pit bull bites

I would like to see how many people in glynn county has been bit/attacked like myself and my Mini Schnauzer by a pit bull.
Dec 5th 2007

Why do all ignorant people always haye on pitbulls.Get an education

ml in brunswick wrote:

I would like to see how many people in glynn county has been bit/attacked like myself and my Mini Schnauzer by a pit bull.
Dec 5th 2007

[edit] Pit Bulls and Dog Bite Related Human Fatalities
A study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association in September, 2000 reports that in the 20 years studied (1979 to 1998) "Pit-bull type dogs" and Rottweilers were involved in one half of approximately 300 dog bite related fatalities in the US[2]. Another study of American and Canadian dog bite related fatalities from September 1982 to November 2006 produced similar results, reporting that Pit bulls, Rottweilers, Presa Canarios and their mixes were responsible for 65% fatal dog attacks.[3] This study also noted: "Of the breeds most often involved in incidents of sufficient severity to be listed, pit bull terriers are noteworthy for attacking adults almost as frequently as children." and "They are also notorious for attacking seemingly without warning, a tendency exacerbated by the custom of docking pit bulls' tails so that warning signals are not easily recognized."

Lockport Police say DNA results show no human involvement in the sexual assault of a two year old boy July 8th.

Jessica Weinstein: "So this proves that it really can happen?"

Chief Neil Merritt, Lockport Police: "I don't think that there's any doubt because there's a number of witnesses, because this occurred inside, then the dog ran out onto the porch."

The mother told Lockport Police that she left her two year old unattended for a short time and after hearing the baby scream, she ran to see what was wrong.

When she got in the room, she told Lockport Police the dog, named "Bear", had sodomized the toddler. The mother screamed, scaring the dog out of the house, but the dog was still attached to the baby.

One neighbor told 2 On Your Side, she heard the mother screaming "The dog is raping my baby." Neighbors ran to help, but only one man was able to get the dog and child apart.

Anastacio Castillo says "I tried to get the dog away from the baby, the dog was already inside the baby." When the baby was finally free, he was visibly sick. Castillo says the boy was vomiting and bleeding.

The baby was rushed to Women and Children's Hospital where the toddler underwent reconstructive surgery. Hospital officials are no longer verifying that he is a patient there.

Lockport Police say they continue to investigate how a pitbull sodomized a toddler. They are looking into calls that the dog may have been trained, but they don't know by whom.

"Some experts are saying that it's not possible for a dog to do that without being trained, and then we have experts that say it's very possible, that it could happen, the dog just being exposed to the scent of a female dog in heat," said Merritt.

The pitbull has been evaluated. According to officials at the Niagara County SPCA, the dog spent 24 hours with an animal behaviorist. Results of the evaluation will be turned over to police.

Since the attack, over 20 people have called the SPCA asking to adopt the pitbull. Chief Merritt says it'll likely be up to a judge to decide what happens to the dog after the investigation is complete.

"I know a court can order a dog destroyed if it's a danger to the public or it's exhibited harmful behavior," he said.

The Niagara County District Attorney's office is assisting Lockport Police with the investigation.

Miranda Workman, behavior specialist at Purrfect Paws in Amherst says, "Most likely this is not a learned behavior. Dogs in tact, not spayed or neutered have a higher hormonal drive."

She urges parents to never, ever leave their children alone with a dog.

