Pit bulls' owner cited in attacks (now video of dogs & victims)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20101201/NEWS01/712019876/0#pit-bulls-owner-cited-in-attacks

By Jason Kuiper
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

The Nebraska Humane Society today cited the owner of two pit bulls that attacked a pair of 12-year-olds on their way home from school Monday.

The owner, Shara Dunbar, 47, who lives near 37th and Blondo Streets, was cited for two counts of harboring a dangerous animal, two counts of improper restraint of an animal and one count of not having a dog license.

Both dogs were vaccinated at the time of the attacks, although the Humane Society said it will keep both animals for a 10-day rabies observation period and throughout court proceedings.

The children, Daja Briggs and Japrice Green, both were hospitalized and required stitches following the attacks.

An unidentified passerby fired a shot into the air to scare the dogs off and them drove them to a friend's house.

Earlier story at link too.

[TexasObserver]

1. Oh, sure. Blame the dogs.

They're just out having a nice day when some mean little kids ran up and stuck their limbs in the dogs' mouths.

Why can't people leave these majestic dogs alone? They're only bred for their nice personality!

It's never the dog's fault. They're all sweet. I saw a photo of one lying next to a kitten.

A kitten!!


Convinced yet?

[donco6]

4. Oh boy!

:popcorn:

[kayakjohnny]

16. Gosh, I never looked at it that way.

You bring up some interesting points.

I mean... a kitten.

Open and shut.

Hahahaha, nice!

:fistbump: :hi: :toast:

[TexasObserver]

18. It's what I've learned here.

You see, if someone has a photo of their dog lying next to their kitten without tearing it apart, it means all such dogs are safe, happy, friendly, harmless animals!

[uppityperson]

27. Makes as much sense as someone saying all dogs of a type are vicious

It makes me happy to know that you understand that "such dogs" are not either all vicious killers or all kitten lovers. And here I was thinking the first person to post would post some dichotomous thinking thing.

[TexasObserver]

29. "He's never done this before!" --- response of every dog owner

-- when their dog bites someone.

Other owners murmur "it's the owner, not the dog," and then repeat it all the next time.

Some dogs are more likely to attack than others. Some dogs are more likely to be acquired because their owner has emotional or psychological problems and wants a dog which will be a physical specimen the owner can never be. Some owners are simply terrible owners who should not be allowed to own any dog.

The problem with big dogs is they attract many bad owners, and when they inflict injuries, they're often severe.

[uppityperson]

31. "he's bitten several people, why'd you try to pet him" owner of a medium sized tail wagger who rippe

ripped my hand open as a child. Maybe because I came next door to your house to give you something and you and the dog answered the door and you just stood there and watched me pet the seemingly friendly tail wagger? Turned out he had bit many people and soon had to be put down. I wish those people would've done the easy thing and not let him answer the door with them.

Yes, some dogs are more likely to attack, to bite than others. And yes, larger dogs can cause more damage. And yes, there are varied popular macho dogs which change over the yrs that attract idiots to have them.

That said, I don't think all big dogs should be prohibited and wish there was an easy answer to have all dogs treated well and humanely.

[adigal]

37. You seem to be a dog hater

Pit bulls are generally very good with people. The issue with them is that when they do bite, their jaw configuation and they way they shake their head inflicts more damage than other dogs. I do dog rescue, and the only dogs that ever bit me, or my kids, is my brother's golden retriever. He attacked my son in 3 places. I have been bitten by my sister-in-law's Yorkie. None of the pits I have rescued have ever bitten me. So I guess we should kill Golden Retrievers, who are now pretty inbred and having temperment problems, and Yorkies, who are also terriers, just like pits.

Sigh. There is so much misinformation about dogs and the dogs always pay the price.

[flvegan]

39. Just certain breeds.

Oops, was that out loud?

Sorry.

[TexasObserver]

45. You seem to be a person hater.

Are you a person hater? Should I conclude you are because you aren't sensitive to the humans who are daily eaten by bad dogs?

[flvegan]

49. Humans are "daily eaten" by bad dogs??????

:rofl:

The jokes, they write themselves with this one.

