8-month-old girl dies in pit-bull attack

Sun Sentinel ^ | 05/30/18 | Linda Trischitta and Erika Pesantes

[Moonman62]

An 8-month-old girl was bitten by a family pit-bull dog and died from her injuries Wednesday in Miramar, police said.

The baby was in the care of a grandmother during the attack, Miramar Police Officer Yessenia Diaz said outside a home in the 2400 block of Kingston Drive.

Nearby, a distraught man was being comforted by two women.

The male pit bull was 3 or 4 years old and had been raised by the family since it was a puppy, Diaz said. Its sibling and mother, both pit bulls, were also in the home.

[meadsjn]

What advantage does a pit bull give their owner...knowing it can ruin your life with one period of uncontrollable aggression?

Have you ever heard of a pit-bull owner being properly tried, convicted, and executed after their dog shredded someone to death?

No? Neither have I. So their life is not ruined, at least not properly.

[Scrambler Bob]

So they have three pit bulls in the house, an infant child, and an old lady. What could possibly go wrong?
= = =

The old lady could attack and bite the infant?????

[Norski]

Thank you for posting this and thank you for the ping.

I have been away for a couple of days. I did not want to post the story about the Good Samaritan in Philadelphia who shot the pit bull attacking a four year old boy - and was briefly arrested for very probably saving his life.

I was hoping against hope when I checked my newsfeeds that I would not see another fatality today. This is the tenth person to be killed by pit bulls mauling (being torn to pieces by teeth) or “biting” them to death since Jan 1 2018, for an average of one death every 15 days.

This is just the very end of the bell curve. The sheer numbers of mutiliated and dead livestock and pets is a buildup, but the rendering, bonebreaking, amputation-ending, plastic-surgery needing and “degloving” injuries are becoming an everyday, everyday occurrence.

And all so those who love bloodsport and money can indulge themselves.

[Norski]

“There are around 600 attacks or so that cause injuries that aren’t fatal. If we factor that in, that’s .01% of all pitbulls.”

This does not include pets and livestock. That number is around 38,000/yr.

The mother is devastated. No word from the ex-husband and father, or the grandmother. There is an update here:https://www.local10.com/news/florida/miramar/8-month-old-girl-killed-in-miramar-dog-attack

[Norski]

“I remember back in the day that whenever one of these attacks happened there would be a LOT of Pit Bull owners here that would come to their defense with a lot of “It’s the owner” comments.”

++++++++++++++

What if that premise is exactly true, but the problem is that they do not extend it to the logical conclusion? That the ownership and the responsibility are exactly commensurate? That the owner is ultimately responsible for whatever the animal does?

I have been thinking on the issue lately. I do not yet see a solution, but this problem will not dissolve on its own.

[Norski]

The implication was that you are a Muslim, and as a woman, must keep your face covered when you make the (desired) pilgrimage to Mecca (Known as Haj). Muslims regard dogs as unclean animals.

[Norski]

PIT BULLS ARE A HEALTHCARE ISSUE

healthcarePit bull attacks are a costly healthcare issue. In 2013, about 27,000 people in the United States underwent reconstructive surgery after a dog attack. About 800,000 bite victims a year, at least half of them children, require medical attention. An average of 25 people a year have been killed by pit bulls in the U.S. in recent years. The collateral costs include life flights, lifesaving interventions, plastic surgeries, burials, and mental health costs for post-surgical trauma and PTSD. Due to the utter savagery of pit bull attacks, most surviving victims suffer PTSD, a lifelong struggle.

A Texas hospital study found that attacks by pit bulls are associated with higher morbidity rates, higher hospital charges, and a higher risk of death than are attacks by other breeds of dogs. Out of 334 dog attacks studied, one-third of the attacks were caused by pit bull terriers and resulted in the highest rate of consultation (94%) as well as 5 times the relative rate of surgical intervention. Imagine the impact of this disproportionate use of resources in hospitals across the U.S. In addition, a 2014 UC Davis (Pediatrics) research document is part of a growing body of scientific evidence showing that pit bulls, unprovoked, inflict much more damage than all other dog breeds. On top of the extreme costs to the medical institutions themselves, rarely do pit bull owners help pay medical expenses, which are typically borne by victims and taxpayers. The average pit bull injury starts at $25,000 and quickly goes beyond. For more information, see http://blog.dogsbite.org/2008/04/flashback-pit-bull-problem-is-over-20.html

[moovova]

Thanks for the article...tough one to read.

