PitOwner

Therapy dogs hearten patients at Baylor Hospital

2011-09-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

By Laura C. Morel, from Star-Telegram

Behind Jim and Bettye Baker's Seagoville home sits the kennel for Oak Hill Animal Rescue, the pet organization the Bakers founded to save animals from being euthanized.
Since it opened in 2006, the Bakers said they have found homes for at least 500 dogs.
So when a veterinarian called them about an ailing pit bull pup named Chili, the decision to adopt her was a no-brainer.
When Chili was 8 weeks old, someone threw her over a fence onto concrete, breaking her back and cracking her pelvis. A vet told the Bakers she had suffered neurological damage and would never be able to use her hind legs.
Chili grew to be 42 pounds. Her chest is broad and muscular. The Bakers swear she can smile because when Chili pants, the corners of her mouth curl into a wide grin.
Eventually, Chili learned to get around by using her front legs and dragging the rest of her body. But the dragging took a toll on her tail, which is covered in scar tissue.
When she was a year old, the Bakers discovered Eddie's Wheels, a Massachusetts-based company that makes lightweight aluminum wheelchairs for pets. A padded saddle in the shape of a figure-eight holds their back legs in place.
The Bakers bought one of the wheelchairs - which cost between $325 and about $1,400 - for Chili, who enjoys running around the backyard.
"She just flies in the thing," Jim Baker said.
Last year, the Bakers were with Chili at a pet adoption event in North Dallas when a woman approached them.
"This dog needs to go to Baylor," said the lady, a nurse at Baylor Hospital who was familiar with its Animal-Assisted Therapy Program. According to a study by the Center for Human-Animal Interaction at Virginia Commonwealth University, a majority of patients who suffered from acute psychiatric problems showed lower anxiety levels after interacting with therapy dogs.
But not all dogs who try out make the cut for Baylor's program.
"Just because your dog likes people or is a friendly dog does not mean that they would make a good therapy dog," said Linda Marler, the program's director.
Animals accepted at Baylor must pass a 15-minute test during which pans are dropped, and crutches and wheelchairs circle the dog to determine its reaction. There is also a pain tolerance portion to make sure the dog will not bark or bare its teeth if it is hurt.
Chili and Arlo, a disabled dachshund adopted by the Bakers three years ago, have been a big hit with Baylor patients. Of the 86 dogs making rounds at the hospital, they are the only two disabled ones, and this month marks their first anniversary of bringing smiles to patients' faces.
At a therapy gym inside the Baylor Institute of Rehabilitation, some patients laughed recently when they spotted the canine visitors. Others stared, wide-eyed.
"Patients just absolutely love them," Jim Baker said. "There's something about that contact, seeing a dog in a wheelchair who is so happy and thriving."
Kristen Hill, an occupational therapist at the institute, has seen the dogs repeatedly boost the attitudes of her patients.
"It definitely makes them smile," Hill said. "They're able to relate to the dogs" because most patients use wheelchairs themselves."
Tanner Perales, 17, was lying down on a therapy bed when he spotted Arlo. The dog has a degenerative spinal disease, a common condition in dachshunds because of their long backs, and his lower body is paralyzed. Now 6 years old and weighing 12 pounds, he is short and scrawny. When he looks up, his long, chocolate brown ears flop back.
The animal's visit lifted the spirits of Perales, who broke his neck in June when he jumped into a lake unaware that the water was only a foot deep.
When Bettye Baker placed Arlo on the bed with Perales, the dog nuzzled the teen's arm with his nose. Chili dropped by, too.
"It was neat seeing them," Perales said with a smile.
"She's adorable!" said Sandy Wilson as she stroked Chili's head and looked into the dog's brown eyes. "You've made me so happy today."
Wilson, from North Dallas, had a brain tumor removed earlier this year and was at the institute for four weeks. She said therapy dogs are "nonjudgmental."
"Especially these two," Wilson said. "They're handicapped. But look, they're happy."
Although the wheelchairs offer Chili and Arlo more independence, they still have some limitations. When Chili is outside in the yard, she sometimes runs into a hole, flipping her wheelchair.
The dogs can only use their wheelchairs for about four hours at a time because it's so demanding on their upper bodies. And both animals have what Bettye Baker calls "plumbing problems." Chili wears a skirt to hide the diaper she wears when she visits patients. Because she is in a wheelchair, she can't squat to relieve herself like other dogs.
And with Arlo, the Bakers have to press his bladder to make him urinate.
"If somebody else had them, (they) probably would have just been euthanized," Bettye Baker said.
Instead, Jim Baker said Chili and Arlo are an inspiration to patients who face similar struggles.
The dogs, he said, have "been a blessing for a lot of people."

Tethered dog killed by hundreds of bee stings

2011-09-04T12:03:00.000-07:00

From WTSP

A six-year-old male pitbull tethered behind a house was found stung to death by bees Wednesday.

A bee exterminator was at the house in the 200 block of Plum Tree Drive Thursday morning to assess the situation.
As of July 1, it is illegal to tether a dog unless you are physically present with the dog. The pitbull's owner, Concepcion Medina, was inside the house at the time of the attack and called 9-1-1 when she heard her dog named Chico, yelping during the attack.
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Fire-Rescue and Animal Care & Control all responded to the home. Firefighters sprayed the dog down with foam but it was already dead.
Medina was cited for violating the county's tethered dog ordinance. Animal Care & Control gave Medina a $100 ticket. She told authorities the dog was tethered because it had a habit of getting loose and running around the neighborhood, although Animal Care & Control has no records of problems involving the dog.
She has three other dogs she keeps in the house. Medina told authorities she knew about the bees about a week ago but didn't have the money to remove them because she is on disability and her husband is out of work.
Bee remover Tim Barbeck came out Thursday morning to kill the hive for free.

13-day-old baby killed in attack by family dog

2011-09-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

From KHOU

A newborn baby was killed after it was attacked by a family dog in northwest Harris County on Saturday.
It happened at a home at 16542 Cypress Bridge near Whispering Cypress around 8 p.m.
Deputies said the 13-day-old child was left in a swinging sleeper in the same room as the family’s Pit Bull when the incident occurred.
An adult who was in the other room hear the noise and found the child badly injured. The newborn was airlifted to the hospital, where the child later died.
The Pit Bull, which weighed more than 100 pounds, was taken by Harris County Animal Control and put in quarantine.
The case will be referred to a grand jury, which will decide if charged should be field.

Pit bulls, crocodiles and panthers targeted in Egelston Township's proposed dangerous animal ordinance

2011-09-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

By Lynn Moore, The Muskegon Chronicle

Pit bulls would have to be kept indoors or in a covered kennel and walked with a muzzle under a new ordinance proposed in Egelston Township.
The township board is expected to discuss the ordinance, which was prepared by the planning commission, at its Sept. 19 meeting.
Based on Muskegon Township's ordinance, the proposal targets dangerous animals ranging from wolves to poisonous snakes to elephants. But the primary target of the ordinance are pit bulls, also known as American pit bull terriers or Staffordshire bull terriers, or dogs with the “appearance and characteristics of being predominately” pit bull.
Also subject to the ordinance would be “any dog or cat having a disposition or propensity to attack or bite any person or animal without provocation.”
The ordinance would require owners of pit bulls and other dangerous animals to register with the township clerk within 90 days of the ordinance's effective date, and annually thereafter.
Other proposed requirements of owners include:
• Confining pit bulls or other dangerous animals indoors or in a locked pen or kennel that has secure sides and a top attached to the sides.
• Keeping dangerous animals muzzled and on a 4-foot leash any time they are outside of the home or pen.
• Not keeping a dangerous animal inside a house when “the windows or screen doors are the only obstacle preventing the dangerous animal from exiting.”
• Posting prominently on their property, within 10 days of the ordinance's effective date, a sign that reads “Beware of Dangerous Animal.” A similar sign also would have to be posted on the animal's pen or kennel.
• Providing proof to the township clerk of public liability insurance in a single-incident amount of $50,000 for bodily injury or death or property damage as a result of the animal's actions.
Anyone who doesn't comply with the ordinance faces having their animal seized and removed from the township.
Township Planning Commission Chairman Gerald Luttrull said the township board had requested the planners come up with a dangerous animal ordinance. Luttrull said he didn't want to discuss “specifics” of the ordinance.
“This was asked by the township board for us to look at,” Luttrull said. “It's up to them now.”
Luttrull said the planning commission reviewed about a half-dozen ordinances before settling on the one adopted by Muskegon Township. He said that was because Egelston Township contracts with Muskegon Township for ordinance enforcement.
Exempt from all aspects of the ordinance would be guard dogs used to provide security on commercial premises.

Puppy litter abandoned in Lake Montezuma Park

2011-09-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

From KNXV

Five two-week old puppies were found abandoned near the restrooms at a northern Arizona park Wednesday.

At around 10 a.m. an Arizona Department of Public Transportation worker discovered the puppies inside a covered box at Lake Montezuma Park. One of the puppies appeared close to death due to the heat, a Yavapai County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said.
According to YCSO, an Animal Countrol Officer rushed the liiter to the Sedona Humane Society, where they were examined by the on-duty veterinarian and provided food and water.
The puppies remain in the care of Humane Society staff, who will continue to monitor their condition.
According to YCSO, the puppies appear to be about two-weeks old, and are described as possibly a mix of Shepherd and Pit Bull breeds. There is a tri-colored male, a tan and black male, a white and black male, a tan female and a black and tan female.
The box that contained the puppies is yellow and white, with the brand "Bacardi" printed on the exterior.
According to YCSO, a plain white t-shirt was found covering the box.
If anyone has information identifying the persons responsible for abandoning the five puppies, YCSO is urging people to call them at (928) 771-3260, or they can contact Yavapai Silent Witness at 1-800-932-3232.
When calling, please refer to case number 11-027975.

Advice to Citizen

2011-08-31T15:02:00.000-07:00

By Christopher Laddish, Sausalito Marin Scope

Caledonia Street. A caller reported he had encountered a person walking a pit bull on a bike path and felt unsafe. The caller inquired which types of weapons he could legally carry on his person for self-defense. Advice was given.

Postal Service once again deliverying mail to Phoenix neighborhood

2011-08-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

From KTAR

The Postal Service is once again delivering to the area around 28th Street and McDowell Road in Phoenix.
Earlier in the week they were worried about their carriers being bitten by stray dogs in the area.
Julie Utley with the U.S. Postal Service in Phoenix commented on the matter Friday.
"The carrier was out delivering mail and noticed that there were some stray dogs in the area," Utley said. "Out of the eight animals that were stray, or running around, four of them were pitbulls.
"The carrier felt threatened. We train them in a situation where they feel threatened by an animal that they are to stop delivery, contact a supervisor and the supervisor will notify animal control."
The post offices' theory is people are taking their unwanted animals to this area and dumping them.
The area has been a problem in the past.
"That day that carrier did not get bitten, but back in May there was a carrier that had been bitten once in that area and then was treated," Utley said. "In that area alone we've had three dog bites year to date."
If mail suddenly stops being delivered to your area it's recommended you contact the post office and they will make arrangements with you to ensure you receive your mail.

Off-duty Taft PD officer shoots pit bull

2011-08-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

From Taft Midway Driller

An off-duty Taft Police officer shot and killed a pit bull that turned on her after attacking her dog at her Bakersfield home Thursday morning.
Veronica Sandoval fired multiple times at the pit bull and killed it in the yard of her southwest Bakersfield home.
Bakersfield Police investigated and said it was “ a clear cut case of self defense.”
Sandoval told the BPD she had had repeated problems with the aggressive dog in the past.
Thursday, about 8 a.m. she went into her yard after hearing her two small dogs barking.
At that point, the dog charged her and she fired her weapon multiple times, killing the pit bull.

Police: Port St. Lucie man shoots pitbull attacking his cat

2011-08-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

By Will Greenlee, TC Palm

A man told police Wednesday he fired two shots at a pitbull that he said was "mauling" his cat, which died following the apparent attack, according to a report released Thursday.
Port St. Lucie police went to an address in the 2000 block of Southwest Trenton Lane and spoke to the cat's owner, a 42-year-old man. He said he was in his home when he heard a "commotion" outside.
He said he looked outside and saw a pitbull "mauling" his cat. He ran outside, yelling at the dog to stop.
The dog, he said, wouldn't let go of his cat. He kicked the dog and got his .40 caliber Glock handgun from inside his home.
He fired one shot and thought he missed because the dog didn't stop. He fired a second shot and the dog dropped the cat before running north on Southwest Trenton Lane.
The cat died.
The owner of the pitbull, a 40-year-old woman who lives in the 2000 block of Southwest Larchmont Lane, was told it's her responsibility to keep the dog, which was shot twice, on her property.
The pitbull's injuries weren't life threatening.
No arrests were made. The pitbull owner got a written warning.

Man arrested after dog charges officer

2011-08-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

From The Portland Tribune

A 61-year-old man was arrested Wednesday afternoon after police said he tried to take an aggressive pit bull onto a TriMet bus in North Portland.

Police shot and killed the dog after it charged an officer during the incident.

Richard Cook faces charges of reckless endangering, interfering with a peace officer, second-degree menacing and disorderly conduct. He was lodged in the Multnomah County Detention Center on $9,000 bail.

The incident began at about 4:30 p.m. when Transit Police Division officers were called to a TriMet bus at Lombard Street and North Interstate Avenue, where a man was tried to board the bus with an aggressive dog.

When the officers arrived, the dog charged one of them and was shot.

Police have not released the names of the officers involved in the shooting.

Unchain dogs in Carrboro

2011-08-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

By Mary Pearse, from The Carrboro Citizen

I am surprised that an enlightened burg like Carrboro, the Paris of the Piedmont, is still allowing dogs to be chained day in and day out in this brutal weather.
I am a Meals on Wheels volunteer who witnesses dogs in appalling situations, chained in the unrelenting heat from morning ‘til night, day in and day out sometimes without water. I have Carrboro Animal Control logged into my cell phone but the officer’s only recourse is to go to the house and tell the dog owners that they must give the dog water and the reception he gets is not altogether friendly.
There is a big old pit bull with a pad lock on his heavy chain collar and a heavy chain attached to the collar. He has obviously seen some unpleasant “action” as he is quite covered with scars.
I have not only called Animal Control in Carrboro but also in Chapel Hill to see if I could get some help for this suffering animal.
Carrboro presents itself as an enlightened community. Come on Carrboro, prove it. How the heck did they get an exemption from the no chain law for Orange County?

2 Children Found In Cockroach-Infested, Filthy Home

2011-08-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

From WPLG

Woman Arrested On Child Cruelty, Neglect Charges

Two children and five dogs were removed Tuesday from a Pompano Beach home where they were living in filth, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.
According to the arrest report, a neighbor called to the home in the 1700 block of Northeast 48th Court, reporting that dogs had been barking for about 12 hours.
Officers went to the home of Lindsay Wallin, 22, which they said looked abandoned and had an overgrown lawn covered in garbage. Wallin gave the officers permission to look around the back yard and inside her home.
In the back yard, the officers discovered a pit bull mix in a too-small cage, covered in fleas, lying in its own filth without any food or water. They also discovered three malnourished puppies with their ribs sticking out, with no food or water, and a fifth dog tethered to a tree in the yard without food, water or shelter, according to the report.
The officers took the dogs away, then proceeded to the house.
Inside the home, where a 5-year-old and a 6-month-old live with Wallin, officers said they discovered trash strewn around, no flooring, mold and several cockroaches. In the arrest report, police said the fridge was full of rotted food, and the room smelled "awful." The officers also said they found cockroaches in Wallin's bed and in a crib.
The children were taken into protective custody, and Wallin was arrested. She faces charges of cruelty toward a child, child neglect, abandonment and possession of cannabis.
Wallin's father, Jon Wallin, owns the home. The family blames the recent trouble on an ongoing feud with a neighbor, not neglect.
"It took one hour to clean the house," Jon Wallin said.
"So your position is that the house is not that dirty?" Local 10's Terrell Forney asked.
"No. It had some clutter, yes, but no," he said.

Dog Attack Victim Speaks

2011-08-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

From WLOS

A Buncombe County woman says she could have been killed by a dog attack Monday evening.
Christy Palucha suffered severe injuries when a pit bull bit her on the leg and face while she was walking near her home at the North View Mobile Home Park near Weaverville.
The dog ripped open an eyelid and mangled her ear.
She could have bled to death from a gash on her neck if the dog had bitten her an inch lower.
She says she's lucky she didn't lose her eye, and wonders why anyone would keep such a dangerous animal.
She is recovering from surgery to repair the injuries.
The dog's owner says it escaped through a window in his trailer, and ran down a bank to the street where Palucha was walking.
He pulled the dog off Palucha, and says it is gentle and plays with his grandson.
But he says he would voluntarily allow Animal Control officers to put down the dog because of the attack.

Couple get 12 years after snake kills daughter

2011-08-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

By Millard K. Ives, Daily Commercial

A a couple was sentenced today to 12 years each in prison in the death of her two-year-old child, Shaianna Hare, who was strangled by the couple's pet Burmese python in their Oxford home.
Jaren Hare, 21, and her former live-in boyfriend, Charles "Jason" Darnell, 34, had been convicted in July by a Sumter County jury on third-degree murder, manslaughter and child neglect and had faced up to 45 years in prison.
In their arguments for a lighter sentence, lawyers for the defendants called the July 1, 2009 death a horrible accident and tagged the snake docile and a family pet with which children in the couple's home regularly played.
The Attorney Ismael Solis had compared it to a pit bull house pet that "just went crazy" when the snake crawled out of its shabby aquarium, slithered down the hallway and climbed into Shaianna crib, wrapped around the child's body and strangled her.
The snake apparently tried to ingest the child.
But Judge William Hallman said unlike domestic animals, the couple knew the snake was a wild animal that ate small mammals, considering Darnell regularly fed it road kill squirrels.
Hallman compared the snake to a pet alligator.
"This child was a small mammal which is on the menu for a wild animal," said Hallman before he sentenced the couple.
Prosecutor Pete Magrino had argued the snake had escaped its aquarium a number of times, including hours before it was found wrapped around the lifeless body of Shaianna.
The couple were given 12 years on the manslaughter charge and five years probation on the neglect charge. The murder conviction was dropped since defendants can't serve two convictions on killing the same person.
The couple had rejected a plea deal for 10 years in prison before the August trial.
Both the couple's lawyers cited the not guilty verdict in the Casey Anthony case, reached one week before Darnell and Hare were found guilty, as helping to lead to the jury finding the defendants guilty and a harsher punishment.

Authorities: Two of three pit bulls in Schenectady attack euthanized

2011-08-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

By Paul Nelson, Times Union

Two of three pit bulls that attacked a 58-year-old woman as she walked along a narrow city street early Monday have been euthanized, according to authorities.
The adult male and female dogs were put down Tuesday at the Animal Protective Foundation in Scotia, according to people with knowledge of the investigation. The third animal was transported to the Montgomery County SPCA in Amsterdam where it will be checked for rabies and quarantined for 10 days before also being euthanized.
In what a Schenectady animal control officer described as one of the worst dog attacks he has seen in his two decades on the job, the three dogs pounced on the woman, whose name has not been released. The incident began shortly before 1 a.m. Monday as the victim walked on the sidewalk along the 300 block of Hulett Street between Schenectady and Albany streets in the city's Hamilton Hill neighborhood.
The victim remained Wednesday at Albany Medical Center Hospital. Her condition could not immediately be determined.
Emilia Falcon, who lives with her children next door to where the woman was attacked, recalled being awakened by the victim's desperate cries for help.
"They were dragging and dragging her and tearing at her head," she said Wednesday, pointing to the overgrown grass on the front lawn of 348 Hulett St., where the incident happened. "It was very ugly and sad to see."
Falcon said she didn't have her cell phone to call for help.
Babette Anderson said she dialed 9-1-1 after also being awakened by the victim's screams. She dashed onto her porch but soon darted back inside to call police.
Anderson, who lives adjacent to the site of the attack, described seeing the dogs "on the ground biting her all over her head. She was just screaming and saying, 'Stop, somebody help me, please.' "
Both Anderson and Falcon said they didn't know the victim but have seen her walking around the neighborhood. Once police were able to get the dogs off the woman, Falcon said, she was disoriented, with blood dripping from her face. Her arms appeared to be mangled.
Police had to use a Taser on one of the pit bulls and captured the other two with a pole used by animal control officers, authorities said.
Police are continuing their investigation but, as of Wednesday afternoon, the owner of the dogs did not face criminal charges. The owner, who police have not identified, was cited for a dangerous dog violation under the city ordinance.
If found guilty of the violation, the dog owner could be fined.
The owner told police he had the animals inside a gate that someone opened.
At the home identified by neighbors as the place where the pit bulls had been kept, a man who answered the door said his buddy, who owned the animals, was not home.

