Posted on 09/19/2008 10:57:08 PM PDT by Chet 99
Sep. 13, 2008
Pet pit bulls maul NLV 4-month-old to death
Grandmother baby-sitting child hospitalized
By LAWRENCE MOWER REVIEW-JOURNAL
A 4-month-old girl was fatally mauled by her family's two pit bulls Friday at their North Las Vegas home.
The baby's grandmother, who was watching the baby while her parents were at work, was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries sustained as she tried to protect her granddaughter. North Las Vegas police Chief Joseph Forti said the dogs were in the backyard of the home, near Cheyenne Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard, prior to the attack.
The dogs managed to enter the home, possibly by bursting through a screen door, and began attacking the baby as she lay in a stroller, he said.
"They just went right for the little girl," he said.
The grandmother took the baby and tried to escape into a room of the house.
She tried to close the door behind her, but one of the dogs forced its way into the room, Forti said, followed by the other.
They began attacking the girl again, and the grandmother called police at about 11:25 a.m.
When officers arrived, they found the two dogs with blood on their fur "acting very aggressively" toward the officers, according to a statement issued by the department. Police shot and killed the dogs.
Officers found the baby lying on the floor of a bedroom, dead from her injuries.
"This is about as severe an attack as I've seen in my 18 years in North Las Vegas," North Las Vegas Animal Control officer Dale Smock said.
Forti said he was told by officers the girl had suffered "very severe bite and head wounds."
The attack was so severe that officers and medical personnel who responded to the incident are being offered counseling, Forti and North Las Vegas Fire Department Capt. Cedric Williams said.
"This is something they don't see every day," Williams said.
The names of the baby and the grandmother were not released by police.
According to neighbors, the parents of the baby were new to the typical valley neighborhood of stucco houses and neat yards, having just moved into the home on Eagle View Way in recent months. One neighbor said he had seen the dogs loose in the neighborhood at least once.
Neighbor Jason Howe was furious.
"You don't have pit bulls around children, period," he said.
"The whole situation's sad," said 75-year-old neighbor Stan Heaton.
In June, a 2-year-old boy suffered serious injuries after a neighbor's boxer bit him on his face and neck in the northwest valley.
And in April, two children, ages 4 and 5, were hospitalized after being attacked by a neighbor's boxer and a pit bull near Vegas Valley and McLeod drives.
North Las Vegas has investigated 192 dog attacks since the beginning of last year, including 73 attacks from pit bulls, Smock said.
One of those attacks was on one of the city's animal control officers, who was investigating a complaint on July 3.
After walking into a backyard, she was attacked by two pit bulls and has yet to return to full-time duty at the department, Smock said.
Smock said pit bull attacks cause deep wounds that are "sometimes compared to shark attacks."
Forti said he didn't know whether charges would be pressed against the family, a decision left up to the district attorney's office.
Well, you’re not making an argument, and you’re not particularly coherent, so I’m just going to wait until you learn to frame an opinion in a complete sentence.
These punker haikus of yours are not too easy on the eyes.
Thanks for saying that.
I never saw myself as a pit bull owner. I found out what our dog was a few weeks after we brought him home. I was scared, but I joined a knowledgeable advocacy group and have been very pleased with him so far.
No. It is in their genes. Like Chows and and a few others. I have seen these types of dogs turn on their owners without warning even though they were NEVER abused but always treated with love.
I appreciate your support, but Pit Bulls ALL have the potential to be vicious, and it IS because of their breeding.
Given proper care and an outlet, they don’t have to be. I love pits, but I’m not going to make excuses for them. They are not dogs for the uncommitted or timid.
Right. But we never see the stories because the MSM is hiding the deers socialist agenda from us.
No dangerous animal can be kept safely in a home environment.
They have a long history as loving pets.
and as vicious attackers. The don't just 'bite', they go after the kill.
Right. The two-year old was not as smart as you.
Please. Show me where I've said this.
The fact is, if you see a pit bull wandering around the neighborhood, you should either catch it or shoot it. I would. I hate trying to walk past loose pit bulls, they scare the bejeezus out of me. This goes double for the loud, lunging monsters behind rickey old fences.
But just because some people don't give a damn and let their unneutered, unvaccinated, unloved dogs grow sour, please don't support legistlation that will take my dog away from me. You will never see him unless he's on his walk. He will never bark, lunge or even look at you, or your kids, or your dog, or your cat. You probably wouldn't even know he's got pit in him if you saw him on the street.
