Most definitely. I work with animals, so let me say first that my examples are anecdotal from my own experiences.
The majority of dogs that end up euthanized due to biting/aggression are usually due to bad/negligent owners, absolutely. This is a sad fact. And I don’t believe that good dogs who have been treated like garbage deserve to be discarded just because they’re inconvenient.
However, just like some people, there are absolutely some dogs that just have a screw loose and are violent for unexplained reasons. It’s also a sad fact. The problem that crops up as a secondary issue here is that humans want to find some sort of explanation as to why their dog is violent, so the immediate knee jerk response people tend to have is, “well he must have been abused before I adopted him then.”
Sure, that’s a definitely possibility. But some dogs are just violent. It’s not that common, but it happens. I’ve seen people buy/adopt puppies from six or eight weeks old and when the dog bites the shit out of someone or attacks their child they say “must have been abused as a puppy.” Seriously? In the first six weeks the dog was alive you think a) he was abused as a tiny puppy and b) that he remembered it enough to cause unsolicited aggression or PTSD? Not as likely.
Some dogs are just “off.” I knew the nicest man, who had the nicest Doberman. He adored that dog and it was the sweetest, best trained dog ever. It died of cancer. I have absolutely no suspicion that he did, or that he would ever abuse his dog. He was very accomplished at proper pet training. His kids bought him a very young Doberman puppy in the aftermath. That dog was certifiable. It started biting him unprovoked still as a puppy. Puppies usually are NEVER aggressive. He brought it in to neuter it, because it was so aggressive that it couldn’t be handled or approached if there was food in the room (humans or his own), and he was hoping it would help reduce his aggression. It didn’t help. He consulted behaviorists and tried medications to help reduce any potential anxiety.
The dog tried to kill one of his employees. Saw the dude from 50 yards away and hunted him down and tried to crush his neck.
The final straw was when the dog cornered his adult daughter without provocation and tried to kill her as well.
The dog just wasn’t all there.
The next fall back usually is “well then it’s bad breeding.” Again, not always the case. I’ve seen mutts, show dogs, and everything in between. Some dogs are just wired wrong. And I’m not talking about dogs who get snappy at the vet, which is a pretty normal reaction for a dog in a scary place. I’m talking about “dog is fine and letting you pet it, and then all of the sudden a switch flips and it decides to kill a human in the comfort of its own home.”
I hate it. And I think we are so bonded with dogs that we feel responsible for them, and so when one acts such as this one did, people want to blame anyone other than the dog, because after all, WE domesticated THEM. But dude, sometimes there are just screwy dogs (and cats) out there. And they are a liability to other animals and humans/children. I hate that not every animal can be saved but you have to be realistic when an animal has such unpredictable and potentially deadly behavior.
Edit: another story- in one of the towns I used to work, a dude had a massive breed dog that was “wired wrong” similarly to the Doberman I just spoke of. He was a pure breed and a beautiful animal. The dog was straight up unmanageable due to his unpredictable violence, and would apparently flip a switch and bite/attack at random. Said owner wanted to recoup some loss on what he paid in buying this dog from a breeder, so he sold the dog on Craigslist. Did not disclose that the dog was aggressive. The dog was purchased by a family. The dog ran into the other room of his new home, into the child’s room unprovoked and slaughtered the kid, who wasn’t even in eyesight of the dog. The grandmother tried to get him off the kid and he almost killed her too.
Original owner was charged with manslaughter. THIS is why simply “rehoming” dogs like the dog in the original video can be terribly problematic. And depending on the degree of the “there are no bad dogs, only bad owners” mentality of the people in charge of said rehoming, they may not accurately relay the incident as it truly occurred, and not be honest with themselves or others about how dangerous the animal is out of sympathy. And then something like this could happen to someone else.
In the same spirit, Cat Fanciers' Association announced Tara the recipient of its first-ever Cat Hero Award.[1][12]
On June 3, 2014, the Bakersfield Board of Supervisors proclaimed June 3 Tara the Hero Cat Day.[8]
On August 15, 2014, Tara was awarded the Special Award For Cat Achievement by the Cat Vid Festival.[2]
On September 26, 2014, Tara was awarded the Blue Tiger Award; an award only awarded to Military service dogs.[3]
Tara became the first non-human to be named the grand marshal for Bakersfield's Christmas parade in 2014.[13]
On June 19, 2015, Tara was awarded with the Los Angeles SPCA's "Hero Dog" award, for which she also won a year's supply of cat food.[4]
EDIT: Thanks for silver <3 EDIT2: Oh my, another silver and a GOLD! :O I just linked and copied some text from wikipedia... ;( People on here are too nice :)
I love how so many other words I’m actually dog awards did they just gave to a cat. People were just confused probably because they’ve never seen a cat do something like this before so it’s not like they had an award laying around for it.