Update August 24, 2011 - The following article is by Steven Cook, Daily Gazette:

Woman mauled by pit bulls expected to survive; owner of dogs ticketed

A 58-year-old woman attacked and mauled by three pit bulls early Monday is expected to survive, police said today.
The woman, whose identity wasn’t released, was attacked on the sidewalk by the dogs at about 3:30 a.m. Monday on Hulett Street.
Officers responded, using a Taser to subdue the dog that appeared to be the most aggressive, getting it off the woman. The two other dogs then retreated, police said.
The woman suffered multiple injuries to her face, ears and arms. She was treated at the scene by city fire department EMS personnel and taken to Albany Medical Center for treatment.
The owner of the dogs was identified as 21-year-old Jasmine L. Tirado, of 347 Hulett St. She came out of her house to get the dogs, police said.
She soon surrendered the dogs to the city’s animal control officer. Two of the dogs have since been euthanized, the third is expected to be after an observation period, police said.
Samples from the dogs are expected to be sent for rabies testing.
Tirado was issued an appearance ticket, accused of having one unlicensed dog, along with three appearance tickets for harboring dangerous dogs.
She is to appear in city court on those charges Sept. 1

Update August 25, 2011 - The following article is from WRGB:

Pit bull attack survivor describes ordeal

58-year-old Shirleen Lucas says no one came out to help her as three dogs attacked her on Hulett Street early Monday morning. She says once the dogs were on her, they stayed on until police arrived with tasers.
"It seemed like an eternity," she told CBS6 News in her living room Wednesday night. "I was screaming. I screamed so loud and so hard and at one point I wasn't screaming anymore, I was just fighting."
She says she punched one of the dogs and described one of them dragging her by the hair at one point. Lucas says the dogs bit her arms and legs, tore away part of her scalp and bit off part of each ear.

"The plastic surgeon (is) very optimistic I should say, about repairing my ears back to normal - both of them."
Lucas was released from Albany Medical Center Wednesday afternoon.
According to police, the owner of the dogs is 21-year-old Jasmine Tirado of Hulett Street. She was given one ticket for having an unlicensed dog and three tickets for harboring dangerous dogs. She is due in court September 12th. A woman who answered to the name Jasmine told CBS6 News she had nothing to say.
"I was walking down the street and (the dogs) saw me," says Lucas. "They looked up and saw me and they perked up and they started running toward me and I ran in this yard, I don't know whose yard it was. I don't know why they didn't hear me screaming and hollering in the yard, but the minute I got into the ambulance they came to the door."
According to Marguerite Pearson of the Animal Protective Foundation in Scotia, two of the dogs were brought there and were described by staff as being vicious and lunging at the cages they were in. Pearson is hopeful this case will not worsen pit bulls' already bad reputation.
"Here in Schenectady County, about half the dogs we take in are pit bulls," says Pearson, "and so many of them are wonderful dogs and we do an assessment to make sure they're going to be good compannions. We have to be really diligent in that becasue if people don't trust us to adopt out safe dogs, so many wonderful animals, some that happen to be pit bulls, are never going to find homes."
Lucas' daughter, Darcelle Lucas, said she believes someone wanted the dogs to attack her mother in a sort of canine street mugging. Lucas says she lost two bracelets and twenty dollars in the attack. Lucas says she was on her way home from a store. She says it was around 12:30 a.m. Police said it happened around 3:30 a.m.
"My blouse was drenched in blood, says Lucas. "They had to cut it off of me. Had to cut my skirt off. My skirt was full of blood."
Lucas says her family is helping in her healing, some of whom came in from out of state. On Wednesday evening her granddaughter came to visit with a gift - a cross she had decorated for someone she is happy to see alive.

Pet owners react after dog, owner, and baby pepper-sprayed

2011-08-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

By Lyle Fisher, News 1130

Started with a fight between a doberman and a pitbull

Many dog owners can be pretty protective with their pooches, but sometimes it can get out of hand.

News1130 is getting reaction from local pet owners after an incident in Surrey yesterday, where a pitbull owner and her baby were pepper sprayed.

It started off as a fight between a doberman and a pitbull on 132A Street. The owners then got involved, and that's when one took out the pepper spray. The pitbull, its owner, and her six-month-old baby were all hit by the spray but weren't seriously injured.

At Vanier Park, Jackie says she's had to break up fights between her dog, Dexter and other dogs. "I've had to pull off a couple of dogs. I just keep an eye on mine... I can see when something's about to happen. I just get in there. I usually pull the big one off."

She adds she's seen other dog owners get into loud arguments but they never escalate into anything violent.

Jackie feels the owner of the doberman should be charged.

Young man in court in connection with pit bull attacks

2011-08-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

From Shetland Times

The 17-year-old owner of a “dangerously out of control” pit bull terrier faced four charges at Lerwick Sheriff Court today.
Shaun Smith of Lerwick’s Ladies Drive had sentence deferred on two charges and a trial date set for the other two.
Smith pleaded guilty to his dog entering a garden in the town’s Cheyne Crescent on 10th July and attacking a man and a springer spaniel, injuring both.
He was also charged with not complying with a dog control notice when on 28th July at Da Vadill, Lerwick, his dog was not muzzled and was not fitted with an electronic transponder.
Smith admitted that the dog was not muzzled but his plea of not guilty to the transponder charge was not accepted.
Smith further pleaded not guilty to pursuing a man, unclipping the dog’s lead and pushing the dog towards the man at Da Vadill on 28th July. This was not accepted.
However Smith did admit that on 29th July at Ladies Drive he resisted, obstructed, molested and hindered two police constables, ran away and locked himself in a room, exerting pressure on the door so that officers could not open it.
The offences were committed when Smith was on bail.
Defence solicitor Tommy Allan said the dog had now been destroyed, but Sheriff Graeme Napier said that did not alter the fact that Smith, who is currently subject to supervision, probation and a curfew for previous offences, had breached his bail conditions.
Smith will appear in court again in October and bail was continued.

Coachella police shoot dog that attacked girls, officers

2011-08-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

By Brian Indrelunas, The Desert Sun

A Coachella police officer shot a dog that sent a 9-year-old girl to the hospital with a serious leg wound Tuesday night, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
The pit bull or pit bull mix attacked two girls who were walking along Avenue 48 near Jackson Street, according to the department.
Paramedics took the 9-year-old with the leg wound to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs. The other girl, a 12-year-old, had minor injuries and was driven to a hospital by a relative.
Police found the dog outside a nearby restaurant and tried to keep it under control while waiting for an animal control officer, but the dog attacked them, according to the sheriff’s department.
An officer shot the dog, injuring but not killing the animal, which was taken by the animal control officer who later arrived.
Police will conduct an internal investigation since an officer used a firearm.
The city of Coachella contracts for police services from the sheriff’s department.

SC Court: landlord can be liable in dog-bite case

2011-08-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

From WIS

South Carolina's Supreme Court has unanimously agreed to let a lower court decide if a landlord is liable for damages in a dog bite case.
The Supreme Court's decision Monday says landlords could be found liable for a dog bite in a common area.
The Sumter County case involved a 2-year-old who had $17,000 in medical bills in 2003 after being bitten by a pit bull kept on a chain in a common area of an apartment complex. The dog had been kept there for 10 years and the landlord knew the dog had previously attacked someone.
A circuit judge in Sumter had dismissed the case because South Carolina law generally shields landlords from liabilities that their tenants create.
The case now heads back to the circuit court in Sumter.

Man charged with 3 counts of animal cruelty

2011-08-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

By Angel McCurdy, Northwest Florida Daily News

A 30-year-old man was charged with three counts of felony animal cruelty earlier this month.

According to a Santa Rosa County Sheriff's report, three malnourished dogs were found on property that belonged to Michael Pace.
The first dog was an emaciated black female pit bull that had been left in the rain.
The second dog, which was a black male pit bull, was chained to a fence and also severely thin. That dog, according to the report, was so thin it could barely carry the weight of the chain.
The third dog was a pregnant gray-and-white pit bull.
All the dogs were confiscated.
"The dogs were so thin that they were taken to animal hospitals for immediate care," the report stated. "They were treated for starvation and malnourishment."
Pace, who was already in jail on an unrelated charge, told deputies only the female dogs were his, but that he was responsible for all three of them.
His bond was set at $5,000.

Suspect with 15 arrests fights with Yonkers cops; pit bull bits officer

2011-08-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

From Mid-Hudson News

A man with 15 arrests, four felony convictions and eight misdemeanor charges, was arrested last Thursday afternoon after a scuffle with Yonkers Police officers that left several injured and one bitten by the man’s pit bull.

Two officers were alerted to a man selling jewelry in Bregano Park and when they spoke with them, he refused commands to remove his hand from his pocket. Police thought the man, identified as Jermaine Faulk, might have a weapon, so they grabbed his hand and a violent confrontation ensued during which Faulk punched the officers and pushed one toward his pit bull, which was tied to a nearby fence.

The officer was bitten by the dog and sustained deep puncture wounds to his back. As the struggle continued, Faulk tried to grab an officer’s gun from its holster, but police secured the weapon before he could get a hold of it.

Additional officers arrived and he was eventually handcuffed and arrested.

During the scuffle, one of the officers was forced to shoot and kill the dog after the animal tried to bite him.

A search of Faulk turned up 11 bags of heroin.

The first officers at the scene were treated for injuries including a broken hand, sprains, lacerations, and puncture wounds from the suspect’s dog.

Faulk’s most recent arrest was four weeks ago on drug charges in Yonkers.

He was charged in this latest incident with two counts of assault in the second degree, attempted robbery of the officer’s gun, drug possession, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.

He was arraigned and remanded to the Westchester County Jail.

Man Accused of Dog Torture

2011-08-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

From WBNG

Endicott police arrest a man accused of beating and abusing his dog.
George E. Clarke, 35, is charged with torturing and injuring animals, a misdemeanor under state Agriculture and Market law.
Endicott police say the arrest is the result of an incident that occurred on August 10 at Clarke's home in the Village of Endicott.
Clarke is accused of striking his dog, a male pit-bull, approximately 10 to 15 times in the mid section with a 2 by 4.
The dog was also pulled by a lead that was attached to its collar over a fence without supporting the dog's body.
The dog remains at Clarke's home.
The Endicott Police Department and the Broome County Humane Society are working to obtain a court order to possibly remove the animal from the residence.
Clarke was ordered to appear in the Village of Endicott Court at a later date.

Fremont man cited after dog accused of biting woman

2011-08-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

By Chris Bristol, Fremont Tribune

A 36-year-old Fremont man was cited after his dog was accused of attacking a woman last week, Fremont Police reported.
Deputy Chief Jeff Elliott said a woman reported on Friday that she had been riding her bike Thursday while pulling her children behind her when she was attacked by a pit bull in the 1900 block of North Keene Avenue.
The dog's owner, Mickey Rahlfs, was cited for dog at large, animal bite and no dog license.
Elliott said the pit bull was quarantined at Dodge County Humane Society.

Man fatally stabs scoutmaster, 76, from behind

2011-08-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A 76-year-old man has been stabbed to death while leading Boy Scouts on a hiking trip in northern Indiana, and a suspect who battered his mother and killed a dog at their home nearby is under arrest, police said.

The assistant scout leader, Arthur L. Anderson, had stopped to identify a tree on the Nickel Plate Trail in Bunker Hill Sunday afternoon when an attacker approached him from behind and stabbed him in the neck, Indiana State Police said in a statement. Witnesses told police the attack was unprovoked.
Anderson, of Kokomo, Ind., "was doing probably the most innocent thing he could do, leading a group of Boy Scouts," Indiana State Police Sgt. Tony Slocum said. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Officers later arrested Shane C. Golitko, 22, of Bunker Hill, after he ignored a state trooper's attempted traffic stop and led police on an eight-mile chase, the Indiana State Police said in a statement.
Police are holding Golitko without bond on a murder charge and two felony counts of battery at the Miami County Jail. He is due in Miami Circuit Court on Thursday morning.
Slocum said another adult on the hike shielded the two boys, aged 11 and 12, from the horror of the attack, then called 911. Anderson died at the scene despite the efforts of a nearby resident who performed first aid and emergency medical personnel who responded to the 911 call.
Police said Anderson had been involved in scouting for 50 years.
"It was a senseless act," Indiana State Police Detective Tony Frawley said of the attack.
A minute before the 911 call alerting authorities that Anderson had been stabbed, Golitko's mother Valerie Henson, called 911 to report that her son had assaulted her in a dispute at their home, about 150 yards south of the trail, state police said.
Henson told police that after she fled to a neighbor's house, her son walked to the trail where Anderson was later stabbed. She said her son later returned home, smashed up some of their belongings and stabbed the family's two dogs, a boxer and a pit bull. The boxer died.
Henson was treated for a broken arm. Slocum did not say what sparked the attack, nor what prompted the altercation between Henson and Golitko.
Miami County Prosecutor Bruce Embrey said Golitko had been arrested once before for possession of marijuana and went through a diversion program in which the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor.. Slocum said there was no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved in Sunday's attack.
Nick Losekamp, a district executive for the Boy Scouts' Sagamore Council in Kokomo, said Anderson was the assistant scoutmaster for the troop at the Redeemer Lutheran Church. Losekamp said he was a great leader, very much involved in mentoring the boys, training them to lead by example and motivate others.
"He was a nice guy," Losekamp said. "He was pretty much always there."

Dog savages teenager

2011-08-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

From Deccan Herald

A dog viciously attacked a British teenager, who suffered 28 bite wounds

Sixteen-year-old Anthony Armstrong was walking the bull mastiff-pitbull cross. When he tried to stroke it, the dog attacked him.

The Sun said the dog locked its jaws on him, flung him around and tore open his flesh.
Scott Singleton, a friend, and his mother Eileen were injured as they stabbed the dog 30 times with a knife and beat it to death to stop it from tearing Anthony to pieces.

"It was like a lion. It jumped on him, trying to bite his face, got him to the floor and dragged him in its jaws. He was screaming for his life but it had hold of his neck," Scott was quoted as saying.
"The dog savaged every part of him. You could see through his leg."

Aggressive dog shot dead in St. Pete

2011-08-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

From WTVT

A pair of dogs on the loose created a scary situation Friday night in a St. Petersburg neighborhood.
The incident ended just after 8 pm when an officer with the St. Petersburg Police Department was forced to shoot one of the canines after it attacked a Pinellas County Animal Services worker.
According to a St. Petersburg Police Department report an officer was dispatched to 2165 Country Club Court North in response to an aggressive animal call. The person who called told the officer the two ‘pit bulls’ followed her dog into their fenced in yard.
The dogs grew increasingly more aggressive and were corralled into the porch area of the residence until Animal Services arrived.
When the officer approached the dogs they attacked him, causing serious injuries to both of his arms.
The SPPD officer shot and killed one of the dogs and the other was quickly captured. The owner of the two animals has not yet been established as the investigation continues.

Two pit bulls attack young girl

2011-08-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

By Joe Hegarty, WGME

A girl is recovering, after police say she was attacked by two pit bulls on Wednesday.

Witnesses say the 11-year-old from Massachusetts, was attacked when the dogs broke free from another child who was walking them in Kennedy Park.

One of the dogs took a chunk out of her leg, while the other scratched her arm.

She was rushed to the hospital where she received 10 stitches and several shots.

Police now have the dogs in custody until the investigation is complete.

Officials do say the number of pit bull attacks is actually down in the city, compared to previous years.

Police discover malnourished puppy, pot after standoff

2011-08-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

By Chris De Benedetti, from Mercury News

Authorities discovered about 240 marijuana plants and a malnourished pit bull puppy in a residence after a three-hour standoff Thursday, police said.

Officers did not find anyone inside the home and no arrests were made, Lt. Jeff Tudor said.
The incident began about 3:15 p.m., when officers responded to a call reporting that three men, including two who had guns, ran inside a home on the 2000 block of Fairbanks Street, west of Doolittle Drive, he said.
Officers, including the San Leandro police SWAT team and hostage negotiators, surrounded the house and multiple attempts were made to contact the people believed inside, police said.
About 5:45 p.m., officers entered the home through a garage door, but no one was there, he said.
The puppy was taken to an emergency pet clinic for treatment, police said.

A dog does not choose the situations he's put in

2011-08-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

In France, actress and animal advocate Brigitte Bardot is being crucified, by some, for coming to the defense of Prince - or, Ulk - the bull terrier, or pit bull depending on the reporter, who, according to reports, mauled a 4-, or 7-, year-old girl, named Carmen, in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Carmen, my heart goes out to her, suffered serious injuries to her eyes, ears, nose and forehead. Reports state that she is disfigured for life.
The incident happened as Carmen lay sleeping, or while she was playing with Prince at a party.
It is also being said that Prince was sleeping on a couch when Carmen wanted to kiss him.
Her mother, who is understandably upset, says, "My daughter tells me every day that she looks like a monster."

Prince is 6- or 8- years-old, according to reports. He was adopted by "Johnny", three weeks before the attack, from the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA).
He had come to the shelter after his previous owner, a 60-year-old man, died of natural causes last autumn.
The man's death went undiscovered for two weeks, in which time Prince, then-named Ulk, turned to consuming portions of the body for survival.

Assessment's of Prince cleared him to go to a new home.
According to The Independent, the SPA advertised Prince for adoption on its website:

On the SPA website, Prince was described as "a good sort, easy to get on with", although it was not advised for people with families.

Another report states that Prince was purchased in a pet shop.

It is also referred to that "Johnny", upon adopting, or purchasing, brought along a "2 week old baby" when he picked up Prince.

Aside from the persecution of Ms. Bardot, the media is crucifying Prince.
At least one news source refers to Prince as "Monster of Boulogne."
Much of the hysteria involved is due to Prince's "eating his previous owner" and getting the "taste of blood."

"Johnny" and Carmen's parents are taking legal action against the SPA claiming they were not told of his previous form.
As of right now, I can only suppose that "form" is referring to eating the body of his previous owner.

The SPA disputes the claim.

What do I think?

Prince, apparently, grew up with a single adult male.
Since the owner's death was not discovered for two weeks, it can be assumed that he and the dog lived a life of quiet solitude.
No children. Not much socialization beyond his owner.
Taking a dog raised in such an environment and thrusting him into a 'party' atmosphere or family situation is unconscionable.

I agree with Ms. Bardot and support her efforts to save Prince.

Prince is not a monster. He is a dog and has displayed normal dog behavior.
Waking a sleeping dog is one of the most common reasons for a dog biting.

Saving the life of Prince does nothing to trivialize the injuries, physical and psychological, inflicted upon Carmen, and I wish her a speedy and full recovery.

Prince is no more dangerous than the people responsible for putting him in this situation.
Justice can be achieved for Carmen by holding those people accountable.

Let Prince live.

A Fatal Accident and a Search for a Lost Dog

2011-08-18T19:51:00.000-07:00

By Bob Kuszynski, WXYZ

A Woman is killed and her Dog is lost

A tragic accident and now the search for a lost dog.

While her beautiful artwork was being installed at the Oakland International Airport in Waterford for a ribbon cutting ceremony next week, award winning artist Laura Fyfe was killed in a horrific accident.
Her two dogs were with her as she made her way from her Clarkston home to her Pontiac art studio when catastrophe struck at Clarkston and Sashabaw roads Wednesday morning.
Laura's life was unfortunately lost. However, her two dogs survived the accident. One of the dogs was recovered by the Oakland County Animal Shelter. But the other, Hogan, ran into the woods nearby and has not been seen.
Family and friends are trying to find the missing pit bull. The dog is described as male with a dark brindle and white coloration. The dog has been characterized as meek and very timid.
After such tragedy, Animal Control Officer Mary Saple says, "I'd really like to see some happiness for this family who has just lost so much," and so every effort is being made to locate the dog.
If you see a dog matching the description, call the Oakland County Animal Control at: (248) 391-4100.
Meanwhile, you'll be able to see Laura Fyfe's artistic glass Welcome Sign at the Oakland International Airport after next week's Grand Opening.