WGRZ-TV

LAKE ELSINORE ---- Jennifer Ruckel never saw it coming, she said on a recent afternoon. One minute she was sitting on her bed talking to her sister Robin, laughing and watching her 18-month-old son Taylor dance on the rug at their feet ---- the next, their 30 seconds of terror began.
With no provocation or warning, the family's 5-year-old pit bull, Molly, suddenly lunged across the room and grabbed Taylor's head in its jaws and began shaking the boy like a rag doll.
"The dog just snapped; it changed from a protective, loving dog to a beast within a second," Jennifer said of the March 31 attack.
Robin threw a cup of hot coffee on the dog. Jennifer began pounding on the animal from behind, desperately trying to get her to let go, the woman said. The dog's lower jaw was clamped on the back of the boy's head, its upper jaw locked onto his face next to his ear and neck and it continued to shake the boy.
Finally, the dog loosened her grip for a split second, letting go of Taylor, and Jennifer threw herself on top of the toddler as the dog continued to lunge and dig beneath her body to get at the child.
The whole incident lasted perhaps 30 seconds, Robin said. "But it seemed like 30 years."
Another sister, Lindsey, came running into the room and helped Jennifer pick up the child. Robin said she grabbed Molly by her choke collar and held her off long enough for Jennifer to get out of the room with Taylor.
As she pulled the dog outside the Lake Elsinore home, Lindsey called 911, but no one answered, Robin said.
Adding to their panic, Taylor was bleeding profusely. "Jennifer was covered in blood and I thought we could lose this little guy," Robin said.
When they couldn't get a response from 911, the women jumped in the car and rushed the child to Inland Valley Medical Center's emergency room in Wildomar.
Doctors gave Taylor a strong sedative before applying 30 stitches to his face and neck and using four staples to patch his torn scalp, Jennifer said. Doctors said that one of the wounds was just fractions of an inch from the boy's jugular vein.
Animal-control officers later took Molly to Animal Friends of the Valleys shelter in Lake Elsinore, where she is to be euthanized after a 10-day quarantine period, Jennifer said.
Although the family could choose other options, such as keeping the dog in a kennel, where it would never again have contact with their child, Jennifer said she and Taylor's dad really have no choice but to have the dog killed.
"Just thinking of the dog staying alive and that it could bite another child, I couldn't live with the guilt," she said.

One week after he was mauled, Taylor sat on his mom's knee, playing with his food and listening to a conversation he didn't fully understand. But he seemed to perceive what was being talked about. "Dog," he said, without a trace of rancor or fear on his face.
But his mother said the boy's father, her fiance, Brandon Reynolds, 24, had taken Taylor to a friend's home a day earlier, and the family had a large dog in the house.
"He latched onto his dad's leg, crying, not wanting to even walk by the dog," Jennifer said.
The Ruckel's experience was terrifying, but the outcome was better than that of many similar pit-bull attacks. In June 2003, a pit bull mauled and killed 2-year-old Somer Clugston. A baby-sitter had left the dog unattended inside a Good Hope home with the child, while she went to run some errands. The woman later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Deaths related to pit-bull attacks are not uncommon.
A compilation of statistics by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on fatal dog attacks on human beings shows that American pit bull terriers, or pit bulls, have the worst record of any breed. Between 1979 and 1996, there were 60 fatal attacks across the country by pit bulls on humans. The second-worst record was for rottweilers, with 29 fatal attacks, followed by German shepherds with 19.
An official with the Humane Society of the United States said Friday that breeds are selectively bred to accentuate specific characteristics. In the case of some retrievers, for example, the dogs were bred over the years to leap into the water at a moment's notice, retrieve downed birds and carry them softly in their mouths back to hunters.
Pit bulls, however, were bred to fight other dogs in closed environments such as pits or arenas, said Eric Sakach, director of the West Coast regional office of the Humane Society of the United States.
"They were selectively bred to cause maximum damage, which includes grabbing, holding and shaking, which causes tearing," Sakach said.
Breeders also gradually eliminated from the animals some of the typical signals of coming aggression, like barking, growling or raising the hair on the back of their necks, he added.
"These animals offer little or no indication that an attack is imminent," he said.
In some parts of the world and this country, certain breeds of dog ---- including pit bulls ---- have been outlawed.
Denver County, Colo., for example, has an ordinance prohibiting the breed. If someone is caught with a pit bull there, they are issued a citation and required to sign an affidavit promising to remove the dog from the county and not bring it back. Animal-control officers later return to the owners' residence to make sure they have gotten rid of the dog.
Sakach said that such laws are shortsighted, however. When communities outlaw pit bulls, the first people targeted are the ones that obey the law and have their dogs licensed. Since their names and addresses are on record, they are easy to find, he said. As a result, it's the unlicensed dogs that are left in the community.
"If you outlaw pit bulls, only the outlaws will have them," he said, adding that the real solution to the problem boils down to owner responsibility.
"These laws fail to acknowledge that there are many well-behaved, responsibly kept pit bulls out there," Sakach said.
In the aftermath of the attack, Taylor's family is left with a mix of feelings: guilt for allowing such a dangerous animal near Taylor; relief that the boy survived; and anxiety over what might have happened.
When Jennifer first found out she was pregnant with Taylor, her parents tried to convince her that she and her fiance should get rid of Molly, she said. But because Reynolds had raised the dog since she was 8 weeks old and she had never showed any signs of aggressive behavior, they decided not to heed her parents' advice.
Now, she said, she has to live with that decision.
"My son almost lost his life because of a decision I made," Jennifer said, her eyes welling up with tears. "You always wish you had listened to your parents ---- after the fact. I am just lucky I got a second chance."