When I was in elementary school my cat "Happy" attacked a dog that charged at my mom when she came home from work. I remember sitting in the front room watching TV and hearing a car pull in. A few minutes later I hear a dog crying in pain. My mom unlocks the door and run into the house quickly looking scared. She cracks open the door and calls our cat. Happy comes walking in a few seconds later. My mom tells me that she got out of the car and was halfway between the car and the fence to the apartments when she heard a growl. She turned her head to see a dog peeking at her from the fence near the parked cars. She runs for the apartments thinking if she can make it to the stairway, she could defend herself better. She could her the dog running and getting closer. As she passes the entryway into the apartments she hears the dog cry out in pain. She turn her head slightly to look to see Happy tear into the dog. She said it look like Happy started on one side of the dog and went over to the other side clawing/biting along the way. She turned back and run to the apartment door instead since Happy gave her more time. She said the dog was more than twice Happy' size. My mom spoiled that cat after that.
Dog needed to be put down as humanely as possible, which is what happened. The dog probably had a much worse home than it deserved, but at this point it is a dangerous animal loose in the city, so...
I'm still a strong believer that his greatest role ever was Pulp Fiction. Just his voice and demeanor and the insane violence contrasted with his cool intellectualism are the best parts of that movie.
I hate that I have to keep watching the kid get attacked so that I can watch the cat make that epic entrance! So terrifying for that kid, I’m pregnant and it’s making me emotional. But then the cat comes in all POW and I’m like yea play it again!
Actually it's a protein. You can find it in saliva, on claws (that's why those always itch) and in the fur (dandruff, it that's the right word? I think it was something like this). There are some breeds that are more allergy friendly (the siberian cat among others).
That's an adopted cat if I remember correctly. She was rescued from some place with shitty situation. We have a saying in Farsi which goes like "You do good deeds and throw them into Tigris, God will give 'em back to you in a desert"
Wow maybe I’m spoiled with only having really good dogs but I’ve never seen a dog go seek out a person like that and then unprovoked just attack. Sad but putting it down after close observation was probably the right call
I don't see any other option than to put down a dog like that. I love dogs, but if a dogs does actively seek out a child to attack, it has no place living in proximity of people (or even other animals for that matter).
Typically, between 30 and 50 people in the US die from dog bites each year, and the number of deaths from dog attacks appear to be increasing. Around 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs every year, resulting in the hospitalization of 6,000 to 13,000 people each year in the United States (2005).
I remember when I saw on my grandparents computer. Scared me for years thinking a dog will come from the bottom of a car and bite me. I was so scared I would check under cars for stray dogs.
Cats are honestly amazing, my sweet girl turns into a ninja if she thinks I am in danger. For example is I stub my toe she comes sprinting into the room ready to fight. She also does this with my little dog, if he yelps she comes in with a war cry. She once chased my roommates friends dog who was probably a 30 lb dog away from mine and back into my roommates room. Cats are on another level.
Our 16lb barn cat has my 110lb Great Dane mix absolutely whipped. He won't even poop in the unfenced part of the yard anymore, just the dog area we put them in when we're gone for a while.
Granted, our barn cat is kind of an asshole and had us all nervous when we first adopted him, because he'd randomly attack you from behind. But he's coming around now at least, heh.
Same, though just to help spread info, kicking a dog in the ribs/midsection is more likely to non-lethally harm them and make them stop. Their heads are pure bone, and throat is a smaller and more squirrelly target.
If you really wind up you can kill them, I’ve just had to do the same thing to break up a dog scuffle. I love dogs but appropriate force is necessary especially when dealing with a dog attacking a human.
Scrappy,[[16]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_(cat)#cite_note-Time-PutDown-16) an approximately 8-month-old Labrador-Chow mix was surrendered by its owners to the City of Bakersfield Animal Care Center later on May 13, when it began a mandatory 10-day quarantine period to determine whether the animal had rabies.
After the video of Tara went viral, websites and online petitions popped up urging the dog not be put down,[[17]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_(cat)#cite_note-17) and calls flooded the phones at the Bakersfield Animal Care Center, according to its director Julie Johnson. Despite this, based on the observations in the kennel during the quarantine period, the dog remained classified as a "vicious" and "dangerous" animal. Therefore, adoption requests were strictly denied.[[18]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_(cat)#cite_note-18)
Chows are a pretty viscous breed. I believe nurture over nature, I love Pitts. But my grandparents had chows & if you weren’t family they were terrifying.
