Free Republic

A 12-year-old Herkimer girl is still recovering a week after she was viciously attacked by two pit bulls as she waited for her school bus. The incident happened on May 31, when the girl was with other children waiting at a bus stop on North Main Street in Herkimer, about 15 miles east of Utica. According to Herkimer police, one of the dogs latched onto the victim's arm and violently flung her into the air and back down to the ground, breaking her ulna and radius bones and causing severe puncture wounds. Herkimer firefighters treated the girl at the scene,...

A new ruling makes it easier for anyone attacked by a pit bull or pit bull mix in Maryland to take legal action against the dog's owner. The Maryland Court of Appeals ruling declares pit bulls as a breed are "inherently dangerous," and the owner of a pit bull or a cross-bred pit that attacks is strictly liable for damages, as is any landlord who rents to a pit bull owner. The Maryland SPCA, which arranges adoptions for dogs that need homes, currently has three pit bulls under its care: a five-month-old Brutus is scheduled to be adopted this week,...