[adigal]

38. You seem to be a dog hater

Pit bulls are generally very good with people. The issue with them is that when they do bite, their jaw configuation and they way they shake their head inflicts more damage than other dogs. I do dog rescue, and the only dogs that ever bit me, or my kids, is my brother's golden retriever. He attacked my son in 3 places. I have been bitten by my sister-in-law's Yorkie. None of the pits I have rescued have ever bitten me. So I guess we should kill Golden Retrievers, who are now pretty inbred and having temperment problems, and Yorkies, who are also terriers, just like pits.

Sigh. There is so much misinformation about dogs and the dogs always pay the price.

[Throckmorton]

55. Sounds like when my 'pet' cow died in the 7th grade,

My grandfather, always the one to make witty comments, said, "Well Barb, shes never done that before".

[Kalyke]

40. Why would I blame the dogs? I blame the damn owner!

[TexasObserver]

47. Because there are bad dogs.

You do realize, don't you, that outside GD - in the real world - savage dogs aren't worshipped as gods the way they are in GD?

And their owners should be prosecuted, when appropriate.

[Kalyke]

48. You do realize, don't you, that outside DU - in the real world -

dogs have to be confined effectively?

If they are savage, then they are their owner's responsibility.

If they are not confined, then they are their owner's responsibility.

I have four rescues. They are not gods, but they are in the house when I, or my husband, are not home to monitor their activities, even though none of them are particularly aggressive. But, EVERY dog has that potential, especially when protecting their home and/or domain.

These dogs' owners SHOULD be prosecuted for failure to confine their savage toddlers. And, yes, a grown dog has about the same cognitive reality as a human toddler - but with strength, teeth and a legal world that fails to make sure they're properly trained, contained and educated.

P.S. I thought you were an attorney. You should know about the responsibility of dog owners, even from only a legal basis.

And I'll go one further... there should also be "leash" laws for cats. I know that's not particularly popular on DU, but if cats wouldn't come tease dogs who are confined in their own yards, then there would be far less fence-jumping.

[TexasObserver]

56. You incorrectly believe that the dog and its owner cannot both be held responsible.

I know in the world of "rescuers," dogs are all precious and can always be rehabilitated.

But in reality, they can't. Some are damaged goods and will never be safe around humans.

Your version of "safe," is not the same as mine, and not the same as most.

Most don't think allowing large dogs with troubled histories around kids is a good idea. Occasionally, one such dog owner sacrifices their kid on the altar of their rescue worship service. A young man was torn to shreds last month by his "rescues."

You confuse putting the dog down because it is dangerous with holding the owner criminally and civilly responsible. Both are necessary in some cases.

[madinmaryland]

2. Good! The owners deserve to be held responsible.

[Forkboy]

3. I like pitbulls. It's many of their owners that I think suck.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry thinks that having a tough dog makes them a tough guy.

[DrDan]

20. the owners did not instigate this attack

[Forkboy]

21. Yeah, I know. My comment still stands though.

:shrug:

[TorchTheWitch]

23. yes they did

By not socializing the dogs and not keeping them properly confined. A dog is what you make of it. ANY dog. There is no such thing as pitbulls being genetically bad dogs any more than any other breed of dog is genetically a bad dog. And incidently, these dogs were supposedly pitbull mixes... they don't even know if there's any pitbull in either of them at all.

It's ALWAYS the fault of the owner when their dog is not properly socialized and trained and not properly confined. A dog is just an animal and will behave as an animal or when they are allowed to or encouraged to behave badly by their human masters.

[Omaha Steve]

25. "they don't even know if there's any pitbull in either of them at all"

I'll take the humane societies and the police department opinion of they are mixed. Looking at the video I'm sure the brown one is.

[TorchTheWitch]

28. why?

Since when are the police department and the humane society experts on dog genetics especially when it comes to a breed of dog that VERY closely resembles other dog breeds? And why does it matter what the breed of the dogs are at all? How ANY dog behaves depends entirely on how they are socialized and trained. There IS no genetic disposition for pitbulls to attack then any other breed of dog. Why a dog attacks has only to do with the fact that it thinks like a dog, and without proper socialization and training it may behave in ways that are not appropriate and even dangerous in human society yet are acceptable in dog society.

Looking at the dogs in the video it may very well be that either or both have pitbull genetics but it can't be certain without genetic testing especially since soooo many other breeds of dogs closely resemble the pitbull.