Learn more
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that every year, 4.7 million people suffer dog bites. In 2001, 368,245 people were treated for dog bites, and 42 percent of those were children 14 years and younger. To protect yourself and others from dog bites, the CDC recommends the following:
Never approach a strange dog
Never pet a dog ---- even your own ---- without letting it see and sniff you first
Never turn your back to a dog and run away
Don't disturb a dog while it is eating, chewing on a toy or caring for puppies
Always assume that a dog who doesn't know you may see you as a threat
Teach children not to chase or tease dogs they know and to avoid dogs they don't know
If you are approached by a dog that may attack you, follow these steps:
Never scream and run
Remain motionless, hands at your sides and avoid eye contact with the animal
If the dog does attack, "feed" him your jacket, purse, bicycle or anything that you can put between yourself and the dog.
If you fall or are knocked to the ground, curl into a ball with your hands over your ears and remain motionless. Try not to scream or roll around.
Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The debate about "dangerous dogs" cannot progress without clarification of the meaning of "dangerous." A thing, activity, dog or person should be considered "dangerous" if it or he presents an unacceptably high risk of serious injury, even before causing harm. This definition uses the word "risk." Cars, plastic bags, electrical cords and other mundane objects are considered dangerous to some degree because of their potential for harm, not their individual history of crashing, suffocating or electrocuting. When discussing whether a dog is "dangerous" in this sense, the issue is not whether that particular dog will ever bite, but whether it presents too great a risk of serious injury -- not because of what it has done, but because of what others of its class have done. The definition also uses the term "serious injury." The bites of teacup-sized dogs and even herding dogs (who use their mouths to seize and guide as opposed to crush and rip) do not present the risk of serious injury inherent in the bites of dogs which were bred for the specific purpose of killing animals. When "dangerous" is defined in this way, many believe that it accurately describes the latter group of dogs.

Let us turn exclusively to the legal meaning of "dangerous dog." A dog can be legally classified as "dangerous" or "vicious" based upon its actions, its breed, or the actions of its owner, either before or after an official hearing, pursuant to the law of the jurisdiction where the dog is present. A dog classified as "dangerous" or "vicious" is subject to being confined or kept pursuant to strict rules, and might even be euthanized, and its owner can be fined, jailed and ordered to do or not do things in the future that pertain to animals.

Attacks by pit bulls accounted for about a third of the 238 fatal dog attacks in the United States during a 20-year study, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pit bulls were blamed for killing 76 people, or 32 percent, during a study of dog attacks from 1979-1998, the study showed. Rottweilers were the second most deadly animal, reportedly killing 44 people, or 18.5 percent, during the same period.

About 4.7 million people are bitten every year by dogs, resulting in about 12 fatalities a year, according to the federal statistics. About 500,000 to 800,000 dog bites require medical treatment annually.

Children, according to the 2000 federal study, are the most vulnerable victims in dog attacks. Those under the age of 14 account for 42 percent of dog bite injuries. The highest rate of injuries was to children between the ages of 5 and 9.

