Dog attacks woman at dog show

Animal Services officers in Melbourne, Fla., say a large dog completing in a local dog show suddenly attacked an elderly woman and nearly severed her foot.

The Akita, owned by Sally Jaffe, attacked Maria Patman, 70, during the competition Sunday at Wickham Park Pavilion, WKMG-TV, Orlando, reported Monday.

Capt. Bob Brown, spokesman for Brevard County Animal Services, said it was unclear why the dog suddenly attacked the woman and chewed on her ankle for several seconds.

"It's an odd occurrence. This breed is not known for the propensity to bite, but it's obviously an animal. That's the bottom line. Everyone has to make sure they are aware of that," Brown said.

Jaffe, who was not handling the dog at the time of the attack, was cited by animal control officers for a bite causing injury. The Akita is in animal control custody and its fate will be determined at a dangerous dog hearing in 10 days.

Sorry bryt, as I said, most are just naturally reasonable dogs, and adjusted to do only what they need in the ring.

Many "obedience" dogs are also adjusted only to the ring, and outside it - it's a different story. Much moreso with conformation dogs.

My experience is they are not trained. Period. No more than any of the other pets in the regular world, who similarly believe it's "cruel" to make a dog contain himself with self-discipline never mind commands. And it was indeed a mantra that truly training them would ruin their attitude (horse-hockey as my Shana would tell you; even my less-controllable schizo Tara would tell you that).

It's merely a matter of being lucky they are amicable and not hyper and schizo.

This was posted to our list with permission to cross-post--

Susan Schrank wrote:

I just wanted to tell you the entire story about this
attack before you hear any other version on the news or in the paper.
Today, Sunday 3/25/07, I attended the Space Coast Kennel Clubs All Breed
Match in Melbourne, Fl (near Cocoa Beach). A woman was viciously attacked by

an Akita. Facts:* This was a RESCUED Akita that had been abused in its
previous home and had a history of aggression. The owner brought the dog to
the show to see if it would have any aggression issues. She asked several
people to come at the dog to see if it would become aggressive! (they wisely

refused) While she was talking to a group of people, she had the Akita on a
loose lead and was also holding another dog. She was not paying attention to

her dogs so she did not notice the Akita posturing to attack another dog in
the group. The Akita suddenly attacked the other dog. The owner of the other

dog tried to break it up and put her foot out to stop the Akita. The Akita
grabbed her foot and dragged her
and she began screaming. The dog mangled her left foot so badly that it
literally was hanging on by nothing but a small piece of muscle and was
facing sideways in a spiral. I and another registered nurse went to her aid
as the dog let go because it had her shoe in its mouth. We immediately
elevated her leg and applied a tourniquet with a dog lead to prevent her
from bleeding out and going into shock. Then we splinted the entire leg to
prevent the foot from literally falling off. The paramedics arrived and took

her to the ER. The dog was taken by Animal Control. It is absolutely
incredible that anyone would bring a dog with a history of aggression to a
dog show with children and other dogs around that could be attacked. It also

was amazing that the
owner actually asked innocent bystanders to rile the dog to see if
it would attack!! Then, on top of it, she had this dog on a loose lead and
was not paying attention to its behavior. This is such irresponsible dog
ownership that words alone cannot describe. The amazing fact is that her
young daughter is a junior handler, so this owner is not new to dogs! Please pass this story on. We must reinforce at matches that dogs be kept close to
the owners side and observed by their owners at all times. People tend to get lax at Matches and it can end tragically!
Fondly,
Susan Judy Manley -
Vistah

Thanks for the info.

So, this was a match, not a "show".

And the dog was not a show dog, but a "pet" adoptee. (Note again the "abused" assumption - but do they ever think maybe the dog was abused BECAUSE of its "history of aggression"? The assumption is always that it's some human's fault.)

I'm not sure I'd go along with the "tight lead" theory. Tight leads mean tension, in all forms, and that could make the dog more likely to act out if he thinks you're tense. Really loose, as in 15-ft lead, no; but I don't think she should be choking the dog unless he actually did something. Ask Cesar Millan. ;-) But in any case, she should've been paying attention and not had another dog with her, really. Too much distraction from the aggressive dog.

>it's unusual that a presumably trained dog at a show would bite someone<

That it is. In this case, the dog was not entered, because it was a rescue there to see if it had "aggressive" tendencies. It attacked the woman, when she tried to keep it from killing her dog (the Akita originally attacked her dog). She put her foot between the 2, and the Akita darn near tore it off.

This attack is all over the show dog lists. This is NO showdog, it's a vicious dog someone turned into rescue, and some do-gooder was trying to rehabilitate it.

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