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Saving Heidi


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One of my Satffies is a notorious head butter, she doesn’t mean to she just gets so excited and wants to get as close as she can. She has hit me a couple of times, once in the nose which hurt but not broken, once her tooth caught my cheek bone as her mouth was open when she jumped, a bit of blood, a black eye, but lucky it was me.

We have to be extra careful when friends bring their kids over, she loves them so much but the excitement could result in the above. I keep my dogs behind a fence for most of the time, but let them out for a play with the kids under close supervision.

The kids just love the "head butter", when she calms down, she is just the most gentle beautiful girl, I would hate to see a similar dog put down because of an accident.

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Although not the first time, I copped an accidental head butt from my own dog, only 3 months after brain surgery to boot. Boy, did that one resonate through my brain and I admit there was a moment when I wondered if my nose had been broken (it remained sore for a few days). Accidents in life happen and society needs to learn that's a fact and to get off this wagon of "blame everything on someone" for it. Come on, America. Australia tends to follow in your footsteps so can you please start by getting things right and dismissing these ridiculous charges against Heidi and her owners.

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I've had a really good concussion (diagnosed) from an accidental collision between labrador skull and my cheekbone .. my fault .

I was scraping bot eggs off my horses leg one day and then bang, I must have worked my way in front of him without realising it and he lifted his leg and POW, head and knee collision. I remember waking up on the ground, him still standing there quietly nuzzling my hair, and me with a huge lump on my forehead and a whopper of a headache.

My own stupid fault.

Same thing happened to a friend of mine - her head was going up at the same time her horses head was coming down and they collided! Sixteen stitches and a good case of concussion later my friend NEVER considered it was the horses fault - it was an accident, these thing happen

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Poor doggie. Have signed and keeping my fingers crossed there is someone in charge who has a couple of braincells to rub together and throws this ridiculous charge straight out of court.

Wish someone would come up with some sort of collar flag (i.e., a flag extending from the top of the dog's collar) so you could have a little notice on your dog when out walking - "Please do not approach my dog" or similar.

Apparently Australia is now the second most litigious country after the USA - about time we all hardened up and took the attitude S*^&% Happens and took responsibility for ourselves.

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Wish someone would come up with some sort of collar flag (i.e., a flag extending from the top of the dog's collar) so you could have a little notice on your dog when out walking - "Please do not approach my dog" or similar.

I'd have my doubts something like this would work. As far as i'm aware there is already vests/sashes that working dogs wear and sometimes they don't have any effect.

Edited by Ben and Jerry
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Here's another side to the story - link

ROYAL OAK – As he got closer to two Doberman pinchers outside of Fresh Approach, Kevin Seagraves of Warren asked a woman holding the leashes of the dogs if they were friendly.

She said yes. He said he continued to pass the dogs on his way to the door of the store on Campbell Road.

“… and then before I could do anything I was attacked by them and bit in the nose and chin and was pushed back two or three steps,” Seagraves says in a written statement to police about the Oct. 15 incident.

Bleeding from the injuries, Seagraves went into the store for a paper towel then to Beaumont Hospital, where he told police he learned his nose was broken.

What should happen to the dog that bit him -- a 5-year-old rescued animal named Heidi that belongs to Janet Spalding, 59, of Royal Oak?

Spalding was issued two tickets: one because her dog bit someone and the other because her pets weren’t licensed with the city. Both offenses are misdemeanors punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a $500 fine or both.

Spalding is fighting the tickets and to keep her dog next week in 44th District Court, according to her online petition campaign “Save Heidi.”

The website shows a series of pictures of the dog sleeping under a blanket, curled on a dog bed by a desk, and wearing green and red ribbons for Christmas. Under the photos is a plea: “Help save Heidi: Stop her destruction by Royal Oak.”

“That’s completely inaccurate,” City Attorney David Gillam said Thursday as links to the website were tweeted and shared on social media ahead of the Feb. 9 court date.

“We are getting bombarded by calls from people getting their information off Facebook and a lot of it isn’t accurate. We got a phone call from Nova Scotia and an email from China.”

Gillam disputes claims that Royal Oak is out to destroy the dog. He said the city did present two options: euthanize the dog or move her outside of Royal Oak. However, the issue could be resolved by sending the dog to obedience school, muzzling her whenever she is outside the owner’s McLean Avenue home, or some other action.

“I wouldn’t say anything is off the table,” Gillam said. “We’re trying to make sure the owner takes steps so the dog doesn’t hurt anyone else. A fellow was bitten in the face.”

Seagraves couldn’t be reached for comment. His attorney, Harold Perakis, said Seagraves had one surgery and needs another.

“When this dog bit my client, he ended up with marks from its teeth and a broken nose,” Perakis said. “He can only breathe out of one nostril. It’s a problem.”

Seagraves feels bad about the whole situation, Perakis added.