Of the 27 people who died in from dog bites, 19 were children under the age of 15. The animal responsible for 3 out of 4 injuries involving youth under the age of 14 is the family dog.

Janis Bradley, an instructor in the academy for dog trainers at San Francisco's Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the number of dog bites pales in comparison to other health threats like car accidents, which claim about 38,000 lives a year. When attacks occur, she said, people rush to criticize some dogs as threats to family safety.

"Prudent measures can be taken to decrease the levels of attacks we do have, but there are many other injuries that present a more important threat to public health," Bradley said. "Almost anything you can think of."

Carl Friedman, director of San Francisco's Animal Care and Control, said that although he does not want to condemn an entire breed, local and national statistics support taking steps to regulate pit bulls, such as mandatory neutering.

"When you have a mauling where a 12-year-old child is killed and when 50 to 60 percent of our hearings for vicious and dangerous animals are for pit bulls, you don't have to be a brain surgeon to see we have a problem with pit bulls," Friedman said.

NELLY wrote:

Lockport Police say DNA results show no human involvement in the sexual assault of a two year old boy July 8th.
Jessica Weinstein: "So this proves that it really can happen?"
Chief Neil Merritt, Lockport Police: "I don't think that there's any doubt because there's a number of witnesses, because this occurred inside, then the dog ran out onto the porch."
The mother told Lockport Police that she left her two year old unattended for a short time and after hearing the baby scream, she ran to see what was wrong.
When she got in the room, she told Lockport Police the dog, named "Bear", had sodomized the toddler. The mother screamed, scaring the dog out of the house, but the dog was still attached to the baby.
One neighbor told 2 On Your Side, she heard the mother screaming "The dog is raping my baby." Neighbors ran to help, but only one man was able to get the dog and child apart.
Anastacio Castillo says "I tried to get the dog away from the baby, the dog was already inside the baby." When the baby was finally free, he was visibly sick. Castillo says the boy was vomiting and bleeding.
The baby was rushed to Women and Children's Hospital where the toddler underwent reconstructive surgery. Hospital officials are no longer verifying that he is a patient there.
Lockport Police say they continue to investigate how a pitbull sodomized a toddler. They are looking into calls that the dog may have been trained, but they don't know by whom.
"Some experts are saying that it's not possible for a dog to do that without being trained, and then we have experts that say it's very possible, that it could happen, the dog just being exposed to the scent of a female dog in heat," said Merritt.
The pitbull has been evaluated. According to officials at the Niagara County SPCA, the dog spent 24 hours with an animal behaviorist. Results of the evaluation will be turned over to police.
Since the attack, over 20 people have called the SPCA asking to adopt the pitbull. Chief Merritt says it'll likely be up to a judge to decide what happens to the dog after the investigation is complete.
"I know a court can order a dog destroyed if it's a danger to the public or it's exhibited harmful behavior," he said.
The Niagara County District Attorney's office is assisting Lockport Police with the investigation.
Miranda Workman, behavior specialist at Purrfect Paws in Amherst says, "Most likely this is not a learned behavior. Dogs in tact, not spayed or neutered have a higher hormonal drive."
She urges parents to never, ever leave their children alone with a dog.
WGRZ-TV

I am sorry for all those dog lovers out there, but I would have found the hardest object I could have found and beat the living heck out this dog, I would have beat him until he died, he would not have had the chance to have himself in my child as long as he did with this child because he would have been decapitated..

stacey2 wrote:

<quoted text> I am sorry for all those dog lovers out there, but I would have found the hardest object I could have found and beat the living heck out this dog, I would have beat him until he died, he would not have had the chance to have himself in my child as long as he did with this child because he would have been decapitated..

I felt the same way when I read this article, isn't it horrible. Another reason however, that parents should not leave their young children unattended.

