one of the dangers of working at a pet store, the pets

[HOLLYWOODFISHFARM]

This is a terrible thing that has happened and I would not wish this upon anyone - our thoughts go out to the person that got attacked and their family, Maybe this might make people think twice before puting people without the right training on the shop floor

[lmsmith]

But how much of it is really animates fault? Morcs were those guidelines in place before this incident?

Also, Animates won't have to cover anything, that's why we have ACC. All of her medical costs will be covered, and the time she spends off work will be covered by ACC for 80% of her pay. It's very standard for employers to cover the extra 20%, especially if they had some part in the accident.

In this case, I think she is more to blame than the store. I think twice about putting my face next to my own cat, let alone a dog I've never met. I don't put my face close to human strangers for the same reason; you never know when they might just lose it and bite. People need to be very aware of what animals do - the reality is, some animals, when they are scared, can bite. Why not take 2 seconds to talk to the owner - I doubt there is a dog owner out there who would say 'sure, rub your face on my dog, he loves people he's never met in his face'

[Morcs]

But how much of it is really animates fault? Morcs were those guidelines in place before this incident?

I dont know. Though it was to 'refresh' us on dog safety guidelines. though in my opinion re-iterating common sense.

[Sunbird73]

Poor poor girl. And sad that she is taking the fall for this. I think animates are incredibly lucky that it wasn't a customers 4yo child that had their face bitten off. That place is usually crawling with children, and children + dogs and distracted owners (leads or no leads) IMO is a recipe for disaster.

I understand that the dog was on a lead and perhaps she didn't approach the dog in the accepted way - but TBH this dog reacted badly to an everyday situation (someone patting his head) and if I was the owner then I think I would be thinking very long and hard about what to do with the dog.

I understand Animates saying "it was the girls fault, not the dogs" because I am sure asking for a dog to be destroyed is simply bad for business and goes against the idea they are selling that "pets are people too" - but lets hope that this dog doesn't bite the neighbours kids face off next time.

And blaming Rotti's particularly is not necessarily helpful. This could have been *any* breed of dog, spaniel, german shepherd , mongrel whatever. Pretty dogs can react aggressively too.

A real wakeup call for Animates I think.

I really don't think you can blame the girl for this. This is managements fault at the highest level and not a young girls fault for being put in a dangerous situation.

[Morcs]

I really don't think you can blame the girl for this. This is managements fault at the highest level and not a young girls fault for being put in a dangerous situation.

In a situation like this I dont think blame can (and should) be pinpointed. Everyone could potentially be blamed - the dog, the girl, the owner, Animates, the food company etc..

Trying to prevent what only could be described as an unfortunate incident from happening again is paramount and from what ive seen thus far the company are taking this extremely seriously and their actions thus far have been good.

I will strive to get an update on how the girl is doing. Last I heard she was in surgery getting her lip recontructed.

[David R]

I really don't think you can blame the girl for this. This is managements fault at the highest level and not a young girls fault for being put in a dangerous situation.

If there were guidelines that say staff shouldn't pat dogs without asking the owners permission first and she didn't follow them, how is it managements fault?

Even if there weren't set guidelines, I would have thought it would have been common sense, especially for someone working in a pet shop, to ask before getting up close and personal with a strange dog. The dog was behaving fine until she put herself in the dangerous situation of having her face inches away from the dogs. What ever happened to personal responsibility?

[breakaway]

I am also *very* cross that this perpetuates the myth that rotweilers are aggressive by nature and will attack anything anytime. The general public already has this idea in their head I bet.

Also, I love the photo of the vicious looking rottwiler on the nz harold's article. It's no longer about journalism. It's all about getting hits and ad revenue.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... sholefever

[phoenix44]

I think journalists need to be reminded that they need to report the news, not create it. It really angers me when they do things like that.

[Caryl]

I do like the fact that the woman has said it was entirely her own fault and has apologised to the owners.

[phoenix44]

see this is what I mean - http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3955666 ... shing-hell

You take the bad apples and apply their tendencies to an entire population.

[BikBok]

Im no official spokesperson or anything...

but...

>the rottie promotion was withdrawn straight away.

>New Dog safety guidelines went out onto our intranet the same day also.

In my opinion a properly trained dog would never do such a thing. A well trained dog would growl at most and maybe look at its owner for permission before biting...

At the same time, there is a proper way to approach a dog - IMO always approach them assuming they are frightened of you - and hence chance of a bad reaction.

Im sure the company would have no issue me sharing this, the dog safety guidelines memo that went out yesterday:

I had my photo taken with about 5 rotties that day...

ha - I just learned that Morcs is a guy - for some reason i always thought female.

[Caryl]

How do you know he isn't the one on the left?

[livingart]

[Heir]

I think journalists need to be reminded that they need to report the news, not create it. It really angers me when they do things like that.

+1

[A-town...]

Morcs is the one on the left

[phoenix44]

Morcs is the one on the left

lol

[livebearer_breeder]

Rotties are beautiful dogs, one of dads friends had one when I was a kid and I always used to play with it, and there was never any aggression. How ever, any dog [even those little designer handbag mutts] can react unpredictably when a strange person comes up and starts getting in their face....

