Pit Bull Owners Attack, Too by Charles Leerhsen

After his dog was attacked by a pit bull, Charles Leerhsen sparked outrage by writing the breed was a natural-born killer. He responds to his misinformed critics.

“The dog is a gentleman,” Mark Twain wrote in a letter to William Dean Howells. “I hope to go to his heaven, not man’s.” I’m not sure if I’d want to spend eternity drinking from a toilet bowl, or eating the canned mystery meat cunningly marketed as Cowboy Cookout, but I recently got a taste of how un-gentle both men and women can be when you critique their choice of canines. In the two weeks since I wrote an article for The Daily Beast in which I described a vicious (but nonfatal) attack by a pit bull on my Wheaten terrier as I walked her on a nocturnal byway in Brooklyn, noted how much mayhem pit bulls cause on a daily basis, and pointed out that you should question the motives of pit bull owners at your own peril, I have personally felt the force of that breed’s blitzing defense.

By listing similar recent attacks in my earlier piece, I was labeled a racist by people who think that you cannot “slander” an entire breed based on “isolated incidents.”

The piece so far has drawn 400 comments on this site, most of them bitterly opposed to my position, and I received many emails and Facebook messages informing me that I was an idiot, a pussy, a fool, a wimp, a racist (more about that in a moment), a crybaby, a puppet of the left, a typical New Yorker, a Nazi, and an ignorant hack for suggesting that people like them were hypersensitive. A few insulted my dog Frankie (who’s much better now, thank you) who at that point was still limping around post-surgically and looking like the carpeting at the No-Tell Motel, saying she was “not the kind of animal I’d want guarding my property” and was “too stupid to defend herself”—a failing that of course led to the real tragedy here: more bad press for pit bulls. Gee, and I thought people only came to look like the dogs they favored.

• Get Rid of Pit Bulls I revisit this topic with trepidation, since the debate it has already sparked—yes, Frankie and I did have our share of supporters—has, with a few glorious exceptions, not been distinguished on either side by fineness of thought or expression. The people in my camp tend to come off as an unorganized but pop-culturally savvy bunch who for example knew, when the opposition tried to engender sympathy by noting that the dog in the Little Rascals comedies was a pit bull, that the pibald Petey was on record as having chomped a few of the child stars. Meanwhile, when it came to clichés and other low language, the pit-bullies stooped faster than a professional dog walker on Michael Bloomberg’s block, and they backed their claims that pit bulls were no more dangerous than, say, Chihuahuas, with sketchy studies (fabricated by pit bull lobbying groups, according to at least one commenter) and anecdotal evidence. They cited numerous occasions on which pit bulls did not rip out peoples’ Adam’s apples but instead snoozed or licked something or chose benevolently to limit themselves to guttural growls or leash-testing lunges which were easily eliminated once Gunther Gebel-Williams was flown in and given a few months to work his magic.

I think it said something about the minds working on the pit bulls’ behalf that Chihuahuas, that most tiresomely obvious of counterpoint breeds, came up early and often. The very first commenter said that he or she held a grudge against the little guys since being bitten by one at age 6 while on the way to school. A commenter called bobvious claimed that “more people have been bitten by Chihuahuas in my presence than any other breed.” Of course, such bites would not result in death or traumatic injury, as they often do with pit bulls—yet I will concede bobvious’ point if this witness to so much ankle abuse will promise to write a memoir.

Besides dragging in other dog breeds, many commenters who took umbrage at my remarks revealed that guns, automobiles, and alcohol are also capable of causing problems. To those people I say without hesitation that Santa Cruz de la Sierra is the largest city in Bolivia and that unless Jose Reyes stays healthy the Mets are doomed. None of these facts has anything to do with the fitness of pit bulls to live among people and other animals. Such blather does, however, take the focus off the inconvenient truth that pit bulls are always updating their bloody résumés. In the three or four days preceding this followup piece, pit bulls have seriously injured two young girls in the Washington, D.C. area, as well as children in Billings, Montana, Frederick, Maryland and Jersey City; they savagely attacked a couple of adults, too, and killed or hurt other animals.

