Nope, the current laws aren't nearly strong enough. Maybe the BOS can hold more meetings, instead of making proactive changes.

It would be a help if the headline read Kern County rather than Bakersfield.  Oildale isn't covered under the city ordinances,  nor is the rest of the county.  I'd like to see county wide restrictions tightened up.  I'd like to feel relatively safe from dogs when I start my new walking regimen. 

Yesterday there were two German Shepherd types running up and down the street.  They were happy campers but in danger of being run over or scaring the beejeebus out of people.

 Are we coddling our four-legged criminals?

Criminals? What!!!

These dogs were the victims. 

FIRST-Because the idiot went into a gated , 'beware of dog' sign posted, yard.

And

SECOND- Because the fool moron who owned the poor dogs didn't have brains enough to have them fixed .

And

THIRD- The moron owner chose to have his dogs put down rather than pay the fees.

Animals ALWAYS get screwed by crap head humans and it isn't fair.

Recently, there was an article about a teacher having to arm herself with electric shocker to protect her dog and herself during from vicious dogs during their morning walks in the neighborhood.  Looks like it really has come to the point where we have to arm ourselves to protect ourselves from dogs running rampant. 

It was pretty clear those dogs were cash cows for that owner.  2 females and one male= a puppy mill.  Once they're no longer profitable, out they go.

Too bad there isn't a re-training center around here like the one on Animal planet where bad dogs go to learn socializing.  Some of Vicks dogs were went there.  That's an interesting show.

The current laws are not strong enough; however, we should not use this incident to dispute whether or not the laws are strong enough because the owner of the pitbulls did not break any laws. It is the fault of the man that was attacked why this tragic incident happened. The story read that he showed up earlier that day with his brother and the dogs showed aggressive behavior towards him. Why on God's green earth would he then show up later that evening and enter the yard without supervision from the dogs' owner. The owner had a sign posted that said beware of dogs. As a owner of three loving pitbulls my dogs have never shown aggression towards anyone, however, I would be irate with my dogs if the let a burgular or unwelcomed guest venture on my property. These dogs were doing what they are supposed to do, protect their property from unfamiliar people. Let the dogs earn their food...Nutro is expensive ;0) 

My beef isn't with this situation...the guy was nuts to go back alone after the dogs had already shown aggression towards him. 

MY beef is with loose dogs.  And that's what I addressed.

As for trusting dogs of family.  Last year daughter went to Laughlin to meet her daughter for her 21st birthday and  she hired a sitter person to come feed the dog (inside) while she was gone.  The gal thought she'd made friends with the dog but when she tried to enter by herself, the dog would't allow it.  Daughter called me and, since the dog is one of my grandkids (apparently..lol) and loves me to pieces, daughter asked if I would go check on her.  When I got there I talked to her through the door then opened the door just a tiny crack to see what her response would be.  She was fine.

Point!  Even with BabyGirl, who I've known since she was a pup, as well as her staying at my house both inside and out, I wasn't about to take a chance on entering HER territory without her permission.  She's a boxer terrier mix (I think) and is the biggest baby you've ever seen.  But she is territorial and her hackles go up if she doesn't know you.

You've just got to use your head for something other than to keep your ears apart when it comes to dogs.

This is a jok, poeple that dont respect animals are getting more of them everyday. Im tired of picking up strays too ( the other day i found a pure breed yorkie fixed and all starved and on the streets,luckily after a bath and good food she was ok....i found here a home in two days....the pit bull problem is huge in this county especially with young hispanic males that buy them and make them mean intentionally......im sick of it kenr county what are you going to do about it or is somone going to have to sue the county because of lack of concern to change dog laws!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SICK AND TIRED

The owner should be responsible a dog that attacks a human being is not liable the owner made them that way.put the owner to sleep......

If it had been a child retrieving a football or a casual visitor who didn't notice the "Beware of dog" sign, I don't think we could blame the victim as some appear to be doing here.

Was it foolish to enter that yard? Yes. But this is important: It's a front yard and there's no lock on the gate.

Is it OK to give killing machines access to adults and children through the simple release of a gate latch?

FYI: I believe I heard on the news that the owner had told his brother (the one bitten) to NOT come in the yard when he (the owner) was not at home. The fool brother went into the yard anyway, knowing full well his brother was not at home.

Dogs did their job.  It would not matter if they were poodles, it just happened to be pit bulls. I have a friend who gave me the same warning regarding his male rottie. I heeded that warning and phoned when I was coming over. As long as my friend was in the yard when I entered all was well.  I believe it is called common sense.