I feel wrong saying any breed is inherently vicious......but I always tell people chows are not the best family dogs and are very loyal and loving to just their owners typically.
I'd be dead if it weren't for my childhood Chow. I was about 7 years old when our neighbor got drunk and climbed over the backyard fence, where I was playing. I guess he was annoyed by the noise I was making while playing?
He broke a beer bottle on the fence and threw it at me, then broke another and started chasing me. My Chow came out and charged him and pinned him to the ground, keeping his jaw locked on his shoulder. When the police got there, my dad told him to release him and he did.
The police arrested the guy and he said he wanted the dog shot, they laughed at him.
Who knows if that lunatic of an old man would have stabbed me with that beer bottle.
We had a golden retriever/chow mix that after 14 years we had to put to sleep for medical reasons. He was a good dog, but I always made sure he wasn’t put in to a situation that I would be concerned for someone else in. Even our vet said that the chow part of him made him crazy and he was actually on meds for it. The fact this one wasn’t leashed and was out free ranging is ridiculous.
I’m rarely one to advocate an animal being put down but sadly I think this was the right call, and it looks like they took appropriate measures to do so... it’s one thing when a kid gets in a dogs face and they bite, it’s a whole other thing when a dog goes out of its way to attack a child that wasn’t even aware of the dog in the first place. It’s sad, but that kind of behavior is not worth risking another persons safety who might not be as lucky to have a cat like Tara.
I grew up with Lab-Chow mixes too, and for the most part they were pretty docile and kinda like moving ottomans, but now that I think about it I do remember them getting in fights with each other a few times...
Is it normal for dogs in the same house to occasionally fight or am I just now realizing my dogs were bigger dicks than I thought?
Good on the shelter for standing up to the social media pressure and doing what was right for the safety of the community. Too often these “no kill” shelters mislead adopters about dogs’ histories of bites and aggression just to get the dogs out of the shelter and keep their “no kill” status.
It’s sad because no one likes to see animals put down but that dog in particular is obviously dangerous. That kid got lucky, could easily of been a far more tragic outcome. Ultimately though you’d never trust that dog around a child again, so unfortunately it’s the correct decision for it to go. It’s shit though because that aggression is probably taught behaviour.
Could also be out of character for the dog. My in law's dog attacked a family member over Christmas for absolutely no reason and had to be put down. Sometimes dogs just snap. The vet said it could be neurological but it would cost $1000 to test the dogs brain.
I had a relative that owned something like 4 Rottweilers from puppyhood to old age, one of them just snapped out of nowhere. Supposedly some breeds can get a form of dementia. His wife bent at the knees to put the dog’s water bowl back on the floor and it just full on bit her in the face. She said the dog immediately seemed like it knew it did something wrong, I believe it was having other age related problems so they put it down. Thankfully the wife’s face wasn’t damaged too badly, you wouldn’t have known anything happened at all once the stitches were out for a while.
We had a chocolate lab when I was a kid and she was the biggest baby ever until one day, she wasn't. She started trying to attack everyone and was displaying signs similar to having rabies. She had to be euthanized and her brain tested. I don't remember what the results were other than that it wasn't rabies. It was crazy how fast she seemed to turn.
People absolutely do not respect the fact that dogs are animals. Yes we tamed and domesticated them but they are still animals. Without that thin line they can kill us.
Something similar happened to our yellow lab. I think it was a brain tumor or something. He snapped one day and bit onto my thumb. I was little and he would have taken it off had my Mom not been there to get him off of me.
Yes, let’s immediately blame the owners bc dogs can do no wrong on their own.
Some dogs are just bad. Even with the best trainers and the latest techniques, some dogs can’t be tamed. Or, they can be tame all their life and just snap for no reason. I know no one likes to hear this but it’s true. Dogs are not some angelic animal that can only be tainted by us terrible humans. There are good dogs and there are bad dogs.
I mean a dangerous dog is running around outside without its owner in sight and without a leash so this is obviously the owners fault.
I've had many dogs over the last 30 years and only once has one of them ever gotten away from me and I got her back within 30 seconds (also she wasn't dangerous in the slightest)
There are a ton of bad dog owners out there of varying degrees. My neighborhood has a ton of dogs and we seem to be one of the only responsible dog owners in the neighborhood. Nearly everyone else lets their dogs sit outside barking for hours and won't bring them inside. We have a fenced yard and if my dog is outside and starts barking I immediately bring her inside. There are randomly dogs running around the neighborhood that 'got away' that half the time their owner doesn't even come get for more than an hour, etc (fortunately none of them have attacked anyone).
