# Pit bull owned by Steelers LB Harrison attacks young son



## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

*Report: Pit bull owned by Steelers LB Harrison attacks young son*

Associated Press 
PITTSBURGH -- A pit bull owned by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison has reportedly attacked the player's young son, but police, hospital officials and team officials are releasing little information.








*James Harrison**, LB* 
Pittsburgh Steelers 

*2008 Statistics* 
*Tackles:* 101
*Sacks:* 16
*FF:* 7

"We're aware of the situation, but it's a personal matter for James," Burt Lauten, spokesman for the Super Bowl champions, told The Associated Press. "We won't be commenting further."
An unidentified neighbor told the _Pittsburgh Post-Gazette_ that one of the star player's three dogs got loose on Thursday and attacked the boy, James III. His age was not immediately available.
A Franklin Park police officer warned neighbors "to keep our children inside because (Mr. Harrison's) dog had bit somebody," the neighbor told the newspaper.
The dog was removed by an animal control agency.
A Franklin Park police spokeswoman said on Friday that police are not commenting because the incident remains under investigation.
Neighbors told the newspaper that a second person was also was hurt and that Harrison's son was taken to UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. A hospital spokesman said the family does not want information released.
<table align="right" width="260"> <tbody><tr> <td>   *Pittsburgh Steelers* 
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» Official team site: Steelers.com 

</td> </tr> </tbody></table> Harrison lives about 15 miles north of the city.
In 2006, then-Steelers linebacker Joey Porter was cited by police in Pine Township, another suburb north of Pittsburgh, after two of his dogs got loose and killed a miniature horse on a nearby farm. Northern Regional Police said then that Porter's dogs were licensed in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., but not in Allegheny County.
Harrison is the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and  scored on a 100-yard interception return in the team's 27-23 victory over Arizona in Super Bowl XLIII. He made headlines for  declining to join the Steelers on a White House visit on Thursday, though he passed up the same opportunity after the Steelers beat Seattle in  Super Bowl XL in 2006.




http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d81075af5&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true


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## Guest (May 23, 2009)

I hope the boy is ok.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

All the crap is about the owner, his neighbors and the cops.
WTH happened to the child??? 
The FAMILY doesn't want info released???


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## jim kirkendall (Jan 31, 2009)

I don't hate pit bulls but this happens way too often.I know there are good owners and trainers of pit bulls and some are on this site.I think they are very animal aggressive and it is genetic.I also think a child is an animal too them.What I see where I live is consistently bad, ignorant owners of pit bulls and this is the main problem.These people make no effort to control or train the dogs at all. They think an "out of control" dog walked with a chain,tied with a chain, is COOL! Their dogs allways get out ( due to ignorance and owner attitude)Some of them buy mixed breed litters and let their dogs kill them.NFL players are not above this!(see michael vick) These people hurt all of us!!!!!!!!! This bunch does not want any info made public because they do not want you to know how sorry they really are AND the STEELERS will cover up for them!!


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## Guest (May 26, 2009)

Actually, I'd venture to say that this does not hurt any dogs other than Pit Bulls. Even when a mixed breed dog attacks someone, somehow the APBT takes the fall. Jim, it sounds like you are angry at bad dog owners but seem to be letting that anger at people cloud your judgement about dogs. As far as Jim's assertion that Pit Bulls are too animal aggressive and that they view children as animals there are so many things wrong and inappropriate with his statement/ entire post I don't even know where to begin. Not ALL dogs of any breed are one way or the other. That's a ridiculous thing to say. Sure, breeds have traits but they manifest themselves on a scale. To say Pit Bulls are too animal aggressive is ludicrous. To say the APBT as a breed was designed to exhibit high prey drive and VARYING levels of aggression towards animals is more accurate. I have an APBT on the farm who is loose with animals from day old chicks to 6 year old goats, to donkeys and horses who would be one range of APBT temperament. I have another dog who would take down cattle in a heartbeat. Neither have ever put their mouths on a human, not even to defend me in a heated situation. I have had strangers walk up to my dogs out of the blue pretending to say hi and smack them hard over the head with an open hand and screaming "bad dogs!" without getting the slightest reaction. I'd like to point out that the APBT as a breed is generally the MOST sociable breed of dog in existence meaning, in general, like the Labrador Retriever they have been bred selectively to specifically seek human contact. Also, animal aggression and human aggression are very different and one in no way equates to the other. Owners of any maligned breed of dog should know very well that the media feeds off of breed hype and the Pit Bull and Rott are the current headline makers, which is why they are reported on so much. THAT is why you hear about these kinds of things so often, not because other breeds don't bite people, kill children or menace other dogs. I won't even get into breed "typing" except to say that there are not as many true APBTs out there as the media would have you believe. Somehow the public has been led to believe there is a "Pit Bull type" dog, which equals "Pit Bull". There is no such thing. Either it is an APBT (Pit Bull) or its not. You have a better chance of being struck by lightening 3 times on your way home from work tonight that you do of getting bitten by a Pit Bull in your entire lifetime. Whereas Shepherd and guard breeds are generally born with a certain level of civil aggression, the APBT is generally not. I think that is a fair generalization. The APBT is a breed, the vast majority of which, must be purposefully TRAINED to be suspicious of or to bite a human and even that is difficult. That is the reason they do not excel in protection sports. If you never owned an APBT you'd never understand how foreign is the concept of even an accidental bite from a dog of this breed. When dog bites occur there are generally very specific sets of circumstances contributing the the bite and they can happen with dogs of any breed put in those circumstances.


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