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Pit Bull Apologists, Wake Up
SFGate.com ^ | June 6, 2004 | C.W. Nevius

Posted on 07/09/2004 2:10:42 PM PDT by Shermy

Eighty-eight year old Mabel Wong was still in critical condition in John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek on Monday. She's been there since a week ago last Saturday, battling for her life, after a horrible mauling by a neighbor's pit bull near her Concord home.

In the aftermath, people wondered how it could happen. What did this little elderly lady do to trigger such an attack? The answer is simple and blunt. Nothing.

"This lady had interacted with this dog hundreds of times,'' said Lt. Abe Gamez of Contra Costa Animal Services. "She was just trying to get from one place to another.''

Whenever there is an account of a mauling by a pit bull, there is a howl of protest from those who love the breed. There are no bad dogs, just bad owners, they say. Or they ask how the media reporting the incident knew the dog was a pit bull. Pit bulls, they insist, are no more inherently dangerous than any other breed of dog.

That's not true.

"What I usually say is that it is not uncommon to spend thousands of dollars breeding a good hunting dog,'' says Gamez. "With a good hunting dog, that is not something you teach -- he's got it in his genes. The pit bull is bred for fighting.''

"You can't make a German shepherd stop herding,'' says Merritt Clifton, editor of the Washington-based Animal People magazine. "You can't make a Chihuahua stop barking.''

It is at this point that everyone starts yelling at each other and pointing fingers. My pit bull, someone says, plays with my children every day. He's the cutest, most affectionate pet we've ever had. Pits are no more aggressive or dangerous than beagles.

That's not true.

...

...

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS:
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1 posted on 07/09/2004 2:10:42 PM PDT by Shermy
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To: ambrose; martin_fierro; EggsAckley; MineralMan

Ping.


2 posted on 07/09/2004 2:11:40 PM PDT by Shermy
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To: Shermy
What is it they say about folks who own pit bulls and Presa Canarias?

"The meaner the dog, the smaller the..."

3 posted on 07/09/2004 2:12:32 PM PDT by Poohbah ("Mister Gorbachev, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!" -- President Ronald Reagan, Berlin, 1987)
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To: HairOfTheDog

Dog ping?


4 posted on 07/09/2004 2:13:59 PM PDT by ecurbh (I love my wife.)
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To: Shermy
As Rush would say, a tiger is a tiger is a pit bull.

It'll also cost you on your homeowners insurance to own a dangerous breed of dog.

5 posted on 07/09/2004 2:14:10 PM PDT by JohnnyZ (Yes, I do think I'm funny, why do you ask?)
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To: feinswinesuksass; HairOfTheDog

Another needless mauling by a kind, gentle pit.


6 posted on 07/09/2004 2:15:18 PM PDT by sinkspur (There's no problem on the inside of a kid that the outside of a dog can't cure.)
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To: Poohbah

I have a 13" Beagle who weighs about 20 pounds. My husband got in the way one day (dog fight). This little Beagle lacerated his upper lip (through and through laceration). Little dogs can do a lot of damage.


7 posted on 07/09/2004 2:16:19 PM PDT by abnegation (If I must choose between righteousness and peace, I choose righteousness TR)
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To: Shermy; Flyer; technochick99; sinkspur; annyokie; Scott from the Left Coast; 88keys; DugwayDuke; ...
I'm awake...

Ping!


8 posted on 07/09/2004 2:16:31 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog (~*-,._.,-*~Loves her hubbit~*-,._.,-*~)
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To: Poohbah

I don't like the tone of this article...

It's punishing people and responsible dog owners for stuff their dog hasn't done yet.


9 posted on 07/09/2004 2:18:28 PM PDT by hchutch ("Go ahead. Leave early and beat the traffic. The Milwaukee Brewers dare you." - MLB.com 5/11/04)
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To: Eaker
Little dogs can do a lot of damage.

Little geriatric dogs too...

10 posted on 07/09/2004 2:18:51 PM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: Shermy

When it comes to injuring innocent people, I prefer my Pit Africanized Bee colony.


11 posted on 07/09/2004 2:19:26 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Drug prohibition laws help fund terrorism.)
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To: Poohbah
The numbers are stunning. As of last week, meaning Mabel Wong's mauling would be included, pit bulls were cited in 831 attacks. The next closest was the rottweiler with 373. No other breed made it out of double digits. "They are off the charts,'' says Gamez. "If you look at the fatals and severe bites, you will see the majority are rottweilers and pits.''

Like Howie Carr says "Most Pit Bull owners are drug dealers".

12 posted on 07/09/2004 2:19:29 PM PDT by bikepacker67
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To: abnegation
This little Beagle lacerated his upper lip ...

I'm guessin' he's still alive, though.

13 posted on 07/09/2004 2:19:34 PM PDT by DuncanWaring (...and Freedom tastes of Reality)
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To: JohnnyZ

The apartment complex where we lived for a few months didn't accept German Shepherds, so we called Heidi a "Husky mix," conveniently omitting the GSD element of her genetics.


14 posted on 07/09/2004 2:19:39 PM PDT by mvpel (Michael Pelletier)
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To: Poohbah

I call it Bully by Proxy. The "people" across the street finally moved after two years of dodging the pitbull to get mail or take out the garbage for collection.

They not only thought it was funny when the miserable dog charged us, but refused to keep it under control.

I should have called animal control at the time. I will if anything like this happens again.


15 posted on 07/09/2004 2:19:51 PM PDT by OpusatFR (No longer depressed. Went to the same day spa as Edwards and now I'm prettier. Better hair, too.)
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To: hchutch

There are some breeds of dog that should not be tolerated in a close-quarters residential environment. Pit bulls and Presa Canarias are high on that list.


16 posted on 07/09/2004 2:20:03 PM PDT by Poohbah ("Mister Gorbachev, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!" -- President Ronald Reagan, Berlin, 1987)
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To: abnegation

Xena's Guy made the mistake - once - of holding Salty's pig ear too close to his own face, and encouraging Salty to come get it. Salty got the ear and part of XG's chin, and five stitches later, Homie don't play that.


17 posted on 07/09/2004 2:21:02 PM PDT by Xenalyte (No one will be sitting in sackcloth and ashes wailing, "Oh, if only we had listened to Art Bell!")
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To: DuncanWaring
This little Beagle lacerated his upper lip ...

I'm guessin' he's still alive, though.

Your husband, that is.

18 posted on 07/09/2004 2:21:13 PM PDT by DuncanWaring (...and Freedom tastes of Reality)
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To: OpusatFR
They not only thought it was funny when the miserable dog charged us, but refused to keep it under control.

I know of at least one case where the dog was brought under control by the annoyed neighbor.

Permanently.

19 posted on 07/09/2004 2:21:45 PM PDT by Poohbah ("Mister Gorbachev, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!" -- President Ronald Reagan, Berlin, 1987)
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To: Shermy

A mail carrier is in the hospital in Houston following a pitbull attack. It happened yesterday or day before. I don't know if the man condition is serious or critical.


20 posted on 07/09/2004 2:21:48 PM PDT by Ditter
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