Posted on 04/19/2009 8:15:39 PM PDT by Chet 99
Pit bull dragged victim 'like a rag doll'
By Alan Burke
Staff writer
DANVERS — While it was happening, Cassandra Osgood, 23, thought she was going to die.
The pit bull that attacked her on Thursday, April 9, at a Peabody mobile home inflicted more than 50 wounds, even biting to the bone, tearing away skin, muscle and fat. At one point, the savage attack left her to shelter alone behind a glass door, lying in a pool of her own blood while the dog scratched at the glass trying to get at her.
Even so, Osgood said, "I feel bad for everyone in the situation." That includes the dog's owner, Brian Stevens, 27; the dog's other victims, like Sarah Malave, 24, and even Bronson, the dog himself. "He's practically on death row. ... I'm an animal lover."
The attack followed a moment of high spirits, she said, where Osgood momentarily wrestled with Malave. The two women fell back on the couch, Osgood said, when the dog sprang, perhaps meaning to protect Jamie Brickman, 27, girlfriend of the absent Stevens.
Before that, there was no warning.
"The dog was happy," Osgood said. "It was wagging its tail."
It had been the same on previous visits. "I never saw any aggression. But he's a pit bull. Pit bulls can snap at the drop of a dime."
The other two women in the room tried frantically to stop the attack, with Brickman also sustaining injuries.
"They threw water on him. ... They tried putting a wire on him to pull him off me." The assault continued. "The length of time he was biting me felt like forever. ... He bit through my sneaker." He tore at her arm, opening her flesh to the bone.
"He dragged me around the house like a rag doll."
When, for some reason, the attack stopped, Malave urged Osgood, "Run! Into the other room!" The pair fled, but the door couldn't be secured, Osgood said, and the dog began slamming against it. Malave couldn't hold it shut, and the animal finally forced his way in.
"He jumped on her," Osgood said. "But there was nothing I could do." She staggered to another room, a computer station with a sliding glass door, and she lay there holding the door shut with her foot. Before long, the pit bull was at the glass, relentless, like some creature from a horror movie, trying to force his way in, she said.
"He was jumping up on the door," Osgood said. "I could hear them outside going, 'Cassandra is still in there!' ... It was so long to get me out."
Police had arrived by then. Patrolman William Swaczyk had rescued Malave — with help from Patrolmen Mark Bettencourt, Tony Santos, Leo Cunha and Lt. John McCorry. In the process, Swaczyk was attacked by the dog, who locked his jaws on the officer's arm.
With the dog still roaming the home, rescuers had to take Osgood out through a small window. "I was screaming," she said, remembering the pain. "I was thinking of my baby." Her son, Joshua, is 11 months old. "I was thinking, 'What if my son had been there?' Thank God my son was not with me. If he was with me ... it's a fact if that dog had got hold of a baby that baby would not survive."
Another bit of good luck, the attack spared her face. She theorizes that her arms fared so poorly because she was protecting her face.
Paramedics urged, "Stay with us, Cassandra. Stay with us." She watched them push the muscle and flesh back into her arm before sewing it up to protect against infection. She thought she might lose it.
When she was airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital, the staff cut her clothes off her. Doctors told boyfriend Kurt Mason that he might not want to see her given the extent of her wounds. "I can handle it," he said.
Returning home on Tuesday, she's on a strong regimen of painkillers. She's lost some feeling in her foot and hopes the doctors are right that it will return.
"When I got home and looked in the mirror, looking in a full-body mirror, that's when it hit me. ... I'm going to need plastic surgery." She mused quietly that she would have to approach the upcoming summer season with emphasis on short sleeves carefully. "It's very hard to look at myself. ... The scars I'm going to have are terrible."
Bandaged now, she said, "I look like a mummy."
Yet, that's only a minor concern. "The important thing is not being able to pick up my son."
The fate of the animal remains in doubt. Borash Veterinary Clinic in Peabody, where Bronson is currently kenneled, declined to comment. Animal Control Officer Lilian Pinto also declined to comment.
Police Capt. Dennis Bonaiuto said he was unclear on the procedure for dealing with a dog that's attacked a person, and no hearing has been scheduled.
"There are ongoing talks with the owner's attorney," he said. "We're working through the process."
An only child, Osgood's father disappeared long ago and she is relying on her mother along with Mason — "He has to do everything." — and Mass Health — "A nurse comes every other day." She had been due to start a new job at Zales the day before the attack. A lawyer friend has offered help, but Osgood isn't certain what the lawyer can do about this.
"I'm a strong woman," she said. "I'm a little too brave. I don't fear things." She pauses. "It's going to be different for me now."
LOL Excellent!!
I’m more than happy to kill drug addicts’ dogs for neighbors who take Metamucil.
I'm really sorry if "some" pit bulls are unfairly feared because of their reputation. The thing is, who knows which ones are dangerous? You CANNOT take a chance, especially when you have small children.
When I do see one on a leash, at least around here, the owner is often wearing baggy pants belted around his posterior and a bunch of chains and an oversized jersey. That doesn't give me any confidence that the dog has been well brought up and trained.
