Posted on 03/04/2010 8:31:42 PM PST by Chet 99
Updated: Mar 04, 2010 7:36 PM PST
By Logan Smith
LEE COUNTY, SC (WIS) - A pit bull was euthanized in Lee County Thursday after it attacked and killed its owner's aunt, who had been caring for it while her nephew was out of town.
Lee County Sheriff E.J. Melvin said Ethel Baker Horton, 65, was killed off Stokes Bridge Road near the town of Lucknow while defending her 71-year-old husband, Jerry Horton, from the pit bull.
"You never think of somebody dying that horrible death like that, not someone as close as she is to us," said Brenda Gillespie, who had breakfast with the Hortons just two days ago. "It's just terrible."
The Hortons were dog-sitting their nephew's 10-year-old pit bull named Brutus while the nephew was out of town, Melvin said. The dog had been tied to a 15-foot chain attached to a stake in the ground in the backyard next door.
"I've always been scared of pit bulls, but they weren't scared of them," said Gillespie.
Around 11:40am Thursday, Jerry went out to feed six beagles and two huskies that were also being kept in the backyard. As Jerry was feeding the other dogs, Melvin said the pit bull pulled the chain loose and attacked Jerry.
Ethel ran out and tried to defend her husband with a plastic pipe, but Brutus turned on her and mauled her. Jerry called his son, who in turn called 911.
Ethel was killed in the attack, and Jerry was taken to Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center in Hartsville with non-life threatening injuries.
"I know this is gonna just be so hard on him if he makes it, because they were just as one," said Gillespie.
The pit bull has been taken away and euthanized, and is being tested for rabies. The as-yet-unidentified nephew has been notified of the incident, but it's unclear if he will face charges.
The sheriff's department says Brutus never acted out before and in fact, the Hortons were familiar with him since he was a puppy.
"If any stranger comes around he may bark or anything like that but any other family member that's close to the dog, anybody can go up to him," said Major Daniel Simon. "That's what the family told me."
"It's very devastating, because if you're expecting someone to pass away that's not as bad," said Gillespie. "But for something like this, it's kind of hard to comprehend."
Pit bull attacks are not exactly uncommon in the Midlands, even when they don't result in death. In April 2009, different dogs attacked a Florence woman and a Sumter 10-year-old within a month of each other. The previous fall, a pit bull attacked a woman and her puppy, injuring her and killing her dog.
But fatal attacks have also taken place in the Midlands, mainly on children. In 2007, a father was charged with involuntary manslaughter when his five pit bulls killed his 22-month-old child. Later that year, a two-year-old was attacked and killed after wandering into the fenced-in backyard.
for doing such a dreadful thing, the wife gets a death sentence immediately......9 dogs and only 1 attacked, what % of the dogs in that yard attacked someone? I am bad at math...Now if the number was 9 out of 10 did not attack that would be 90% did not attack, but 8 out of 9 is more math than I can handle..
Well said........:O)
That seems to be part of the problem with people too,,,
“Gimmie~Gimmie~Me first and to hell with everybody else!”...
Do you believe pitbulls or “gangster” criminals killed more people yesterday?
So why aren’t you out in the ghetto...proposing night trains for the ghetto dwellers?
I guess the answer is because there is no NAAAPBT, and no APBT ever screamed racist at its accuser.
Hypocrite.
Do you believe pitbulls or “gangster” criminals killed more people yesterday?
So why aren’t you out in the ghetto...proposing night trains for the ghetto dwellers?
I guess the answer is because there is no NAAAPBT, and no APBT ever screamed racist at its accuser.
Hypocrite.
~~~
IMHO Chet has better sense than to go into a “Ghetto” day
or night,,,
Chet reports currant news about people who have been
killed/mauled by these damned things,,,
Check the links that he posts!,,,
He is in no way a “Hypocrite” and you know it!!!
He only posts facts from the net,,,
Why don’t you and others go find facts of other breeds
that kill/maul like pits do ??!!?,,,
As smart as you are I’m sure you can find other breeds that
kill/maul as many people as pits do,,,
Put up or STFU!...
” but the guy fed 8 dogs in front of him while he’s chained up?”
Yeah. That is a very, very, BAD idea. With any multiple dog situation.
My point is that chet99 NEVER posts any type of dog attack except for pit bulls when attacks occur from ALL large aggressive cogs.
Actually, especially in the case of any large dog breed, but any dog breed in general, it does make sense.
As an aside, Goldens can also be aggressive. I used to be on an aggressive dog listserve and came to know some of the other group members very well. Several had Goldens that had aggression issues. Some were dog aggressive, some people aggressive, some food aggressive. Some had what is known as displaced aggression— like when you yell at a family member but it’s really because of something that happened at work— it’s displaced. Some had combinations of the above.
If you have any dog chained, and feed other dogs in front of it, you’re potentially asking for trouble.
Not excusing what happened. Just stressing this is not a good way to handle feeding in a multiple dog situation.
Et tu Brutus?
“Get rid of them all. States and counties need to pass laws banning them and the ones that exist now, should have to be spayed or neutered. Bad dogs...with killer jaws.”
Some places already have, and doing so has not helped one iota. Banning a breed of dog has not worked in any place so far, and there have been a few (UK for example) that have been in place for decades. Incidentally, the UK ban has actually caused an increase in serious dog attacks, which is why they are considering repealing the ban and creating responsible ownership laws.