By listing similar recent attacks in my earlier piece, I was labeled a racist by people who think that you cannot “slander” an entire breed based on “isolated incidents.” But isn’t it racist to think that certain people (blacks, Asians, and Muslims were the groups that had the dubious honor of being defended) are analogous to dog breeds? The number of races in the world is a controversial subject, but however anthropologists divvy up Homo sapiens, no group aggregates traits that make it more or less fit for a certain kind of employment, or more or less fit to be around other living creatures, than any other race. Meanwhile, the various dog breeds owe their very existence to man’s desire to, for example, hunt, herd, travel by sled, have companionship, live without rats, impress the ladies, and watch dog fights. If we couldn’t generalize about dog breeds, there wouldn’t be any. Why is this even an issue? We generalize about the African lion and, based on our shared perceptions of its habits, have banned its ownership in all but a few special circumstances. Cats are legal as pets, lions are not because a lion, by the standards of civilized society, is a cat taken to ridiculously dangerous extremes.

Yet no one gets mad at lions for being the way they are, and no one should be upset with pit bulls for being the kings of the dog jungle. They are not evil, immoral, or, as is often said, “untrustworthy.” Indeed, they can and should be trusted to act like pit bulls. I don’t doubt the sincerity of the people, including the female owner of the pit bull who attacked Frankie, who say “My dog is the sweetest, most loving creature you can imagine.” Her promised check for Frankie’s vet bills may still be in the mail after almost four weeks, but her heart is in the right place; she isn’t hoping for aggressive, anti-social behavior from her beloved animal, and she regrets what happened—though she can’t understand, like so many pit bull owners, how such behavior could come “out of the blue.” The thing is, it doesn’t come out of the blue; it comes out of the DNA, and those who say “it is the owners, not the dogs” who are responsible for “bad” pit bulls are being dangerously naïve. Very few of these dogs are being trained to be killers. The rest of us are at risk precisely because they don’t need to be.

Charles Leerhsen is the author of Crazy Good: The True Story of Dan Patch, The Most Famous Horse in America.

see also Get Rid of Pit Bulls

winston should have been turned into a pancake

instead, he was turned over to his owners.

read more

famous pit nutter: Porn Star Michael Brandon

here ya go nutters, here's another one for your "famous" list.

"He did a sizzling strip tease and jack-off scene, working it out on a weight bench. He said he is training to be a dog whisperer. He got his first pit bull at age 19 and has been defending the much maligned species ever since. He is proud to announce he will be featured (completely out as a gay porn actor) in a piece on pit bulls to be broadcast on Animal Planet channel, because they want to get a little edgier."

just how EDGY does animal planet want to go?

jesse james' pit bull cinnabun is missing again

HomeAgain, the tracking company that monitors microchips in pets, sent emails out yesterday to residents in the Long Beach area -- in the vicinity of West Coast Choppers, where James kept Cinnabun -- saying, "I am asking for your help in finding my lost dog, Cinnabun." The email goes on ... Cinnabun was last seen wearing an orange, printed collar with her name and phone number. The dog is still missing.

this is one stupid fucker. i wonder if jesse has some kind of ink poisoning from all of those tats and it has affected his brain?

see also

help! i can't find my pit bull!

find cinnabun, touch a boob

mr and mrs wigga got their dog back!

Fuck Pit Bulls and the Faggots that own Pit Bulls

Just so we are on the same page here, Staffordshire Terriers and Pit Bulls are basically the same breed. You can argue they are totally different. But nope, they’re not. Sorry.

On March 9th, an 8 year old girl in Lithonia was attacked by two pit bulls. Oops, I meant Staffordshire Terriers (no fucking difference). She was severely mauled. To the point where a portion of her left arm had to be amputated to save her life. She finally got off a ventilator yesterday. According to her father, she woke up screaming and crying, thinking she was still being attacked.

Three people tried to help this little girl during the mauling. A mauling so severe that it went on for over 15 minutes. It finally took the intervention of a police officer to stop the attack. He tried beating the dogs off with his baton, but that did not stop them. So he shot one of them dead. Only then did the attack cease.

