Law Regarding Pit Bull dogs in Public

Andy B · #1 01-30-2003, 05:13 PM

What is the law regarding pit bull dogs in the DR? We have a rich German neighbor who owns a hotel nearby that continues to walk his two pit bulls in public on the beach and deliberately passes in front of our hotel just to molest us, disturb our guests and tease our dogs. We have complained to the local minister of tourism and to Politur but to no avail. We have also asked that local minister of public health do something as these dogs are kept in the lobby of his hotel, a clear violation of the law regarding animals in public places. We have dogs that are kept chained up and a year and a half ago his dogs came up into our restaurant and attacked our dogs. One had to be taken to a vet in Sosua, some 80 miles away. With the attack and the continued harassment, my dogs go bonkers every time he passes in front, with or without his dogs.

Before that, one of his pit bulls ripped open the face of one of my colts and that required 20 stitches and 2 weeks of daily treatment by a local vet. Being a good neighbor we did not complain or file charges, but now enough is enough. The dogs also attacked other dogs in the village and killed several and another required extensive treatment to save him. These dogs are public nuisences and should be dealt with accordingly.

lhtown · #2 01-30-2003, 08:43 PM

Allow me to give a suggestion with a story. A year or so ago, I had some neighbors who had hired a couple of guys to paint their ironwork on top of the fence. Well, there was a bit of wind and the bars were quite skinny. As you can well imagine, most of the paint from their air gun was landing on my side of the fence coating my plants with fresh white paint. Somehow, explaining the problem just didn't seem to register on their brains. So, after a couple of tries, I went out and got out the garden hose. When the paint gun came on, so did the hose showering them with cold water. Of course they protested that they were getting wet. In effect I said, but look, I can't help it that the water is falling on your side, that is your problem just as you say the paint falling on my side is my problem. After the second time, the simple message spoke to their hearts and they started painting with paint brushes instead.

suarezn · #3 01-30-2003, 08:47 PM

The simple dominican solution is salamy con tres-pacitos...

maggiemay · #4 01-31-2003, 02:41 PM

I can sympathise with your problem. More or less the same thing happened to me a couple of years ago. Another Kraut and his two pitbulls (off the lead) attacked one of my dogs. 127 stitches and 2 months where he couldn't walk were the outcome of that. My husband who is Dominican went to the police and charged him with daños y perjuicios to private property, he would rather have ripped the guys head off and poisoned his dogs but I went for the pacific approach. He ended up having to pay the police to get off the charges and ofcourse pay a lawyer etc. He basically went through a day and a half of **** at the police station which was good enough for me. It seems to have taught him a lesson as he no longer goose marches along our street with his pitbulls.

Hillbilly · #5 02-01-2003, 08:59 AM

I hope this is not the guy from next door? Mauroi or something like that??

However, Salami with Tres-Pasitos does come to mind, as does Charlie Colt....These poor dogs are not at fault, but once trained, I really can't see any other solution...

HB

Andy B · #6 02-01-2003, 12:15 PM

HB, don't get your hopes up because it's him. This is just the latest skirmish in his ongoing campaign to aggravate us. Some of the local Dominicans are even starting to question his sanity. And your right, it's not the dogs' fault.

Fabio J. Guzman · #7 02-02-2003, 10:18 AM

I am not aware of any particular law regarding pitbulls.

If the pitbulls attacked your dogs, you have a claim against the owner.

Also, by virtue of articles 88 and 89 of the Ley de Policia of 1911, anybody can kill a dog:

"cuando entren a las siembras a comerse el maíz u otros frutos o a matar en terreno ajeno los animales domésticos y sus crías".

Hillbilly · #8 02-02-2003, 10:21 AM

"...when they enter into the crops to eat the corn or other crops or to kill en someone else's land the domesticated animals and their offspring..." More or less....

Salami and Tres Pasitos

HB

Pib · #9 02-02-2003, 10:40 AM

An anecdote:

When I was a kid a neighbor had an old German Shepherd that had become senile and very aggressive. The animal had even attacked its own owner a few time. One day the dog was let loose and bit my dad. My dad told the owner that he wanted the dog in a leash, locked inside their property or put to sleep. She didn't comply.

A few weeks later she wasn't at home and let the dog loose in their front yard. The dog jumped over the fence and out in the streets. I happened to be nearby and the dog jumped all over me, I was 8 and a small kid. Hearing me screaming my dad came out and shot the dog. The dog owner wasn't happy but when she found what happened and for fear of legal repercussions she was advised by the police to let go and pay my medical expenses and be glad that dad didn't press charges.

As far as I know even if the dog is not in your property, if it is out in the streets and it attacks you, family or your animals you can kill them.

bernie k. · #10 02-02-2003, 02:27 PM

The dogs of the 'rich neighbours' were attacked by the dogs of the author because his habitude is to chain them up that they can always run out of the property and have access to the public raod and make it impossible to walk out of our property on the road...
The only one who was offened against the laws of sanity was the author in breading porcs on someone else's land in a residential-touristic zone just to annoy the neighbourhood and make the others believe that he is the owner of the land, ignoring the simplest understanding of hygiene. And even as 'Krauts' we can not understand that our one year old baby grows up under those circumstances...so thanks to the ministery of sanity, the ayuntamento, and the community who made them take off the beast.
And special thanks to the tourist police that checked the situation and adviced the author to chain up his dogs on his land and not on a road!
But if it cures your frustrations in making problems to everybody, go on, Andy B.!