It's a miracle none of the neighbor kids opened that gate.  But then, with 3 snarling dogs maybe they had better sense.

I'm not blaming the victim any more than the owner.  No one should have vicious dogs...NO ONE.  And anyone who enters a yard with vicious dogs is an idiot.  It seems to me there's plenty of blame for both men.

I've brought this up before and will say it again.  I don't want a biting dog in my yard,  I don't care how sweet and lovable it is to me and my kids.  The records are full of dogs who attacked their masters and mistresses as well as their children.

EVEN SO...the victim was nuts to go in that yard after being warned.

Now...do something about the loose dogs so I can take my little guys and my dogs for walks without carrying a machine gun.

Frickin pitbulls, they "all need to be shot " w/no questions asked. This happpens way to often. Unpredictable pieces of SH~#!

"The dogs did their job"

Sweet Jesus! They damn near tore the man's arm off! All you dog lovers are stone crazy if you think like that.

No! they are not! Dogs barking day and night; people being attacked on a weekly basis! Who can you call? Who cares?  We need enforcement not more "feel good" laws that have no teeth!

this is so much bs..pits dont think like other dogs..they were bred to attack and kill..even if you have one you consider mild mannered you cant trust they wil stay that way..ive seen and experienced them going from puppy like behaviour into a killing machine in an instant and the owner always says "oh my goodness he has never done that before" as their pit is walking away from a sheperd it just downed and bloodied because it simply wanted the sheperds ball..30 minutes prior it had entered the park and attacked my dog so I beat it off by hitting it in the head and the owner said the same thing..

earlier on my blog i explained how you can teach a dog to halt by calling its name so it knows your friendly..we have done it for years with many of our dogs we have had in the past..with always the same result..

people saying on here that its the humans fault are only half right with this breed of animal..and guilty of not training their dogs because they feel its perfectly normal for a dog to attack a relative if the owner isnt there...what kind of idiotic dust bowl mentality is that..granted if its a person who has no buisness  being there and has an alterior motive such as burglary deserves what they get..but if you teach them to respond to their name and the person is a trusted individual so you feel comfy with giving them that special key..things like this would never have happened...

if the dog wont respond in this manner you are opening yoursellf up for a law suit and im real surpirized the people home owners hasnt sky rocketd if the agent was doing his job and found a dog like this was on the premises..they have canceled policies for less..i think if the insurance companies got behind monitoring for this type of dogs existance on the premises things would start changing really fast

Well put Sioux.  I didn't know that about the name thing.

Many of us have also seen pits that NEVER bit or attacked a person or an animal. On the other hand I've seen the results of a Lab bite or even an Irish setter bite. Isn't it about time people take responsibility for their actions??? You see a sign saying beware of dog, you are told don't go in there, yet you still go in, here is your friggen sign. You see signs saying stay out stay alive on every canal here in town, if you go in you deserve what you get, same thing. BTW I don't own & never have owned a pit, just mutts but have been around a great number of pits in the past 20 years & most have never bitten anyone or any animal.

We had an Old English Sheepdog who, early on, decided the yard and our daughter was HERS.  She would let you in the yard but you didn't get out unless or until we were there to let you out. She'd had parvo as a puppy and had survived but because of the high temp she had some drain bamage.  She was basically sweet but we had to put her out just to discipline our daughter!  When our daughter's boyfriend came in and grabbed our daughter to give her a hug we had to grab the dog as she was going after the boyfriend!

As mentioned, a poodle can be a killer - believe me, I had one!!!  On the other hand, I owned a Rottie for 13 years who never even growled at anybody!!

 jmabbott888 but have been around a great number of pits in the past 20 years & most have never bitten anyone or any animal.

care to elaborate..im thinking you had a friend that had a pit for awhile and you never witnessed an attack so you really dont know how it acted over its whole life span..I would think if you actually owned one for say 14 or 15 years your statement might have alittle more credibility..

witterpitters I owned a Rottie for 13 years who never even growled at anybody!!

ah ha another dog not to be trusted..cheap shot shhhhhhh

Is it OK to give killing machines access to adults and children through the simple release of a gate latch?

How can you be serious calling them "killing machines"

For gosh sake they are dogs.

I have had several encounters with dogs biting.

The worse I was ever bitten was by a German Shepherd. Tore a hole out of my stomach.  I had to beg and plead for it not to be killed.

