WI: Bats Fail: 70-Year-Old Uses Revolver to stop Pit Bull Attack

Gun Watch ^ | 24 July, 2014 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

Dennis Williams, above, did not hesitate to intervene to save a man being attacked by three pit bulls.  The event was reported on July 21, 2014, in Washington County, Wisconsin.

Mr Williams is in his 70s.  He heard screams for help outside his house and saw a man on the ground being viciously attacked by three Pit Bulls.   He grabbed two baseball bats from his garage, and started hitting the animals with the bats.  It wasn't enough.   He retrieved a pistol, and started back toward the scene.   The animals started advancing on him.  He shot and killed one dog and the others retreated.   From TMJ4:

"I will never forget seeing that attack, or hearing the screams," Williams says. "It was one of the worst things I've ever witnessed. The dogs were on top of the man and his dog. They were not going to stop. I first tried hitting the Pit Bulls with a baseball bat, but they wouldn't relent. There was blood all over the ground."

 

 The revolver used to stop the attack appears to be an Iver Johnson .22.  Perhaps an alert reader can make a more positive identification.  Guns are common in Wisconsin.  

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

[ansel12]

I just read the studies on dogs and pit bulls, I do not waste time with the effort to pretend that no one knows what they are.

As nations restrict pit bulls, the goof balls try to pretend that it is an international conspiracy against a unicorn like myth.

[ErnBatavia]

That pistol looks like my Ruger Single Six...it’ll also handle .22 magnum; with hollow points, probably three times more clout than your basic .22 LR.

[Scoutmaster]

ansel12, everyone 'knows' what they are.

What is a pit bull?

The AKC: The American Pit Bull Terrier.

The ASPCA: The American Pit Bull Terrier and the American Staffordshire Terrier.

Chaca, a Pit Bull rescue group: The American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, and the Staffordshire Terrier.

About.com: American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bulldog, Boston Terrier, Boxer, Bull Terrier, Bullmastiff, English Bulldog, French Bulldog and Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Miriam Webster: a dog (as an American Staffordshire terrier) of any of several breeds or a real or apparent hybrid with one or more of these breeds that was developed and is now often trained for fighting and is noted for strength and stamina.

Miami/Dade County: Any dog that possesses ANY of the AKC characteristics of an American Pit Bull Terrier, an American Staffordshire Terrier, or a Staffordshire Terrier. (BTW, one of the AKC characteristics of an American Pit Bull Terrier is a coat that is 'glossy, short, and stiff to the touch', apparently Dobermans and short-haired dachshunds are illegal in Miami/Dade County)

dogsabout.com: Officially, there is no such thing as a pit bull, though it may be used informally as a nickname for the American Pit Bull Terrier,".

Google definitions: "a dog of an American variety of bull terrier, noted for its muscular build and often associated with ferocity."

Dogsbite.org: American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, American bulldog and any other pure bred or mixed breed dog that is a combination of these dogs.

Wikipedia: as a generic term used to describe dogs with similar physical characteristics. The general public and news media consider a "pit bull" as one of several breeds including the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Bull Terrier, or any mix thereof. Any dog that is mixed with a "bully breed" may also be called a "pit bull" including those that are descended from the English Bulldog, French Bulldog and Boston Terrier.

So everybody knows what 'pit bull' means, but they don't agree.

I can say, however, that the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, and the Staffordshire Terrier seem to be on most lists.

[ansel12]

LOL, You are obsessed, and boring.

I will rely on the dog experts and dog bite research, thanks.

[Scoutmaster]

Unless your dog bite research tells you which breeds are considered 'pit bulls,' then you'll remain as totally ignorant on the subject as you are now.

But I see you're happy to be ignorant.

[ansel12]

LOL, I know, it is an international conspiracy about phantoms.

[Scoutmaster]

If you think the 'experts' all agree on which breeds are considered lower-case 'pit bulls,' then you're wrong. It's safe to say that American Pit Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers are on most lists.

As for your dog bite studies, read the studies' sources carefully. Most get their data from police or media reports. Neither police nor the media are experts on dog breeds any more than the media is an expert on firearms.

