Posted on 01/24/2002 10:32:35 PM PST by BigBlueJon
Eleven-year-old Michael Foley has always been an animal lover, his mother says.
He and his family have two horses and two cats. He has always been fond of his neighbor's Great Danes.
Which explains why Denise Clemente Foley wasn't concerned Wednesday afternoon when her son walked next door to feed the four dogs for the neighbor, who was out of town.
Then Foley heard her son's screams.
"(The neighbor) promised to bring Michael back a T-shirt or a souvenir if he would feed the dogs," Foley said as her son underwent emergency surgery at University Medical Center about an hour after he was savagely attacked by the animals. "The dogs always loved him. Just not today."
Michael Foley was in serious condition this morning as a result of the attack, which happened about 3:30 p.m. in a rural neighborhood off U.S. 95 near the turnoff to Mount Charleston.
The dogs are believed to be owned by Dail Kohler, the family and neighbors said. Kohler couldn't be reached for comment.
Karen Hennessy, a neighbor who lives across the street from the Foleys, said she became horrified when she saw the boy as he was placed in a medical evacuation helicopter.
"He had what looked like a 4-inch laceration on the right side of his skull and a puncture wound in the forehead," said Hennessy, who lives in the 8600 block of Rocky Avenue near Horse Drive and U.S. 95. "His whole face was covered in blood."
The boy, UMC spokesman Rick Plummer said, had "too many wounds to count."
Michael was still unconscious this morning but had been taken off a ventilator and was breathing on his own, Plummer said.
"We're in a wait-and-see mode right now, but it looks like he will be OK," Plummer said.
The boy's father, Chuck Foley, who ran from his home in response to his son's screams, managed to scare off the animals, Las Vegas Animal Control officials said.
The four dogs were taken to Lied Animal Shelter, where they will be held while animal control officials investigate the attack, Sgt. John Fudenberg, a Las Vegas City Marshal and a spokesman for animal control, said.
A 9 a.m. meeting was scheduled for this morning to discuss the dogs' fate, a spokeswoman for animal control said.
Neighbors said the woman who owns the dogs has seven Great Danes, though animal control officials found only four at her home.
The boy had known the 18-month-old dogs, which are at least 100 pounds apiece, since they were puppies.
"The dogs are all huge, but they were never a problem before this," Denise Foley said.
The boy often fed the dogs, each about 3 feet tall, Hennessy said.
"They knew his scent, and he was always over there, and that's why this is such a freak thing," Hennessy said. "I used to take my 5-year-old son over to play with the dogs, but they just got too big. They could easily knock over an adult."
The Great Danes' owner moved her pets to her back yard after the animals showed the ability to jump a 4-foot fence in the front yard, Hennessy said.
Two of the dogs last summer cleared the front-yard fence and killed a 14-year-old dachshund in a neighbor's yard, according to the dachshund's owner, Deneb Ranciato.
"My dog was on its last legs and tied to a rope when they mauled it," Ranciato said. "We had to put it to sleep because of the injuries.
"Ever since that happened my mother doesn't go for her nightly walks anymore because she's afraid of the dogs."
Hennessy said in November two of the Great Danes jumped the front-yard fence and attacked her Rottweiler.
"My father was walking my dogs, and the Great Danes bit my Rottweiler down to the bone," Hennessy said. "It's strange that they act this way, because Great Danes don't usually have this kind of personality, they're known as gentle giants."
Many of the residents who live in the ranch-style homes on the dirt street near the Las Vegas city limits own animals.
"I've never questioned Michael going over to feed the dogs," Hennessy said. "Keeping animals is the reason people live out here."
Sue Mahany, secretary of the Great Dane Club of America, said this morning she was shocked and surprised by news of the attacks. Great Danes earned the "gentle giant" nickname for their sweet dispositions and good-natured character, Mahany said.
"It's extremely unusual behavior for a Great Dane to bite anyone, especially a person the dog already knows," said Mahany in an interview from her Illinois home. "But we are talking about animals, and when dogs are in a group like that, it can be a pack mentality."
This is true of a single dog. However, you get three of more dogs together and you can get a reversion back to pre-domesticated pack mentality. At that point the dogs do not think much differently than wolves. It's too bad that these dogs will probably have to be put down. Once they start hunting in packs there's usually no going back.
We also have an easygoing male chow, Bear, that T-Bone was jealous of. (Bear lived with us first.) We had to keep them apart, but one time T-Bone got to Bear and nearly killed him, pinning him down, and going for the jugular. Bear bled and couldn't free himself. Only his fur, and my mother beating off T-Bone with a broom, saved Bear. The dogs were always kept separated after that.