The other dog ran off. When animal control officers arrived, neighbors pointed out the home that the dogs had come from. They went to the home and found surviving dog inside a garage, and they took it into custody (too bad they didn’t kick around first). Apparently these dogs had been terrorizing the neighborhood for months, including biting an elderly woman last October. This did not stop the stupid fuckhead dog owner from leaving the dogs without any sorts of restraints whatsoever. The dogs were kept in a garage. With the garage door wide open. No fence. No leash. WTF IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE? And no, the homeowner was NOT home.

After the mauling and the police/EMS arrived, neighbors noticed the owner of the dogs pull into the street, and immediately pull out. The police actually had to track that dumb bitch down at a friend’s house.

It is a fucking goddamned shame that they are euthanizing the dog. Twyann Vaughn, the dog’s owner, is only facing a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct. Personally I think the dog and the dog’s owner need to be euthanized. FUCK PIT BULLS. I hope this bitch becomes the target of some sort of vigilante justice.

accused iowa puppy miller is a convicted sex offender

wyoming, iowa

thunder ridge dog kennel is run by convicted sex offender HAROLD BUZZ POWELL. the sheriff and animal rescuers were there inspecting his 100 dogs and the facility. he claims to properly care for all 100 dogs and has never been cited in the 13 years that he has been licensed by the USDA.

“They think that every kennel is a puppy mill. Not all kennels are puppy mills. We strive to keep our kennel clean and are dogs are well taken care of,” said dog breeder Harold Buzz Powell.

any kennel with that many dogs is automatically suspect.

POWELL'S criminal record

most recent photos

dear pitbullforum...

pitbullforum.com is good for a laugh. i like to check in now and again and see the crazy excuses they come up with to explain why their nanny dogs act out towards people. cuz you know, the dogmen of yesteryear culled all of them there manbiters.

the most recent episode: pbf member bullykissies (gag) took her very dog aggressive fostered pit bull to the vet for shots. osiris saw a dog on the way in and became "pretty amped up" in typical lovely pit bull fashion. osiris tried to go after the other "full force" and bullykissies' (gag) husband had to hold osiris down until the agent provocateur was out of sight. after the vet was done poking and probing, they head out and encounter an "old lady" checking in. she asks if the dogs are friendly. "of course, my wiggle butts are nanny dogs!" the "old lady" pet the pits and as she turned and walked away, osiris sniffed, snarled and snapped but didn't make contact. mr and mrs bullkissies (gag) were all apologetic, you know the line, we hear it in the news all of the time. anyway, the "old lady" said you shouldn't tell people your dogs are friendly and then added that she has cats and one of hers was just skunked. and the "old lady" offers up the skunk excuse.

tiva steps up to the plate for the first round of advice:

Osiris had just been through an extremely stressful experience: penned to the ground by a trusted person after being freaked out by other dogs. So his snap at the elderly woman was probably simply due to the extreme levels of stress he was under, which will radically lower a dog's threshold. He doesn't need to be human aggressive to be flipped out after that vet experience.

i like how tiva describes homicidal pit bull rage as "freaked out by other dogs". that's what you get from the teachings of the false prophets donna reynolds and tim racer.

add skunks and "penned" to the ground by a trusted person to the long list of pit triggers.

another case of car aggression

WINSTON

on sunday, winston and his two unidentified accomplices somehow managed to break free from the drudgery of their 42/7 jobs of guard dogs at mann welding company in chattanooga. winston attacked a police cruiser. the cop was inside checking radar when his car began shaking. he got out of his car and saw winston attacking his car. the cop tried pepper spray, then a stun gun but it didn't stop winston, he just rolled over and pulled the prongs out of his skin and resumed his attack. (he should have tried Rinalia's choking off method!) by the time backup arrived, the frankenmauler chewed the front bumper completely off, bit through two tires, and left teeth marks in the side panel of the cruiser. winston also attacked two other cars before he was apprehended.

"Obviously at some point yesterday he was not a nice dog," said MICHAEL EMERLING, "but previous to that he was very sweet." emerling says winston has exhibited aggression toward lawn equipment, but has never hurt anyone. but after seeing what the dog could do to a car, emerling says he can't take the risk. the police MICHAEL EMERLING said Emerling, "I wasn't prepared for what I saw." "We can't take the chance that the next time something sets him off it won't be a car," said Emerling, "if it were a person -- we just can't take that risk."

winston and his two buddies are being held at the animal shelter and the pit nutter, NANCY M EMERLING has been cited.

links 1, 2, 3

UPDATE 1

the frankenmauler is now being reported as a pit bull/boxer mix and the damage done to TWO police cruisers is > $3000. that is not counting the damage of the two other cars that are owned by private citizens.

a couple of quotes from Karen Walsh, executive director of the McKamey Animal Shelter

"Some dogs are very aggressive. Especially when they feel they are being protective. So I think the officer to the dog's perception was in his territory and so the dog just attacked the car." can you say, 'pit nutter'?

