My community is up in arms after an unleashed dog attack!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

My apologies in advance for posting this, but I was shaking and sick after hearing this today. From time to time, we've posted about the danger of unleashed dogs. But this time I'm squarely focused on Pit Bulls. I really need to vent and I can only think to do it here and get your thoughts as I try to collect my own.  

Our community is reeling due to a pit bull attack.  A couple was walking their 7 lb. leashed maltese in a beautiful neighborhood not far from my office when 2 pit bulls belonging to a neighbor who rescues and fosters pits came from behind.  Apparently her dogs got loose--they get loose a lot. The couple never saw them coming until it was too late. The husband tried to pick up their little dog up but one pit grabbed her by the head.  Little Sobo died instantly. The dogs devoured parts of her while the owners tried to get her body.  If that isn't horrific enough…the two dogs, in pack mentality, charged another man down the street and then made their way to a nearby development and tried to attack a woman walking a pomeranian but the woman was able to lift her dog above her head and save it just as animal control got there.  Of course, the fault is with the owner for owning these dangerous dogs and not containing them. But it's not just these two that have been aggressive. She's rescued others just as bad because now we know that several neighbors have been bitten. What I want to know is when and where does it become unacceptable to own these dogs?  I can't believe I'm saying that, but I am.  

I've worked a little bit with Pitt Bulls and Pitt-mixes in rescue and I know they can be smart, sweet, loving dogs one-on-one but there's not one pure Pitt that I would have trusted completely with others or with other animals. 

One of my staff lives in that neighborhood and her 10 year old son (cute and bright as a button) started a dog walking business about a year ago after being smitten with Finn and Oscar (our office doodle).  His favorite "client" is Edgar - a pomeranian. Jackie spends his days off thinking up special things to do with Edgar.  It was sheer luck that Jackie wasn't walking Edgar. 

BTW did I mention that the owner came across this bloody mess and drove away without saying ANYTHING when the couple told her what happened.  The husband was so distraught, he was taken to the ER.  These poor people, I can't even imagine.  Children and adults have been bringing flowers and little dog toys to a memorial that's growing for little Sobo.

I know any breed can be aggressive but --as someone has said - an aggressive dog is like a firecracker, but a pit bull is like a hand grenade.

To the borough's credit, there's going to be a community-wide meeting next week to discuss what residents feel should be done. Come on DKers, (at least anyone who's made it through this awful post) please help me with a list. 

       

[Julie, Eloise & Beasley]

I can’t stop thinking about this story, and the other you posted, Karen, about the little boy. I have no words.

I can only hope the segments of our society that think these vicious dogs are “the thing to have” will move on to something else (please, less dangerous). That’s the only way I see their numbers going down to where the population is more “manageable”. (Then maybe they could introduce different characteristics into the genetics?) Seems like the breed mostly going away is the only truly effective solution, and I’m stunned I’m saying that…but that won’t happen until the demand is gone.

These dogs are status symbols for many – both for the “egotistical innocents” who think themselves so virtuous for saving them, and for the thugs who want them as “killers.” (Ironic when doodle owners are maligned for the whole status thing…yet our dogs aren’t killing/mauling people and other dogs.)

The city of Cincinnati lifted its ban on pit bulls a few years back – the BSL was included in the city’s “vicious dog” ordinance for nearly a decade. I don’t know that it did anything other than fire up its opponents here, until it was eventually repealed. I’m not saying bans can’t be effective elsewhere, (and I won’t even pretend to know a fraction of what you know about all this, lol!) But there have to be sufficient ways to enforce (which they do not have in Cinti)…and most importantly, for a ban to be effective, it requires the people who are the problems to actually care about being law-abiding citizens. (There are obviously the criminals, but I think the "virtuous" people often think they're above the law, too - because they're "doing good," don't you know!)  Where I live, yes – it would be difficult to go unnoticed with a banned breed for long, and you’d likely be run out of town on a rail if something bad happened. But inside the city limits here, it’s impossible for them to enforce the existing ordinance, much less the breed ban they had.

This is another horrific story:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2650870/Girl-6-induced-coma... 

I’ve watched this little girl on the news here for a year. She was playing outside her house last summer, and was mauled by a neighbor’s two pit bulls. She survived, but they nearly tore off her jaw and she lost her tongue. Dude who owned these dogs wasn’t concerned with obeying any laws. (He was initially arrested after the attack, but it was for all kinds of other good stuff…I should look up whether he was ever charged in connection with this.) These dogs were guarding his drug operation.

At any given time, I’d say at least 90% of the dogs in our local SPCA shelter are pit bulls/mixes, and it’s a kill shelter (not to mention the independent bully rescues). I cannot fathom how MANY there must be being bred for this one shelter’s population to be that high, and I know it has to be the same all over the country. That’s why I fear this problem won’t go away until the breed mostly does…yet I do feel terrible saying that.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

So incredibly sad!

