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A young pit bull woke up its owners to warn them of a fire in their Pleasant Mills Road home early Saturday, but the dog itself died in the fire, which destroyed much of the ranch house, police say. Nine people who had been sleeping in the home shortly before 4:30 a.m. all got out unhurt, Hammonton Police Detective John Panarello said. “The people we spoke to said the dog was barking,” Panarello said. “They went back to see why, and saw that the house was pretty much engulfed in flames.”Property records list the owner of the house as Mary...

Animal welfare organisations, veterinary professionals and local authorities yesterday joined forces to condemn the much-criticised Dangerous Dogs Act, demanding that it must be replaced by a hard-hitting new Dog Control Bill focusing on prevention rather than cure. Existing legislation has failed to reduce the number of dog bite incidents in the UK, which have risen in the past five years by 79% in London and 43% nationally*. If passed, the Bill will introduce major changes to current dangerous dog legislation, which is widely considered to be one of the most ineffective pieces of government legislation ever brought into force. These...

WASHINGTON — Should large-scale dog breeders regulate themselves or is this a job for the federal government? The dispute is in the hands of Congress , which is considering a law that would require dog breeders who sell more than 50 puppies a year to be federally licensed and inspected. It's called the PUPS Act, short for Puppy Uniform Protection Statute. It's aimed at cracking down on puppy mills, facilities where dogs often are forced to live in small cages. Among other things, the measure would force breeders to give their dogs the chance to exercise for at least an...

Published: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 MIDDLETOWN — The father of an 11-year-old girl mauled by a pit bull in mid-May is set to appear in civil court Monday at New London Superior Courthouse. Thomas Sheehan, of 331 Timber Ridge Road, Middletown, was allegedly hosting a family party when his daughter was viciously attacked by an unleashed pit bull. The dog belongs to the son of Sheehan’s girlfriend, the 11-year-old’s mother, Merryl Simon Macek, said. According to Macek, her daughter suffered severe injuries from the attack including five deep lacerations and two puncture wounds under the jaw. Three-fourths of the girl’s...

Saturday, June 19, 2010 SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Police say a woman fatally shot one of two pit bulls that attacked her basset hound Saturday in South Los Angeles. Officers were notified of the shooting at 835 W. Rosecrans Ave. at around 10:30 a.m. The woman said she and her dog were about to leave their apartment for a walk when the attack happened. She described how the two pit bulls suddenly appeared and lunged at the basset hound. "She couldn't get the dogs off her dog. She went inside (her apartment) and got a gun," said LAPD Sgt....

Guide dogs being attacked by fighting pitbull types Dozens of gentle guide dogs are being attacked every year by status pit-bull type dogs with some so badly traumatised they have to be withdrawn from service, research has found. By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor Published: 7:30AM BST 18 Jun 2010 Bull breeds, such as bull terriers, bull mastiffs and staffordshire bull terriers, accounted for 40 per cent of attacks on guide dogs, despite these breeds making up a small minority of the dog population in Britain, the study by a team at the UK Guide Dogs for the Blind Association said....

Posted: 06/16/2010 Last Updated: 1 hour and 13 minutes ago By: Erik Waxler LAKELAND, Fla. - Tiger is taking it easy, spending the day in bed lying down. His owner Vivian Rovelo says this pit bull doesn't even have the energy to go outside. "He didn't eat yesterday," she said. Vivian says normally the dog is very active. "Yes. Running, playing, you can't imagine. He's a very excited dog." Tiger needs his rest a day after surviving an alligator attack at Lake Hunter just south of downtown Lakeland. The dog was going for a walk around the lake, as he...

A 5-year-old boy was mauled by a pitbull Thursday after climbing into a dog pen with the pitbull and its puppies. The boy had six cuts to his cheek and nose. The pitbull also ripped out two of his teeth and chipped a third tooth. The dog’s owner was ticketed for having a vicious animal, police Cpl. Eric Dearcorn said.

Pit bull bites off portion of child's cheek in Winters By Democrat Staff Created: 06/11/2010 08:24:44 AM PDT A pit bull dog has attacked a Winters child, biting off a portion of the youth's cheek. The dog responsible for the attack on the evening of Sunday, June 6, has since been destroyed, according to Vicky Fletcher business service manager of the Yolo County Animal Control Department. Fletcher reported late Thursday, that county sheriff's deputies responded to calls for assistance after learning of the attack. Fletcher did not provide information on where the attack occurred, or the identity of the child....

A 51-year-old Chalmette woman was severely bitten by a pit bull dog in the face, chest arm today, according to the St. Bernard Sheriff's Office. The victim, whose name wasn't released, was in serious but stable condition after the 4 p.m. attack by a family dog in the home of friend Dawn Hammers at the 300 block of West Virtue St., just west of Paris Road. She required surgery at University Hospital in New Orleans The owner of the dog accompanied her friend who was taken by ambulance to the hospital after being mauled. The woman had injuries to her...