That's why, instead of identifying an American Pit Bull Terrier, or an American Staffordshire Terrier, or an American Bully, or a Bullmastiff/Labrador mix, they say 'pit bull.'

My money's on American Pit Bull Terriers being the vast majority of the problem.

[ansel12]

As the United States and many other nations deal with the issue of pit bulls and collect the data on their killing, maiming and disfiguring rate, you can call the UN to tell them that you need to explain that they are all wrong and don’t know what “pitbulls” are.

[Scoutmaster]

Nonsense. I'd simply read the US report to see what breeds were considered 'pit bulls' in the report. I would never have to tell them they were wrong because they will define the term for purposes of their report, and for purposes of the US report "pit bulls" will mean whatever the US defines it to mean. And there WILL be a definition in the report.

Even dogbites.org gives its own definition of 'pit bull' (three breeds and mixes of those three breeds) for purposes of its reporting and collecting data.

The UN report will be like the US report, except the definition of 'pit bull' may include breeds like the Tosa Inu. For purposes of the UN report, I'll accept its definition.

[Scoutmaster]

Look, my whole point here is that:

1. Something must be done about the 'pit bull' problem in the U.S.

2. Lower-case 'pit bull' does not have a standard definition. Case in point. Ten people are killed by ten dogs of the following breeds:

7 - American Pit Bull Terriers (or mixes)
2 - Staffordshire Terriers (or mixes)
1 - American Staffordshire Terrier

Dogbites.org says that's ten deaths by 'pit bulls.'

But if we used the same numbers and said those breeds were in an ASPCA shelter and asked them how many 'pit bulls' they had, the answer would be eight (8). The ASPC does not include Staffordshire Terriers in the definition of 'pit bull.'

3. To solve the problem, let's get rid of American Pit Bull Terriers and then decide what else we get rid of, by breed, by physical description, or both. But don't just say 'pit bulls.'

[Scoutmaster]

Is That Dog a Pit Bull? A Cross-Country Comparison of Perceptions of Shelter Workers Regarding Breed Identification.

Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science (Impact Factor: 0.89). 03/2014; DOI: 10.1080/10888705.2014.895904

Christie Hoffman, Natalie Harrison, London Wolff, Carrie Westgarth.

Synopsis:

"Bull breeds are commonly kept as companion animals, but the pit bull terrier is restricted by breed-specific legislation (BSL) in parts of the United States and throughout the United Kingdom. Shelter workers must decide which breed(s) a dog is. This decision may influence the dog's fate, particularly in places with BSL. In this study, shelter workers in the United States and United Kingdom were shown pictures of 20 dogs and were asked what breed each dog was, how they determined each dog's breed, whether each dog was a pit bull, and what they expected the fate of each dog to be. There was much variation in responses both between and within the United States and United Kingdom. UK participants frequently labeled dogs commonly considered by U.S. participants to be pit bulls as Staffordshire bull terriers. UK participants were more likely to say their shelters would euthanize dogs deemed to be pit bulls. Most participants noted using dogs' physical features to determine breed, and 41% affected by BSL indicated they would knowingly mislabel a dog of a restricted breed, presumably to increase the dog's adoption chances."

Doesn't sound like agreement to me.

[ansel12]

Sorry, but I will continue to read the pit bull research and the kill, and maim statistics.

I thought your freepmail said that I wouldn’t hear anymore from you on the topic, but you are too totally obsessed.

“Pit Bulls”, dozens of countries restrict them, and researchers collect data on them.

[ansel12]

Gee another post?

You said in your freepmail that I wouldn’t hear another peep from you on the subject, yet here you are.

[Scoutmaster]

I did, but then you posted to my already-posted threads AFTER I said our conversation was over, and I had assumed you, too, would honor the cease fire.

I respect you from years on FR. I apologize for my one-note threads and for annoying you.

[ansel12]

Oh, I didn’t realize that you had also ordered MY conversation over, or were being so silly as thinking about something called a ‘ceasefire” about me reading pit bull statistics and being repulsed by them, evidently you are a little out there.

I’m glad this man didn’t die from a pit bull attack.