Update August 20, 2011 - The following article is from The Republic:

Dog missing since artist owner was killed in car crash found, cared for by utility worker

Hogan, a pit bull that ran from a crash in southeast Michigan that killed its owner, has been found.
WJBK-TV reports that a DTE Energy worker had been allowing the dog to roam on his five acres of land in St. Clair County, northeast of Detroit, after finding it Tuesday.
Hogan last was seen Tuesday running into a wooded area in Oakland County's Clarkston after 55-year-old artist Laurel Fyfe was involved in a head-on collision. Fyfe later died at a hospital.
She was on her way to her studio in Pontiac with Hogan and another dog at the time of the accident. The other dog was found and returned to the studio.
Fyfe designed the glass on the welcome sign at the new terminal at Oakland County International Airport.

Madison cops say pit bull attacked, injured boy, 9

2011-08-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

From Chicago Tribune

Madison police say a pit bull attacked and injured a 9-year-old boy, biting the child in the face and latching onto his arm.

Police say the boy's injuries were non-life-threatening. The dog's owner also suffered puncture wounds on her hands when she pried the dog's jaws off the boy's arm.

Officers say the boy was playing outside a friend's home Wednesday afternoon when the friend went inside to fetch a drink. Police say the friend came back out and the 2-year-old pit bull rushed past him, attacking the visitor.

A WISC-TV report (http://bit.ly/qwhOSg ) says the woman voluntarily surrendered the dog to a county animal-control officer. Police say they expect the dog's owners will be cited.

Ban restricted dog breeds: Council

2011-08-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

By Tracey Prisk, Central Western Daily

THE death of a young child in Victoria this week has prompted Orange City Council to reiterate its tough stance on the ownership of restricted dog breeds in the hope of eventually eradicating them from the city.
Council’s manager of corporate and community relations Nick Redmond said the council would like to see pit bull terriers, American pit bull terriers, Japanese tosas, Argentinian fighting dogs and Brazilian fighting dogs, and any cross breeds of them outlawed in Orange.
“They’re dangerous dogs, they have the potential to do serious damage to other dogs and people,” Mr Redmond said.
There are 54 restricted breeds registered in Orange, including 17 pit bull terriers, six American pit bull terriers and 32 cross pit bull terriers
The figures were compiled in 2006, however Mr Redmond believes the numbers may have swelled since then.
He suspects some owners of restricted breeds have not registered their dogs in an effort to avoid arduous ownership regulations.
“There could be as many as 20,000 dogs in Orange so it’s hard to know how many [restricted breeds] there would be,” he said.
“The numbers are low but the potential for them to do damage is pretty high.”
Council, in accordance with the Companion Animals Act, enforces considerable restrictions on the ownership of these restricted breeds.
The restrictions include a ban on breeding and compulsory desexing.
There’s also strict rules on child-proof caging and walking the animals which demand the dog to be fitted with both a muzzle and a lead when not caged.
The dogs must also wear a red and yellow reflective collar alerting people to their classification.
Mr Redmond said if one of the restricted breed of dogs was found without an appropriate restraint the owner would be issued with a $7000 fine.
“The fine is just the start,” he said.
Mr Redmond said he’d like to see the owners of restricted breeds surrender their dogs to the council to be euthanised.
“That’s our preference,” he said.

Owners of restricted breeds must notify council if:

Dog’s ownership changes

Owner moves house

Dog goes missing

Dog attacks or injures a person or animal

Dog dies

Humane Society overwhelmed by the number of pit bulls in need of a home

2011-08-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

From WDBJ

Almost half of the dogs at the Pulaski County Humane Society are pit bulls

Pit bulls fill the cages at the Pulaski County Humane Society.
The humane society in Dublin is at maximum capacity with dogs right now, and almost half of its pups are pit bulls.
Employees say they don’t have any theories on why so many dogs of one breed have been dropped off at the humane society recently.
None of the dogs show signs of aggression or temperament issues, according to employees, but pit bulls are often a difficult sell to potential pet owners because of preconceived notions about the animals.
“Adopting a pit bull from a shelter is no different than adopting it from a breeder. They might have their issues, but not aggressive issues,” said humane society office manager Kelli Sparks.

All of the pups at the Pulaski County Humane Society are looking for forever homes or foster homes.

Pitbulls Tortured and used as Bait

2011-08-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

From Localized USA

Barbara Hannes has been a veterinarian for 16 years. In her entire career she has never seen a dog burned and battered as badly as the two dogs that recently came in to her clinic. Hannes says the Pitbull that was abused is one of the sweetest dogs she has met in her entire life. Over half of the dog’s body was burned, and the possibility of infection is creeping in fast. The dog also had its ears cut off.

Another female Pitbull was also brought in with similar injuries as the first. She also has a broken pelvis, her whiskers are singed off, and bite marks all over her body.
These dogs were found this week by a women in southern Brazos county. The dogs were close to her home. The police have no suspects or leads in the case.
Hannes owns Aggieland Animal Health Center, where the dogs are currently receiving care. She said she feels terrible inside for what’s been done to these dogs. “I just want to apologize on the behalf of humanity,” said Hannes.
Despite being in brutal condition the younger dog still jumps up and starts wagging its tail when humans were present.
Hannes believes these dogs were what dog fighting rings called “bait dogs.” Bait dogs are dogs used to train other dogs to be more vicious when fighting. She determined this because of their temperament.
The female dog, which they named Esperanza, could have her injuries treated at Hannes animal clinic. The other dog, which they named Vici, was in worse shape the Esperanza. He could not be treated at Hannes animal clinic, he needed medical attention that would cost thousands of dollars.
Just when they thought that all hope was lost for Vici, they received astounding news. Texas A&M veterinarian school agreed to take in Vici and pay for his medical expenses.

Update August 18, 2011 - The following article is by Rashi Vats, KBTX:

Pit bulls Possibly Involved In Dog Fighting Are Stable

Doctors say a mother and puppy pit bull, that are fighting for their lives after being left for dead near College Station, are in stable condition.

Doctors believe the two dogs were involved in dog fighting. Since we aired the story, there's been a tremendous outpouring of support from the community.
"He is surviving. He's a pretty tough little guy. Nice dog. Very nice dog. It's gone through a lot the last few days," said Dr. James Barr with the Texas A&M Small Animal Hospital.
The 6-month-old puppy was expected to die within hours if he didn't get emergency surgery. Fortunately he got the surgery overnight at the Texas A&M Small Animal Hospital thanks to the community's support with donations.
"I immediately started sharing the story on Facebook. I called my parents, they wanted to donate. I started to donate. I called my friends. Anyone that could help that could donate," said April Plemons who donated money to help the dogs.
More than $3,000 have been raised in less than 24 hours. Doctors say the phone calls and donations haven't stopped throughout the day.
Dr. Barr believes lighter fluid might have been used to burn the puppy and his mother. She's still recovering at the Aggieland Animal Heath Center.
With all they've gone through, the dogs haven't given up their positive spirit.
"These are good dogs. I mean even sedated and in a lot of pain, you talk to this guy and he starts wagging his tail," said Dr. Barr.
To find out how to donate go to http://www.vetmed.tamu.edu/giving

NY woman convicted of leaving dog to die

2011-08-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

From WSJ

A New York City woman has been convicted of a misdemeanor for leaving her pit bull to starve to death in an apartment after she was evicted.
The emaciated body of Alize, a 2-year-old pit bull, was found by a superintendent in a pool of blood and feces after Cherika Alvarez was evicted from the Bronx home. A veterinarian determined the dog had been starving for nearly six weeks.
Neighbors heard the dog barking and tried to contact Alvarez but she did not respond.
The 29-year-old Alvarez faces up to one year in jail after a judge found her guilty Wednesday of failure to provide proper sustenance, a misdemeanor.
She told police she left a key for an unidentified neighborhood man to take the dog, but he never did.

Related articles:

Bronx woman guilty of letting dog starve to death - Examiner

Girl, 4, killed in pit bull cross attack at St Albans

2011-08-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

By Michelle Ainsworth and Mark Buttler, Herald Sun

A FOUR-YEAR-OLD girl has been mauled to death by a neighbour's pit bull cross that also savagely attacked two relatives

Ayen Chol died as her 30-year-old cousin fought desperately to fend off the vicious animal after it had wandered into the youngster's St Albans home in Lahy St at about 8pm last night, her distraught family said.
The woman suffered bites to her arms and hands during the terrifying struggle.
Another cousin, 5, suffered facial injuries in the horrific attack.
As Ayen's stunned mother Jaclin Apuk Awan wept in the street, shocked relative Daniel Atem said the family was in disbelief.
"She is a lovely little girl. She was very talkative," he said.
"It is for sure a terrible shock.
"It is something that you can't imagine but in the end maybe it is the will of God."
Jaclin and her three children, Ayen and two boys, were staying at their cousin's house because the home they were living in, also in St Albans, had burnt down in a fire last month.
The family of Sudanese refugees migrated to Australia in 2004 for a better life, living in Adelaide before shifting to Melbourne.
The two injured victims were rushed to the Sunshine Hospital in a stable condition.
Two advanced life support ambulance teams treated Ayen at the scene but could not revive her.
The dog belonged to a 30-year-old man who lives in the same street as the family.
A family friend believed the 30-year-old tried to beat off the dog with a table.
Last night, the animal was removed from the Lahy St property.
Supt Graham Kent, of Brimbank police, said it was unclear how the dog, which is expected to be put down, got inside the house.
"This is a really horrible tragedy and it will take some time for us to fully understand what's happened," Supt Kent said.
"By the time police arrived, the dog was back in the yard of the home where it comes from.
"It was a really chaotic scene and it was quite a distressing scene and I just want to pay tribute to the police and other emergency services officers who were confronted with this scene."
Supt Kent said the girl's mother did not witness the attack. The girl's father is in South Sudan.
Supt Kent said the owner of the dog was co-operating with police.
Pit bulls are a restricted breed in Victoria, with regulations meaning all must be desexed and registered with local councils.
In February a mum watched as her husband and children were mauled by an American pit bull and an American staffordshire terrier at Hoppers Crossing.
In December 2005 Zac Jasinski, 3, was attacked in a neighbour's backyard in Yallourn by an American pit bull, with the assault only stopping when the dog was axed to death.

Update August 17, 2011 - The following article is by Benjamin Preiss, Farah Forouque and Megan Levy, Yass Tribune:

Rogue dog kills infant girl, mauls two

A DOG has mauled a four-year-old girl to death and injured two of her relatives in a savage attack in Melbourne's west last night.
The dog, which police said was part pit bull terrier, went on the attack about 8pm at a house in Lahy Street, St Albans.
Ayen Chol was pronounced dead at the scene after ambulance officers arrived and tried to revive her.
Her five-year-old cousin suffered facial injuries and another cousin, aged 31, suffered severe lacerations to her arms and hands. Both cousins were taken by ambulance to Sunshine Hospital.
Paramedics arrived at the house within seven minutes of the triple-0 call to what team manager Brett Parker said was a very chaotic scene.
‘‘A four-year-old girl was in the house and had suffered extensive injuries,’’ Mr Parker said.
‘‘Paramedics tried to resuscitate the girl but unfortunately she died at the scene.’’
Police last night said they had spoken to the dog's owner, a 30-year-old man from a nearby house. Brimbank Superintendent Graham Kent said there was the potential for charges to be laid against him.
Superintendent Kent said the dog attacked the two children and the woman inside their house. He said the girl was dead by the time paramedics arrived at what was a distressing scene.
''This is a really horrible tragedy and it will take some time for us to fully understand what happened,'' he said.
The dog was back on its owner's property when police arrived. Shortly before midnight last night, council workers took the dog away in a van. Police said it was likely to be put down.
Earlier, about 30 people, including several children wrapped in blankets, gathered in the quiet suburban street, which had been cordoned off by police after the attack. Some of the people embraced each other while others sobbed into mobile phones. One woman was wailing hysterically.
A relative, Daniel Atem, said the dead girl was the youngest of three children and had two brothers aged nine and 12. He described her as ''a lovely little girl, very talkative and popular in kindergarten''.
Mr Atem said Ayen had been living with her brothers and her mother at their cousin's house at the time of the attack. Their previous house had burnt down last month.
The girl's father, Mawien Chol, was in South Sudan, having left Melbourne to join independence celebrations, he said.
The family is believed to have arrived in Australia in 2004 after spending three years in Egypt awaiting resettlement.
The injured woman and the five-year-old girl were described as in a stable condition in hospital.
Only last Saturday, police used capsicum spray to subdue a pit bull terrier that had savaged an elderly woman’s Scottish terrier in a Ballarat Street, then turned on two men who intervened.
The last reported fatality involving a dog attack in Victoria was in 2007, when a nine-week-old girl was dragged from her cot and mauled by a pet rottweiler. She died from severe head and neck wounds.
Penalties for an owner or person in control of a dog that attacks or bites any person depend on the seriousness of the attack and whether the dog had been declared to be dangerous before the attack began, according to Victoria Legal Aid.
In March last year, the owner of an unregistered Siberian husky that savaged a then 22-month-old girl was fined more than $6000.
In Victoria, according to a council survey taken about four years ago, there were said to be about 3300 dog attacks reported in one year.

Update August 18, 2011 - The following article is by Maris Beck, Megan Levy, David Rood and Nino Bucci, Merredin Wheatbelt Mercury:

Killer dog destroyed as neighbours reveal horror of attack in house

IT WAS a quiet night in a suburban street, with no hint of the mayhem to come.
Just before 8pm, Ayen Chol, four - an artistic, talkative girl, according to her mother - was watching television with her cousins when a pitbull terrier cross ran into the house and attacked her.
A cousin, Anglina Mayout, 31, suffered bite wounds to her hands and arms and her daughter, Nyadeng Goaer, 5, was bitten on the back of the head in the attack in the Melbourne suburb of St Albans on Wednesday night.
Ayen's mother, Jackline Anchito, said yesterday her daughter had tried to fight off the dog. ''She was a loving child, and a very clever child. She died as she was struggling for her life,'' she said.
Neighbours told of the horrific scene inside the house, including desperate attempts to revive the girl.
One neighbour said he was inside his house when he heard Ayen's mother screaming for help on the street.
He ran to the red brick home and saw Ayen lying on the floor with serious wounds to her head.
The neighbour, who did not want to be identified, tried to resuscitate her after receiving instructions over the phone from paramedics.
''It's something that I will have to live with for a long time,'' the distraught man said. ''We were just trying to revive her and we couldn't do anything about it.''
He said the owner of the dog had raced to the victim's home and dragged the animal home, before returning to the scene.
He said the owner was ''devastated'' after the attack.
The animal was destroyed by the council yesterday. The council said the dog was not registered, as all dogs are required to be, and had not had any complaints made about it.
The owner, a 30-year-old man, was questioned by police, who said he was co-operative.
Anisah Mama, who lives next door to the house where the dog lived, said she had been scared in the past for her two children, aged nine and 13.
''Actually this dog is quite aggressive,'' she said.
Ms Mama said she had never talked to the victim's family, but had seen them on the street and the children playing outside.
''I can say they are good people. They are fun-loving people,'' she said. ''It's very awful, very sad.''
The Victorian Premier, Ted Baillieu, said such attacks were unacceptable and the government would try and outlaw dangerous dogs as soon as possible.
''There cannot be a more tragic situation than to see a young child like this killed in this horrible, horrible way,'' he said.

Update August 21, 2011 - The following article is by Amelia Harris, Herald Sun:

Facebook tribute site for Ayen Chol ruined by racists

VULGAR photographs and racist posts have ruined a Facebook tribute site dedicated to the little girl mauled to death by a dog last week.

The State Government and police will try to erase the posts.
The two pages have 35,000 followers, several of whom have contacted Crimestoppers.
Some vile comments and images already have been removed. But others remain on the sites dedicated to four-year-old Ayen Chol.
One post on a page described the pit bull-cross linked to the girl's death last Wednesday as a legend.
The Herald Sun has chosen not to detail the contents of other posts that have not been removed.
One racist comment triggered the responses: "I hope you get mauled by a dog, so you know what she had to go through!!!" and "Go die in a hole ... u heartless waste of space".
Relative Daniel Atem said the family was not aware of the shocking photos and posts until contacted by the Herald Sun.
"It's bad. It's not good," he said.
It is the latest incident of tribute pages of people who have died being vandalised. Minister for Crime Prevention Andrew McIntosh said he was outraged the girl's memory had been attacked by cyber ghouls.
"These comments are despicable and offensive," Mr McIntosh said.
"The Victorian Coalition Government will seek advice on any action that may be taken against the cowards who have sought to defile the memory of Ayen Chol using the supposed anonymity of the internet."
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said police would work with Facebook to try to have any offensive content removed.
A Facebook spokeswoman said the site wanted to express its sympathies to Ayen's family and friends.
"We are also deeply saddened that a few individuals have shown a complete lack of respect for this tribute page," she said.
She encouraged page administrators to remove offensive content from the pages they have created and ban unwelcome visitors.

Vallejo pit bull attack injures homeless woman's dog; veterinarian saves the pet

2011-08-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

By Irma Widjojo, Vallejo Times-Herald

With a severely injured dog in her arms, Brigitte Hull knocked on several veterinarian doors, only to be turned away because she could not afford the care.Hull is a transient living out of her white van with Bella, her 14-month-old Pomeranian mix.
"She is the only friend I have," she said.
Bella was allegedly attacked by a 5-year-old black female pit bull at about 12:30 p.m. Friday in the parking lot of Safeway on Robles Way while Hull was panhandling.
Eventually, Hull received help from Robert Linville, a veterinarian at All Creatures Veterinary Hospital, 509 Benicia Road.
"The dog came in with severe bite wounds," Linville said. "The other dog tore the abdominal muscle completely off her back."
Linville did a two-hour extensive surgery on her.
"No one else would do anything to her because I have no money," Hull said.
For homeless people like Hull, "their pets might be the only connection they have with sanity," said Peter Wilson, director of humane services for the Humane Society of North Bay.
The humane society has two funds in place to help low-income pet owners who need help to care for their pets.
To get help, people should first contact the Humane Society of North Bay and it will review the case and approach local veterinary hospitals, which will decide whether to provide care.
"It really comes from the goodness of (the veterinarian's) heart," Wilson said. "Brigitte found a person who was willing to help. We ask people who can afford it not to take advantage of the funds, because we don't want to wear out the welcome of local vets."In Bella's case, the cost of her surgery was $1,200. The humane society will donate a portion of the bill, while All Creatures will cover the rest, Linville said.
"There are not that many options for homeless people with pets," he said.
Many times, homeless people are left with the option of waiting for the animals to heal on their own, or putting them to sleep at shelters, Linville added.
Hull has been living in her van for the past two years since she lost her job and was diagnosed with throat cancer.
"I'm not a bad person," she said. "I'm just unlucky."
The pit bull that allegedly attacked her is in animal control's custody and will be the subject of a hearing within the next 10 days, said David Sidie, the humane society's animal services director.
Homeless people with pets also can bring them to a one-day event 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Oct. 6, at Union Baptist Church in Vallejo, 128 Encerti Ave., for free veterinary services.
The public can donate to the Humane Society of North Bay funds by visiting www.hsnb.org, and click on "donate," or call (707) 645-7905. To donate specifically for Bella's case, the public should mention Brigitte Hull when making the donation.

Deputies responding to disturbance kill pit bull

2011-08-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

From Long Beach Press-Telegram

Sheriff's deputies responding to a domestic violence call shot and killed a pit bull on a property in unincorporated South Whittier, where they arrested a man on suspicion of striking his girlfriend, authorities said today.
The 911 call from 12016 Carmenita Rd. came in about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. R. Maybury.
"Deputies responded to the scene and as they entered the house's driveway and yard, they were confronted by a pit bull," he said. "Fearing for their safety the deputies fired several rounds at the dog, striking and killing the animal."
Deputies then intervened in a domestic abuse situation, arresting a man for allegedly causing his girlfriend injuries to an arm and booking him at the sheriff's Norwalk Station on suspicion of battery, Maybury said.
A camera crew at the scene reported that the dog belonged to the woman who owns the property and who rented out a room to the couple involved in the domestic dispute. The woman was distraught over the death of her 4-year-old pit bull and said the deputies had overreacted.
Maybury said the department's Internal Affairs Bureau had been notified about the shooting and the incident would be reviewed at the station level by the lieutenant who supervises the patrol deputies.

