...;0)
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."
God help me!
If you read the thread you’d have seen
that she says she’s already donated.
And where in the Sam Hill do I say
I would not answer you anymore?
our last conversation...
you> “I’ll take your advice and not click on anything from you,
but I wish you a great life and God Bless...”
Me>”Thanks gg and to you as well.”
You come back a lttle while later to spread some gossip
and I thank you for stopping by and bumping the thread.
This is getting pathetic! Good Night!
They certainly don’t have the sense to see what they’re doing. Have a look at the following.
From “The Freepathon Chet Challenge”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2231950/posts
...just did a quick search of news on the topic a few hours ago. There are a lot of new bans about to happen around the country.
It sure is getting pathetic.because I didn’t post that last post on that thread to you.. you just had to answer here. And couldn’t stop yourself from quickly posting a link to this article...that is pathetic..Where was the gossip is saying Chet posted again.(your lie #1) It seem it was the truth...you are here on this thread also...and yes you did thank me for bumping your thread..and here we are you and some others that were on that thread..I guess I will have to be the adult and not answer your lies again...I did not put anyone name on what I posted from the other thread.(lie #2 I lied about the other poster), but was smart enough to cut and paste the exact item....Did you get in touch with the one that said it and bring her over here? Chet must have the patience of a saint to deal with people like you that want to shut him up...Go Chet99
...;0)
Let's all try to be respectful
I hate it when there are no pix of the actual dog, but I guess I’ll take the word of the people who supposedly know it really is some kind of PBT.
It’s not “powerful jaws”, but the desire to keep at the attack, as if their own lives depended on it. That is the real difference between PB types and other breeds and types.
I really tire of the phallic analogies, which I’m afraid in most cases are false, both ways. Insecure about themselves (as opposed to phallic appendages), perhaps.
Mmmm, speaking of passive agressive...
Hi Counter That is one sweet little boy....I cannot imagine what a pit would do to him if they had a chance..Hope your situation gets cleaned up...Its hell to not being able to go outside without a gun..but seems in your case necessary...GO HARLEY.
I’ve always neutered my dogs, large, small, male, female. I don’t want to be a breeder of any kind of dogs. If you neuter them early, raise them from puppyhood with your stock, they will protect animals they might (in nature) use for food.
Well, thanks, but I don’t have “anger issues.” People with “issues” have a lot more money than I do. I just git along, until somebody says something boneheaded, then I’m like as not to ignore them, but sometimes I say my say.
And these riDICulous threads have caught my eye.
I love Boston Terriers. They are the cutest dogs—smart, too. I managed an antique store for a friend for a couple of years, and there was a beautiful Boston Terrier that used to run in the open door a couple of times a day, just to say howdy. He was so sweet—he’d come up to me, sit down, and wait for his “Good Dog!” treat.
When I go through the drive-thru at my bank, with my dog in back, they always put two biscuits in the sliding tray for him. He watches the teller like a hawk.
>I love Boston Terriers. They are the cutest dogs—smart, too. I managed an antique store for a friend for a couple of years, and there was a beautiful Boston Terrier that used to run in the open door a couple of times a day, just to say howdy. He was so sweet—he’d come up to me, sit down, and wait for his “Good Dog!” treat.<
It’s interesting you bring up Boston Terriers, particularly on this thread. People need to realize when they applaud blanket breed bans, many of which include “pit bull type” dogs, they are including Bostons by default?
Don’t believe me? Here is a quote on the Boston’s origins:
Bred down in size from pit-fighting dogs of the bull and terrier types, the Boston Terrier originally weighed up to 44 pounds (20 kg.) (Olde Boston Bulldogge). It is difficult to believe that these dapper little dogs were once tough pit-fighters. In fact, their weight classifications were once divided as lightweight, middle and heavyweight. The Boston Terrier is one of the few breeds that was “Made in the USA.” Boston to be exact.
The original Boston Terriers were a cross between the English Bulldog and now extinct English White Terrier. Around 1865, the coachmen employed by the wealthy people of Boston began to interbreed some of these fine dogs owned by their employers. One of these crosses, between an English White Terrier and an English Bulldog resulted in a dog named Hooper’s Judge. Judge weighed over 30 pounds (13.5 kg.) he was bred down in size with a smaller female and one of those male pups was bred to yet a smaller female. Their offspring interbred with one or more French Bulldogs, providing the foundation for the Boston Terrier.
By 1889 the breed had become sufficiently popular in Boston that fanciers formed the American Bull Terrier Club, but this proposed name for the breed was not well received by the Bull Terrier Fanciers. The breeds nickname, roundheads, was similarly inappropriate. Shortly after, the breed was named the Boston Terrier after its birthplace. The breed was recognized by the AKC in 1893. It was first shown in Boston in 1870. In the early years the color and markings were not very important but by the 1900’s the breeds distinctive markings and color were written into the standard becoming an essential feature.
Terrier only in name, the Boston Terrier has lost most of their ruthless desire for mayhem, preferring the company of humans, although “some” males will still challenge other dogs if they feel their territory is being invaded.
Thank you for that fascinating bit of history, had it not been for you, I doubt I would have ever learned it.
My minpin is 11, and getting senile (seriously, the vet said she was) I don’t know if I should get another dog at my age, the mastiff really suffered when my husband died. All the dogs we’ve owned have been adult rescues, until these two, which we got both from very reputable breeders. The mastiff is 5, now, and while I might live long enough to take in another after this one, I doubt my heart could take it. They are the best of the best.
I forgot to say, many people underestimate the little breeds, and tease them, or ignore their true dog nature and laugh because it’s funny to see them throw a fit and know they can’t really kill you. I think that’s cruel. They would NEVER treat a sizable dog that way.
There is a huge need for adoptive homes that will take on a senior dog. You would not believe the number of old dogs that come into rescues. I suppose it happens because many people don't want to deal with the death of a pet, so they rationalize putting it "in another home" so they don't personally experience the grief when it dies, much less have to make that agonizing decision of when to put it to sleep.
If you decide to get another dog, consider one of these old ones. They have so much love to give, and of course don't understand what they did to make their family go away. And, you don't have to worry so much they'll outlive you.
BTW, I recommend the Boston Terrier often to people seeking my advice on what purebred dog to get. They're marvelous little dogs with merry temperaments, they are short haired, clean, and are just big enough to be great children's pets. In addition, they are incredibly popular with older people. Of course, they do have shortcomings. Being shorter faced, they snore, they need to be protected from high temperatures and they can have, er, problems with gas.
That's a nasty habit you have there. ;)
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