Documentation of Dog Owners' experiences Excerpts taken and translated from www.blitz-buch.de/brocks

Claudia: ... On Wednesday I was by myself when I took my two dogs (Mastin de los Pirineos Casta and animal shelter dog Barnaby, AmStaff) on our usual loop. A bit outside of town, we ran into some teenagers who thought they had to act ‚courageous' and started to bother and insult me and the „murder beasts". I tried to walk away, but to no avail, they followed me. And there was no other person in sight. Then they tried to kick Barnaby (who was muzzled and on the lead), to which he reacted with confusion, whimpering and trying to get even closer to me. At one time Casta had enough and started growling and snapping, whereupon the gang disappeared, still calling: this attack dog will be killed! He's dangerous. We will report you to the police..."

Anonymous: The breeder of one of my dogs was ambushed by 4 Germans at a highway stop in Austria. When she came back to her car, they called her a child murderer. One of the 4 threatened her with a bat that he was going to kill her dog (she did not have one with her). They pushed her around until she finally managed to flee into the car. The reason for the attack: a Bullterrier sticker on the rear of the car... I do not dare to reveal my name as I fear for the safety of my family. I hope you can nevertheless publish my message."

Klaus and Gabi Meier: Friends of ours have a Bullterrier bitch, who is nice and has never shown any agression in any way. I was jsut visiting them and as I did not have much time, I left my two Bullterriers in the jeep, which was in the driveway of my friends. His 8-year old daughter walked outside with her female dog Cosma in order to greet my two Bullies in the car. In the same moment the telephone rang inside the house. A neighbor woman threatened to call the police as one of the attack dogs was on the street. The female was in fact not in the street but on private property (drive way). We ran out the house to look - in the meantime the daughter already walked with the Bullterrier female through the garden into the house. Since that day, the neighbor is telling everybody in the town that the dog will be put down because of aggressiveness. Our friend constantly gets phone call from this neighbor in which she expresses her anger about these dogs. On Sunday we had guests from Munich (incl. 1-year old Bullterrier female and Fox terrier). They parked in our spacious driveway in front of the house. They let the dogs out the car and wanted to come with them into our house. The dogs walked heel. Suddenly the neighbor was screaming from his garden:" I'm going to kill your dog, if you don't put him on the lead immediately." The dogs were on our private property....

Silke Kolb: ...Last Thursday, June 29, the Doberman of a friend of our family was poisened. An elderly woman was insulted: „ Old woman, put you dog on the lead, or we'll beat you up."...

Kerstin: „Being the owner of a friendly AmStaff male the last week in Berlin was more than tough. Apart from the numerous insults such as „Filthy killer pig" or „they should take your children away from you slut", we were even threatened. They said someone should stab me and my beast and skin us alive or slowly roast us over fire....Who are the beasts one seriously has to ask oneself in view of such serious threats. By Thursday I was so nervous that my husband already thought he had to call the doctor. The fact that other dog owners are presently already so desparate and afraid that they abandon their animals, is saddening yet understandable...."

Nadine & Addy & Pitchy & Pepper: When somebody screams: your dogs should be gassed" I know that this is one of those poor stupid people that would have enthusiastically raised their arms under Hitler. Today Hitler's children 2000 are hunting us, tomorrow it will be other ones again. My hope is that until then they have not succeeded in destroying the owners of the discriminated breeds, this would be the most horrible final victory, mankind could ever achieve. When I think I can no longer go on like this, I look into the eyes of my beautiful dogs. See their hopeful and loving glance, then I know that no path can be too steep or too difficult and then I have the strength to ignore every nagging idiot outside. The tears I cry into my dogs' coat those blind people out there cannot see.....

Jörg Dickmanns: ... Now hundreds of thousands of dog owners and their families are being criminalized and discriminated against by the German Federal Government and the state parliaments. In this country, the government of which claims the right to determine which democratically elected parties are to form the government in our neighboring state [referring to the parties elected in Austria, one of which is headed by a right-wing politician], dog owners are being assaulted, spit at and beaten in the open street. Good family fathers are sneaking out the house with their dogs after dusk to escape the mob incited by the politicians. To fill the cup to the brim, the secretary of internal affairs of Schleswig-Holstein encourages the citizens to denounce dog owners at the local authorities. Deeply hurt in my sense of honor and justice, I hereby declare publicly and call upon all dog owners, who feel as I do, to join me in saying that I feel discriminated against and patronized by the German Government...

Markus: ...Remember well what is being done to you now. The very thing that is going on right now reveals to you the true character of your fellow citizens. Germany is an intolerant country behind the times with hysterical inhabitants, the majority of which is cowardish and always needs a (weeker, defenseless) scapegoat and is prone to practise mob-law...

Sabine Michels: ... An old man addressed me and as I always think that (reasonable) discussions are important, I tied the dogs to a tree, so the man would not feel threatened. I walked over to him and thought I could start a reasonable conversation, when he suddenly started insulting me, ending with the sentence „all dog owners and their dogs should be gassed", upon which I turned around without a word (swallowing everything that was at the tip of my tongue) when he hit me with his walking cane. Nevertheless, I did not say a word and called the police, whose remark wass „being a dog owner, you have to expect such reactions now." Later I called their superior to put in a complaint when he asked me:" Do you have witnesses?", which unfortunately I did not have. „Then just be quiet or you will lose your dog faster than you can look". Remember, my dogs did not do anything, neither did I provoke the old man, nor insult him or defend myself. The whole time my dogs were lying down tied up 10 meters away from the man and did not even budge, when I was attacked..... Meanwhile I only take the dogs for a short walk during the day, longer walks I can only do between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. at night. In our town the newspapers are also running a campaign where they are taking photos (with telezooms) of people and their „attack dogs", which are then put in the newspaper (blacking out only the people's faces) with inflammatory comments and stating the place where those people walk their dogs. Keep in mind, all dogs were on the lead. I could continue with such incidents endlessly of what other people are teling me in their e-mails, about being stoned, about evictions about children who tell their parents: if they kill our dog, I also want to be dead", about the desparate e-mail from a father of three children who has a 10-year old staffordshire, who has never done anything and his 5-year old daughter who has nightmares....

Rainer: On July 30, 2000 U was walking in the town center of Ochsenfurt accompanied by my wife and my bullterrier Cliff around lunchtime, when we were badly insulted by strangers. Walking by, an old man spit at my wife's hair. My wife and I tried to hold ourselves back and only verbally defended ourselves to show our lack of understanding for this mad hunt.

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