Posted on 06/15/2014 7:11:01 AM PDT by Morgana
JACKSON, Miss. —A 3-year-old girl who was attacked by pit bulls in April was asked to leave a Jackson restaurant because her scars scared customers, the girl's grandmother told 16 WAPT News.
"Does this face look scary to you?" accompanied a picture of Victoria Wilcher on the Facebook page Victoria's Victories, which documents the child's recovery from the attack at her grandfather's home in Simpson County. Authorities said one of Donald Mullins' dogs ripped open the back door and jumped on the girl. Two other dogs dragged her into the back yard and began mauling her, investigators said.
"The right side of her face is paralyzed. She's got a lot of surgeries to go through and she won't even look in the mirror anymore," said Victoria's grandmother, Kelly Mullins. "When we go to a store, she doesn't even want to get out (of the car). She's 3 years old and she's embarrassed about what she looks like. She's embarrassed and I hate it because she shouldn't be. It ain't her fault."
(Excerpt) Read more at wapt.com ...
The problem with pit bulls is not that they have a natural predisposition to attack anything in their way.
No. The problem with pitbulls is that if they do decide to go off the deep end, they have the physical ability to do serious damage to just about anyone or anything.
There should be a special license issued to the humans who own pitbulls that verify that they have the ability to control their dog. Absent that, no dog...
I'm usually greeted in the yard, before I get to the door, by two bounding, whiny, bundles of muscle. And the rough housing ensues.
When taking the 2 anywhere, it's always good to have a firm grip on the leash. The dogs are GREAT with people, but are very dominating when it comes to other dogs. ESPECIALLY the female.
There has been more than one time that one or both of the dogs have been reared back, to keep them from turning someones (foolishly) brave, yappy, UNleashed dog into lunch.
Pits/Am Staffs are WONDERFUL dogs, providing they are raised and trained properly. Owners have to know and understand their dogs traits and act an train them accordingly.
Didn’t you read the story? Grandfather shot 2 of the 3 dogs; the 3rd was euthanized.
This little girl doesn’t look so scary.
They should try hanging out with the panhandlers and drug addicts that frequent the fast fooderies around here. And some smell bad, too.
I get it
dangerous breed. My 8 yr old pit has never ever so much as growled at the 200 plus kids he has met.
He did bark his head off when section 8 tenants ripped my sons arm from its socket and nearly poked my other sons eye out.
Even then he just barked.
No matter what breed i use caution near kids.
The pit bull thing is a real hot button issue. My personal opinion is that it’s a lot breeding, some conditioning and some just individual dog personalities. It’s hard not to notice that pit owners often fit a certain demographic. But as I said, it’s an extreme hot button issue and I usually avoid it in discussion forums.
WOW!!! Common sense
(not very common anymore)
That’s a good point, too.
Now I see a lot of problems with dog breed bans. What about mixes? Would they do what they do with wolf hybrids? Keep in mind that a lot of pit owners are not famous for obeying rules and laws. Many own illegal wild animals as pets.
When I got my most recent dog, I told the breeder what personality traits I was looking for.
There are breed characteristics, but deeper still are individual personality (or dogality) traits.
It’s hard not to notice that pit owners often fit a certain demographic.
Very true. I have a friend who questioned/ recommended that I get a dog like a Doberman or Pitbull.
I'm about 6', at the time I was about 200#, built like a football player. He figured a guy my size should have a "mans" dog. My response was that I don't need a dog to "protect" me. Don't beware of dog. Beware of owner.
I had an Irish Setter then and I have an Irish Setter now. (Had the gentlest Golden between the 2).
Irish Setters are characteristically very happy, gregarious dogs with a strong stubborn streak. PERFECT for me.
So what is that supposed to prove?
THAT is the little girl who was “too disfigured” to be in a restaurant??? I agree with LostInBayport, the complaining customer should have been escorted by the scruff of their neck out onto the sidewalk and told to never darken their door again. Gawd! My heart goes out to her.
bttt
I would agree with that. People should think about animal breeding and what that means.
I would firmly disagree.
Go back 100 years -- were horses fast? Well, yeah ... but not as fast as today. We've bred thoroughbreds to be very, very fast. The downside is that they tend to be fragile. Maybe not all thoroughbreds are fragile, but there are many examples of top horses that were very fast and damaged themselves because of it. We bred the horses to be fast and we have to accept the downside.
Animal husbandry cannot measurably change a breed in a mere hundred years. Such a thing would necessarily, by means of inbreeding, cause weakness and collapse of the breed - ex: German Shepherds whose inbreeding has notoriously caused hip displaysia to become commonplace. American German Shepherds are almost gone, as breeders hearken back to the German Alsatian lines to fix the problem.
Pit bulls are the same way. Were they dangerous 100 years ago? Well, yeah: they were capable of handling bulls ... but they weren't as crazy as they are today. Pit bulls became a very popular breed, in part, because unsavory people liked 'em. They were bred fast (always a bad thing) and they were (often) bred because they were relentlessly violent. Some people liked them that way.
I have seen, in my lifetime, the very same accusation against Dobermans, Rottweilers, and German Shepherds. ALL dogs have a pack mentality. ALL dogs have a kill switch. ALWAYS the hardest thing to train into a dog is a verbal override - The ability to call the dog off of an attack, and more problematic, off of a kill. This is a matter of poor training. Period.
Yes, horribly cruel.
LOL! Y'all live in the city, dontcha?
Grew up on a farm in the country, am in the ‘burbs presently.
I think Pits and Am Staffs are great dogs.
Irish Setters are wonderful dogs.
They’re trying to claim that that precious little angel was scaring people? They are scum. She should be surrounded by love and approval.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.