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Post by valliesong on Nov 7, 2008 13:34:36 GMT -5
today.msnbc.msn.com/id/27578582/First Dog takes bite at White House reporter Decker treated by White House physician after being nipped by Barney Access Hollywood updated 3:39 p.m. ET, Thurs., Nov. 6, 2008 In a case clearly meant for gDog Whispererh Cesar Millan, Barney the First Dog was caught biting a member of the White House press corps Thursday in Washington D.C. Reuters political reporter Jon Decker was bitten by the Scottish terrier and had to be treated by the White House physician, according to a source on the scene. Decker had reportedly just finished a live shot for MSNBC at 10:35 a.m. ET and was making his way toward the briefing room when he spotted Barney and his handler on a walk, the source told Access. Story continues below « -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- advertisement | your ad here -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After asking if it was OK to pet the exiting First Dog, Decker reached down to stroke the terrier. It was at this point that Barney reportedly gsnappedh and bit Deckerfs finger, breaking the skin, the source said. Deckerfs reaction was reportedly, gthatfs not good.h After heading to the lower White House press office for a bandage, someone suggested Decker see the White House nurse. The nurse, in turn, reportedly sent Decker to Dr. Richard Tubb, the White House physician, who prescribed antibiotics as a precaution. Decker is said to be doing gfineh following the incident, the source said.
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Post by RealPitBull on Nov 11, 2008 15:36:36 GMT -5
Even after the dog nearly bit his face off, an injury so bad his mother initially thought he might die, Jesse Shaffer’s biggest fear was going back to school and facing ridicule from his fellow second-graders. He was scheduled to go back to his Fort Lupton elementary school on Halloween, and Jesse thought he looked like a monster, with his swollen cheeks, stitches that divided his face in two and purple bruises. So his mother, Donna, took him in two days early and had all the kids ask him questions. Two days later, Halloween went well, and now Jesse’s back to being the hyper 7-year-old who loves to play sports, even if he still has to take it easy for a few more days. “He’s really doing awesome,” Donna said. “It actually almost looks normal now. They did a really good job.” If only everything else was that easy to heal. Since Oct. 25, the day he was attacked while playing ball with the dog, a chow mix named Oso and owned by Mario Garcia-Guaderrama, Jesse’s had nightmares about dogs chasing him and is terrified of them. “He went trick-or-treating on Halloween night, and every time a dog came to the door, he came running back to me,” Shaffer said. “We had a dog the first five years of his life, and I’ve got dogs in my family and so does my husband. We’re trying to work with him on it, but it’s just going to take time.” Fort Lupton police Sgt. Kevin Halloran called it the worst dog bite he’s ever seen, and Karen Cade, Fort Lupton Municipal Court coordinator, said in her five years, the city hasn’t had a bite this severe come to court. A puncture wound in his left temple exposed his skull, and his lower lip was bitten in half. Garcia-Guaderrama is scheduled to appear in court the first week of December. He is charged with owning an animal creating a danger and could face a $1,000 fine and a year in prison, although prison sentences are rare, Cade said. Oso was impounded to check for rabies, and though it may not be required by the court, Garcia-Guaderrama told police the dog will be destroyed. Shaffer said she doesn’t blame her neighbors. In fact, she feels bad for Mario, 9, Jesse’s friend and the son of Garcia-Guaderrama. The two were playing together when Oso bit Jesse and Mario is blaming himself, she said. “I’ve tried to explain it to him that he didn’t know what his dog was going to do,” she said. “They had played together for months and the dog never did anything and never showed any aggression. How can you be mad about that?” Even so, the day was traumatizing. “There was so much blood,” she said. “I was panicking like a mom. But now the only thing I’ve thought about is my son came out alive. What’s wrong with him can be fixed over time.” That includes some dental work, but mostly it includes putting the trauma behind him. Those first few days were tough. Her middle child of three, Jorie, 4, saw his blood-covered face and wouldn’t go near Jesse. She still avoided him for the first few days, even telling him, at times, to “get away from me.” But now, she, like Jesse’s classmates, is being supportive. “She came up to him the other day,” Shaffer said, “and said, ‘See, this is how you hug Jesse without hurting him.’ ” www.greeleyt ribune.com/ article/20081110 /NEWS/811099946/ 1002/NONE& parentprofile= 1001&title= Boy,%207, %20recovering% 20well%20after% 20severe% 20dog%20bite
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Post by RealPitBull on Nov 14, 2008 18:51:02 GMT -5
orange.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/General/top-dog-for-city-attacks/1357316.aspxTop dog for city attacks BY TRACEY PRISK 11/11/2008 10:26:00 AM THE red cattle dog has been named the breed of dog most likely to have been involved in a local dog attack. The popular farm dog tops the list of the breed of dog most frequently involved in the 22 dog attack incidents which occurred in Orange in the last financial year. The number one rating given the red cattle dog defies a state-wide survey that listed Staffordshire terriers and Rottweilers as the worst offenders. According to the Orange City Council’s manager communications and public relations Nick Redmond, while the red cattle dog proved the most prominent offender in Orange, breeds such as pit bull terriers, Rottweiler crosses, labradors and Maltese terriers were also named in council’s top offenders list. “Some of these reported attacks referred to aggressive behaviour from the dogs and only nine of the attacks involved people being bitten or injured,” said Mr Redmond. “Also of the 22 attacks, seven of them were reported by a third person who witnessed the attack. “While dog attacks are obviously not a massive problem, we’d prefer it if there were none.” If the council does declare a particular dog dangerous, once notified the owner can be forced to build an inclosure to keep the dog or simply surrender the dog. According to Mr Redmond in this instance most owners choose to surrender their dogs. “The council would like to encourage people to report incidents of dog attacks when they can,” he said. Of NSW’s 69 serious attacks during the same period, some 51 victims were hospitalised. Of these 51 attacks, 18 resulted in court action and 29 of the attacks took place on a private property, mostly at the dog owner’s home.
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Post by RealPitBull on Dec 30, 2008 16:24:36 GMT -5
Woman rescued after being attacked by own dog Dave Olson, The Forum Published Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Billie Wegner had clipped her dog’s toenails before and sometimes it earned her a growl or a snap from Noah, her 10-year-old Great Pyrenees.
But the Hawley, Minn. , woman wasn’t prepared for what happened Monday when she tried to groom her dog.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I was brushing him and trimming his nails,” Wegner said.
“His paws have always been very, very touchy. He would growl and generally I could say, ‘Noah, stop it,’ and get him to stop. This morning, it didn’t stop,” she said.
For reasons Wegner said remain unclear, the dog she has owned for eight years attacked her, inflicting a number of bite wounds, including several on her arm.
Wegner was able to reach another room and closed the door, keeping the dog out.
She called 911 and a Hawley police officer and a Clay County sheriff’s deputy showed up.
They could see the dog in the home’s front entryway, so they went around to the window of the room where Wegner was hiding and helped her out through the window.
After Wegner received medical attention, she returned home with a Moorhead community service officer to transport the dog to a veterinarian. By then, the dog had calmed down and willingly jumped into a patrol car for the trip to the vet.
Hawley Police Chief Ernest Rhodes said the plan was to quarantine the animal for a number of days to watch it for signs of disease. Wegner said, however, that for safety reasons she decided to have the dog put down.
She said as a puppy Noah lived in a situation that was not healthy and that may have planted the seeds of aggressive behavior she said were showing signs of escalating.
“He had attacked mildly before, but we could get him to stop. This time he didn’t stop,” Wegner said.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Dec 30, 2008 16:44:45 GMT -5
Geez...I spose this would be one of those unprovoked bites which couldn't have been predicted, huh?
Push, push, push beyond threshold...dog was giving every warning possible.
I don't know why so many people consider growling separate from an actual bite. The growl warns that if pressed, the dog *will* bite. So not only did this person ignore the warning, they punished it, supressed it and surprise! Dog bites.
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Post by RealPitBull on Dec 31, 2008 8:39:57 GMT -5
Yup, growls to me tell as much as a bite, and they ARE a warning. If a dog growls, it should be rewarded by backing OFF and then working through thru the dog's issues sub-threshold at a later time so the dog no longer feels he has to protect himself in a given situation. Too many people believe punishing growls is the thing to do. Then the dog stops growling - and goes straight from 'calm/submissive' to a full-fledged bite.
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Chloe
I Love RPBF!
