Children Need Pit Bulls: A Picture Book

[DirkGently]

173. Because focusing on nebulous claims of "breed" gives you selective memory?

http://www.mysuncoast.com/news/local/attorney-defends-death-row-dogs/article_aa922ea8-8c30-11e2-bf65-001a4bcf6878.html

Australian Shepherds Buck and Bill are being held at Manatee County Animal Services after what officials call a vicious attack on a 13 year old.

"The attack was so severe the boy could have died," said Manatee County attorney Jim Minix.
The incident happened in Lakewood Ranch Community on Christmas Eve 2012. The two dogs escaped from the window home and began roaming the community. According to reports the 13 year old boy was riding his bike down the same street when the two dogs charged.

"The dogs were working in tandem and while one dog was being fended off the other dog would come behind the boy and bite him in the back of his leg. That's what caused the severe injuries. But, twice the boy tried to run away and the dogs chased him down and knocked him to the ground and dragged him," said Minix.

The boy received 7 bites, all of which were too graphic to show on TV. The incident resulted in an investigation that lead to Buck and Bill being sentenced to death. The dogs' owner did appeal the decision but lost the case. Which may be why local attorney Colleen Glenn filed legal documents on the behalf of both dogs

Two dogs attacked and killed a 3-year-old girl Saturday in the Delaware County town of Hopkinton, officials said.

The girl was in a fenced backyard when two Rottweilers attacked her shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday evening, Delaware County Sheriff John LeClere said in a news release. Hopkinton’s population is about 700.

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/03/05/two-dogs-attack-kill-hopkinton-toddler-3

WASHINGTON — A 6-week-old St. Mary's County, Md., boy was in critical condition Monday after being dragged from his playpen and mauled by the family's dachshund, police said.

The infant was sleeping in a downstairs bedroom Sunday morning when his mother, Andrea Meyers, heard cries coming from a baby monitor, according to a report from the criminal investigations unit of the Maryland State Police. When Meyers reached the bedroom, she found the dog attacking the boy, police said.

http://articles.latimes.com/2002/dec/17/nation/na-maul17

A baby of seven months was mauled by his family's pet sheepdog after it jumped through an open car window and on to his booster seat.

William Jaundrell's leg was almost torn off when border collie Bill attacked him on the driveway of his grandparents' farm.

His mother Patricia had left her son in the Vauxhall Vectra estate for a matter of minutes while she popped into the house when the dog jumped in.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1288786/Familys-border-collie-leaps-car-mauls-baby.html

A supposedly "gentle" pooch named Lucky is suspected of killing a 2-month-old baby and tearing the child's body apart in South Carolina.
Aiden McGrew, who was born on Valentine's Day and was the youngest of three children, was found dead in his family's mobile home Friday in Ridgeville by his mother, according to The Post and Courier newspaper.
The baby was in a swing when Lucky, a golden retriever-Labrador mix, bit the child several times and tore off his legs, authorities said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dog-killed-2-month-old-baby-ripped-child-legs-father-slept-room-police-article-1.1065711

Okay, this is horrible stuff and it's making me ill. Do you get it yet? Do you want to reconsider the canard than only "Pit Bulls" can do horrific damage when they attack, work in concert, or are hard to call off?

I noticed you don't have an answer to the problem with bias and ambiguity in the reporting of breeds. Did you see the bit from the CDC I posted confirming both that breed identification is subjective and that people and news agencies are biased in reporting?

Yes, a large, powerful dog can do horrific damage. Yes, significant numbers of pit and bulldog mixes have been ill-bred, ill-trained, and ill-socialized by unscrupulous or careless people. Yes, big, terrier breeds are popular among people who WANT a terrifying dog.

These are people problems, not "that dog looks like X" problems.

You may also note the large numbers of reported "pit" attacks, and sensational reporting regarding the dangers of the same, is a new phenomenon. These dogs have been popular in the U.S. for decades. Remember the little dog in Our Gang? No one thought bull terriers were scary then.

You cannot look at a dog, note that it's a big terrier breed, and conclude that it's dangerous. Nothing wrong with understanding the dangers of large dogs, and recognizing the prevalence of bad bulldogs amongst the population. You don't know any dog until you've seen in it in different situations. With strangers. With children. With small animals or other dogs. And of course a big dog can inflict horrific injuries. ANY big dog. Rottweilers have the greatest recorded bite strength in dogs, and grow to 140 lbs -- nearly twice the size of a large "Pit." You think they can't rip things off of a person?

One big anti-Pit person on the site is an Australian Shepherd aficionado. Great, beautiful dogs. But as noted above, the breed can be incredibly dangerous. They're smart and extremely athletic. They and their mixes have been involved in a number of terrifying attacks.

And children are at particular risk from dogs and any animal with a prey drive in general. They don't know how to socialize with a dog, and they can be perceived as food. And they can't fight back. Humans are responsible for making sure that doesn't result in tragedy.

Focusing on the type of dog based on anecdotes and news reports regarding the supposed breed is no different from reading crime reports where the assailant looks a certain way and drawing some conclusion about race or ethnicity.

Animals can be dangerous. Large animals can be more dangerous than small ones. Dogs are animals that exhibit a variety of behaviors related to breeding, innate temperament, training, and socialization. People need to be aware of that. If you want to focus your anger and anxiety somewhere, try irresponsible owners and breeders and people who are proud to have a "dangerous" dog, or don't bother to socialize or train their animals.

Okay?