The fact that most people have never seen a responsible pit owner means that the majority of us are doing a good job keeping our dogs away from society.
I find my kids are a great help around the meth lab...Their little fingers are perfectly suited for tying knots in balloons.
Don’t be such a spaz.
YOU don’t feel comfortable keeping a dangerus animal in a home environment. That doesn’t mean others are incapable of it.
I have a friend who keeps a pellet gun in his home. He’s too scared to have a real gun, and he thinks they should be outlawed. Should my right to bear arms be infringed because he doesn’t feel confident enough to handle the real thing?
They can be vicious attackers and they can kill. That’s why a responsible owner keeps their pit in the house, or behind a 6 foot fence. They get their dogs neutered and keep them healthy. They walk or pull every day, and they’re some of the most amazing dogs you’ll never meet.
“Prosecute the parents..”
Why the parents? They left the child with her grandmother. Yes they knew she had pit bulls, but from the article it seems the dogs were kept in the yard and the baby inside, but then the dogs broke into the house. If these facts as reported are correct, I don’t even see liability for the grandmother as owner of the animals.
“I agree with that and pretty much everything else you said but you’re forgetting WHEN Pit Bulls do loose their temperament it’s death or best case amputation for their victim. This makes them a very very dangerous animal and should be licensed like lions are.”
exactly.
Even though dachsunds can be mean - I doubt their attacks result in life threatening injuries or death.
It’s not just an issue of temperement - it’s an issue of what actually happens once the dog loses it.
If a pit ever wandered on our property (we have several children) we would shoot it.
Just keep your dogs away from my kids and we'll get along fine. If not, you will probably get your feelings hurt. There are way too many kids in my neighborhood for anyone to keep these "harmless" pets. "Harmless Pet, meet Mr. Glock .40.."
As I’ve said before, if you ever see my dog in your yard, shoot him.
I’ll refund you for the bullet.
I agree many dogs are mislabeled. I'm the kennel manager for a large, private rescue foundation and am directly responsible for the care and rehab of as many as 75 or more pit bulls daily and 150 or more dogs of various breeds. Over the years I have known well over a thousand pits.
I make decisions every day as to what dogs should be put down and which ones can be benefit from rehab. I do not take my responsibility lightly because I will not adopt out dangerous dogs. Many people in animal rescue become so clouded with good intentions that they fail to look at the situation realistically.
I disagree with Cesar Milan that all dogs can be rehabbed. Some are beyond help and I see it not only in pits but other breeds as well. Being a responsible dog owner is only part of the problem and I do not blame the dogs. The owners need to be held responsible and most don’t understand the potential damage any dog can be capable of. Also, just as some people “just need killing”, so do some dogs.
While we don't just rescue the bully breeds it is unfortunate that they are the majority in most shelters. I must admit that I prefer pits and they are the only breed I have personally owned for the last twenty years.
I used to get on these threads and try to have rational discussions regarding dangerous dogs but I just don't have much time since my job is 24/7, and compounded with the numerous personal attacks, many through freep mail, who has the energy for that.
Check my homepage to identify the pit bull. Also, check out In Hope, An Animal Shelter Story because that is what I live with every day, by choice of course, because somebody has to do it.
Agree. The ole lady calls me Dog Whisperer 2. People with dogs who say they bite or they don’t like men are suprised at the dogs reaction to me.
I have no natural fear of dogs. I just came from a Vet/Kennel fixing a Bully Breed American Bulldog. They snipped him. He has a 6 inch gash on his side, stitched and a drain above and below to keep infection out. He was docile and even touching his scar you get a look. No growl no nipping.
They are better than Pits but they started out as the American Pit Bull. But they are related to the English bulldog. He is 10 months and 70 lbs already. Once he is sewn up I will be fostering him and once I check any aggresion issues, I may end up keeping this one.
That picture looks more like a young mastiff than a pit, except for not having a black mask. Click on my screen name to see mine (he’s grown now, much larger).
thank you for the wonderful work that you do.
I just don’t how you do it every day. But there are many many doggie lovers out there who appreciate your compassion and hard work.
My Lola came from the “doggie orphanage”.
What I still have a hard time understanding and know I will get posts on, Why would anyone NOT want to adopt a dog or rescue one? I really think it is selfish and an ego trip to get a dog from a breeder (wow, I will really hear it now!).
you can’t breed it out.
Aggressiveness was pretty much bred out of mastiffs. It took a few hundred years, and it was an across the board effort, though.
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