These type of laws address the real problem, which is owner irresponsibility, because over 50 breeds have taken lives, and last year 19 people died from dogs that were not pit bulls, so breed bans would do nothing for these incidents. Calgary is the poster-child for responsible dog ownership. They had a problem, and instead of banning breeds, they instituted common-sense laws that address every dog owner. Since they passed the laws, they have seen a dramatic decrease in serious attacks, as well as a 90% licensing rate, which blows most other places out of the water. Several countries have already abandoned pit bull bans after finding similar results, such as Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands.
www.kcdogblog.com
This site shows all the deaths last year from dogs, and it includes the breed of dog, the conditions it was kept in, the circumstances leading up to the attack, and even the poverty level for the area in which the attack took place. Notice that there is no difference between the pit bull attacks and the other breeds. Same irresponsible ownership, similar income level areas, and when children are involved, there is the same lack of supervision.
I think at this point there is no reason to bicker about whether the dogs are to blame or the people because we now have seen that certain laws work, and others don’t. I don’t care if pit bulls drop off the face of the planet, this issue has been ongoing since we have had the pens to record it, and before pit bulls, a variety of different breeds have taken the spotlight for a time (mostly due to popularity with the wrong crowds)so after they’re gone, as we are seeing in places like Denver, Colorado and the UK, nothing will change. People will continue to be attacked at a rate of about 13 thousand every day, and people will continue to die at a rate of 17-35 a year, which has only slightly increased over the years due to increases in population.
Also, their jaws aren’t anything special. They have been studied extensively, and there’s nothing different there. No super strength, no multi-directional biting, no locking mechanism. That’s all myth that got started by a reporter who claimed the dogs had 2,000 psi, and when asked for a source, he could not provide it, but the damage was already done, much like the Doberman having a skull that doesn’t grow big enough for the brain, causing insanity. If it were true that the skull didn’t fit the brain, the dog would die rather quickly, not go insane, but hey....gotta love these ridiculously absurd explanations.
Your reply is exactly what Chet posting stories about Pit Bulls are about, so freepers can argue with each other and call them names.
Pit bulls are the only article i have seen posted here that divides freepers on the subject, so why would Chet keep posting article that ends up dividing freepers???
It has gone past the stage of a discussion it is a slug fest when ever he posts his stupid pit bull stories..
Chet sitting in mammys basement and laughing his ass off at freepers attacking each other...
Wise up....
Those are tattoos man!
Your reply is exactly what Chet posting stories about Pit Bulls are about, so freepers can argue with each other and call them names.
Pit bulls are the only article i have seen posted here that divides freepers on the subject, so why would Chet keep posting article that ends up dividing freepers???
It has gone past the stage of a discussion it is a slug fest when ever he posts his stupid pit bull stories..
Chet sitting in mammys basement and laughing his ass off at freepers attacking each other...
Wise up....
~~~
Go find other breeds that kill/maul like the pits do,,,
If there are other stories then post them here,,,
Chet has only posted the true facts,,,
I stand behind him 100% because he tells the truth,,,
Now put up or STFU!!!...
“Graffiti on a pit bull LOL”
Where do you see that? All I see is graffiti on a Bull Terrier, also known as an English Bull Terrier.
>He should have been fed FIRST because Pits like being first in line.<
No, I beg to differ. Feeding a dog first gives it the very wrong impression that it is the leader. Dogs need to understand in no uncertain terms that they eat after the leader, which in all cases, from chihuahua to Saint Bernard, must be the human being.
Google the “Nothing In Life Is Free” method of dog ownership, which is recommended by knowledgeable dog behaviorists specifically for those with dominant dogs.
Sprockets actually attack quite a bit more often. Cogs are more even tempered.
Well you just go convince Chet99 that he should be splitting his posts 60-40 pits-rotties. Don't take no for an answer. Go after him like a pit bull!
“Now put up or STFU!!!”
Thank you for making my point..
“Well you just go convince Chet99 that he should be splitting his posts 60-40 pits-rotties. Don’t take no for an answer. Go after him like a pit bull!”
Why not just post every attack by every dog? Take pit bulls away and you still have serious injuries and death. Sure, you can claim that there would be less, but in fact that has been proven untrue in areas where pit bulls are banned.
The only way to decrease injury and death is to implement responsible ownership laws. This would also help to eliminate strays and take some pressure off the already overworked shelter system, as it has done for Calgary.
You are right that it’s not a good idea, but most dog breeds wouldn’t kill (or even bite) the person that did it.
One of the problems with any dog breed is that if they are not properly socialized and provided with boundaries, love and discipline, they can be just like a child who grows up without it. They become, sometimes, a danger to themselves and others and certainly an unpleasant guest or companion.
The other thing is a chained dog is often a dangerous dog.
I think a well trained pit may be a good dog - Caesar Milan has shown what is possible - but I would venture to guess that in these busy, permissive, and somewhat self-centered times, few of them are.
“The other thing is a chained dog is often a dangerous dog.”
Yes— very much so. It’s hard to tell from the story if this was a dog who was always chained, or only being chained while the couple was taking care of it for their nephew.
Chaining certainly can escalate aggression. And if the dog was food aggressive, on the chain, not well trained/socialized— you end up with a “perfect storm” for an attack.
Very sad for all involved.
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