Whether or not the dogs are pitbulls or part pitbulls or no part pitbull is not material to the incident whatsoever. The incident occurred because the owners are ASSHOLES who didn't confine, socialize or train their dogs properly - PERIOD.

[guitar man]

35. As far as the cops go

I certainly wouldn't trust them to identify what the dogs are, watched them blow it and tried to tell them they were blowing it. " shut up kid, we know what we are doing " was the response I got for trying to help them.

Many people see "pitbull" where there isn't any. Take this dog for instance, I'd be curious to see what people think it is.

[flvegan]

36. Adorable.

What do I win?

[adigal]

43. A border collie/hound??

Many of the shelters in the south label most of the dogs as pits so they can just kill them, and not put them up for adoption. Last week, the "shelter" at Newnan Coweta, Georgia labelled a hound with an long narrow nose a pitbull and killed her. She was 6 months old, I was full and couldn't take her. My heart breaks thinking of her. :(

Also, many blocky headed labs look like pits because they are wide across the eyes. Pits are wide at the end of their mouths, if you can picture what I mean. Lots of non-pits are wide across the eyes.

[guitar man]

61. Good eye

It's a Boxer/Border Collie mix. The reason I posted it is because I have a friend who had the exact same mix and faced the choice of either giving up her dog or moving because she lived in a town that passed breed specific legislation and no matter how much evidence she presented that her dog was not a "pitbull" nobody in authority would hear of it. They were hell bent to run her and her dog out of town and they did it. The dog in the pic looks real close to how her dog looked.

[Kalyke]

46. I'm gonna say... um... Boxer and some sort of retriever.

No pit.

I have a pit/hound mix. Smartest and sweetest dog in the house.

[Omaha Steve]

52. And why does it matter what the breed of the dogs are at all?

Because Omaha enacted a pit bull (dangerous animal)ordinance awhile back. There were 5 pit bull attacks in less than a month. None of the dogs were insured. All were loose. So the city passed the law. So if they are even part pit, the owner will be prosecuted & be legally responsible for medical bills etc. Problem so far is most have not had the $ to pay for medical or therapy cost for the many victims.

I post many animal rights stories in DU. When a dog attacks while loose and without provocation, I'm no animal lover.

[northernlights]

59. why no animal lover? the people are the assholes that let them loose and didn't socialize them...

when a dog attacks loose and with no provocation, it is the people to blame, not the dogs. 100% the people.

[adigal]

41. Amen!!! A smart dog person, finally!!!

In my dog rescue, I regularly have people who adopted sweet puppies from me call me up about 9 months later, demanding I take this "wild" dog back. Excuse me, I say, in your contract you agreed to take the dog for training at 6 months old. Did you?

The answer is always NO, and then they want the dog to become my problem.

People are the a-holes, not the dogs.

[DrDan]

53. if that were the case, then why do the VAST majority of dog attacks come from pit bulls

Could it be they are misidentified? Sure - but seems strange to me that errors in id'ing the breed never seems to include the attacking dog(s) being other breeds as well. The id in these viscious attacks always seems to be that of a pit bull.

Could it be that it is because they are news worthy because of the visciousness of the attack and that there are attacks in appropriate numbers by other breeds that just do not make the news? Well . . . that is simply more evidence that stronger controls must be put on this breed (I know I know - not breed - but breeds plural - I have read that before). Their strength and tenaciousness warrant extra control!

Sure the owners are responsible - punish the heck of them. But - there are also those stories of attacks (including those that result in death!) from pit bulls with owners that claim their pets are nothing but gentle - the dogs sleep with the children, simply angels. bullroar.

These dogs are known for their loyalty. So anecdoctal evidence suggesting they have never shown agression toward the family of the owners is simply avoiding the problem. It is not a legitimate defense.

[DrDan]

54. there is a flaw in your argument. The strength of these animals

demands more preventive control.

Any owner taking the additional risk of owning this breed needs to be responsible to a greater degree - and dealt with appropriately when incidents like this occur.

[Kalyke]

42. Yes they did.

They either:

A. Didn't train their dogs.
B. Made their dogs meaner by their treatment.
C. Trained their dogs to attack.
D. Didn't properly confine their dogs.

