MS - Tony Evans, 3, mauled to death by pit bull, Jackson, 23 July 2008

[SewingDeb]

This dog looks like a Dogo to me. They are usually very gentle with children but are bred to hunt wild boar.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=SUNA,SUNA:2007-07,SUNA:en&q=Dogo

 

[miss_vegemite]

Look,im really not blaming the animal....its an animal.
But I wouldnt recomend keeping a cougar or a wild boar as a pet in your yard or let rattlesnakes and scorpians crawl around your living room.
None of those animals could be blamed when someone got hurt if we were foolish enough to do that
But people should be smart enough to figure out that some animals are not MEANT to be pets .
I think the statistics speak pretty loudly that Pit Bulls fall under that category.
I see already as I post this we have ANOTHER thread with a child losing a limb to one of these dogs.
There are a million breeds of dogs out there that do make good pets if you really love this breed so much stop putting them in the situation where this kind of tragedy can happen and some child AND the pit bull are going to have to pay for it.

Great post kline:clap:

 

[becklynn]

I was raised with my dad breeding hunting dogs. We had 2 chow chows as our family dogs. I can tell you it is a fact different breeds can act very differently.
Our Chows allowed no one on our property. We had to put them in a room or a pen just to allow family in the house. My brother adopted an English Bull from the humane society, had him fixed and all his shots and had to have him put down {euthanised, killed} because the dog attacked him and his daughter when he was feeding it.
No all dogs aren't mean because of their oweners. Though I must say chaining a dog would certainly make it mean. Pit Bulls are not bred to fight each other. They are bred to be Pit Bulls and they will turn on their owner like a dime.
My son and his wife have a husky chow mix and a wolf. They just had a baby and are planning to get rid of the husky chow mix because it is aggressive. The wolf is actually very protective of the baby but I want both of them gone. Children make high pitched noises like an injured animal and will be attacked.

 

[Medea]

Look,im really not blaming the animal....its an animal.
But I wouldnt recomend keeping a cougar or a wild boar as a pet in your yard or let rattlesnakes and scorpians crawl around your living room.
None of those animals could be blamed when someone got hurt if we were foolish enough to do that
But people should be smart enough to figure out that some animals are not MEANT to be pets .
I think the statistics speak pretty loudly that Pit Bulls fall under that category.
I see already as I post this we have ANOTHER thread with a child losing a limb to one of these dogs.
There are a million breeds of dogs out there that do make good pets if you really love this breed so much stop putting them in the situation where this kind of tragedy can happen and some child AND the pit bull are going to have to pay for it.

I'm sorry, comparing a dog to a couger or a rattlesnake is pretty far out.

In THIS CASE the owner admits the dog was chained in the back yard 24 hours a day and that it was used for "protection" only...its clear from the photo that the dog was severely neglected. If we're going to be involved in far out analogies then the analogy can be that if you abuse a human often times the human will turn into an abuser...the same with a dog, if you abuse a dog, often it will become mean.

Whoever said pit bulls were bred indiscriminately to attack anything simply does not know what they are talking about. They are NOT BRED to be human aggressive even by illegal dog fighters.

Pit bulls do make good pets, just like any other dog, if they are treated properly and owned by a responsible person.

Me, I wouldn't let a 3 year old child anywhere NEAR a large breed dog or any dog dog for that matter unless I was 1 foot away and 100% focused on that child, and even then only with a dog I was very familiar with...

It's sad to see the media hysteria has created so many people who are "sure" that its all the fault of the pit bull and they don't seem to comprehend that a dog is what its owner makes him.

Frankly, it should be ILLEGAL to leave a dog chained in a back yard all day and night, its a form of animal cruelty especially for a pack animal like a dog.

I know several people who own pit bulls or pit mixes and they have NEVER had any trouble with the dogs, the dogs are in fact very protective of the family's children. Why? Because these are responsible owners who treat the pet as part of the family, not igorant thugs who want the dog for protection or status or fighting it.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66132&highlight=Pit+Bulls+Tulsa

 

[Pandora]

Pit bulls do make good pets, just like any other dog, if they are treated properly and owned by a responsible person.

I almost agree with this statement. I just want to change one word: "Pit bulls can make good pets. . . ."

