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.
1) I have no idea who or what likes or dislikes JRT’s yet, mine is only a pup. However, we certainly know how much you dislike the breed!
2) This is not exactly what I would call a pit bashing thread, please re-read all the pro-pit posts!
3) That’s FRED THOMPSON land, don’t do ManBearPig! Too late, Mr. Zippy will have to find another doggie to impregnate!
4) You would “put down” a dog because it jumped around and acted like it was on acid....whatever!!!
Good Day!
Well here we're in agreement. Punish the owners just as if the owner commited the assult seems to be the best I can think of without trampling too many rights and sensibilities.
Do you understand that pit bulls as a whole are a product of their owners?
No I don't. It MAY be so, but there are lots of owners of golden retrievers and I'd guess that somehow even a drug-crazed, trailor-trash, sadistic baddie would have his work cut out for him if he wanted to make a golden as dangerous as a pitty. I'll readily agree that owners contribute to the problem.
I don't think the poster was saying they all should be shot. I think he said just the ones with careless owners.
If someone killed my dog simply because he is a pit bull, it would be as if someone murdered my son in cold blood. You're not suggesting that the law should treat killing dogs the same way it treats killing humans, are you? It would be a very great wrong and a very great grief to you, and I would certainly sympathize and do what I could to bring the perp to justice. But I don't think it would be the same.
It's lovely that you love your dog as much as your son. It's troubling that you love and value your son no more than you love and value your dog.
No I think it is troubling that people assume that it is the breed. If you knew anything about pits, you would know that indeed they can be dog aggressive but as a whole are not human aggressive. These are two seperate things. I also find it troubling that you do not understand the intense love that people can have for their pets. My dog is very much loved by everyone in our home and is treated like a child.
Yes I believe we have found a common ground. I just need for people to know that I think this should be for any breed of dog. Punish the owner as well as the offending dog. There should be a way to keep these people from ever owning another dog OF ANY BREED! People who own dogs need to take the responsibility for these animals or never own one.
I just need to say this. Several members of our family own pit bulls. We are all college educated and work high paying jobs. We do not fit the “white trash” model that you are speaking about. By saying that pit bull owners are uneducated trashy people, you are throwing around unhealthy stereotypes. I know several “white trash” type people who own tiny little poodles and yorkies that are typically associated with “higher class” people. It is silly to try to categorize people by the kind of animal that they choose to own.
That is exactly what a responsible dog owner should do in that situation...reagardless of breed.
Luvmypitt has her priorities straight, believe me. I know her personally and she feels the way I do. If any animal did something to her children there would not be a question about what she would do. Her children come first! That said, there is nothing wrong with having love for an animal. That is why the pits that we own are sweet, loving family pets. We are vigilant with our pets. I do think that Michael Vick should be prosecuted as should anyone who kills animals with no remorse. I also think people who kill people should be punished too. There is a difference in killing people and in killing animals but punishment needs to be severe for both!
Maybe you should try to be open minded too. I’m sure that we all have views that differ but I understand that there are some animals that are more aggressive than others and that some people will never understand. I would imagine that you wont change her mind either! (I signed up today too but that does not change the fact that we all have opinions!)
Factual attribution is never irrelevant... unless you're a graduate of the Dan Rather School of Journalism.
...UNPROVOKED. That means not preventable to me.
You may want to rethink that...look at the lady in this thread's article.
Let's assume she did nothing to provoke the attack...does that mean it was unpreventable...of course not.
A responsible owner would have his dogs contained and the attack would never have occurred.
According to the plasticsurgery4u.com site 94% of dog bites are UNPROVOKED
Actually it states..."When broadly defining provocation, almost half of all injuries are provoked"
and
"The major problem is that they ["pit bull terrier"?] are frequently (94%) unprovoked."
Unfortunately the author doesn't define "provoked and non-provoked".
I'd also be a little cautious about getting my knowledge of canine behavior and bite statistics from a plastic surgery site that doesn't give the source for its statements.
You need to go back to reading comprehension class because some of the "dogs can do no wrong" posters on this thread need a wake up call.
I've reread the poster's comments.
Placing the ultimate responsibility for a dog's actions squarely upon the owner
is not the same as stating "dogs can do no wrong".
Awful lot of assuming and emotional rhetoric goes on in these threads.
If I were to criticize any of the poster's statements it would be this one...
"I blame that all on poor socialization on the owners part."
I believe that even a well socialized dog if allowed to run free
and particularly in the company of other dogs has an increased likelihood of 'getting into trouble'.
