Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Pit bulls attack cat

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100913/CGY_dogs_cat100913/20100913/?hub=CalgaryHome

Two pit bulls with "previous infractions" attacked a leashed cat in Calgary yesterday.  The cat was leashed because Calgary's bylaws require cats to remain on their own property and it is my understanding that the cat bylaw in Calgary is strictly enforced.  The loose, attacking pit bull bylaw looks to maybe have a little more wiggle room? 

I predict they'll be released to attack another cat, maybe even a toddler.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

A pit bull nearly kills a child, the attack is hushed up but then the mother starts squawking...

What does any good pit bull propogandist do in this dire situation? 

1.  Deny the breed
2.  Talk about Petey, Helen Keller, and the first World War.
3.  Spout garbage about "the perfect family dog" and "nanny dogs".
4.  First there was the "Decade of the Doberman"!
5.  Blame huskies (if you're in Canada) and chihuahuas.
6.  Tell us that every dog over 50 lbs is a ticking time bomb just waiting for the      opportunity to kill a child.

And Bill Bruce has managed a 6 for 6, with a couple of twists even I am impressed with!

1. “Basically, we don’t have a definition,” he says. "It’s not an exact science.”

2. "Petey was an endearing Staffordshire terrier made popular by The Little Rascals.
The TV-show pooch harkens to a time when pit bull-type dogs were not saddled with the label.

They were a decorated hero dog during the First World War, Helen Keller owned one, and renowned dog expert, Cesar Millan defied stereotypes with his sweet pit bull, Daddy.
3. Once touted as the perfect family dog, they are now maligned in public perception as nothing more than a toothy, ticking time-bomb, indisputably, with the power to launch devastating attacks."  (okay, these quotes are from the reporter, not from Bruce directly, but I'm guessing where she got her information)

4. “In the early 1900s the bloodhound was the devil dog, in the ’60s it was the German shepherd, in the ’70s it was the Doberman pincer, then it was the Rotweiller and then it was the era of pit bulls,” Bruce says (did he actually say pincer and misspell Rottweiler or is the grammar and spelling of reporters really going to the dogs?)
 
5.  Bruce says huskies are behind the bulk of human fatalities caused by dogs in Canada.
 
"The worst bite I saw was by a 15-lb chihuahua cross which took a (chunk) almost as big as a tennis ball out of a person’s leg,” he says." 
 
6. “Bites are worst than ever in Ontario since the legislation,” Bruce says. “If you do not train it, do not control it and it is left unattended with children or running at large, all large dogs can and will bite,” he says.
 
But my personal favorite quote from Bill doesn't fit in the top 6, in fact I've never quite seen anything like it before.  A new trend, perhaps?
 
"The pit bull attacked, likely in a bid to offer protection, when its owner began throwing punches at his girlfriend.

His owner told city officials to euthanize it.

It was a done deal but heartbreaking, says Bruce, given the darling pooch passed behaviour assessments with flying colours.

“Her only offence was being a pit bull,” Bruce says of the case several years ago in Calgary where two people were bitten by their own dog"

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Now, the only case of a pit bull attacking its owners and being put down in Calgary that I can recall showing up in the news occurred in March of 2009.  The dog attacked the man first, then the woman, and the man was unable to free the woman from the dog's grip.  The responding police officers had to taser the dog 3 times to subdue it.  The only article still in existence that I could locate regarding that attack was this one:

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/dog-attacks-owner-couple-to-stop-their-fight_100172622.html

Dog attacks owner couple to stop their fight

March-28-09 9:05:49 PM by IANS ( Leave a comment )

Toronto, March 29 (IANS) A fight between a Canadian couple upset their faithful dog so much that he attacked them to end the fight.

But in the process, the dog bloodied the husband and his wife so badly that they had to be rushed to hospital for multiple stitches.

The incident happened Friday night in Calgary city when a pit bull cross got angry as it saw his masters fighting. According to Calgary Herald, the pit bull cross attacked its owners when the couple began shouting at each other loudly.

A police spokesman told the newspaper said the attack began just before 9 p.m. when the argument between the man and woman became nasty.