"It's just wonderful that nobody got hurt. Because when a dog gets this incensed, anybody who gets in the way could be injured."

UPDATE 2

the owner is now saying that winston was stray that they took in and they are speculating that the radar or the strobing blue lights set off winston :)

Get Rid of Pit Bulls by Charles Leerhsen

Pit Bull lovers righteously defend the “misunderstood” breed, but Charles Leerhsen, whose dog was recently attacked by one, says they are natural-born killers.

Do you know Wheaten Terriers? They have a reputation for sweetness, and, as the owner of a three-year-old female Wheaten named Frankie I can attest that besides being eccentric—mine barks and spins like a pinwheel when I scramble eggs or charge my Kindle—they are indeed cuddly and kind. This is the breed, after all, that invented the effusive “Wheaten greetin’,” and dispenses it willy-nilly to friends, strangers and second-story men alike.

The next minutes are a blur, but I remember the snarling male pit bull digging its teeth into Frankie’s chest, her mournful sobs and the Pit Bull’s vacant eyes as I drove my fist between them.

Do you know Pit Bulls? Just before 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 28, I was walking Frankie at Clinton and Baltic Streets in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn, a time and a place where you can hear the Nikkei drop, when an unleashed brown-and-white Pit Bull exploded out of a car and, rumbling with blood-lust, charged us. The next minutes are a blur, but I remember the snarling male pit bull digging its teeth into Frankie’s chest, her mournful sobs and the Pit Bull’s vacant eyes as I drove my fist between them. Eventually, the Pit Bull’s cohort got a leash on the animal and, while I tried to comfort my blood-and-poop-streaked buddy, two plainclothes policemen materialized (Yay!) and gave the man a ticket—for not having his dog on leash (Huh?). The Pit Bull belonged to his sister in Washington, D.C., he told the cops, and, he added, “It doesn’t get along well with other dogs.” You don’t say.

Frankie and I were lucky compared to most animals and people who will be on the bad end of a Pit Bull this week. She was treated at the veterinary hospital for severe lacerations, had to stay over two nights, and may need surgery for a torn ligament. But she will survive in some fashion. The Pit Bull’s owners say they will pay Frankie’s vet bills, and we will see if they are as good as their word. As aficionados of that controversial breed they are, after all, sensitive people who see misunderstood creatures where logical lummoxes like me, who keep getting hung up on the death and misery pit bulls cause daily, see something else—namely vicious beasts who are allowed to live and propagate so that certain sad individuals can proclaim their moral superiority. To the Pit-Bull lover, nothing says, “I am special” like his own pretensions to Pit-Bull love.

Do I sound angry? I’m not mad at the dog who attacked Frankie or even at the highly unattractive man from Chestnut Hill, Mass. who let him get off the leash. What agitates me is the sheer number of people, groups and Web sites that defend Pit Bulls from those who would criticize and legislate against them. As hyper-sensitive to criticism as Scientologists, Pit Bull proponents tend to fire back before any shots are fired in their direction, insisting that their dogs are no worse than any other breed, and indeed probably better. "If it ain't pit it ain't shit," says a woman in one pro-Pit Bull Facebook group.

These people are entitled to their stance. What needs to be noted, though, is that the "forces" they are railing against or the tidal wave of pending “breed specific” legislation they fear are largely figments of their own self-aggrandizing paranoia. The anti-pit bull "movement," such as it is, seems to come down mostly to the scattered victims who speak out, and try to get local laws passed, when a Pit Bull attacks them, someone they know (or, if the attack is fatal, knew) or their pet. If anyone is working round the clock to besmirch the reputation of Pit Bulls it is Pit Bulls themselves.

