Man commits suicide after authorities seize dog for being a 'illegal breed'

[Lancero]

A man in Denmark, who was so devastated that his dog had been confiscated by the authorities, took his own life, reported Buzz.at. "Zanto," the dog who was seized by the authorities, had done nothing wrong - he was simply born the "wrong" breed.

Zanto's owner, a 27-year-old man named Dan, had only eight days to prove that his dog was not one of the country's banned breeds. When he failed to do so, the authorities removed Zanto from his home and a short time later, Dan was reported to have overdosed on pain pills - apparently too upset to go on with his life.

http://www.examiner.com/article/man-ends-his-own-life-after-police-confiscate-his-dog

I've found a few other articles, some of which report that the dog was euthanized as well though none of the given details outright say it. Going by what happens in the US (With the numbers of shelters who are by local law required to euthanize dogs, even though they have done nothing wrong, just because they were born a specific breed) though it's extremely likely to have occurred.

[Eleanors38]

1. jeez. I thought dogs could help prevent suicide.

[PeaceNikki]

2. Not when they are taken from you and killed because of their breed.

[Lancero]

5. According to laws that are being pushed by a number of groups...

Pit bulls aren't dogs, they are monsters who need to be culled to keep people safe.

Change some words around, you'll have the polices opinion on a specific group of people. Rather interesting, I think, how easy it is to parallel the two. The basic ideology behind them is the same at any rate.

[PeaceNikki]

3. BSL is horrific bullshit.

[etherealtruth]

7. Exactly

[smokey nj]

11. It's stupid and cruel.

[polly7]

4. So sad.

Such a tragic waste of life over something so senseless. I don't understand their reasoning at all.

Dan and Zanto

[KamaAina]

6. The following 13 dog breeds and cross-breeds hereof are prohibited in Denmark:

http://www.foedevarestyrelsen.dk/english/ImportExport/Travelling_with_pet_animals/Pages/The-Danish-dog-legislation.aspx

1. Pitt Bull Terrier
2. Tosa Inu
3. American Staffordshire Terrier
4. Fila Brasileiro
5. Dogo Argentino
6. American Bulldog
7. Boerboel
8. Kangal
9. Central Asian Shepherd Dog (ovtcharka)
10. Caucasian Shepherd Dog (ovtcharka)
11. South Russian Shepherd Dog (ovtcharka)
12. Tornjak
13. Sarplaninac

I never heard of most of them.

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. a Fila Brasileiro is a huge mastiff breed from Brazil

Last edited Fri May 8, 2015, 07:30 PM - Edit history (1)

and The Dogo Argentino is also known as the Argentinian Mastiff.
They are superb working dogs, used for hunting game, guarding homes and families, which, in Argentina, is kind of a big deal now.
both need experienced owners and both breeds have, like the "pit" bulls, been tragically misused.

There really is no reason for the average person to have one of these working breeds.

[awoke_in_2003]

13. "guarding hoes"

Pimpin' ain't easy

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. lol!!!!!

Broke my rule about no typing without coffee.....

[Scootaloo]

26. The odds of getting one of these dogs in Denmark is remarkably slim

Most are not bred outside their respective home nations - and it seems simple enough for a government to simply ban import.

The problem is not the particular breeds, but the methods of judgement by hte authorities, and the penalty. If a dog is physically similar to a breed on the list, it will be taken and euthanized, unless the owner can prove that it is not descended in any part from the proscribed breeds.

First off is a simple problem of logic - you cannot prove a negative. You can prove what your dog IS descended from... if you have pedigree information. but of course that only works for pedigreed breeds from registered breeders. For mutts, you're basically going to have your dog stolen and killed because it has a blocky head, with zero recourse.

And of course there are no registered breeders of the proscribed breeds. So this entire program amounts to rounding up and killing any dog that the police think could at any part of its ancestry, be related to one of these animals. Which is simply insane.

[RebelOne]

9. What is the difference between the American bulldog and the English bulldog?

My son breeds English bulldogs.We have 4 of them and can't imagine them as being dangerous dogs as they are all totally sweet and loving. And aren't the Staffordshire Terrier and the Pit Bull Terrier the same breed but different names?

[DJ13]

12. The English bulldog has bad teeth?

[beam me up scottie]

25. !

[REP]

14. American Bulldogs vs English Bulldogs

The American resembles what most people think of as a "pit bull," a medium sized, muscular dog with a distinctive muzzle.

The English is a bit more squat, yet still muscular and with a jowly muzzle and somewhat flatter face.