Pit-bull attack injures two children

2011-08-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

By David Miller, The Dispatch

A pit bull attack Saturday in Oktibbeha County left two children injured and one dog dead.

Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Department received a call at approximately 3:47 p.m. from Katie Riehle of 2796 Self Creek Road that her two sons, ages 4 and 10, were bitten by dogs.

Deputies were directed to 1210 Charlottes Way, where the dog attacks occurred. Upon arrival, deputies encountered five dogs and had to shoot the most aggressive of the bunch. Three dogs were placed in pens while the fourth ran away. The fourth dog was apprehended when the owners returned home.

Both children had "numerous bites and scratches" according to an OCSD press release. They were transported to OCH Regional Medical Center. The 10-year-old was later transported to University Medical Center in Jackson.

OCSD Chief Deputy George Carrithers said Monday he was unsure of the condition of either child.

OCSD did not release the name of the dogs' owner. The incident is under investigation as OCSD awaits a response from the district attorney about possible charges.

There will be a hearing in justice court as to the disposition of the dogs, Carrithers said. A date has not been set for the hearing.

"We've been called about this set of dogs a couple times," Carrithers said. "It's mainly been about the dogs harassing people."

Oktibbeha County doesn't have any animal-control ordinances, so deputies could not issue citations in the previous incidents.

Starkville Police Department Animal Control Officer Rick McKee was called by OCSD to assist with transporting the dogs. He said there was blood in the road where the attack occurred.

McKee transported the dogs to the city where they will remain until a justice court hearing.

McKee wouldn't comment on the future of the dogs but said he'd recommend the dogs be euthanized if the incident had happened in the city.

"We deal with pit bulls all the time" McKee said. "By no means are all of them aggressive, but these -- we're monitoring them every day -- have been a little bit unpredictable."

Related articles:

2 Children Hurt In Dog Attack - WAPT

Information Sought About Dog Abandoned In Dumpster

2011-08-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

By Eliot Duke, from WXII

Thomasville Police Department is looking for any information regarding a puppy that was found wrapped in a plastic bag in a dumpster Friday afternoon.

Animal Control Officer Jack Bingham said he received a call Friday at approximately 3 p.m. from someone who heard what sounded like a whimpering and whining dog inside a dumpster in front of Dominos Pizza at 120-A W. Main St.
When Bingham arrived he found the animal wrapped in a white, plastic bag suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration. The dog, a pit bull and Labrador mix about six months old, was taken to Davidson County Animal Shelter for treatment, but Bingham said it would have to be put down due to its deteriorating condition.
“I don’t know how long it went without oxygen,” Bingham said. “We are hoping someone will come forward who knows something about this dog so we can find out what happened and file charges. It’s a shame. I could see it moving when I opened up the dumpster.”
Bingham thinks the dog couldn’t have been in the dumpster more than 30 minutes simply because he found it alive. He immediately tried to give the animal water but the dog wouldn’t drink it. When it got to the animal shelter, the dog was placed in a cooler in an effort to bring its abnormally high body temperature down. The dog had trouble breathing and was twitching constantly.
“We tried to help it but had no luck,” said Bingham. “The dog was so warm when I found him. He was burning up. This is definitely a case of animal cruelty.”
Staff at the shelter continued caring for the brindle-colored puppy throughout the weekend, but the animal didn’t respond to any treatment. The dog couldn’t stand up on its own and “just stared off into space.” The bag the animal was found in appeared to be one used to transport fabric and was not a typical plastic bag.
“How simple is taking an animal to the animal shelter?” Bingham said. “This is something that could’ve been avoided.”
A detective has been assigned to the case and anyone with information is asked to call 475-4260. Animal cruelty is a felony in North Carolina.

4-year old bitten on face, hand by pit bull

2011-08-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

By Lisa Tipton, Brownwood News

Brownwood Police responded to Brownwood Regional Medical center regarding a 4-year-old who was bitten on the hand and face by a pit bull. Police said that the girl was playing with her dog when the other dog came up to attack it. The little girl’s dog ran off and the pit bull attacked her instead, according to police. The animal was contained and was picked up by animal control for testing.

Dog Dumped, Left for Dead in Corridor of Cruelty

2011-08-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

By Ned Hibberd, KRIV

It is a dumping ground for dead animals in northeast Houston, a zone dubbed the Corridor of Cruelty.
But volunteers recently found a sole survivor: a dog living among the carcasses.
They assume the pitbull-mix had been left for dead, perhaps dumped along with the half-dozen other dogs thought to be casualties of breeders or dog-fighting rings.
“Oh, it was terrible,” recalls Cindi Mayville, a volunteer with Corridor Rescue, Inc. “This was probably because there were so many bodies decomposing that the stench was just overwhelming, worse than anything I’ve ever smelled.”
Mayville helped rescue the dog, which was 20-pounds underweight and suffering from a broken leg.
The animal is now named “Polly” and she is recuperating with the help of Corridor Rescue, Inc., a non-profit whose volunteers patrol the worst animal-dumping sites in the corridor.

Video

Mother of dog attack victim hits out over Bardot appeal

2011-08-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

By Molly Guiness, The Independent

The mother of a four-year-old girl who was savaged by a pitbull terrier has hit out at the actress Brigitte Bardot, who has called for the dog's life to be saved.

The dog, which was handed over to the local council in Boulogne-sur-Mer by its owners, is due to be put down after the savage attack last month that left the child, Carmen, with injuries to her forehead, eyes and ears. Her nose was also badly damaged.

Despite the attack, Ms Bardot, who runs an animal rights foundation, has said the dog should not be killed, and has written to the town's mayor to criticise its now solitary living conditions

"We need to release this dog from hell," Ms Bardot told the French newspaper La Voix du Nord. "He's in total isolation; he sees no one."

But Ms Bardot's concerns for the dog have not gone down well with Carmen's parents. "It's unacceptable," her mother told French media. "[Ms Bardot's] just there to defend the dog and she does not have the right to play down my daughter's injuries. My daughter tells me every day that she looks like a monster."

The And God Created Woman star argues that, having ended the death penalty for humans, France should not put animals to death, adding in an appeal to the town's mayor that solitary confinement could well send the dog, known as Prince, mad or make it simply give up and die. The mayor has responded to Ms Bardot's letter by inviting her to visit Boulogne-sur-Mer to see for herself the quality of the dog-house.

The dog's owner - identified only as Johnny - and the parents of its victim, meanwhile, have started legal proceedings against the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA). They say they were not told that Prince had previous form. Last September, under his previous name, Ulk, the dog partially devoured the corpse of his owner, who had died of natural causes.

The dog's defenders have said that this was a survival instinct, and at the time, police classed him as "necrophagous by necessity".

On the SPA website, Prince was described as "a good sort, easy to get on with", although it was not advised for people with families. The SPA says it told the new owner about the previous incident, but the owner denies this.

Related articles:

Mother of dog attack victim hits out at animal activist Bardot - New Zealand Herald

Woman Says Vicious Dogs Are Terrorizing Neighborhood

2011-08-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

By Amanda Hara, WTVF

An East Nashville woman said her family is being held captive in their own home by a pack of vicious dogs.
Animal Control has been called apparently more than once. Fhonda Jones said agency officials told her that in just one week, they got 50 complaints about the dogs.

"They are pit bulls and a German Shepard and they look like they've been violently trained by the way they act so viciously," Jones said.

Jones said two of the dogs seemed to be getting loose from a nearby home, and that the other must be a stray. She said animal control already had to euthanize another dog that this pack apparently killed in her back yard.
Jones said her two small grandchildren who live in the home have been chased and attacked multiple times, and she's worried for her family.
"That they will be bitten that they will be attacked or even killed," she said.
Across the street, leaders of the Magness-Potter Community Center were also concerned for the 40 children who use the after school program each day.

"We do have some stray dogs in the neighborhood that's keeping the kids on edge back and forth to the community center and what I'm doing to be proactive is having a different route for the kids to come,"Director Carlos Lowe said.
Jones said Animal Control left several traps to catch the dogs, but only neighborhood cats were caught inside.

Dog dies in Staunton, owner investigated

2011-08-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

By Brad Zinn, The News Leader

A pit bull died after hanging itself Sunday in the 1200 block of Jackson Street, Staunton police said.
The chained dog slipped through a deck railing.
The incident remains under investigation by an animal control officer for the Staunton Police Department.
No charges have been filed.

Trooper Shoots Loose Dog; Owner Wants Answers

2011-08-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

From WTAE

Vet Removes Bullet From Sophie In Homer City

A woman said her dog ran inside her home bleeding after she got out of her run in the yard and was shot by a state police trooper.

Sophie the pit bull was taken to Frazer Veterinary Group in Homer City to remove the bullet from its leg. Now, her owner says she has a $2,000 bill that police should pay.
The owner told Channel 4 Action News reporter Ashlie Hardway that she has a gate for Sophie and a run, but family members were visiting the house and may have left the gate open.
She told Channel 4 Action News reporter Ashlie Hardway that she's hiring a lawyer and wants to know why the trooper fired his gun instead of using a Taser.Police said that a Taser cannot be used on dogs because the prongs don't stay, and the officer did what he felt he needed to because Sophie's ears were back and she was being aggressive.

Video

"There are hundreds of breeds of dogs that are great pets but don't attack humans"

2011-08-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

"There are hundreds of breeds of dogs that are great pets but don't attack humans".

That is a quote from Paul Mulshine, a "professional" journalist for the Star-Ledger. (You can read the full article here: http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2011/08/how_about_a_darwin_award_for_t.html)

In the comments section of the article, I had a back-and-forth with him:

Me:
"There are hundreds of breeds of dogs that are great pets but don't attack humans."

Name one.

Mulshine:
7pitowner: Chihuahuas.

Me:
Chihuahua attacks boy in Springfield Township, IN

"... the Chihuahua was on a retractable leash and that her son Owen was riding by on a bicycle at the time of the animal attack. The dog jumped up as he rode by the table and latched on to the boy's lip. She claims that the dog actually hung on her son's lip until it tore off completely."

http://www.2keller.com/news/chihuahua-attacks-boy-in-springfield-township-in-20081030.cfm

Try again.

Mulshine:
7pitowner: You forgot to include the obituary information for that chihuahua victim. When was the funeral? You know, the ceremony they hold for people attacked by pit bulls.

Me:

Let's not take the focus off of your original statement:

"There are hundreds of breeds of dogs that are great pets but don't attack humans."

This is, quite simply, a false and misleading statement.
A more factual statement would be that there are tens of millions of dogs, pit bulls included, that are great pets and don't attack humans.

If an 8-lb. Chihuahua can rip off a lip, what would you expect an 80-lb. dog could do? Or a 125-lb. dog?

"...despite all evidence to the contrary, that their dogs aren't dangerous and shouldn't be banned"

What evidence do you have that my dogs are dangerous? Or the MILLIONS of other pit bulls that live, will live, or have lived their entire lives without hurting anyone or anything?
The only irrefutable evidence you offer is that the individual dogs mentioned/linked to in your article are/were dangerous.
When a journalist gets busted for plagiarism or lying does that make all journalists plagiarists and liars?

"I hereby propose instead of a ban we pass a law requiring heavy jail time for anyone whose dog maims or kills a human"

I'm with you 100% on this one.
Include harsh penalties for owners that allow their dogs to attack other dogs or animals, owners that let their dogs run at large, owners that fail to license and vaccinate their dogs, and those owners that neglect or abuse their dogs.
I'd also like to see certain individuals prohibited from owning dogs that are known to grow to a weight of more than 20 lbs., some prohibited from owning dogs at all, and still others from owning any animal.

I do not believe, Mr. Mulshine, that you are uninformed, but you are ill-informed and you're passing on information that is as well.

Mulshine:
7pitowner: You seem to have a problem with logic. If I say pit bulls are on average more dangerous than other dogs that's like saying Americans are on average taller than the Chinese. It doesn't mean every American is taller than every Chinese person. Similarly pit bulls are on average more dangerous than other dogs. If you can't handle such basic logic, then you are revealing the faulty thought process of the typical pit-bull owner. As for the rest of us, we have no interest in experiencing extra risk because of your fetish.

Me:
"If I say ... pit bulls are on average more dangerous than other dogs."

IF you said.
You didn't, though.
What you said was that there are hundreds of dog breeds that do not attack humans.

When someone says "Pit bulls seem to be the only dogs that attack", then that is a valid statement based on the perception of the viewer.
When someone says "Pit bulls are the only dogs that attack", then that is outright false.

Yours is outright false.

Mulshine:
7pitowner: Your comment was deleted for distorting what I wrote. Either cite my actual words or do not quote me.

Paul Mulshine apparently cannot comprehend that he has written a false statement.

Elderly man attacked by dogs in Zephyrhills

2011-08-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

From WTVT

An elderly Zephyhills man is fighting for his life after he was attacked by two dogs early Sunday morning.
John Ashmore, 84, was airlifted by helicopter to a nearby hospital with serious injuries. His condition is not known.
According to a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office report deputies were dispatched to the 35000 block of Chancey Rd. just before 8 am. When they arrived the found Ashmore had been seriously mauled by the two canines.
One of the first deputies at the scene shot both dogs after they turned on him. Investigators say one of the animals appears to be a pit bull mix while the other is a boxer mix.
Ashmore was out for his morning walk when the attack occurred.
The name of the person who owns the dogs has not been released as the investigation continues.

Related articles:

Dogs attack and badly injure 84-year-old in Zephyrhills - St. Petersburg Times
Elderly Zephyrhills Man Mauled By Dogs - WJXT

Kent County Animal Shelter accidently kills family pit bull hours after dog gets loose

2011-08-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

By Ursula Zerilli, The Grand Rapids Press

A family’s dog was wrongfully put down last week after a Kent County Animal Shelter worker confused the pet with another dog scheduled for euthanasia at the shelter, a county official said.

“It’s an awful human error and our staff is emotional, as were the owners,” said Bill Anstey, deputy health officer for the Kent County Health Department. “It is not a good situation.”
Elizabeth Kuieck and her fiance, Douglas Fasburg were not home when their 13-month-old red-nosed pit bull, Izza, got loose. Within 45 minutes of her being lost, they went to the animal shelter but were told the dog was not there, Fasburg said.
Hours later a neighbor told them they saw a patrol officer take the dog.
Assuming the shelter would not put down an animal so quickly without contacting them, Kuieck and their three children excitedly headed back to the shelter, said Fasburg.
Soon after Fasburg received a phone call from Kuieck saying “Izza was frozen solid with blood on her neck.”
”They showed the kids and they were laying on the bed hugging her and kissing her,” Fasburg said.

Staff workers checked Izza’s microchip, which is placed in a dog’s ear as a means of identification when it is obtained at the shelter as Izza was last December, but had troubles locating the family, Anstey said.
The dog was placed in a kennel with a similar-looking dog and both had been wearing pink collars and a staff worker brought the wrong dog to the euthanasia room, according to Anstey.
Anstey said he was not at liberty to talk about the employee who made the mistake, but he did stress the event has taken an emotionally toll on the staff.
”We have safeguards in place to prevent this and we are investigating to see if they were all followed,” Anstey said. “The employee that made the error has worked with us for a long time, has a clean track record and she is good at what she does but a mistake happened. We can’t bring the dog back but we wish we could,” Anstey said.
Fasburg believes the shelter did not go through proper safeguards, especially because they had gone to the shelter twice within hours of Izza being lost. He says they did not receive any phone calls informing them that the animal was at the shelter.
”How can you mix up a 13-month-old puppy who is not aggressive with an older dog who supposedly is,” Fasburg questioned. “And then not scan it a second time before killing our dog?
“Not only does it crush my heart, but my kids’ too. Everybody loved that dog. I’m a grown man and I cried.”
A friend reached out to the family via Facebook on Friday to give them a 13-week-old pit bull named Lola but she “will never be Izza,” Fasburg said. They also set up a Facebook page in memory of Izza.

Boy bitten by dog at off-leash park

2011-08-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

By Nick Gardiner, The Recorder & Times

Brockville Police are attempting to identify the owner of a boxer dog that bit and scratched a nine-year-old boy at the off-leash dog park near the Centennial Youth Arena.
Sgt. Al Ranger said police received a complaint Friday morning about an incident involving the dog which left the youngster with broken skin.
"The young lad is fine, other than being a little scratched up," said Ranger.
He said police are investigating but have not pieced together the details for release to the media.
On the other hand, he wanted people to be aware of the incident and stressed it involved a boxer and not a breed of pitbull.
"We are working with (Brockville) animal control in an attempt to identify the dog owner," said Ranger.
The Recorder and Times received a call late Friday morning from an upset woman named Dorothy who identified herself as the grandmother of the young victim.
She said the boy was being taken to their family physician for whatever treatment might be necessary to close the wound.
Dorothy said they were walking her dog at the park and her grandson was not doing anything to provoke the boxer, which attacked for no reason.
"The off-leash dog park is a good idea, but it's not for aggressive dogs."
She could not be reached later during the day for an update on the boy's condition.

Body found in Winter Haven

2011-08-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Pleasant, The Lakeland Ledger

Devin Mobley found his dog digging Saturday morning in a lot behind his Florence Villa home.

The puppy tossed up dirt near something Mobley couldn’t quite see. He stepped closer. Flies swarmed and he smelled a wretched scent.
A swollen foot lay among the overgrown weeds.
“It was so unreal,” said Mobley, 29, as he caged his pit bull-terrier mix named Comere.
Winter Haven police said the dog discovered a body in the empty lot at 115 Ave. V N.W. that was possibly dumped there after a homicide this week.
Investigators blocked off Avenue V in front of the lot as they combed through weeds and interviewed neighbors. They have so far been unable to identify the body or even its gender.
“It will be a slow and tedious process until the scene is processed,” said Police Chief Gary Hester.
Neighbors around the lot said they hadn’t noticed anything unusual that would have alerted them to a homicide or someone dumping remains next door.
The lot is heavily trafficked by people cutting through the neighborhood, said longtime resident Mary Miller as detectives entered her home to interview relatives.
But usually the neighborhood is relatively quiet.
“Ain’t nobody get hurt up on this street,” Miller said.

Related articles:

Dog Finds Dead Body in Winter Haven - The Ledger
Body found behind Winter Haven home - Orlando Sentinel

Fatal Mauling Reignites Pit Bull Debate

2011-08-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

By Stephanie Sara Chong, The Bay Citizen

San Francisco requires spaying and neutering of the notorious breed, but Pacifica does not

The fatal mauling of a pregnant Pacifica resident has reignited a long-standing debate about laws requiring owners to neuter pit bulls.

While experts agree that sterilization reduces aggressiveness in dogs, there is no consensus on whether the procedure should be mandatory for the notorious breed.

It is in San Francisco, but not in Pacifica, where 32-year-old Darla Napora and her husband kept two unsterilized pet pit bulls.

Pacifica’s city manager, Steve Rhodes, said Thursday’s attack could change that.

“Like a lot of legislation we do, it evolves from things that happen,” Rhodes said. “We’ll certainly look at what are the options, what are the things we can do, to prevent these sorts of incidents in the future.” He could not recall any other recent pit bull incidents in Pacifica, and said that the city has never considered such breed-specific legislation before.

San Francisco enacted its pit bull sterilization law in 2006 after a 12-year-old boy was killed by two unsterilized pit bulls. Since then, the city has had no significant attacks from an altered pit bull, though there have been reports of unsterilized pit bull attacks, including one last July that injured three people in Golden Gate Park.

But the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA, which currently provides animal control services to all cities in San Mateo County, does not think the answer lies in legal mandates.

“As an organization, we’re not a proponent of mandatory sterilization,” said president Ken White. “We're the type of organization that believes more in helping people learn what is good and, if it’s a matter of cost, helping people get that done.”

The Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA spays and neuters all cats and dogs prior to adoption, and even pays owners a $10 bounty to bring in their pit bulls for free sterilization, a program they call the "ball bounty."

On Friday, the organization performed a necropsy on the pit bull that killed Napora, but a spokesman refused to release the results, citing the ongoing police investigation.

Thursday’s tragedy has also renewed the debate about whether pit bulls make safe household pets. Despite past attacks that incited concerns about the safety of the breed, many contend that pit bulls are much like any other dog.

White said his most serious dog bite in 34 years of working with animals came from a golden retriever. The animal “pulled out a soup-bowl size” piece of skin from his stomach, he said.

