Germaine Kornegay

1. Germaine Kornegay

2. Pitbull and Rottweiler With a Child They Have Only Known for a day- Admittedly, I skipped over a few parts in the first part of chapter six. Undoubtedly, the talk of bashing a dog’s head in and ‘feeding it four bullets’ was about all I could take before resorting to skipping ahead. As an animal lover, I found this a bit uncalled for because it was unnecessary as well as violent. The attitude of a human service professional should not be, ‘go in and do damage because the worst is expected’. I understand the need to protect yourself but just like every child, person or case is not the same, every dog is not the same, regardless of the breed of dog. This constitutes stereotyping to the nth degree. One point that I need to make is that expecting the worst sometimes allows a self-fulfilling prophecy. Marc always expected the drug dealer to have a pain loving pitbull ready to go after his crotch as the door opened, so maybe that is what he willed himself. Just like humans, dogs have a fight or flight instinct. The only difference is that their instinct is much stronger than most humans. It is hard to say if Marc Parent actually gave the negative vibe that eventually led to the death of a dog. There is usually more than one way to handle an issue, especially if you are expecting it , as he clearly did. If he handles cases as rash as he does an animal that he could have pepper sprayed, stunned or noosed instead of head bashing, he would be exercising more critical thinking skills and temperament control, eventually handling cases in a calmer manner. This takes much practice and although it may be nerve racking, preparation and a calmer attitude would help Marc with canines and cases without coming across half cocked but fully loaded. I think that critical thinking should at least be given a try before resorting to volatile methods for a bad start.