The dog first attacked the man and then the woman.

“The man managed to get the dog off, but the woman could not,” said the police spokesman.

“They were both bitten very seriously, all over their bodies, head, face, neck, arms, everywhere,” he added.

The bleeding couple were immediately rushed to hospital where they received multiple stitches for bite injuries.

Ed Karout, a neighbour who witnessed the attack, told the newspaper, the dog was “all over” the woman. “The dog was actually bitting at her and pulling at her.

“It was pretty bad.”

He said, “I saw blood all over her shirt. She was trying to get into the house. (The man) was trying to pull her in, and the (dog was) dragging her back out.”

He said he started honking his horn to distract the dog, but it didn’t work.

The dog was captured and handed over to veterinary authorities, police said.

More at : Dog attacks owner couple to stop their fight http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/dog-attacks-owner-couple-to-stop-their-fight_100172622.html#ixzz0yXiFSCEc
 
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The dog's "only offense" was certainly not being a pit bull, it was savagely and relentlessly attacking 2 people for 10 to 15 minutes and sending them both to the hospital.   And that dog was a male - I remember Bruce making mewling noises about it not being neutered and it being "dominant".  Was there another attack that didn't make the news or is he just forgetting things?

So Alphie wasn't the first dangerous pit bull that passed Calgary's behaviour assessment with "flying colours"?  Methinks Calgary needs a new behaviour assessment tool.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

But, but, but...every little pit bull bite makes the news!?

But apparently this one didn't.  This 9 year-old boy was mauled by a pit bull sometime "last month" in Calgary, according to this article.  Judging from the current state of his facial wounds, his attack happened a week or more (I would say more) ago and I didn't see a single report.  Surgeons say the little boy nearly died from his wounds but the attack wasn't even reported?  I wonder if it was even recorded?   Bill?  Greg?

Here's the article.  Everything in parentheses is mine.

Here's the link, look at the pictures:  http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100901/CGY_Pitbull_Ban_100901/20100901/?hub=CalgaryHome

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Mother calls for pit bull ban

Dakota Van Diest Pollon survived a viscious attack by a pit bull.

Dakota Van Diest Pollon ended up needing surgery and more than 300 stitches after the pit bull attack

At the request of his owner, Bruno was put down after the attack (good thing, because you know rehoming is the favored method of pit bull abatement in Algarycay).

The mother of a nine-year-old Calgary boy is calling for a province-wide ban on pit bull terriers and rottweilers.

Dakota Van Diest Pollon was attacked by a pit bull last month while at the home of his sister's boyfriend.

The boyfriend wasn't home at the time and the sister eventually mustered up the strength to pull off the dog.

By the time is was over, Dakota needed surgery and more than 300 stitches.

"I honestly thought he was on his death bed. It looked so horrific," says Angie Pollon, Dakota's mother.

Surgeons say the nine-year-old came within an inch of losing his life.

Dakota has a long recovery ahead of him as he tries to heal from more than the physical wounds. "Every night I wake up and see pit bulls surrounding my whole bed, everywhere, they're jumping up and barking at me," says Dakota.

The three-year-old pit bull had never attacked before. At the owner's request, he was put down on Tuesday.

Dakota's mother is now calling for a provincial ban on pit bulls and rottweilers. She wants them to be labeled dangerous dogs like they are in Ontario. "I would say to any pit bull owner that they're harbouring a killer," says Pollon.

Officials with Calgary Bylaw Services say the city will not be advocating for a ban because it believes the owner is at fault, not the breed. "This is a behaviour issue, not a breed issue," says Greg Steinraths.
"We look at the whole philosophy. We make sure the dog is licenced, spayed, neutered, they need proper training and care and ensure they do not become a nuisance or threat," says Steinraths. (And don't forget about rehoming them, Greg, because you KNOW biting dogs that get new homes immediately cease biting...like Alphie).

Bylaw Services says its policies do work and adds that Calgary has less dog bites per capita than other cities around the world (I wonder how many of them are from pit bulls?  I wonder how many of them, like this one, never make the news?).

The province also says it is not considering a ban on pit bulls.