On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 10:24:33 GMT Just me    
   whittled these words:   
   > I had my dog right beside me. My dog takes the cat into her mouth and when   
   > she let go the cat is almost dead. The kids saw this and began to scream and   
   > cry.   
      
   > In all an horrible experience.   
      
   > Can I be held responsible?   
      
   Yes, you can be held responsible.  The purpose of requiring that a dog be   
   on leash is to see that the dog is under control.  In this case your dog   
   was not under control or the incident would not have occurred.  Your   
   responsiblity is to be aware of what is going on arround you and take   
   steps to prevent your dog from harming other people's property.  WHile   
   your dog was being what he is, that does NOT mean you have no   
   responsiblity here.   
      
   The kitten too was behaving normally.  And unlike your dog I'll bet there   
   is no leash law for cats.  So the cat was legally in public, and you were   
   in public. What your dog did was perfectly normal, but you did know of the   
   risk, you said so.  Even normal behavior like this can be trained to not   
   occur when you are present.  It is up to you to prevent your dog from   
   acting in ways that will harm other people's property. Let's say it was   
   not a kitten that went up to your dog but a child's ball that rolled   
   within range and your dog bit and popped the ball.  You would be   
   responsible for the damage to the property.   
      
   Of course the people should keep their cats out of danger.  Hopefully you   
   do not live in a community that will lable your dog a vicious dog for this   
   incident.  In my community that is exactly what would happen.  You would   
   be required to put up signs that you have a vicious dog, and get extra   
   insurance, have your property inspected to ensure it can secure the dog   
   and the dog would not be allowed out without a muzzle.   
      
   Look, I understand that it was within the nature of your dog.  And if the   
   kitten had come onto your property there would be no issue here.  But the   
   fact is you know your dog posed a risk and you failed to prevent the   
   occurrence.  And that is how breed bans are born.  Huskies are often   
   included in breed bans becausse frankly no one cares whether there is a   
   difference between a dog that kills cats, one that kills other dogs, and   
   one that injures people.  They don't want to see things they care about   
   attacked by someone's dog.   
      
   Accustom your dog to a muzzle as clearly he can't control himself with you   
   right beside him.   
      
   --   
   Diane Blackman   
   http://dog-play.com/   
   http://dogplay.com/Shop/dogplayshop.htm   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)