Rebecca Katz, the director of San Francisco’s animal control department, said that pit bulls are not naturally aggressive. It’s usually circumstances that make them that way.

“Any dog can be wired funny, just like a person,” Katz said. “Pit bulls have been the most abused, misused. People have trained them to be aggressive or bred them to be aggressive.”

The breed's physical vigor and strong jaws have helped exaggerate their reputation, since “when something goes awry, the damage is usually much more,” Katz said.

Pit bulls haven’t always been the feared breed they are today.

“We have a short memory,” said Jason Walthall, co-president of the San Francisco SPCA. “Fifteen years ago, everybody thought that Doberman pinschers were terribly dangerous, and 25 years ago everybody thought that it was German shepherds.”

“Pit bulls right now have the bad rap," he added, "but it’s really about stereotyping breeds."

Camarillo man arrested after weapons found

2011-08-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

From Ventura County Star

A Camarillo man was arrested after Ventura County sheriff's deputies said they found an assault weapon in his home, along with ammunition, a small quantity of heroin and syringes.
Deputies said Jacob Carl Manuel, 23, is on probation for burglary with search terms.
They searched his home along the 600 block of North Las Posas Road on Thursday afternoon.
Deputies said they found multiple boxes of ammunition and several firearms, including an AK-47 assault rifle and an unregistered Ruger mini-14 rifle.
Manuel was not at home at the time. Deputies suspect he was alerted to their presence and was hiding.
Manuel was found in his vehicle a short distance away, deputies said.
He was arrested on suspicion of unlawful firearm activity, possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines, possession of a controlled substance and unauthorized possession of a hypodermic needle. In addition, Manuel was accused of cruelty to an animal after deputies said they found a pit bull terrier locked in a crate inside a closed closet at the home.
Manuel was taken to the Ventura County Jail, where he was being held on bail of $55,000, authorities said.

Dog Attacked By Pit Bull At Donegal Twp. Groundbreaking Ceremony

2011-08-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

From WPXI

The owner of a dog that was attacked at a Donegal Township groundbreaking ceremony by a pit bull at a Donegal Township groundbreaking ceremony said the other dog's owner won't pay for the expensive veterinary bill.
Bill Johnson said his beagle named Spunky nearly died in the attack at Dutch Fork Lake last week.
"I looked down and here comes a pit bull out of nowhere that grabs ahold of my dog, and from there instincts kick in and I was trying to get the pit bull off of my dog," said Johnson.
Greg Clark, the pit bull's owner, was cited by the state game warden for failing to keep his dog under control.
Johnson told Channel 11's Dave Bondy that Clark has shown little remorse for the attack.
"There wasn't any attempt to see how the dog did or was doing. The guy didn't even stop at the vet to see how Spunky was doing. We tried calling him and he hung up on us," said Johnson.
Johnson's friend, Bill Walker, said he had to kick the pit bull to get him off Spunky.
"We were doing everything possible to get this dog off Spunky and it wasn't happening until the owner pulled him, far enough apart where the dog just ripped through the skin of the dog," Walker said.
The vet bills became so expensive for Spunky that Johnson said he had to take out a loan to pay for them.
"These vet bills are outrageous. It's probably over $1,500 already for the stitches and surgeries, and we aren't done yet," Johnson said.Clark could face a fine of up to $500. Johnson said if Clark doesn't end up paying the vet bills, he will have no choice but to take him to court.

Police: Middletown Child Bit By Pit Bull

2011-08-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

From WHIO

A Middletown man is facing vicious dog charges after police said his pit bull terrier injured a 6-year-old child.
Police said Clarence Viars was charged with improper confinement of a vicious dog, having no dog license and having a dog loose at large. The incident happened Thursday night, police said.
According to officers, Viars' dog bit the child after it escaped from its residence. Officers said Viars did not have the state-required $100,000 liability for the dog.The child was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Pitbulls are not to be trusted

2011-08-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

By Kathleen Kelly, from The Payson Roundup

The Humane Society article “A beautiful breed doesn’t deserve a bad reputation” urging families to adopt their overflow of these known dangerous animals was written to “educate” about pitbull “myths.”
It made me feel responsible as an ER nurse who has treated the victims of pitbulls mauling, most often children, to give you facts. Genetic traits: unpredictable aggression, tenacity (refusal to give up a fight), high pain tolerance, jaw locking mechanism, “bite, hold, and shake” refusing to release. Forensic medical studies show similar injuries have only been found on victims of shark attacks. Survivors of serious dog attacks often suffer acute damage, requiring multiple procedures over a period of years.
Unpredictable — attack without provocation or warning. Denver, Ohio and Iowa, after a series of devastating attacks, joined over 500 cities nationwide enacting a pitbull ban.
Pitbulls constitute the majority of dogs used for illegal dog fighting guarding illegal narcotics operations, against police, and as weapons.
Liability insurance covering damage inflicted by a pitbull can exceed $575 per year. U.S. Army and Marine Corps banned pitbulls. American, Continental, Delta and Qantas Airlines have embargoes against pitbulls.
Leading pitbull education Web sites warn “Never trust your pitbull not to fight.” These same Web sites also state that pitbulls should never be left alone with another dog, animal, or child.
My deepest sympathy to families suffering the grief of losing their child or loved ones due to a pitbull. Hopefully we can educate those in total denial of the pitbull’s capabilities.

Dog thefts are rising sharply, AKC says

2011-08-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

By Josh Shaffer, from The Republic

Just past dawn, a gray SUV pulled into Hailey Shelton's driveway and made off with Chloe and Dixie.
Nobody heard a bark on that June morning. Nobody found an open gate. The only explanation came from a neighbor, who witnessed the early morning dognappers from across the street.
"They just straight-up took two puppies," said Shelton, 19, who lives in Durham, N.C.
Animal advocates are reporting a sharp rise in dog theft -- a murky and hard-to-track crime that often goes unreported.
The American Kennel Club tracks larcenies through a national database, and its figures show at least a 32 percent uptick so far in 2011. The group bases its numbers on media reports of stolen dogs and customers who call its Companion Animal Recovery service.
The AKC database showed 224 animals stolen during the first seven months of this year, compared with 150 during the same period last year and 255 in all of 2010. In 2009, 162 thefts were reported to the AKC, said Lisa Peterson, spokeswoman for the New York-based group.
"Some are taken out of homes, some are taken out of cars, some are taken out of pet stores," Peterson said. "I've even seen some taken out of a child's arms on a park bench."
Peterson said the AKC's numbers exclude lost dogs. It counts only animals that likely have been stolen -- from a locked car or during a home break-in, for instance.
Motivation for theft, she said, always boils down to money, whether dogs are resold, sold to laboratories or used in fights.
Peterson called dog thieves misguided and naive. Animals can't be pawned. High-priced dogs require registration papers. Collecting heavy ransoms is unrealistic.
Shelton's dogs were pit bulls. They, along with other large breeds, tend to show up stolen most often. In the case of Shelton's dogs, the perpetrator found enough incentive to open a 6-foot-tall fence when every resident was home.
Indeed, the number of stolen pets is small compared with those that are lost or abandoned.
The SPCA of Wake County maintains an entire wall of posters of lost pets, with only a few marked as stolen. In 2010, most of the 18,297 animals that entered the county's shelters were strays with no identification, according to Mondy Lamb, the SPCA's marketing director.
Lost and wandering dogs that haven't been stolen create a far greater problem, she said.
Stray cats, estimated at 50 million, are too common for anyone to steal, said Pam Miller at Safe Haven for Cats in Raleigh.
Still, some call the threat exaggerated.
The California Biomedical Research Association, for example, describes the idea as "The Pet Theft Myth." The myth says shadowy figures are luring animals into vans and selling them to research labs. The majority of dogs and cats used in research were specifically bred for research, the group says.
A suspicious snatching happened to Debbie Hawes' son Zach in Knightdale, N.C. After posting a missing pit bull report, she said, Zach discovered second-hand through a rescue group that the dog had been found. But the person who recovered it didn't want to return it directly to the owner, and he wanted a $125 fee to return it.
Hawes said her son paid the fee and didn't ask questions. It was worth it to have his friend back home.
For a list of pet-theft prevention and recovery tips, see http://www.akc.org/press_center/pet_theft.cfm.

Related articles:

Dog Group Says Dog Theft Is Up 32 Percent This Year - The Consumerist
Dog thefts on the rise: Steps you can take to keep your pet safe - Examiner

Pot grow bust on Paskenta Road in Tehama County

2011-08-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

By Andrea Wagner, Red Bluff Daily News

Drug task force agents arrested eight people and recovered 736 marijuana plants in a commercial pot grow operation disguised as a medical marijuana grow on Paskenta Road Wednesday.

The suspects, from Texas, Cottonwood and Red Bluff, were arrested on a property with several 50-foot long greenhouses and a fenced back yard full of marijuana plants, said Special Agent Supervisor Eric Maher.

Several medical marijuana recommendations were posted throughout the growing area implying that it was a medicinal crop, but investigators determined that it was a commercial growing operation, Maher said.

Agents found two suspects sleeping in the growing area armed with a pistol and a shotgun, Maher said. Two bullet-proof vests and six firearms were seized.

A stolen car that had been stripped for parts was found on the property in the 11400 block of Paskenta Road, he said.

Agents executed a search warrant on the property with a collaboration between Tehama Interagency Drug Enforcement task force and the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement's North State Marijuana Investigation Team, Glenn Interagency Narcotics Task Force, District Attorney investigators, sheriff's detectives, the California Highway Patrol, Homeland Security and the county probation department.

There was a shop, greenhouses and a double wide mobile home on the property as well as six unlicensed pit bulls, Maher said.

Animal regulation officers from the sheriff's department took one of the dogs to the county shelter, sheriff's logs said.

The other pets were returned to residents on the property who were not arrested, Maher said.

Of those arrested, four men and one woman were charged with cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale. Those were Eduardo Ramos Galvez, 30, and Noune Phasavath, 40, both of Red Bluff, and Somethonit Phoumychack, 23, Noukay Sengxay, 46, and Thon Phoumychack, 55, all of Cottonwood. Bail was set at $55,000 each.

Lamyai Sengxay, 46, of Cottonwood was arrested on charges of cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale as well as charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. She is being held in lieu of $95,000 bail.

Michael Ketsana Phimmasone, 38, of Irving, Texas, and John Chanthavong, 36, of Fort Worth, Texas, were arrested on charges of cultivation of marijuana.

Bail was set at $25,000 each.

An additional charge of being armed during the commission of a felony will be added, Maher said. All suspects are being held at the Tehama County Jail.

The 736 marijuana plants recovered could have produced an average of 1 to 5 pounds of marijuana per plant, Maher said. The street value would have ranged from $1.5 million to $7.7 million, he said.

TIDE is part of 48 regional narcotic task forces statewide operated by the California Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.

The task force's mission is to significantly diminish the availability and use of methamphetamine and other illicit drugs in Tehama County through apprehension and prosecution, Maher said.

Sheriff Dept.: Marijuana Growing 4 Blocks From Elementary School

2011-08-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

From KERO

Marijuana Grove Protected By 2 Pit Bulls

On Wednesday at about 2 p.m., deputies from the Buttonwillow Substation, along with the Major Violator’s unit and C.S.U. member’s, executed a search warrant in the 400 block of Buttonwillow Drive.
The search warrant targeted an illegal marijuana grow located approximately four blocks from the Buttonwillow Elementary School, deputies said.
The search warrant was prompted by several citizen complaints regarding the marijuana and its location.
Deputies said there were two pit bulls used to guard the marijuana.
The dogs were contained and deputies said they found 120 marijuana plants located on the property. The plants were seized and later destroyed by deputies.
Deputies said two people were cited as a result of the marijuana.
James Wayne Cruthirds, who was on active felony probation for narcotics violations was arrested and later released on charges of possession of marijuana.
Angela Mabry was cited and released regarding the recently passed Kern County Ordinance for possession of more than 12 marijuana plants.

Related articles:

Deputies make 1st bust under new Kern Co. pot ordinance - Bakersfield Now

Memphis Animal Shelter director quits, citing harsh scrutiny following past abuses

2011-08-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

From The Republic

The director of the troubled Memphis Animal Shelter has quit, saying he needs stability in his professional and personal life.
Matthew Pepper's resignation letter states "a cloud of uncertainty" engulfs his current post, according to The Commercial Appeal, which reports he will be taking another job.
Pepper took over as director last year after Shelby County deputies raided the facility in October 2009, finding sick animals that had been deprived of food and water. The director was fired and three people were charged with animal cruelty after investigators found that at least three dogs had starved to death while in the shelter's care.
Web cameras were later installed in the facility. They were meant to let the public see how the animals were being treated, but workers say they have instead led to vicious threats over both real and imagined problems.
Mayor A C Wharton said on Thursday that he was surprised Pepper stayed as long as he did considering the intense scrutiny he has been under.
"What he's been subjected to went beyond scrutiny, intense scrutiny," Wharton said.
The latest incident came on Thursday, when someone sent a picture to city officials that was captured from the shelter's Web cameras and appeared to show employees using pit bulls for dog fighting.
But a video of the event showed that the employees actually were trying to separate dogs that were snarling at each other.
Nina Wingfield, who runs Collierville's animal shelter, placed much of the blame for Pepper's resignation on the city.
"Truthfully, I don't think the city supported him from day one," she said.
Wharton said he wasn't sure when Pepper was leaving or who would replace him.

Shooting of dog in Adelanto ruled justified

2011-08-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

From San Antonio Express-News

Prosecutors say a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy is not criminally liable for a shooting that killed a pit bull and slightly injured an animal control officer in Adelanto in June 2010.
Deputy District Attorney David Poling's report Thursday said Deputy Dana Weinberg fired in self-defense and the shooting was justified.
As a result, the shooting of animal control officer Steven Peltier was accidental.
The two men tried several times to catch the aggressive dog, which had already killed a Chihuahua. When Weinberg fell and the dog started to attack, he fired one shot, hitting the dog in the chest. But the bullet went through the dog and grazed Peltier's leg.
Peltier was treated at a hospital and released.
Adelanto is 85 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Police pursuit ends in crash

2011-08-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

From Grand Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune

At least one suspect was taken into custody following a police pursuit that ended in with a collision in a parking lot on 102 Street near 97 Avenue, Thursday afternoon. A pit-bull was removed from one of the damaged vehicles and four vehicles were damaged as result of the crash.

Photos

Pregnant Pacifica woman killed by family pit bull

2011-08-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

By John King, San Francisco Chronicle

A pregnant Pacifica woman was found dead by her husband today after an apparent attack by a family pit bull, police said.
The 32-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, was killed in her home on the 500 block of Reina del Mar, said Capt. Dave Bertini, a Pacifica police spokesman.
The woman's husband told police that he had arrived home from work around noon and found one of the couple's two pit bulls standing over his wife's body. He was able to get the dog into the backyard before police arrived a few moments later.
Attempts to revive the woman were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
While the investigation was under way, Bertini said, the dog, a 2-year-old male, got loose from the yard and charged at officers who were stationed outside. They fired three shots at the pit bull, killing it.
The family's second pit bull was not believed to have been involved in the attack, but was removed as a precaution by the Peninsula Humane Society, which provides animal control services for San Mateo County.

Update August 11, 2011 - The following article is by Joshua Melvin, Mercury News:

Woman fatally mauled by her own pit bull in Pacifica

A 32-year-old woman was mauled to death Thursday afternoon by her pit bull in her home.
Pacifica police officers shot and killed the dog after it approached emergency responders, who had found the woman lying on the floor of the front room of her home. The dog was a 2-year-old male that had not been neutered.
Police received a 911 call around 12:15 p.m. of a possible dog attack in the 500 block of Reina Del Mar Ave. Upon arriving at the scene, officers attempted CPR on the woman, who was later pronounced dead in her home.
The victim's husband told police he arrived home from work and discovered that his wife had been attacked. He told officers the dog had been secured in the backyard before the mauling.

Update August 11, 2011 - The following article is by Mathew Luschek, NBC Bay Area:

Pacifica Woman Killed by Pit Bull

A pregnant Pacifica woman was found dead today by her husband - an apparent victim of a pit bull attack, reports the Chronicle.

The body of Darla Napora, 32, was found at her home on the 500 block of Reina del Mar, said Pacifica police Captain Dave Bertini.

The victim's husband found her around noon, with one of the family's pit bulls standing over her body. He was able to get the dog into the backyard before police arrived, but the animal escaped, charging the officers later.

Police fired three shots killing the dog. The family's second pit bull, which was not believed to be involved in the incident, was removed and taken to the Peninsula Humane Society as a precaution.

Update August 12, 2011 - The following article is from KGO:

Pregnant Calif. woman killed by own pit bull

A pregnant Pacifica woman was mauled to death by her pit bull Thursday. Her husband made the grisly discovery of their pit bull standing over his wife's body.

Darla Napora, 32, was killed inside their home on Reina Del Mar Avenue.
Pacifica police arrived at the home after getting a 911 call from the victim's husband.
"When they arrived, they found the victim laying in her own front living room; she was not breathing, unresponsive and had major trauma to her upper body," Pacifica Police Capt. Dave Bertini said. "The husband stated that when he got home, at about noon, he found his wife with their pit bull hovering over her."
Darla and Greg Napora owned two pit bulls, a spayed 6-year-old and an unneutered 2-year-old. The unneutered pit bull is believed to be responsible for mauling and killing Darla.
Police ultimately shot and killed the dog after it escaped from the backyard as officers were conducting their investigation.
"The last thing we wanted to happen was for the dog to get out and start attacking bystanders or be loose in the neighborhood," Bertini said. "So as soon as the dog got out of the backyard, the decision was immediately made to put that dog down and that's why the dog was shot three times by two officers on scene."
Police say Darla was pregnant, although they do not know how far along she was.
Neighbors are saddened. They say the dogs appeared nice and normal and never noticed anything unusual about the dogs.
A necropsy is scheduled for Friday.
"Eventually we're going to find out if there's anything physically or medically wrong with the dog that may have caused this attack," Bertini said. "We have already done an extensive interview with the husband and there are follow up questions that we may ask in the future."
Police do not believe the other pit bull had anything to do with the attack but as a precaution it is being held at the Peninsula Humane Society.

Update August 12, 2011 - The following article is from Orlando Sentinel:

Pregnant Woman Mauled to Death by Family Pit Bull

A pregnant woman was killed by one of her pit bulls, her mauled body found by her husband, police said on Friday.

The victim, 32-year-old Darla Norpa, was pronounced dead on Thursday afternoon at the couple's home in the seaside village of Pacifica, south of San Francisco, Pacifica Police Capt. Dave Bertini said.

Bertini said the woman's, Greg, husband told police he came home from work at around noon on Thursday to find one of the couple's pit bulls standing, bloodied, over his wife's mauled body.

First responders to the scene found the woman unresponsive in a front room of the home with massive trauma to her upper body, Bertini said.

A second pit bull was found cowering in the corner.

Bertini said the man told authorities that the attacking dog, a two-year-old male named Gunner, was confined in a back room.

But when the dog managed to escape and enter the front yard, officers shot it three times, Bertini said.

Both pets were taken to Peninsula Humane Society, which performs animal control services for San Mateo County under contract.

The society's spokesperson Scott Delucchi said a necropsy scheduled for Friday would seek to retrieve the bullets as well as examine stomach contents and tissue samples to establish whether the dog was correctly implicated in the attack.

Tissue samples will be taken from the second dog to determine if it could be returned to the victim's husband.

"This person has lost everything; this dog is all he has left," Delucchi said.

"Right now we are assuming that one dog was involved and one was not. We investigate hundreds of dog attacks every year but I've never seen anything like this in 13 years," Delucchi said.

Update August 12, 2011 - The following article is by Lauren Smiley, SF Weekly:

Pit Bull That Killed Darla Napora Got Loose From Backyard While Officer Kept Watch

Gunner got loose before he was shot to death. Police defend their response.

Gunner, the pit bull who mauled a pregnant woman to death Thursday, escaped from the backyard while an officer was posted to keep an eye on it, Pacifica Police Captain Dave Bertini told SF Weekly.

When police responded to the house on a suburban street in Pacifica, Darla Napora's husband, Greg, told officers that the dog was in a backroom of the house. The officers discovered that the backroom had a sliding door that was open, Bertini says, and the dog had gone into the backyard. Bertini, who was on the scene, says he posted an officer at the back fence to ensure the dog didn't get out while animal care officers were on their way.