Perfectly said! Any dog can be unpredictable, even well trained dogs! the difference is the kind of damage a Pomeranian can do when it bites, compared to a large breed dog. I have a rotti cross and he is beautiful and has a lovely nature, he just doesn't realise how powerful he is, which can sometimes get him into trouble. These are animals! they have animal instincts as much as we try to domesticate, you get in its face and it perceives you as a threat and it will react in accordance with its nature. Pretty simple really

[Fenriswolf]

In a situation like this I dont think blame can (and should) be pinpointed. Everyone could potentially be blamed - the dog, the girl, the owner, Animates, the food company etc..

Trying to prevent what only could be described as an unfortunate incident from happening again is paramount and from what ive seen thus far the company are taking this extremely seriously and their actions thus far have been good.

I will strive to get an update on how the girl is doing. Last I heard she was in surgery getting her lip recontructed.

+1(gazillion). And I'm really glad the girl has taken responsibility for her actions. But clearly Animates staff are not getting drilled enough with taking care if any staff member didn't know the basic dos and don'ts of interacting with strange dogs.

As for the reporting... Yes x1 million. So many people don't care about Breed Specific Legislation until it effects them - in many jurisictions with BSL Rottweilers are one of the targeted breeds. Hell, there's BSL for Rotties in Germany! It's not bad in Germany though, it's more really stringent rules for owning a potentially high-maintence dog (especially since they have more working lines over there) than blanket discrimination.

What's pretty impressive is you can track back the "pit bull" hysteria in the US to a specific article printed in the 80s/90s. Previously there was dog fighting going on, and there were people who owned American Pit Bull Terriers as pets, but they were pretty much under the radar. Then there was a huge uproar about this terrifying, strong dog, and they took off as the dog of choice for "ganstas".

And sadly, I don't know if this will pass like it did for the Doberman or Rottweiler, because frankly if you beat on a guardian breed enough it will hurt you. Bully breeds are bred with incredible pain tolerance and bite inhibition with humans. Doesn't mean there aren't a lot of dodgy pit bull-like dogs around; years of only idiots breeding will do that. But they're still an innately human-social breed.

[Sunbird73]

If there were guidelines that say staff shouldn't pat dogs without asking the owners permission first and she didn't follow them, how is it managements fault?

I have been around a fair few dogs, and a large number of times the owner has told me "my dog is fine, so friendly" just before its growled and snapped. Owners often are blind to pets faults, so saying there are guidelines about asking first doesn't necessarily guarantee safety at all. I don't take owners word for it.

I think the idea of inviting large numbers of dogs and owners into the store, milling about with children and other members of the public is the bad idea - an accident waiting to happen. The added lure of free food may cloud the owners judgment about how well their dog will react in that kind of environment.

[sharn]

The lighter side of these ferocious beasts...

I was sad to hear of the incident, but it served as a reminder to me (I work in a pet store). People expect to have their harnesses and jackets fitted and I am regularly rubbing cheeks with all sorts of dogs. I wonder if it is luck I have not been seriously bitten even though I know basic dog communication rules? The above pooch is currently crashed out in front of the fire, snoring and twitching in her doggy dreams :lol:

[phoenix44]

awww

[Joshlikesfish]

Also, I love the photo of the vicious looking rottwiler on the nz harold's article. It's no longer about journalism. It's all about getting hits and ad revenue.

Exactly.

[Ira]

The lighter side of these ferocious beasts...

I was sad to hear of the incident, but it served as a reminder to me (I work in a pet store). People expect to have their harnesses and jackets fitted and I am regularly rubbing cheeks with all sorts of dogs. I wonder if it is luck I have not been seriously bitten even though I know basic dog communication rules? The above pooch is currently crashed out in front of the fire, snoring and twitching in her doggy dreams :lol:

I've never thought of Rotties as being viscious. I think, given how well publicised any "attack" is how rarely we hear about them tends to show that people don't usually take dogs likely to bite to pet stores and how rarely they do bite.

[Deepsound]

I do like the fact that the woman has said it was entirely her own fault and has apologised to the owners.

I was saying the exact same thing to myself by reading the paper.

She had even not heard from the dog's owner but she said :

"I want to express my deepest apologies for what's happened because it's not his fault. He must be feeling pretty stressed so I just want to say I'm sorry for what happened."

It reminds me a similar story with a surfer who was dead after a shark attack. A lot of people wanted to rush at their boats like in Jaws stupid movie, to kill the shark (and a lot of his congeners of course...) to take revenge on, as they say. But the dead surfer's brother went to TV and said not to do such an insane thing because he knew it was entirely his brother's fault and he knew his brother would agree.

She made a big mistake. OK.

But I just admire people like them, full of courage and so precious introspection abilities.

Holly Prebble, my best wishes to you for a speedy recovery.

(don't misunderstand me : I do love dogs)

Dogs can understand our langage. More than 100 different words for the most talented of them. I'm not talking about circus training or something. Right. But they got their own langage too and we just have to learn it. For instance, when a dog looks at you and yawn, do you know the meaning of it ?

It means : I am not your enemy. I'm here in peace.

Then, your turn to yawn to tell him : me too, buddy.

So the dog will be reassured.

Dogs are very attentive to body langage.

[Deepsound]

Sharn, your rottie is one of a kind ! What a lovely face

Very nice shots ! I love her smile