Why are they attacking innocent bystanders in Golden Gate Park?! Those two mongrels should be euthanized for this.

So a boxer and a bulldog attack someone, and the photo is of a German Shepherd? Why? Just easy to insert a stock photo intended to incite feelings but unrelated to the story at hand? This is reflective of poor journalistic practice — it looks good so just do it. Of course, the ACTUAL dogs should be dealt with as should their irresponsible owner(s).

On Twitter this was reported as a pit bull attack, and it’s being filed under same. Shame on you for so blatantly misrepresenting the truth! Figure out what kind of dogs they were and issue an apology to owners of the wronged breed of dogs.

Just moved to an area where we can no longer be foster parents because we own two dogs that are part pit….even though these two dogs have been loving, comforting companions to the many children who have moved through our home in the 5 years we’ve fostered. Instead of maligning/legislating against a particular breed, it should be the OWNERS who receive consequences for being irresponsible and who either don’t socialize/train their dogs properly (such as leaving a pit bull tied in a backyard 24/7 for “security purposes”) or who knowingly continue to own a dog who demonstrates inappropriate aggressive tendencies (there are situations where it is perfectly normal for a dog to bite as a means of self-protection).

Actually, looking at the (blurry) picture on the front page, it looked more like an australian cattle dog (queensland or blue heeler) to me. As the former owner of one, my heart sank. Like a pit bull, these are loving, intelligent dogs that can be perfectly safe, but in the wrong hands could very easily be made aggressive. Luckily, these dogs never gained popularity among dog fighters or those who breed/train specifically for aggressive traits.

You are very right. We were also informed when we first bought our place down in southern CA that we could not get home insurance if we owned a pit or pit mix. There were a few other breeds on the list, including rottweilers and (I think) dobies. The dobie ban we laughed at, since most are sweet, usually timid dogs, and proved to us that no real research was done on which breeds to ban. We were nervous, though, since we had just rescued a pup that looked like a rottie mix…turns out he was a shepherd mix, but we were afraid we’d lose our insurance if anyone came to check.

Banning specific breeds is ridiculous. One of the worst bites I ever received was from a pomeranian. It was unprovoked and very bad. I still have the scar over 30 years later.

They said it was a male pit mix and a female boxer or boxer mix. I’m guessing neither was neutered/spayed, esp. since they claim the male was the more aggressive of the two.

Combine the hormones, natural protective behavior of a male (especially unneutered) towards a female, and pack behavior, this was a disaster in the making.

While I agree with everyone about socializing and training your dog, for god’s sake, make sure you spay or neuter your dog! It isn’t just to keep the population down (though that’s certainly a good reason), it prevents “normal” aggressive behavior like this!

While it does not guarantee stopping all aggressive behavior, if these dogs had been altered, chances are they’d have either avoided people completely, or approached in a more friendly manner.

I’m guessing they will be. Since this was a male/female combo, I’m also going to go out on a limb and bet neither dog was fixed. I’ll bet double that at LEAST the male was unneutered. Intact males will naturally be more aggressive when a female is around, and when you include natural pack behavior, it could have excited or even frightened the female, causing her to exhibit aggression as well.

Sad story all around. While I don’t know the dogs, nor the circumstances (what the victims were doing prior to the attack, background of the dogs, etc.) unless proven otherwise I hold the owners solely responsible.

My question is do they know for a fact tha these are not feral or strays that are living in the park? If so, they may also have been protecting a litter, or “just” being territorial. If that’s the case, they need to get out there and make sure there aren’t more in the area.