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Pit bull mix attacks 7-year-old, her dad in Happy Valley
The Oregonian ^ | 11/20/08 | Peter Zuckerman

Posted on 11/21/2008 7:50:03 PM PST by Carling

HAPPY VALLEY -- Jayda Kempas, a 7-year-old who loves to play with Barbie dolls, was twirling on a tire swing and giggling with a friend when Titan leapt up and locked onto her left leg.

The 90-pound pit bull mix yanked, and they both tumbled to the ground.

Jayda's father, Steven Hehr, was smoking a Marlboro outside his friend's home in Happy Valley when he heard screams from the backyard. Titan, who was new to the home, usually stayed in the garage. But this time he had been left outside.

Catching the first glimpse of his daughter, Hehr knew it was bad.

"The dog was out to kill," Hehr said of Wednesday's attack. "It was life and death."

Hehr, a sergeant with the Oregon National Guard who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, didn't have time to think. He ran over and tackled the dog, then tried to pry the jaws open with his hands. At first, Titan wouldn't let go, so Hehr tried to calm him, telling him he was a good boy.

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


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: buthewassuchagooddog; doggieping; pitbull
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To: upchuck
I agree.

I love dogs...all dogs. I had an inherited pit at one time. She was a great watch dog. In the beginning she got along with my other dogs well. But as she aged..not so much. It took a lot of maneuvering to keep peace in the household. I would have found a new home for her, but was worried she would have been used for ill purposes.

Since they are so powerful and strong, I would not recommend them to be around small children. Any dog can do damage, but most do not have the power a pit does.

41 posted on 11/21/2008 9:51:03 PM PST by berdie
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To: Secret Agent Man; Tomato lover
agree with you it is a terrible thing. Crazy bizarre situation. Many of us would have probably been more cautious and maybe have not let the child play by herself in the backyard if we weren’t closer.

Did you guys even read the article? The dog was supposed to be in the Garage, the father was at a friends house, the girl was playing WITH A FRIEND in the backyard, dog got out and attacked the girl on the swing. She wasn't "left alone"(not that their is anything wrong with that in particular)and she wasn't left with a strange dog, the dog was not supposed to be out, but it was. Period. Not neglect on the fathers side, just a horrible incident involving an mentally unstable dog. Too bad daddy wasn't armed, he could have at least saved himself some injuries.

In my book he is a hero, he fought a vicious animal barehanded to save his daughter, no negligence was involved on Dad's part.

42 posted on 11/21/2008 9:53:17 PM PST by calex59
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To: potlatch

PotLatch, a girl after my own heart!

43 posted on 11/21/2008 9:54:33 PM PST by yorkie (The early bird gets the worm; the second mouse gets the cheese)
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To: yorkie

LOL, yorkie! That’s cute and gave me a good laugh, thanks.


44 posted on 11/21/2008 9:58:54 PM PST by potlatch
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To: Pining_4_TX

[There was a woman who lived in Conroe, TX (just north of Houston) who owned several pit bulls for many years and called them her “babies”. One day she was found dead. Her “babies” had attacked her and killed her.]

I’m a Texan and that is the story I was trying to recall last night on a quarrelsome thread. I was told ‘it’s how you raise them’, and ‘they don’t just snap’, etc.

That woman obviously loved ‘her babies’, pampered them and allowed them to sleep with her. I don’t think I’m mistaken if I say that she “trusted those dogs”.

So, what happened?


45 posted on 11/21/2008 10:19:08 PM PST by potlatch
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To: calex59

Yeah I did read it, that’s why I characterized it as a crazy bizarre situation. I’m not ripping on the dad.


46 posted on 11/21/2008 10:28:50 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (I'd like to tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.)
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To: Ron Jeremy

Golden Retriever does not = pit.

That is like comparing a Hummer to a Chevy Cavalier.


47 posted on 11/21/2008 10:31:06 PM PST by berdie
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To: Brian S. Fitzgerald
Waiting patiently for the pit bulls are unfairly maligned crowd.

"The 90-pound pit bull mix yanked"

Pit bull "mix." Pit bulls, according to any breed standard, don't weigh 90 lbs. There is no way to know what kind of dog this was, but of course, the media throws the "pit bull" emotional intensifier in there to fire up the rubes.