And, possibly (and likely)

D. Didn't spay or neuter their dogs to reduce aggressive tendencies.

So, yes, the owners DID instigate this attack.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

5. Good thing someone was there to intervene.

bad news all around for everyone. The girls got hurt and the dogs will likely be destroyed.
Hopefully other dog owners will learn the consequences of keeping animals incorectly.

[DBoon]

6. Pit Bulls belong behind a solid fence

They are notorious escape artists, and will faithfully defend "their" homes from any intruder.

Unfortunately, they are often not smart enough to know the difference between children playing and a "real" intruder.

And their notion of property lines isn't the same as humans'. For some reason, they don't figure out the sidewalk in front of their home is public property that anyone has a right to use

[Still Blue in PDX]

9. My beagle was a much better escape artist.

My pit bull is happy lounging around watching Animal Planet. That being said, your post is completely on target.

I am 99.9% certain that my dog would never attack anyone, but that does not for a minute mean that I am going to give her the opportunity to prove or disprove my faith in her. Living critters, whether they have 2 legs or 4, tend to be unpredictable.

Hell, look at Obama.

:hide:

[ET Awful]

14. Not always true.

I agree with the "solid fence" part, but as to the "faithfully defend part", I have to differ. :)

My dog (one of the breeds commonly called "pit bull") has a hard time staying awake. He doesn't "faithfully defend" anything, including his food dish (which the cats will raid while he's eating and he just whines).

We've had a person here installing cable and the dog slept for the entire 3 hours the guy was here. Hell he didn't even know we had a dog until he turned around to leave and saw the dog sprawled out on the couch sleeping.



Hell, he hides behind US if there's another dog around.

[guitar man]

33. Eat sleep fart and lick his balls

What a life! :D

[ET Awful]

51. Balls? He better not have balls, or that vet is going to be hearing from me :) :) :) n/t

[DBoon]

63. Our girl is a tireless defender of her property

though we had (now RIP) an older pit mix who wouldn't even bark at the mailman when letters were being dropped through the slot. Everything on 2 legs was his friend. He loved the electric meter reader and would cry if he couldn't greet him

Our current pitbull is amazing when it comes to defending her yard against enemies real and enemies not-so-credible

[TorchTheWitch]

24. EVERY dog needs to be properly confined

Whether it's behind a fence they can't get over, under or around or on a leash firmly attached to a RESPONIBLE owner/handler.

[adigal]

44. I'm not sure what pits you have known

My rescue experience with pits is that they are not good escape artists, and are really not good watch dogs either. They were not bred to be guard dogs. Shepherds, rotties, dobermans, even Kuvaszs are all better watch dogs. Pits have to be good with people, because when they were fighting and the owners went into the ring to break up the fights, they had to avoid biting the people.

If you want a dog to attack people coming to your house, a pitbull is not a good option.

[DBoon]

62. Our girl was amazing at getting out!

primary example from personal experience, though I've heard similar stories

[guitar man]

7. Irresponsible headline

"Langan said one is a boxer-pit bull mix, while the other is a pit bull mix"

So truth be told, the dogs might not even be pit bull terriers at all. I'd like to see a picture of them. I've personally seen dogs that I knew didn't have a bit of APBT in them mis-identified in police reports.

"Idiotic dog owner cited in attack" would be more apt. Those poor children....I hope they throw the book at the irresponsible "owner" :grr:

[Still Blue in PDX]

10. Excellent point. nt

[Omaha Steve]

11. Video of the dogs and the injuries on the 12 year olds

http://www.action3news.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=5341093&h1=Two%20Dogs%20Off%20the%20Streets%20After%20Vicious%20Attack%20on%20Children&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=136333&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&rnd=26820076

[guitar man]

30. Thanks Steve

Grrr, iPhone won't play the video, I'll have to take a look when I get back to the desktop in the morning.

[Kalyke]

50. The brown one is a mastiff - it MAY have some pit in it, but really

doesn't look like it other than it's odd body.

The black dog...hmmm... can't tell. He/she looks alot like one of my babies who is probably part pit. She'd rather lick you to death than bite you. LOL. Seriously, though, any dog, no matter how sweet, can get into a "pack" mentality and become a menace. The owners should make sure they can't get loose.

