Dog Attack

[Oldengineer]

I'm a dog lover. My neighbor was walking her two pups, on leash, after she got home from work yesterday. I was returning home from errands, and out of no where came a pure white pit bull that absolutely attacked one of her dogs. I saw it happen in slow motion. The pit bull grabbed the victim dog by the throat and would not let go. I stopped the car in the middle of the road and attempted to assist. At that time the pit bulls owner arrived and tried to disengage the bitter. No luck as he lifted both dogs off the ground. There was a lot of blood and my neighbor was in full panic mode. The pit bull was trying to kill the other smaller leashed dog. I came very close to breaking leather and shooting the pit bull. I was successful at getting the pit bull to release by giving him a full power karate chop across the nose. The police were called and I didn't go to jail for shooting the unleashed attack dog. A very disturbing incident. One of my dogs could just as easily been the victim. I expect the pit bull's owner to be cited and his dog euthanized. I wonder what the consequences would have been had I shot the pit bull and ended the attack?

Tom H.

 

[Rudi]

Good self control. Pits are dangerous. Did the little dog make it?

 

[Oldengineer]

We think the smaller dog will make it if there's no infection. There were puncture wounds and soft tissue damage to the throat area. My neighbor is still traumatized and her doggie is not herself. It's a waiting game for now.

 

[444 Magnum]

Locally, a pit bull just attacked a woman who was feeding her pets in her own back yard. The woman was seriously mauled. Her face had to be reattached and her arm was broken (crushed) in several places.

I'm a dog lover and I like pit bulls...but something can snap in their minds. I have two friends who both had to put theirs down because they attacked neighboring animals unprovoked. Both dogs had been faithful companions for years with no signs of agression. These were not "chained" dogs either.

I don't understand it, but it makes me more watchful.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Don't trust them. Never will.

I've had many, many interactions with them over the years. None of them good. Came close shooting a few of them.

I suppose someone will tell me that it's all how they're treated by their owners. Baloney. Pits were bred for one reason and one reason only.

I'm glad the OP didn't have to shoot.

 

[Timothy2700]

I wonder what the consequences would have been had I shot the pit bull and ended the attack?

Tom H.

My general-public opinion? If you were defending your life (or the dog owners life) from the pit bull attack it would be a no-brainer. But shooting an attacking dog to save another animal … that is a slippery slope that depends on your jurisdiction and circumstances. I'd think twice for sure.

Hope all turns out well, and am thinking you did well to use discretion under that pressure.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

As an old Telco guy I have been bitten many times. All breeds but the worst were the Pit Bulls, they really hurt. Almost tore my new my new Levi's apart. Never trust one, they are bred to kill. Just my opinion. Also I love dogs.

 

[rwsmith]

That's awful....

Thanks for saving the lady's dog. Wow. tough call, good choice.

My wife is like Elly Mae Clampett. She gets along great with animals and didn't have any problems delivering the mail for 25 years. One day she got out of her truck to deliver a package and a pit bull charged around the truck and chewed her up. Lots of stitches.

 

[sigp220.45]

I volunteer at the local shelter and have come to like the pitties we get in. I would never own one, though.

I've had to kill two of them that were trying to get my daughter's 4H rabbits. It was on our land and I don't know where they came from. No tags. I just put them in contractor bags and threw them in the trash.

I'd shoot a dog if it was attacking my dog. I'm not sure I'd do it for someone else's.

This is Dino, my current shelter favorite. He's a big slobbery sweetheart, but I still wouldn't bring him around my own dogs or grandkid.

 

[A10]

I've known pitties that were sweethearts and wouldn't hurt a fly. I've known others that would kill another animal on sight.

They're strong dogs and once they get clamped on to something it's hard to get them to let go. They can be choked out. Grab them by the scruff and ram your thumb into the notch at the base of their esophagus. Puts you right in the middle of things though.

 

[jeffrefrig]

Three people got "pit mauled" on Halloween night by two pits, one pretty bad, just as trick or treating began up in New Kensington. They cancelled it for the night.

 

[Alk8944]

I know many just love Pit Bulls, but everyone needs to read this article from Wikipedia about fatalities due to dog attacks. Pit Bulls are responsible for 28% of human fatalities during the period 1979 to 1998 where there were 66 documented human fatalities. This is out of all the other "vicious" dog breeds, Rotties, Malamutes, German Shepherds, Dobies, etc. Not a big number, but a very high percentage of the total was Pit Bulls.

Read the article!!!

There are many on-line dog attack and fatality articles, Google dog fatalities and you will be amazed/disgusted.

 

[Tom S.]

