Posted on 12/20/2006 8:54:01 PM PST by paulat
Mother: Ferret, not pit bull, gnawed off baby's toes
BENTON, La. – The parents of a month-old girl whose toes were gnawed off while they slept apparently disagree about whether the culprit was their ferret or their 6-week-old pit bull.
Mary Hansche, 22, told KTBS-TV on Tuesday that she thinks it was the ferret. "The way the bite marks were on her foot. The ferret being out of its cage. I knew it wasn't the dog," she said.
[snip]
"We were told that the puppy had blood on its fur. But when the officers arrived there, the animal did not have blood on its mouth," he said.
Natale said which animal did it won't affect charges against the Hansches, who were booked Dec. 10 on charges of child desertion and criminal negligence and remained jailed Wednesday in lieu of $50,000 bond each.
[snip]
Their daughter has been released from the hospital and is in state custody.
The Hansches were asleep on a mattress on the floor and the baby in a carrier next to the mattress when her cries woke them, police have said. They were not tested for alcohol or drugs, since such tests would not be needed to prove the charges, Natale said Wednesday.
Defense attorney Pam Smart said she is waiting for results of a hair analysis to back up the couple's statement that they were not using drugs.
[snip]
She also said their bonds are too high for misdemeanors. A bond reduction hearing is scheduled next month.
Both pets were released from quarantine but will remain in the Bossier City animal shelter until the court case is over, Natale said. Either the court or the city may decide their fate, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
It's good to have one on hand just in case you have to put someone down and you have to get questioned by the POlice.
The one that came along by accident. ;)
One what? License? In Virginia? Pray tell, dear lady, where and how one goes about getting a 'license' to OWN a gun in Virginia?
LOL! We had a black lab and we always joked that if a burglar would come in, Claudius would jump up on him in happiness, wagging his tail. :)
That said... put me down in the "pit bulls do not belong near children" camp. They are dangerous dogs.
KJC1,
They are bred to DOMINATE. They will 'go off' on whatever life form they can DOMINATE. Far too often, that means children.
You see, your 'bred to fight dogs, not humans' argument fails on the facts every time a child is attacked and mauled or killed by a pit bull dog.
It sounds like it could have been the ferret. However that doesn't change the fact that many people, children in particular, have been mauled by pit bulls.
And I say that as a person who once rescued a pit mix from being put down at a shelter.
In the US dogs kill an average of 10 to 15 people each year while the number of dogs killed by humans each year numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Another way to put it in perspective is to realize that a child is 300 times more likely to be killed by its parents or guardians than by a dog.
Small people shouldn't be left alone around any dog. Fact: People, especially small people, are unpredictable.
You are wrong. No dog just "snaps". And Pitbull temperament is quite stable.
Your dog sense detector is broken if you believe people who say they had no indication their dog would bite. Knowing they might would require something called paying attention though, and doing something about it.
Btw, Good fences make good neighbors. No need for killing "just because".
How do you know "99% of attacks don't make the papers anyway"? I'll be Nice and just say you're clueless.
Wrong again.
Twice I have lived where there had been a rash of burglaries, both times the police had said that the people who had dogs were not hit, so I totally believe a dog is a deterrant. However, my friend was robbed last year, she had a lab. The burglars brought a box of dog biscuits, after the dog obviously greeted them, they gave the dog the whole box of biscuits. While the dog ate they cleaned them out. She and her husband, by the way, suspect some locals who knew the dog. I am a dog lover, but I could never have a dog that had the propensity to be over protective. I love my dogs for companionship and the enjoyment I get out of them,the watchdog part is just a bonus. We are planning on getting another dog, one that at least will bark once in a while, the bulldog basically stays in a coma.
So...are pits, by nature, dog-aggressive?
I have no objection to anyone owning pits, provided they keep them on their property or on a leash...which is how I feel about all breeds of dogs.
I've had too many dogs of all breeds and sizes come onto my property or public property to attack my dogs, which are big enough to defend themselves against most breeds. However, they wouldn't stand a chance against multiple pits or other dogs bred to kill dogs.
Reason, finally. Thank you. I think the same.
You were right.
We had a pitbull for 17 years until he died of old age...he was rescued from his previous owner who beat him regularly...he had broken bones and a large knot on his head from being hit with a pipe....in fact our cat used to slap him around....he never was agressive at all...
I didn't know these specific questions would be on the test, I'll study more next time teacher.... carry a gun? carry a concealed weapon?
I understand that neither pit bulls nor their owners are the brightest of their species'.
Bred to fight DOGS. Not HUMANS.
Give it up.
Let me just call up the family of the old woman they killed down here in Virginia and tell them that.
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