But 10 to 15 minutes after the police first responded, "the gate came open, whether it was the wind or the dog hit the latch, it came out from the backyard in the driveway and toward the front yard," Bertini says.

The dog came around the house, up the driveway, and toward the front door, where officers were inside attending to an unresponsive Napora in the house's front room.

The officer notified "Dog loose!" and two officers shot Gunner dead with one bullet from a shotgun and two bullets from a handgun. The Peninsula Humane Society said Gunner's necropsy was "getting under way" Friday afternoon, says Scott Delucchi, the senior vice president. The veterinarians will take an x-ray and recover the bullets, as well as check for medical abnormalities. The dog's brain will be sent to the county health department for rabies testing.

Delucchi stressed that the medical examiner still has not determined a cause of death for Napora. Deluchi says the family had two pit bulls, and when the police arrived they saw Gunner, the male pit, who was not fixed, hovering over the woman's body, and Tazi, the female pit, cowering in the corner. Gunner was already dead by the time the Humane Society responders got to the scene. The responders drove both animals away in separate compartments in the same vehicle.

Tazi is being kept at the Humane Society and looks to be uninjured, Delucchi says.

Captain Bertini defended the shooting. "[The dog] was covered in blood. There was no way we were going to take chances of it getting loose into the neighborhood or attacking anyone."

The police had never before gotten a report of Gunner acting aggressively, and Napora's husband didn't indicate they'd ever had trouble with it before. Nor do the police suspect it had been used in dog fights, Bertini says.

"It looked like a family pet to me," he says. "There were pictures of the dog in the house. It had a dog bed in the house. It looked like a normal family pet."

Bertini says the officers didn't have any particular procedure on how to respond to a dog mauling, which he says officers haven't responded to in his 25 years on the force. But he indicated that there was no need to create any such policy.

"The response by the Pacifica Police Department was the utmost professional it could be. We don't need a specific procedure for this kind of call. There's no procedure at issue here."

Update August 13, 2011 - The following article is by Joshua Melvin and Lisa Fernandez, from Oroville Mercury Register:

Pit bull mauling of pregnant Pacifica woman remains a mystery

What happened in the moments before the fatal mauling of a pregnant Pacifica woman in the front room of her little white house on Reina Del Mar Avenue may never be known -- she is gone and the only witness is the pit bull terrier Gunner that killed her and her unborn child.

But the investigation into how Darla Napora, 32, died continued on Friday with her autopsy and a necropsy of Gunner, which was shot to death by police when it charged them after killing her, officials said. Investigators hope to have results in a few weeks that will pencil in the gaps of the tragic death, which was first discovered by the woman's husband of two years, Greg Napora.
Pacifica Police Capt. Dave Bertini said there are lots of theories, but they will remain speculation until detectives get exam results. However, investigators said they have no reason to believe foul play was involved in the death.
Some people noted that it was questionable that Greg Napora had not been hurt while wrestling away the dog he found standing over his mortally wounded wife on Thursday around noon. In fact, Bertini said, the husband and father-to-be suffered injuries to his hands while dragging the pit bull into another room.
He added that he is 99.9 percent sure Greg Napora wasn't involved. "But you never know, so that is why we're waiting for the reports to make sure we didn't miss anything," Bertini said.
Animal care officers also planned to interview to Napora on Friday, said Scott Delucchi, spokesman for the Peninsula Humane Society.
"We don't know what triggered this," Delucchi said. "Nobody knows."
The humane society is now taking care of Tazi, the couple's other pit bull -- a spayed 6-year-old female.
"She was pretty stressed out yesterday," Delucchi said. "And she was tucked away at the shelter. We've told staff not to go over and gawk at her."
Authorities will not only perform a necropsy on Gunner, but also check out Tazi, to see if there are any wounds on her, Delucchi said, posing aloud a possibility that the two dogs may have had a fight. But Delucchi said it was also possible that Gunner was provoked by something getting in the way of food or a toy he wanted.
In the meantime, the excruciating loss had begun to sink in for family and friends of the couple.
Chris Templin, general manager for the high-end 231 Ellsworth Restaurant in San Mateo, got a call just before 5 p.m. Thursday, where Darla Napora worked almost every night of the week as a popular bartender.
It was Greg Napora.
"He was very upset," Templin said. "And he said Darla wouldn't be coming in to work."
Templin has known Darla Napora for six years, when she was bartending at Ristorante Capellini nearby, and before she came to work for him two years ago.
"She was caring and thoughtful," Templin said, "and made everyone feel at home."
Darla Napora had a talent for making drinks by simply asking customers what they were in the mood for and coming up with her own concoctions, Templin said: "She always came to work with a smile on her face. I can't say enough good things about her. She will be sorely missed."
Templin also called Darla Napora a "private person," the type who made fun of people who posted their life stories on Facebook, and he declined to go into detail about her home affairs, other than to say she loved to garden and run -- even though she'd cut down on that recently because of her pregnancy.
He also said that she "loved her dogs," which he'd seen a few times before she got dropped off at the restaurant, and that she was "really happy about the baby."
Darla Napora's mother and sister were in the Bay Area
This death has reignited a fierce debate about whether pit bulls are the problems, or the people who own them.
The anti-pit bull set are calling on a ban of the dogs as pets, and those who run groups like Bad Rap, or Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls, cite the adorable attributes of pit bulls and point fingers at other breeds of dogs who bite and maul.
In a study by the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association between 1978 and 1998, pit bulls topped the list of known breeds to have killed victims, followed by Rottweilers, German shepherds, huskies and Doberman pinschers.
But pit bulls aren't necessarily the problem, Delucchi said, although even the pit bull supporters would admit that "bigger dogs can do a whole lot more damage." It's often that people ignore or don't see signs of fear or aggression in an animal, and therefore, don't "take care of the problem immediately," Delucchi said.
Neither Tazi nor Gunner have ever had formal complaints against them, Delucchi said, and by all accounts, "they were good dogs."
If that proves to be true in Tazi's case, Delucchi said the humane society would be happy to give her back to Napora.
"He lost his wife and his unborn child and the dog is what he has left," Delucchi said. "Getting Tazi back would be the only good outcome."

Pit BULLS and other dogs have harmed and killed other bay area residents. Here is a list of some of THOSE cases:

2010: A pit bull attacked a 41-year-old San Jose woman in the 3000 block of Whitesand Drive in the Evergreen neighborhood of San Jose. The woman was bit on her arm and hip, and was released from the hospital.
2010: Jacob Bisbee, a 2-year-old Concord boy, was killed by three pit bulls owned by his step-grandfather.
2010: A 7-year-old East Oakland girl was bit in the face by a pit bull, and was expected to recover after a chunk of her cheek was ripped out.
2009: Two 80-pound, unneutered American bulldog-pit bull mix dogs, Sharky and Chief, attacked a San Jose animal control officer on her arms, legs and buttocks.
2008: A pit bull mix named Tazz, and unneutered 70-pound boxer/pit bull, savaged the face of a 20-month old girl and attacked her grandmother in San Jose in the 3800 block of Quimby Road.
2007: A neighbor's pit bull named Swisher attacked Angela Silva of Fremont when she was in her garage. She saved her baby from the attack by hiding it in a garbage can. Silva lived but had many surgeries and still lives with pain. Swisher also mangled the arm of a Denny's busboy in Hayward the previous week.
2005: Twelve-year-old Nicholas Faibish was mauled to death by the family's two pit bulls in San Francisco.
2001: Perhaps the most infamous of all the dog mauling cases in the Bay Area involved Diane Whipple, who was killed in her San Francisco apartment by two Presa Canario dogs.

Update August 15, 2011 - The following article is by Henry K. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle:

Pacifica woman attacked by pit bull bled to death

The pregnant Pacifica woman who was attacked by her pet pit bull bled to death, police said today.
Darla Napora, 32, died of blood loss and shock, according to a preliminary investigation by the San Mateo County coroner's office.
Napora's husband found her unconscious when he returned from work to their home on Reina del Mar at about noon Thursday. The dog stood over his wife's body before he dragged the animal to another part of the home, police said.
Two officers shot the pit bull to death when he got loose from the backyard after police arrived, authorities said.
A necropsy of the unneutered, 2-year-old male pit bull, Gunner, confirmed that the 125-pound animal was responsible for the attack, said police Capt. Dave Bertini.
A veterinarian at the Peninsula Humane Society reviewed hair and tissue samples and blood evidence to reach that conclusion, police said.
An examination of the couple's other pit bull, a female named Tazi, confirmed that she was not involved in the attack.
Teeth impressions were made of Gunner and Tazi, and they were compared with the wounds on Darla Napora, Bertini said.

Related articles:

Pregnant Pacifica Woman Killed By Pet Pit Bull - Patch
Pregnant Woman Mauled To Death By Family Pit Bull - KTVU
Pregnant Woman Mauled To Death By Family Pit Bull - KRXI
Pregnant woman mauled and killed by her own pit bull - All Headline News
Pregnant Woman Mauled To Death By Pet Pit Bull - WITN
Pregnant Calif. woman killed by family pit bull - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Police 'put that dog down' after it kills pregnant California woman - CNN
Pit bull kills pregnant woman - WNEM
Pregnant Bay Area Woman Mauled and Killed by Pet Pitbull - KSEE
Pregnant Calif. woman killed by family pit bull - KABC
Officials Check Pit Bull For Cause of Fatal Attack on Pregnant Woman - Patch
Bite experts conclude pit bull 'Gunner' sole attacker of Pacifica woman - Mercury News
Coroner: Prelim Autopsy Results Show Pit Bull "Responsible For This Attack" - Patch
Blood loss, Shock Killed Pacifica Woman Mauled By Pit Bull - KSBW

City officials investigate photo of pit bulls at Memphis Animal Shelter

2011-08-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

By Amos Maki, The Commercial Appeal

City officials are investigating a photo taken Wednesday by a Web camera at the Memphis Animal Shelter of two pit bulls straining at each other while two shelter employees hold them on leashes.

The photo was taken around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“Yes, we are aware of it and, yes, we are investigating it,” said city spokeswoman Mary Cashiola.
The city recently announced it would no longer use Web cameras when it moves to a new facility this fall. The cameras were installed after a raid by law enforcement officials at the shelter at 3456 Tchulahoma in October 2009.
Employees had asked that the Web camera transmissions stop immediately, but they will stay operational while the city remains in the current shelter. When the city moves to the new shelter, at 2350 Appling City Cove, only internal security cameras will be used.
Following the raid, which occurred on Memphis Mayor A C Wharton's first full day in office, investigators said at least three dogs had starved to death while in the shelter's care. Disturbing photos of one of the starved animals sparked outrage in the community.

2 men die of gunshot wounds

2011-08-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

By Amanda Milkovits and Mark Reynolds, The Providence Journal

Two men were found bound and shot to death midday Wednesday, one in Providence’s Federal Hill neighborhood and the other at the edge of Lincoln Woods State Park.
The police say the murders, discovered within hours of each other, don’t appear to be connected. But there are unusual similarities.
The man found in the trunk of an abandoned sedan near Sunset Stables in Lincoln Woods had been restrained when he was shot “execution-style.” And the young man who stumbled, fatally shot to die on the sidewalk of bustling Broadway in Providence, had broken handcuffs attached to both wrists.
Anthony Stone, 26, out on bail on charges of dealing cocaine, was identified as the man who died in Providence, making him the fifth person murdered in the city this year. Providence Detective Lt. Robert Lepre said Wednesday night that Stone’s killing “is not a random act.”
The state police did not release the identity of the man found in Lincoln Woods, pending notification of his family.
The circumstances behind both murders were under investigation.
The first was discovered by happenstance Wednesday morning, when a caretaker at Lincoln Woods noticed a silver sedan parked in a driveway between the stables and gatehouse, said state police Col. Steven O’Donnell.
The caretaker left a note on the car at 6 a.m., warning the owner to have the vehicle moved, O’Donnell said. The car and note were still there four hours later. By 10:30 a.m., the caretaker called state police.
A trooper examined the car and noticed blood on the rear bumper, O’Donnell said. “In an abundance of caution, not knowing if someone was injured with life-threatening injuries, we opened the trunk and found this male who had been executed,” O’Donnell said.
The dead man’s hands were bound behind his back, and he appeared to have been shot several times in the head, O’Donnell said. A witness told investigators about hearing several gunshots, O’Donnell said without elaborating. As to whether the police had found shell casings or a gun, O’Donnell said: “We’ll just leave that all alone for the time being.”
The car was hauled away on a flatbed truck for an extensive forensic examination. The shady driveway where the car was found provides a short turnaround off Twin River Road and connects to a circular drive to the home of the park’s caretaker.
The driveway is just outside the park’s main entrance, where visitors frequently hike trails.
Just a few minutes before 1 p.m. in Providence, Anthony Stone staggered out of a century-old Victorian on Broadway and collapsed face-up on the front steps and sidewalk. His head was bleeding and he appeared to have been shot multiple times. Broken plastic handcuffs ringed his wrists.
Stone lived on the second floor of the Victorian at 372 Broadway, but investigators found evidence that he’d been injured in the vacant rooms on the first floor, Lepre said. Investigators revealed little else about the scene inside the apartment house. There was no description of a gunman or how the assailant escaped.
Stone died in full view of the usual mid-afternoon busy-ness of this section of Broadway — across from a chiropractor’s office and a wellness clinic, next door to law offices, and barely a block away from where people sat at café tables outside a coffee house.
His two pit bulls ran loose from the house and evaded attempts by the police to capture them. While animal control lassoed one dog, the other ran free down Broadway, darting over to attack another pit bull on a leash outside Broadway Liquors. The fighting dogs tumbled inside the store, where the leashed dog whimpered as it was bitten, until Stone’s dog was dragged away.
Onlookers said they recognized Stone from the neighborhood, and often saw him walking his two pit bulls on Broadway or heading to the corner convenience store. A friend wailed in shock from the steps of a house next door.
Stone had come to Providence from New Jersey several years ago. Records at Johnson & Wales University showed that he’d attended the school, but didn’t graduate, according to spokeswoman Lisa Pelosi.
Stone was arrested by Providence police on April 1 on two counts of dealing cocaine. He was held at the Adult Correctional Institutions until he made bail on May 13, according to the Department of Corrections.
The police said they were sure Stone was targeted for a reason. But his killer and the motive behind Stone’s death were still being determined.

Missing dog owners unite to find answers

2011-08-11T07:14:00.000-07:00

By Penny Fletcher, The Observer News

Some large-breed dogs that were once rescued may need rescued again.
Frances Poirrier has taken in two rescue dogs in the last few years that have now gone missing.
So has Jessica Urbanski.
And when they started putting up posters and asking neighbor’s questions, it didn’t take them long to find out that many of their Wimauma neighbors were also missing dogs. They were all medium to large breeds.
Frances, who was born in Alabama but raised in Ruskin and has lived in South County most of her life, said when she lost her first dog — a German shepherd named Stripes in January — she didn’t think he had been stolen.
“Living next to hundreds of acres of woods and an agricultural reclamation area we have a lot of wild animals, including hogs, and I figured maybe Stripes had gotten in a fight and been killed,” she told me in an interview following a meeting she arranged at Denny’s restaurant Aug. 3. “But then May 23 I lost Bodie too. I had found him by the side of the road and a neighbor said he had been dropped off there. He was only a year and a half old.”
When Bodie went missing, Frances made 200 posters and started putting them up around town. While doing this, she met people who told her about Jessica Urbanski who had organized a similar poster.
Jessica had lost a husky-pit-bull mix that was 5 years old and weighed about 60 pounds.
When the two began putting up posters with photographs of lost dogs all over Wimauma and the surrounding area, people began to tell them stories of their own lost dogs.
“It was much bigger than we knew,” Frances said. So she scheduled a meeting at the local Denny’s restaurant. Three amazing things happened almost immediately.
Even though the posters advertising the meeting had only been on the street 24 hours, more than 20 people showed up. Secondly, a sheriff’s office’s environmental deputy read them and contacted Cpl. Steve Billor, chief of detectives for the area, who showed up at the meeting.
The third good thing that came about because of the posters was that Denny’s restaurant, that usually charges a $50 fee for the meeting room, waived the charge as a donation.
People gathered and promised to spread the word. They swapped stories and were advised by Cpl. Billor what they should do next.
“I have never gotten a report on a stolen dog in that area,” Billor told the crowd. I meet regularly with deputies from around the county and from the neighboring counties too and it would have been easy for me to mention this. But I didn’t know. How will anyone know if you don’t make reports? We have 250-square miles to cover with fewer than 100 deputies.”
Organized dog fights are a third-degree felony, he said. And since there have been arrests for dog fights in both Tampa and Brandon in the last six months, those at the meeting said they think there is cause to think this could be the reason for the missing dogs. Especially since no small breeds have been reported missing.
One police report has now been made. It is # 11-378158. People may add their names and dogs to this report if they wish. The number of the main desk is 813-247-8200, he said but his private line is 813-545-8329.
“This would make it much easier for the sheriff’s office to follow,” Billor said.
The dogs don’t go missing in the dead of night. They’re being taken in broad open daylight. Some of the people at the meeting live on farms and on hundreds of acres or by wooded areas, so their dogs run free.
But others were stolen from behind fenced areas.
Maria Lepochat had a beautiful family pet: a mixed-breed German shepherd that weighed around 40 pounds. This is similar in size and weight to many of the dogs taken, although some are much larger. She said her gate had been opened.
Many of the people who had lost dogs said they had been rescue dogs — meaning they had gotten them from the Humane Society, and places of refuge like C.A.R.E and Lost Angels no-kill shelters.
Christy Clark had rescued an abandoned dog recently and taken it to her vet, finding out it had Parvo. “Twenty-five hundred dollars later it was well. And now it is gone,”
Sue Killigsworth told a different kind of tale.
“I’ve always had trouble getting anybody in the county to respond to reports about dogs,” Killingsworth said. “Two winters ago we had brutal cold and there were packs of loose feral dogs running in our neighborhood — maybe 50 or 60 of them together. It took getting Pinellas County involved finally because nobody in Hillsborough said they could help with this.”
Billor said now that a report has been made, if people call and add to it, their claims will be investigated.
What frightens people like Debbie Chapman is that dogs like hers cannot always obey commands and therefore may be beaten or killed. “There is no way the thieves will know my dog is deaf,” she said, almost in tears.
“All the dogs were males — many boxers and pit bulls — except for two of the four boxers stolen from my sister,” said Connie Ciani. “She had four boxers with shock collars on.”
People who have lost dogs or who are interested in this cause may attend the next meeting. It is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. at the South Shore Library on Beth Shields Way (off 19th Avenue) that runs east and west between U.S. 41 and U.S. 301 in Ruskin.
“Perhaps someone has a description of the people who are stealing the dogs,” Christy Clark said.
So far, a black Chevrolet diesel pick-up truck and a smaller red pick-up are the only descriptions of vehicles described anywhere near any of the scenes.

Dog quarantined as officials sort out bite charge

2011-08-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

By Jennifer Emert, WALB

Albany Animal Control officers are investigating a dog attack that left a Wescott Lane man with stitches.
The dog's owner claims that man attacked one of his dogs first. The dog is in quarantine as officials sort it out. They say these matters often end up in civil court.
Walter Braswell claims he was simply in his front yard when the dogs rushed out of his neighbor's house and attacked him. The dog's owner John Sowell, says it was Braswell's screaming, and actions against the dogs that caused his dog to bite.
It's the last thing Walter Braswell thought would happen in his front yard. "I was shocked and surprised for the first time in my life I've ever been bitten by a dog, even playfully I've never been bitten by a dog."
Braswell was bent over picking up paper in front of his truck when he claims this dog and two smaller dogs charged out of his neighbor's door at him. You can see the scuff marks he made across the hood of the car trying to get away from the dog.
"I didn't even realize I'd done this it happened so fast."
Before Braswell could get in one of the vehicles, a Brindle Pit bull named Duke approached again. "I threw my arm up, I was here, I threw my arm up... and that's when he bit me here," he said.
The dog's owner, John Sowell, tells another story. He claims he went outside with the dogs and it was Braswell who attacked, kicking one of his Dachshunds.
"My little dog started barking and running out there, but she runs automatically, just to the grass there, just barking at anything that moves, and he chose to come up to the dog and kick her across the yard," said Sowell.
He says Duke was reacting to Braswell, who also kicked and swung at the dog. "Then he went to swing at him, hit my dog in the eye, then he jumped just screaming all erratically," said Sowell.
Animal Control is holding Duke in quarantine and says your dog is your responsibility. They have some tips if you're approached by a dog.
"Do not run from a dog," said Animal Control Superintendent Sherman Capers. "His instincts, if you take off running, he's going to run after you. If he does run after you, I recommend you lay very still and don't hit at the dog or anything like that, because you provoke him."
If you're bitten you should seek medical attention immediately. In this case, the owner says the dog is up to date on his rabies shots, but animal control will keep the dog under observation as a precaution.
Animal Control did say when they get in contact with John Sowell he likely will be cited. Albany's leash law doesn't necessarily require a dog to be on a leash at all times. If they're in their yard and under voice control, that's acceptable.