48 posted on 11/21/2008 10:37:24 PM PST by Trailerpark Badass (Happiness is a choice!)
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To: Ron Jeremy

You ignore reality. To say one dog breed is no worse than any other, in the context of this story, in just wrong. First, ‘worse’ is subjective. You don’t define what ‘worse’ is. What negative thing are you thinking of when you think of ‘worse’? Aggressiveness? A characteristic of the breed to snap unpredictably? Larger jaws with stronger gripping power? A potentialy lethal pet to its owners, and/or children, and/or other animals in the house?


49 posted on 11/21/2008 10:37:29 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (I'd like to tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.)
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To: familyop
And pit bull fans tend to use arguments very similar to those used by PETA members.
~~~
That is sometimes the case,,,

The rest,,,(shakin’ head),,,

~~~
Lookin’ at some Glaser Safety Slugs(sp) for my 44. ,,,

Cost$$$...:0(

50 posted on 11/21/2008 10:42:06 PM PST by 1COUNTER-MORTER-68 (THROWING ANOTHER BULLET-RIDDLED TV IN THE PILE OUT BACK~~~~~)
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To: fightinJAG

No kids here,,,

Thug type managed to rent next door,,,

Had 20+ (puppies)/grown,,,

Now down to 5 + ?puppies,,,(puppy-mill?),,,

1 or 2 always throw themselves against the fence when I

go walk my yorkie in my backyard,,,(yes I carry a gun)...


51 posted on 11/21/2008 10:55:50 PM PST by 1COUNTER-MORTER-68 (THROWING ANOTHER BULLET-RIDDLED TV IN THE PILE OUT BACK~~~~~)
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To: potlatch

Eh ?????????????


52 posted on 11/22/2008 5:15:43 AM PST by Tennessee Nana
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To: Secret Agent Man; berdie

Uh, yeah. It was sarcasm.


53 posted on 11/22/2008 6:38:36 AM PST by Ron Jeremy (sonic)
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To: fightinJAG
We also have a leash law.

Perhaps your local media would be interested in covering the story of a leash law that's not enforced.

You could also write a letter to your Mayor, etc. asking how to get the law enforced.

54 posted on 11/22/2008 7:02:11 AM PST by upchuck (Bumper sticker on my pickup: I'm a fierce global warmer.)
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To: upchuck

We’re getting photos of the beast running through our yard and elsewhere.

We also have three labs next door who are unfixed girls. I’m waiting for my neighbors to wake up with unplanned pitbull mix puppies.


55 posted on 11/22/2008 7:42:39 AM PST by fightinJAG (No choice but to boycott the Big 3 automakers, else we feed the Bailout Hole.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

My grandma was a terrible woman.

She let my mother go on a trolley by herself into Baltimore at the age of 6, regularly, for dance classes.

Yes, times are different (people not only weren’t mostly scum, but would watch out for others rather than “minding their own business”), but they’re not THAT different if you consider your kids are usually in your own nice suburban neighborhood. It’s not that dangerous.

I hate that attitude. It’s what’s forced us into wearing stupid “safety-NAZI” gear for every stupid thing the kid does. Glad I even missed the helmet days. I loved the wind in my hair.


56 posted on 11/22/2008 9:55:56 AM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Technological progress cannot be legislated.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

Actually, it seems the girl was with a friend. She wasn’t quite by herself.


57 posted on 11/22/2008 9:58:56 AM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Technological progress cannot be legislated.)
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To: calex59

Further clarification: the father was at HIS FRIEND’S house WITH his girl, and the dog belonged to that friend. They were all in the same property.


58 posted on 11/22/2008 10:03:13 AM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Technological progress cannot be legislated.)
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To: Trailerpark Badass

Yes, it says he may have been some kind of mix.

This is a reason I’d like to see a pix myself. I don’t trust identifications of dogs by ANYone, even myself, but at least I’d like to have my own view of it.

Correct, no pit-bull terrier (it’s a type, not a breed) should be so huge, but some are. It’s the same with my German Shepherds - honestly, none should ever be more than 95 lbs, but there they are (and NOT fat). Including in the show circuits. What I don’t like is calling PBTs “big dogs”, when in fact they should be medium. Build is big, but nothing else.


59 posted on 11/22/2008 10:08:21 AM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Technological progress cannot be legislated.)
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To: 1COUNTER-MORTER-68

“1 or 2 always throw themselves against the fence”

Hate to say it, but alot of dogs do that. It’s meaningless to your implication.


60 posted on 11/22/2008 10:09:47 AM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Technological progress cannot be legislated.)
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