Friday, February 20, 2009

Missing hunter found safe with two dogs

I don't know if the dogs were leashed or not and if they were, good on them for staying 2 full days with their owner until help arrived.

And get this, the pit bull didn't eat anybody! I know. *shock*

Investigators first thought he may have been bitten by a snake, but it turned out that a language barrier caused the early confusion.
Deputies first found Bica's two hunting dogs -- an Austrian shepherd and a pit bull -- then found Bica lying on the ground nearby.

LINK

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Wilkes County, North Carolina

I've ranted about this issue before - the general reaction of government officials to kill dogs confiscated from pit bull breeders and fight busts.

Today, more than 127 pit bulls, including more than 60 puppies, are being killed in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Their crime? Being owned by a man convicted of dog fighting and living in a state where the law says if you are owned by a dog fighter, you are unworthy of anything but death. What a society.

These dogs aren't monsters (certainly no one can claim a 6 week old puppy is monstrously evil), they are not baby killers or marauding murderers. They are victims of circumstances. There is nothing to indicate they were aggressive towards people or, quite frankly, towards other dogs. We know that fight dogs can be solid around other animals and are generally solid around people. And even if they are not - they deserve the benefit of the doubt and a behavioral evaluation. You know, the basic chance all incoming animals to most shelters receive.

Every year, thousands of dogs are saved from puppy mills. These dogs will have severe medical issues and often have behavioral problems. Not once has any humane organization argued that investing money to rehabilitate these dogs is a bad thing. Yet when it comes to pit bulls from breeders/neglect/fight busts, suddenly the monetary cost is too high, a waste of time. Why must we put a price on fairness and kindness? Why cannot all these animals receive a chance at a loving, long life? Besides, in the Wilkes County case, there were several organizations willing to evaluate and possibly redeem some of these dogs - it would have been no cost to the county or the larger animal protection groups who encouraged the deaths of these dogs.

But now the dogs bodies are off to a landfill to rot. That's wrong. There is nothing humane or good about what happened to these dogs, there is no "euthanasia" but only destruction and killing. It fucking sucks.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Omaha for the fail & how a scratch becomes an attack

Unsurprisingly, of the three reported dog attacks that occurred in Omaha, NE this past weekend only the pit bull attack has received the most press.

Three attacks:
- adult pit bull redirect onto adult female after she most likely reprimanded the dog when it growled at a child
- a recently adopted husky (who has been in several homes prior) fractured the ribs of an infant
- a rat terrier, being punished (physically?) for getting into the garbage bit a child on the face

In September of 2008, Omaha instituted strict rules regarding several different breeds, including pit bulls (and a whole bunch of unrelated breeds).

----
Out of Springfield, Missouri we have this title: Dog bites student walking...

The dog bit the student multiple times, landing the kid in the hospital.

Compare with this article:Dog attacks students on school bus in Ottawa County

The dog? A pit bull. The attack? No bite, a couple of scratches from the dog's nails.

Unsurprising but frustrating.

Monday, February 2, 2009

When one bite becomes a "mauling"

Here we have a 3-yr-old kid allowed to play in the backyard alone. He sticks his head in a hole in the fence, calls over the neighbor's dog and is bitten for his trouble.

How many times was he bitten?

Once.

How hard was it to remove the dog from the child?

Didn't have to - the dog bit once and backed off.

A dog bite from a medium-large sized dog to a 3-yr-old's lip is obviously going to tear some tissue. The boy lost part of his lip and has some damage to his tongue.

But this is not a mauling, people. This is a dog reacting appropriately to a noxious, potentially dangerous stimuli - a screaming child invading the dog's territory. This is not an excuse for the dog's owner, who should have remedied the open hole.

Man kills dog described as three different breeds

Same story, told with three different breeds:

It happened near 5th Ave and South 8th street. An elderly woman says she was outside training her own dog when a dog she describes as a boxer mix ran up to her and knocked her down. LINK

A dog from across the street approached, then attacked the woman and her pet. A Council Bluffs Animal Control official described the dog that attacked as an American Bull Dog. LINK

Loose pitbull stabbed to death following attack of dog walker - described as an American Bulldog in the actual article, though.

The woman was not harmed in any significant way. The dog was not harmed, either. The loose dog, who was licensed and vaccinated, was killed after being stabbed four times.

And yes, Council Bluffs has banned pit bulls.