“He has no say in what happens to the dog,” the attorney said. “Each city has different remedies for dangerous dogs and it is the legal obligation of the city attorney to follow up. It’s very true that a dog gets one bite. That’s the reality of it.”

At SaveHeidi.com, an account of the incident under Spalding’s name says the victim “approached suddenly wanting to pet her (Heidi).”

“Startled and in her excitement, Heidi popped up at the same time that the stranger bent over to pet her. She collided with his face,” the website says. “He has claimed this resulted in a broken nose and reported the accident to Royal Oak Police. Royal Oak is now prosecuting this as a dog bite/attack!”

Gillam said photos taken after the incident show the victim with two puncture wounds on his nose and two below his lip. The city attorney refutes website claims that the victim’s nose was hurt when he bent over to pet the dog as the animal jumped up.

“This was no head butt,” Gillam said. “The victim was bitten and medical records confirm that.”

Heidi remains with her owner who lives on McLean Avenue, but her future is unclear. Next week’s court hearing is a pre-trial conference. A settlement could be reached or a trial scheduled. The dog isn’t in danger of being euthanized next week as the website says, according to the city attorney.

“The fate of the dog is not an issue at this point,” Gillam said. “We are simply looking for assurance the owner will do something to keep someone else from being bitten by the dog. What kind of reasonable guarantee can we get this won’t happen again?”

Edited by Weasels
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Aaaaah - it goes to show how reporting (not blaming the news articles as they essentially are going by the words of the individual people concerned) can make such a difference.

Wonder who is right? Hard to take the word off anyone these days.

If there was a dog bite, the petition in favour of the dog isn't going to do much good as it clearly expresses that the dog only jumped up and accidentally hit the person in the nose.

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Aaaaah - it goes to show how reporting (not blaming the news articles as they essentially are going by the words of the individual people concerned) can make such a difference.

Wonder who is right? Hard to take the word off anyone these days.

If there was a dog bite, the petition in favour of the dog isn't going to do much good as it clearly expresses that the dog only jumped up and accidentally hit the person in the nose.

Yes it seems a bit more convoluted than it first appeared.

It looks like the destruction order is only if the owners refuse to show up to court, otherwise it's just a fine. And local rescue organisations have been trying to get in contact with the family to assist but noone can get in contact with them.

Hard to know what the truth of the situation is.

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How the hell can they put this dog down when she didn't bite anyone. Yes there was an ACCIDENT but accidents happen gee anyone would think this dog ATTACKED said person :confused:

I read a further report that said the guy who was attacked simply walked past and the dog lunged at his face. He also has several puncture wounds besides the broken nose so the dog definitely bit him.

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More information - Link

Seems the dog was also unregistered and the owner wasn't even present at the time of the incident.

How the hell can they put this dog down when she didn't bite anyone. Yes there was an ACCIDENT but accidents happen gee anyone would think this dog ATTACKED said person :confused:

I read a further report that said the guy who was attacked simply walked past and the dog lunged at his face. He also has several puncture wounds besides the broken nose so the dog definitely bit him.

Rather interesting then isn't int…

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It really is wantsapuppy :laugh: I've been home sick this week so following the story to pass the time.

Adding to the confusion, it seems the victim's description of his injuries is far more dramatic than the hospital report, and he's planning to sue the owners on the side. Although he did have puncture marks so it appears teeth were involved.

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Aside from the punctures though how do you get a broken nose from a bite? Bones generally break as a result of impact so I'm still inclined to believe the headbutt aspect, if the dog had its mouth open it's reasonable that teeth contacted skin but I'm not seeing how a simple bite can break a nose :confused: if it was a sustained and vicious attack you would think that the damage caused by the teeth would be more signifcant than just the few teeth marks that have been stated by the lawyer.

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Yes I agree WnH. I'd like to see the pictures that I'm sure the hospital took of the man's face - although it seems he was certainly bitten on the face - and possibly lucky to avoid a destruction order. I this had been a child the story may have been very different.

It seems to me neither side is telling the whole story. As I said in a previous post, I think we are getting to a point where as dog owners we will have to be very careful when strangers to pat our dogs - and thats sad :( I'm certainly getting to a point where I rarely allow it.

Aside from the punctures though how do you get a broken nose from a bite? Bones generally break as a result of impact so I'm still inclined to believe the headbutt aspect, if the dog had its mouth open it's reasonable that teeth contacted skin but I'm not seeing how a simple bite can break a nose :confused: if it was a sustained and vicious attack you would think that the damage caused by the teeth would be more signifcant than just the few teeth marks that have been stated by the lawyer.

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A family friend got a split lip when my BC head butted her - he had his mouth open at the time, and from memory I think she got 'toothed'.

Unfortunately this story is full of bias from both sides - and it seems that both parties are over exaggerating what happened.

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