Posted on 09/14/2007 12:47:14 PM PDT by Michael_Michaelangelo
SEATTLE -- A neighborhood is reeling after two pit bulls viciously attacked a man and his 2-year-old dog.
Bob Walston said he and his dog, Maggie, were taken by surprise by the pit bulls while they were out walking on Tuesday morning. He said there was no owner in sight.
"Those pits we're going so fast, and they just grabbed Maggie. And I started screaming, 'help help, someone help' as loud as I could," he said.
Bob grabbed Maggie to try to save her, but he said the pit bulls refused to give up, biting him as he tried to get away.
"Bob comes rushing through the door, and he's bloody from head to toe," said Lillian Walston, his wife.
Bob got away in time, but it was too late for Maggie, who died shortly after the attack.
Now her dog toys sit, untouched, as flowers from the neighbors crowd the Walstons' counter.
Bob and Lillian are still trying to say goodbye to Maggie, who has been laid to rest in the backyard. Even though they're filled with sadness over Maggie's death, the couple says the attack could have been much worse.
"We were lucky in that it wasn't one of the grandchildren that were killed. These were two fierce dogs. They would have mauled our grandchildren to death," Lillian said.
Following the attack, neighbors caught one pit bull immediately and the Seattle Animal Shelter picked up the other one on Wednesday. Bob and other witnesses identified the dogs, but the pit bulls' likely fate does little to ease the Walstons' new fears.
"It changed our whole life. It'll never be the same," Lillian said.
But Don Jordan with the shelter said measures will be taken to prevent future tragedies.
"The city is going to make every effort to make sure that these animals are not returned into the neighborhood and are, in fact, destroyed," he said.
The owners of the quarantined dogs face fines of up to $1,000 for letting his pit bulls run loose.
Looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you. If people think that pit bulls are about as dangerous as falling coconuts, there’s still plenty of ignorance out there.
Pit bulls are to dogs what islam is to the world; unpredictable and prone to kill.
Remember the old saying “breeding will tell” ? I think my grandmother was talking about some trashy people when she said it but it goes for dogs as well.
Why do we read in the news that pit bulls have killed and maimed humans? Because it HAPPENS! Cocker Spaniels bite but they don’t kill, neither do Poodles!
That is untrue. Pit bulls were bred to fight, and even then, owners found it necessary to "toughen" them and make them mean to ensure that they would fight. Back when dogfighting was legal, dogs that showed aggression towards humans were culled. This is because three people were in the fighting ring with the dogs at all times. These people were the owners or handlers of the opposing dogs and a judge. Pit bulls were actually bred to not show aggression towards humans.
Please read the history of the dog type. Facts are readily available.
You will never find that I said the breed should be banned because I haven’t said that. I do think the tolerance of aggressive dogs should be zero.
>Please enlighten us on the “usual spin”.<
Ditter has no room to talk, because of her breed of choice. Three of those nasty curs (Jacks) disemboweled a Papillon belonging to a friend of mine. The filthy things got into his fenced yard, and attacked. When the little Papillon flipped onto his back in the classic canine signal for “I give up”, the filthy curs ripped his guts out.
I hate Jacks. I won’t work to have them banned, but I can’t tell you how much I despise them.
I have said on this thread I won’t work to have pit bulls banned either.
I wouldn’t call Jack Russell Terriers my only choice, I have a Black Mouth Cur too. I have had many different breeds over the years but no pits.
I forgot to say if my Jacks had killed another dog I would have them put down because I would never trust them again.
LOL. Nice try to head off any rebuttal. I'll have to remember that approach when I don't have a good argument.
>Do you take your pits there?<
Cute. I don’t have any terriers, thank you.
What is your dog of choice?
>What is your dog of choice?<
Papillons, hence my distaste for your delightful, “oh, they kill because they’re bred to” Jacks.
An all-too-common theme in these stories, and the reason is clear -- pit bull owners, by and large, are far more irresponsible than owners of other breeds. Certainly not all, but many.
>What are Papillions bred to do? Sit on your lap?<
They’re descended from spaniels that were too small for the hunt. They’re very adept at obedience, agility and tracking.
Sad to say, they’ve recently been discovered by puppy millers and those wishing to make a fast buck. Whether they will maintain their friendly nature and trainability or be ruined by sloppy breeding remains to be seen.
They’ve gone from 1250 registered a year in the early eighties to over 5,000 a year in 2006. It doesn’t sound like much, but the gene pool is being stretched pretty thin.
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