Ruger
Posted on 03/30/2010 11:03:22 PM PDT by Chet 99
By Joel Anderson, Times Staff Writer
Published Tuesday, March 30, 2010
SPRING HILL — There had been some unsettling changes in the family's dog over the past few weeks.
Ruger, a 6-year-old pit bull terrier, had grown more restless, always tugging at the family to play. He seemed starved for attention. And early last week, he startled Erika Sullivan by scratching her on the shoulder as she tried to swat at a fly.
"I noticed a different look in his eyes," she said of the pet they've had for three years.
But it was all just a precursor to Ruger's inexplicably violent frenzy last week.
Eleonor Ramirez, Sullivan's landlord, stopped by the home in the 12200 block of Waco Street on Thursday to discuss making some changes to rent. Ramirez said she had met Ruger a number of times before, so she had little reason to fear him.
On this day, Sullivan said, Ruger had been acting unusual, part of a pattern that had the owners considering getting rid of the 100-pound-plus dog.
When Sullivan opened the door for Ramirez, Ruger rushed out and lunged at Ramirez, grabbing ahold of her inner right thigh. As Ramirez tried to fend off the attack, Sullivan tried to pull the dog off of her.
Then the dog turned its attention on Sullivan, going for her throat.
Ramirez picked up a ceramic pot and slammed it down on Ruger's head, causing the dog to loosen its grip for a moment. But he then renewed his attack on her.
"People don't realize the horror of that situation when your family dog turns on you," Ramirez said. "It felt like being eaten alive."
When Sullivan tried to intervene again, the dog latched on to her right arm. Meanwhile, Sullivan's children were screaming at the sight of their family pet mauling their mother.
The 3-year-old girl threw a toy at the dog, and then the animal made a move toward the child. Sullivan thrust herself into the fray again, this time using her arm as a shield and dragging the dog away from her children.
Eventually, Ruger let go and Sullivan was able to trap the dog in the garage. Authorities and neighbors soon arrived at the home to help the women.
Sullivan and Ramirez were rushed to Spring Hill Regional Hospital, with Sullivan suffering deep puncture wounds and gashes to both arms that required plastic surgery. Ramirez was discharged that day, while Sullivan was transported to Tampa General Hospital for more surgery. She was released from the hospital on Saturday.
A 27-year-old wife and mother of two young children, Sullivan now sports bandages that run the length of her arms. She spends most of her days and nights sprawled on the living room couch, hoping medication dulls the intense throbbing in her arms and shoulder.
Sullivan, who does not have medical insurance, will be unable to return to her job as a waitress at Texas Roadhouse for at least the next few months and has been told that she might not be able to regain full use of her right arm.
But despite her troubles, Sullivan harbors no ill will toward Ruger.
"I'm not mad at him at all," she said. "I just want to know what triggered it."
Ramirez said she's not mad at Sullivan. To the contrary, she's grateful.
"I'm indebted to her for my life," Ramirez said. "Had the dog done to me what it did to her, I probably would have died."
Since then, Sullivan has struggled to understand why Ruger snapped. In the three years they owned the dog, she said they had never been a hint of violence from the dog.
"Ruger was never mean to anybody," she said. "I wish I could have been in his head to figure out what happened."
The dog was taken to Animal control, where it was being tested and will likely be euthanized.
Joel Anderson can be reached at joelanderson@sptimes.com or (352) 754-6120. You can follow Joel on Twitter at twitter.com/jandersontimes.
Well hurray for ObamaCare -- now jackasses like this can own beasts like this without worry.
>>”Ruger was never mean to anybody,” she said. “I wish I could have been in his head to figure out what happened.”
In every dog goes nuts story, there’s always this cliched statement from the owners.
“Ruger was never mean to anybody,” she said. “I wish I could have been in his head to figure out what happened.”
Upon noticing *any* behavioral changes in the family dog, a full PCR/DNA tick panel is the first order of business.
Lyme disease and Ehrlichiosis [very, *very* common tick borne infections] can cause the most mild-mannered of dogs to “suddenly snap”.
A friend had her Catahoula mix euthanized for “sudden aggression” and when another dog of a different breed displayed the same behavior, too late she found out that she killed her beloved dog needlessly when a month or two of inexpensive Doxycycline would have ended the aberrant behavior.
Tick borne diseases can lie dormant for *years* with no symptoms at all and then suddenly, dangerously flare into active status with surprisingly minor physical/emotional/environmental stresses.
Been there, done that and the sweet old dog who went temporarily nuts is still around at 13.
[Those with blind breed hatred will, of course, ignore this advice. Others will hopefully heed it. TBDs are at epidemic proportions, now]
Hmm... Why on earth would a 100 pound pit bull named "Ruger" snap?
Reminds of this story:
Boy’s Tragic Death Could Have Happened To Any Family With 20-Foot Pet Python
‘”I’m not mad at him at all,” she said. “I just want to know what triggered it.”’
And it could be “triggered” AGAIN lady!
Think of your young children!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve heard so many stories like this about pit bulls. A once “sweet” dog turns on it’s owners.
Thanks for the info. Even around our wonderful dog that has never nipped at anyone, I warn the kids to be careful - you never know when they might snap.
But, at least our dog isn’t bred with jaws that can crush your neck. (Or rip off front bumpers of cop cars!)
Thanks for that info!
*Any* dog who has the misfortune to get the “neurological” varieties of tick borne diseases are capable of things you would never have imagined, otherwise.
Check the dog frequently for ticks, spray the yard with a good _permethrin_ spray frequently, get yearly [or bi-annual, if possible] SNAP 4DX tests, get it Lyme shots and the odds are good you’ll never have to go through the horror of your best friend going “Cujo”.
You are very welcome.
That’s one utterly blissful dog.
;-{)
“kill,kill my landlord!”
C-I-L-L my landlord.
Upon noticing *any* behavioral changes in the family dog
. . . . OT Ping to # 5 and # 14.
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