A problem we have here in the rural areas is abandoned dogs. People just drive up, and drop them off. The pit bulls they drop off aren't long for this world.
>It’s common knowledge that most pit bull owners are addicted to drugs.<
I honestly hope you don’t drink coffee with any regularity. You would then fall right into the above parameter. For the record, I have to have mah coffee every morning. But then again, I don’t have a pitbull. :^P
(you druggie, you < GG >)
Practically? Kill the beast, send off tissue for Rabies testing. Be done with it (and lets not forget the dog’s owner who bears a large piece of responsibility).
~~~
Locally they keep them for 10 days to be sure they are not
rabid,as I was told,then put them down,,,
~~~
I posted this on another thread last night :
“Me-n-Harley made it 2 FEET out the back door when one
of the pits climbed the fence,,,got off the chain,,,
I only had time to yank him back in the house and slam the door,,,
911 called and cops saw it in my yard,,,
Two came and got out with guns drawn,,,
One cop went over and read thug-woman the riot act,,,
I read ALL of them the riot act,,,
Cops were very nice this time because they SAW it in my yard,,,
Same Shiite Diferent Day...”
~~~
Bobby :
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2230821/posts
This is local,,,
As for my sit-rep ya’ll can search my posts...
Oh o, 2 cups every morning but I could quit anytime ...honest!
Firearms work. But hammers, knives, boulders, vehicles, baits and large crescent wrenches work, too.
The person posting says the paper is lying & hyping the story. Seems like the dog got into protection mode for the owner's girlfriend.
I'm not taking sides - in fairness to all concerned - just giving more facts that were not reported in the paper.
I’d like to see more attention paid in the media to the sex and spay/neuter status of the dogs that attack. I suspect the great majority are intact males, followed by intact females who currently have puppies. I’d really like to see less generalizing about “pit bulls” and more focus on specifics. The Best Friends organization is having great success at socializing pits, including some of Michael Vicks’ dogs that were sent to Best Friends under court order. But I guarantee that they are spay/neutering every single animal as step one.
I’d really like to know what percentage of the pits involved in attacks are spayed/neutered, and I suspect it’s quite small. They’ll always be dogs that were bred for fighting and have exceptionally strong jaws, but it may well be that the basic step of spaying/neutering hugely reduces the incidence of serious attacks. If so, then local laws should not focus on banning the breed/type of dog, but on banning ownership of intact dogs of this breed and type, except for people with special licenses and huge insurance policies.
Thanks Lady J
I enjoy digging deeper into the first reports.
It’s common to discover inaccuracies.
There are just too many reports being posted
at a time lately to allow proper investigation.
I’ve been bitten by someone’s loving pet. A standard poodle, who walked up to me and bit my knee for NO REASON. I was roughhousing with a dobie, and when I ran, he chased and knocked me down. No threat, but the dog wins. :D
I’ve owned many large dogs, including a wolf hybrid, and none has ever bit a person.
Presently I own a mastiff, and he is a very laid back, peaceful character. He looks so placid people think he is lazy and dumb. I had a repairman in who was just smitten with the dog, which is neutered, and he started to play with him. I said, sternly, “Please DO NOT play with the dog.” He said, “He’s just a old fat sweetie.” Well, my dog had his wrist in his mouth at the very next “playful” gesture. No skin was broken, the man was not injured.
He said, “He doesn’t play, does he?” and I replied, “Depends on who, and how.” The dog plays with me, I am frail and have rheumatoid arthritis, but he tempers every move, and he does not put his teeth on skin.
People like to roughhouse with big dogs. Unless it’s yours, I wouldn’t, no matter what the breed. I don’t roughhouse with my son’s blind old golden, either, she’s a great dog, but play fighting is not something most dogs understand.
I’ve seen some very vicious (and I do mean vicious) smaller breed, minpins, manchesters, bichons, chihuahuas—any breed can become a biter with roughhousing.
Most, or a large number I would guess, are interiorly insecure and seek vicarious power in the external. At least that's all I've ever been able to come up with. Kind of like what I read once about people who buy Hummers - it's like wearing a sign that says, "I have a small penis."
The two dogs in San Antonio that killed a 7 month old were both intact males.
It was initially reported that both were pitbulls
but a phone call to SA Animal Control identified
one pit mix and one retriever mix.
Both dogs had their normal licenses
but neither had the special intact dog license
Cost of special license..$50
Sorry, I can’t even imagine why anyone - especially people with children - would own one of these beasts. Generally speaking, the breed is a menace. The intensity of their attacks is truly frightening.
Sage advice
And they don’t let go.
This dog should have instantly been shot by the police or a gun savvy neighbor.
I am a dog lover but when you find these “Red Zone” dogs they need to be disposed of. This poor woman.
People always say this BS when somebody does something they don't like: own a gun, own a large-breed dog, own an SUV. Makes one wonder.
I must agree with you wholeheartedly!
I own a female Boston Terrier who is 3 years old. She is a great friend and a loving companion but...
She has extremely strong jaws, and a highly tuned sense for hunting!
I learned the hard way not to tempt her playfully by scratching my hand under a blanket!
Dogs with a short snout can deliver a massive bite!
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