My son was 3 when he put food through a knot hole in our wooden fence for a Doberman who lived in the house behind us. As the dog took the food he took all the skin off my baby's finger. I had to literally stand between the dog and my husband to keep my idiot husband from shooting the dog.

Dogs bite. ALL dogs can bite.

Killing machine is an ignorant statement . If these pits were going to kill the guy that little cane would NOT have stopped them.

Sioux, many of my friends have had or still have pits that they have or had since they were puppies. seeing those dogs on an almost weekly basic, if not more in a few cases none of those pits bit anyone or another animal. A few have since been put down due to sickness or other medical problems. A few are also still around & have not bitten anybody. Saying ALL pits are bad is the same as saying ALL Labs, Cockers, Setters, etc are good, you can't group all dogs of 1 breed together, sorry but that's just the way it is.

If the guy with the cane hadn't arrived, how long do you think the victim would have lasted?

If the guy had fallen to the ground with no one around to help, do you think he would have survived?

I have an unpublished photo of the victim's arm. A fold of flesh can be seen hanging from a deep wound in his arm.

These were not "biting" dogs. These animals were trying to rip this man's flesh.

Between 2006 and 2008, pit bull type dogs killed 52 Americans and accounted for 59 percent of all fatal attacks. Combined, pit bulls and rottweilers accounted for 73 percent of these deaths.

The evidence is pretty clear. The phrase "killing machine" is not an exaggeration.

hay Tina I have friends at the dog pound and Ill keep tabs on these pits for you so when it comes time for a rescue Ill let you know then you can have your own brother biters since you figure anybody deserve a mauling if they have the audacity to stop by and say hello while your out shopping....Hopefully the females havent welped yet so you can get a better price on shipping 

smayer The evidence is pretty clear. The phrase "killing machine" is not an exaggeration.

Thank You Steven

 Animals ALWAYS get screwed by crap head humans and it isn't fair.

Its called Being at the top of the food chain. Check into it.

The worse I was ever bitten was by a German Shepherd. Tore a hole out of my stomach.  I had to beg and plead for it not to be killed.

And just why were you bitten?

My son was 3 when he put food through a knot hole in our wooden fence for a Doberman who lived in the house behind us. As the dog took the food he took all the skin off my baby's finger. I had to literally stand between the dog and my husband to keep my idiot husband from shooting the dog.

An animal bites my child, its getting an a$$ whoopin from me. No question about it. My children are FAR MORE important than an animal.

Was the man who entered the yard at fault? Yes, he should have known better due to prior encounters with the dogs, even after his own brother told him to stay out until he got home.

When have you ever heard of someone being mauled by a Yorkie? Or a Golden Retriever? Or a Chiuahua?

I cant remember the last time that scenario happened.

Are Bako's dog control laws strict enough?

It really doesn't matter how many more laws are put on the books. The people who would violate the animal control laws are the same ones who belong to gangs, deal and/or use drugs, possess illegal firearms, and don't care at all about the animals as pets. These people break laws every day; I sincerely doubt they'll be loading up their Pits into their lowered Hondas for a trip to the vet to comply with a Mandatory Spay Neuter Law.  Did I understand correctly that the owner of these dogs has abandoned them after learning of the quarantine fees? Not much love there.

As far as the dogs "doing their job" by attacking Herrera, I can only say that I'm glad I'm not the insurance underwriter for those with that opinion because I would cancel them in a heartbeat! A dog's "job" is, first and foremost, to be a loving companion. Second to that is an "alarm", if you will, to alert a homeowner of a potential prowler. To think that a dog has the right to attack anyone for walking on someone's property is frightening. Dogs this vicious are a huge liability ... it's not unlike leaving a loaded gun unattended or a swimming pool unfenced. No personal property is worth this risk. Unless you've got a productive meth lab, I suppose.

Maybe if the guy would have actually paid attention to what was ask of him, he wouldn't have been attacked.  I read a few people here say 'what if it had been a kid"  well it wasn't it was a grown man with no working brain cells, and because he was so stupid ......3 dogs have to die.    Why was he at his brothers house knowing he wasn't home?  Maybe he was going there to rob him.  just because he's family doesn't mean he's honest.   

my dogs do their job "protecting" our house~they bark like crazy when someone comes to the door or near the yard~then when they come in they lick them to death~we have a golden retriever and a jack russel terrier~but they are great burglar alarms and without a mean bone in their bodies. works for us. and they are very well trained.

lana~i think the article said he and his brother had planned on meeting up at the brothers house at that time but the victim arrived prior to the brother.

ditto metal~there is no animal more important than my child. we had a mean Chihuahua when i was a kid who bit me all the time, not mauled, and my parents just loved this dog~had it been me that dog would have been gone after the first nip. my dogs even look cross eyed at my kids off to the pound with them and not to be adopted either.