I’ve developed a kind of parlor trick since Frankie was attacked. I will now go to another screen and Google “pit bull attacks.” Limiting myself to the last five days—a full week would bring too many hits—I see that a 65-year-old woman died of heart failure during a Pit Bull attack in South Carolina, that two Pit Bulls “invaded a home” and killed a dog in Colorado, that a Pit Bull “chewed up” a Yorkie in Missouri, a golden retriever was severely injured by a Pit Bull in Indiana, and that two Indianapolis police officers were bitten by Pit Bulls on successive days. Meanwhile, the Jackson City, Utah city council failed to pass proposed Pit Bull restrictions, although the council president “expressed sympathy for the death of Anataisa Bingham.”

Statistics show that Pit Bulls are by far the most dangerous breed of dogs, involved in several attacks on people and animals in the U.S. each day. Yet their supporters are numerous and cross a wide political spectrum. On the right you have the rednecks, who surround themselves with obnoxious and dangerous things like guns, big-ass vehicles, body fat and killer dogs, and who dare others to say something. On the left are certain PC urban professionals who long to tell the world that they are super-sensitive and understanding souls, but who lack the imagination and intelligence to come up with anything more worthy of their support than the sort of dog that killed three-year-old Omar Martinez a few weeks ago in Apple Valley, California.

After Frankie’s mauling a Pit-Bull owner we know (and like) informed my wife and me that the attack was “natural” because “dogs fight in the wild.” Other Pit Bull proponents have assured us that it was not the breed of the attacker, but the absence of a leash, that was key to Frankie’s violent encounter. To those well-meant but worn-out bromides I say, first, what wild? Where is this raw and savage land where Pit Bulls and Wheatens are duking it out? In any case, this was not a fight or a display of dominance—it was attempted murder. The leash argument also leaves me cold. I have heard stories about leashed Pit Bulls killing other dogs. Besides, if I drop a Wheaten’s leash in your presence, the worst you’ll get is a greetin’. Except not from Frankie, not right now anyway; she just doesn’t have it in her these days.

didn't spain just rescind its pit bull ban?

MALAGA, SPAIN

THE 44-year-old owner of a potentially dangerous Pit Bull Terrier has been charged with damages and crimes against general interests and public order, after his dog snatched a Yorkshire Terrier from the arms of its owner. The events took place when two women were walking the little dog in Malaga city and noticed the other dog, loose and without a muzzle, with its owner on the other side of the road.

It began to run towards them and the owner of the Yorshire Terrier picked her dog up to prevent it from being hurt. The owner of the Pit Bull told the women to keep calm because his dog just wanted to play.

But it then jumped up, grabbed the smaller dog in its jaws and began to shake it. It would not let go, even when the owner hit it with its muzzle. It finally left the dog, dying, on the pavement. The owner took it to a vet but the dog died. She then reported the event to the Local Police who found a dog fitting the description at the local animal centre.

photo of another spanish pit victim

pit bull home invasion

new albany, indiana

monday morning ALBERT CROSS' two pit bulls got into the neighbor's yard and attacked their irish setter, mufasa. cross heard his neighbor's screams and jumped over the fence and came to his neighbor's aid. (if this guy can jump over the fence, you KNOW the fence is inadequate for pit bulls) CROSS says he told his dogs to "cut it out" and they stopped. that's when mufasa ran into the house. mufasa's quick exit only triggered the frankenmaulers and they were in full pursuit again. they then did what only pit bulls do, they entered a strange house to attack another animal. CROSS and his neighbor managed to get the ugly brown pit out but the ugly dog was more aggressive. the neighbor shot and killed it. :)

cross has agreed to pay the vet bills. and of course states that he is shocked by his little frankenmaulers' behavior. "they have never been aggressive before." he plans to get rid of the surviving frankenamuler. CROSS will send the wiggle butt packin, testicles in toe, to the country where no one can hear you scream.

the ugly black one is napping in the dirt.

what do you think STORMI KING? both ears look like this.

wow, there is already an update!

