Dog attack

[TexasFreedom]

I'm writing this as I saw the aftermath seconds after it happened.

A lady (50-ish?) was outside & her next door neighbor's pitbull found a hole in the fence & went after her.

The dog's owner was in the yard, and the door is normally chained but he let it loose to run while he was giving it fresh water & doing things in the yard.

I happened to drive by just after the owner got the dog off her & was taking it back to the yard. This small lady (5' max, maybe 100+ lbs) was lying in the street. Blood pouring out the wound, big enough to 4 fingers up to the first joint. Times 2, each side. The dog was trying to rip off a couple pounds of flesh (her calf) and would have killed her if others didn't arrive. And this was the middle of the day. We should have added a tourniquet but it wasn't quite that bad.

It was interesting in hindsight to see the boyfriend. 40-50-ish year old guy. He was beside himself. He wanted to do more but he was frozen. He put his shirt around the leg as we came up, but then went into overload. He didn't get angry but just locked up. Many people start here, but some experience under your belt wakes you up.

What do you do? Stop the threat, that was already done. Call ambulance, they're 10 minutes away. Wrap it to reduce bleeding, used a shirt. Elevated the leg to reduce bleeding. Get her off the middle of the road while cars just drove by. But with her friends there, her boyfriend trying to figure out what to do, I think she most appreciated that I just held her hand and talked to her while we waited. At least nobody got violent.

The dog owner (a renter) was hauled off to jail (outstanding warrants). In talking with him before the police arrived, he seemed like a nice guy that messed up. He blamed the landlord for having a little piece of fence that wasn't secured well (lawsuit #2). I'm sure the injured lady will sue him but I doubt he'll have a dime to his name (lawsuit #1). So I hope the landlord has insurance for this as it'll fall on him. Oh, of course the dog owner didn't have the paperwork to show the dog had current rabies shots ("but I got him from a guy who said he took the dog to a vet, the one on the other side of town, can't remember the vet clinic's name", yeah right). Dog was hauled off for quarantine and I hope gets put down. If not the insurance to keep that dog will make obamacare look cheap. And it was in a 'bad neighborhood'.

As it was wrapping up, I told the family/friends to take pictures. The blood puddle in the middle of the road. The 'hole' (a small cow could fit through) in the fence. Where the dog was chained. There will be long-term muscle damage. Pictures go a long way if they end up in court.

And what did this cost me as a taxpayer? Police (2 cars), 1 hour. Ambulance, a healthy hour drive to a 'real' hospital (plus return trip). Animal control: either euthanize or 10 days quarantine. And the dog owner, another trip to jail. All because of an aggressive dog and a 1-minute-fix hole in a fence. Everybody lost.

How many lessons were there in that one hour? How many did you catch in my short summary? Not my typical afternoon.

 

[DrHenley]

That dog definitely needs to be put down.

I was riding on our bike/hike trail a few years ago and I saw a pit bull that was about to go after a jogger from behind (the jogger never knew the dog was coming). I quickly got between the dog and the jogger and he went after me, but I was able to pick my leg up and keep the bike between me and the dog. Dog just kept chasing me for about a quarter mile and finally lost interest. I immediately called 911 but the ******* operator kept asking me what address I was at.

Anyhow, on the return trip I picked up a heavy stick before entering that section of the trail, and sure enough the dog came after me again. I brought that stick down on the dog's head with all my might, which would have knocked a human unconscious, but didn't apparently hurt him much. It did, however, startle him so much he broke off the attack. I started carrying a pistol in a fanny pack after that on the trail.

You know cyclists used to routinely carry guns to thwart dog attacks. They even had one gun designed for cyclists - the Velo-Dog. (Velo was short for Velocipede, an early type of bicycle)

 

[Dani]

I honestly think that it depends on the dog and how it was raised. I am sure that some pits have a born instinct since there have been so many recorded incidents, but I do have a found pitbull/lab mix and he couldnt be any sweeter. He is a great watchdog (has never bit anyone) but, if I let a person in, he will sniff and just follow along. We did let our dogs roam the neighborhood at one time and everyone knew and loved our Buddy boy. We have secured our property since our bull Charlie likes to jump even the electric fence from time to time. I just hope that people do not put all pits into a bad dog just cause a few. My neighbor caddy corner growing up had a full pit and my mom back in the day heard about how they could turn in a heart beat even on owners. It never happened with theirs either and was nothing but a big baby. My cuz had to actually move because he had a pit and the neighbors were terrified. It never did anything to the neighbors, it was just that he was a pit and they were afraid.