The American is considered a rare breed.

So many dogs that have a certain look get called "pit bulls" when they're not the name is probably there as a catch-all. Or maybe it's just ignorance.

[okasha]

18. If it looks like Winston Chirchill,

it's an English bulldog.

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. There was a very informative web page about your question..

They had pictures of quite a few "bully" breeds, some pure bred, like the America Staffordshire Terrier, and some mixed,
asking people to pick out the "pit bull".
Pit bull is not a breed, it is a mix of breeds. But overall, they are sweet dogs, too often used and abused so some people can swagger around and look tuff.

down here, about 2/3 of the dogs that show up in shelters are of that mix. Too few are adopted out.

[vaberella]

32. But why are they forbidden? It doesn't make sense.

It's not like they were created from an experiment.

[Coventina]

10. Horrible. Although the headline should say "after police kill his dog".

[DawgHouse]

16. This is wrong on so many levels.

[okasha]

19. Safe journey, Dan and Zanto.

[99Forever]

20. I can understand how much he was hurting.

When someone has had the kind of bonding with a dog that only those of us that have actually experienced it can know, it's something that really can't be described to those that haven't.

I owe my life to a brindle French Bulldog named Leo. He gave me reason to go on when I was in my darkest of days. I know it sounds crazy, but I can't even picture how I might react if someone were to harm him.

[polly7]

28. I feel the same, after my dad died if I hadn't had my dog Wolfie,

I don't think I would have made it. I lived alone, and he just seemed to know when I was about to lose it and would come and lay his head on my lap and just look at me with his beautiful, worried eyes. If anyone had tried to take him from me, I wouldn't have reacted very well at all .. to say the very least.

Leo

This is just an awful story.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

31. The darkest days of my life

Were the last few weeks of my little guy's life and the month or two after he passed. I felt like a zombie and my thoughts were incredibly morbid. Heck, I wrote an email during that time that was the straw that broken the camel's back and cost me my closest friend of almost 3 decades. Apparently she'd long considered me to be too much a pessimist, and after his death, I went into depths of negativity that left my prior 'downer' vibes in the dust. I didn't get suicidal, but then I still had another dog to help keep me sane.

[beam me up scottie]

21. I rescued a former bait dog, a Staffordshire Terrier aka a 'Pit Bull'.

He's already been a victim of human beings once, I'll be damned if I let him be one again.

FUCK bsl.

[struggle4progress]

22. It's a sad over-reaction on his part, if the story is true

Dan, whose last name has not been disclosed ...

[beam me up scottie]

23. Really? That's your contribution, a link to FoxNews?

And a totally unnecessary comment about suicide being an "over-reaction"?

[Raine1967]

24. I wouldn't be willing to judge/state this as an over-reaction.

We don't really know anything about this man. We don't know his state of mind, we don't know why he did this.

He committed suicide after his pet was taken away.

I think it is safe to say his taking his life was exacerbated by his dog being taken away.

I don't think any of us are in a position to say it was a sad over reaction. We have no way of knowing his relationship to his dog and how connected he was with his dog that might have allowed him to feel right in the world.

Dogs, cats and other creatures we call pets can be deeply ingrained and deeply a part of how we function in life.

[NCarolinawoman]

27. Well put.

The dog could have been like his best friend in the world and his child.

[Raine1967]

30. I think it may have been.

It's just sad all around.

To say it is an over-reaction after a human life is gone, I can't agree with this DU'r on this.

I have a dog a three cats. Along with my husband, they are family.

I can't in all good consciousness say this was an over-reation. I don't know this man or his family or what his life was like.

[99Forever]

29. Somehow...

... the nature of your post comes as no surprise to me.

[flvegan]

33. An unfortunate reaction to rules made by weak-minded, feckless morons.

And to anyone who suggests that nobody "needs" any of these breeds, most of whom are biased based on their influx of Foxnews hysteria or other misinformation they CHOOSE to believe, when they come for your third child, car, home over X square feet, etc because you don't NEED that, cry then. Clutch your Merritt Clifton bullshit tightly, kiddos! Let me know when you have a proper, sound response to the debunking of that idiot's crap.

I find myself constantly shocked by the emotionally based, factually inept responses to such a thing, though not here at DU. I'd not call folks out here like that. Ever.

I can't stand bigotry on any level, and that includes dog breed bias. Yes, bigot is a fair word for that.

[Sunlei]

34. that dog looks exactly like my brindle dog. DNA test was Cattledog/english mastiff mix