Parade Magazine has done it again. Written a piece on a subject which really sets me on edge and I'll tell you why. They made it look like there are as many pros as cons about these animals. The following is a statement I made to our County Commission in May of 2005:
"At approximately 5:00 PM Saturday, April 30, 2005, I heard my dog barking at the back door. I remember thinking he was really excited about something since he usually just barks once and waits for me to let him in.
When I opened the door I saw two pit bulls in full attack mode and my 115# Bouvier on the floor of the deck trying to get away. It looked like they were working in tandem with one at each ear and head area.
A young female teen and a younger boy were screaming at them to stop. The girl asked me to get a board or something and I got a s x 2 from the garage about 3.5' long. She hit the dog so hard it actually broke in half. I took one piece and she the other, but we could not get them off Kelly, who was "screaming" in fear and pain. (This sounds calm as I read it, but there was a lot of screaming and yelling from us and no, I didn't even think of calling 911. This was happening "now.")
I cannot even guess how events transpired from then on. I slipped in the blood on the deck. I ended up barefoot (had been wearing slippers) somewhere along the line. I sustained bite marks on my left forearm and index finger and have bruising on my right hand and both legs. I picked up a small wrought iron table and hit the dogs on the back, but that only resulted in one letting go while the other continued the attack and vice versa.
The entire incident lasted about 15 minutes. Twice the young girl went into my kitchen to try to call her father. She kept apologizing and said her brother had accidentally let the dogs out. Mr. _______ finally showed up and was able to get the dogs away from Kelly.
I immediately took Kelly to our vet, Dr. Schrauben on Spring Arbor Road. The surgery lasted over 3 hours Sunday morning (delayed because of blood loss and general trauma) which resulted in 150-200 stitches plus multiple puncture wounds with resulting deep tissue wounds. I believe his prognosis might be considered guarded--we do not know whether Kelly will survive at this time.
Note: Our back yard is fenced in with a walk through gate which swings inward so Kelly can't get out. Kelly is deaf so we have great fear of him getting away and closely monitor his activities."
We were able to bring Kelly home after 11 days in a private area at the vet's clinic where we visited him and lay on the floor to keep him company. He still had weeping wounds when we brought him home, but he survived another 2 years and died at age 11, which isn't bad for a big guy. Why am I telling you this? Because if you ever hear a discussion about pit bulls, remember this and then compound it with the fact that those animals are responsible for over half the deaths by dog attack in this country.
Deliver this country from the likes of Obama's latest Czar who believes animals should be allowed to sue humans.
We'll get back to rare earth later.
God bless us all, and by the way, Go Blue!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Actually, your information is incorrect, as is the information given in Parade. Note that they do not offer a source for their figure of "half" of all attacks being pit bulls. That's because it isn't true. In fact, the common factors are unneutered/unspayed dogs of any breed; dogs roaming off leash; dogs that are not socialized; yard/guard dogs.
If people are truly interested in preventing dog attacks, these should be the things that are enforced.
As for pit bulls, they have been family dogs for over a century. Even Michael Vick's dogs have been trained to work as therapy dogs. It is all in responsible ownership.
I agree with Mr. Foster, and I am sorry you had a bad experience with two dogs who should have never been able to get out of their own yard. But answer this for me... if it would have been any other breed, would your posting title say "Outlaw Dobermans"? or "Outlaw Golden Retrievers"? It is proven that APBT's can be animal-aggressive, but with correct training and socialization, they can get along well with other animals. By nature, these dogs are not human-aggressive. I have a purebred APBT and he is the best dog I have ever owned. He loves children and is great with other animals--because he has been properly trained and socialized. Maybe your posting title should have read "Outlaw Irresponsible Dog Owners", because this, 9 times out of 10, is the true underlying case.
Post a Comment