In Michigan, you can legally shoot a dog attacking livestock or a human, but not if it's attacking another dog. I have used mace which stopped them in their tracks, but I don't know if pepper spray would have the same effect or not, plus sprays are not as precise and you could spray more than just the attacking dog, such as your dog or the other dog's owner. Maybe a taser?

 

[jimmyj]

I shot three attacking Pit Bulls with a Sig-Sauer P-229 .40 using Speer 180 grain JHPs. All three were double tapped center mass chest. They acted like they were not shot. The sound of the gun fire made them retreat. Later all three were finished off with 12 gauges.

 

[quikdraw67]

Being we have the Castle and Stand Your Ground laws here in PA, and I live in a rural county, I would have taken my chances and shot the pit.
Hop the little dog survived, and the owner is going to sue the *** off the pit owner.

 

[Bald1]

So here's the thing. Dogs are labeled as Pitbulls if they have a certain look. Most of them are not purebred. Because of this they are by far the most popular dog in America. They out number other breeds and it's not even close. So naturally there'd be more attacks by them. As with any dog they are what you make of them. They are an extension of their owner. I've seen and herd of Dalmatians attacking people often. But they are the "Fire truck" dogs so they're ok. Blame the owner , not the dog. Not much different than guns. My dog has never attacked anyone and my guns have never shot anyone. My 87 year old mother takes care of him when we go out of town.

 

[Beemerguy53]

In 1997, I was attacked and bitten by a pit bull mix while I was working. It happened on a public sidewalk, and was totally unprovoked. The dog's owner was at work, and was in the habit of letting his dog run loose while he was gone. The dog got me in the right thigh, midway between my knee and butt.

A medic unit took me to the hospital, where the ER staff cleaned the wound, administered antibiotics, and injected me with gamma globulin. The next day, the police called me to advise that they'd contacted the owner and learned the dog was not inoculated...so I had to undergo rabies shots.

I love dogs...but I hate pit bulls, especially after that experience. Every time I see one of them, I look at it like it's a grenade with the pin pulled, just waiting to explode...

 

[Yendor357]

If I was attacked by any dog, and had the opportunity, I would most certainly shoot the mongrel.

Then I'd sue the socks off the owner.

For what are people with big dogs compensating?

 

[jaguargolf]

A 77 yr old woman I know was walking with her 4 year old grandson and his new puppy on a country road when 2 German Shepards wanted to kill the puppy. The woman was severely mauled on her arms and legs.
Nothing happened to the German Shepards or their owner.
It was the beginning of the end for the woman. She worked until that day as a sports massage therapist. Guys would go to her because she was strong and got into the big muscles. Her previous career had been massaging race horses. Her arms were damaged, she couldn't work. She had a saying "If you stop moving, you stop moving." She stopped moving.

 

[Pisgah]

A neighbor had a nightmare of a dog a few years back -- a pit bull/Great Dane mix, no less. About the size of a Shetland pony, mean as a snake, and constantly escaping from his fenced yard. The wife and I came home from a dinner out one evening and found the dog running loose in the neighborhood. As we exited our car and began to walk to our front door, he came running from across the street in full attack mode. My wife made it in the door but I was left with a choice of shoot or be mauled, so I pulled my Beretta Nano 9mm and fired two shots, one of which went right between his eyes, and it was over. Cops were called, neighbor angrily threatened to sue, cops issued him a citation for a violation of the county dog ordinance -- and the rest of the neighborhood pretty much thinks I'm a hero...

The neighbor did sue me -- what a joke. At the first hearing, representing myself, the judge heard the story and dismissed the lawsuit in 5 minutes.

 

[Greyman50]

Sister in law and husband have had pits for over 30 years. Only issues were when they had 2, they " got into it" with each other. IIRC they were not pure breed and one would bring its toys to you to play with it. I remain kind of hesitant around them.

 

[dmn57]

Our boy is an 18 month old, 100 pound English lab. Strong as a mule but I doubt he's all that tough when it comes to fighting. I don't always carry but if he's attacked by another dog, any breed of dog, I will do whatever I can to protect him even if it's with a knife, a rock, a stick, a boot, whatever, and take my chances with the law later.