Published: June 9, 2010 Updated: 1:01 p.m. Officials: School secretary brutally attacked by pit bull By DEEPA BHARATH THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER GARDEN GROVE – A long-time school secretary at Woodbury Elementary had to undergo emergency surgery Tuesday afternoon for a punctured artery after a pit bull wandered into the school office and brutally attacked her, school officials said. The incident occurred about 3 p.m. when school was out and there were still about 200 children in the Boys and Girls Club's after-school program, said Alan Trudell, spokesman for the Garden Grove Unified School District. "The dog followed a parent...

Mail carriers are scrambling in Scranton this spring after seven dog bite attacks—the most in recent memory. Letter carrier Lyn Sottile was bitten by a chocolate Labrador that ran through an invisible fence, bit her leg and punctured the can of mace she carries. The injury took her off the route for a week, according to local news reports. Postal workers are victims of only some of the more than 4.7 million dog bites annually. Each year 800,000 Americans seek medical attention for dog bites; half of them children. Of those injured, 386,000 require treatment in an emergency department and...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Matt Geary was walking into a convenience store last Friday to buy a drink when he was mauled by a pit bull. The father of three thought he was going to die after suffering deep bite wounds on his arms and legs and undergoing multiple surgeries over two days to repair the damage. "He had chipped the bone with his teeth when he bit," Geary said of the dog. "The feeling on the top of my thumb is gone." Geary said he was walking into a Jiffy Mart gas station on Post Street to buy a soda,...

PEARLAND, Texas – A Houston-area woman is recovering after two large pit bulls attacked her outside her home, police said. Cherry Woods, 39, claims her cat, Lima, saved her from the dogs by scratching and hissing at the animals. According to the Pearland police report, the attack happened May 21 just before 8 a.m. Woods claims she was walking back to her home in the 2300 block of Short Springs Court in Pearland when she saw the dogs from a distance. When they started charging towards her, she tried to fight them off, but they knocked her down several times....

A car insurer has asked a Canadian family to pay for repairing a broken bumper after their dog was struck by the vehicle and died, local media said Thursday. The traffic accident occurred in March while Jake, a 12-year-old yellow Labrador, was out for his daily stroll around a quiet neighborhood in Aurora, Ontario, north of Toronto. Kim Flemming had let the dog out when she arrived home from work. Moments later, a man knocked on the door to say a car had run over Jake. "I got to the road and he was dying," Flemming told the Toronto Star....

n Sunday around 7 p.m., Jana Juhasz was watching roping practice at the Fallen Badge Arena in the small town of Christine. Juhasz had been to the property before, but this time, she watched her two-year-old son nearly get killed in front of her. Juhasz says her toddler, Brock, was playing with some of the Australian Cattle dogs, or Blue Heelers. But then Brock tripped over one of the dogs, and the dog turned on him. Juhasz says the dog, "wasn't just mad. It wasn't just intending to hurt him. It was out to kill him." She ran toward her...

UTE little Finn is lucky to be alive after he was attacked by two greyhounds at an off-leash dog park at Thornleigh last week. It is the second attack at the Dawson Ave park in a fortnight. In the other incident, a dog, believed to be a poodle, died after being attacked by a labrador. Two-year-old Finn required surgery and about 24 stitches after being attacked about 9.15am on Mother’s Day. “Two greyhounds ran down from the other end (of the park) and went straight for him and started chewing him,” Finn’s owner, Richard Bamber, said. He separated the dogs...

This Salt Lake City pit bull is melting hearts, busting stereotypes, and proving that a disability doesn't have to slow you down. Piggy, a pit-bull/boxer mix, can walk with only her front legs. Her hind legs were paralyzed three years ago in a hit-and-run car accident that shattered most of her spine. Secured to a cart with wheels to help her get around, Piggy volunteers as a trained therapy dog at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Salt Lake City, which provides free surgeries to children with spinal cord injuries, orthopedic disorders and other similar conditions. Piggy is amazingly gentle, Hollingsworth...

GIRARD - The owner of the dog whose bite left a 12-year-old with more than 100 stitches is sorry the girl was injured but says she was not bitten while walking past the 15-month chocolate Labrador as she claims, rather because she was too close to it. "Destiny (Turner) walked over to Schnook and put her face next to the dog's face," Christina Morris said Thursday. "That's when he bit her face." The girl claims she was walking toward her house, 211 Broadview, about 7 p.m. Sunday when the chained dog leaped on top of her and began biting her...

(05-14) 16:08 PDT RENO -- The condemned pit bull that was sprung from the Alameda animal shelter, allegedly by its owners, has been found in Reno and will be euthanized next week, authorities said Friday. Max, a 3-year-old, 70-pound red nose pit bull, was located at a Reno motel Thursday night and was taken to a local shelter. An Alameda animal control officer will drive to Reno on Monday to retrieve Max, after which the dog will be destroyed, said Alameda police Sgt. Jill Ottaviato. -snip- An Alameda County Superior Court commissioner ordered Max destroyed Tuesday. The dog was labeled...