Boy Severely Bitten by Dog [Pitbull Alert]

The Ledger ^ | 9.6 | The Ledger

[ambrose]

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Published Saturday, September 6, 2003
AUBURNDALE
Boy Severely Bitten by Dog

A 13-year-old boy was severely bitten by a pit bull as he walked to his school bus stop.

Ronald Roswell, of 3151Ú2 Brimm Road, was walking with friends to the corner of Tarpon Road and Recker Highway when the pit bull attacked him Wednesday morning, said Donna Seiler, a rabies technician with the Polk County Animal Services Division.

A motorist saw the attack and hit the dog with a broom, Seiler said. After struggling for a few minutes, the motorist was able to free the boy. The boy received a deep wound to his calf.

A Polk County deputy shot the dog after the dog lunged at the deputy, Seiler said.

The dog had bitten someone before, and Animal Services recommended the boy receive a rabies shot, Seiler said.

The dog's owner is Arthur Swainston of 402 Recker Highway.

Seiler did not expect any charges to be filed.

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[norton]

Eight cats, all just walked in to use the litter box, snack a bit and find a nice place to go to sleep.
We worried for a LONG time about mixing them and the pit together until the door was left open and the 18 pounder walked out, swept lazily by the dog, and did poopies in my tomato patch.
(we thought the scraping was the dogs finding a cool place to snooze)

[sandlady]

Border collies have GOT to be the dumbest creatures on four feet.

Unless you're being sarcastic, this statement makes it hard to take you seriously. You are joking, right?

[norton]

Only a bit, there are less acute critters.

But anyone I've ever known who used dogs to move goats or cattle selected for ability - and any pure collies in the mix got kept as pets. (I don't consider easy to train and needing a lot of attention as being smart)

For smart I'll go with a standard poodle.

We're both going on experience here and they seem to be quite different.

[Serendipity0911]

You really need to figure out who is white trash, the people that own pitbulls or the people that make pitbulls mean!! You have no idea what you're talking about. I have a great dog and yes he is a pitbull...he is great with kids and adults. Maybe you should look at what people are doing to them before you make such rash statements!!
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/sadreality.html
Be careful, if you have a heart at all it might make you cry by seeing these picture!!!!!!!

[voodoopitbull]

Woah. Let me start off with anyone who judges a dog by its breed name and what the media claims it to be....they're just plain ignorant and (if I might add) STUPID. I have pit bulls. Three. Rescued. I also have a German Shepherd and a Chihuahua. I do not consider myself white trash. That's just a dumb a stereotype as the stereotype of pit bulls being vicious. I've rescued and fostered MANY breeds of dogs...Chihuahuas, Yorkies, Poodles, Hounds, pit bulls, Schnauzers, Malteses, Jack Russell Terriers, Dachshunds, Pugs, Bostons, mutts, Rotties, everything...you name it...I've fostered it. I've found from my personal experience that Chihuahuas are the absolute meanest dogs in existence but they're still the media's little love bug. My Chihuahua will bite me, friends, family, kids (HATES kids), other dogs, my pit bulls and personal dogs and just about everything he can get his mouth on. I still love him but he's BAD. Mean. Pit bulls shouldn't be deemed vicious. Pit bulls were never, ever bred to be human aggressive until these recent years where they've become a fad with every guy and gal wanting to look tough. I've seen a LOT of Cocker Spaniels (the ye ol' family dog) that are aggressive to people. A LOT. To no fault of their own...high demand equals puppy mills which equals temperament issues. Pit bulls do pack more of a bite than a Chihuahua BUT so does every other breed over 20 pounds. Period. End of story. You ban pit bulls? Then you'd best ban any dog that has the power to kill a human being...which is EVERYTHING over 20 pounds. Sometimes even small dogs have killed people. Every dog has teeth. Every dog has the potential to kill humans. NOT just pit bulls. So you think the majority of the dogs that attack people are pit bulls? Think again: http://www.understand-a-bull.com/BSL/OtherBreedBites/AllDogsBite.htm

I was bitten by a dog as a child. A Dachshund. Right smack dab on my face. Only a few inches from my EYES. The only dog that has bitten my dog trainer is a Chihuahua. Twice. I've never been bitten by a pit bull...ever. In all my years of dog rescue and pit bull rescue I have never, ever once been even growled at by a pit bull. It is the owner's fault that these dogs bite people. Bad breeding, no socialization, abuse, neglect, lack of responsibility, leaving the dog unattended with kids, letting the dog run the neighborhood loose and etc. The media chooses to pick on this breed. Most pit bull "bites" aren't even pit bulls!

Punish the DEED not the BREED. Punish the owner. How hard is that to comprehend?

[TexasCajun]

I hope your homeowners insurance is always paid up and you have plenty of it.

What?

You can't get coverage because you own Pit Bull Dogs?

[Protagoras]

LOL,,,sweet. I knew we could count on that kind of stuff to show up quickly.

How many do you own? One dangerous animal is never enough.

[Legion04]

WOW, alot of people are really clueless and narrow minded. Pit bulls don't need to be outlawed. it has NOTHING to do with the breed of the dog. it has to do with the OWNER and the way the dog is raised. Unfortunately, alot of disfunctionals decide to own larger breed and more powerful dogs so they can train them to be aggressive. aggressiveness is not part of the breed, it's part of what is instilled by the owner.
they should shoot the owner.

[cicero's_son]

Punish the DEED not the BREED. Punish the owner. How hard is that to comprehend

Not hard at all, if you're a conservative.

[voodoopitbull]

OK, I really don't see how people can be so idiotic. It blows my mind. Nevertheless...it is the OWNERS that allow this to happen. If the dog had been properly socialized and (most of all) properly confined...this would not be an issue. It is the owner's responsibility and the end result is the story that started this discussion. It's not really breed specific either. It applies with all dogs. Yes, the kid may have provoked the dog blahblahblah....it's still the owners fault the dog was running around loose.

[OXENinFLA]

Furry Friend [PIT BULL] Keeps Lost Boy Warm, Leads Him to Safety.

[Constitution Day]

Insider with sharp teeth...

[hellinahandcart]

Well, at least he's not pretending to be the neighbor of the kid in the story.

[Constitution Day]

True. But who comes on a political forum just to defend pit bulls on a very old thread?

[najida]

Lazurus!

Paging Mr. Lazurus! Your thread is ready.

[Xenalyte]

Pit bulls do pack more of a bite than a Chihuahua BUT so does every other breed over 20 pounds. Period. End of story.

The Dread Boston Salty has a helluva jaw, and Xena's Guy, who foolishly came between Salty and a pig ear, has the scar to prove it.

[Skooz]

Some of these Jack legs wouldn't change their mind even if a pit bull saved their lives. Bad publicity is the only thing their interested in, your wasting your time trying to make them see a logical assesment of the way things actually are.

Yeah, how dare you attempt to enter reason and facts into this thread.

If any of these clowns had actually owned or had experience with Pits (apart from some guy babysitting an obviously abused puppy) they might have some space to talk.

But, instead they succomb to the sensational tabloidization of a breed. Kind of takes some of the mystery out of the bizarre grip Dan Rather, Petah, and the Canadien commie at ABC have on a great number of voters.

[TASMANIANRED]

Pit Bulls are the SUV's of the dog world.

[cicero's_son]

I think the biggest problem with pit bulls is the self-selecting nature of pit-bull ownership.

The media portrays these creatures as the most vicious and destructive beasts on the planet. So guess who wants to own them? The kind of person who is attracted to viciousness and destructiveness.

In other words, exactly the kind of person who should never be allowed to own one.