Awful.
We need a license for dogs I am afraid. It's not the dogs fault but man some breeds attract the worst scum of "dog lovers".
A lot of breeds don't belong in the hands of the people they end up in. Bully breeds, most spitz breeds, hunting dogs, livestock guardian breeds especially all require knowledgeable owners who also have the time and money to give the dogs what they need.
That said I feel it's very much a combo of shitty owners and the breed traits that lead to stuff like this.
I've known more people bitten by chihuahuas then any of the so called dangerous breeds ( bullies, dobermans, rotties etc). Now these are certainly small bites but they do draw blood and occasionally need stitches to the face and fingers. If these dogs were bigger and stronger they'd do serious damage. The issue with them is that people tend to spoil and smother small dogs as well as do a poor job of training and socializing them so they end up as little terrors. Anytime they snap at you you hear the excuse "or he/she only nibbles." Excuse me but no that was a bite and it still bleeds and hurts, just because it didn't do crippling or long lasting damage doesn't make it anymore okay that your dog is ill behaved and potentially dangerous.
I myself was bitten by a golden retriever as a small child because I was left alone with it at an in home daycare and at some point did something to upset the dog ( too young to remember.) It took a chunk out of my cheek and I still have a small pockmark on that site today. Turns out I was the third or fourth child this dog had bitten and it had to be put down. This was not the dog's fault this was the fault of idiot owners who left an animal alone with children too young to understand when it was signaling for them to back off.
I don't hate goldens and I don't think they are bad dogs but I do think a lot of idiots get " family dogs" not realizing that all breeds and individual dogs have a bite threshold and each dog reaches it differently. All dogs need training and socialization for their health as well as ours and not enough owners put that time in. No dog should be left alone with a small child, half the cute child/dog videos you seen on youtube are full of dogs giving 'calming signals' showing they are distressed, those dogs simply have high bite thresholds.
However, pitts, staffies and everything else that gets lumped under bully breeds are not completely off the hook per say.
Retrievers fetch things and are known for stealing your stuff. Scent hounds are often horrible walkers because they tend to go slow and smell everything or catch a scent and pull with all their might. Sight hounds should never been off leash in an unenclosed area because even those with great recall can give in to the need to chase a fast moving object and will run off after cars, bikes, small animals etc. Herding breeds will herd children, cats, ducks etc and while some will do it with only stares and barks other can get a little nippy when excited.
People tend to recognize and accept that most breeds have certain instinctual traits we've bred into them. These traits can be good, bad or a mixture of both but they require special responses in each case for the good of the owner, the public and most importantly the dog.
There is a certain amount of dog aggression that's been long bred into some breeds and that can be recognized without it being a call for the whole lot to be killed. It means that when you purchase or adopt certain breeds you need to understand that they may need more training, special desensitization training and extra socialization classes before they are as safe in public as some other breeds. You do your animal companion a disservice if you don't do these things and then try to blindly defend them if they do end up in a fight or biting incident.
I don't believe in BSL but I do think people who own certain breeds really do need to understand the full extent of power their dog will have and how much work really goes into making sure their dog's specific needs are met so that accidents are less likely.
I wish this article gave more details about the victim and what he was doing wandering around naked before he was attacked. I worry he may have been mentally unstable and an incident like this may only serve to make his life that much more terrifying nevermind the difficulties he will face due to his injuries.
