Family's two pit bulls kill Hamtramck girl, 6

ap ^ | 4-5-05

[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.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Even though the equipment has been replaced and modernized 10 times, the stuff I worked on is still classified.

PJ's can be married. But during the summer of 1972 the USAF was saying no to married guys due to the high attrition rates. I thought about fighting it but my TI said, "Airman, consider it a gift to your wife, your life." I sometimes wish I had fought it but you can't change the past.

[Pookee]

And that is my point. It is irresponsible for any parent to allow their kids to be around such a powerful animal even if they have been "trained". This would be like saying that it is ok to let a toddler play with a loaded shotgun because the safety is on.

[educateyourself]

Pit Bulls and bully breed dogs are not useless, in fact I have friends that take their dogs to nursing homes and hospitals. These dogs are very intelligent and affectionate if raised properly. They can become therapy dogs and be good canine citizens. The problem with this story is that we only know what the media wants us to know. I have had pit bulls and rottweilers in my home and being a responsible pet owner, I know that if a dog is aggressive, the right thing to do is to humanely euthinize it. You can more than bet these pit bulls have shown aggressive behaviors in the past but rather than be responsible at that time, the owners decided to allow the dogs to become a danger to society. It is THEIR fault, not the dogs.
Also, ANY dog can become aggressive. It is up to the owner to be responsible. There are many breeds of dogs that are far more likely to bite than a pit bull.

[DryFly]

Far more likely to bite? Maybe. Far more likely to kill a six year old girl? No way.

[fish hawk]

Every time I read one of these (pit bull kills child) I post this: Pit bull owners should be put to death. Seems I have to do this about once a month now days.

I always get posts back saying "we have a pit bull that would never harm a flea", and put me down for my view. That is, until their little darling takes the face off of the little girl next door. That breed of dogs needs to be taken of the face of the earth, they serve no purpose.

[ReignKennel]

When I was 8 I was attacked by a Black lab and I have scares that will be on my face for the rest of my life. My cousin was attacked and killed by the Black Lab two weeks later, my heart will be scared for life as well. The saddest part is that the media never made a story about it and nobody knows how dangerous Black Labs can be. All the media tells you about is the Pit Bull attacks, because thats what people want to hear about. They don't want to know about the killer Black Labs. Also what about the Collie that killed the three year old last summer. Their good dogs as well, RIGHT! People need to realize how much socialization and training a Pit Bull needs and the time that takes and start blaming their self instead of the breed they neglected.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Hamtramak is a Polish community.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Rottweilers, Dobermans, Chows, German Shepherd,

I always thought these breeds were equally as dangerous as Pit Bulls.

[Dan from Michigan]

Hamtramak is a Polish community.

It's changed dramatically.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

It's not Muslim though, is it?

[Dan from Michigan]

There's some Poles still, but a lot of Albanians, Blacks, and East Indians(both Muslim and Hindu I believe) as well.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

To me, that appears to be an average mix. Thanks for the info.

[rattrap]

All those breeds are involved in fatal dog attacks, so yes, they can be as dangerous.

[ReignKennel]

All medium to large breed dogs can take the face off of a person. It is up to the owners to properly socialize and train them so that this never happens. In the city I live in we have dogs of all kinds that have bitten/killed adults and children but out of the last 5 years not one Pit Bull bite has been reported at our hospitals, only the breeds people would never suspect(Airedale Terrier,Welsh Corgi,Saint Bernard,Beagle,Collie,Golden Retriever and Black Lab just to name a few biters in my city). Their are far more Pit Bulls in my city than any other one breed. So if it is the breed, why are Pit Bulls in my city not attacking? Think about it. You only here about the Pit Bull bites because thats the only ones the media wants you to hear about.

[fish hawk]

Just wanted to point out to you, if you are still around, that on todays threads there are two more "pit bulls kill child" stories. Makes my point once again. Something has to be done about this. I suggest jail and giant fines, both is there is a death. Just had a pit bull mauling here a few days ago. the woman didn't die but is all tore up in the hospital.

[ReignKennel]

In Missouri a Cane Corso attacked two teenage girls and killed one of them this weekend. I guess the Cane Corso thought it was a Pit Bull, since only Pit Bulls attack, Right? Their are more Pit Bulls in the USA than any other one breed. When you have a breed with that many, your going to have several bites and attacks, no matter the breed (Also we have to think about what kind of people most Pit Bulls are owned by). In recent studies on dog bites/attacks Pit Bulls had few bites/attacks than most other breeds when number of dogs in a breed vs. number of bites in a breed was recorded. Pit Bulls scored higher on the ATTS for their temperament than 121 other breeds. There was only 82 other breeds that scored higher than Pit Bulls and that in most case was by less than 1%. Punish the Deed NOT the Breed!

[fish hawk]

I think I have this fugured out now (by your screen name) You raise pit bulls ....right?

[ReignKennel]

I think I figured you out. You've never owned a Pit Bull or ever knew some one responsible who did. Right? Nobody that is a responsible owner is ever going to have a problem with their dog, no matter the breed.

[fish hawk]

There are tons of pit bulls here on Maui. The owners I know that have them seem to have a inferior complex. I think that they think it makes them more of a man to have a killer dog with them. It makes them feel whole. You'd have to live in Hawaii to really understand what I am saying, and see it for yourself. It's a culture thing.Lots of tattoos to go with it.

[fish hawk]

you are right. I never owned a pit bull and never will. And I do not know a pit bull owner that is responsible. A responsible dog owner would own a Collie or terrier or a dachshund or a hunting dog of some kind. Anything but a dog that was bred to kill other dogs in a pit.