Free Republic

The Nashville Parks Board has banned pit bulls and pit bull mixes from the city's three dog parks. The ban came after several attacks on people and other dogs. The dogs still will be allowed in other park areas as long as they are leashed. Some breed owners say the ban unfairly targets pit bulls without considering whether a dog is trained.

BONNE TERRE - A Bonne Terre woman is in jail after allegedly poisoning the wife of the man she wanted to be with. Tina Vazquez, 33, Bonne Terre, is accused of poisoning Angie Hausler with sodium nitrite, a meat-curing chemical that is used at Vazquez's place of employment. Investigators said the poisoning took place Saturday morning. “Tina Vazquez allegedly gave Ms. Hausler two capsules which she believed to be the antibiotic amoxicillin,” said St. Francois County Sheriff Dan Bullock . “The pills contained sodium nitrite. Shortly after taking the pills, Ms. Hausler collapsed and was taken to a local hospital....

A 10-year-old Aurora boy is clinging to life after his family's three pit bulls mauled him Wednesday afternoon as he was trying to get into his home. Greg Jones Jr. was attacked in his back yard in the 16600 block of East Asbury Avenue, near Naples Court. He was rushed to Children's Hospital in Denver, where he remains in critical condition. He was bitten on his head, face, throat, arms and legs. Neighbors who fought away the dogs said one dog even appeared to be gnawing on the boy's neck. Neighbors say the fourth grader returned home from school just...

Animal Welfare Groups Race to Save New Orleans Pets Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Royce Bufkin, a hotel maintenance worker who lives on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, refused to evacuate when Hurricane Katrina struck the city on Aug. 29. Officials wouldn't let him take his cats, Lou and Ellis. He's had Lou for 16 years. ``He's almost like a son to me,'' Bufkin, 56, said. Other pets had to be abandoned. The U.S. Humane Society of estimates that 69 percent of area households had pets, and that more than 600,000 were left on their own in the storm's wake. Five...

Boy, 2, in hospital after being mauled by 3 dogs FORT WORTH -- A 2-year-old boy was in critical condition late Saturday after three dogs dragged the toddler into a back yard and mauled him. The toddler, identified as Luis Blanko, was rushed to Cook Children's Medical Center after suffering severe bite wounds on the head, neck and shoulders, police Lt. Gene Jones said. The three dogs -- a pit bull and two Rottweilers -- were euthanized, Jones said. The state will analyze the remains to determine whether any of the animals was infected with rabies. The attack occurred at...

ORANGE - A 91-year-old Orange woman attacked by her great-grandson's pit bull had both of her arms amputated and was in critical condition at UC Irvine Medical Center today. Ruby Sharum, whose arms were amputated at the elbows, also suffered serious damage to her face in the Friday night dog attack, said Jean Necas, a nursing supervisor at UCI Medical Center. Zion, the dog that attacked Sharum, reportedly belong to her great- grandson, identified by the Orange County Register as Ian Buckhard. At Buckhard's request, Orange County animal control officials euthanized Zion on Saturday, the Register reported. A Rottweiler owned...

Boys help woman being attacked by pit bulls By: Tamra Monahan February 12, 2004 Three 11-year-old boys are being called heroes after they came to the aid of Constance Simonds, 53, of Englewood, who was attacked by two pit bulls Feb. 8 on an open-space path in Highlands Ranch. Nic Morabito, Tripp Wheat and Conner Brodeur were playing at Conner's house on Hawthorne Drive near Fairview Parkway and Highlands Ranch Parkway around 11 a.m. when Conner's mom, Tracy, heard screaming coming from the open space behind her house. She looked out her window and saw a woman and three dogs...

ORANGE, Calif. - A 91-year-old woman who was mauled by a pit bull remained in critical condition Monday with both arms amputated at the elbow, officials said. Ruby Sharum was attacked late Friday night by a pit bull owned by her great-grandson and was being treated at UCI Medical Center. The pit bull, named Zion, was euthanized Saturday by county animal officials. Next-door neighbor Shelbi Moore said Sharum's granddaughter pounded on her door, screaming that her grandmother was being attacked. Moore said she walked into her neighbor's kitchen after calling 911 and saw the pit bull hovering over the elderly...

The woman whose dogs mauled an Elbert County woman to death said she never expected the animals to hurt anyone. "I'm sorry," Jacqueline McCuen said Tuesday, nearly six weeks after three of her dogs killed Jennifer Brooke. "I can't say 'I'm sorry' enough. I want to know why this happened. I can't imagine what (Brooke's family) has been through. "I don't blame it on the breed. I don't blame it on their upbringing. I was a good owner." Brooke, 40, was attacked Nov. 30 while she fed her horses. The dogs also attacked Bjorn Osmunsen, 24, and Clifford "Lynn" Baker,...