I'm going to print your story and show it to a very good friend of mine. My friend "inherited" a pitbull mix when her lazy son decided that he no longer had the time to care for the dog. She has 2 other dogs, and remarkably, they all get along very well. But, this pitbull is incredibly strong and not very well leash trained. Earlier this summer my friend was out walking her (bad mistake, in my opinion!) and they came across a small dog (off leash) and it's owner. Sensing that the pit was going to lunge for it, my friend screamed for the owner to pick the small dog up. Well, she didn't pick it up in time, and the pit pulled the leash out of my friend's hands and bit the other dog. Not fatally, thankfully, but enough that it required vet attention. This wasn't the first time the dog had showed aggression. But, after that incident my friend finally realized that she really needed to put the dog down. That was over 6 weeks ago and the dog is still living with them!!! It's driving me crazy!! My friend (who has a very soft heart)  knows what she needs to do, but now is rationalizing that if she just doesn't walk the dog around other dogs everything will be fine. So, now she has an unexercised aggressive dog at home.... great....<Sigh>

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

It's a very hard thing to put a dog down for any reason but I hope you have enough information here to convince her that the dog is too strong and dangerous for her to keep - and passing it on is just passing on a loaded gun.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Oh dear ~ I hope she does not have any children in the family!  It can happen in a second.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And one more article, a long one, for those who remain unconvinced. This is the story that got me thinking and researching pit bulls. It's a very hard story to read, but it's a true one, and it happened in my part of the country. It could happen anywhere there are pitbulls:

http://blog.dogsbite.org/2013/07/beyond-the-interview-essay-of-a-fa...

[Carol and Banjo]

I haven't read the entire interview/essay.....it is very hard to get through in one sitting.   THIS should be the end all, be all to the question.     I'm sure you remember the chimpanzee attack in Connecticut.   Keeping a "pet" that is capable of killing a human should be ILLEGAL.      A national campaign to stop future deaths would be welcome.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep.

And the heartless responses from the pitbull community speak volumes about the kinds of people who advocate for these dogs.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Oh God!  This settles it for me.  From reading everything that's been shared and my own limited experience  it's clear, at least to me, that: 

Pitbulls are dangerous dogs by nature.

Even pit bulls that seem to be sweet and well trained can turn unprovoked and without warning on other animals or humans.

When a pit bull turns, the attack is more deadly then most other aggressive breeds of dogs.

Now how ironic.  I had dinner with a dear friend tonight.  I learned her daughter (a doctorate student) just got herself a dog from Animal Control - a year old pit bull! She's been taking the dog everywhere with her. There have already been issues with riding in elevators with other strange dogs (ODG). But most concerning - she visits her sister who has 3 small children from 1 month to 5 years old, one sweet little mixed breed dog and 2 cats regularly, now bringing this new dog along.  My friend has enough worries on her plate right now but I told her about this discussion and that IMO this dog can't be around those children or animals period.  Karen, I'm sending her your links and hoping she can convince her daughters to listen.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I sure hope she can. 

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I can't for the life of me understand why we allow citizens of this country to own pets that have repeatedly mauled and sometimes killed other animals as well as humans. It baffles me. Aren't there enough other breeds to pick from?

I feel so bad for this couple who lost their dog in such a way, not to mention the people who have been injured. There also has to be a reason why there are so many PB's surrendered to rescue shelters. I know the PB's would scare the day lights out of me if I would see one loose on the streets coming at my doods. Then the real scary part is how to protect your dogs and yourself. Mine are too heavy to lift over my head :-(

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

One would think!

[Julie, Eloise & Beasley]

How horrific - I'm so sorry to read this, Cheryl.  I can't even fathom what the poor Maltese's owners are going through, my heart breaks for them.  I'm also leery of pit bulls and pit mixes, but I had no idea the "warning" had been bred out of them.  While I regarded them as all potentially dangerous, I'll admit I fell into the camp of "its the owner, not the dog"...but this info changes everything for me.  Thanks to Karen and others for the informative links, and also to you for starting this discussion - as horribly unfortunate the reason for it. 

This also has me thinking I need to start carrying something when I walk E&B.  We rarely encounter pits/mixes in my little 'burb - but you never know where one will come running from, as this incident so graphically illustrates.  But just last week on our walk, a lady I've never seen was walking a pit bull that had 2 leashes attached to its harness - and at the sight of E&B, that dog started twisting and thrashing like I've never seen.  Thankfully she was across the street, and we walked quickly in the opposite direction - but this was a fairly small woman and I was terrified that she'd lose her grip on the leashes.  I shudder to think what could have happened.  As for this despicable woman on her "rescue" mission, she's nothing but a menace to society and I certainly hope she is banned from having any more dogs.  Frankly, I think she should be criminally charged - though I'm not sure how likely that is since dogs in most places are considered property, instead of being regarded as living beings with souls.  Just sickening.