It is the adult owners responsibility to have well behaved nice dogs. there are obedience classes all over town, some for nominal fees, so it is the owners negligence to have mean ill behaved dogs. at the first sign of aggression the dogs should be put down. I know this will not go over well.

We had a puppy once that was 1/2 golden and 1/2 chow. at 3 months it bared it's teeth at me. I worked with it for 2 months with the help of a dog trainer friend of mine to no avail and I had it put to sleep. The pound told me it had put the entire litter of puppies down for the same behaviors. It was the responsible thing for me to do. Sad because these puppies were really cute. 

 lanabuford and because he was so stupid ......3 dogs have to die.   

no they dont lana..you know where the pounds at.. go rescue them..you could sale them puppys and recoupe your losses..let us all know how that turns out..

tchudilowsky  SECOND- Because the fool moron who owned the poor dogs didn't have brains enough to have them fixed .

geezus Tina what does that have to do with any of this..are you saying if he didnt have a set of kahoonies this wouldnt have happened??? hahahah please i think its time you closed your window..your brains starting to ice over..

I think that a lot of people out there need to be more educated about dog breeds before forming an opinion on any breed of dog.  Pitbulls are not bred to be human aggresive, although they are very protective of their humans an attack on another human they feel is a threat an attack can happen.  They are animal aggresive and it takes a lot of training to rid them of it, but you still need to be on guard and know the signs a pit gives off before an attack.  Ive owned several pits over several years and to this day never had any of my dogs attack a human or animal.  Now would they. Yes, If they felt threatened by an unfamiliar person or animal who entered the non public access areas of my property.  But this is what any dog would do.  I would expect if of any dog.  People make their minds up about pits with little knowledge of the breed.  They either love them or hate them.  Dont judge them till you know them just like you would any human.

Between 2006 and 2008, pit bull type dogs killed 52 Americans and accounted for 59 percent of all fatal attacks. Combined, pit bulls and rottweilers accounted for 73 percent of these deaths.

like it says pit bull type dogs.  Pitbull is not a breed of dog.  It is an umbrella name for five or more breeds depending where you live.  This is why the numbers for pits are so high.  If you would like to educate yourself please check out www.pbrc.net.

Pittyluv, while I agree that training can help rehabilitate dogs, one simply can't train the aggression out of the genes.  History tells us that selective breeding has produced well tempered breeds such as goldens, lab retrievers, etc.   Aggressive dogs on the other hand, can be bred selectively for aggressiveness.   We have to take the good with the bad.

 no they dont lana..you know where the pounds at.. go rescue them

Souix, EVEN YOU know that since they are pits they will be killed.

geezus Tina what does that have to do with any of this..are you saying if he didnt have a set of kahoonies this wouldnt have happened??? hahahah please i think its time you closed your window..your brains starting to ice over..

I WAS SAYING there wouldn't be a bunch of puppies. GEEEZZZ Is right Souix...Your hatred of pits is pathetic. No need to fear.

 metalchef.

My kid is more important than any dog but it was my son feeding him that caused the bite.

As far as my bite. I was rough housing with my friend and her dog thought I was hurting her.

What's the dog supposed to do? 

honorerdieu, I wasn't speaking of rehabilitated dogs, that is a whole different discussion.  I am talking about raising a pit from puppy-hood.  Also if you think Golden's and labs are not aggressive, and I'm not saying they are, just check out a little know government list called B.S.L. (Breed Specific Legislation).  You will find many dog breeds people consider (non aggressive) including golden retrievers and Labradors on this list.  If your breed of dog is on this list any state, county, or city government can automatically adopt a law to band those breeds without a vote.

Herrera apparently arrived at the home before Romero's return and, inexplicably, decided to enter the yard. A "beware of dog" sign is clearly posted on the home's chain-link fence.

girlsmom,  he wasn't suppose to go in the yard!

Sioux.......If I go rescue them will you come visit me?   