I am not a dog person generally, although I did have one (cocker spaniel) while I was growing up. Lady was an amazing dog BUT she was not good with ill-behaved children. If they hurt her, she would hurt them. She never did more than snarl, snap and occasionally bite, but we knew if there were kids around who did not know how to treat animals there would be a problem. We currently have a cat who does not like strangers. She will run away, but if backed into a corner, she'll fight--hard. She's part bengal and not a breed for everyone. We don't have kids and she likes Mama & Daddy just fine. (Shelter rescue--was to have been put down less than 24 hours after I got her.) Both Lady and Pandora have made wonderful pets for me, but they wouldn't have made good pets for people with no sense of responsibility.

 

[kline]

I'm sorry, comparing a dog to a couger or a rattlesnake is pretty far out.

In THIS CASE the owner admits the dog was chained in the back yard 24 hours a day and that it was used for "protection" only...its clear from the photo that the dog was severely neglected. If we're going to be involved in far out analogies then the analogy can be that if you abuse a human often times the human will turn into an abuser...the same with a dog, if you abuse a dog, often it will become mean.

Whoever said pit bulls were bred indiscriminately to attack anything simply does not know what they are talking about. They are NOT BRED to be human aggressive even by illegal dog fighters.

Pit bulls do make good pets, just like any other dog, if they are treated properly and owned by a responsible person.

Me, I wouldn't let a 3 year old child anywhere NEAR a large breed dog or any dog dog for that matter unless I was 1 foot away and 100% focused on that child, and even then only with a dog I was very familiar with...

It's sad to see the media hysteria has created so many people who are "sure" that its all the fault of the pit bull and they don't seem to comprehend that a dog is what its owner makes him.

Frankly, it should be ILLEGAL to leave a dog chained in a back yard all day and night, its a form of animal cruelty especially for a pack animal like a dog.

I know several people who own pit bulls or pit mixes and they have NEVER had any trouble with the dogs, the dogs are in fact very protective of the family's children. Why? Because these are responsible owners who treat the pet as part of the family, not igorant thugs who want the dog for protection or status or fighting it.

I would agree that chaining a dog up all day and night is animal abuse,Ive always thought so.
And certainly the way the animal is treated by its owners can certainly be an agravating factor.
But sadly alot of breeds are neglected in this fashion by its owners and you dont see the sheer number of deadly or maiming attacks associated with Pit Bulls.
And 'far out' or not id be willing to bet far more injuries and deaths can be attributed to Pit Bulls in any given year then Cougars or Rattlesnakes.
Why? Because those animals arent used as pets and routinely moved into a household in close proximity with children.
Alot of these dogs were 'Part of the Family'...until they weren't.
I still do not understand with all the animals to choose from that make safe pets...knowing what people know of the potential problems associated with this breed... why on earth do people still insist on putting these dogs in this situation?
What is it that makes it 'worth the risk at all costs' so to speak??
Because frankly utterly selfish denial is the only explanation I can see.
Please someone enlighten us.

 

[Medea]

I would agree that chaining a dog up all day and night is animal abuse,Ive always thought so.
And certainly the way the animal is treated by its owners can certainly be an agravating factor.
But sadly alot of breeds are neglected in this fashion by its owners and you dont see the sheer number of deadly or maiming attacks associated with Pit Bulls.
And 'far out' or not id be willing to bet far more injuries and deaths can be attributed to Pit Bulls in any given year then Cougars or Rattlesnakes.
Why? Because those animals arent used as pets and routinely moved into a household in close proximity with children.
Alot of these dogs were 'Part of the Family'...until they weren't.
I still do not understand with all the animals to choose from that make safe pets...knowing what people know of the potential problems associated with this breed... why on earth do people still insist on putting these dogs in this situation?
What is it that makes it 'worth the risk at all costs' so to speak??
Because frankly utterly selfish denial is the only explanation I can see.
Please someone enlighten us.

To me, it is "worth the risk" because I hate to see such uniformed opinions and how easily people are swayed by media coverage to decide that an entire breed of dog is "bad" and should be destroyed when they don't know anything about the history of the breed or its traits or anything about dog bit statistics....what I see is a knee jerk emotional reaction based on media hype.

Fatal and serious dog maulings are extremely rare to begin with, there are MILLIONS of dogs and only a handful of these kinds of incidents, so that would tell you that overwhelmingly the vast majority of pit bulls don't kill or attach anyone. Media coverage blows these attacks out of all proportion.

It's also true that more bites are from smaller dogs than big dogs, but a large breed dog that does attack is going to be able to do a lot more damage than a small one, so its only logical that a pit bull, rottweiller or German shepherd type of dog would be involved in more serious dog injuries than a medium sized dog. It also makes sense that an aggressive dog is more likely to attack than a dog that was bred for other traits, that's why owners of large breed dogs need to be especially responsible.

