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Looking for a Killer
Fatal Dog Attack Spurs Interest in Powerful Breed

By Dean Schabner

Feb. 7 — Mac Harris hoped to increase the popularity of presa Canario dogs, a breed he has bred and loved since 1993. But now that the rare breed is finally getting some attention, it's been his worst nightmare.

The powerful dogs burst into the national eye last week when one named Bane, a 120-pound brindle male, killed a San Francisco woman in the hallway outside her apartment. An investigation into the incident discovered that Bane was one of two dogs at the center of an alleged scheme by two prison inmates to raise vicious beasts to be sold as guard dogs for illegal drug labs or for dog fights.

Pit bulls on steroids.

Harris, a New York City man who has four of the dogs and says he is responsible for the American Kennel Club recognizing the breed, said in the week since the news broke of the fatal attack he's gotten more calls than ever before about the dogs he loves.

But they're from people he doesn't want to talk to. These people are looking for dogs to be used for fighting — and that's why he quit breeding dogs.

Angelika Morwald, the owner of WereWolf Kennels in Cayuga, Ontario, Canada, has had the same experience. Calls have come in from people saying, "I want one of those dogs that killed that woman," or "I want one of those dogs that did the attack," she said.

"We've always had people that were interested in aggressive, vicious dogs and you had to screen them out," she said. "But now they're just coming out and saying they want dogs that kill."

"Calls have come in from people saying, "I want one of those dogs that killed that woman," or "I want one of those dogs that did the attack," she said."

There was a quiet, frail little old lady(no exaggeration) in Chicago that bought one of these things. It was for protection. She lived in one of those neighborhoods that never counts a single republican vote.

She never let the dog out except in her back yard. The postal employees were upset, because it barked and they could see it. One of the postals was a rotund female with a mouth and creative mind. She got together with a network's investigative team CBS, or ABC. They should up to interview the woman on film and have her explain why her dog barks at people.

They show was held in the alley behind her yard. Beats me what this had to do with postals, because the yard's not visable from the front where the mailbax is. Anyway, show starts with the TV jounalists and investigators calling outloud from the alley for her to come out. Blah, blah, blah... She says in a slow, quiet, crackly and frail voice, "go away, or I'll let the dog out."

They keep it up and interject with comments about how the old lady's dog's a menace. Blah, blah, blah... She says again, go away, or I'll let the dog out. She said it at least 4 times if not more.

I was dumbfounded why they were pestering her. The dog never got out, was kept in the house most of the time and the "witnesses" were just trashing the bread anyway and telling the cameras how much they feared them.

The TV folks got impatient, because the old lady wasn't cooperating, so then they entered the yard. The same voice was heard from inside the house, with just a hair increase in tempo. She said, "I told you I was going to let the dog out."

Then you hear this potent WOOF, WOOF from inside the house and a second later BANG, as the screen door flies open and the dog flies out. The thing was like a hornet in flight. w/o a break in stride the thing hopped up and chompped on the rotund postal's bossom and flopped back and forth like a fish. She screamed, shook back and forth with her hands in the air as the men on the crew tried to pull the dog off with all their might. Which wasn't much, but it sure did stretch that bossom out. The dog was annoyed by one of the men, so with a single flop, he turned and latched onto this guys arm and the guy stood there trying to shake him off. Just like the dog on "Little Rascals" he hung on, stiff as a board. He had enough of that guy, so he flopped over back onto the postal that just standing there with a dumb look on her face. The dog only swung back and forth a couple times and an inaudible voice called the dog back in.

In a flash the dog was back accross the yard and the screen door swung open. The old lady never appeared. The folks in the alley were in complete disarray. Cameras shaking, panic, and ended it with some comment like, "what just happened?"

It was the best piece of journalistic film I have ever seen. It showed how these animals are obeydient, loyal, effective and an old lady's friend and hero.