Posts: 433
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Post by Chloe on Feb 27, 2009 11:33:52 GMT -5
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1025197/Seven-year-old-boy-rescued-hunting-dog-attack-hero-dad.htmlA seven-year-old boy was rescued from the jaws of a powerful hunting dog by his father. Charlie Faulding was left with 40 stitches to his head and legs after the Japanese Akita attacked him while he tried to retrieve a football from his neighbour's garden. The boy's father, Mark Faulding, 36, fought off the dog in a dramatic rescue after he found his son lying face down in a pool of blood and unconscious. He said he believed his son would have died if he had not stopped the attack. Charlie's distraught sister Chrissie, 12, who was playing with Charlie, alerted Mr Faulding. The former horse-trainer said: 'The first thing I knew about it was when Chrissie came running in screaming. I could hear the other children screaming and knew something terrible was happening.' The brave father told how he ran out and seeing his son's lifeless body instinctively jumped over the fence. 'It was standing over him growling just inches from his face,' he said. 'I grabbed it and threw it across the yard. I don't know where the strength came from but he flew across to the other side. 'Straight away he ran at me so I grabbed a stick and started swinging it at him but then he went for Charlie again and got hold of his legs.' Mr Faulding said he tried to hit the dog to make it let go of his son but nothing was stopping it. A teenage girl, on the other side of the fence, then passed him a shovel and he hit the dog three times on the back making it finally release its grip. The dog backed into a corner, still bearing its teeth, but allowed Mr Faulding to pass the still-unconscious Charlie over the fence to neighbours before he was able to escape himself. Powerful: The Japanese Akita dog Tyson that attacked Charlie when he climbed over a wall to get his ball back Mr Faulding said: 'I thought he was dead. He was covered in blood and I could not recognise him or tell what damage was done. He was unconscious and the dog was growling inches from his face.' Charlie had been playing outside his family's semi-detached home, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, last week with his sister and other children from the estate just before the attack happened. After a ball was kicked into the neighbour's garden Charlie decided to climb the 9ft fence and sat on it, knowing the dog, named 'Tyson', was there. Mark said Charlie had patted Tyson several times before when he was being walked by its owner. He said: 'Two teenage boys told Charlie not to worry about the Akita, saying it was friendly. When he jumped into the yard, it wagged its tail and let Charlie pat its head. 'But as soon as he threw the ball over the fence, bang, it just went for him.' Charlie, who spent nearly two days in hospital, said: 'I was just lying down putting my hands in his face so he couldn't bite me, then it knocked my hand out of the way.' The schoolboy was rushed to Bradford Royal Infirmary where he underwent a three-hour operation. Despite the boy's injuries, West Yorkshire Police said no offence had been committed because the 18-month-old dog was secure, surrounded by a high wall and behind a padlocked gate. A spokesman for the dog's owners, who did not wish to be named, thinks Charlie may have hurt himself jumping into the garden, angering the dog. He said: 'The boy has jumped into the garden, which we always keep secure and the gate locked, and he could have fallen and cracked his head. There would be a smell of blood, which any dog would react to.' Dad Mark, a former Akita owner, does not believe Charlie was injured before the attack. He now thinks dog licensing laws should be reviewed. He said: 'The damage it had done in such a short time - only 30 or 40 seconds - was scary. Truthfully, I think if I had not been there my son would definitely have been killed.' The spokesperson for the owner of this dog is an idiot!! What really got me was when he said that "the boy probably hurt himself jumping over the fence, cracked his head from hitting it on the ground and the dog smelled blood and reacted, which any dog would do". R u serious!?! Give me a break people!! A dog is not going to attack just because it smells blood, we arent talking about a lion or a shark, we are talking about a dog!
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Chloe
I Love RPBF!
Posts: 433
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Post by Chloe on Feb 27, 2009 11:43:59 GMT -5
I have a story, no article though.
Now I know lots of people who own pit bulls are anti dog parks, that's not something I wanna get into, I just wanna tell this story.
I took my 1 yr. old female pit bull Chloe to a dog park not all that long ago, we were there for probably 2 hrs. or so, lots of other dogs came and went. A women came in with 3 adult Vizla's. One of the dogs bit a young St. Bernard on the leg and then that same Vizla bit a 12 yr. old little boy who was at the park with his mom and their dog 3 different times in the back. Later on, a huskie mix came in and immediatly jumped another dog and pinned it to the ground bitting it's face and neck. Then, there was a lab mix who attacked a sheltie. I just thought this was all very interesting, considering that I was the one there with the "big bad vicious pit bull" but she was not involved in any way shape or form with any altercations. She didnt even wanna jump in the mix when there was a tustle.
