Pit bulls attack man's dog, one shot and killed

Gainsville Sun ^ | July 31. 2007 | ALICE WALLACE

[monkeycard]

A Gainesville man awoke to the sounds of a dog fight early Monday. When he walked outside, he found his dog locked in the jaws of a large pit bull.

"I'm sound asleep and my wife says there's a dog fight in the yard," said Fletcher Sutton, 58. "And within 90 seconds I find myself standing in the yard in my bathrobe with a knife in one hand, a gun in the other and a dog dead between my legs."

...

[SIDENET]

Thanks. I always thoroughly check out the breeder where I buy a dog. My wife and I just got a little female dobie. She’s such a sweet little pup.

[SIDENET]

I’m pretty familiar with the breed (APBT), besides my internet research. That’s the main reason that I want one.

[papertyger]

Bwahahahahahahahha!

That’s okay schport....You see, I know the difference between us is I know what I’m talking about.

You might as well be pounding your chest about how badly your kid will get his a$$ beat if he doesn’t do what you tell him.

[papertyger]

Well do yourself a favor when you get one...remember what that breed characteristic page says about “obedience” and make provisions for it, or you just might find yourself in a lawsuit that will leave your children looking forward to a long and fruitful career with Jiffy Lube.

[SIDENET]

All of my dogs receive obedience training and are well socialized.

They are also always under control.

I have zero patience for people who don't control their dogs.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Any dog can wound or kill. Let's see, we finally got my bf's dog back. He spent 5 yrs as a guard dog, hooked to a tow chain. We finally had a place to keep him, so we got him. Every time we visited him, he was without water and food. He is becoming socialized slowly. He's an old doggie, but damn, he can do some damage. He bit straight through my 19 yr old's knuckle, and his 12 yr old step brother had a "hold muh beer and watch this, moment". That earned him 13 stitches on his face. I just say hiya, and the dog nuzzles my hand, and then he flops his 200 lb self on my feet. Don't try and hug a dog around its neck. The only time I have ever been bit, was by a toy poodle. I was just minding my business, hanging Avon brochures on people's doors, and this fiendish horrid thing grabbed my ankle. I flicked it into the middle of the street. I was paying more attention to the shephard mix, than that crappy, nasty little beast. Personally, I would rather face off a pit or a German Shephard than a f*cking poodle! Yorkies come in a close second. My cats would eat them

[TheLion]

How many times do we see stories about cocker spaniels ripping people to shreads? Pit bulls are a wierd breed and may not be compatable with a civilized society.

[papertyger]

FRiend, I understand your position and respect your commitment to obedience training.

I don’t have that kind of interest in training my dogs, so I only get them one at a time and get the kind that only grow to about 12 pounds.

That being said, the only dog that is truly “always under control” is one in a cage. Are you so sure you can train an unfamiliar breed so tight it will absolutely NEVER tangle with that pretty doberman you just got?

I hope so, because if they ever do tangle, even once, you’ll probably have to put her down.

[SIDENET]

Pit bulls are a wierd breed

and may not be compatable with a civilized society.

They seemed to be compatible for most of the 20th century. Helen Keller and Teddy Roovevelt both had pits. The most decorated war dog in history was a pit. Even Petey from Our Gang was a pit bull.

I am, however, willing to listen to any specific evidence you may present to back up each claim. I think that's pretty fair.

[TheLion]

I know of no other breed that has weekly stories of ripping people or other dogs to death....that ought to be enough for any brain thinking individual.

[Polybius]

Of all folks, people who respect the rights of firearms, how can FReepers be so nanny-esc about Pit Bulls?

Well, because, first of all, the Second Amendment does not say anything about pit bulls.

Original intent and all that.

Secondly, no matter how poorly you take care of your firarms, your firearms will never break out of your gun cabinet, run out the front door, jump the fence and kill your neighbor's dog or kid.

GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE. PEOPLE DO.

PIT BULLS KILL PEOPLE. ALL BY THEMSELVES.

[TheLion]

I’ll try and explain it another way. I Have never seen a story about a labador retriever or a cocker spaniel, ripping anyone up. I have however, read many stories about pitt bulls killing children, adults and other animals. Any thinking human should be able to put this puzzle together.

