I don't often ( ever) hear of a Keeshound killing a child or attacking a child on their way to the school bus.
lol....I know. My post was dripping with sarcasm.
The boy was probably tormenting the poor dog. Yellow labs don't bite without being provoked.
Because most dog breeds are well mannered pets and their owners have no reason to expect that they will hurt someone.
The most horrifying example of the lack of breed predictability is the October 2000 death of a 6-week-old baby, which was killed by her family's Pomeranian dog. The average weight of a Pomeranian is about 4 pounds, and they are not thought of as a dangerous breed. Note, however, that they were bred to be watchdogs! The baby's uncle left the infant and the dog on a bed while the uncle prepared her bottle in the kitchen. Upon his return, the dog was mauling the baby, who died shortly afterwards. ("Baby Girl Killed by Family Dog," Los Angeles Times, Monday, October 9, 2000 , Home Edition, Metro Section, Page B-5.)
Reactionary! The media treats "pitbulls" just like they do guns. They only mention the few bad dogs without ever bringing up the good.
SPANKY The Artisitic Pitbull.
He is a painter (Pitcasso) and they sell his paintings to raise money for charity. He is also a medical alert dog & helps to train other dogs for the disabled.
http://www.pitbullpress.com/ARTICLES/spanky.html Hmmmmm ya never see this stuff get posted. Only the bad pitbull stories.
http://www.charlotte.com/observer/local/pub/fire0419.htm It you can't get there to see it, it reads:
Pit bull's barking alerts owner to mobile home fire
By JOE DEPRIEST
BELMONT -- A barking dog helped a Belmont man escape from his burning mobile home early Wednesday, but then got trapped inside and died in the blaze Steve Caracappa, 41, got out unhurt. Firefighters found the body of his pet pit bull in a hall in front of the bedroom.
"The dog saved his life - absolutely," said Chief Dicky Harris with the Community Volunteer Fire Department. "If the dog hadn't been in the house, there's a very good possibility he would have been overcome by smoke."
The fire occurred around 3:15 a.m. in McKee Mobile Home Park on Riverloop Road near Belmont. Harris said the dog went into Caracappa's bedroom and began barking.
When Caracappa woke up, he found the mobile home filled with smoke and rushed outside. Harris said Caracappa went back inside and tried to find the dog while fighting the blaze with two 5-pound fire extinguishers. The flames eventually drove him back outside.
About 15 firefighters from four departments fought the blaze, which heavily damaged the mobile home and a Ford pickup parked nearby. Gaston Fire Marshal Jim Pharr said the blaze apparently started in or around an electric heater in the kitchen on the opposite end of the mobile home from where Caracappa slept.
The residence was equipped with a smoke alarm, but Pharr said Caracappa didn't hear it.
Firefighters said Caracappa, who is getting assistance from the American Red Cross, was highly upset over the death of his pet.
Heroic Pit Bull: Dog Finds Help For Injured Neighbor
http://www.auburnjournal.com/display/inn_news/NEWS2.TXT By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer
Move over Lassie. A pit bull terrier has shown Auburn's Jim Roach that heroic dog deeds don't just happen in the movies or on TV.
Roach fell from a 12-foot-high ladder while picking peaches last month on his rural Mount Vernon Road property. Dazed and unable to move because of his injuries, he soon found renter Jeanne Davis' two-year-old pit bull Gabby hovering over him and barking.
"I was unconscious pretty much," Roach said Tuesday. "I remember a dog licking the side of my face and standing by me and barking and barking and barking."
But nobody came. That's when Gabby did the heroically unexpected and went for help. About 100 yards away and not able to see or hear Roach, Davis heard Gabby furiously barking and thought perhaps someone had entered the property. But Roach's dog also nearby - wasn't barking.
Soon after she first noticed the barking, Gabby emerged.
"She's barking and then she looks at me and runs back," Davis said. "It's kind of like something Lassie would do."
So Davis followed Gabby. She found her landlord injured and moaning in pain near the pruning ladder. "I walked over to where he was and Gabby stopped barking," Davis said.
With Roach immobilized on the ground, a California Highway Patrol helicopter was dispatched to transport the seriously injured college instructor to Roseville Medical Center's trauma unit for emergency treatment.
Roach, a College of San Mateo instructor, said doctors diagnosed multiple injuries from the fall, including a fractured clavicle, four broken ribs, two cracked vertebrae, and bleeding on the brain.
A towel wrapped around his head, Jason Williams-style, probably saved his life when his head hit the ground, Roach said.
Roach said he spent a week in hospital. One of the first visitors after discharge was Gabby. He said the two now seem to have formed a strong bond as a result of the rescue.
A psychology instructor, Roach said that the incident is a good example of the more endearing side of pit bulls that doesn't receive media attention
"I've never felt they've been given a fair shake," he said. "They're just a terrier."
