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.
I didn’t see that article. Do you have a link?
This article states, in the first paragraph, that the dogs belonged to the baby’s family.
I say DEATH to all Pit Bulls!
The first sentence of the article says it was her “family’s pit bulls.” They had been seen loose running in the neighborhood.
I had to kill a marauding Pit Bull. It was a vicious beast, running with a pack of other dogs. It is not in my nature to kill anything, but I am proud of what I did. I was certain that this beast would someday harm someone....so I borrowed a 45 automatic pistol from a friend and I put an end to this loathsome creature.
See # 19.
Not only did they have two dogs (remember two can always get the “pack” mentality) running loose in the neighborhood, but it sounds like they were neve allowed in the house.
My guess is they were totally unsocialized. They probably viewed the child as a prey animal they’d been trying to get for a long time.
I watched Cesar Milan one day, and he didn’t let aggressive dogs play with squeaky toys. He said dogs mentally compare the squeaky sound with a dying prey animal. That’s why they get so excited.
I say DEATH to all Pit Bulls!
~~~
This breed is too much of a “loose cannon”(if that fits),,,
Some will attack,,,some won’t,,,
Folks next door have Five chained-up,,,
I have a springer and a yorkie,,,and a Colt,,,
(not a hoss),,,
Have to “walk” them All in the back-yard...:0(...Grrrrr...
They're not all bad.
It’s a horrible thing to have to do.
I borrowed a 45 auto pistol from a friend, he taught me how to use it.
It had I think 11 shells, one was a bullet, the next like a shotgun shell. I fired every one till the pistol was empty. It was a horrible thing to see. The animal literal came apart. I had no idea how powerful a pistol could be. I have actually caught mice and driven to a distant spot to let them loose rather than kill them. But I had NO choice with this mad animal. I just knew it would someday attack a child. So it fell to me to do what had to be done. I hold the person who let this animal loose on the world responsible... damn them for forcing me to do this awful thing. :-(
If I hear that one more time, I think I will scream.
Your clever and incisive point must be hidden behind the red X...
From Your Page! :
“Of course, all dogs do this. A retriever can fulfill himself playing fetch, a herding dog can chase cars...But there is nothing a pit bull can do by itself to approximate a bloody fight to the death, thats not going to result in tragedy.
The way to give a pit bull an outlet is to get him into weight pulling. It fulfills his need for battle. Its not hard to get into, and you dont have to compete, you just have to invest in some equipment and a few hours every night. Are alot of people willing to do this? No. They treat the dog like a chihuahua or a lab and then are shocked when he tears apart the neighbors cat, or dog, or child.
Too many pit bull apologists spend all their energy defending the breed as gentle, loveable little fuzzballs without acknowledging that this is NOT a backyard breed, not a dog for the sedentary, or irresponsible, and not a dog to be taken lightly.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If “YOUR” Dawg Or Any Other Comes In !MY! Yard,,,
I WILL Shoot It DEAD,Full Of Holes!!! > . <
Maybe I Should Buy A Friggin’ TIGER!!!
Maybe A BEAR!!!
My COLT Costs Less To FEED!!!...
Ah, a sleeping tiger.
No, the tiger’s an undomesticated animal. Pit bulls, while dangerous, can be kept safely in a home environment. They have a long history as loving pets.
The problem lies with the owners and their apparent incomprehension of the breed’s potential for violence, and their failure to take proper care of them.
I’m going to assume you’re shouting because you’re just so surprised to see a pit bull advocate speak the truth about the breed.
If my dog ever wandered into your yard, and you shot him, it would have been my fault for not having control of him. I may not buy you a drink afterwards, but I’d understand your actions. I don’t like to see pit bulls running free, myself. But don’t try to take him away from me using the government as your big brother. It’s cowardly and misguided.
See # 19.
Thanks.
“Man, that neighborhood SOUNDS bad. I wouldn’t go there.”
Actully, if this neighborhood is north of Cheyenne Avenue —which I think it is — its probably pretty nice. In this part of the city, Cheyenne Ave. is pretty much the boundary line between the (very) bad parts of North Las Vegas and the newer, nicer areas that have sprung up in the last fifteen years or so.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.