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.
Brutal reply.
Liked it.
Funny you’d post that.
Odin just got his daily, raw bloody steak.
For an inherently sharp, very dominant Euro Dobe, “behaving himself” when surrounded by 5 other dogs *also* wanting the steak is very difficult.
To “earn” his steak, he must not only *not* show aggression/posessiveness to the other dogs, he must sit/give paw/lie down no less than -3- times and *then* he is ~allowed~ to *gently* take the steak and go eat it with no hint of bad manners on his part.
He did very well today except when he got done and only the center bone was left.
He’d finished with it, didn’t really want it, dropped it on the floor and one of the other dogs picked it up which caused him to get ‘snippy’.
I took the bone from him his mouth in a very intentional manner and pointedly handed it to the other dog, right in front of his face.
He was not allowed to take it back or get upset about it.
Neither the steak or the bone are “his right”; they are his privilege.
At breakfast and supper time, the dogs’ bowls are set down randomly, in no particular order.
They eat when and where I give it to them and no one is allowed to molest another dog’s meal.
If they break my “commandments”, they find themselves without their bowl until they “get their mind right”.
To my dogs, I am God.
~I~ giveth and ~I~ taketh away.
Period.
I practice “positive reinforcement”.
There are no “punishments” for bad behavior; there are only rewards for good behavior and the -absence- of reward [or attention] for bad behavior.
For dogs who desperately desire their master’s loving, *happy* attention, simply being ignored drives the point home very quickly.
With any breed considered “aggressive”, aggressive treatment only breeds more aggression in the dog and they
-will- learn to suppress the overt, normal signals such as “warning growls” and go right to a bite if they have been “punished” for growling.
Rewards for right behavior are far more effective _in the long run_ than punishments for wrong behavior.
Do well and you get what you desire.
Act like a kook and you don’t.
Very simple.
>There are no “punishments” for bad behavior; there are only rewards for good behavior and the -absence- of reward [or attention] for bad behavior.
For dogs who desperately desire their master’s loving, *happy* attention, simply being ignored drives the point home very quickly.
With any breed considered “aggressive”, aggressive treatment only breeds more aggression in the dog and they
-will- learn to suppress the overt, normal signals such as “warning growls” and go right to a bite if they have been “punished” for growling.<
A friend of mine has a very effective method for curing a dog that barks and screeches in its crate after the family has gone to bed. She gets up, takes the nail clippers she keeps at the ready, and proceeds to clip a couple of toenails attached to the offending dog. She then puts said big mouth back to bed, and she shuts of the lights and retires herself.
The dog gets the message loud and clear that nighttime is for sleeping.
And why focus so much on Obama? He's not the only socialist out there trying to gut the constitution!
Entirely true. But he is currently the most dangerous one.
Post away. Fill those gaps.
OMG....she is such a devious genius!....LOL!
Did you know is beloved dog “Daddy” just passed away?
He was 16 years old.
Milan is heartbroken.
As a kid I grew up next door to people who had a GSD named “Bozo”.
He was always chained, barking and growling and everyone was afraid of him.
I think I was about 11 when I went over to where he was chained and he instantly sat down, shut up and let me pet him.
That was when I saw that the chain “collar” he’d worn all those years was virtually invisible, the skin having grown almost completely over it.
No wonder he raged all the time.
His “owner” just had her brother come over and cut the collar out himself.
It was horrible.
After he healed up and got a new collar, he never barked or snarled again.
Kill them all. Every last single one of them. I get so tired of the Pit Bull apologists. It’s the DAMN DOG, AND THE OWNER. SHOOT ONE, AND PUT THE OTHER IN JAIL.
You’re absolutely right!
Let’s start with these monsters, first!
http://www.forpitssake.org/sar.html
Then we’ll take these outlaws down
http://www.lawdogsusa.org/home.html
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/articles/popsicle.html
We need to strike soon before these vicious beasts find another lost child, sniff out another soldier-killing bomb or alert their handlers to illegal drugs and explosives!
Evil, EVIL dogs!
http://hubpages.com/hub/Dog-Attacks-and-Aggression
I sent Chet a pit bull story yesterday but he didn’t post it. It doesn’t matter to me. He seems on a mission. Just don’t buy or adopt a pit bull if you don’t want one.
Right, nevermind logic. Forget what the experts say, let’s all just remain blissfully ignorant, that way we look like complete morons when we put laws in place that have failed everywhere else. Who cares, right? It’s only about 30 people a year that die, so as long as they aren’t being killed by pit bulls, I feel so much safer.
Just keep on believing whatever those journalism grads say. After all, it must be true because they say it with a well-learned authoritative tone.
Yes, I did.
I have always been a little scared of pit bulls and as an insurance person, we avoid them if we can. But Daddy was a great dog and a wonderful ambassador for the breed. It makes me sad that he is gone.
I watched an episode tonight and Daddy was still alive but stiff and limping.
I had no idea he was that old.
Bless his heart, that dog was unflappable not matter what the other people’s dogs did to him.
He just stayed calm as could be.
It’s going to be weird and sad watching the show now, without him.
RIP, Big Daddy.
>I sent Chet a pit bull story yesterday but he didn’t post it. It doesn’t matter to me. He seems on a mission. Just don’t buy or adopt a pit bull if you don’t want one.<
But, if you want to adopt any big breed of dog, you must commit to spay/neutering, socializing and training the dog. Then, you must not (that means never) let the dog roam free, and you must be willing to set limits for the dog.
If you take responsibility for your dog, you will never end up in one of these horrid threads.
>Did you know is beloved dog “Daddy” just passed away?<
Poor Cesar. The love and bond between him and that wonderful dog was so strong. You’re right, his show just won’t be the same.
>The Pits are worn on leashes like bling around a neck in some areas of the city here. <
Yes they are. And the dogs pay for the owners’ attitude toward dog ownership with their lives all too often. The humans then simply get another dog, which they treat the exact same way.
Daddy’s page:
http://www.cesarsway.com/taxonomy/term/186
Daddy was undergoing cancer treatments but wasn’t going to make it.
Supposedly, Cesar is building something like a shrine or temple for Daddy.
It’s heartbreaking.
Feel free to pick any other breed of dog and see if your statement still makes sense to you.<<<<<<
Sorry, but although I think feeding in front of any group of dogs is insane unless they are properly trained to wait until they are supposed to eat, many would not break a chain to try and attack the bearer of the food.
Many dogs would not break a chain to attack someone. Many dogs would not be on a chain in the first place if they were already trained by a responsible owner. Why is it that the chaining of dogs is overlooked in tragedies like this? Obviously the dog was on a chain because they felt it needed to be, which is part of the problem. If you can’t train your dog to be obedient and calm around people, then what is it there for?
This dog was chained up around other dogs in a new environment, and was apparently not trusted, or it would have been inside where pets belong. A new environment combined with stressors like competition and restraint, in addition to elderly caretakers was not the best idea. These details matter, as many people studying dog bite fatalities have mentioned time and time again.
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