[guitar man]

60. The brown dog is a Mastiff mix

The black dog looks like some kind of hound mix. Either dog may have APBT mixed in them, but to identify either as a "pitbull" is inaccurate and irresponsible.

[flvegan]

13. "Pit bull" has to be in the headline, or nobody cares.

All part of the good ole Fear Doctrine we all live under.

[guitar man]

32. Pretty much

I had a friend several years ago that was having trouble, his neighbor had some mean ass dogs that would get out and run around terrorizing the block. He called the cops and animal control, which proved to be useless. So he started calling the local tv news station and couldn't get them to come out either. I told him to call the news desk and tell them they were pit bulls to see what happened. You would have thought they teleported that news van as fast as it got there.

The news guys were kinda pissed when they saw the dogs because there was no way in hell you could pass them off as pits. I think one was a chow/shepherd mix and the other was part great pyraneese and something. Mean fuckers though, finally got something done about them.

[uppityperson]

34. That is pretty funny, in a sad way.

glad they got taken care of.

[cyr330]

8. I LOVE dogs

And all animals, pretty much. Nonetheless, these dogs have proven themselves to be dangerous animals. What's going to happen next time? Will they have to kill somebody before something is done? Here in San Francisco, we've had several attacks over the last 8-9 years that have caused the deaths of AT LEAST 3 children and one adult. Quite frankly, these 2 dogs that attacked these children should be put to sleep in order to prevent more tragic, heartbreaking deaths.

[northernlights]

12. if they were going to put the dogs down I think they would have already

They could determine whether or not they had rabies from necropsy.

I'm glad they've chosen to cite the owner. I hope they don't assume they are bad dogs -- we don't know what led to the attacks. Hopefully the dogs will end up in the hands of somebody who knows how to handle and train them, and cares enough about them to take proper care.

[TorchTheWitch]

26. they can't be destroyed until it's proven they are the dogs responsible

Which they will likely do with DNA testing. These are probably the dogs responsible, however, even if proven that they are it needs to also be proven that the dogs weren't provoked in some way, and that will be difficult. Usually, even if the attack wasn't provoked, and the animal has no history of other biting behavior they get a "first time" pass, but that can depend on the severity of the injuries inflicted.

As always, the responsibility lies solely with the owner who didn't properly confine the dogs or properly socialize and train them. I would hope that instead of destroying the dogs - which I don't think they deserve - they be confiscated from the irresponsible owner and placed with someone who can properly handle them. These aren't hopelessly vicious animals seeing as their behavior in the video is docile. With the right owner they can be become perfectly useful and loving pets.

[petronius]

15. Good thing that neighbor had a gun, then!

Although maybe "into the air" wasn't the ideal choice...

[Coventina]

17. I think it was smart of him not to risk hitting the children unless absolutely necessary. n/t

[petronius]

22. Of course - I was thinking more into the ground...

Or perhaps some sort of solid object. But maybe there wasn't anything obvious, I'm not how clearly I would think while seeing two kids get chewed on by dogs...

[TwilightGardener]

19. Sad for all involved. Hate to see the dogs in "jail", wagging their tails

for the reporter and cameraman. We all know what's in store for them. :-(

[TheWraith]

57. The unsung idiot in this article...

"An unidentified passerby fired a shot into the air to scare the dogs off and them drove them to a friend's house."

You should never fire a shot into the air in an inhabited area. The bullet always has to come back down, and the law of gravity says it has to come back down pretty fast. You could send someone to the hospital that way.

If you MUST fire a warning shot, fire it into soft ground or a tree. Otherwise, don't discharge your weapon unless you absolutely need to shoot the animal.

[NutmegYankee]

58. It may have been a reaction without thought.

Most people wouldn't think clearly while hearing the screams of children being ripped up.

[TEXASYANKEE]

64. Not sure it would have helped in this particular situation ...

but all children should be taught how to respond to dogs. So many times these attacks and bites happen because people react improperly to threatening/aggressive behavior, and make the situation go from dangerous to deadly.

I'm reading lots of replies about bad dogs and bad dog owners, but nothing about understanding and reacting to dog behavior. I find that curious.