My opinion is that the media ALWAYS covers any pit bull attack and doesn't necessarily cover those from other dogs. Interestly, there is a thread about a LAB that killed a baby today and almost every poster refuses to believe the lab killed the baby...when Labradors have definitely been involved in other deaths, you just don't hear about it. It also makes sense that when a dog becomes a fad, especially a fad among the lowest rung of society, that you are going to have az higher number of irresponsible owners and that alone could account for why pit bulls are involved in a lot of attacks.

I am planning to adopt a rescue pit bull for the very reason of all the prejudice and misinformation I see on this thread. The dogs are KNOWN for being good with children and very loyal and willing to please humans...that's part of the reason dog fighters use them is they are NOT human aggressive.

Lastly, when I read stories about how the "family" dog attacked someone with no provocation, I don't believe it. Dogs don't attack w/no provocation certainly not to the point of killing someone....It is my opinion that these dogs were ALREADY unbalanced, probably mistreated or neglected and of course the owner is never going to admit this...they're going to say 'oh we're so shocked..blah, blah, blah.

I

 

[sandraladeda]

I found a couple interesting websites, I apologize if these have been posted before....
http://www.dogsbite.org/dangerous-dogs.htm

It is interesting to click on "Pit Bull Myths" at this site.

Quote:
Courts across the country have declared pit bulls as "lethal weapons." Police officers have the right to shoot and kill when under threat or when protecting citizens. Examples of officers shooting pit bulls are a daily occurrence in the news. They are often quoted as saying, "The taser did not stop the dog. I had to use my gun."

So how does a common citizen stop a lethal weapon that chooses to go after a child, a dog or ourselves? This is a question all citizens must ask their public policy makers. Communities are ill equipped to deal with wild animals capable of unstoppable aggression. We are also ill equipped to deal with dogs that demonstrate the same trait. Even when a pit bull is challenged by a group of humans it will not retreat. Wild animals, on the other hand, have self-preservation instincts. They usually flee when confronted in the same manner.

Another one - http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/danger.htm

Scroll down to "Canine Homicide Statistics - very informative.....

 

[Medea]

This is a pretty anti dog web site and it continues to site the "study" that done by a review of newspaper accounts of dog attacks which is ridiculous and unscientific.

The only reputable study I see on that web site says 37% of fatal attacks were pits and rottweillers combined...leaving a whopping 63% of fatalaties having been at the hands of other breeds.

The pit bull myths is nothing but pure propaganda and all of these alleged "myths" are backed up by actual evidence not a bunch of newspaper articles.

 

[sandraladeda]

This is a pretty anti dog web site and it continues to site the "study" that done by a review of newspaper accounts of dog attacks which is ridiculous and unscientific.

The only reputable study I see on that web site says 37% of fatal attacks were pits and rottweillers combined...leaving a whopping 63% of fatalaties having been at the hands of other breeds.

The pit bull myths is nothing but pure propaganda and all of these alleged "myths" are backed up by actual evidence not a bunch of newspaper articles.

Propaganda? :waitasec: Who would bother to campaign against harmless animals? Who gains from it?

 

[Medea]

Propaganda? :waitasec: Who would bother to campaign against harmless animals? Who gains from it?

The same people who campaigned against witches and communists and blacks and women voting...people who are easily misled into believing false information is true and they wrongly believe they are fighting against an "evil"...

 

[sandraladeda]

The same people who campaigned against witches and communists and blacks and women voting...people who are easily misled into believing false information is true and they wrongly believe they are fighting against an "evil"...

ROFLMAO
:rolling:

 

[sandraladeda]

Interesting info from people who are smarter than me and not necessarily the biased, propagandist media....

http://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/prevguid/m0047723/m0047723.asp

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dogbreeds.pdf

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/97/6/891

 

[Medea]

I'm sorry you think ignorance is funny, I don't.

People have done all manner of stupid and terrible things based on false information and wrong ideas....we prohibited alcohol in this country based on the wrongheaded belief that getting rid of booze would improve the family lives of poor people...didn't work. We invaded Iraq based on the faulty data that it was chock full of weapons of mass destruction...it wasn't....we've spent millions of tax dollars on abstinance only education even though not one study shows it works...

Pit bulls and breed specific legislation the same thing...its hysteria, hype and anecdotal information.

