Feel better now?
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.
In order to fully get the point of the book, you have to read the entire Dark Tower series....
>The liberal mindest that “if you just give these dogs a chance, if you just treat them nicely, they’ll be good!” dominates in the pit bull defender mindset. <
You missed the mark here. With any large, powerful breed, whether pit bull, Anatolian Shepherd, German Shepherd, Tibetan Mastiff, Doberman, etc., there is an inherent responsibility to keep the dog under control at all times. Powerful dogs need socialization and training, which is not to the average pet owner, “treating them nicely” necessarily. Training a dog means modifying its behavior to stop whatever it’s doing at the time on command. Socializing a pup with people of all ages means the pup will treat all people as people, and will not give chase to a screaming toddler.
Most of all, anyone who chains a dog and leaves it unattended in the yard is asking for a tragedy, especially if they know their neighbors have little kids. At the very least a little child could get tangled in the chain. At the worst, the child could get killed.
Finally, whether you like it or not, parents must teach young children to never, ever approach a dog that is not theirs without the dog’s owner present. In addition, contrary to popular belief, it is dangerous for anyone to hug a strange dog, especially a little kid on eye level with the animal. Dogs do not like to be hugged by strangers. Most will suffer through, to the trained eye showing signs of stress, but some will lash out and bite, usually grabbing the person’s face. Parents have a responsibility to teach children how to behave around strange dogs and there are a number of programs out there to help them do so.
Even though parents have the responsibility above, should a dog bite a child, the dog owner is ultimately responsible for not keeping his animal under control. But, any thinking parent needs to do everything in his or her power to keep his child safe.
Now for reality - I don't live in FReeperville. The people near me who own these dogs are careless, irresponsible owners. Responsible Pit owners really should be at the forefront of the fight to find a solution.
Yes, exactly. It all comes down to responsible pet ownership and responsible parenting, not the government telling us what breed we can or can't own.
Here’s some more German Shepherds: http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20100421/NEWS01/4210316
An American Bulldog: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/latest/2010/04/18/uncle-bailed-after-dog-maul-death-115875-22195352/
A terrier, breed unidentified but small enough to be kicked: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Man-helpless-as-teenage-sisters-savaged-by-dog.htm
It is all about responsible ownership and not the breed. Banning all Pit Bulls tomorrow would not solve the problem. The same problem Pit owners would simply get another breed, treat it the same way and have the same issues. Fact is there are few purebred pits out there now, most are mixed breeds so it is not just a pit problem now.
Great video! I’ve done some pulling with friends (nothing competetive) and it’s just incredible. The dogs know what they’re doing, and they revel in it. They know it’s what they were meant for.
Hmm, a doggie seat belt...I usually just wedge him into the back, between the car seats! He’ll be going cross-country with me this summer though, and I’ve been wondering if I shouldn’t get him a seat belt of some kind...
Feel better now?
My boy would have the littlee dogs hitched up and pulling with him directing and drinking lemonade!
Oh, lord.
I read the first 3...what are there now, about 40 of them?...:))
I think I’ll give it a shot, regardless.
Thanks for putting me on to it.
Thank you.
I have a ~clear~ moment every two or three days.
Seven. The last two are really good and I think Oy is based on a pit!
They are.
Problem is, people like Chet and his minions, aided by the “guts and gore sells” MSM outnumbers them.
There are entire YouTube channels devoted to getting the word out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beHxB6eVnpI
The only definitive, absolute solution is to drive the irresponsible owners into the poorhouse with fines [or jail] for allowing their dogs to indulge in misbehavior/running loose/aggressive actions.
When they have to choose between jail/poverty or restraining their dogs, the breeds won’t be nearly as attractive.
damn right...I just love homosexuals...Harvey Firestein is so yummy you know and I myself was a hippie long ago in a Universe commonly known as The Early 70s.
/s
Homos and Hippies for Pitbulls Unite against the man!
‘The same problem Pit owners would simply get another breed, treat it the same way and have the same issues. Fact is there are few purebred pits out there now, most are mixed breeds so it is not just a pit problem now.”
They already are.
Argentine Dogos.
Dogue de Bordeaux.
All of the mastiffs and their subtypes.
Seems pit bulls are just too common these days and the “bling” has got to be bigger.
So you are right.
Banning one breed does NOTHING to stop irresponsible thugs from just getting another breed to replace the banned ones.
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