Bicyclist attacked by pit bulls

STERLING HEIGHTS — Passers-by came to the aid of a bicyclist who was attacked by four pit bulls near Metropolitan Parkway and Mound June 1.

According to Sterling Heights Police Lt. Dale Dwojakowski, the 59-year-old victim, a resident of Warren, sustained bite wounds to his ankles and wrist after the encounter with the dogs at around 1:18 p.m.

“This was on the sidewalk on 16 Mile Road … west of Mound,” he said. “He was just riding his bike. The dogs started charging him.”

When the man attempted to speed up to avoid the approaching animals, he lost control of the bike and fell to the ground, at which time the dogs began gnawing on his ankles, said Dwojakowski.

Several bystanders intervened, chasing the dogs away, though police and animal control officers managed to capture all four of the pit bulls shortly thereafter.

“Two of the dogs we kind of cornered right in that general area at 16 (Mile) and Mound, by the shopping plaza,” said Dwojakowski. “The other two dogs kind of ran into the subdivision, the surrounding streets.”

Dwojakowski said police later identified the dogs’ owner, who lives nearby. The woman, whose name has not been released, is not facing criminal charges at this time, but was cited for violating city ordinances, he said.

“Right now, a couple of ordinance violations were written for vicious dog attack and unlicensed dog,” he said. “Obviously she’s going to have her day in court on this to explain how this happened and how the dogs got out of her possession.”

The woman told officers she was uncertain how the animals escaped from her home, which is located in the vicinity of where the man was attacked, he said.

The dogs were being kept at the Macomb County Animal Shelter pending completion of a criminal investigation and outcome of the court proceedings. Dwojakowski said owners often sign away their rights and turn the animals over to the police and the shelter.

“At this point, I’m not sure what’s going to happen with the animals,” he said. “If a dog bit someone and it was pretty serious, in the past, dogs have been euthanized. But that doesn’t happen on every attack or bite. In this case, nothing’s been determined yet about that.”

Dwojakowski said it’s mandatory for all Sterling Heights residents to register their dogs, and though a license wouldn’t have prevented an attack, it would have helped officers identify the source of the animals more rapidly because the owner’s address would have been affixed to the dogs’ collars. Dog licenses are available through City Hall.

According to City Clerk Walter Blessed, city ordinance allows residents to have four animals, but prohibits more than that.

Anyone with information on the pit bull attack is asked to call the Sterling Heights Police Department at (586) 446-2800. People also can submit anonymous tips by texting the information, with “shpolice” as the first line, to tip411 (847411) on their cell phones.

You can reach Staff Writer Cortney Casey at ccasey@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1046.

“Can we just institute a nationwide kill on these freaking animals alread???!!!!!!!!!!”

Bans don’t work because they don’t address the real problem. Look at the UK- since their ban, their attacks have increased dramatically, and they now have more pit bulls than they did before the ban. Denver’s ban did not reduce the number of attacks, even though they were really good at killing lots and lots of dogs over it. Several European countries that had bans have repealed them, replacing them with responsible dog ownership laws. Calgary never banned any dogs and have seen a wonderful reduction in attacks after implementing responsible ownership laws.

Every expert on the subject, every professional with education and experience, every organization (that is reputable) says the same thing. There is no evidence that any breed is any more likely to attack than another. Pit bulls are the most popular dog in many areas, and with many bad owners who want them for the wrong reasons, it’s no surprise that right now they are in the news a lot.

However, there are 13 thousand attacks from dogs every single day in this country, yet for some reason, the only ones appearing on the news are caused by the dogs that the media prefers to report on. The same thing happened with several other dog breeds over the years, and the popularity of the dog is only increased by media reports, making them desirable to the wrong people. 19 People died last year from dogs that were not pit bulls. What would a breed ban have done for them?

www.cdc.gov- There’s a decades-long study on here that is often misused for breed ban enthusiasts. The overall message the authors are trying to convey is completely lost on most people with attention spans much too short to do anything but look at the breed table. Their whole point was to show that many breeds attack and kill, and that the most common thread among all dog attacks is the treatment of the dog...ie, the responsibility of the owner.

www.atts.org- This site shows the results of thousands of dogs tested on unprovoked aggression. You can see where your favorite breed compares to the rest, and see where pit bulls rank, which might surprise you.

www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com- This site has an entire book free to read, that is about the dog bite problem, with research dating back all the way to the 1800’s.

www.kcdogblog.com- This lists all of last year’s fatalities from dog bites, including the breed of dog, the care it received, the age of the person, and even the income level of the area. There is a correlation in many of these cases between the income level and the level of irresponsible or uneducated dog owners.

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