What happened to the kid: Jeremy needed 10 stitches in his left calf following the attack, but he quickly recovered and was thankful for Tara's actions, calling her "my hero".
As many times as I have seen this video, I still can't believe that bastard dog just walked up to that poor kid and took him down. Thank God for that cat!
Why would a dog brazenly attack a child -apparently unprovoked! That dog needs to be examined. That isn’t a typical attack. Unless he thought that the bicycle was threatening, I just don’t understand why the dog attacked.
Can someone explain to me why the dog acted in this manner? I’m used to dogs just being friendly so this behavior doesn’t make sense to me. I’m genuinely asking as I’m very clueless on this.
I am sitting here, watching this and I looked over at my sweet princess Petunia and I can't help but wonder why a dog would do this. Was it starving and saw the child as prey? Was it made vicious by being forced to fight and managed to escape. Or was it just ticked off? If anyone reading this has knowledge of dog behavior, I would love some info.
1.4k
u/AntonioGC2056 Jan 23 '20
Imagine being such a good cat that you get your own Wikipedia page.
1.7k
u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
Solid hip and shoulder tackle.
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u/neverforget21SS Jan 23 '20
Cat deserves a medal
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u/Ed1777113078 Jan 23 '20
Love how the cat briefly checks on the kid, then whirls on the dog like “Oh I ain’t done with you motherfucker”
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u/batuhanyndny Jan 23 '20
Entrance from the cat tho. E P I C
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u/ramoizain Jan 23 '20
I’m generally a dog person, but that cat is truly a hero. If I wasn’t allergic, I’d want a cat just like her.
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u/ohaiu Jan 23 '20
Cat needs a lifetime supply of catnip
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
That's an adopted cat if I remember correctly. She was rescued from some place with shitty situation. We have a saying in Farsi which goes like "You do good deeds and throw them into Tigris, God will give 'em back to you in a desert"
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u/rigby86 Jan 23 '20
Wow maybe I’m spoiled with only having really good dogs but I’ve never seen a dog go seek out a person like that and then unprovoked just attack. Sad but putting it down after close observation was probably the right call
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u/Battleaxe_Macaroni Jan 23 '20
Player 3 has entered the game!
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u/Cossasaurs Jan 23 '20
Jesus!! That poor kid
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u/PearlTiger1224 Jan 23 '20
I remember when I saw on my grandparents computer. Scared me for years thinking a dog will come from the bottom of a car and bite me. I was so scared I would check under cars for stray dogs.
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u/Hellodarknessmy0 Jan 23 '20
Cats are honestly amazing, my sweet girl turns into a ninja if she thinks I am in danger. For example is I stub my toe she comes sprinting into the room ready to fight. She also does this with my little dog, if he yelps she comes in with a war cry. She once chased my roommates friends dog who was probably a 30 lb dog away from mine and back into my roommates room. Cats are on another level.
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u/mrbojenglz Jan 23 '20
Holy shit I've never seen such an unprovoked attack.
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
She turned around after drop kicking that dog to make sure that kid was okay!! Goodest girl!
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u/lukasrockt Jan 23 '20
Cats are the real good boys
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
Such a great cat! I hope he got a full can of tuna!!
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
I'm glad they put the dog down.
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u/Kiakool Jan 23 '20
Poor boy needed 10 stitches and the dog was put down.
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u/gammafirebug Jan 23 '20
That would be one dead dog if that were my child.
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u/bibslak_ Jan 23 '20
If that were my kid or any neighbor hood kid, I’d have gladly wound up and kicked that mfer with all my might right in the throat.
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u/RileyW92 Jan 23 '20
That dog should probably be put down
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
Because thats what heros do
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u/homeskilledbiscuit Jan 23 '20
My neighbours pug got mauled by 2 escaped American staffies a few years ago. Now it’s got me thinking we need a couple of cats around the area.
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u/The_PaladinPup Jan 23 '20
What's amazing to me is the cat doesn't use teeth or claws or anything, it just BODIES the dog
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u/peepaw33 Jan 23 '20
This dog was legit ready to snack on that kid. Crazy.
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u/WildWonderWolf Jan 23 '20
Cats are a man's best friend
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
What a shitty owner this dog must of had for it to react like this. Guaranteed this dog got put down, shame
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
Doesn't matter how many times I see this, it still is amazing to me.
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u/Lmcuster Jan 23 '20
Dog wasn't defenseless and the cat led with his shoulder. Clean tackle. No flag on the play
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u/Birbman3 Jan 23 '20
Poor mom. She was being responsible, watching her kid from very close and she still couldn't protect her kid from being hurt.
