Orem man shoots attacking pit bull

The Daily Herald ^ | 9/18/09 | JEREMY DUDA

[skyman]

If John Erickson hadn't had his gun with him when a neighbor's pit bull attacked him, there's no telling how bad things might have been.

Erickson, 22, was walking up to his house on 400 South near 700 West in Orem on Wednesday when a neighbor's pit bull bit him from behind. As he rode his scooter to his house around 8:30 p.m., Erickson saw the dog sitting calmly while a neighborhood girl petted it. Then he parked and took three or four steps toward his house when the dog bit him.

"All of a sudden the dog grabbed my leg from behind," he said.

He swung his scooter helmet at the dog, which backed off for a moment. But when the dog charged forward, Erickson, who has a concealed weapons permit, drew his 9-millimeter pistol and fired at the dog's head. Erickson said he worries about what would have happened if he hadn't been armed.

"There's nothing I could've done. I couldn't run. There's no way I'm going to outrun it. There's nowhere I could go," said Erickson, a student at Utah Valley State College.

Even more, he said he worries about what would've happened if the dog had attacked his wife, Lynn Ann, who came home just two minutes before him, or the many children who walk down that street on their way to and from Orem Elementary School.

Erickson's mother, Lyn Erickson, who lives across the street, said she used to dislike her son's gun.

"Now I'm saying, 'I'm just so thankful he had a gun.' I'm just so thankful because what would you do?" she said.

At Erickson's request, no charges were filed against the dog's owner, said Orem police spokesman Lt. Doug Edwards. Vicious animal citations and letting dogs run free are misdemeanor offenses.

"You can't allow your dog to run at large. It doesn't matter how they get off the property, whether it's a hole (in the fence) or a broken leash. Dogs can't run loose," Edwards said.

The dog survived the shot to the top of its head. Erickson said the owner initially planned to euthanize the dog because its veterinary bills were expected to be as high as $4,000. But the owner had a change of heart and decided not to put the dog down, he said.

The owner of the dog, who Erickson said moved to the neighborhood several weeks ago, was not identified and could not be reached for comment. Orem police would not release the owner's name because no charges were filed.

Erickson said he is now concerned because the hole in his neighbor's fence has not been fixed -- a pile of branches now blocks the hole -- and the dog owner has another pit bull that he worries could get loose and hurt someone.

"Every day little kids from Orem Elementary walk right past the house. It could've been one of the little kids, it could've been my wife who got home two minutes before me," he said.

Lyn Erickson said she plans to talk to police about the hole in the neighbor's fence.

Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or jduda@heraldextra.com.

[Syncro]

Well here is a Mastiff/Rottweiler mix.

Butch is a Mastiff/Rottweiler mix that weighs over 200 pounds. He viciously attacked a dog trainer when she threw treats at Butch to try and make friends. The trainer, an amateur hobbyist dog trainer, needed over 100 stitches and lost a finger.

Notice that the "trainer" was an amateur hobbyist dog trainer who did a very foolish thing, and did not know how to work with this particular Mastiff/Rottweiler mix.

Pit Bulls can be loving, family dogs, but lack of proper training VERY OFTEN ends in tragedy, MOSTLY FOR THE DOG.

I found many instances and horrid pictures of dog bites by VERY small dogs, but will not post them.

My whole point is that it is the owner, not the dog that caused the problems.

There are a few business that are 100% successful in training aggressive behavior out of dogs of all breeds.

So you are certainly correct, it is good to be aware of any breed if they are not contained and display vicious traits.

There is a Mastiff as well as two pitbulls on the rural property where part of my family lives.

In over 12 years they have not harmed any of the hundreds of people that have visited for various reasons.

They are fenced in and well trained, and have kept a couple of interlopers from even coming on the property.

The dogs will (and have with no harm done) protect(ed) the people on the property when necessary.

My best to you, and thanks for the spirited debate.

: >)

[Syncro]

LOL

[yorkie]

IMHO, all pit-bulls should wear a turban - to let everyone know they are a "Breed of Peace".

If they can't do that, then the owner should require them to have all their teeth removed before six months.

Let them wear doggie-dentures to eat.

[Syncro]

LOL again you nut!

I'm going to bed now, with a a big smile on my face...

:> )

[azhenfud]

"That sucker would be a bullet magnet until it stopped twitching."

Guessing that "it" would be the trigger finger...;-)

[azhenfud]

Never shoot an unarmed dog. Two teeth are enough justification...

[yorkie]

Glad I brought a smile to your face. Your profile page is the scariest thing I have ever seen on this forum!!!

I'm going to bed now, too. (I just won't be able to close my eyes!)

;-)

[Mr. Silverback]

Perhaps something on the order of, “it is hard to imagine how someone could not be moved to want to ban pitbulls in neighborhoods when they see a picture of that little girl.”

It is hard to imagine you think such propaganda techniqes would make us check our brains at the door and seel out other people's liberty because some scumbag was criminally irresponsible in the care of her dogs. Why haven't you answered post 149?

[Mr. Silverback]

IMHO, all pit-bulls should wear a turban - to let everyone know they are a "Breed of Peace".

Interesting. Can you post any scientific data that indicates that pit bulls are more dangerous than other breeds? I haven't seen any yet, and I prefer to deal in facts.

[Mr. Silverback]

seel=sell