Judge orders vicious Pomeranian out of Aspen

ASPEN — A municipal judge Wednesday scolded the owner of a 13-year-old dog with a history of biting people, and ordered the canine to leave Aspen.

And if Gizmo, a Pomeranian, is seen in Aspen again, it will be put to death, Judge Brooke Peterson told the dog's owner, West End resident Melinda Goldrich.
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13411198

added by me-but Hunter Thompson was okay? Kidding, I loved him, but he was probably a little more dangerous than an ankle nipper.

spamelope said:

ASPEN — A municipal judge Wednesday scolded the owner of a 13-year-old dog with a history of biting people, and ordered the canine to leave Aspen.

And if Gizmo, a Pomeranian, is seen in Aspen again, it will be put to death, Judge Brooke Peterson told the dog's owner, West End resident Melinda Goldrich.
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13411198

added by me-but Hunter Thompson was okay? Kidding, I loved him, but he was probably a little more dangerous than an ankle nipper.

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More people are attacked by ankle biters, then big dogs. Not all big dogs rip people to death. But because they are big.. people report it.. cause dogs should NEVER get mad and bite. Even if people are poking sticks at its eyes. <eye roll>

Yet, small dogs are allowed to do things, that bigger dogs would not be allowed to do.

I have a small chi next door, that when it's 'let out' to go pee, comes to my yard, and stands there and yaps, yaps, yaps, yaps..... The owners think nothing about it.. cause it's a small dog..so surelly it can't hurt anything.

It's a dog, it has teeth, it can bite. If it bites, then it should be put down as a vicus dog.

IMO, the woman who approached the barking dog tied to the fence to pet it wasn't so bright. Since the dog had a history, I'm not going to rigorously defend it, but I think the woman shares the blame in this one. If she was upset by it's barking, she should have called animal control (who where probably trying to fight off rogue bears with pillows) rather than try and touch the dog. The dog is old and probably on it's last leg(s) anyway. I got bit by a Rhodesian Ridgeback last year, and if I had my druthers, I would have rather gotten nailed by a Pom. The pain was incredible. My son got bit by our Sheltie when he poked it in the eye-but IMO, it was an instinctive reaction to pain, and I never faulted the dog. My son did learn a lesson about being kind to animals, though. Hurt animals can be the most gentle creature normally, but in pain, they will lash out. Actually, as I recall, I lashed out at my ex when I was in labor. I didn't bite him, but I sure wanted to.

It's the little dog, big dog that I have issues wtih. They should follow the same rules.

I think if a dog is provoked, it shouldn't be blamed. But it's now believed that the animal is not allowed to defend himself at all. No matter what. That is totally wrong!

But if they expect big dogs to follow that rule, then the little dogs must follow it as well. They should not have different rules and expectations.

Several months ago a dog bit a girls face. She was walking wtih her mother, and went on some one elses property and looked over their wooden fence. They had a dog sign. Dog bites girl..

Everyone wanted the dog to die, because he bit the girl. Yet the girl was with her mother, who let her go on private property and look over a fence...and some how, it's all the dogs fault.

I think the woman who was bit bears some responsibility. I assume all dogs are biting dogs unless I have proof otherwise. She never should have approached Gizmo, especially if she already knew that he had bitten before.

Put an itty bitty muzzle on Gizmo, or have him put on house arrest. He's old and probably wouldn't adjust to a new home somewhere else.

Gizmo's main problem is that he has an owner who has apparently refused to take any responsibility for his actions and who has continued to make decisions that are not in the public's (nor Gizmo's) best interests.

My mom has a pom that weighs right about 2 pounds, and although I can't imagine her biting hard enough to do damage, Gizmo apparently has. At age 13, Gizmo is rapidly approaching the end of his life, and it is too bad he can't stay in the home he is used to, but that is his owner's fault, IMO, not the judges.

The judge has ordered the dog out of Aspen because since 2006 he has been unable to get the owner to control her dog. This is obviously the judge's last resort, not a first intervention on behalf of the public.

It seems to me that a dog's size does make a difference. Most really large dogs are not aggressive. I have two Pyrenees and they are gentle but weight 150 lbs each. Then I have chihuahuas and Poms and the chihuahuas are vicious to others besides their family.
Now if the Pyrenees attacked someone, they would be seriously harmed, but the chihuahua, not really although they are annoying as all get out. I have signs in my yard stating that dogs are on the premises, if you visit, you take that chance. I don't take them outside their yard.

My mom's little sheltie would bite my girls before any of the rotts would even growl at them. People are definitely more likely to react to a large dog than a small one - and large dog attacks, esp by certain breeds or certain assumed breeds are much more newsworthy.

PorcineGranny said:

It seems to me that a dog's size does make a difference. Most really large dogs are not aggressive. I have two Pyrenees and they are gentle but weight 150 lbs each. Then I have chihuahuas and Poms and the chihuahuas are vicious to others besides their family.
Now if the Pyrenees attacked someone, they would be seriously harmed, but the chihuahua, not really although they are annoying as all get out. I have signs in my yard stating that dogs are on the premises, if you visit, you take that chance. I don't take them outside their yard.

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And that thought is why owners of little dogs don't have to train their dogs. And we get small dog syndrome.

All rules should apply to all dogs. A dog is a dog.

Trust me, if my child hits your child, it will not matter what size my child is. He can go to jail these days. That is the way things are now days. It will not matter if the child was damaged, or how much. But that he touched the other child.