Banning pit bulls will do nothing to decrease dog attacks because the thugs and irresponsible nitwits that own them for status or protection or don't know how to take care of them will just go out and get a rottweiller or an Akita or a German Shepherd and then attacks by those breeds will go up.

When you attack the symptom--dogs that bite--and not the problem--irresponsible owners you are destined to fail.

 

[Medea]

Interesting info from people who are smarter than me and not necessarily the biased, propagandist media....

http://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/prevguid/m0047723/m0047723.asp

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dogbreeds.pdf

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/97/6/891

I'm not sure if you are doing it on purpose or not, but to keep posting the same study that used media reports to calculate breed specific attacks is kind of disingenious since I've already said that I don't consider a study based on media reports to be useful for anything other than what the media reports.

The other two links as far as I can tell dont' really support your point, the pediatrics study has pits accounting for 24 of 100 or so fatalities...and the CDC also has them accounting for about a third....

Lastly, the breed of dog is ONLY ONE VARIABLE to be considered...again, if I looked only at violent crime data by race I would conclude that blacks were a more violent race because they are hugely over represented in all categories of violent crime...but I would never think that since I know that there are other factors far beyond race that affect crime statistics...the same goes for anything.

 

[sandraladeda]

I trust the CDC more than I trust someone who says "my dog wouldn't hurt anyone!"

I trust the American Association of Pediatrics more than I trust people with an emotional attachment to the breed.

Both of these organizations are in place for the benefit of the health and safety of American citizens.

It seems that if anyone says "pit bulls are dangerous", you immediately dismiss them as biased, or they have obtained their information from dodgy sources. Please let me know of better sources of information. Who are you trusting?

Many of your comments focus on fatalities alone. The grievous injuries that come from attacks are not to be taken lightly. They are not comparable, in my opinion, to the injuries inflicted by your average dog bite. You can't tell me that, when the news rolls in that, say, a husky has maimed a child, it doesn't get reported. As you well know, there was a report today of a lab puppy killing a baby. That was in the news.

If you want to have pit bulls, good for you. If you have no fear of them, good for you. Based on the best information I can find, I would avoid a pit bull. If one moved into my neighborhood, I would warn my children to be especially cautious of it. If friend had a pit bull, I would never visit their home, and it would never be welcome in my home.

I have a golden retriever, who is loveable, and safe. He is protective of my family - just a couple weeks ago, a stray dog (likely a rottie/german shepherd mixed mutt) went after me and my children as we were walking, my golden turned into a wolf and defended us all the way home to our door. I had the stray hauled away by the neighborhood constable. This same golden retriever gets invited for "sleepovers" with the little girls down the street, and their fmily loves him. I do not see the charm of keeping a dog that is frightening to people, or that they fear cannot be trusted. It would not be worth it to me.

imho

 

[Medea]

I trust the CDC more than I trust someone who says "my dog wouldn't hurt anyone!"

I trust the American Association of Pediatrics more than I trust people with an emotional attachment to the breed.

Both of these organizations are in place for the benefit of the health and safety of American citizens.

It seems that if anyone says "pit bulls are dangerous", you immediately dismiss them as biased, or they have obtained their information from dodgy sources. Please let me know of better sources of information. Who are you trusting?

Many of your comments focus on fatalities alone. The grievous injuries that come from attacks are not to be taken lightly. They are not comparable, in my opinion, to the injuries inflicted by your average dog bite. You can't tell me that, when the news rolls in that, say, a husky has maimed a child, it doesn't get reported. As you well know, there was a report today of a lab puppy killing a baby. That was in the news.

If you want to have pit bulls, good for you. If you have no fear of them, good for you. Based on the best information I can find, I would avoid a pit bull. If one moved into my neighborhood, I would warn my children to be especially cautious of it. If friend had a pit bull, I would never visit their home, and it would never be welcome in my home.

I have a golden retriever, who is loveable, and safe. He is protective of my family - just a couple weeks ago, a stray dog (likely a rottie/german shepherd mixed mutt) went after me and my children as we were walking, my golden turned into a wolf and defended us all the way home to our door. I had the stray hauled away by the neighborhood constable. This same golden retriever gets invited for "sleepovers" with the little girls down the street, and their fmily loves him. I do not see the charm of keeping a dog that is frightening to people, or that they fear cannot be trusted. It would not be worth it to me.

imho

How sad that you would end a friendship over some misguided fear of a dog breed, to each his own. And how odd that you dismiss anyone that owns a pit bull or has owned a pit bull as anecdotal information that isn't worth while yet you are absolutely convinced by media coverage of pit bull attacks, which even YOUR OWN SOURCES say are not responsible for a majority of serious attacks.

