3-year old Mauled by Family Pit Bull

FULLERTON -- A 3-year-old girl is hospitalized in intensive care after being mauled by the family pit bull.

It happened around 8:00 p.m. Monday at the family’s home in the 200 block of Costa Court.

Investigators say the girl and her mother took food to the dog, which was tied up in the backyard

The mother went back inside the house, leaving her daughter outside with the dog, said Fullerton Police Sgt. Mike MacDonald.

Minutes later the girl’s 11-year-old brother, who was watching television inside with his father, heard screams from the backyard.

He went outside and found “Fly,” a male pit bull standing over his sister, MacDonald said.

She was later transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana and treated for severe puncture wounds to the face and neck.

The 4-year-old pit bull was taken to Orange County Animal Care Services, said Ryan Drabek, a spokesman for the shelter.

Pit Bulls (purebred) get a bum rap, thanks to the highly publized cases (ala Vick). Many of these reports of “pit bull” dog attacks are not really pit bull breeds. Most are mixed breeds with some pit in them. Many have no pit bull at all but are labeled as such in the media.

A purebred pitbull raised properly is one of the most human friendly dogs out there. They can be dog agressive if not trained and socalized properly. (the reason they are used for fighting) They are also one of the smartest, most loyal, hardworking breeds known to man. But they take a lot of work by their owners. They are not a “set it and forget it” breed.

There is a national group that analyzes scientifically dog temperament (ATTS - have tested almost 30,000 dogs the last 30 years). The pitbull is above average in terms of temperament testing. They test at the top of the scale for dogs with good temperaments. The beagle, collie and sheep dog are a LOT worse than pitbulls.

That cute pitbull puppy is so tiny/sweet when she comes home. But within 9-12 months, you can have a 80lb dog that can pull a 2500 lb sled. They need lots of exercise on a daily basis. It astounds me how many city dwelling apartment owners get a pitbull. By the time they are a year old, the owners are looking to rehome them.

Just remember the same media that is making outrageous stories over health insurance companies not taking care of their patients; media that is telling us the world is ending due to global warming. Is also the same media bashing on pitbulls.

Anyway, my 2 cents FWIW.

How about some freaking common sense? Leaving a baby alone with a chained dog? And FOOD? That dog was no family pet. That is why they are charging the parents. Totally preventable tragedy if the parents had 1)not left a baby alone with a dog 2)not chained the dog, but raised it inside with the family 3)understood that food aggression is a common and serious issue with many dogs, regardless of the breed

But of course, by all means, blame a breed of dog that is the most commonly abused, stolen, overbred, and killed. You have a greater chance of getting struck by lightning than you do being killed by a dog.

“Bred to kill. That’s it. Nothing more.”

So were most terriers, dachshunds, wolfhounds, and foxhounds, to name a few.

Despite their history and the huge amount of idiots trying their hardest to make their dogs vicious, an infinitesimally small percentage of them ever attack. The problem is, the media is always willing to publish any pit bull attack story, even if the dog didn’t bite anyone. Of the 13 thousand daily dog attacks that require medical attention, you can bet that the majority of those that make the news do so because of the type of breed and not the extent of the injury.

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