I am not a dog  lover.....Never have been , never will be.   All I'm saying is that guy was stupid! He didn't deserve to be mauled.. but he didn't have permission to be in that yard.     He went into the yard, he was attacked  , the dogs will die.....this isn't even worth talking about anymore.  

 lana Sioux.......If I go rescue them will you come visit me? 

absolutley..since it sounds like your wanting to setup something premeditated..first ill let them bite me just to kick up your home owners..maybe stick a few bucks in my pocket....then ill do everyone a favor and blow their heads off... in self defense *naturally*..let me know when thats all been arranged...oh and your address

Tina  Souix, EVEN YOU know that since they are pits they will be killed.

oh and why is that..seeing as how they are such good family dogs and all

TINA I WAS SAYING there wouldn't be a bunch of puppies. GEEEZZZ Is right Souix...Your hatred of pits is pathetic. No need to fear.

ya i know UNDERDOG IS HERE!!

by the way Ms Tina.. I dont hate pits..i hate what they can do and have done to people and their pets..i hate that they have been over bred to the irresponsible  point they have been and used as fighting/killing machines with such disregard and instead of addressing the problem they keep sticking up for them thereby exasperating the problem even further....people who own them and say they are such good pets are just as guilty as the people who raise them to fight..*HELLO* its procreating the species no matter whos back yard they are in....

and i also hate it when people try to tell me they dont have the potential to maime and injure above that of any other dog... and expect me to swallow it....

 honorerdieu, I wasn't speaking of rehabilitated dogs, that is a whole different discussion.  I am talking about raising a pit from puppy-hood.  Also if you think Golden's and labs are not aggressive, and I'm not saying they are, just check out a little know government list called B.S.L. (Breed Specific Legislation).  You will find many dog breeds people consider (non aggressive) including golden retrievers and Labradors on this list.  If your breed of dog is on this list any state, county, or city government can automatically adopt a law to band those breeds without a vote.

I was referring to the dogs that have shown signs of aggression towards humans, not dogs that have been rescued and rehabilitated for adoption, etc.  So this even apply to dogs who have been raised from puppyhood.  Even with proper socialization and training, certains breeds will still be predisposed to shown signs of aggression towards humans because the "bad genes" can't be eliminated unless through selective breeding. 

The high incidence of attacks by pit bulls and rotties are showing that the majority of pet owners aren't willing to take the responsiblity of their dogs attacking another living thing, let alone take the time to train and socialize them from puppyhood.  I wasn't a big fan of breed specific legislation years ago, but irresponsible owners are making the legislation look better and better every time.

Years ago, two pits roamed my daughter's neighborhood. One day they attacked her cat, the sweetest, kindest cat I've ever known. They killed him. The owners promised to keep the dogs in the yard and were profoundly sorry. Of course, that didn't mean much to my grandson and grandaughter who saw the attack. 

Months and months later the two dogs died after eating poisoned meat.

Sad.

LOL...sioux...whatever!   I hate pitbulls probably as much as you,  I wouldn't own one i wouldn't  even let a good friend of ours bring his pitbull puppy in my yard...all I'm saying is the guy was stupid for not paying CLOSE attention to what his brother told him.   You can't blame the dogs...period.    Everyone knows how pitbulls are they can't be trusted, as for any dog for that matter...regardless of its breed or  size.    would you ever trust a tamed bear?   or a tamed lion.....would you go around one if the handlers weren't there and told you not to?  NO! if you did would it be the bear or lions fault because you were stupid and didn't listen!   When you go to a Zoo  there are  stay out warnings and fences all around the animals,  if some dumb ass climbs the fence and is mauled   is it the animals fault or the dumb ass who climbed the fence?

lana all I'm saying is the guy was stupid for not paying CLOSE attention to what his brother told him. 

and all im saying is why would you feed an animal of this caliber that might do harm to a friend or a loved one without giving them an off button people close to you could use?? and if you couldnt train them to respond to that off button then they need to be euthanized for public saftey reasons..

did you see that film a few weeks back where the SS worker was attacked in i think new york?? it leaped off a second story patio and almost killed her..it took police fireman and the owner to get the dog off after it ripped her apart..if a neighbor hadnt been home to hear her screams she would have been killed...I dont know about you but being defleshed by an out of control 60 lb dog wouldnt be my first choice in dying..

Sioux, .....You and I both know why this moron had pitbulls in the first place.  I bet if they dig a little deeper they will find that he was breeding them to sell for dog fighting!   They weren't family pets they were breeders...2 females 1 male.   he said he might pay to have one female dog released.    I will continue to call the victim in this stupid!   

Here's a pic from my cell: