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News & ArtsFriday, November 21, 2008
Life Pit Bull Justice
Posted by Dominic Holden on Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 11:24 AM
In Happy Valley:
A 7-year-old girl is recovering from surgery for wounds inflicted by a 90-pound pit bull during a vicious attack Wednesday in a Happy Valley backyard.[Her father, 31-year-old Steve] Hehr was able to wrestle the dog, putting it in a headlock and eventually pinning it to the ground, but was bitten on the leg and in the chest. As he struggled to hold the pit bull down, deputies said 47-year-old William Bahler and Harrison took turns trying to subdue and kill the animal using an aluminum bat.
The vicious 90-pound-dog refused to yield, police said. A Clackamas deputy soon arrived to shoot and kill the dog. Those responsible for watching the dog said they'd seen no aggressive behavior from it prior to the attack.
It's only fair that if you attack mama bear's cub, mama bear is gonna gut you. Likewise, this dog had it coming. Over at KGW in Portland, they're running a poll on whether Pit Bulls should be banned from residential neighborhoods. I don't hate Pit Bulls. They are fine dogs the same way cheetahs are fine cats, but you'd have to be nuts to think people should let cheetahs run around in the yard with kids.
1
what's it going to take for people to see that pit bulls aren't meant to be domesticated animals running around neighborhoods? this is ridiculous.
3
I often wonder about the people who say things like “they’d seen no aggressive behavior from it prior to the attack”. This case is a little different since it appears that the dog had only been in its foster home for a week… but… when people say those sorts of things, I wonder whether the dog actually has displayed aggressive behaviors, and the owners just don’t know what to look for. Do they define “not aggressive” as “hasn’t bitten anyone” or do they know that there are other behaviors that suggest aggressive tendencies, but that aren’t an actual attack?
6
Is there a picture of this dog? Because pit bulls are around 40-50 pounds. It is not a pit bull. It is either something else or something crossed with a pit bull. Regardless, this is the main problem with posting all this stories. It is the most commonly misidentified breed and and lazy reporting leads to pit bull being short hand for any and every dog attack.
Dog attacks are the problem, not a breed. Just like crime is a problem not any one race of people.
Not that anyone on Slog cares.
Dog attacks are the problem, not a breed. Just like crime is a problem not any one race of people.
Not that anyone on Slog cares.
7
See, this is a situation where, in an ideal world, the pit bull owner would be thrown in jail for this. Owners of vicious dogs really need to be held more accountable than they are.
8
Your thinking on pitbulls is the exact opposite of your thinking on drugs, Dominic. I can't figure out why you would support reason, and sound research, and dispassionate management of the reality of drugs on the one hand, while on the other hand you fall in with a hysterical, media sensation driven, reactionary, prohibitionist approach to aggressive dogs.
9
I have known so many sweet and gentle pit bulls that I wonder if the problem is not that pit bulls are inherently aggressive, but that some people that want to own pitbulls (because of their appearance and repuation) are likely to encourage aggressive behavior.
12
6 and 8 both share my sentiments exactly. This is just anecdotal fear mongering. "Pitbull Madness!"
Although I'd love to see a gun ban go down after hearing that a father shot his six year old daughter in the head.
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/…
Although I'd love to see a gun ban go down after hearing that a father shot his six year old daughter in the head.
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/…
13
Gay men are more likely to engage in unsafe sexual behaviors that put them at risk for contracting HIV/AIDS. Some gay men do contract HIV/AIDS and knowingly, willingly continue to engage in unsafe sexual practices. Ergo, all gay men are dangerous and should be banished from society.
This wrong-headed argument is no different than the goofy logic declaring all pit bulls to be a public menace. Yes, some dogs (not just pit bulls, but dogs in general) will attack people. Some HIV/AIDS positive men will *knowingly* spread this deadly disease to others.
The solution in both cases is not to paint either population (dogs or gay dudes) with the same broad brush. Instead, the people in question (gay guys and dog owners) must act in a responsible manner to do their best to prevent unnecessary death and suffering.
And on a closing note... taking glee in someone beating an animal to death is sick. Do you realize that there are people who would feel the same upon hearing the news of a homophobic hate crime? Brutality isn't cool no matter who the victim is.
This wrong-headed argument is no different than the goofy logic declaring all pit bulls to be a public menace. Yes, some dogs (not just pit bulls, but dogs in general) will attack people. Some HIV/AIDS positive men will *knowingly* spread this deadly disease to others.
The solution in both cases is not to paint either population (dogs or gay dudes) with the same broad brush. Instead, the people in question (gay guys and dog owners) must act in a responsible manner to do their best to prevent unnecessary death and suffering.
And on a closing note... taking glee in someone beating an animal to death is sick. Do you realize that there are people who would feel the same upon hearing the news of a homophobic hate crime? Brutality isn't cool no matter who the victim is.
14
Actually, Cheetahs make good pets compared to any other wild cats. Egyptians used to tame them back in the day.
Banning a breed is not the solution (assholes will just get a different breed to train agressively, german shepards akitas rotts etc) Throwing owners of aggressive dogs in jail is the only way to do it. Pits are sweet dogs by nature it's only when they are brought up wrong that they become a problem. Terriers display way more fucked up behavior than any decently trained pit.
Throw the fuckers in jail or destroy any pit that's displayed aggressive behavior, that's fine by me but banning a breed is pointless.
Banning a breed is not the solution (assholes will just get a different breed to train agressively, german shepards akitas rotts etc) Throwing owners of aggressive dogs in jail is the only way to do it. Pits are sweet dogs by nature it's only when they are brought up wrong that they become a problem. Terriers display way more fucked up behavior than any decently trained pit.
Throw the fuckers in jail or destroy any pit that's displayed aggressive behavior, that's fine by me but banning a breed is pointless.
15
Amen! I am a pitbull breeder and am proud to say that in my 5 years of doing this, I have never had an of my babies turn on me, or turn on those who bought them from me. I have seen rotts that were as loyal and lovable as a kitten, just fyi. I have done my research, being a breeder, and discovered many interesting things. Thomas Jefferson owned a pitbull and credits him in his diary as "saving his life". Sgt "Stubby" saved many lives of the American soldiers during WW1, the were used as nanny dogs for a while. All this leads me to believe that there are no inherently bad animals. They are all God's creatures. It is the owner that has to teach a dog how to be bad. And that is the same with ALL dogs.
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