Socialization without control is irresponsible dog ownership.
x
lax
lots
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it
over
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fence
at
night
quietly
I don’t want anything living outside of the zoo that can and does play with people until they are dead. There is a reason that some animals cannot live outside the zoo and are prohibited from being kept at home as pets. I am beginning to think pit bulls should be in that category and their owners with them.
The constant whine I hear from you pit lovers is that even though the dog was bred to fight they are dog aggressive not human aggressive. Look how often this breed slips over the line and becomes human aggressive and when they do the results are disastrous.
Speaking of reading, read my post. I said nothing about a law to make it illegal to own a pit bull.
Finny, my love, the poster was responding to posters who mentioned the incident in Minneapolis that resulted in the death of a child.
Her comment was...
"Did you read the story about this. It’s the owners fault ! They kept this dog chained up in the basement because they knew he wasnt a nice dog. This dog was kept for god knows how long alone and unsocialized. Dont blame the dog for this one ..this blood is on the parents hands for keeping this dog."
As you can see the poster never uses the phrase "the dog's parents"...she is referring to the child's parents.
Maybe you could resort to it again. The owner just might get sick of treating her other injured animals and do something.
If. IF. That's a VERY big if and pit bulls donot to tend have good dispositions.
I do not understand the hate for these animals.
Then you're living in a fantasy world and not even bothering to read the posts or look at the pictures. Just because SOME pits with the right dispositions can be raised to be gentle, the conditions for it are so extreme and rare that in general, it's just not going to happen. The breed as a whole does not have the *right* disposition and all the rest of the pits raised in any other environment are disasters waiting to happen and they do. Even so, some of these *gentle, wouldn't hurt a flea* type still snap on occasion.
The amount of training and control these dogs require to try to make the less of a hazard than they are is ridiculous. It's a real indictment of the breed. Any dog that has to have it's aggressive nature so throughly and consistently trained out of it just does not deserve to be around.
And yes, the responsibility lies with the owner to a great extent, but some welfare deadbeat who literally has nothing to lose if his dog mauls or kills someone, doesn't care. Lack of insurance means nothing if you don't own anything.
As for pit bulls being the products of their owners ... it's a) irrelevant and b) not always true. I've read stories of perfectly amiable and socialized pit bulls surprising their owners and neighbors who know them well by turning on them for no reason anyone could discern. Also, a bad chihuahua like the nasty little critter that belonged to a great auntie of mine is an annoynance, not a potential ticket to the hospital or graveyard.
MOST people's dogs, in my experience, are ill-mannered and badly trained, and with MOST dogs, it's an annoyance I'm willing put up with because I realize and respect that the dogs play important roles in the happiness of their owners. I'd be a heartless chump to see it any other way. But when those ill-mannered, badly-trained dogs are of breeds with proven track records of snapping, mauling, and killing humans, it's someone's duty to dispatch them. When the owner won't rise to that duty, then it falls to someone else.
Ah, you’re right! Oooops!! I just see the term “pet parent” so much that it’s making me take the temperament of that nasty little chihuahua of my great auntie that I’m always talking about! Thanks for the slap — I needed that! ;^)
I love my dog he is part of my family and all I was trying to do was show they aren't all monsters.
You all think what you want.
The ATTS disagrees with you but hey! what do they know. Your source please?
Then you're living in a fantasy world and not even bothering to read the posts or look at the pictures.
So reality is determined by reading posts and looking at pictures on FR?
All the time I've spent researching for dependable data and analysis has been a waste of time? Damn!
the conditions for it are so extreme and rare that in general, it's just not going to happen
What is the ratio of "good" dogs to the total breed/type population? Source?
The breed as a whole does not have the *right* disposition
I really hate to be a pest but...Source?
Even so, some of these *gentle, wouldn't hurt a flea* type still snap on occasion.
Got me there...
Toddler mauled by neighbor's dog ...
"The surgeon told me that was the worst dog bite he's ever seen in his life"
3-Year-Old Child Mauled By Dog
Cops aren't sure what provoked the animal, but it suddenly turned on the child, mauling the tot from her eye to her cheek.
The toddler was rushed to Lakeridge Health Centre, where plastic surgeons began examining the damage. It's believed her eyesight will be O.K. but she may require surgical repairs to her cheek.
The amount of training and control these dogs require to try to make the less of a hazard than they are is ridiculous
Is it now? I do sense some ridiculousness...Source please
Any dog that has to have it's aggressive nature so throughly and consistently trained out of it just does not deserve to be around.
Any dog? Thanks you for your opinion.
the responsibility lies with the owner to a great extent
The responsibility lies totally with the owner
welfare deadbeat who literally has nothing to lose if his dog mauls or kills someone, doesn't care. Lack of insurance means nothing if you don't own anything.
Ban welfare!
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