[SIDENET]

You bring up a very good point. Pit bulls absolutely require lots of socialization with other animals as well as sound training. Pit bulls can display a high degree of animal aggression (aggression towards other animals) and this needs to be understood by any perspective owner. They are definitely not the dog for everyone.

[papertyger]

I have however, read many stories about pitt bulls killing children, adults and other animals. Any thinking human should be able to put this puzzle together.

You are correct, but not in the way you think. Pit Bulls are different from other dogs. They are very big, tough, agressive, TERRIERS. That means they are working dogs. They need a job. They are not "pets." In my area, bulldogs rarely live "inside."

That being said, I personally know the owners of literally hundreds of these animals. Incidences such as you read about are vanishingly small, but these dogs are family "pets" in the same way horses are pets.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Labs? ROTFLOL! They are the sweetest puppies! Cocker Spaniels, I don’t know about...

I babysat a mixed pitbull. I ended up putting her in bed with me, mainly because of the potty training problem. She got up, I grabbed her by the collar and ran her out the back door. Then her owner got her back :(

That was a good dog. She was sweet, but boneheaded. She’d climb up on my lap, and snore. I miss her and her girl puppy. We tried to keep one of the inbred pups, and he went after my little girl’s leg. He also chewed up furniture belonging to my grandma. He was sold, along with the other inbred pups.

Imo, mistreating an animal is about 1/16th of an inch past mistreating a child. That includes not spaying or neutering your animal.

[SIDENET]

I understand what you're saying, and appreciate your reasonable tone.

I want to point out that the worst elements of our society don't keep Labs and Cockers for fighting and/or ridiculous status symbols of "toughness". Labs and cockers are also not subjected (by the same sort of people) to abuse, starvation, neglect, and flat out torture to make them vicious.

I'm not remotely denying news stories about them killing or maiming people. Given some of the irresponsible owners out there, I'm surprised that it's not worse.

I will point out however, that our media culture has it's "if it bleeds, it leads" mentality, and pit bulls are always a hot topic. Rightly or wrongly, they fit right into the "bogeyman" role and pit bull stories always make for good copy. Keep in mind that the same media that pushes sensational pit bull stories also pushes the hype of man-made global warming as pure, unassailable fact.

I didn't set out to be a pit bull defender on the forum. I just have a decent familiarity with the breed and have been researching them. What I've seen and read doesn't square with the negative image that is portrayed all too often.

Does all of this mean that I want to go out and find the next pit bull walking around my neighborhood and give it a great big kiss? Certainly not. I don't know anything about its breeding or upbringing. I just don't believe that the dog type is at fault. If breed-specific legislation bans pit bulls and similar dogs, I believe that the same thugs who currently have pit bulls will simply adapt and change to another powerful dog breed.

Thanks for your time.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Dobies get a bad rap. I have this unfortunate thing about every stray ending up following me. Many years ago, this poor Doberman followed me home when I picked up my oldest daughter from school. Judging by the conditions of his paws, he must have walked from Compton.

We tethered him, fed him, and wrapped his paws. The look of gratitude in his eyes was heartbreaking, and it broke my heart when ‘Jefe’ the landlord told us to get rid of him.

I don’t know, but he was nice to me and the kids. A good friend of ours just got a dobie from a rescue operation. He’s a sweetie pie as well :)

[SIDENET]

I was initially surprised at what big lap dogs dobies can be, despite reading it while researching the breed. Mine are both really sweet and gentle dogs. Truly a wonderful breed.

[papertyger]

I just don't believe that the dog type is at fault.

Let me appeal to your reason...isn't that like saying you don't believe the type of vehicle is relevant to the severity of the accident?

[SIDENET]

Well, if I understand your analogy correctly, I would say that it fails to account for irresponsible ownership of the dogs.

Pit bulls have existed in the US for a long time, but only relatively recently have they risen to prominence as "killing machines". Before pit bulls, Dobermans received a lot of press as killers. Before that, German Shepherds were demonized. In the case of the German Shepherd, the dog's own massive popularity may have been to blame because of the resulting overbreeding and ownership by people who had no business owning dogs.

"Pit bull" isn't a breed, but a dog type encompassing the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. "Pit bull" as a type also includes mixed-breed dogs which have pit bull characteristics. Pit bulls are still one of the most popular dog types in America. If they are truly the "killing machines" which can "snap" at any time, I would expect the number of maulings to be far greater than what we currently see in this country.