Attacked man stabs pitbull to death

2011-08-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

From Otago Daily Times

A Christchurch man was forced to stab to death a pitbull which latched on to his arm.
The 47-year-old man was at a property at Bower Ave, New Brighton, on Tuesday night when the dog, apparently startled by cats fighting, attacked him, The Press reported.
As the man tried to push the pitbull away, it locked on his arm.
Sergeant Stephen McDaniel said the man was forced to ask the dog's owner for permission to kill the dog.
"The dog was killed by the male with a knife. The owner was present, obviously upset . . . It was pretty messy, but no further action will be taken by us."
The victim was treated at Christchurch Hospital for serious arm and stomach and discharged.

Two children bitten in dog attacks

2011-08-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

By Jimmy Biggerstaff, Hi-Desert Star

Dogs bit two children in separate incidents here Saturday and Monday.

The first attack occurred about 2 p.m. Saturday in the community center’s playground when a 5-year-old boy approached a 1 1/2-year-old pit bull-Labrador mix. According to a witness, the dog bit the child in the face.

The boy was flown to Loma Linda University Medical Center and the dog was collected by an animal control officer.

The animal is being held under quarantine pending a hearing to determine whether it is potentially dangerous or vicious.

At 3:38 p.m. Monday, a male shepard-chow mix was in its own fenced yard in the 6800 Palisade Way when it bit a 6-year-old family member. The girl was driven to Hi-Desert Medical Center for evaluation.

The dog is being held at the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter on a 10-day rabies quarantine.

“In Yucca Valley we have zero tolerance for dogs that display overly aggressive behavior,” Melanie Crider, the town’s animal care and control manager, said.

Two pit bulls attacked two people in Twentynine Palms early Sunday morning and two pit bulls attacked a woman in Yucca Valley July 25.

All of the attacks are being investigated.

Child's face restored after accident, a first in Mexico

2011-08-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

From MSN

Surgeons have re-attached a large part of the face of a seven year-old child torn in a pitbull attack, Mexico's state-run Social Security Institute said Tuesday

"This is the first facial re-implant that has been successfully carried out in the country," said Juan Francisco Salazar, an Institute spokesman in the northern state of Nuevo Leon.
Raul Carrizales, age seven, was attacked by a pitbull on June 26 in the city of Monterrey. The fierce dog tore off a large portion of his lower face.
A neighborhood watchman who saw the attack picked up the piece of the boy's face and put it in a plastic bag, and then in a container with water an ice, which allowed surgeons to later fix the boy's face.
The operation on Carrizales took nearly six hours and involved two general surgeons, two plastic surgeons, two nurses and an anesthesiologist, Salazar said.
"The next step is rehabilitation, so that he will again have feeling and movement in his face," Salazar added.

Girl Bitten By Pit Bull While Riding Bike In New Castle

2011-08-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

From WPXI

A girl is recovering after being attacked by a pit bull while riding her bike in New Castle Tuesday night.
The attack happened in an alley near Countyline Street at about 8:30 p.m.
“I was riding on my bike and a pit bull came running through the fence, bit me on the leg,” said the victim Emily Brightshuel. “I went running home, screaming."
“There's four major puncture wounds from the big teeth, different wounds from the smaller teeth,” said the girl’s father, Michael Brightshuel.
The girl said she tried to keep her bike in front of her to keep the dog from biting her, but it didn't help.
Authorities told Channel 11 News told the dog didn't have tags, so it was taken away and will be quarantined.

3 Hurt In East Walnut Hills Dog Attack

2011-08-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

From WLWT

Officers Shoot, Kill Dog

Three people are hurt after a dog attack in East Walnut Hills.
Police were called to the area near Taft Road and Melrose Avenue shortly after 10 a.m. for a report that a dog was attacking multiple people.One of the victims said that a pit bull got loose and attacked him before he was able to jump on top of a car. Two other people were attacked before police arrived.Once officers arrived, they shot the pit bull and killed it.
A person who was watching the dog was taken into custody. That person was not the dog's owner.
An ambulance was called to the scene but it wasn't clear if anyone was taken to a hospital.

Related articles:

Dog shot after two people bit - Cincinnati Enquirer

Poodle bites man

2011-08-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

By Jean Mack, Washington Post

Fairfax Blvd., 9400 block, July 27. A poodle being walked by a man bit him on the finger when he pulled the dog away from two pit bulls. The poodle had a current rabies vaccination and was placed under quarantine at home for 10 days.

Pit bull shot, killed in Alamogordo

2011-08-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

From Alamogordo Daily News

At approximately 9:13 p.m. (August 8), ADPS officers were dispatched to the 1300 block of 22nd Street in reference to a call of shots fired. Officers made contact at the residence and learned the resident had shot a pit bull that was attacking his dog in the alley behind the home. The owner of the pit bull was identified as a resident in the same block. Animal Control officers removed the dead dog from the alley and the injured dog was transported to a veterinarian clinic for injuries sustained in the attack. Charges are pending at this time.

Dog attacks, injures two in Elkhart County

2011-08-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

From WNDU

Police are on the scene of a dog attack in Elkhart County.
The attack occurred just after 10:30 p.m. in the 2600 block of Leland Road just off SR 19 near Simonton Lake.
Dispatchers said a couple was walking down the road when a dog, that looked like a pit bull, ran up and attacked.
After the attack, the dog then ran off. Both victims are reportedly bleeding from the arms although the extent of their injuries remains unclear.

Abused puppy gets new lease on life thanks to Albany Police Officer

2011-08-09T20:10:00.000-07:00

By Kassata Edwards, WRGB

A 10 week old puppy who police say survived serious abuse is now in the hands of a new owner. An Albany Police Officer adopted the dog Tuesday. CBS6 cameras were the only ones there when the two reunited at the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society.
Tuesday Roscoe’s life turned around in a flash. On Friday the 10 week old Pit bull-Husky mix met Albany Police Officer Adam Brace after the puppy's prior owner was arrested for abuse.
"This guy he didn't want to move. He was sitting down and got spun around by his leash, by his neck, on top of his head and eventually came down on top of the concrete, right on top of his head" says Brace.
The arresting officer said he witnessed Patrick Gray carry out that abuse on Roscoe.
"It's unacceptable to treat an animal like that" adds Brace.
Shortly after meeting Roscoe, Brace says he fell in love with the puppy.
"I'm a big animal lover. I think this sets a precedent for people out there that animal abuse is not acceptable. Obviously these dogs all they ask for is care, food and unconditional love" says Brace.
Now Roscoe's accused abuser Patrick Gray is facing animal cruelty charges.
If you'd like to make a difference in the life of a Pit-bull, right now there are 11 available for adoption at the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society.

Pit bull mauls Sacramento girl

2011-08-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

By C. Johnson, KXTV

A young Sacramento girl was to undergo a third surgery Tuesday for mauling wounds she suffered from a pit bull attack Saturday evening.

Sabrina Carrasco, 9, was attacked in an apartment complex lawn area at 7718 Lamancha Way about 9 p.m., according to Gina Knepp, spokeswoman for the Sacramento City Animal Control.

The girl was with a teenager and two toddlers playing when the pit bull headed for them, according to witnesses. The teenager was able to grab the little kids. Carrasco couldn't run away in time.

Knepp said the girl has injuries to her face, shoulder, side and back. UC Davis Medical Center officials said Carrasco is in good condition.

Knepp said the pit bull had not been vaccinated against rabies. The dog was to be destroyed Tuesday with the owner's approval.

Related articles:

Girl recovering from mauling; pit bull owner may face criminal charges - Sacramento Bee
California girl, 9, mauled by pit bull - UPI

Pit Bull Puppy Rescued in Warren, Man Facing Charges

2011-08-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

From WKBN

His eyes are bright, his tail is in constant motion, and he prefers to lean up against you.

That's because Bubba, a less than one-year-old tan-colored Pit Bull puppy, weighs only 14 pounds and still hasn't built up enough strength to walk steady on his feet since he was found laying in his own feces and urine in a locked room at a Warren home.

Warren dog warden John Onatz said it was one of the worst cases of animal abuse he's seen in nearly 28 years.

The dog was found emaciated and locked in a room at a 2274 S. Feederle S.E. home. Onatz has filed charges against Tyree Kyle, and he's set to appear in Warren Municipal Court Friday.

Bubba is now being taken care of at a Pittsburgh rescue.

Update August 12, 2011 - The following article is from WYTV:

Owner of Abandoned Pit Bull Puppy Appears in Court

The man accused of leaving a pit bull puppy with no food or water in a locked room faced a judge Friday.

Outside the police department, nearly one dozen protesters gathered to support Bubba and asking for more than a slap on the wrist for what Tyree Kyle, 21, had done.

Kyle faces a charge of cruelty to animals after Bubba was found Monday lying in his own feces and urine. Police said the dog was found in a back room in a home they went to because the owner was being evicted. Warren Dog Warden John Onatz said it's one of the worst cases he's see in nearly 28 years.

Kyle pleaded not guilty to his charge in Warren Municipal Court Monday, and will be back in court sometime in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, Bubba is living with Jennifer Bird, who houses a rescue operation near Pittsburgh. A Facebook page has been set up so she can post his progress and ramp up support for Bubba and stronger animal cruelty laws.

Slideshow

Update August 25, 2011 - The following article is from WKBN:

Trial Set in Warren Puppy Abuse Case

Tyree Kyle, the man accused of leaving Bubba the pit bull puppy locked in a room with no food or water, appeared for a pretrial today.

Nearly 75 protestors were there to greet him.

Kyle, 21, pleaded not guilty to a charge of animal abuse earlier this month. He'll go to trial Sept. 22.

Bubba, who was severely malnourished and underweight, was found after Kyle had been evicted from a Warren apartment. Police said Bubba had no food or water and was lying in his own feces and urine.

Kyle's family said he had no job and no money to feed even himself.

After Bubba was found, a Facebook page, Justice for Bubba, was created and regular updates are given on his condition as he gains weight and improves and has more than 5,000 followers. Bubba is being taken care of at an animal rescue facility in Pittsburgh.

Related articles:

Warren man who abandoned and starved his pit bull puppy appears in court - Examiner

Police shoot and kill a pitbull

2011-08-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

From The Journal Times

Police shot and killed a pitbull dog Monday night after it reportedly charged at an officer.
Racine police went to 1635 Erie St. at 8:45 p.m. to arrest a man wanted on probation hold for several misdemeanor charges. As police surrounded the house, the dog broke free of its chain and charged an officer, according to police spokesman Sgt. Marty Pavilonis.
The officer shot the dog, killing the animal.
Officers took the wanted man, Antonio Redick, 24, of Racine, into custody. He is being held at the Racine County Jail on charges of battery and disorderly conduct.

Family dog badly burned after puppy chews through cable

2011-08-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

By Tracey Roxburgh, Otago Daily Times

Meet Demon. The 2-year-old English mastiff-American red nose pit bull cross was, until Saturday a happy-go-lucky, lovable and loved family pet.
However, when his 10-month-old brother Sultin, chewed through a phone cable in the garage of his Cromwell home, life changed for Demon and his owner.
Southern Fire Region fire safety officer Stuart Ide, of Cromwell, said it appeared the fire started when the puppy chewed through a cellphone cable while the phone was charging.
"The dog was prone to doing that ... the armchair caught on fire. We can't prove [that was the cause of the fire], but it's very likely."
Mr Ide said the garage was badly damaged. The puppy died while Demon, who weighs about 30kg, hid underneath covers on a bed and has been left with injuries which would have him classified as a critical care patient in human terms.
Owner Russell Davies was not at home when the fire started, but said he was grateful to those who rescued Demon, particularly the dog's "second owner" Draydon Sinclair.
Mr Sinclair told the Otago Daily Times when he realised the garage was on fire he opened the door and called for the dogs.
Demon "came running out", still "smoking".
"I grabbed a hose and just put it on him."
Pets and Vets veterinarian Orla Fitzpatrick, of Queenstown, treated Demon in Cromwell on Saturday afternoon and said the dog was in extreme pain.
Demon also suffered bad smoke inhalation, his eyelids were badly burned, he had burns to one leg and his ears would have to be removed.
Demon was heavily sedated, put on IV antibiotics as well as fluids and can now be hand fed.
He had also been going for small walks, she said.
"He's such a wonderful dog, he's just beautiful ... he's just like a big teddy bear."
Unfortunately, his treatment is expensive - the bill is already about $2000.
Mr Davies knew he could not afford to pay the bill. Pets and Vets would give a discount, but the bill could still be a few thousand dollars.
"The owners and friends are going to try and chip in as much as they can."
The clinic might organise a charity quiz to raise money for Demon, but also wanted to launch a public fundraising effort to assist with Demon's vet bill.

Update August 10, 2011 - The following article is by Tracey Roxburgh, Otago Daily News:

Offers of help for Demon

Staff at Pets and Vets, Queenstown, were kept busy yesterday with offers of help for Demon, the 2-year-old English mastiff-American red-nose pit bull-cross badly burned in a fire in Cromwell on Saturday.
Yesterday, the Otago Daily Times reported Demon, who hid under covers on a bed in the burning garage, suffered third-degree burns to his back, face and left leg.
The fire is thought to have started when Sultin, a 10-month-old American blue-nose pit bull-cross, chewed through a phone-charger cable. Sultin died in the fire.
Demon was taken to Pets and Vets Queenstown, where he is likely to remain for "months".
Yesterday, veterinary nurse Clare Temperton said Demon had been put under general anaesthetic to have burnt skin removed from his body to prevent infection.
Treatments like that would be required "every few days" and the cost of it was expensive - a bill which was out of reach for Demon's owner, Russell Davies.
After Demon's story ran in the ODT yesterday, Ms Temperton said many people had either called the clinic or popped in to offer financial support or products which would be raffled off to raise money for his treatment. Mr Davies was also fundraising in Cromwell, she said.
"People are really getting behind it. Today we must have raised about $200."
While "every bit counts", the cost of Demon's treatment was likely to be at least $10,000, particularly if he required skin grafts.
Pets and Vets was running a raffle comprising goods which had been offered to the clinic and was also considering other fund-raising ideas.
It was possible the clinic would organise a quiz night in the next few weeks, where the raffle would be drawn and people "could come along and check on Demon's progress".

Update August 26, 2011 - The following article is by Tracey Roxburgh, Otago Daily Times:

Burned dog Demon healing well

After a tough start, Demon, the badly burned canine, is progressing well; as is the fundraising to help with his care.
Demon is a 2-year-old English mastiff crossed with an American rednose pit bull.
Earlier this month the Otago Daily Times reported Demon hid under the covers of a bed in a Cromwell garage during a fire on August 6, but suffered third-degree burns to his back, face and left leg. The fire is thought to have started when his canine companion Sultin chewed through a live power cable.
Sultin died in the fire, while Demon was taken to Pets'n Vets Queenstown.
Demon had been placed under general anaesthetic every few days to have burnt skin removed from his body and, while the past three and a-half weeks had been "tough going", he was starting to heal, veterinarian Dr Orla Fitzpatrick said.
Although he had required a significant amount of "intensive care", his personality had begun to return and he was even well enough to take daily walks.
Pets'n Vets launched a fundraising appeal after Demon was hurt, to help his owner, Russell Davies, with vet bills. About $2200 had been raised through cash donations, and many raffle prizes had come in.

Report of a man who had slammed pit bull to the ground

2011-08-09T07:24:00.000-07:00

From The Monterey County Herald

Animal Control received a report of a man who had slammed a pit bull to the ground. A follow-up was conducted at Aguajito Animal Hospital where the dog underwent surgery to repair a broken femur. The incident occurred in the 1100 block of Noche Buena Street and the case is still under investigation.

Man Claims He Witnessed Shelter Gassing Cats, Raccoon Together

2011-08-09T07:11:00.000-07:00

From WGHP

A Lexington man said he saw Davidson County Animal Shelter employees laugh as they put a mother cat, her kitten and a raccoon into the same compartment of the shelter's gas chamber in 2009 and let them fight before they were euthanized.

According to the Winston-Salem Journal, Paul Carawan said he will tell his story to the county commissioners tonight at a meeting at which animal advocates are asking the Davidson County Sheriff's Office, which runs the shelter, to switch to lethal injection as a more humane form of euthanasia.

The shelter also has used the gas chamber to euthanize kittens, puppies and sick animals, according to public records obtained from the shelter by animal advocate Tina York.

The N.C. Animal Welfare Administrative Code prohibits use of the gas chamber for animals that appear to be 16 weeks or younger, pregnant or near death. It also requires that all animals in the chamber be of the same species.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has recommended these restrictions because it takes sick, younger or older animals longer to absorb the gas, resulting in a slower death.

Sheriff David Grice did not return multiple messages from the Journal on Monday. The sheriff, who owns three rescued dogs of his own, has said shelter employees don't want to euthanize animals. He said the shelter selected the gas chamber, based on veterinarian recommendations, as the most humane way to deal with the more than 6,000 animals that must be put down each year.

Shelter records from June 9 through July 8 indicate 12 kittens, including two that were sick, and four puppies were euthanized with carbon monoxide. An 8-week-old pit bull and a 3-month-old pit bull are the only ones whose specific ages were listed. The records also indicate the gas chamber was used for an "elderly, blind, sick" Chihuahua abandoned at Thomasville Veterinary Hospital and taken by Thomasville police to the shelter.

The records indicate that some puppies and kittens were euthanized by lethal injection, as were some adult dogs and cats.

Paul Carawan, a private commercial contract worker in Lexington, said he was called to the shelter to fix a problem with the Internet on June 29, 2009. He was working in a room with the gas chamber when two shelter employees put a raccoon inside with a mother cat and her kitten.

"The gas chamber has two windows, one on either side," Carawan said. "The raccoon and the adult cat started fighting. Then they turned the gas on. The adult cat got on one corner and the raccoon got on the other, and as soon as they turned on the gas, the kitten started shaking and going into convulsions."

Carawan does not know the shelter employees' names and did not contact the sheriff's office or file a complaint. He said he was sickened by the incident and just wanted to forget it. He doesn't work in animal rescue, but he plans to speak to the commissioners because he works with York's husband and she urged him to come forward when she heard the story.

Colorado Springs police fatally shoot "charging" pit bull

2011-08-09T06:50:00.000-07:00

By Kieran Nicholson, The Denver Post

A pit bull was fatally shot in Colorado Springs when the dog attacked officers, police said.
The incident happened at about 1:15 p.m. Monday at 1330 Potter Drive, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department crime blotter.
Police were called to an apartment building on a domestic violence complaint. A maintenance man at the building had intervened in the alleged violence, between a man and a woman, when he was attacked by two pit bulls. When police arrived the two pit bulls "charged" officers, the blotter said.
Officers fired at the dogs, killing one and forcing the other into an apartment where it was kept at bay until animal control took it away.
The man involved in the domestic violence complaint, identified as Robert Harris, was arrested on suspicion of assault. Harris was also wanted on two outstanding warrants, police said.

Dog sought after biting incident

2011-08-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

From The Ithaca Journal

The Tompkins County Health Department is trying to contact the owner of a dog named Lucy that bit a 20-year-old female between 6 and 7 p.m. Sunday evening in front of a restaurant on Aurora Street between State and Seneca streets.

Lucy is 2 years old and mostly black with pit bull features, according to the Health Department.
The bite victim described the dog owner as a 6-foot-tall middle-aged man with gray hair.
If the dog can be located and remains healthy until Aug. 17, the risk of rabies infection can be ruled out and rabies post-exposure shots will not be needed.
The Health Department urges anyone with information regarding this dog to call the Environmental Health Division immediately at 274-6688.

