Truck Driver Strangles Attacking Pit Bull

Houston Chronicle ^ | Feb. 1, 2007 | Renee Lee

[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.

[kanawa]

That's "she", kanawa! ;-)

I should have known!
In my experience the by far largest percentage of knowledgeable
and responsible dog owners are women!

[the OlLine Rebel]

LOL I wouldn't say so! To me most women are the source of lovey-dovey kootchy-woochie "dog care"!

But I would say there is just plain a HUGE % of them "big" in the dog business.