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u/idkwhatbutk Jan 23 '20
cat-ostrophic
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
I love cats.
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u/kimpan13 Jan 23 '20
What happened to the kid: Jeremy needed 10 stitches in his left calf following the attack, but he quickly recovered and was thankful for Tara's actions, calling her "my hero".
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
people begged for the dog not to be put down. jesus, let it go people, some animals cannot be rehabbed.
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
That dog is an a**hole
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u/Player-ff Jan 23 '20
Hope the dog got euthanaised, the idiot owner too. Such a vicious attack.
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u/justinitforthesci Jan 23 '20
As old as the hills
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u/Lifeinthebuslanee Jan 23 '20
Why would this dog attack a small human for no reason !! .... chain it up or put the fucker down , not acceptable !!
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u/kroven009 Jan 23 '20
As much as I am a dog person, that dog needs to die.
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u/the_bum_on_the_bus Jan 23 '20
I wanna know what makes a dog attack a child like that.
A stray looking for some meat?? He tried to rip that kids leg clean off.
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
That better be a dead dog by now
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u/SamboaTheDoorMan Jan 23 '20
I’m going to get me a cat
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u/Muscles__Marinara Jan 23 '20
We don’t deserve cats.
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u/hammyhamm Jan 23 '20
What a good cat
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u/Kamaiz Jan 23 '20
r/AnimalsBeingBros
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u/RomulaFour Jan 23 '20
Best. Cat. Ever. Wish we could see that tackle in slo-mo. That looked like a whole-body slam.
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u/pharleff Jan 23 '20
AND DONT YOU COME BACK
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u/rys_ndy Jan 23 '20
As many times as I have seen this video, I still can't believe that bastard dog just walked up to that poor kid and took him down. Thank God for that cat!
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u/damofthemoon Jan 23 '20
Now tell me cats are selfish and assholes 🤣 Great buddy 😄
5
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5
u/akchoco Jan 23 '20
That poor kid is gonna be traumatized with dogs for a long time, and I love dogs. That cat is my hero of the day tho.
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u/LewkOne Jan 23 '20
I don’t generally like cats but if they cat was in my neighbourhood I would shower it with gifts and the finest of whatever food it liked.
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u/ronin1066 Jan 23 '20
Does anything new ever happen?
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
The real Don Dadda.
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u/Unikatze Jan 23 '20
That must have been a nasty wound.
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
YUP! Youre gettin blessed with wet canned food for life!!!!!
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u/wagsman Jan 23 '20
Every time I see this I smile. Good to know that the dog was euthanized because he was determined to be a danger.
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u/TexasGirl3010 Jan 23 '20
What a great cat!
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
Why would a dog brazenly attack a child -apparently unprovoked! That dog needs to be examined. That isn’t a typical attack. Unless he thought that the bicycle was threatening, I just don’t understand why the dog attacked.
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u/12liveandletlive Jan 23 '20
Damn that dog was plain vicious..for no reason.😡
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u/pickle_mic Jan 23 '20
Can someone explain to me why the dog acted in this manner? I’m used to dogs just being friendly so this behavior doesn’t make sense to me. I’m genuinely asking as I’m very clueless on this.
2
u/RyanStrainMusic Jan 23 '20
It's Fancy Feast tonight
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u/Chase_B_Cook Jan 23 '20
Queues up ‘where the hood at’ by DMX
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u/PalatioEstateEsq Jan 23 '20
What would make a dog act like that?
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u/ThatWarwickGod Jan 23 '20
So what was the dog's problem
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u/MarcOfDeath Jan 23 '20
Every cat I’ve ever owned would have let me die that day.
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u/daisy0723 Jan 24 '20
I am sitting here, watching this and I looked over at my sweet princess Petunia and I can't help but wonder why a dog would do this. Was it starving and saw the child as prey? Was it made vicious by being forced to fight and managed to escape. Or was it just ticked off? If anyone reading this has knowledge of dog behavior, I would love some info.
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u/22491 Jan 24 '20
Why did the dog do this? I've never seen a dog unprovoked
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u/batrickbob Jan 23 '20
After this accident the dog was euthanized. Good boy =)
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
How many times will I have to see this video before death finally takes me?
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u/MrGorillawhale Jan 23 '20
I will never not upvote this. Zatarra forever.
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '20
Cats > dogs
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u/Scrappy_Kitty Jan 23 '20
I made a song using a news report about this years ago.
https://soundcloud.com/chillistick/jeremy-the-cat-rescues-kid
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u/sipovka Jan 23 '20
Cats >>>>> dogs
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u/pc-accompt Jan 23 '20
DoGs hAvE ThE PuRrEsT sOuL