40-year-old Albert Cross, is charged with harboring a dangerous animal and harboring an animal without a license.

pits savaging our dogs

indy a cop shot a pit bull after it killed a chihuahua. a man was holding the pit bull back from attacking bystanders after the fatal mauling. he warned that he couldn't hold him back much longer and when the frankenmauler broke free, the cop shot him. unfortunately, it survived.

grass valley, california a pit bull sent a man to the E.R. and his dog into surgery.

west haven, connecticut a pit bull tried to bite a man when he tried to separate it from his lab.

yucaipa, california schotzie the pug was killed by the neighbor's pit bull when it destroyed the fence to get the little dog. this is the second murder victim for this frankenmauler who is still in the care of the pit nutters. citations were written for 2 counts of running at large and 2 counts of no licensing. yes, the pit nutters have another wiggle butt and yes, the ac officer is also a pit nutter. County Animal Care Chief Brian Cronin determined it was safe to return the pit bull because "it required medical attention and did not pose a threat to people."

battle creek, michigan two pit bulls attacked a person and their dog. while in custody, they bit 2 shelter workers.

cincinnati, ohio 3 pit bull attacks in one day. two attacks against dogs and the third was on a man who defended himself nicely with a golf club.

springfield, missouri a cop shot and killed a pit bull tuesday after it attacked another dog. the proud pit bull owner is no where to be found. no word on the condition of the victim.

in another springfield attack, a young woman and her three dogs were attacked by a pit bull while out on a walk. the frankenmauler grabbed one of her yorkies and then dropped it to get to the lab. the lab suffered minor injuries. the yorkie's injuries included puncture wounds, spinal cord trauma and paralysis. the owner opted to euthanize. what do you think STORMI KING? were these injuries serious enough? the pit nutters received a couple of citations, got their dogs and are on their merry way.

rip cami

west chester township, ohio

two pit mixes owned by JOEL M LOVINS of 6090 bardeen drive escaped and attacked a man and his daughter saturday morning. the dogs were briefly impounded, then returned to JOEL M LOVINS where the frankenmaulers escaped again and killed 2 dogs. the two wiggle butts received their dirt naps monday.

LOVINS was charged with two counts each of failure to confine a vicious or dangerous dog and failure to obtain liability insurance for a vicious or dangerous dog. the charges are only misdemeanors but will compliment LOVINS' resume nicely. the punk is due in court march 23rd.

what no facebook friends?

36 yr old JOEL M LOVINS' resume

domestic violence

burglary

receiving stolen property

possession of criminal tools

resisting arrest

attempted vandalism

and a few others

Ownership of High Risk Dogs

Vicious Dogs the Antisocial Behaviors and Psychological Characteristics of Owners

The Huffington Joke

THIENVINH NGUYEN

on march 3rd, the gifted and educated columbia university student THIENVINH NGUYEN, submits a small puff piece for the huffington post titled When Man's Best Friend Is Deadly: 8 Dangerous Pets. the list of deadly animals included ostriches, kinkajou, snakes, big cats, crocodilias, spiders and of course pit bulls. NGUYEN also offers sound advice that even seasoned pit nutters would agree with: DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST.

three days and 500+ looney comments later, the baby turtle replaces the pit bull on the deadly man's best friend list.

it is incredibly sad the huffington post allows such spineless contributors in their community.

FABB founder

FAITH HYNOSKI of seattle dog works

follow faith on twitter and FABB twitter as she follows the antics of the PIT BOSS, SHORTY ROSSI, promotes karen delise books and fight bust dogs, the ONLY truly dangerous breed: cocker spaniels and whines about not being able to walk around the neighborhood "without being assaulted by off-leash dogs!" right back at ya slick!

Dear Editor:

After listening to KUOW’s “The Conversation” on September 10 about pit bulls, as well as learning about the horrific recent attack in Seatac, I am compelled to write a letter to the editor with a story that is eerily relevant.

This past Sunday, September 7, my yellow lab Sam was viciously attacked by a pit bull owned by the founder of F.A.B.B. (Families Against Breed Bans), at the grand opening of a friendly new dog store (Zak and Zoe) on Phinney Ridge. The attack was witnessed by many, and all were horrified. Everyone was also struck by the irony of the incident: the attack happened after we had all been standing around outside the store, calmly listening to the owners tell us about the sweetness of pit bulls, and how it is the owner’s fault when pit bulls become violent. They had come to the grand opening event to make their cause known, handing out flyers and “educating the public” about pit bulls. And then, after 15 minutes of standing with them, chatting, all dogs on leashes, without any notice or provocation or visible signs of aggression whatsoever preceding the attack, their pit bull turned violently on our dog and locked his jaws on Sam’s neck. Let me be clear, this was not in any way a fight. Sam was just standing there (he’s known in our area as ‘the sweetest dog on the planet’) — this was an unprovoked attack.

