Posted on 08/21/2007 8:00:32 PM PDT by paulat
Woman mauled by home-invading pit bulls
07:45 PM PDT on Tuesday, August 21, 2007
KING5.com Staff
Animal control officers say the victim was covered in blood after the dogs attacked PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. - In what deputies describe as the worst mauling they've ever seen, two pit bulls entered a Wauna-area home via the pet door and attacked a woman in her bed.
Pierce County Sheriff's Dept. spokesman Ed Troyer said a neighbor's Jack Russell terrier also entered the home in the 10600 block of 132nd St. Court NW through the dog door and the pit bulls attacked the terrier named Romeo.
The 59-year-old woman was in bed, in her room. Neighbors say she was sound asleep when the attack happened. She managed to get away, run to her car, lock herself in and call 911. Even after fighting off the dogs, she was in pretty bad shape.
Bernard Choi / KING 5 News
Two pit bulls entered a Pierce County home and attacked a woman in her bed.
"Pretty much from head-to-toe, she was covered in blood," said Pierce County Animal Control officer Brian Bowman.
Troyer said firefighters locked the pit bulls in the house until deputies arrived. Officers had to use pepper spray and fight the dogs to get them into custody.
The woman was taken to St. Joseph Hospital, where she was listed in satisfactory condition. The terrier was taken to an animal hospital, where he died Tuesday afternoon.
The pit bulls were taken to the Pierce County Humane Society, where they will remain until the case is resolved.
The pit bulls also attacked a Jack Russell terrier named Romeo.
Troyer said the owner of the pit bulls has been identified and lives on the same street as the victim. KING 5 went to the home, but nobody answered the door. Neighbors say they have had problems in the past with the two pit bulls running wild.
Information will be given to prosecutors, who will decide what, if any, charges will be filed against the owners. Animal control officers say they will recommend gross misdemeanor charges at the very least.
One of the breeds that the anti-pitters claim NEVER to see in the paper. Too ironic.
I've complained sever times, the woman comes out and calls the dogs in, but 1/2 hour they're out again. I don't want to complain too much in case someone takes condign action. I've thought about nouc mam sauce on more than one occasion.
“Also, having met a few pit bull owners, all I can say is: on a socio-economic scale— they leave a lot to be desired.”
Certainly true in this small city where I live, Kingman AZ. There are 3 pit bull owners in the immediate area and they all look like the typical shirtless, dumb as a stump, white dudes you see on COP’s. If you had to sue them you would be lucky to get a 300 buck piece of c**p car out of the deal.
I had a co-worker who inherited a house from her mother. She had a pit bull for a pet and the insurance company did’nt want to insure her unless she paid a higher premium so she dropped the insurance instead of getting rid of the dog. Months later a tornado knocked a tree onto the house and ruined it. No insurance,no house but she still had the dog.
I had the same exact situation with a JRT. One day my son (5YO) was sitting on the floor eating popcorn. The dog was around, wasn't being fed the popcorn. My son stood up, bent over and picked up the popcorn bowl and the dog snapped at his face.
The dog was gone the next day.
Especially when they are sleeping, nothing is less conservative than a home invasion by (a) the government (b) PitBulls..
It's extraordinarly annoying. They are three of the vile animals - one is one of those hyper agressive dogs that starts barking and growling when he hears my car come into my driveway even though my driveway is at the opposite side of the property, and the other two kind of just go along. I used to amuse myself by walking back and forth past the fence and after a couple of passes the hyperagressive one would get so frustrated at not being able to get to me he would tear into the other two dogs.
Isn’t there something that could be done legally? Isn’t there something that could be done legally?
Yes, the county sends a letter, and if the owner ignores the letter you have to take them to court on your own dime.
I know these two dogs and I would feel very comfortable with them being around a child. But people who have well trained animals (Of all breeds) do not have these problems. If an animal with a good disposition is raised in a caring, loving home, these things do not happen. We also own a pit bull who is a sweet loving dog. He has never shown aggression to humans and listens well to commands. I will say it again, it was because of the environment in which he was raised!! People must be willing to train their animals and protect them. Our dog is never off his leash when he is outside our fenced in yard. We do that to protect him from others. We are smart owners who care about what happens to our animals and the kids. I do not understand the hate for these animals.
Good combination of smart, loyal, trainable and tough.
“Jack Russells in no way, shape or form have the temperment of a Pit Bull.”
True. Now for my funny dog story. A single woman I knew and worked with had a Jack Russel and a toy poodle, both males. She told me once how the two dogs would go nuts when she came home from work and would not even let her take off her coat until they had spent a few minutes frantically jumping all over her and licking her face. I said “You realize of course that they had spent a large part of the day doing nothing more interesting then laying on the couch licking their genitals, right?” She was not amused.
I heard a female comedian once say; “Dogs are the perfect companions for single women. They are loyal, they love you unconditionally.....and they die in their teens”. LOL!
She does’nt mess with the kids she treats them as part of her pack,but if she did she would need to go. I’m not big on having animals in the house so after she goes I don’t think I will get another one.
Ah, so the woman was not really being mauled, the dogs had just dropped in looking for someone to play with. Gotcha.
OK so your dogs are probably harmless. But doesn't almost everyone whose dog bits someone think the same way? So what's your solution to the dog bite problem. Massive fines or jail time for the owner? Fines usually don't work, because a large fraction of the owners have no assets. Jail time?
One person suggested that insurance companies drop coverage. OK now you're the injured party when someone else's dog attacks you and you run up $70,000 in reconstructive surgery bills. You sue, and OOOPS they don't have any money. They don't have any equity in their house, but the judge allows you to put a lien against it. Big Deal. They go merrily on, you have to pay, and you have a lien against their house; you might collect something when they sell, but meanwhile you have had the pain ind injury and had to bear the expense too.
A non dog related typical neighbor. I say this only to relate how people regard their injury of other people and others' property. I came home one day and my neighbor (since moved) greeted me in my driveway. Since he never spoke to me otherwise, I wondered WTF? The first words out of his mout were "I talked to my lawyer and I'm not liable" HUH? It turned out that a limb had fallen out of his tree and done some damage (not a lot) to my deck. He then said I'll help you clean it up ( mighty generous of him. I went out with my chainsaw and told him OK let's clean it up. He said I'll be right back and went into his house and hid until I cleaned it up. I dragged as much as I could into his driveway so he'd have to move them to get his car out. Point being that unless forced people will not take responsibility for their torts.
Anthropomorphism
With respect, kanawa, by using the words "the dog's parents," the poster is misinterpreting what a "parent" is.
Im not sure that I have an answer except that all people need to be vigilant about their animals. This means not to let them run loose, to train them and to love them. No animal deserves to be treated the way that the pit bull type has been treated as a group. There are stats everywhere on the web about dog bites and attacks. I found several non-pit sites that say that pit bulls are often blamed for attacks when indeed, the animal was not a pit. I do love my dog very much but I will say it, I would take responsibility. If my dog attacked a human for no reason, he would be put down.period. People should be punished if their animals are running loose and they take no responsibility!
Do you understand that pit bulls as a whole are a product of their owners? It is not fair to say that they all should be shot. My pit is very popular in our community. Everyone knows him, pets him and talks to him. He is in a locked fence. We do this to protect him from others not the other way around. If someone killed my dog simply because he is a pit bull, it would be as if someone murdered my son in cold blood. Think about it!
I have GOT to get me one of THOSE!
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