Posted on 02/01/2007 7:04:48 AM PST by pkajj
CONROE — Von Pardue leaves his north Conroe home every day at 5 a.m. for a mile walk, but on Wednesday his exercise routine unexpectedly turned into a wrestling match with a vicious pit bull.
The dog lost. Pardue unwittingly choked him to death. The 65-year-old retired truck driver, who suffered bites on his arms and hands, said the dog attacked him about five minutes into his walk. He said he heard a dog barking and thought it was in a yard, but seconds later saw the dog running toward him.
''I turned to face him, and when I saw it was pit bull, I knew I was in trouble," Pardue said. ''I put my hands up and I hollered at him. He immediately jumped to my throat."
Pardue said he swung at the dog with his fist and grabbed its head and ears to keep it from biting him. The dog shook loose from his grip and began chewing on his right hand.
With his knee, Pardue said he hit the dog in the ribs and it let go of his hand. He grabbed the dog's thick, white collar and, while keeping a firm grip on its neck, dragged the dog to his house, where his wife called 911.
When police arrived, Pardue was on the ground with the dog and still holding onto the collar. His grip was so tight that he strangled the dog, police said. Pardue said he didn't realize the dog was dead until police tried to rouse the animal and it didn't move.
Conroe police spokesman Sgt. Mike Tindall said the dog's owners, whose names were not released, have not been charged, so far.
The owners, who live a street over from Pardue's home, did not answer their door Wednesday evening. Tindall said the owners were cooperative and concerned about Pardue when they learned of the attack. They told police they woke up and noticed one of their two pit bulls was missing from their enclosed backyard. They found the gate open, then went searching for the dog, Tindall said.
When they didn't find it, they went home and got a call from a friend who told them about the attack after seeing news reports, Tindall said.
''They called police to see if it was their dog and went to the animal shelter to ID him," he said. The owners told police the dog had never shown aggression, but that their female pit bull had and that they plan to have the animal euthanized to avoid another attack, Tindall said.
The male dog had been picked up by Conroe Police Animal Patrol officers on Dec. 12 for running at large. It was given a rabies vaccination at the shelter before being released back to the owner, he said.
Wednesday's attack comes a week after a Conroe City Council discussion on a proposed dangerous dog ordinance. The council is set to vote on the proposal at its Feb. 8 meeting. The proposal is similar to the state's dangerous dog law but with some additional regulations on securing and handling .
Owners would have to keep dangerous dogs in a secure enclosure or kennel that should be not be less than 8 feet tall. The kennel must have a roof or top that keeps the animal inside and the floor must be concrete slab not less than 4 inches thick. Also, the gate must have an automatic closing and latching mechanism and must be locked.
Under the state's Health and Safety Code, a dog is considered dangerous when it causes bodily injury to a person in an unprovoked attack and causes a person to believe that it will attack and cause bodily injury. Had the ordinance been on the books, Tindall said, it might have prevented the attack on Pardue. In the past year, 17 dog attacks have been reported to police. Seven of them involved pit bulls, Tindall said.
Pardue said he had never before seen the dog during his daily walks. At 200 pounds, he said he was fortunate he had the strength to fight him off.
''If not for the collar, I don't know how I would have ever been able to wrestle him down," he said. "The dog was about 80 pounds and very vicious. It was hard to believe the viciousness in which he attacked me, but I was able to contain him."
He said emergency medical personnel washed his bites and he went to the hospital where he received a tetanus shot and an antibiotic. Tindall said the dog's owners could face a Class C misdemeanor charge for having a dog at large or a Class A misdemeanor for having a dangerous dog. To be charged with the Class A misdemeanor, authorities would have to declare the animal as a dangerous dog by showing a pattern of vicious behavior.
Pardue said he might have to reconsider walking in his neighborhood.
Nope. Sorry. If it's the dog or me, the dog dies........
Man Bites Dog! Oh my, the poor doggie!
