Posted on 04/21/2010 10:46:49 PM PDT by Chet 99
5-year-old mauled by pit bull in Hurricane
April 20, 2010
HURRICANE -- Many owners of American pit bull terriers say the dogs get a bad rap, that they can be as sweet as any other breed and can make great family pets. But if a pit bull attacks, one Utah mother says the results can be devastating.
A pit bull mauled Katie Weeks' 5-year-old daughter, Saleena Wickward, in Hurricane Monday night. The little girl is now recovering from reconstructive facial surgery.
"She's already asked her mom for a mirror, and we're waiting on that," Weeks says.
Right now, Saleena's face only resembles what she used to look like: swelling, stitches and staples consume her innocent face.
"I was so afraid to walk into that room and see my little girl because I just thought she would never look the same again," Weeks says.
But she says her daughter already looks better than she did right after the attack.
It happened Monday night in Hurricane around 5:30. Weeks says her daughter wandered to the next yard over to catch a caterpillar.
According to the dog owner, Saleena was throwing rocks at the pit bull. Then, it lunged at her face.
"The dog was on a chain, but he grabbed her and didn't let go," Weeks says.
The owner had to pry the jaws off of Saleena's head. Neighbors called 911.
Saleena stayed conscious while waiting for an ambulance.
"We got a towel and pushed the skin up against her, and just wrapped it around and held it there until 911 got there, and just rocked her and tried to comfort her the best we could," Weeks says.
At Dixie Regional Medical Center, the 5-year-old had six and a half hours of reconstructive surgery. Two plastic surgeons helped put Saleena's face back together.
Stitches go from the middle of her lip, to her nose and cheek, then around her ear. A plate and screw are stabilizing her fractured cheek.
Now, doctors and family members will have to wait to see if there's any nerve damage. In the meantime, weeks says her emotions are all over the place.
"Fear, hope, more prayers than I've ever said in my life," she says.
The dog owner didn't want to comment. Weeks doesn't place blame on the owner. She says the dog had played with her kids before.
Hurricane police say the pit bull is with animal control.
Look at the bottle on the night stand.
Chances are, it’s also a mean drunk.
Ban them NOW before he sobers up!
OMG!
I was cheering him on!
Go, little guy, GO!
[I’m a horse pull fanatic]...LOL
HIP(po) - HIP(po) - HURRAY!
that is a big pit or little owners
Most people are unaware that “hugging” mimics the “dominance mounting” that dogs do to each other to display pack rank.
It is, in every dog’s primal mind, an act of aggression and challenge.
Some dogs, having been “cuddled” all their lives permit it.
Others react exactly the way they’re wet-wired to do so.
If their “alpha” hugs them, they submit.
If somebody else tries it, it could lead to disaster and *every* kid want to hug the doggy.
I’m not sure, having no kids myself, how I would explain to a child that hugging Fluffy ~might~ make him angry.
We are inter-species partners, eternally bound, who walk in two worlds.
Our body language and theirs is wildly disparate.
We swoop wildly down upon a strange dog, meaning only to embrace and love it.
The dog sees a potential predator attacking it and reacts.
We gaze into their eyes lovingly; they see a challenge/dominance stare, instead.
We roll them over for tummy rubs.
They understand that they’ve been forced into a vulnerable position, soft underbelly exposed and ripe for tearing.
Ironically, dogs can learn to “speak our language” quite easily.
It is we who [usually] cannot understand theirs.
ROFLMAO!
Dude...you are *so* over the top.
Love it!
Louisiana Man (Acuff & Rose) sung by Doug Kershaw
At birth mom and papa called their little boy Ned
Raised him on the banks of a river bed
A houseboat tied to a big tall tree
A home for my papa and my mama and me
The clock strikes three and papa jumps to his feet
Already mama’s cooking papa something to eat
At half past papa he’s ready to go
He jumps in his pirogue headed down the bayou
Bridge: (1st)
He’s got fishing lines strung across the Louisiana rivers
Gotta catch a big fish for us to eat
He’s setting traps in the swamp catching anything he can
He’s gotta make a living, he’s a Louisiana Man
He’s gotta make a living, he’s a Louisiana Man
He’s got Muskrat hides hanging by the dozens
Even got a lady Mink, a Muskrat’s cousin
Got ‘em out drying in the hot, hot sun
Tomorrow papa’s gonna turn ‘em into mon(ey)
They call mama Rita and my daddy Jack
Little baby brother on the floor that’s Mack
Bren(da) and Lin(da) are the family twins
And big brother Ed’s on the bayou fishing
On the river floats papa’s great big boat
That’s how my papa goes into town
It takes every bit of a night and a day
To even reach a place where people stay
Bridge: (2nd)
I can hardly wait until tomorrow comes around
That’s the day my papa takes his furs to town
Papa promised me that I could go
He’d even let me see a cowboy show
I saw the cowboys and Indians for the first time then
I told my pop I’ve gotta go again
Papa said son we’ve got lines to run
We’ll come back again but first there’s work to be done
He’s got fishing lines strung across the Louisiana rivers
Gotta catch a big fish for us to eat
He’s setting traps in the swamp catching anything he can
He’s gotta make a living, he’s a Louisiana Man
He’s gotta make a living, he’s a Louisiana Man
I think a bit of both.
I bet Salamander could ride him like a horse!
I’ve been through several kinds of restraints.
I used to just toss the dogs in the back, roaming free.
Then a dog got thrown out of a car during a minor wreck.
Then I went to crates and somebody’s 2 dogs were thrown out of a rolled-over SUV on I-70 and their crates *exploded* apart.
They were so dazed from the rolling and bouncing from the crates tumbling down the highway that they couldn’t get themselves out of the oncoming traffic.
So...I went to wire-coated heavy cable attached to the “mystery rings” mounted on the floor of my Yukon cargo area.
It took a while to find a suitable harness that would not constrict the dog, twist around on the dog, injure his neck or spine during an accident or break during a fast stop.
The one I showed you seems to do the job.
If the car rolls, he cannot be thrown around like he was in a crate.
Even if we land upside down and the Yuke is totaled, he can not get out on the roadway as he is still belted in.
This arrangement is what I am most comfortable with, having covered every base I can think of.
[I have quite a collection of expensive but functionally useless harnesses]....:))
I’d get the boy a seat belt of some sort.
Lots of crazy people out on the roads, these days.
There's a word for people (other than criminal) that indiscriminately and willfully kill animals for fun. I imagine you can guess.
Can I get that “PIT BULL ALERT!!” app for my Garmin or iPhone?
Gotta know what coordinates to avoid, ya know.
/s
Go ahead and post it.
I *know* you want to....LOL
OMG...now there’s an aspect *none* of us considered!
You are brilliant!
[welcome to the HippoDrome, O, Wise One]
I’ll have to make a wild-ass guess on the word....
Umm...I gonna go with “sociopath”.
Close?
Hi, lady!
Hippos, I’d like to introduce a new friend to you all.
She is a remarkably talented artist, has done pit bull rescue for years and is just an all-around stand-up gal.
Give her a big ol’ wet and sloppy Hippo welcome!
Well said, most people don’t bother learning the language of dogs. Most people don’t bother learning most things they need to know......this is where all the problems begin.
[I'm even body/vocal language bilingual, now]...;-D
I just let PitStop drive.
If we have a wreck it is his fault and he can deal with it. The plus side is he doesn’t drink so we always have a D.D.!
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