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.

[ModernDayCato]

Uh, not sure what you mean. I don't 'pen' our dogs, nor would you ever find him in your yard or not on a leash.

How about this...you mind your own #$%*& business and stop telling people what they can do with their dogs, and I'll continue to be a responsible dog owner.

And should my dog do something that causes me liability, I will accept the responsibility and consequences.

[auggy]

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

So can Poodles.

I've never heard of a poodle going off.

[drew]

Yeah, you're exactly right. I know people who love pit bulls and say they're the best dogs and etc. But most of the people I see walking them are dirtbags who want the animal precisely because of it's "bad" reputation, and they're also the types who don't take good care of the dogs, don't train them or take them to the vet. We need to put these shitbags in jail if their dogs hurt someone, just like those jackholes in San Fran. The same happens with Rotweilers, which are wonderful dogs. My frined has two and they are the best dogs, loyal and sweet-tempered, becasue he took the time to train the damn things. But I alwyas react negatively when I see some trglodyte walking a pit bull, a lot of times without a leash.

[MineralMan]

""A mean one" was not stated, it was any one.

For all those saying they never met someone who owned a pit bull and didn't have problems, meet the pit bull owning freepers.
"

Tell you what. I'll just go on considering all pit bulls to be dangerous, if you don't mind. And I'll go on insisting that none enter my property, if you don't mind. As long as your pit bull stays the heck away from me, it will be safe. That's pretty simple, isn't it?

[ModernDayCato]

Ah, there we go....more idiots who should never have had dogs in the first place dump their animals in the pound.

FYI...these are the top breeds subject to breed prejudice among insurance companies:

Rottweilers
Pitt bulls
GSDs
Chows
Dalmatians
Akitas

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

"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?

Yeah...but first I'd use it to shoot the dog.

[MineralMan]

"Uh, not sure what you mean. I don't 'pen' our dogs, nor would you ever find him in your yard or not on a leash.

How about this...you mind your own #$%*& business and stop telling people what they can do with their dogs, and I'll continue to be a responsible dog owner."

In that case, your dog will be safe. You'll note that I didn't say anything except that an unleashed pit bull in my yard is going to be no more. It will be defunct. It will cease to be. Yours or any other.

In saying that, I _am_ minding my own business. My yard is my business, not yours. I'm telling you what you _can't_ do with your dogs, not what you _can_ do with them. As long as you're a responsible dog owner, your pit bull will be safe from harm by me. That I'll guarantee. So you have no worries, do you?

[auggy]

Spanky and Our Gang were never mauled. Of course, this may have been before they were bred to be killers.

[GovernmentShrinker]

No matter how carefully they're bred and trained, they've still got exceptionally powerful jaws. Any breed of dog can "snap" and attack an inappropriate target, but pit bulls have by far the most physical ability to do catastrophic damage (with Rottweilers a close second).

[ModernDayCato]

I have absolutely no problem with anything you said in your last post. As long as you're not advocating wholesale extermination of the breed you have a right to do what you will.

I can however guarantee that if you lived in my town and shot Pooh because he wandered into your yard you would immediately be arrested and face a hefty civil suit from me when you got out.

[ModernDayCato]

Ah...the old exceptionally powerful jaws urban legend. The 'Pit Bull' jaws are no different than any other dog's.

[auggy]

That's Good!!

[MineralMan]

"I can however guarantee that if you lived in my town and shot Pooh because he wandered into your yard you would immediately be arrested and face a hefty civil suit from me when you got out."

Not a chance. "Officer, this dog came into my yard, and when I approached it, it growled, bared its teeth and looked like it was going to attack. For my own safety and for the safey of my family, I felt it necessary to shoot it."

Don't be silly. The same argument would work in your civil suit. Each of us, on our own property, is entitled to defend ourself against attack by animals. You wouldn't stand a chance.

Again, however, the solution is simple. As long as your dog does not enter my yard, it will be safe. All you have to do is to obey the laws which require your animal to be under control at all times.

[Cap'n Crunch]

Whenever I get a pit bull call at work I go right for the 12 guage, my 'pit bull pacifier.' Shot one about a week ago. He was loose, chasing kids and anyone walking in the area.

Another of the guys shot one with his issue .45 a few days ago after it came at him. Hit the pit above the right eye and it took off running. He put a second one in the brain pan and that one put it down.

Any pit bull call I get sent on my prefered method is 12 guage shotgun.

[ModernDayCato]

Okay...I set you up on that one. I said 'in my town.' The Police Chief and second-in-command are both very good friends of mine and have known Pooh since he was a puppy. Do I need to spell it out?

And as far as the civil suit is concerned, those same two guys would testify that you were in absolutely no danger. As long as you are willing to accept the consequences of your actions I still respect them -- and I will respect them when I'm moving into your house.

Of course, your last paragraph is true and accurate, and is the real problem here.

[Crawdad]

I'm an insurance adjuster. Sometimes I work dog attack claims under homeowners policies. The last three attacks I worked involved two rottweilers and one pit bull. All three had the same name: Rambo. No matter where I am when I meet a dog with its owner for the first time, the first thing I do is ask the dog's name. It's truly amazing how much one can learn about another person by what he names his animals.

[ffusco]

Of course my dog is tied out, fenced in or locked inside at all times. I know the difference between a trusted family pet and a mean junk dog.

[RepoGirl]

My Rottie, Betty, is the gentlest animal. She sleeps on the sofa with my cat, they hunt newts together, drink out of the same bowl and even groom each other.

I love Rotts, they're phenomenal dogs if trained correctly. My rottie, Ursa, is an amazing dog. She gets along well with the cats, and has no aggression towards people or other dogs (she's in training to be a therapy dog) and most importantly, is well-behaved around my baby. Of course, she's a purebred from some impressive bloodlines, and her sire and dam are excellent dogs as well. I can't attest for the ones bred irresponsibly.

You want to talk violent and unpredictable--let's talk about my neighbor's two nasty-as-hell terriers, aptly named Ava and Sza Sza.

These two little rats attacked me and my 5-month-old daughter in our garage. I've found terriers and yap-dogs to be much more aggressive and nasty than the bigger 'macho' breeds. Granted, a rott or a pit could do more damage with one bite. It's all in the training and the breeding.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Do a little research on what it takes to get "papers". The papers are simply sold by mail to any "breeder" who registers with the AKC. There is absolutely NO requirement of any evidence, much less proof, that the papers match any dog with the listed parents. Some organization did a study a while back, DNA testing some of these "papered" dogs and their alleged parents. Found very little correlation between what the papers said and what the DNA said. Most "papers" are sold to puppy mills who pay no attention whatsoever to the genetic parentage of the puppies they mass produce. There have been a lot of documented cases of "purebred" dogs sold with AKC issued papers, that turned out not to even be the same general breed that the papers showed -- became evident after the tiny puppies started to grow to a size where you could tell what they were or weren't.