 

[steelslaver]

I am inclined to believe dogs tend to be reflections of their owners, I have had a Dane Doberman cross, a Doberman and a Wolf hybrid, all of which became huge lap intelligent lap dogs

Pit bulls reputation suffer from 3 problems. The first is being breed to fight, that instinct is in them as much as my new black lab pup has the instinct to fetch a ball. Second is for some time the first was the reason a bunch of Richard Cranium types got pit bulls, every drug dealer, gang banger and wanna be bad guy had one and as dogs reflect their owners they created some monsters, which they let breed indiscriminately. But, the final problem is also reflected in a lot of "modern" children, their owners/parents, didn't spend the time or have the inclination to teach or discipline them. The exact same type of people who raise feral kids will also raise feral dogs. When a strong, intelligent, willful animal is allowed to mature with no training or discipline they are dangerous. Most people do not think of Chihuahuas as dangerous, but they would if they weight 70#. I have ran across more than one undisciplined one that was a snarling ankle nipper, who if embolden by more size would be truly dangerous. I have met others who were very sociable. Take a colt and train it ride and be a show animal, then take its sibling and turn it loose on the range and see what kind of terror he becomes. When the natives on the reservation near my brother go to round up some of the horses running wild, they start out by shooting the herd stallion because he will aggressively attack both man and beast with hooves and teeth and they don't read Disney books.

I firmly believe a Pit Bull can be raised as a trust worth pet, but the owner has to put in the time and effort. No time and effort and you could very end up with 60 or more pounds of undisciplined aggression. Raise a kid without putting in any time or effort and you may well end up with 150# or more of undisciplined aggression terrorizing the streets. In fact society is producing such an over abundance of such creatures that our prisons are full and few areas of the country are safe from them.

Yes, good parents and dog owners sometimes end up with bad kids and dogs, but they end up with far and away fewer than those who don't put in the time and effort.

 

[Alpo]

If I was the OP, I would check into what the law says about shooting dogs.



Here in Florida, it is perfectly legal to shoot a dog that is attacking your livestock. Somebody up the thread says that's legal where he lives, but it's not legal if the dog is attacking another dog.



In florida, domestic pets are defined as livestock. So if I'm walking down the street with my dog and another dog comes out of nowhere and attacks her, and I shoot the attacking dog, that's perfectly legal. Because I'm protecting my livestock.



I'm not sure whether it would be legal if I shot the dog for attacking my neighbor's livestock.

 

[steelslaver]

Two animals and both dog's owners all struggling in close proximity does not seem like a good situation to add gunfire too. More than one guy has been shot by his would be savior in such situations.

Not only local ordinances, but local law enforcement and the city or county attorney are all factors. They are the ones whose interpretations of any laws will be applied.

 

[zeke]

There's lots of pics of cuddly lovable pitties with children/owners. What really matters is how a dog interacts with strange dogs or people. Am in habit of walking Zelda early in the morn before sunrise, or at sunset in the winter. She has been attacked 5 times now, twice by pitty mixes. Both of those were repelled by rib kicks. The last attack was 2 weeks ago by juvenile blue heeler. The heeler took the worst of it till the owner picked him up.

Pretty sure Wi treats dogs as property, and you can't shoot to protect. However you can use deadly force to protect yourself.

 

[Super Trucker]

My doberman was attacked by a German Shepherd about 6 weeks ago.
My wife was walking our dog on a leash and the Shepherd ran through the gate at its house crossed the street and went to work on my dog.
Had I been there there would have been a dead shepherd but my wife said "she can't shoot a dog".
Needless to say I have to chaperone dog walks now.

 

[ladder13]

Some breeds are banned, and there is a large dog ban in my little quiet slice of NC. I'm good with that. Don't like it, move.

A couple years ago a homeowner always had the family pit mix walked by his scrawny daughter. The dog was always trying to pull her across the street to go after the other dog walkers.

One day dad jumped stink with a friend of mine threatening him with bodily harm for asking the daughter to restrain the dog on the other side of the street, while he was walking his aged pup.

Wouldn't you know a couple of weeks later the pit mix bit the owners son, breaking skin. The dog was put down by the owner the next day or so.
The family has since moved.

 

[Doug M.]

There is no excuse for any dog of any breed being able to leave the owner's property other than on a real leash. Flexi-leads are utterly clown shoes. This requires a quality fence; those silly electronic "fences" don't work on a motivated dog. One should not get a dog without a decent understanding of the antecedent purpose of the breed - not a certainly, but a good predictor of conduct. Pits are hard wired to dog aggression and often animal aggression generally. I have met many a good one ... but I am always cautious.

Problem dogs are the main reason I carry a 296 in a fanny pack for walking my dogs - if a shot is needed, it probably needs to be a contact shot.

 

[LVSteve]

I've known pitties that were sweethearts and wouldn't hurt a fly. I've known others that would kill another animal on sight.

They're strong dogs and once they get clamped on to something it's hard to get them to let go. They can be choked out. Grab them by the scruff and ram your thumb into the notch at the base of their esophagus. Puts you right in the middle of things though.

I would have thought going for the eyes would have a more instant effect. I am told that the sensation of sticking your thumb in an eyeball is similar to poking a shelled, slightly overdone, soft-boiled egg.