Man Strangles Rabid Pit Bull

AP ^ | September 5, 2003

[Shermy]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Will Stewart says he didn't have a choice in strangling a 6-month-old pit bull-mix puppy.

The puppy that wasn't known to be aggressive suddenly turned violent last week. The dog bit or scratched four adults and two children in an Indian Trail neighborhood and was later found to be rabid.

Stewart says the dog, Jake, went crazy. He says after the dog bit the children and his wife, he had to act.

He called the dog, which he thinks weighed between 50 and 60 pounds, and pinned him to the ground. Stewart says he couldn't wait for animal control to arrive, so he strangled the dog as he and the dog's owner held him down.

The Stewarts, the couple who owned Jake and their two children -- all of whom Jake bit or scratched -- have begun the painful and expensive treatment for rabies. Stewart says his first treatment involved seven shots, and he has four more appointments for additional shots.

[Shermy]

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[EggsAckley]

How is it that the dog GOT rabies? No vaccinations? And why? Sounds like a bunch of lazy hillbillies to me.

[wideawake]

This is simply not a breed which makes for a household pet.

[mhking]

Royal Marshall on WSB this morning had a great analogy. "If you had a gun that had a habit of going off out of the blue and firing by itself, into tables, walls, people, whatever was in the way, you'd get rid of that gun, wouldn't you? What's the difference when it comes to a breed of dog that goes off out of the blue?"

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[AntiGuv]

Pit bulls can make fantastic family pets if you train them properly. I can attest to that.

[MineralMan]

Rabies vaccine for dogs? What a novel idea! Pity this guy didn't bother to vaccinate his dog. But maybe that's part of the whole pit bull community. Don't castrate the males. Don't vaccinate against rabies. Don't bother to get a license for your dog. Teach it to be mean as heck. Feh!

[Cobra64]

That's when a .38/.357 with snake shot comes in handy.

[I still care]

Like bulls, these creeps BREED pit bulls to be nasty. If you take one from a reputable breeder, bred for temprament, and raise him right, they can be wonderful dogs.

But these creeps that fight them breed for fighting dogs. That's why they often have to euthanize even the puppies.

[Choose Ye This Day]

I call for pit bull control.

Seriesly, I can't stand these animals. With so many other beautiful, well-behaved breeds out there, why people would choose to have these often-vicious brutes is beyond me.

But, it's a free country. (I think.)

[MineralMan]

"Pit bulls can make fantastic family pets if you train them properly. I can attest to that."

Fine. They can also make vicious animals that attack without warning if you don't. Quite frankly, most of the folks I see with pit bulls don't look bright enough to train anything.

Now, a golden retriever is not a breed that does a lot of attacking, if my research is correct. Labs, neither, or even huge breeds like Newfoundlands.

Pit bull? Keep it the heck out of my yard, OK? I have no tolerance for them, and if yours is off leash and comes into my yard, it will never come out of my yard again...guaranteed.

[MineralMan]

"That's when a .38/.357 with snake shot comes in handy."

I prefer a 12 ga. with OO. Guaranteed.

[wideawake]

Perhaps you're right.

Everyone I've ever known who has had a pit bull as a household pet has had real problems. But it may be that fewer people have the expertise to properly train a pitbull than have the expertise to train, say, a springer spaniel.

[PaulJ]

Pit bulls can make fantastic family pets if you train them properly. I can attest to that.

Maybe. But it's also true that Pit bulls and Rottweilers account for most fatal attacks on humans. It's a chance some of us are not willing to take.

[attiladhun2]

Yeah, but it sure took bulls to choke a rabid pitbull. I once confronted one that got into my backyard with a ballbat and nearly sh*t my pantaloons till the sucker's owner heard the comotion and came and got it. Told him I'd bury it next time because I'd use my bow and arrow.

[Shermy]

Pit bull ping.

[Billthedrill]

Yipes - I have a term for people who strangle pit bulls.

"Sir."

[farmfriend]

I've been told by a breeder that the original papered lineages are ok but there are a lot of "street" lines out there that are not good. The two papered dogs that I have seen were both very submissive. I think if I were going to get a pit bull I would be very careful. Go with a papered line and pick a submissive puppy. Personally, not my choice of dog though.

[CommerceComet]

Yeah, whatever. On a "fantastic-family-pet" rating, I would rank a pit bull about on par with a black mamba.

[I still care]

This is an interesting article from a website on pitbull aggression.

http://www.realpitbull.com/agg.html

I have personally witnessed this, the dog is friendly, loving, and sweet, to people, and the moment they see another dog they try to kill it. To do the dog justice, it was removed from a fighting home.

[MineralMan]

"Maybe. But it's also true that Pit bulls and Rottweilers account for most fatal attacks on humans. It's a chance some of us are not willing to take."

Yup. A young guy down the street from me had a pit bull when he moved into the rental he lived in. The guy was a body-builder and not particularly friendly to the neighbors. His dog kept getting out and running in the neighborhood. Several of us warned him to keep his dog confined, but he just blew us off.

Well, one day, that dog went into my next-door neighbor's back yard and attacked their 12-year-old cocker spaniel, which was tied up on a tether. I heard my neighbor's wife screaming, and headed next door, after grabbing the Mossberg. I shot the pit bull, but it had already killed the poor little cocker.

Next thing I know, the pit bull's owner shows up and starts telling me what he's going to do to me. Funny, that, since he was unarmed and I still had 4 rounds in the Mossberg. I explained to him why he wasn't going to do anything to anyone and told him to get out of my neigbor's yard.

Next, I called the owner of the house and explained what had happened. The guy moved out the next day.

I DO NOT LIKE PIT BULLS. THEY ARE ALL SUSPECT.