After minutes (which seemed like hours) of watching our dog scream while their pit bull held Sam’s neck in his jaws, while no one, not even the dog’s owner was able to release him, finally somehow he was freed. We immediately took Sam to a quiet place nearby, where he stood shaking uncontrollably for nearly 1/2 hour, with a racing heartbeat. A dog specialist who happened to be on the scene generously offered to work with him to keep him from going into shock. She said that given what she had just witnessed, she was very surprised that half of Sam’s face wasn’t ripped off. Many of us believed he was about to be killed right then and there, at Greenwood and 74th, on the sidewalk, with our families (including our 5-year-old daughter) all around.

My husband and I did report the incident to the police, and it is going, uncontested, on public record, with a citation issued to the pit bull owners. The day following the attack I received a phone call from a member of the F.A.B.B. organization and was told that “the woman whose dog it was has stepped down and is no longer in charge of the group”.

You can imagine my irritation while listening to yesterday’s guest on KUOW, representing F.A.B.B., three days after this attack, as she defended the ever-popular notion that “it’s not the breed, it’s the owner,” and that these are sweet dogs, completely trustworthy in public. I believe these particular owners to be caring, well-meaning people, offering a loving home to their pit bulls. It is my understanding that the dog that attacked Sam had been through some training, and was thought to be very sweet, and fine in social situations with people and other dogs. These are the good, conscientious, caring kind of pit bull owners. They just happen to have a dog whose predecessors were bred to fight and to kill, and so there can be a predisposition in all these dogs that is genetic, and can lead to unpredictable, dangerous behavior.

I would like this story brought to light, and readers can make what they will of this incident. I would not feel right knowing that our story went untold, in the midst of this heated discussion. At the very least, as a public service message, I think people need to know that it is illegal for a dog to bite another dog in Seattle (as of 2003). Even our wonderful dog trainer (voted best in Seattle 2008) didn’t know that this was a reportable incident.

Irene Mitri

Seattle, WA

the new and improved pit bull reporter

DA ≠ HA

battle creek, michigan yesterday 2 male pit dogs that were awaiting their dirt naps at the shelter after their owners released them to the city for attacking another dog and their owner, bit 2 shelter workers. these 2 naive rescue angels learned a lesson the hard way.

LIFE AFTER DOUG RAE

indy roundup 2 pit bull attacks in 1 day finally pushed law enforcement over the edge. the indy police and ac will implement a blitz on loose dogs. it took them long enough. a year ago, it was reported that pit bull bites were at a record high, up 33% from the previous year. 3000 pits landed in ac and 2500 of them euthanized.

here's another little indy fact:

from january 2007 to march 2009, Indy cops killed 42 pit bulls, comprising 86% of all the dogs they shot.

JUDGEMENT PROOF

millvale, pennsylvania in january a 58 yr old woman was attacked by a leashed pit bull as she walked to meet friends. the pit nutters, CHRISTINA GONZALES and her 17 yr old son and his girl friend ran inside the house as the victim cried for help. CHRISTINA GONZALES and her 17 yr old son failed to appear in court on thursday. the judge found them guilty. each of them were fined hundreds of dollars plus they have to pay the cost of kenneling and euthanasia. the frankenmauler was given a dirt nap. the victim will require plastic surgery and has hired a lawyer. i hope the city and the victim are able to recover the fines and damages but no one will more surprised than me if they find the nutters.

it's a good thing the victim was not attacked by a chihuahua or dachshund. she could have been killed!