As well-behaved as T-Bone was around the adults, though, when my two-year-old niece went to bother T-Bone, (as all little kids do to dogs), T-Bone gave her a warning growl....you never saw me jump into action so fast to pull that kid away from the dog. I was surprised at this. She was always supervised around the dog after this. T-Bone is gone now, he liked to chase cars, and a pick-up got him.
Aside from that, I have a question out there for anyone who can possibly answer. Is it OK to have a pet German Shepherd around a newborn baby? I wanted to originally get a Pomeranian, but toys are not good around little kids, and often bite little children when they are bothered(ours did). I was going to get a Shepherd puppy when the time comes, so the dog gets used to the baby, and get a neutered male from a reliable breeder. As much as I would like to get one from a pound, I thought that this would be too risky since I would be unsure of his inherited disposition. Any comments on this from Freepers?
As far as the dog getting hit by the truck, my parents live on 10 acres in farm country in North Florida. The property is not fenced in -- the road itself is a dirt road that is quiet and private (you get trucks and cars going by sporadically during the day). I agree with you that they should have fenced in the property; but it was their house and their decision not to fence it in. Everyone is responsible for their own decisions and actions; and I had no control over this. I understand your aggravation about this. I can't stand it, either, when I see dogs chasing cars. But, back to my original point, the dog was never a threat to other people. If it had been, my parents would have taken it to the pound to be put down.
Keep in mind that the key work there is fatal. All of those breeds are very capable animals. Dog attacks happen all the time but most people dont report let alone lie around long enough for a chihuahua attack to become serious.
In our case, my toddler daughter accidently let our Sheltie out the front door. Poor thing, it happened in a second or so and there was a UPS truck driving down the street. Poor Snick, we chased him but he bit a back tire of the truck. He was flipped around and died almost intantly. It happens. Snick wasn't the world's brightest dog but there was no harm in her.
Rikki died of cancer last year (she had literally become paralyzed and we took her to an emergency hospital -- her organs had so many holes in them there wasn't enough blood to circulate in her body -- and she suffered a collapse and died while in surgery), and then Alvin followed her eight months later. The especially sad thing about Alvin is that my ex-husband had found him crying and whimpering when he got home from work at the end of the day, lying next to his litterbox. It turns out Alvin also had ulcers and lesions on his organs, and he ended up being put down. What especially pains us is that we will never know if the poor thing and been in pain and suffering all day long -- or if his physical breakdown had occurred right before my ex got home. Both of us still get upset when we think about this.
I really think all of us have a responsibility to emphasize to anyone we see maintaining a large dog in an unsafe manner, that this is not acceptable (tough to do when it's your parents, but if the awful event happens you'll wish you had). I've called the police several times when a polite request didn't succeed in getting a neighbor's dog promptly back on a leash or behind a fence, and have threatened to do so on many occasions (that usually does the trick, except with adolescents/teens). Since we do have a leash law in my area (and even rural places should have these as well, since one loose-running dog from each of 3-4 10 acre properties can quickly turn into a vicious pack when they find each other), I've also politely insisted that the owners of smaller dogs (dachshunds, cocker spaniels, etc.) keep their dogs leashed to encourage respect for the law.
This should also be done out of consideration to the neighbors. I have three or four cats (that are not mine) that come in my yard all the time -- and they like to mate under my backyard deck, howling and screeching all night long. This drives me nuts! (And I live within a half hour to Manhattan so the houses are close together and all have postage-stamp backyards.) It turns out the guy on the next block has 20 cats that he lets roam free all the time. I'm friendly with his neighbor, whose husband is a cop, and the cop can't even do anything, or get the city to do so, because the man just denies that they are all his cats (even though it is common knowledge in the neighborhood).
I would think that having a puppy and a new baby at the same time is not good. There are a variety of books that compare the different breeds and rate their compatibility with children. I would suggest a lot of research. I know that as much as I love my dane and my mastiff, I would recommend neither breed for those with small children. I wouldn't worry about an attack, but both breeds have tails as thick as broomsticks and they are face high on a toddler. They wag a lot too. Also the larger breeds can hurt a toddler just by running into them. I would stay away from the smaller breeds since a small child can do them serious damage. Rather than focusing on a particular breed, get a book that reviews all the breeds where you can pick and choose.
I recommend this one
"The Right Dog for You" by Daniel Tortora $10.40 at Amazon. Amazon is running a special where you can get that book along with "The Perfect Match : A Dog Buyer's Guide by Chris Walkowicz" for about $23.00. That isn't a lot when you consider the decision you'll be making and what you'll have to pay for a good dog. BTW, stick with a reputable breeder and a pure bred dog. The temperments are far more predicatable and that is very important when you're mixing kids and dogs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.