Interesting isnt it, that theres several different fights or tustle's at the dog park all of which we were present for and none of which involved a pit bull. ;D
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Post by RealPitBull on Mar 11, 2009 8:51:30 GMT -5
Infant killed in dog attack MESA, Ariz. - March 5, 2009 - -- A 2-week-old Arizona girl has died after being attacked by the family's dog in their home. Mesa police detective Steve Berry says police were called Wednesday night by a woman who said her daughter had been bitten by a family dog. Berry says officers found the infant in the living room with bite wounds on her head. The baby was pronounced dead at the scene. Berry says the mother had placed her daughter in a low-lying bassinet or crib and discovered the attack when she returned a few moments later.digGetAd( "Rectangle" );document. write('') ;createAndAttach Ad("127_0_ 0_1_16933756_ 1236307445" , "http://ad.doublecli ck.net/adj/ cm.wpvi/c_ baseball; net=cm;u= 127_0_0_1_ 16933756_ 1236307445, 10ebaefe54cd2d2, baseball, cm.pets_M- cm.auto_xiche_ R-cm.weath_ L-cm.suv_ ae-cm.suv_ ae_R;;ord1= 911637;sz= 300x250;contx= baseball; btg=cm.pets_ M;btg=cm. auto_xiche_ R;btg=cm. weath_L;btg= cm.suv_ae; btg=cm.suv_ ae_R;ord= 2009.03.05. 18.44.13?","300","250" ); The parents' names weren't released. However, Berry says the father is a Mesa police officer who was at work at the time. The mother is an officer for the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community. The dog, a chow, was quarantined. . go.com/wpvi/ story?section= news/national_ world&id= 6692720
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Mar 18, 2009 10:29:38 GMT -5
Dog Attacks 2-year-old Long Beach Girl lancaster.injuryboard.com/miscellaneous/dog-attacks-2yearold-long-beach-girl.aspx?googleid=259292A 2-year-old Long Beach girl is in the hospital being treated for dog bite injuries caused by the family dog on Monday night. The dog, a cocker spaniel, is now in the custody of Long Beach Animal Control. The animal will be held for 10 days and checked for signs of rabies. If no signs of rabies surface, the dog may be returned to the owner. At this time, the mother did not request to have the dog returned. The cause of the attack is not known.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Mar 18, 2009 10:33:49 GMT -5
Mom says police dog's attack on son, 13, in South St. Paul was unprovoked www.twincities.com/ci_11936545Mitch Fitzgerald, 13, was standing near a South St. Paul water tower Sunday night when a police dog suddenly ran up to him, knocked him down and started biting him, his mother said. The boy recognized the German shepherd from around the neighborhood and from Animal Planet's "K9 Cops" as a St. Paul police dog, said Mitch's mother, Terri Fitzgerald. Mitch tried to remember the dog's name to tell him to stop. "He was screaming for the cop," Fitzgerald said as she sat with her son at a St. Paul hospital Monday, where she said Mitch received 16 stitches. He was released Tuesday. "The dog didn't stop until the officer called him." Fitzgerald said the off-duty St. Paul officer gave her a business card identifying himself as Isaac Rinehart. Mitch didn't provoke the dog or see him until he was about to attack, Fitzgerald said. South St. Paul and St. Paul police are investigating; neither department provided information about what the boy was doing before he was bitten. This isn't the first time the dog, Sarik, is alleged to have bitten someone by mistake. The dog slipped from Rinehart's grasp when he was responding to a fight call in downtown St. Paul in 2007 and bit a man who wasn't involved, according to a police incident report. Hearing about the previous case made Fitzgerald even angrier about what happened to her son. "If you're a K-9 cop, you have to have complete control of the dog," she said. "In a residential area, it shouldn't be off a leash. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I can't have my dog off the leash." Police dogs are never off duty, and it's the discretion of its handler when the dog should be leashed, said Peter Panos, St. Paul police spokesman. "It's never a pet. It's always a working dog," he said. "These dogs are very well-trained. Do they make mistakes? Yes. We won't know what happened in this case until the investigation is done." Panos said neither he nor Rinehart would be commenting on specifics of the case while it's under investigation. On Sunday night, Mitch had been at a friend's house in his South St. Paul neighborhood and was walking home when he saw a female friend waiting by the water tower near 18th Avenue South and Fourth Street South, Fitzgerald said. The friend was waiting for her father to pick her up, and Mitch stayed to keep her company. Fitzgerald said she and Mitch have seen Rinehart and Sarik in the area before — she believes Rinehart lives nearby and allows Sarik to run by the water tower after their shift is over. Sarik bit Mitch on his arm and face and scratched his leg, Fitzgerald said. The teen needed three stitches on his lip and 13 on his arm, she said. Mitch called his mother from a cell phone, saying he had been bitten by a police dog. Fitzgerald went outside and heard her son screaming. Fitzgerald said she's angry that Rinehart, who was in uniform, told her son to walk home by himself and that he would meet him at his house. Rinehart told her he was trying to reach his commander, Fitzgerald said. When he pulled up in his squad car, Rinehart said, "I'm so sorry this happened," according to Fitzgerald. She asked him what happened, and Rinehart said Mitch must have spooked his dog. Rinehart also asked what he and his friend had been doing by the water tower. Fitzgerald told Rinehart her son and his friend weren't doing anything wrong. Fitzgerald said Rinehart told her that, before he let Sarik out of his car unleashed, he had turned his flashlight on and yelled, but nobody made his or her