Man Mauled to Death by his Own Dog
A 57-year old Fukuoka man was mauled to death by his pet Tosa dog on Monday morning. The dog was being kept in a cage outside the house. It was a 4-year old, 110-lb male. The man's octogenarian dad entered the cage to try to rescue him, and construction workers nearby heard the commotion and called the cops, but it was too late.
I didn't know much about the Tosa until now. Also called the sumo dog, this rare breed is native to Japan and best known as fighting dogs. Some countries, like the UK and New Zealand, have restrictions/bans against their import.
I can't decide how I feel about this. I mean, it's awful—but I can never immediately blame the dog. I spent hours one day reading about the SF dog mauling incident in 2001. It seems pretty obvious that the dog didn't just decide to go bad one day. Also, do you ever watch The Dog Whisperer or read his book? Cesar Milan claims he's rehabilitated every single dog he's treated (I think it was over a thousand!) except for two. They usually go bad because of bad parenting. I don't know enough about this Tosa case to make a judgment, but my condolences go out to the guy's family, and to the dog's family (I presume they put him down).
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