 

[lonewolf]

I got bit by a dog many years ago whilst on my motorbike, luckily the dog just ripped my trousers and didn't puncture the skin.
I used to regularly have to fight off an Alsation/German Shepherd that lived opposite my parents house, but a boot to the head usually made it think again.

 

[Texan-]

american pit bull terriers and stratfordshire terriers are the breeds known as put bulls, they are different than the vast majority of dogs, most dogs snap over and over while they attack, put bulls bites are more like sharks, they bite and hold and try to shake a pound of flesh loose, this is why they kill,
Their breeding actually decreased the amount of pain they feel and they rarely respond to the pain they do feel, the breed is very intelligent and per capita they rarely bite, yes I said it per dog percentage they bite fewer people than most other breeds, it is just that when they do bite they never stop and cause lots of damage.

 

[TexasFreedom]

american pit bull terriers and stratfordshire terriers are the breeds known as put bulls, they are different than the vast majority of dogs, most dogs snap over and over while they attack, put bulls bites are more like sharks, they bite and hold and try to shake a pound of flesh loose, this is why they kill,
Their breeding actually decreased the amount of pain they feel and they rarely respond to the pain they do feel, the breed is very intelligent and per capita they rarely bite, yes I said it per dog percentage they bite fewer people than most other breeds, it is just that when they do bite they never stop and cause lots of damage.

I'd like to see a link to support the fewer per dog bites statistic. I'm not saying it's wrong, but it sure goes against popular views. Of course 'popular views' also elected this president twice hence by curiosity/skepticism. But I also bet if you look at bites requiring stitches from APBT vs other breeds, that number is much higher. It does not help that drug dealers & criminals are breeding pit bulls toward aggressive attack dogs. A pit bull from some yahoo vs an APBT from a caring breeder are two very different dogs.

Years back I had a 70 lb dog that nipped a couple of people. Not bad bites. He would be friendly, then walk by someone & just reach out & nip. Drew about as much blood as a mosquito. But after 2-3 times, and me actually seeing it once, he was put down. It was sad, 99.999% of the time he was friendly and good. And he showed no signs, no warnings. No growl, no hackles up, no pinned ears, no 'slinking', and no cause. He would go from happy dog to the nip, and return to the happy dog in 3 seconds. It was a hard decision, but also easy. There is no way I want a dog that I can't trust, period. It's not a good representation for the breed or for me.

 

[Texan-]

I had read the article years ago, I just looked and cannot find it, the jist was that pit bulls did not bite often but when they did it was a bad bite since they dont just snap and let go, they bite and hold on and rip flesh off.
It tried to speak of the idea that other dog breeds bite much more often but do not cause enough damage to require medical treatment or law enforcement involvement.
So I guess it actually involves a persons definition of a bite, as-in if the bite does not need stitches is it really a bite?

 

[Liv4today55]

We have Grandchildren and my wife who have been bitten by " Tame , Never bite Anybody" dogs; Your dog approaches me or my family and growls or charges; I will put the dog down immediately for Fear for My life as described in CHL laws. Period

 

[Gazrok]

Still up to the owner to keep his dog restrained and contained (especially if violent). My lab/chow is generally a sweetheart, but with strangers, he can be iffy. So, we have a muzzle, and we can simply let him out into the dog yard (chain link and cattle panel fencing 4' high), where he has about a half acre to run around, when strangers come over or visit. We inspect the fence regularly too, as our neighbor has dogs also, and we don't want them getting at each other. (the fence between them is wood on the neighbors side, so they don't see each other).

Of course, the landlord is the one who'll have to pay for the lady's medical and face any lawsuit. He's not 100% responsible, but he will have a part in it. The dog will have to pay with its life, for the owner's neglect.

 

[lonewolf]

we've had a few attacks in this country over the last few years, mostly pitbull types attacking, and in one or two cases killing, very young children, dogs mostly got put down for that, I haven't seen one reported for awhile.