Mother, daughter attacked by neighbor's pit bull

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 6/22/5 | Leslie Fulbright

[SmithL]

An 8-year-old Santa Rosa girl and her mother were attacked and injured by a pit bull today after it escaped from a neighbor’s house and came into their backyard.

Police said the pit bull first attacked the young girl in the yard on Santa Barbara Avenue around 11:35 a.m., biting her on the face. Two men, walking nearby, heard the girl and her mother screaming. They ran into the backyard and started hitting the dog with several objects, including a crow bar.

The men were able to get the dog to release its grip on the young girl's face but it then began attacking her mother, biting her on the right arm.

[birbear]

There's a reason why the crack houses around my area use pit bulls as guard dogs.

[de Buillion]

I agree with you completely. I did have a nephew who raised a Pitt Bull, for several years, and everyone in the family agreed that this dog was a "sweetheart"- no behavior problems- and it finally died, with no remarkable incidents. But I don't trust them, and I reserve the right to defend myself and my family against them, perhaps even pre-emptively.

[roadcat]

A friend of mine has pit bulls. One time me and my wife were over for dinner, and one of his pit bulls in his back yard charged the patio window behind the dining room. Mind you, my chair was 1 foot away from the glass and it scared the crap out of me with that dog banging against the double-paned glass and barking up a storm.

My friend says "don't worry, he does that all the time but he'll never come thru the glass!" and he laughs at me for being queasy. The next week, I came over to visit and saw the patio window was boarded up. My friend sheepishly said "He came thru the glass the other day." Dangerous people love having dangerous dogs. This same guy accidentally discharged his shotgun when we were over another time, blowing a hole in the floor near us. I'll take my chances with his guns more than with his dogs. The pit bulls are too damn unpredictable.

[Ajnin]

Besides killing my neighbors pony, my pitbull has always been really sweet. Of course, there was the mailman mauling, but I swear he asked for it. Other than that pitbull's are great.

[I still care]

It isn't the dog's fault. It is the fault of a particular culture (not a racial one, but a particular mindset) that thinks nasty, dangerous, aggressive dogs are neat things to have. And unfortunately there are plenty of people that think this way.

This dog was obviously owned by an irresponsible owner, to protect and perhaps attack. Owning a dog like this is like owning a gun. There is a lot of responsiblity involved.

Did you notice they said, "unneutered"? There are several reasons we neuter dogs - one of them is to decrease aggression in male dogs and make them more suitable pets.

This suggests to me they had a nasty male pit in order to be "cool". And if they didn't have access to a pit, there are plenty of aggressive breeds to fill the bill. Try a search on this breed - the Caucasian Mountain Dog. They are a lot nastier, and bigger, than pits. And there are many, many breeds with the same attitude. It's just that pits are easier to obtain.

[alpha-8-25-02]

GET SOME NEW FRIENDS!

[Thinkin' Gal]

Two men, walking nearby, heard the girl and her mother screaming. They ran into the backyard and started hitting the dog with several objects, including a crow bar.

Never mind the pitbull, how come these two guys had a crowbar handy? Must be a real friendly neighborhood.

[repubpub]

Exactly

[skimask]

I once dated an airline stewardess who was from France, (my mistake). In France, if own a pit bull, it MUST be neutered or spayed. They are trying to eradicate the breed. Seems to be one of the few smart things the French have done lately.

[Porterville]

These are the blacklisted breeds... we should kill them all!!! Death to all dogs with teeth!!! and horses that kick!!!

Blacklisted" breeds may include:
Pit Bulls Alaskan Malamutes
Rottweilers Akitas
Chow Chows American Staffordshire Terriers
Doberman Pinschers Boxers
German Shepherds Great Danes
Siberian Huskies Wolf-hybrids
Perro de Presa Canarios.
The Presa Canario breed came to the forefront when Diane Whipple was attacked and killed outside the door of her California apartment.
Any dog that has any of the above breeds in their lineage.

[I still care]

Those are only the most popular of the protection breeds. Any one of the following dogs can be turned dangerously vicious to either people or other dogs by an antisocial, nasty owner:

Ainu, Airedale Terrier, Akbash Dog, Akita Inu, Alano Español, American Bandogge Mastiff, American Bulldog, American Mastiff, Panja, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Anatolian Shepherd Dog,
Australian Cattle Dog, Australian Kelpie, Austrian Shorthaired Pinscher.

And those are just the "A's".

If they get rid of pits, the creepy types will just make another of these dogs popular and they will become the new "pits". And believe it or not, a lot of them are more aggressive and bigger than pits. Some are practically uncontrollable unless they have a VERY experienced owner. And then of course, there are always the interesting mixes these types think of that are not pure pit bulls.

Say I wanted a really vicious dog. What's to keep me from getting a pit mixed with, say, a big terrier? That could be a dangerous mix, and wouldn't qualify under rules to wipe out pit bulls.

It's like people wanting to outlaw guns. It's silly. The creeps will always find another dog, and the responsible owners who breed good pits will be gone, along with a wonderful breed.

[I still care]

I am posting this because it is an excellent piece on how important it is to be the most "alpha" member of your family, even if your dog is just a chihuahua.

Someday, somewhere, reading this piece "top dog" may save someone a lot a pain and trouble. Everyone who has a dog should read it.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/topdog.htm

[Bon mots]

It's not just pit bulls. A Chihuahua barked at me once.

[commonasdirt]

My Next door neighbors, being complete ***hole enablers have their two 20+ meth-head sons living here. One son has two pit bulls. I was out checking my mail and one wandered out onto the street thru the gate left open. Scared the BEJEEBERS out of me. Sat still in my wheelchair (So I don't have the jump the fence or run for cover option folks), dog wandered off. Since then, if I am outside I always have a pistol on my lap (its AZ, right to carry state). Interesting thread. But when will the totally dedicated pit bull supporters start posting their usual "its the owner, not the dog" drivel?

[commonasdirt]

"It is the fault of a particular culture (not a racial one, but a particular mindset) that thinks nasty, dangerous, aggressive dogs are neat things to have. And unfortunately there are plenty of people that think this way."

I agree with your view that it is Particular mindset. The Pit Bulls, oddly enough, seems to appeal to the low end of every ethnic group. In a way its sort of like a rainbow coalition of morons. I feel the same way about pit bulls as I do having a pedophile in the community. It is not a matter of if but of when.

But that is about the only thing you and I agree on about pit bulls & their owners

[dhuber]

Most of the dogs on that list are herding dogs and have no reason to be cooped up in the city. It is no wonder that they have bad reputations.

[Himyar]

Great Danes are a surprise on that list. My two are couch potatoes. I can't imagine them getting aroused enough to attack anyone. The Jack Russell on the other hand.....

[libstripper]

It seems to be something in the Bay Area culture that causes "people" to think they can and should breed especially vicious, uncontrollable, and destructive dogs.

[stinkerpot65]

Pit bulls should be destroyed.

Pit bull owners should be imprisoned.

[I still care]

Many herding dogs have a strong protection instinct. Not enough people understand that. If they are not people aggressive, they can be dog aggressive - the instinct bred into them to protect their "flock" from a "wolf" - especially if they are in an urban situation.