presence known. Mitch told his mother he didn't see a light or hear the officer's voice. Fitzgerald said she asked Rinehart to call an ambulance. "He said it would cost too much money," Fitzgerald said. "I said, 'It doesn't really matter and I have insurance.' He said it was a little puncture wound and I should go wash it off with cold water." Fitzgerald said she did as Rinehart suggested, but she could tell the wounds were more serious than a puncture wound. She said she asked Rinehart again — this time in the presence of a South St. Paul police officer — about calling an ambulance, and he repeated that it would be expensive. At that point, Fitzgerald got Mitch into her car and drove him to the emergency room at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, she said. South St. Paul police were called at 9:10 p.m. Sunday to a report of a domestic assault in the 400 block of 18th Avenue South. (Fitzgerald said she was told that a neighbor, who didn't know what was happening but heard screaming, reported a domestic incident.) Responding officers stopped a car in the area and were told someone had been bitten by a police dog. The officers were directed to the 1800 block of Fifth Avenue South, said South St. Paul Police Chief Daniel Vujovich. A St. Paul police officer told South St. Paul officers that the victim's parent was taking him to the hospital, Vujovich said. A South St. Paul officer spoke with the boy's mother briefly and told her they would talk to her and the boy more after he received medical attention, he said. Vujovich said he didn't see anything in a police report about the boy's mother asking for an ambulance. South St. Paul police are waiting for St. Paul police to submit an incident report with the officer's account, Vujovich said. Rinehart's supervisor in the K-9 unit will determine whether an internal affairs investigation should be completed, Panos said. The officer and dog remain on duty, he said. Fitzgerald said she has an attorney and is consulting him about her options. At the time of the Dec. 20, 2007, bite in St. Paul involving Sarik, a police spokesman said there would be an internal review. There is no record of discipline associated with the bite in Rinehart's personnel file. Panos, who wasn't the department's spokesman in 2007, said he couldn't find a record of an internal affairs investigation. Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at 651-228-5262.
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Post by RealPitBull on Mar 18, 2009 10:40:21 GMT -5
Wow the above police dog incident sounds like gross negligence on the part of the officer. I also never realized that a cop could let their attack-trained police dog run loose in public whenever they saw fit. Seems really unwise, especially in this lawsuit-crazy day and age.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Mar 18, 2009 10:42:37 GMT -5
www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/03/17/ddn031709dogbiteweb.htmlDog bites girl in face, owner charged KETTERING — A Kettering man was charged in Kettering Municipal Court on Tuesday, March 17, after his Akita bit a girl in the face, requiring 60 stitches. Joseph V. Vorsteg, 52, of Horlacher Avenue, received a misdemeanor charge of having no dog license for the dog's attack, which occurred on Sunday, March 15. The victim was a 9-year-old girl who was bitten while visiting a friend on Horlacher, according to a Kettering police incident log. It is unclear how the girl initially came in contact with the dog, but police believe the attack happened while the girl was playing with some other children and attempted to pet, what police called a "large female Akita." The victim's grandmother reported the incident to police shortly before 11 a.m. on Sunday, according to the incident log. "The dog owner is extremely sorry for the incident and very concerned for the girl," said Kettering Police Officer Michael Burke. "The dog owner was issued a summons for failing to have the dog properly registered in Montgomery County for 2009." The Kettering Police Officer investigating the incident wrote the following in the court summons that was issued to Vorsteg on March 16, "I verified that 'Josie' is current with rabies shots at Dayton South Vet. At this time I traced the dog's license history through the Auditor's office. The last time the dog was licensed was in 2006...I strongly recommended that the dog not be allowed around visitors/children in future. Quarantine was also served at this time." Vorsteg is scheduled to be arraigned in Kettering Municipal Court on March 23.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Mar 18, 2009 10:43:39 GMT -5
Tourist critical after dog attack www.ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2009-03-17_117331855.html (ANSA) - Ragusa, March 17 - Police have evacuated beaches along a stretch of coast in southern Sicily and warned residents to stay in their homes after a pack of stray dogs who killed a 10-year-old boy at the weekend struck again, attacking a German tourist Tuesday. Doctors said the 24-year-old German woman was fighting for her life in a Catania hospital. She had reportedly been walking along the beach near the town of Scicli when she was surrounded by the dogs, who attacked her and inflicted injuries to her face, legs and arms. A group of locals were able to save the woman and scare the dogs off. ''They were tearing her apart and they would have killed her if people hadn't intervened,'' one eye witness said. ''There were a dozen or so mostly small-sized dogs in the pack and they were very aggressive,'' the witness added. In Sunday's attack, the boy had been cycling past the dogs when they surrounded him, pulled him off his bike and killed him. The attack came just hours after two separate incidents in which a nine-year-old boy and a 40-year-old man were bitten. Around 30 of the animals were caught Monday and police stepped up the hunt