Davis said Gabby was abused before she adopted her. She's been training the dog to become less apprehensive around people.
"A lot of people said to put her down, that she's going to do something bad," Davis said. "I'm so proud of my dog."
Here is a story you won't see posted on FR by the pit hater club:
Thursday, November 11, 1999
By Linda Wilson Fuoco, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
When the deadly cottonmouth snake struck out at "her" children, Dixie never hesitated. The dog pushed the children aside, putting her 50-pound body between them and the snake. Dixie saved Frank Humphries, 9, and his 7-year-old twin siblings, Katie and Codi. But the venomous snake inflicted two bites on the face of the 16-month-old dog.
Valerie Humphries of Fayetteville, Ga., -- the children's mother and Dixie's co-owner -- killed the snake with an ax and rushed the dog to veterinarian Francoise Tyler. "Seeing Dixie's unconscious body in the arms of that doctor was one of the worst things I've ever been through," Humphries said. "Dr. Tyler had to keep her for several days, hooked up to intravenous antibiotics."
Then the vet nominated Dixie for the Hero Dog category in a contest sponsored by the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association. Dixie won over 300 nominated dogs and this month is being inducted into the Georgia Animal Hall of Fame.
Now here comes one of the cheapest writing tricks in the book -- the "O'Henry ending":
Dixie is a pit bull.
The breed of a hero-dog shouldn't matter, really. But it does matter because this is a breed of dog that is feared, hated and reviled by so many people, including many who call themselves animal lovers.
Many individuals and organizations, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, are trying to outlaw this breed. They can't stop at merely despising pit bulls and related breeds, including American Staffordshire terriers and Staffordshire bull terriers. They want to outlaw pit bulls, even those owned by loving, responsible dog owners. Even child-loving life-savers like Dixie.
Dixie is reason enough to rail against breed-specific legislation -- laws that target an entire breed. Other breeds are under siege all over the country, especially rottweilers. Proposed legislation in other parts of the country target an ever-growing list of breeds, including
boxers, Siberian huskies, Alaskan malamutes, Akitas, chow chows, German shepherds and Doberman pinschers.
Call me pro-choice on dog ownership. I think people who love dogs should be free to own as many dogs as we can take care of -- as long as we are loving, responsible owners and the dogs create no problems and pose no threat to people, property and other animals. We have the right to buy a pure-bred from a responsible breeder or to rescue a homeless mixed-breed from a shelter. And we should certainly be able to love the breed of our choice.
I put the 55-pound child that I love more than life itself in the company of a 75-pound sharp-toothed carnivore. I trust them together implicitly, for Mickey the Labrador retriever gazes upon my son, Dante, with looks that can only be love. It's what I love best about my dog and I would fight to keep him.
I will continue to fight for the right of people like the Humphries to keep dogs like Dixie. There are laws to punish" people who let their dogs attack and bite. Use those laws. Don't target entire breeds.
In Toledo, Ohio, pit bulls who broke no law have been forcibly removed from their homes. Seized pit bulls have been killed before owners, lawyers and dog groups could save them. Right now in Washington, D.C., officials are trying to outlaw pit bulls. Dog lovers around the country are protesting by telephone, e-mail and "snail" mail. Others are traveling great distances to protest in person.
Breed-specific legislation is being enacted around the country. Think it couldn't happen to your dog or your breed? In Reading, Pa., a new law says all pit bulls are dangerous and owners will face special restrictions, including insurance mandates, that most people will
not be able to meet.
Other dogs will join the Reading list when a breed is responsible for 40 percent of dog bites in that town. This puts popular breeds like Labs and golden retrievers at high risk.
Wrong. "Dog breeds" aren't well-mannered pets -- individual dogs are. Every dog breed has its dangerous animals; breeds that are commonly used for dog fighting are more likely to be so. In all cases, owners must be held responsible; people breeding aggressive dogs for fighting should be in prison.
My border collie mix was abused and then turned out on the street as a puppy before we adopted him. Because he wasn't socialized, he is not to be trusted with strangers. It's my responsibility if he bites someone; I make sure he is always on leash or in our fenced yard. But if the worst happened, it would not be a reason to ban all border collie mixes, or all formerly abused dogs.
Points taken and appreciated.
You have every right to protect your property and your family, as a matter of fact I agree with part of your statement. But I do disagree about you shooting a dog if it's not bothering anyone, now don't take what i'm saying wrong because if a dog comes up to my house and starts problems or won't leave. Then I to would shoot them, but just take into consideration that their not all blood thirsty vicious animals. As a matter of fact my dogs are not even full blooded pits, I like crossed up dogs with English Bull dog or Hound that kind of take off that tendency to be mean. But you couldn't tell that by looking at them, it's unfortunate that they have the reputation that they do.