Posted on 04/05/2005 6:22:36 AM PDT by Dan from Michigan
Family's two pit bulls kill Hamtramck girl, 6
4/5/2005, 4:28 a.m. ET
The Associated Press
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (AP) — Two pit bulls attacked and killed their owners' 6-year-old girl in the backyard of a home near Detroit, state police say.
Cassidy Jeter was killed Monday morning, said state police Lt. Harold Love.
The girl had known the pit bulls since they were puppies, The Detroit News said.
Cassidy and a younger child were walking down an alley next to the home about 9 a.m. when the dogs attacked, Love said. The family recently moved out of a home around the corner, and the dogs were still staying at that house. The alley separates the two homes.
"For some reason the dogs were loose, and one of them attacked the girl," Love said.
The other dog apparently joined the attack. The younger child climbed a fence to get away, and the girl's mother tried to save her daughter.
"The mother tried to beat the dogs off the girl with a 2-by-4," Love said. "She was screaming for help from the neighbors."
The girl was dead at the scene. Police shot the dogs to death.
Police in the Detroit enclave of Hamtramck asked state troopers to investigate because a person died and its officers used their weapons.
Statistically, whenever a child is killed or has an arm ripped off, you will find "pit bull" in the article title. Does this mean the media only reports incidents involving pit bulls, or does it mean that people who raise pits just raise them mean and raw? You tell me.
I never claimed that guns were exactly like dogs. What I was pointing out is that both are dangerous instrumentalities in the wrong hands. A gun left loaded, and without a safety is, similar to unsupervised/poorly owned pitbulls, likley to result in a child being injured. I am also trying to point to the fact that calling for all out bans of things because they are dangerous isn't the answer.
Not enough background information on the pets or the pet owners, for that matter not enough information on the actual facts behind the death for anyone here to be able to give an informed opinion...la
Oh, puhleeze. Should I be able to keep a lion or tiger as a pet behind a white picket fence in suburbia? How about a grizzly bear? Yeah, I've got a thing for grizzly bears in my apartment right next to the playground. Are we going to have a public commission that determines whose dog was bred to be viscious and whose wasn't? What's moronic speaks for itself.
So what I am getting from many of the people claiming owning a gun is totally different from owning a pitbull is that because the pitbulls are mobile and thinking creatures, and dangerous they should be eliminated, but the gun is ok because it is a machine. If this is your rationale - I guess you would condone the genocide of black males in America? Because, statistically black males are a very small portion of the population (less than 10%) similar to pitbulls, but commit nearly 50% of all violent crime (similar to pitbulls at 30%). My question is - are we going to be in the business of exterminating everyhting that is statistically dangerous, or are we going to use are heads - and deal with specific situations using case specific means?
I have no problem with you keeping a wild cat or grizzly bear in your home. Further, I never said there should be unfettered ownership of pitbulls. I have no problem with the legislature requiring certain height fences for all dogs. Further, I actually live about 4 miles away from someone who owns several wild cats and a grizzly bear (I live in Perrysburg Ohio and he lives in Stony Ridge on Route 20, both just outside Toledo). Because he is an intelligent and responsible owner there has not been a single problem. Even if there were a problem I wouldn't yell and scream about how we should exterminate and ban all Grizzly Bears and Wild Cats.
Thank you,
your answers reveal you have much faith in your ability to control animals, some might say blind faith. I don't share it. I think for my own and my childs safety I would choose the inanimate object over the strange dogs anytime, especially pit bulls.
-- lates
-- jrawk
...well, I suppose it is nice to be alerted (especially from the ever watchful Poms) each time an ant walks across the sidewalk six blocks from your house.
I would recommend a Dogo Argentine for your move to coyote country...
Yeah, I agree in that I definetely wouldn't go running into any of the kennels with my child. I would want to make sure it was safe in each situation. Even after I was sure it was pretty safe I would keep an eye on things. Any type of dog or gun around an unsupervised child could be bad.
LOL....once in a while, we'll have deer crash through the fencing. And guess WHAT those horses think!?! The LAST time it happened, they were missing for a day because we didn't have the 'nose' to track 'em down. Plus we were on foot for the search.
After much huffing/puffing/heartbreaking panic, I decided we HAD to have a dog to help. (or else, annihilate all the local deer.LOL)
I'm not familiar with the breed (Dogo Argentine), but thanks for the suggestion.
You are correct about the "alertness" of the Poms. They can make an unbelievable racket when strangers approach
I completely agree. That is why I have no problem with Animal control putting down any fighting dogs they confiscate, and most deifinetely prosecuting the owners. I also have no problem in this case of the police shooting the dogs. They were going to be put down anyway - and I amsure either way it would be a reasonably quick death. It is absolutely going to take years to improve the breeds status - and even then we will not be finished. However, I believe it is a process that should take place. Instead of banning these breeds, there should be requirments that must be met in order to be a breeder. There could be a registration system for breeders of certain breeds and anyone breeding without a license could be subject to felony charges, etc. I think it can be done, and I think it should be done - because in the right hands these can be great dogs, and do a lot of good service to the community. They are intelligent and strong creatures that need to be harnesed in a positive way. The pitbull would be a fantastic police, military, and security dog if properly trained. The training will be more difficult because they are so strong willed, but nothing worth while is easy - right?
My understanding is that the Police do not use Dobies. Dark hair too hot in summer heat; single coat too cold in winter. Stake Outs apparently require the thick double coated animals like the GSD.
Folks buy Neopolitan Mastiffs because their kid wants the "Harry Potter" dog. Then the cute little wrinkly puppy winds up the size of a pony. I predict the Neopolitan Mastiff rescue organizations are going to be very busy about a year from now.
As for ruining the German Shepard breed, the AKC is doing that all by itself. Poor critters can barely walk.
Poms are great little watchdogs, good lap dogs too. Apparently, they have fairly good noses as well...I recently read an article about them being used in one of the eastern European countries to sniff out contraband on aircraft--their tiny size was desired to get in the different small compartments, etc.
And what in the world makes anybody think they have a right to endager the lives of innocent people and animals in a neighborhood? I had a neighbor who had a Rotty in their back yard that would on a regular basis try to beat/dig his way through my fence into my yard to get at my family and my dog. What right does anyone have to subject me to this stress on a daily basis? Can any of you twisted aggressive dog justifiers explain this to me?
Great, let's use our heads and figure this out on a case by case basis. Do I then have the right to defend my family and take this dog out, or do I have to wait for a borad to come loose and the dog take my daughter by the throat before I can kill it?
Or, in a sane world, should a dumbass jerk not be allowed to keep a viscious animal in his yard in the first place?
Some departments do use Louis Doberman's dogs for work...they are also preferred by some of the world's police as well. Also used are Aerdales, Belgian shepherds, and some of the bigger working dog breeds.
If that dog comes in your yard you should have every right to shoot it. Further, you could be a grown up and go to your neighbors front door the first time you see it happen - and say "don't let this happen again". Moreover, no one does have the right to endanger innocent lives. I have and never will advocate for this right. However, I do advocate for the right to own an animal - so long as the owner is responsible. If the owner is irresponsible we should punish them. That is the way the legal system in this country works. Not all pitbulls are dangerous, nor are all Rottweilers dangerous. I have a Rott Shepard female mix that is the sweetest dog I have ever seen. If you have a problem with what your neighbor does - go over and speak up. Life is stressful - get over it. If we banned everything that was dangerous or caused someone stress - most of us wouldn't be here.
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