Dog-on-dog attacks reported in Elgin

2011-08-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

From The Courier News

One dog was killed and another injured Sunday in separate canine attacks, police said.

In the first incident, a poodle was killed when a pit bull jumped through a screened window and attacked as the poodle’s owners walked it Sunday afternoon.

According to a police report, the poodle’s owners were walking the dog about 3:15 p.m. in the 400 block of Lawrence Avenue past a house with “Beware of dog” warning signs and a fence, but with the fence gate open. As they walked past, the pit bull jumped through a screened window and attacked the smaller dog, shaking it until it died. The dog’s owner’s fiancee shouted, trying to get the pit bull off the smaller dog, the report said, but was unable to until after the poodle was killed.

While the dog’s owner, who arrived after the attack, said the dog had never been aggressive, another window in the house was broken by the dog in the past, he told police. The pit bull’s owner was issued citations charging attacking and biting/prohibited conduct, having no collar and tags, allowing a dog at large, and vicious behavior by a dog. The pit bull’s owner agreed to reimburse the poodle’s owner for the cost of the dog, which had been purchased a few days earlier, and for the dog’s cremation, the report said.

A second dog-on-dog attack was reported at 6:30 p.m. Sunday in the 1100 block of Spring Creek Road. According to police, a boxer/Labrador mix ran out of its home and attacked a dog, no breed available, as the owner walked it past the home. The second dog was not killed but did have puncture wounds. The owner of the attacking dog was issued a citation for dangerous behavior, reports said.

Pit bulls attack grandfather and his grandson

2011-08-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

By Andrew Adams, KSL

Two pit bulls attacked a grandfather and his grandson as they were out walking a dog.
The grandfather, Lamont Kinder, and his grandson, Dominick Rangel, 6, were walking along the sidewalk with their Chihuahua near 100 East Herbert Avenue when two pit bulls started barking and running aggressively toward the fence. Somehow, the two dogs escaped and attacked Kinder and his grandson.
Teary-eyed as they spoke, the family said they will be scarred for life. They said Dominick had half of his ear taken off and had several bites to the stomach. Kinder also has several bites, including his ear nearly ripped off.
"He cared more about them than he did himself, so he got the worst of it," said his wife Georgia Kinder. "He loves animals and he doesn't think he'll ever stop and say high to dogs or vicious animals again."
Kinder will go in for reconstructive surgery Monday afternoon and Rangel will remain at Primary Children's Medical Center.
The family is unsure what to do next, but Rangel's mother, Melanie, said the owner of the two dogs should be cited.
Animal control appeared shortly after to impound the two pit bulls. The owner of the dogs was not home and all attempts to contact them have failed.
Nearby neighbors said the dogs were constantly barking, calling them "fence aggressive." However, none of them could recall anything like this happening before.

Related articles:

Man and grandson hospitalized after dog attack - KSTU
Salt Lake man, grandson hospitalized following attack by 2 pit bulls - Deseret News

Pit bull gets loose, accused of killing another dog

2011-08-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

From Naples Daily News

A Fort Myers family is dealing with the loss of their dog Candy, after a pit bull attacked it on Friday evening.

According to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office report:
A woman and her grandson were sitting outside with Candy, when a neighbor’s pit bull approached them and began attacking their 10-year-old Pekingese.
As the pit bull attacked Candy, the woman and her grandson ran to another neighbor’s house.
The Pekingese took a bite to her midsection and defecated while she was being squeezed.
Candy’s abdomen was swollen and her hind legs were injured so badly she could not walk.
The owner said she was in obvious pain, but they did not have the money to take Candy to the vet and she died.
The pit bull’s owner states that his 3-year-old dog, named Tyson, was left in a kennel in his back yard and that it escaped while he was gone.
The kennel has a wooden floor and is enclosed with fencing. It appears the pit bull pushed part of the bottom of the fence to escape. The dog was in the house when deputies questioned the owner about the incident.
Animal control was notified. They issued tickets to each of the owners because neither dog was licensed or vaccinated.

Woman Says Puppy Killed After She Refused Sex With Boyfriend

2011-08-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

By Tihanna McCleese & Kathy Paez, KTXL

An argument between Charlotte Greene and her 30-year-old boyfriend Daniel Baxter ended tragically inside a Stockton apartment Sunday morning.
Greene's puppy Feisty, a two-month-old red nose pitbull was thrown against a wall so hard, vets had to put it down. Stockton Police say it was Baxter who did it.
Still shaken up over the incident, Charlotte could barely speak as she gave FOX40 News her account.
At 5 this morning she says Baxter came to her home drunk demanding sex, when she refused, he went after the baby pit bull.
"He woke her too hard, punched her and threw her against the wall. I told him stop and then ran to the bathroom and started crying," says Greene.
Broken ribs, bruises and a broken jaw left Feisty unable to walk. Greene says Daniel called paramedics for help but police showed up instead.
Police did escort Charlotte and Feisty to an emergency veterinarian, but the puppy suffered such severe brain trauma she had to be put down.
The woman can’t replace her pup, but she did have a message for her now ex-boyfriend.
"I just want him to get help, like anger management or program for him to stop drinking."
Baxter is facing a charge of animal cruelty. He is also facing parole violation charges and is ineligible for bail.

Video

Related articles:

Police: Man Throws Puppy Against Wall, Is Arrested - KCRA

Police Kill Pit Bull After Attack In Lima

2011-08-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

From WFIN

Lima police were forced to shoot and kill a pit bull Friday night. The Lima News reports the incident happened after the dog jumped out of a window of a home in the 300 block of S. McDonel St. and attempted to attack a family walking by. The dog then turned its attention to a 9-year-old boy, who was able to avoid being bitten by using his bike as a shield. Police were able to distract the dog, and when it charged them it was shot and killed.
The dog's owner, 34-year-old Shalitta Cole, was arrested. She faces charges related to harboring a vicious animal and improper confinement. 26-year-old Matthew Cole, who kept the dog from attacking his children as they were walking by, suffered bites and scrapes and was treated at St. Rita's Medical Center.

Pit bull attacks eight year old boy

2011-08-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

By Hayley Cooper, AM 1150

A Young Kelowna boy is recovering after being attacked by a pit bull.
Zack Williams was visiting his neighbors home on Friday when their pit bull attacked the eight year old, puncturing his cheek and throat, both requiring stitches and gluing to close.
Zach's mother Tamie says the same pit bull attacked a tiny dog four months ago.
Tamie says she plans of contacting the Regional District of the Central Okanagan, saying laws that give owners the right to deny having their pit bulls destroyed need to be changed.
"The main change we want is for by law officers to have more leeway in what they can do. The old english myth of a first bite needs to go. If that dog had been taken care of after the first incident, my son wouldn't be scarred for life."
Tamie says as far as she's heard the owner has finally agreed to have the pit bull put down, possibly today.
The Williams family is starting a facebook page called "Stricter Dog Laws in the Okanagan" and is encouraging people to join and share their stories.

Update August 8, 2011 - The following article is by Wayne Moore, Castanet:

Pitbull put down

The pitbull that attacked and bit an eight-year-old boy in West Kelowna has been put down.
Regional District Communications Coordinator, Bruce Smith, says the owners of the dog voluntarily surrendered the dog and signed the order on the weekend.
The dog was put down Monday afternoon.
Zach Williams was at a friend's house Friday night. Zach, eight, was petting the dog while the two were on a couch when the dog attacked.
The boy needed 40 stitches to close wounds in his cheek and throat.
While Tamie Williams is asking that Regional District bylaws be toughened, Smith says he believes the current bylaw is a good one.
Smith says the bylaw is fair and has the best interests of public safety in mind.
In a situation like this, Smith says one of two things can happen.
The owners can voluntarily surrender the dog and agree to have it put down or they can go to court and fight the request.
Smith says Williams is writing a letter to the RCDO's Dog Advisory Committee outlining her concerns.
"I encouraged her to do what she feels she needs to do," says Smith.
In 2010, Smith says 49 dog bites were reported. Border Collie/Cross were responsible for 5, Rottweiller/Cross and Australian Shepherds four each.
'Other' breeds were responsible for 23 bites.
The previous year, 63 bites were reported, 10 by Lab/Cross, seven by Rottweilers and three were attributed to Pitbulls.
"It comes down to responsible down ownership," adds Smith.
"The first step is getting your dog licensed. That shows you are taking ownership of that dog seriously."
Smith says dog owners need to be aware of their surroundings and aware that other people are around.
"You are responsible for the care and the control of your dog."

Related articles:

Boy scarred for life after dog attack - Castanet
8 year-old boy bitten by repeat offender - Mom wants tougher laws - CFJC
Pit Bull destroyed following attack on boy - Global Saskatoon
Attacking pitbull euthanized - AM 1150

Neenah police seek owner of abandoned dog

2011-08-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

From Appleton Post-Crescent

Police today are looking for the owner of a dog abandoned Sunday at Washington Park.
Officers received a report about 8:15 p.m. that a man tied the dog to a fence post and left in what was possibly an older model, red car.
The dog, a younger, brown Pit Bull terrier, was taken to the Neenah Animal Shelter. It wore a black harness collar with a paw print design.
Anyone with information on the dog’s owner is asked to call the Neenah Police Department at 920-886-6000.

St. Louis Police Officer Shoots, Kills Pit Bull

2011-08-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

From KPLR

Police Say The Dog Attacked the Officer's Dog

Two juveniles are in custody Sunday night after allegedly taking two pit bulls into the backyard of an off-duty police officer and leting them attack the officer's dog.

It happened just after 5:30 p.m. on Summit in North City. Police say the officer heard the fight in his yard,tried to break it up, but couldn't. He fired a shot from his personal gun and killed one of the pit bulls. The other pit bull ran away.

The officer's dog was injured and is okay.

Owner of pit bulls that mauled another dog fined

2011-08-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

From The Star-Press

More than two years after her three pit bulls fatally mauled a neighbor’s German shepherd, a Muncie woman has been fined $300 and convicted of violating a city ordinance.
Jane Barrett, 71, last week pleaded guilty in Muncie City Court to allowing a vicious dog to go unconfined. In addition to the fine, she was also ordered to pay $115 in court costs.
The case stems from events on April 3, 2009, when authorities said Barrett’s dogs forced their way through a privacy fence and attacked a German shepherd. The German shepherd did not survive the attack, and the pit bulls were shot to death by police with the permission of their owner.
The charges were filed against Barrett in May 2009. Hearings in the case were repeatedly postponed, and it had been set for trial last Tuesday, when it was finally resolved.

Related articles:

Owner of pit bulls that mauled German shepherd fined $300 - The Star Press

A well-trained dog is less likely to attack

2011-08-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

By Dr. Mark Rubensohn, Calgary Herald

The recent, very unfortunate event in Didsbury, where two Akitas attacked and seriously injured two young people who were known to them, as well as their dog, highlights the problem of dog attacks and what brings them about.
There is no doubt a number of facts led to this particular attack.
There were newborn (four days old) puppies and the mother dog would have been increasingly protective. The owner, who would have had the most control over the Akitas, was away. She would instil a sense of trust and calm in her dogs, which was not there due to her absence.
The couple's beagle coming into the environment of the bitch with the newborn puppies would almost surely have aggravated the mother Akita's protective instincts. Dog aggression will be compounded by the flight and panic of the object of their attack. If the beagle and its owners were yelling in flight, then the aggression would have been aggravated.
What has made this incident even more sinister is that the couple and their beagle were well known to the Akitas, and that despite their attempts to escape, the Akitas pursued them until they could fight their way out of the garage.
The reality remains, however, that despite the fact we are talking about people's pets - our best friends and constant companions - animals we love dearly, and pets that are regarded as part of the family, we experience aggression, biting, nipping and dominant behaviour continuously from our dogs. As a veterinarian, it is of great concern to me that so many of our dogs cannot be controlled by their owners, and that they are undisciplined, regardless of their size or breed. One need only tune into an episode of Cesar Millan's Dog Whisperer on TV to see how dogs are ruling their people's behaviour, rather than the other way around.
The statistics of dog attacks show without exception that dogs that have been trained and are obedient have a statistically hugely lower incidence of attacks on people. This includes all breeds, both large and small. In the U.K., Labradors have been one of the top listed breeds involved in attacks. Here in Canada and the U.S., German shepherds were for a long time on top of the list, but have now been replaced by the power breeds of pit bulls, cane corsos - and now, we have a case of Akitas. The big difference with the power breeds, of course, is that they do more harm than the smaller breeds.
We would do well to remember that the happiest dogs are those to which we assign jobs and work, and from which we demand respect for our rules. No matter what the breed, all of our dogs have been bred to work, and we need to not only allow them, but to teach them how to do this. All dogs should know how to sit on command, to heel, lie down, stay, come, and walk on a leash without pulling.
No dog should jump up on us without being invited to do so, or jump onto the furniture without invitation. Food should not be available all day, but should be given twice daily with the requirement that the dog sits obediently and only takes the food on command. Praise and reward should be earned, and not unconditional.
And the best love that you can give your dog is to give it adequate exercise and attention. If you need help in how to do this, watch the Dog Whisperer, and if necessary, enrol in training classes, which are available all over, and conveniently for us, with the Calgary Humane Society.
If you want to see a happy dog, attend a show of Super Dogs or go to any dog agility trial.
All of this is available in Calgary. Empower your pet to attain its true potential with your help. That is what loving your pet is really about.

Firefighters battle apartment blaze in downtown Fredericksburg

2011-08-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

By Edie Gross, The Free Lance-Star

An evening fire in downtown Fredericksburg heavily damaged a Caroline Street apartment and left three pets dead, including a pit bull who had spent the day visiting a local nursing home.
The fire in the third-floor apartment of 710 Caroline St. was reported at 8:09 p.m.
Ben Packett, who lives in an apartment in the building next door, said he and his friends were watching the movie "The Prestige" when they smelled smoke. The group had grilled on their back porch earlier in the evening, and they thought the scent might be coming from there. But the grill was cool.
"We ran out on our deck and turned to the other side and saw smoke rolling out the window" of the apartment next door, said Packett. "In the window, everything was red and flaming."
They called 911 and then ran through their building to make sure it was evacuated. Then they went next door to Old Town Psychic, the business on the ground floor of 710 Caroline St., to warn them, "which was a little ironic," said Packett.
Firefighters arrived in less than a minute, he said.
Katherine Quann was just finishing up a trolley tour when she pulled the vehicle onto Caroline Street and saw a firetruck racing past.
"I thought, 'OK, this isn't good,'" she said. "Then they started breaking glass. It was scary. They were not fooling around."
According to Natatia Bledsoe, spokeswoman for the Fredericksburg police, a full detachment from the city plus an engine and medic crew from Falmouth arrived to find the third-floor apartment kitchen burning and the apartment full of smoke.
Resident Nik Lynch was not home at the time.
Firefighters quickly brought the blaze under control, and damage was primarily confined to the kitchen of the 700-square-foot apartment, Bledsoe said in a statement.
The apartment is uninhabitable. The second-floor apartment and ground-floor business should be habitable by tomorrow or Tuesday, Bledsoe said.
Officials estimate the damage to the building, which dates to 1835, at $75,000.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Lynch was staying with friends last night and planned to contact the Red Cross today. He lost two cats and his dog, Pee Diddle, in the fire.
"He was a sweet dog that spent Saturdays at Carriage Hill Nursing Home," Lynch said. "He was a very popular dog around town."

Thief steals puppy and electronics

2011-08-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

From Athens Banner-Herald

A Kirby Lane woman said someone broke into her home sometime during the day Friday, taking a 42-inch flat-screen TV worth $600, a $1,000 laptop computer, an XBox game system and her blue pit bull puppy, according to an Athens-Clarke police report.

Pit bull adopted after 8 years in 'jail' dies

2011-08-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

By Deborah Stocks, KNXV

A pit bull that for over eight years lived in Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Madison Street jail animal shelter has died.

"Queen" was taken in to be cared for by the female inmates at the MCSO Animal Safe Haven (MASH) after she was found left in a backyard for three weeks without food or water while her owner went on vacation.
Queen stayed at the shelter for eight years before Dr. Eva DeCozio-Bush, Founder of Panacea Animal Wellness Sanctuary, took her in October 2010 after Arpaio told her at a fundraiser, "I don't want Queenie to die in jail."
Queen was adopted by Susan Laing in April of this year and was living a good life, including a trip to Dallas.
"He had a last name and it's really important all animals have a last name," DeCozio-Bush said.
Then on Thursday, Laing took Queen to DeCozio-Bush, who is also Medical Director at VCA Apache Junction Animal Hospital, after the dog became weak.
They found Queen had a tumor on her liver that ruptured and in spite of a 2-1/2 hour surgery, DeCozio-Bush was unable to save the dog's life.
Donations are now being accepted in Queen's memory to build a dog sanctuary named after her. To get more information go to the Panacea Animal Wellness Sanctuary website .

New clinic aims to help control pet population free of charge

2011-08-05T14:52:00.000-07:00

By Michelle Boudin, WCNC

The former head of the humane society is trying to make Charlotte a no kill community for stray animals.

Charlotte's Animal Care and Control took in almost 19,000 strays in 2010.

12,000 cats and dogs were put to sleep because there's no room to house them.

The former head of the humane society is taking things into her own hands, as she tries to make charlotte a no-kill community.

Trey, a pet to Casandra Mooney, was wobbly on his feet as he prepared to be neutered on Friday morning.

“He’s a sweetheart, pitbull, but a sweetheart,” said Mooney about Trey.

She found Trey and now he's the latest stray her family has rescued.

“We’re on the sixth or seventh version of Trey and it gets financially to be kind of a burden to be able to take on vaccinations and spay and neuter,” said Mooney.

Mooney went to Spay Neuter Charlotte, a non-profit clinic.

Cary Bernstein, the former head of the humane society, opened the clinic this week.

“In general I think the public is very caring where animals are concerned, I just don’t know that they understand that our community euthanizes 12,000 healthy animals a year,” Bernstein said.

Bernstein believes controlling the pet population is the answer.

“If you have an animal and you don’t want a litter, the way to not have a litter is to have your animal fixed,” said Bernstein.

But getting animals fixed can get expensive. Some vets charge hundreds of dollars.

“I think there are lots of folks out there that want to do the right thing by their animals but can’t afford it in today’s economy,” Bernstein said.

Mooney said, “In these times I think everybody is kind of prioritizing what they can and can’t pay for and as much as we love animals it was kind of hard for us to make that decision to take in yet another knowing we were facing 6-700 dollars in additional bills.”

But having found this clinic, she says she'll probably continue to keep taking in strays.

“I think they have our name, they show up on our doorstep, we find them on every corner,” said Mooney about the stray animals who come into her home.

Currently the clinic charges around $100.00 to spay or neuter a pet. The goal is to eventually do enough fundraising to offer free spay and neuter options to clients who need it most.

Video

Owner removes pit bulls from shed

2011-08-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

From Lebanon Daily News

The owner of a shed in which four pit bulls were living on North 12th Street in Lebanon has voluntarily moved the dogs, city police Chief Dan Wright said Friday.
Word spread like wildfire on Facebook after photos and video were posted of the dogs living inside the shed. The page, "Lebanon PA Pit Bulls Living in a TIN CAN," stated the photos and video were taken by local residents who "have been trying to help these dogs for these past months and they have been bringing them food and water."
The Facebook pages of the Humane Society of Lebanon County, the Lebanon Daily News and other local media were inundated with hundreds of comments, requests for further investigation or demand for outright removal of the dogs. Some commenters said they even went as far as contacting the "Ellen Show," hosted by Ellen Degeneres.
Wright said, however, that multiple inspections by city police, the state dog warden and the Humane Society of Lebanon County's officer uncovered no violations of any laws, but the owner decided to move the dogs.
"We had received a complaint earlier this week," Wright said.
Inspectors found the dogs had food and water. The shed "meets all requirements set forth by the law," Wright said.
Nevertheless, the owner placed two dogs with relatives, put one in a crate inside his home and tied another one up in a shaded area of his yard, with food and water, Wright said.
The owner "voluntarily complied and rectified the problem," Wright said.
In response to the comments, the Humane Society of Lebanon County posted on their Facebook page that a police officer and supervising humane officer went back to the home Friday to continue their investigation.
The shelter commenter stated that the "owners were extremely cooperative and stated the officers could return for unannounced checks at any time. Your concerns are taken very seriously & we will continue to monitor the situation daily."