4-Year-Old Girl Survives Attack By Pit Bull

newschannel5 ^

[Chet 99]

By Amanda Hara

MANCHESTER, Tenn. - A girl survived a close call when a pit bull attacked her. It happened five days ago in Manchester, but Kalin Gurdak's wounds are still very visible.

"They said that pit bulls usually attack the throat, and if he would have got her by the throat then it would have been over with," said mother Brandy Gurdak.

Police said the dog likely bit the 4-year-old three different times. It took 58 stitches to close the wounds.

Brandy said her now ex-boyfriend brought the dog home and asked to watch it for a friend.

She said the dog seemed calm, but snapped when Kalin kissed it on the forehead last week.

The ex boyfriend, Greg Dixon, was charged for lying to police about what happened. He was also charged with reckless endangerment for violating city ordinances and keeping the dog inside the apartment.

"I don't place the blame on him. It was both of our faults for having the dog in there, and now she's the one having to suffer from it," said Brandy.

The dog has since been euthanized, but Kalin may need plastic surgery in the future.

[wardaddy]

lol..u wouldn’t post the owner if he weren’t so uglee

[goat granny]

The problem with pits is that they have a horrid genetic background and do what they were bred for generations for. Attack and don't stop. Big difference between a dog bite, that can be done by any dog...Dog attacks are an entirely different situation. Temperament is totally unpredictable.

They attach at a whim, even the members of the family that owns them...

[metmom]

OK. Thanks for the heads up on that.

I am cautious around anything that I can’t drop kick but when a dog is known to be bred for aggressiveness, I am even more suspicious. I’ve never seen a retriever who didn’t like water, a golden who didn’t like people; a border collie that didn’t try to herd anything, a husky who didn’t love the cold and snow and pulling things.

Training can’t eliminate those inane traits in other dogs, so I am skeptical that training can eliminate aggressiveness to a sufficient degree to enable me to trust breeds like pits.

A simple bite is one thing, any dog can and does nip if it’s frightened or threatened, but the way I’ve seen and heard of pits which keep going when other breeds can be convinced to let go, concerns me.

I would never own such a high maintenance dog nor one who I wasn’t sure I could trust.

[solosmoke]

They are a high maintenance dog, much like many other working breeds. Unfortunately, many who have these dogs shouldn’t. However, I believe it is a testament to the breed that of millions, an infinitesimally small percentage have caused harm. But we read about these things daily, which is often why people are so angry. The sad thing is, there are 13 thousand dog attacks in this country every single day that don’t end up on the news, and some of them are downright nasty. It’s really too bad that the media gets to pick and choose what they will report. Since they have no obligation to do anything but make more money, they have a tendency to report on the stories that will get the most ratings, and as horrible as it may be for a dalmation to attack someone and give them stitches, for example, it isn’t considered newsworthy.

Another common misconception is that pit bulls bite differently, or that their bite is somehow stronger than other dogs. This has also been proven wrong by using a computerized bite sleeve to measure psi in several breeds.

It has come to my attention through these various media reports that even single-bite incidents involving pit bulls are marketed as full-on attacks, often with eye-catching story titles.There are just as many nips involving this breed as the next, but the difference is that pit bull bites are reported in the media, and other breeds are ignored or excused, very rarely reported. The KC dog blog goes into detail on this, showing how many different newspapers reported fatality incidents. It shows that pit bull deaths are reported several times more often than deaths caused by other breeds. It’s not a conspiracy, just business.

[metmom]

I wouldn’t trust a Dalmatian either. They are not good people or kid dogs. I knew someone who had a pair once and they were aggressive as all get out. They had to constantly warn kids who saw the dogs and wanted to pet them to NOT TOUCH THEM, under any circumstances.

That is so not worth the risk.

[pandoraou812]

I would never own such a high maintenance dog nor one who I wasn’t sure I could trust.

I totally agree. I think that people need to think long & hard about the dog they decide to own. So many people buy on a whim, see a cute puppy in the mall & buy it. Cute puppy grows up & they can't handle it. Not just pits but many breeds.

I bred Dobermans & there were times I refused to sell to people. Same now with the Shih tzu I have. I also would never buy from a puppy store as most of their puppies come from the puppy mills. I don't care if they have papers, puppy mills are terrible. Most of the pups are sick etc. People need to make sure a dog fits their lifestyle. If they want a large breed or working dog then they need to have the space & the time to work with it. And realize they have to do the things that will keep the dog happy. Dogs know what their jobs are. So many times a dog is unhappy because it isn't getting the attention it needs.