[CaptainK]

I applaud your responsible actions as a loving Grandma.

[kanawa]

Good post Dawn53F1 with valuable information.

[kanawa]

At the very least a license and mandatory safety training should be required to own a pitbull.

Good suggestion Axamari. I would extend it to all dogs.

In response to your question...First, I wouldn't call it a fun question but a serious one.
A dog can get out of your control. A gun can get out of your control.

Added agony: Justice is haphazard after kids’ gun deaths

"Children under age 12 die from gun accidents in the United States about once a week, on average.

Almost every death begins with the same basic circumstances:
an unsecured and loaded gun, a guardian’s lapse in attention."

With ~52 child deaths a year it appears irresponsible gun ownership
is responsible for more child deaths than irresponsible dog ownership.
But, let's keep in mind this isn't a contest to see which is worse. This is part of a search for solutions.

Examples from the article....

"In 2015, a babysitter in North Carolina was charged with involuntary manslaughter
when a 2-year-old she was watching shot herself with a 20-gauge shotgun she found on a table"

"a 9-year-old boy was shot by his brother. The sitter had briefly left the boys unattended, and they found his loaded .38 Special in his pickup."

"5-year-old granddaughter found a loaded pistol under their[the grandparents] pillow and shot herself in the neck."

"a grandmother pleaded guilty to a minor gun charge and received probation
after a 6-year-old boy found a revolver in a bedroom closet and shot himself

"In a country with almost as many guns as there are people, it’s not unusual to find loaded weapons within children’s reach.
One study published in 2008 in the journal Health Education Research found that
firearms are present in about one-third of all homes with children nationwide.
Guns in half of those homes were kept unlocked; guns in one-sixth of them were kept loaded.

If we could find the data it would be interesting to compare the legal outcomes of irresponsible dog ownership compared to irresponsible gun ownership.

The article does give some info with respect to irresponsible gun ownership...

"...about half of those deaths [the 152 child deaths mention in the article] led to a criminal charge,
usually against adults who police and prosecutors say should have watched the children more closely or secured their guns more carefully.

The rest of the time, officials decided the grown-ups had broken no laws, or perhaps had simply suffered enough.

In many cases, there was little to distinguish those deaths that led to a criminal charge from those that did not.

Felons were the only exception. Because it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to possess a gun,
almost every felon involved in an accidental gun death faced criminal charges.

“You feel an enormous amount of sympathy for these parents because it’s the most unimaginable loss there is when you lose a child.
Prosecutors understandably struggle with the deterrent value with filing charges,” said Jennifer Collins,
dean of Southern Methodist University Law School, who has studied prosecutions of negligent parents.

The same pattern plays out when children drown in swimming pools or suffocate in hot cars.
Collins studied such cases a decade ago and found that about half ended in prosecutions;
much of the time, prosecutors applied what she called a “suffering discount” as they looked for a balance between deterrence, retribution and mercy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The government’s most recent official count of gun deaths, by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, identified 77 minors who died in gun accidents in 2015, but the AP and USA TODAY counted 146 for that year, including 96 in which a child either shot themselves or another child

One of the article's presented conclusions could well include deaths from dog attacks....

"By either measure, gun accidents account for a small share of children’s deaths in the United States.
About the same amount of children die each year in hot cars and poisoning incidents.
About five times as many die in fires and 12 times as many drown."

I would like to know how many die as a result of irresponsible alcohol usage, but we'll save investigation that for another time.

Some more outcomes of irresponsible gun ownership (IGO)

"Mercer kept eight firearms at his home in Lake Charles, La., midway between Houston and New Orleans.
He cleaned them one morning in 2015 before leaving for work, but forgot one, a semiautomatic Glock pistol, on a couch.
He texted his girlfriend, Angel Savoy, to put them away before she got home with Alexis.
In the time it took Savoy to put the family dog outside, the toddler fired the Glock through her eyelid.
Alexis died at the hospital a short time later."

"Wendy Brock’s son, Jaxon White, had turned 3 two days earlier. His family celebrated with a party.
Sunday was a beautiful day, and the boy was out in the yard of the family’s home in Jefferson, Ga., about an hour outside Atlanta,
riding his four-wheeler and playing with a new bubble machine.

His parents, Brock and Roger White Jr., were washing Roger’s pickup in the driveway.
The boy climbed in the open driver’s side door, found the handgun his father kept in the center console and stood on the seat.