Tuesday following the latest attack, using helicopters to help spot strays. The pack, being referred to by Italian media as ''the killer dogs of Scicli'', is thought to number around 50 animals. Following appeals from animal rights organisations and after two strays were shot dead by policemen who said they had been attacked, the health ministry stepped in to safeguard the dogs' welfare. ''The dogs should be captured in the way that tigers and lions are captured - with anaesthetic,'' said Welfare Undersecretary Francesca Martini. ''I'm fighting to avoid a slaughter that would make Italy a Third World country. The capture of the dogs must happen in respect of the law,'' she said, adding that she was ''aware of the absolute gravity'' of the recent attacks. Ragusa Prefect Carlo Fanara, under whose authority Scicli lies, ordered police to follow Martini's recommendations as they tried to round up the remaining strays. Animal protection society ENPA meanwhile warned that it would take legal action against anyone who killed the dogs during the hunt, stressing that ''killing animals is a punishable crime''. LAV CALLS FOR MASS STERILISATION. Animal rights group LAV called on the government to issue an emergency decree making the sterilization of all dogs in Italy compulsory and banning the sale of the animals in order to ''turn off the tap'' on dog abandonment. LAV estimates there are around 450,000 stray dogs in Italy, most of whom are in the south of the country. On Monday the organisation warned that around 1,600 town councils ''systematically ignore'' laws requiring them to take responsibility for rounding up strays and accommodating them in public kennels. Scicli Mayor Giovanni Venticinque has admitted that the town was not equipped with public kennels but said the council did not have sufficient funds to build the facilities. Venticinque claims the stray dogs ''were not strays'' but had been legally entrusted to a private citizen. A 64-year-old man who had been granted 'custody' of the pack was arrested Sunday in connection with the boy's death and accused of failing to keep the dogs under control. The fate of the captured dogs lies in the hands of the local health authority. Sicily's regional health chief, Massimo Russa, meanwhile called an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss the problem of stray dogs in the province of Ragusa.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Mar 18, 2009 10:45:40 GMT -5
www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/260240,german-tourist-mauled-in-sicily-in-another-feral-dog-attack.html German tourist mauled in Sicily in another feral dog attack Catania, Sicily - A 24-year-old German tourist was in a "critical" condition in Sicily on Tuesday after she was bitten by feral dogs close to where a boy was killed in a similar attack on Sunday. The woman was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Catania where her life was "in danger" following injuries to the face, chest, abdomen and legs, a hospital official Angelo Pellicano said. The attack which took place on a beach near the town of Scicli on Italian island's southern coast, came amid growing outrage over what critics say are inadequate measures to deal with stray dogs. Police have warned locals to stay indoors as hundreds of dogs are believed to be roaming in the area, a popular tourist destination. On Sunday 10-year-old Giuseppe Brafa died after being bitten in the neck and face by a pack of dogs which hours before in separate attacks had injured a 40-year-old man and another child. The dogs had escaped from a small-holding whose owner was commissioned by municipal authorities to care for captured strays. Police later arrested the man on suspicion of animal abuse after dozens of malnourished and sick dogs were found on his property. The attacks have highlighted the issue of stray or feral dogs in Italy, estimated to number some 400,000 - most of them abandoned pets.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Mar 18, 2009 10:48:15 GMT -5
Parent of dog bite victim wants tougher animal control www.scnow.com/scp/news/local/pee_dee/article/parent_of_dog_bite_victim_wants_tougher_animal_control_measures/39042/Published: March 16, 2009 A Darlington County woman whose daughter’s ear was partly bitten off by a dog called for tougher animal control ordinances Monday night during a Darlington County Council meeting. Robin Conger told council the dog that attacked her 7-year-old daughter nearly a month ago still has not been deemed dangerous. She said she thinks the dog, a yellow Lab that has since been returned to its owner, should be put down, but she said at the least she wants it declared dangerous. According to reports, the child was playing on a trampoline at a friend’s house when she was bitten. Conger said half her daughter’s ear was bitten off in the attack. She said her daughter was bitten at least three times and suffered deep lacerations. Conger showed council photographs of her daughter’s injuries. She said she has received no satisfactory answers from the county officials with whom she has attempted to discuss the matter. She told council she did receive a letter from County Attorney Jim Cox stating that the dog would not be deemed dangerous. “Nobody has given me any explanation as to why the dog has not been deemed dangerous,” Conger said. Council received her comments as information but took no action.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Mar 18, 2009 10:51:32 GMT -5
