You think you’ve got it made. You finally find a nice home in Corcord, CA, a nice suburb of the SF Bay Area served by BART and great warm weather. You’ve got two sons almost fully grown, 19 years old and 13 years old. You live on a street called Trailcreek Court. You have a few dogs in the yard. American dream accomplished, check.
Yes your Honor, I owned dogs.
Fair? I dunno. Maybe it’s me, but I feel for this guy. I like the ‘throw the book at idiots’ approach, I won’t lie. But… it’s not like he participated in dog-fighting or hated the police. He simply was a normal guy with a seemingly normal IQ (not insane, not on drugs, not plagued with inner voices) that said he “loved his dogs” and “loved his grandson” and like most normal joe-schmoes, could not predict the future. How was he to know that when he was away, that the kid (who was being watched by other family members at the time) would figure his way around a deadbolt and get into the garage where the dogs were kept?
Am I making excuses for the man? Possibly. But I find it odd that in his family’s time of grief (and it doesn’t seem like his family wants him in jail, the father of the child was reported to say, “We can’t heal without my dad. He doesn’t deserve to have to go to prison”), Mr. Hayashi is in jail with a $100,000+ bail amount. What kind of torture is that?
And maybe, just MAYBE, I feel for him because he looks like he could be my doddering uncle.
Your thoughts?
“Yes, your honor, I owned dogs.”
i know this article was largely serious, but i came away with the best non sequitur ever
i’ve been hearing about it non stop in the news. out of all the stories i’ve heard of dog maulings i feel the same way as you. i feel sorry for him. he says he’ll never own another dog ever again.
~sigh~ What a tragedy.
Too bad Johnny Cochrane is 6ft down…..
If based upon your description (I haven’t read up on the story in the news yet), then this is one of those tragic unforeseeable accidents and no real negligence was involved. The family members watching the child must also feel horrible because they FAILED. With a young child around (as many of us know), it only takes a split-second for something “bad” to happen. They might poke an eye out, burn themselves, get strangled somehow, suffocate/drown, swallow something, impale themselves, break a limb, whatever…..
A compassionate judge should let him off. If a District Attorney decides to prosecute then he/she is a moron on a crusade with the wrong posterboy for dog-maulings.
I like animals, but I believe many dog owners are careless about their dogs, especially vicious/dangerous ones. Even good-natured ones can be unpredictable under the wrong circumstances.
It’s a terrible tragedy.
Did he know that this dog was prone to attacking?
My take is this if your dog is a domestic animal then you need to be responsible for it behaving in a domestic way, ie: not eating your family and friends. I’m sorry I don’t buy the keeping the dog locked up and away, the risk is still present.
I had a dog for years then I had a child then the dog bit the child completely unprovoked. End of dog. Did it hurt me to put the dog down, yes, but the thought of something worse happening overrode any of it
I really feel for the family and the man and I’m honestly not sure what kind of legal punishment if any should me administered all it really does is extend the suffering. That being said it needs to be made clear to people that they need to be responsible for their pets, it shouldn’t take something horrible like this to make that clear.
FREE STEVEN HAYASHI
FREE STEVEN HAYASHI
FREE STEVEN HAYASHI
FREE STEVEN HAYASHI
FREE STEVEN HAYASHI
FREE STEVEN HAYASHI
FREE STEVEN HAYASHI
FREE STEVEN HAYASHI
FREE STEVEN HAYASHI
If Anybody Shell Be In Jail It Should Be Those Who Where Watching The 2 Year Old Boy..
Wait a sec….
- So Steve wasn’t even home at the time
- OTHER family members were watching him(apparent not though because the kids managed to unlatch a dead bolt). – And the dogs were locked up in a separate part of the house.
And now some how it is this poor bastard’s fault?
Effin christ, talk about getting screwed. If anything the people watching the baby should be in jail not him.
That mans previous dog (an akita that was also mauled- stuck it’s head in a hole in the garage door and its face was ripped apart) had attacked his younger son and still kept it until it was killed. Chihuahua and cockatoo was killed by this pack of pitbulls. A relative was bit on the hand by one these pitbulss.The signs were clear and it was evident that he could not and should not own animals. He was even told to get rid of these vicious dogs but cared only for himself. Those tears may be real but not for his grandson. Himself, along wiith the grandmother and 19yr old brother are responsible.
I feel bad for Mr. Hayashi and the rest of the family. The lost of the 2 year old is enough punishment for everyone involved. This tragedy will hunt them for the rest of their lives. As for Mr. Hayashi’s 13 year old son, he needs his father. A compassionate judge is what he needs. A fine instead of imprisonment is enough in my opinion. Mr. Hayashi will die if put in the state prison.
I feel sorry for the child, and the owner some. But, he owned a fighting breed, and 5 of them at that, he had to know that those dogs are not appropriate to raise around young children.
The father cannot take care of his kids. Mr. Hayashi and his wife gave them a roof over their head. Took care of the kids while the father is out working, from morning till night. The dogs were at the house before the father with his 2 kids came to live with them. In return, one of the kids died because of the dogs. As a result of Mr. Hayashi and his wife opening their home to them, he goes to jail. Granted he owned 5 pitbulls, he should be fined for that but not time in prison for the death of his grandson. From what I’ve seen in the video, he loved his grandson and was very fond of him.
[...] I FEEL SORRY FOR STEVEN HAYASHI: [...]
how the fuck you gonna care about the fucking dogs more than the kid’s life…..fuck u bitch
i think it’s the father of the child to be punished.
@Fernando – I know Jacob’s father, who still loves Jacob and thinks about him constantly. He has been devastated by Jacob’s death. To blame Jacob’s father is wrong. That is hurtful. It’s obvious you don’t have kids.
When you take someone into your home, especially someone with younger kids, you know that there are certain safety precautions that must be taken. When there are five pitbulls in that house, there are even MORE precautions to take. You ALWAYS make sure someone is watching your kids, and you keep unsafe things are out of reach.
Unfortunately, Hayashi did neither. He admitted that he did not lock the door to the garage, and that he did not wake up his wife to watch the kid.
@littleb – Jacob’s father was at work. He wasn’t out drinking, doing drugs, or some other harmful activity. He was earning money for his two sons. He trusted the family to keep an eye on his kids. As a result of Mr. Hayashi’s negligence, a two-year-old toddler was mauled to death.
I don’t feel sorry for Steven Hayashi. He may have shed a superficial tear or two, but they are nothing compared to the tears Jacob’s father has shed for his precious Jacob.