PIT GRIFTER

nashville last year CASEY PHELPS was accused of rescuing pit bulls for a fee and then euthanizing them, 261 pit bulls to be exact. she claims that she is a changed person. she no longer operates as a breeder or large scale rescuer. she claims to only take in 3 dogs at a time and she said she no longer dumps them at metro animal control for a dirt nap. newschannel 5 checked with metro and found that she has only taken one dog there. but that only proves that she doesn't dump dogs at THAT animal shelter.

congrats CASEY! you receive the pit bull rescue angel of the year award.

and the pit grifter winner is: AMANDA CONRAD!

part two of randy travis' expose on con artist AMANDA CONRAD was even better than part one.

highlights

• an adopter returned a dog to amanda for dog aggression, gave amanda a $300 check to help rehome the mushy wiggle butt. amanda gave him a dirt nap 2 days later but continued to accept money and told the woman the dog was adopted.

• amanda and her boyfriend TROY tried to blackmail two women that boarded their dog at PIT PRINTS. troy claimed the dog bit him and he wanted $1000 hush money or he would turn the dog over to ac. when questioned by the police, troy then said the dog bit someone else. the police found no evidence that the dog had bitten anyone.

can't wait for the state to finish their investigation into this psychopath.

nice crib amanda!

someone sent in a link to an amanda scam at pit bull smiles. i had to include it here, it interesting. you can see amanda in her natural habitat. i'm impressed that members from this forum in particular were able to uncover the scam. i think that in general, the members of pbsmiles are very naive. or as a game-dog member describes the forum as "it's all rainbows and unicorns over there". :)

tyson still needs a foster

two california attacks

pomona a 4 year old girl was bitten on the face by her uncle's pit bull. of course the 3 year pit bull was not licensed and not current on rabies vaccine and uncle has an excuse. "The girl may have startled the dog while it was sleeping, he said."

concord a pit bull jumped out of a moving car monday to attack a small dog. the owner of the small dog was bitten trying to save it. the small dog was taken to the emergency vet with serious injuries. surprisingly, the female nutter didn't flee the scene, especially in light of the fact that it has a history with animal control. the number and type of complaints were not specified.

concord UPDATE Rich Hartmann, a city worker, saw the attack on the pomeranian and its owner and came to their aid. his description of the attack, "a very vicious thing. Probably the most vicious thing I've ever seen." regarding the condition of the victim, Hartmann said, "There was blood everywhere. The (Pomeranian's) right front leg was badly mauled, and its right eye was bleeding."

the vet who treated the pom might want to give a copy of the report to stormi king so she properly interpret the injuries for the rest of us.

Amanda Conrad: pit grifter

Randy Travis has quite the nose for news. recall that he blew the lid off of jere alexander's dirty little secrets a little over a year ago. now randy has uncovered a new scandal, PIT PRINTS pit rescue and rehabilitation run by con artist AMANDA CONRAD. it seems that amanda misrepresents dogs to her donors and misrepresents donations to dog rescuers. amanda conrad solicits donations for dogs that are not even in her possession. and she appears to be skimming both cash donations and material donations. the state has suspended her license and is looking into the missing money and missing dogs. her most recent tax returns indicate that she took in $31,000 in donations and 45 dogs.

nice sled amanda!

i launched my own little investigation of amanda conrad and she appears to be a carbon copy of another infamous pit grifter, KRIS CRAWFORD.

KRIS CRAWFORD played on the generosity and sympathy of others by claiming to have stage 5 cancer with only 6 months to live. in may 2006 at the age of 25, AMANDA CONRAD sent out an urgent alert all over the piternet also claiming to have cancer and in dire need of unloading her rescued pits while she completes treatment. but something tells, it was all a scam.

more scuttlebutt

the commenters over at the charlotte dog examiner had a field day ripping on amanda last year. amanda was accused of having ties to dog fighting and having dogs that have attacked fellow pit nutters. AntiPitPrints! says:

"ADOPTING UNNEUTERED MALES to very suspicious people and being LINKED to dog fighting. I found out about her after I was attacked by one of her dogs who was covered in scars and tried to report her for dog fighting. I really really hope there is a community push here. I tried to investigate her and she had her lackies threaten me."

AMANDA CONRAD ON THE WEB

georgia business license

facebook

myspace

littlepetproject here is amanda promoting her org and her frankenmaulers with "sexy and tasteful photos" to show the world that pits are personable and "pit parents are just like other dog owners- hopefully dissipating stereotypes that many have about pit owners."

check list for pit nutter stereotype

• tattoos

• pathological lying

• criminal behavior

• narcissistic