www.examiner.com/x-2918-Houston-Animal-News-Examiner~y2009m3d15-Deadly-dog-attacks-only-one-common-denominatorDeadly dog attacks: only one common denominator In an earlier story we told you about Adopt-A-Cat’s efforts to open a low cost spay/neuter clinic in the Greenspoint area. According to the National Canine Research Council’s (NCRC) investigation on dog bite statistics, the need for these clinics is not just an issue of controlling the stray pet population—it is a matter of public safety. We’ve all seen the sensationalistic headlines, each one more gruesome than the last, and all invariably bearing the image of a dog in a Cujo-pose. But the most recent fatal dog bite that seems to stick out in my mind the most happened late last year in Riverside County California. At the time, I was researching information for a pit bull related story, and came across the mauling death of 60-year old Gerald Ademund. Apparently, just before Christmas, Ademund stepped into his backyard to smoke when his breeding pair of pit bulls attacked and killed him. The news reports surrounding this incident unwaveringly described the incident a “random attack,” but was it? After reading the NCRC’s meticulously gathered statistics, this attack looks a lot more predictable. Fatal Attacks Exceedingly Rare You are more likely to be killed by a random bolt of lightning than by a dog—the numbers prove it. According to the National Weather Service, in the year 2007, 45 people were struck and killed by lightning. That same year, fatalities attributed to dog attacks are reported as either 33, or 34. And yet, how many splashy news articles can you recall regarding the unlucky guy smoked by lightning? Obviously, more lightning bolts than dogs were killing folks in 2007, and yet the only lightning story I can truly recall was the Croatian guy whose penis was transformed into a spontaneous lightning rod when he stopped to pee by the roadside. On second thought, that’s probably exactly why I remember the event—but my point is; I also recall dozens of national headlines blaring about this or that fatal dog mauling. In retrospect, it certainly seems a bit out of proportion. Another interesting fact the NCRC’s research has concluded is that if you are killed by lightning, it’s a certainty it was an act of God. If you’re killed by a dog, however, you can attribute it to an act of human stupidity. Well, OK—that’s my interpretation of the information, but in light of the evidence, the wording seems appropriate. How Does Texas Stack Up? Poorly, my friend—poorly. In 2007, out of the 33 (for the sake of argument, we’ll use this number as opposed to the 34) fatal dog attacks in the US, seven of them occurred in Texas. That’s 21% of the national total; higher than any other represented state, and almost twice as high as the runner up, Georgia, which had four fatalities. So, is it because Texas is bigger? Hardly. There are several consistent factors that stand out when compiling information on fatal dog attacks in the US, some of which include the exceedingly high number of dogs kept in backyards or on chains, but the most compelling would have to be the sheer numbers of dogs that are intact—the un-neutered or un-spayed canine. Nationally, of the 33 fatal attacks that occurred in 2007, 26 of those involved intact animals. Of the seven not included in that number, only three of those were known to be neutered—the rest were dogs whose reproductive status was either unknown or not recorded. So nationally, 79% of all fatal dog attacks involved intact animals. And in Texas? Try 100%. Intact Animals a Dangerous Mainstay in the Lonestar State Unfortunately, 2007 wasn’t a banner year for the Lonestar State to have fatal dog attacks involving intact animals. Over a 44-year span, 1965-2006, there were 59 fatal dog attacks in Texas. In those 44-years, as in 2007, all of the incidents were caused by intact animals. For example, in one of those deadly incidences, two stray/abandoned dogs attacked and killed a child in Harris County in 2006. Although the media labeled the dogs as “pit bulls,” and politicians began discussions of breed ban laws after this incident, no animal control professional directly involved in the case identified either dog as a pit bull. However, although it was not reported in a single media article, both of the dogs were intact—a significant fact that is incomprehensibly, yet consistently, overlooked. A fact that, when weighed against the sheer numbers, makes any breed ID attempt sound ludicrous. Clearly at least one of the dogs (pictured to the right), was obviously not a pit bull, however in the ensuing avalanche of political posturing and mass hysteria, the term “pit bull” was used as a veritable diving board to plunge into murky BSL waters in an attempt to “safeguard the public.” Unfortunately, pit bulls (or anything resembling one), were made the popular scapegoat, and the truly dangerous factor, that of reproductive status, was tragically ignored. Again. It’s been more than 44 years, Texas. It’s definitely time to wake up and make some changes. The Line in the Sand So where do we go from here? Do we continue to thrash out the validity of BSL legislation, or continue to blame the public for having unaltered animals while offering no affordable alternatives? Personally, if I hear one more person say “Breed Ban” again, I think I’ll vomit. Yes, there are instances of pit bulls and other so-called “Dangerous Breeds” that kill (don't get me started on the problems with breed ID), but the underlying factors unrelated to breed completely overwhelm the question of lineage. 100% of fatal dog attacks are caused by intact animals—and that’s far too compelling to be overshadowed by mere hype. (Yes, I said it; hype.) With so much at stake—namely human life—it would seem the need for low cost spay and neuter clinics and educational campaigns throughout the state takes on a whole new urgency. With an educational campaign focusing on the necessity of spaying and neutering; relying on accurate, compiled data on the extremely high occurrence of dog-related fatalities in conjunction with intact animals, while simultaneously offering state-wide low cost services, it is not inconceivable that Texas would soon shed its dubious distinction of having the highest number of dog-related deaths in the country. There are a lot of people who own dogs in Texas. Instead of wasting another minute and dime on BSL dialogue, we need to coalesce our efforts into making spay and neuter surgeries affordable, accessible, and desirable to everyone. It is a matter of urgent public safety for these surgeries and educational campaigns to be made widely available; least of all so that people are given the tools to make an educated choice—your dog’s balls or your kid’s face, so to speak. And when you boil it all down, that’s essentially what the choice becomes.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Mar 18, 2009 11:05:28 GMT -5