These dogs are a menace.
What were the other 10 dogs. These dogs are only as dangerous as the people that train them or inbred them.
I think in our town, the animal cruelty ordinance would kick in, and they would fine the guy.
"Owners would have to keep dangerous dogs in a secure enclosure or kennel that should be not be less than 8 feet tall. The kennel must have a roof or top that keeps the animal inside and the floor must be concrete slab not less than 4 inches thick. Also, the gate must have an automatic closing and latching mechanism and must be locked."
Oh great. Again, liberals aiding and abetting "evil" big companies by MANDATING that individuals buy from them.
Ah, you unwittingly admitted they can be naturally bad ("inbred" - which of course is not why they're bad, but it is genetics).
Pit-bull types DO have a genetic problem, but I am totally against bans. Alot because being living beings, most "experts", even, have no clue what kind of dog they're dealing with. God forbid it is a mutt. I refuse to surrender a dog because Idiot thinks it's a "pit bull", when it's not, or it's not even officially documented. People are too stupid to ban living beings whose heritage is questionable.
Good point. All my dogs (5) have limited access to my back yard. They have their own area which I built for them myself. We also walk them so they get use to being around other dogs and people. Would I let 4 of the 5 off the leash, the answer is "hell no".
"causes a person to believe that it will attack and cause bodily injury."
Great. That's 3/4 of the urban population when they see any dog.
ping
.......the rest of the quote......Under the state's Health and Safety Code, a dog is considered dangerous when it causes bodily injury to a person in an unprovoked attack and causes a person to believe that it will attack and cause bodily injury.
I'd say this man had legitimate reason to believe that the dog intended to cause him bodily harm.
I did not admit that they can be naturally bad so do not misunderstand me. What I was saying is that people either train them to do that or they inbred the living hell out of them. Inbred that hell out of any living thing and you would probably come up with another Jeffrey Dahmer. The Pit Bull that I had was nothing but a strong baby. He was great to be around, have with you. I trained him not to attack nor be afraid. He got along very well with my other dogs and they played rough. Only one MINOR fight which was started by my Alpha female and they broke up as soon as they got hit with a blast from the water hose. Some people couldn't tell a Pit from a Fox so they just assume that it is a Pit.
Pardue said he might have to reconsider walking in his neighborhood.
After the lawsuit is settled, he'll be able to walk in a much nicer 'hood.
That is one bad-ass 65 year old. 0.o
Very true; The other day, a FedEx guy flipped out because my toy poodle walked by the open door. Didn't even look at him, but he started yelling at me to "get the dog, I hate dogs!"
LOL that's not what I was getting at, the specific case, which is DUH! I was getting at the GENERAL application of the law. Except apparently it DOES say "AND...", so maybe 1 DOES have to prove both the dog already attacked AND you feel threatened....
If it were just what I quoted - we all know how bad people's "perceptions" can be. Even what people SAW is often flawed in criminal cases, much less how they feel!
1st of all, inbreeding is NOT the pariah everyone makes it out to be. Every breed is "inbred"; it was done to get the animal to the state it is in today (which is extreme with dogs - no animal has so much divergent type as dogs). Inbreeding is not naturally damaging; it concentrates good as well as bad.
(Was Jeff Dahmer inbred? I didn't think so.)
However, strictly textbook inbred or not, some types gained amongst other obvious traits, not-so-desirable character traits. Thus, they ARE now naturally attuned to certain behaviors. Again, inbred in 4 generations or not. That is NATURAL. There is a reason "pit bulls" gained a reputation - even though many IDs of them are questionable. Same with Dobermans and German Shepherds, etc. It was bred into them, intentionally or not.
Every dog is an individual, as genetics is a real crapshoot, so even "dangerous" types could have perfect (or maybe imperfect!) specimens who exhibit NO "typical" behavior.
This is another reason I'm against bans. Each dog is different, although I'd agree the breed/type as a whole might be a certain way.
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