Oh my those stories are horrible....I have always thought pit bulls were beautiful dogs, and have seen some very passive ones but been afraid to own any of my own for fear of what I have read here. I have a five year old daughter if something ever happened to her like what has happened to the kids in these articles I don't know what I would do with myself.....those poor parents.

Nelly wrote:

<quoted text>I felt the same way when I read this article, isn't it horrible. Another reason however, that parents should not leave their young children unattended.

I have always felt Children should not be around Pit Bulls no matter how mild mannered they seem to be. Pit Bulls seem to have a very vicious streak with them. I agree children should not be left alone with these dogs. I was thinking about this story and for some reason I think this dog was trained to do this, there are freaky people out there that have sex with there dogs and it seems as if he was use to this type of behavior. I think he was in heat and reacted the way he was trained and unfortunately that poor child was his victim. This is unimaginable! And so horrific!

NELLY wrote:

<quoted text>ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT THIS PERSON IS IGNORANT CAUSE HE/SHE WAS ATTACKED BY A PIT BULL? WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THEY ARE NOT EDUCATED? DO ONLY STUPID PEOPLE GET ATTACKED BY DOGS? YOU SOUND LIKE YOU MUST BE A PRETTY HATEFUL PERSON YOURSELF.

No I dont think she is uneducated just on pits.Everyone thinks pits are so awful and they are not.The people that are wful are the ones that dont respect the animal.And being the owner of many pits that are not like most pits they are show dogs,we have to be on the defense with our dogs because people only want to look at them as bad dogs,the truth is any dog can bite.

Stacey2 wrote:

<quoted text>I have always felt Children should not be around Pit Bulls no matter how mild mannered they seem to be. Pit Bulls seem to have a very vicious streak with them. I agree children should not be left alone with these dogs. I was thinking about this story and for some reason I think this dog was trained to do this, there are freaky people out there that have sex with there dogs and it seems as if he was use to this type of behavior. I think he was in heat and reacted the way he was trained and unfortunately that poor child was his victim. This is unimaginable! And so horrific!

Stacey have you ever owned a pitbull.They are very friendly dogs if you give them a chance.My children sleep with one every night.

NELLY wrote:

I COULD RESEARCH FOR DAYS....OR EDUCATE MYSELF AS YOU SAY APRIL- THE FACTS AND THE STATS ARE NOT DEBATABLE. IT IS UNFORTUNATE, BUT TRUE. I THINK THAT THE BREED OF PITS ARE A BEAUTIFUL DOG, AND FOR JUST AS MANY NEWS ARTICLES CLAIMING THEM DANGEROUS THEIR ARE DOG OWNERS WHO SWEAR THEY ARE NOT....DOESN'T MAKE ONE SIDE IGNORANT AND ONE SIDE WRONG...IT IS WHAT IT IS...WHY DON'T YOU (APRIL) SHOW SOME RESPECT TO POSTERS AND NOT DEEM EVERYTHING THAT YOU DON'T AGREE WITH AS A PERSONAL ATTACK ON YOU! THE FIRST POSTER ON THIS THREAD ASK US ALL A QUESTION; WHO ELSE IN GLYNN COUNTY HAS HAD PROBLEMS WITH BEING ATTACKED BY PIT BULLS? TO THAT PERSON I AM SORRY THAT YOU HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE AND DOG OWNERS SHOULD BE MORE RESPONSIBLE THAN WHAT THEY ARE! I DON'T THINK YOU ARE IGNORANT BECAUSE YOU WERE ATTACKED BY A DOG, AND THERE IS PLENTY OF SUPPORTING DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE TO CONCLUDE THAT THESE DOGS ARE DANGEROUS.
I HOPE THAT YOU REPORTED THE DOG AND ITS OWNER AND THAT YOU ARE AND RECOVERING WELL FROM YOUR INCIDENT.

I do not find her comment as an attack on me for one thing.I find it as an attack on one of my bestfriends which is a pitbull.I am sorry she was attacked and hope her and the dog are ok.Just because one dog bites not all will.That is my point.I am sure their are more people out there bite by a pit and alot of other dogs why does everybody always point at pits.