Police dog escapes vehicle, bites man in custody www.thesunnews.com/news/breaking_news/story/824760.htmlA man, who was arrested for having drugs in his vehicle, was bitten by a police dog while in custody, according to the Brunswick County, N.C., Sheriff’s Department. A Leland, N.C., police officer stopped Vincent Eloyd Hill, 26, about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday on Highway 74-76 in the Leland area, according to a release. The officer found several packets of what police suspected was heroin and a handgun inside the vehicle and arrested Hill. Leland police called for a K-9 officer from the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Department to assist them. While Hill was standing next to the sheriff’s K-9 vehicle, the deputy’s remote control activator was accidentally pushed as the deputy searched Hill’s vehicle. The deputy’s dog exited the vehicle and when the dog did not see the deputy handler, the dog bit Hill, who suffered abrasions and minor bite wounds to his lower abdomen, according to the release. Hill was treated and released from New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Hill is being held at the Brunswick County jail pending an appearance before a magistrate.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Mar 18, 2009 11:08:28 GMT -5
southwesternontario.ctv.ca/news.php?id=4152Questions following dog attack in Guelph Police are looking for a Rottweiler and its owner following a vicious dog attack in Guelph. The animal got into a home and attacked another dog on Sunday night. The owner of the injured animal says the Rottweiler's owner grabbed the animal and ran off. A two-year-old Schnauzer/Jack Russell Terrier needed $1300 worth of surgery.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Mar 18, 2009 11:10:14 GMT -5
seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008873727_methbustattackdogs.htmlOfficers raiding meth lab are met by attack dogs, armed suspect LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Members of a drug task force who raided a suspected methamphetamine lab at an isolated home in northern Garland County were first greeted by attack dogs and then had to contend with a suspect armed with a pistol. The dogs scattered when officers started shooting at them, and an officer was close enough to grab Earl Loy, 49, so that no one had to shoot him, said Sgt. Chris Chapmond, coordinator for the 18th Judicial District East Drug Task Force. Chapmond said Tuesday the bust was the task force's 22nd encounter with a meth lab this year, compared to 46 in all of 2008. "There's a definite increase in homegrown methamphetamine labs," Chapmond said. The lab raided early Monday was in a home built on an isolated mountaintop in northern Garland County. The task force, which includes members of the Hot Springs police, Garland County sheriff's deputies and state troopers, was prepared for what agents would find inside the home. The attack dogs were a nasty surprise. "They completely caught us off guard," Chapmond said. "There was a group of five to eight dogs basically in the driveway as the tactical team opened the doors to the raid van and stepped off." One dog became aggressive, then all of them attacked the officers, who started shooting. Chapmond said some of the dogs were likely hit and all of them ran away. Animal control officers were contacted, but there was plenty of wooded land to cover to try to find the dogs. Restrictions on the sale of pseudoephedrine and household chemicals used to make meth helped bring down the number of meth labs in Arkansas in recent years. But the drug's use didn't necessarily decline because the gap was filled by dealers who sold meth produced in Mexico. Chapmond said that, based on questioning of some dealers, the increase in local labs is partly in response to dissatisfaction among users with the strength of the smuggled methamphetamine. "We're seeing that the chemicals along with the pills (pseudoephedrine) are coming from surrounding states, via the Internet or it's stolen," he said. "They're getting a lot more creative than three or four years ago when they could buy from their local retail outlet." Many of the meth producers are also users, he said. "Because of the addictiveness of methamphetamine, they're going to find the precursors. In their mind, they've got to have it," he said. "Generally speaking, most methamphetamine cooks are addicts. Most often, they use as much of their product as they sell." Loy faces felony drug and weapons charges along with Kay Everett, 45, of Hot Springs, who was also arrested at the site. Both were jailed in Garland County. Two other people were at the home and face misdemeanor charges. Investigators said the lab was actively producing several thousand dollars worth of meth daily. Two officers were exposed to chemicals inside the house; one had his gas mask knocked loose while struggling with Loy. Chapmond said Tuesday both officers were fine. A hazardous materials unit was called in to safely dispose of the chemicals, as is common when a meth lab is found. Chapmond said the increase in meth labs is frightening for law officers. "It's very taxing to work a methamphetamine lab, every day or one a week. It puts a strain on manpower, and there's the dangers of the lab itself."
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