# a fatal dog bite incident



## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

WHAT HAS CHANGED????:? :? :? 

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/sep/30/simi-valley-girl-5-dies-after-backyard-attack/

This is so sad. These days people need to learn not to allow small children to socialize with dogs in an uncontrolled manner. I know that when I was a child, my family always had house dogs and we were not supervised, the dogs were my best buddies. so, WHAT HAS CHANGED???

I want to also say I applaud the Animal Regulation Director Kathe Jenks. I saw an interview with her on the news today. She said more than once, children & dogs must be supervised, regardless of the breed, & that dogs don't always see children as people. She did NOT single out Pit Bulls.

Finally, I am of course very disturbed by the write-in comments of average citizens below the story. The Breed Banners are definetely a growing contingent, to hell with the truth about this breed, or any other large/powerful breed, they don't want to know.


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## Amy Swaby (Jul 16, 2008)

I'm just get really really tired of stupidity. Maybe it's because of my recent argument with a contingent of OMG pitbulls are super dangerous guys and only stupid people want to own dogs like that!

Pitbulls are different because of their jaw strength!



https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1207507689303195972&postID=4821825778823186365

a chihuahua attacked a horse and then the pitbull joined in... of course it was all about the savage pitbull because the chihuahua was too small to cause any damage. But the commentary is just...UGH. I dare anyone to try and read through half of the drivel. 

I'm sure everyone here is used to it and can giggle a little inside when people think pitbulls have a stronger bite than ANY OTHER BREED. (yes someone said that) :roll:


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

What has changed?

How about the mindset of the kind of people in the commentary that think its perfectly fine that they allow their kids to sit on dogs, and to poke their pug in the eyes. And then say any dog who retaliates is a danger and should be put down. 

How about the people that say their dog is completely trustworthy and is so friendly and sweet he wouldn't hurt a fly. (Yeah, thats the exact line the owner used after his loose LAB charged at me and my dog, growning and barking)

Or, my fave, how about the gansta wanabees looking for the new bad-ass tough dog, and turning an athletic, stable, intelligent, and loyal breed, into vicious child killers. Backyard breeding at it's finest.

These kind of stories make me sick. And very sad, because a well-bred APBT is a good dog...

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## Lyn Chen (Jun 19, 2006)

The no-spank, 100% "positive" to the point that the dog could be trying to kill you and you're still handing him treats, "he acts out because he's abused, not because he's undisciplined" attitude is what's changed.


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## Mark Horne (Oct 12, 2006)

Amy; how on earth can someone who has rottweilers start throwing sweeping statements about pitbulls. And the jaw strength is one small element involving dogs that attack, rottweilers globally are probably ahead of the pits in fatalities. Having owned 6 Rotts and investigated many dogs attacks I don't share you view.

This tradegy has many factors to it, parenting on both sides, I don't know many 5yr old girls wandering around at 8.45pm at night, parents of the 13yr old and responsibility for the dog. Other factors present, young girls screaming when they play, what was actually taking place with the dog prior to the attack(truthfully). History of the dog;positive/negative.

Blaming the breed is shallow and unconstructive, probably a bit hypicritical especially as you mainly own Rotts. Thats the same stereo typing Rotty owners across the world suffer most days.

This is an absolute tradegy, but there's a bit more to this than meets the eye and initial media reports should be taken in context.


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

I honestly think you've missed the irony in Amy's post. Read it again.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Anna I think you hit the nail on the head. I remember when I was a kid, I was raised with a lot of common sense when it came to dogs: think like a dog, don't expect a dog to think like a human. I think this was probably the norm for my generation, so for many of us I guess it just became 2nd nature.


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## Amy Swaby (Jul 16, 2008)

Uhm...yes I just rescued a pitbull, I was quoting as i said from the link I posted. As I mentioned those statements "pitbulls are the most dangerous dogs on Earth" are laughable. I simply can not believe that people still believe myths of shrinking skulls and alligator bite force, these myths are reused old and hackney. People won't be happy until all drivey medium sized and larger breeds are banned.

:-&


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## kristin tresidder (Oct 23, 2008)

i hear more stories like this than i care too. a key fact that almost always emerges is that the dog is never actually a real "pitbull." this story is very typical in that it headlines *PITBULL* and then uses *PITBULL* again in the first line of the story, and then in the second paragraph changes to 35# pitbull MIX. (with the size of the average pitbull now being much larger than 35#, i wonder how much truth there is to the 'pitbull' component of the attacking mutt, or if the dog happens to have short hair and a blocky head) the other key facts are always similar to these: 
"_During the 2007-08 fiscal year, 117 pit bull bites were reported to the Ventura County Animal Regulation Department, the most of any breed._ _A total of 1,185 dog bites were reported in that period. Jenks, however, said pit bull attacks are reported much more frequently than those by other breeds of dogs._" 

pitbulls are frequently over (mis)represented in the numbers of attacks reported, other breeds are notabley under-represented and 'pitbulls' still don't make up even 10% of the total bites reported. 


as to what has changed, i think another poster hit the nail on the head, in that now every nut-job neurotic dog needs to be 'saved' or have excuses made for it, and anyone who makes the decision to put down a dog because of a poor temperament is now a bad owner according to all the AR nuts & 'rescue, spay/neuter nazis' (as i call them) out there & even the popular (read animal planet type) media.


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

I agree with you completely. A friend of ours with a Fila Brasilerio kennel had a Pit Bull. When we visited her, she tried to pass him off as some sort of mix. My husband said he knew it was a Pit Bull and played with him. The two of them rollicked around in great fun.

The Pit Bull isn't a pure breed under the FCI, so it is intself a mix. Our Kennel Club can't recognise it so it doesn't get the support that would be beneficial. 

A few years ago, a 7-year old Turkish boy was savaged by two Pit Bull Terriers. This was very tragic and the whole of Switzerland was shocked.

The strange thing for me was, that numerous dog owners declared that their dog/s would never savage a child.

I can quite honestly say that if ANY of my dogs had got loose and were running across the field unattended, and a child started screaming - I would not have been able to forecast the outcome.

Statistics stink and breed bans stink, too.


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