His father, nearby, screamed the boy’s name to tell him to put down the gun, which was pointed up as Jaxon looked down the barrel.

Then, a loud pop.

The boy collapsed from a gunshot wound to the head.
His father cradled him in his arms as he screamed for Wendy to call 911.
Jaxon was breathing, barely, when medics arrived.
His pulse stopped in the ambulance.

District Attorney J. Bradley Smith closed the case without filing charges, citing a lack of criminal intent.
"While looking in hindsight, additional measures could have been taken to prevent this tragedy,
the lack of those measures does not rise to the level of reckless conduct or criminal negligence,” he wrote in a letter to the police.
“I see no purpose in punishing this family any further.”

"Some states have laws meant to limit children’s access to loaded weapons.
But the “child access prevention rules” have run into opposition from gun-rights groups including the National Rifle Association.
A spokeswoman for the NRA, Jennifer Baker, said the group opposes “one-size fits all government mandates”
and believes existing laws are enough to handle gun accidents.

Both the NRA and gun control groups have focused instead on education campaigns that encourage parents to safeguard their weapons. (a model for our response to dog attacks as well?)

[robroys woman]

I’m with you. But the thing is that all breeds of dogs have good owners and bad owners. But one breed attacks in disproportionate numbers. And sometimes it truly IS a dog that has been well cared for.

This is why I think the one freeper nailed it by calling them the “dog of peace”.

[kanawa]

Thanks for your rational post and the excellent information and advice it contains.

I just came across mention of a Kangal today. It’s the first I’ve heard of the breed...

https://www.thelocal.de/20180530/does-germany-have-a-problem-with-aggressive-attack-dogs

The 72-year-old woman was walking down a street in the small town of Sigmaringen when the dog broke free from its collar and launched itself at her.

The Kangal, a breed considered dangerous in Germany, pulled the pensioner to the ground before repeatedly biting her head and throat.

Although a medic arrived at the scene, he was unable to treat the woman, as the dog continued its attack.
Only a bullet from the gun of a police officer put an end to the attack - and the dog’s life. But by then it was too late to save the woman.

Prosecutors have charged the animal’s owners with negligent manslaughter, arguing that its living conditions were unsatisfactory.

Officers who arrived at the house later on the day of the attack reported a filthy and pokey environment.

[kanawa]

The Dog of Peace.

Poster of inane nonsensical comments.
Try posting something grown-up and useful instead of child-like foolishness.

[kanawa]

[Moonman62]

The Dog of Peace.

[kanawa]

ALL DOG ATTACKS MATTER

Wednesday, May 30th 2018

Dog that once belonged to police chief attacks North Georgia woman

ELLIJAY, Ga. — A North Georgia woman is attacked by a dog that once belonged to a local police chief.

Kay Starkey says she was out in the yard with her husband last week when one of the neighborhood dogs, a german shepherd named Hash, came up to her.

"Jim was standing right here petting his head so I just reached down and was petting his hind quarters," Kay Starkey said.

"The next thing I know he just jumped on me and started attacking me, he was on top of me," she said.

Kay says she was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

"I just remember blood pouring out of my head somewhere," Starkey said.

Doctors put 34 staples in her head and she has injuries on her face, mouth, and arm.

"I thought I was going to be gone with the way he was going after me," Starkey said.

A police report shows Kay's husband Jim told investigators the dog belonged to Tony Pritchett.

He's the Gilmer County Fire Chief and Andrews, North Carolina police chief.

The report says Tony Pritchett told investigators he recently moved out of the house near the Starkey's after he and his wife divorced.

Since the dog spends most of its time at another neighbor's house, the report says Tony assumed the neighbors owned the dog now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't go for gratuitous posting of injury porn, if you want to see the extent of the injuries you can click this link

What lessons can we learn from this attack that will help prevent other dog attacks?

[kanawa]

Stuck on Stupid

[Moonman62]

You’re just not very convincing and seem to be drinking early today.

Dog of Peace.

[jpsb]

Pit bulls used to be a very family friendly breed of dog. But breeders started breeding them to be aggressive in the 70s and 80s and continued to do so today. If you get a pit bull from a good breeder that is not breeding the dog to be large and aggressive you will likely get a very good family dog.

The dog on Little Rascals was a pit bull.

More pics here http://www.littlerascalspitclub.com/the-original-little-rascal-petey/