I would love to have Dobermans again but Joe doesn't trust them. I can't get it through his head my dogs saved my life in 1982. He refuses to believe they can be trusted. He likes pits & rotties & I don't. So here we are with Shih tzu & a pekashih.

I worked in shelters & I saw too many dogs be surrendered because people didn't have a clue how to deal with their dog. Had they done the research before buying maybe there wouldn't be so many homeless dogs. I've been bitten plenty of times & if a dog becomes a biter I have no problem with it being put down. I don't understand people who know their dog will bite & have children yet keep the dog.

[solosmoke]

You brought up a great point. They became popular after the 101 Dalmatians movie came out, and were being bred by lots of people that shouldn’t have. They didn’t care about the temperament or health of the parents, and their breeding practices produced a lot of dogs that were not a good representation of the breed. They were the number one biters for a while, and during that time we got an awful lot of them at the shelter.

I remember having to restrain a one-year old dal that was being euthed (it peed on the carpet and the people didn’t train it, they got another one). When people stop treating dogs like children and take responsibility for their dogs’ behavior, we will see a decline in attacks of all breeds. There are some great dalmatians out there, and they represent the majority, just like with pit bulls. The minority that cause harm, however, is the only thing most people see, so that is what they believe is true for all, IMO.

[TigersEye]

Then again; if there were a pitbull in every child’s house what would happen to the stats of caretakers abusing and killing the children? Dogs are very protective and have a keen sense of who the victim is and who is the predator.

[metmom]

Just sayin’ that straight out numbers don’t tell the whole story.

I can’t print what should be done to the boyfriends......

[GranTorino]

Need regulated so they to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands?
Well, its worked with guns and drugs, let’s give it a try lib.
Can’t you come up with something that would work?

[RC one]

Oh, does the constitution guarantee you a right to keep and bear dangerous animals now? LOL at you GranTardo.

[GranTorino]

It does guarantee a right to personal property.
GranTardo?
Are you three years old?
It’s always the same on these threads.
People with facts and people acting like a 14 year old girl.

[RC one]

And it also guarantees the states the right to police themselves in matters of public health, welfare, and safety i.e. the police powers granted by the tenth amendment. How do you like that fact? Looks like you started a battle of wits but ran out of ammo.

It’s always the same on these threads. People with facts and people acting like a 14 year old girl

and don't forget the idiots who start fights by insulting another poster and then act all pious and offended when the insult is returned. That would be you by the way.

[kanawa]

does the constitution guarantee you a right

The constitution doesn't guarantee you rights.
The Bill of Rights enumerates but does not limit the inalienable rights
with which our Creator has endowed us
and forbids the government infringing upon them.
Among these rights are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
I adhere to the conservative principle elucidated in #3 of...

A nation of Free men is a nation of Responsible men.
A government propagating that men can not be trusted to be responsible
seeks to destroy freedom and is a traveling the road to tyranny.

[RC one]

The bill of rights is part of the constitution; therefore, the constitution does guarantee rights and among those rights is the right of the states to police themselves in matters not specifically mentioned in the constitution i.e. public health, welfare, and safety. That means a state government is perfectly within its rights to regulate the existence of pitbulls and fighting dogs within their borders. As this is a constitutional republic we live in, the rule of law (as described in number 4) is upheld.

[GranTorino]

That's it, state rights not federal.
I must have confused you with another RC that attacked me on another post. I guess calling a lib. a lib. is an insult now.
You still haven’t given a solution that would actually work.
I doubt you have one besides a ban. Do some research on what works.
Ban it. Ban it. Ban it. The liberal battle cry.

[RC one]

There you go hurling insults again. I’m no liberal, far from it in fact. You were wrong. I showed you that. Now all you can do is hurl insults. You lose. game over. Go away.

[GranTorino]

I notice you are from Ohio. If you knew your facts you would know there are already laws on the books. State laws.
Ineffective state laws.

[RC one]

listen man, I just don't want criminals and other irresponsible unaccountable types from having access to these animals anymore than I want them having access to handguns. I know that, more often than not, these attacks are the result of bad owners who let the dogs instincts rule him. I want these people made accountable and, if they refuse to be made accountable, I want them to go to jail. I don't think I'm asking for too much here. You obviously don't give a rat's a55 if one of these dogs kills someone. You've made that clear. We disagree. I don't think we need to go back and forth on it anymore. I'm done here.

[GranTorino]

Just calling a spade a spade. I don't think that's “hurling”.
I was not wrong. You didn't show me anything.
How about a solution that works?
Maybe you should post on something you actually have researched.