ‘judge’ment or lack thereof!
[…] week I wrote about Justice For Putz, you may remember Putz, he was the pitbull that was euthanized in Michigan for biting a man who […]