Bad owners create dogs that attack, there is no "bad" breed of dog as any legitimate expert will tell you, the problem is irresponsible owners who neglect or mistreat their dogs.

As far as being dangerous ANY large dog that has been bred for aggressive tendencies CAN BE dangerous...rotweillers, shepherds, Akitas, pit bulls, mastiffs...but no entire breed of dogs IS dangerous.

My sources, how about the Dutch government? They're lifting the ban on pit bulls because the incidence of dog bites was unaffected.
http://www.expatica.com/nl/articles/news/Dutch-Agriculture-Minister-scraps-pit-bull-ban.html

How about the British government, since their ban on "dangerous dogs" including pit bulls, dog bites have gone UP.

http://www.easier.com/view/Finance/Insurance/Pet/article-182721.html

According to the web site you linked to there were almost 400,000 dog bites that required visits to the hosital emergency room...why didn't we read 400,000 news articles on these dog bites?

There are also documented cases of golden retrievers who have maimed and killed people, so maybe you should consider calling up the constable and having your dog hauled away...just in case.

I feel sorry for you.

 

[OrdinaryLife]

What I find disturbing is not just the breed of dog blamed, but that the owners of any dog that attacks, maims, or kills is not held accountable. An animal is only as good as the owner treat them. Yes, there are dogs who do have a very nasty disposition that is not the result of ownership/treatment of pet. I know since I had a cocker spaniel I had to put down at 7 months of age. It was her breeding (not the breed) and she had what is called "rage syndrome". It was like she had some kind of rage fit, but then she was like "what?". She had no idea and it was not her fault. I could not have her around me or my family. It broke my heart, literally. There was nothing I could do for her and the kindest and safest thing was to put her down.

All that said, it does come down to how the dog was bred, how it is treated, and who is the dominate of the "pack". This dog that killed the three year old was chained in his own yard. *His* yard. That is what he knew. A three year old child, unsupervised, wanders into *his* zone, his space. It is neither the dog nor the childs fault for the tragedy that occured. It was, without a doubt, the parent's responsibilty and they failed their child.

I had done much research concerning dogs especially after putting down our first one. I did not want to make another mistake for my family or the dog. I got another cocker spaniel, but I research where he came from and who the breeder was. He is the sweetest pain in butt dog, but I did good by him as his master. A pet is only as good as he is taught and treated. It's not just about the breed, but his enviroment.

I will not ever blame this particular dog. He was failed as well as the child who died was failed by the very people he needed to protect him. His parents.

IMVVHO

 

[sandraladeda]

How sad that you would end a friendship over some misguided fear of a dog breed, to each his own. And how odd that you dismiss anyone that owns a pit bull or has owned a pit bull as anecdotal information that isn't worth while yet you are absolutely convinced by media coverage of pit bull attacks, which even YOUR OWN SOURCES say are not responsible for a majority of serious attacks.

Bad owners create dogs that attack, there is no "bad" breed of dog as any legitimate expert will tell you, the problem is irresponsible owners who neglect or mistreat their dogs.

As far as being dangerous ANY large dog that has been bred for aggressive tendencies CAN BE dangerous...rotweillers, shepherds, Akitas, pit bulls, mastiffs...but no entire breed of dogs IS dangerous.

My sources, how about the Dutch government? They're lifting the ban on pit bulls because the incidence of dog bites was unaffected.
http://www.expatica.com/nl/articles/news/Dutch-Agriculture-Minister-scraps-pit-bull-ban.html

How about the British government, since their ban on "dangerous dogs" including pit bulls, dog bites have gone UP.

http://www.easier.com/view/Finance/Insurance/Pet/article-182721.html

According to the web site you linked to there were almost 400,000 dog bites that required visits to the hosital emergency room...why didn't we read 400,000 news articles on these dog bites?

There are also documented cases of golden retrievers who have maimed and killed people, so maybe you should consider calling up the constable and having your dog hauled away...just in case.

I feel sorry for you.

Gosh, thanks, but please don't feel sorry for me. I really have a good life, good family, happy safe dog (notwithstanding those endless statistics I keep hearing about maimings and killings by goldens!!) and when I walk down the street with my dog, people flock to my dog, they do not turn and run or feel scared.

Yup, life is pretty good!