for nothing can seem so foul to those that win

last friday the pit nutters' proof of assertion army hit the internet with the simultaneous release of at least 3 nanny dog articles. the pit nutters are determined to win the war at any cost. i would rather lose with my integrity intact. but that's just me.

it is astonishing what is passing as journalism these days. no one practices in depth, independent research anymore. they don't even pretend. and the desperate, gullible pit nutters are treating this round robin of middle aged women as if they are delivering the word of god.

the gather.com crusader KATE JAMES linked to bay area propagandist CLAUDINE ZAP'S puff piece and ZAP linked to a pitnutter forum and to the vagina indifferent comedian and to TRACYANN MAINS' puff piece that begins with "I've never met a pit bull that I didn't like. I've met four." and TRACYANN'S source materials for her soft hitting, shallow, piece of crap? BADRAP of course!

yahoo (yäˈhoō noun informal a rude, noisy, or violent person.) has over 300 comments most of which parrot the writer, pointing to photos of pits with kids as proof they were in fact nanny dogs.

something tells me JANE BERKEY is behind this.

vintage postcard featuring... the nanny dog!

since friday, the Nanny Dog Myth Revealed has been viewed over 2000 times. much of the credit goes to Jake for creating the surge in traffic at the truth about pit bulls blog. JAKE ventured into enemy territory and planted the one lone kernel of truth in the great expanse of disinformation.

update: Officer Marcia Kratzenberg

last october, a duquesne, pennsylvania police officer was out with her dogs when she crossed paths with a family and their dogs. a "scuffle" broke out, yadda yadda yadda ms. pit nutter fled. well, that's according to the biased media. a week ago, a friend of kratzenberg showed up to set the record straight.

VIRGINIA DUNN wrote:

Regarding your post "Bad Cop / No Donut", here's what the media left out. Officer Kratzenberg was off duty and was exercising her dogs. They were all on lead. The other people's dogs were OFF LEAD!!! They ran up and started the incident. Officer Kratzenberg was pulled to the ground, had torn ligaments and her shoulder displaced in the incident. She did not 'flee the scene' but rather took her dogs and herself to safety as she was very injured. Finally, her dogs are not pit bulls. This is a case of the victim being persecuted. Very sad indeed, especially when one knows the truth about this outstanding officer who always lends a hand, especially to homeless or hungry dogs. Good cop. We'll make you a donut!

my response:

i assumed that she must have been off duty as the victims did not report the "fleeing" owner of the dogs to be a uniformed police officer.

how many dogs was she exercising? how many dogs does she own? did she report the incident? how was she able to control THREE powerful dogs with a "displaced" shoulder and torn ligaments?

do you know what the outcome of the NINE citations?

well, after days of NO response (what a surprise), i decided to do a little research. while i didn't find any updates regarding the NINE charges against the duqusenecop, i did find other interesting info, like the fact that she was a student at DR SCOT E DOWD'S Pit Bull University.

i am guessing that MARCIA did not graduate.

a year and half later, she joined the cane corso forum to research the breed in hopes of getting one and making it her K9 partner. a year later MARCIA acquired her first cane corso, from none other than.... BELLA ROSA CANE CORSOS a.k.a VIRGINIA DUNN. another year later, i found her introducing herself and her dogs (cane corsos, ambulls, pit bull and amstaff) on pitbull-chat.

according to her facebook page, she is a fan of pit nutter DAN MEAGHER'S show, pit bull positive.

here is MARCIA and some of her dogs, ambull, pit bull, staffy bull. you can see her with cane corsos on her myspace page (bred by none other than virginia dunn!).

you can see more of MARCIA and her dogs and her tattoos here.

i decided that i should look into VIRGINIA DUNN, a breeder of cane corsos in portland oregon.

lion tamer VIRGINIA posing with fila brasileiro

i found this interesting interview with a cane corso breeder on dogguide.net.

the first question, "How long have you been working with the breed?"

DUNN'S answer, "Well, I rescued dogs for years, my boys and I. Mostly Pit Bulls. We truly love Pit Bulls! But knowing that only 1 in every 600 Pits that need homes will ever get one, and looking at the reality of the Pit situation really started getting me down. Don’t get me wrong. I will ALWAYS help the pits. But sometimes it just gets so overwhelming. I guess I just needed a break from rescue. That’s when the Cane Corso came into my life. It’s been a blessing to me."

i would never trust a breeder who answers questions about their breed with ramblings about another breed!

on VIRGINIA DUNN'S breeder website Bella Rosa, she devotes a section to CORSO COPS, with none other than MARCIA KRAZTENBERG posing in uniform with an adult and a cane corso puppy. "This beautiful girl is a K-9 in Pennsylvania. Hannah loves being on patrol, doing drug searches, helping frightened children fee safe." i can not imagine that a police department would have this K-9 on their staff that did not go through the proper police dog training. in fact, i am officially calling shenanigans on these two nutters. i googled 'cane corso police dogs' and i found some interesting links and they don't exactly help the nutters.

first up, K-9 Selene. "She's just the third of her breed to serve as a police dog outside of Italy. One is currently working in Beechdown, Ohio; the other, in Hoopeston, Ill." there's some other interesting b.s. in the link, i'll let you find it while i stay on task. although i'd really like to know why the police chief INSISTED that Selene be spayed and that resulted in the termination of her K-9 handler. i am under the impression that ALL K-9s are intact.

second up, K-9 Guido, the first corso cop in the U.S. check out these first three photos as the decoy shows how Guido has bruised his arm through the bite sleeve.

third, one more site that mentions there are only 3 cane corso police dogs outside of italy.

okay, where is all of this going....

the use of cane corsos in police work is extremely rare and NONE OF THESE 3 DOGS ARE IN PENNSYLVANIA!

taking a dog's photo in or near a police cruiser does not make it a police dog, unless of course you are a pit nutter and photos are absolute PROOF of police dogs, nanny dogs and the man in the moon.

VIRGINIA, I FOUND THE PIT BULL!

liars, the whole lot of them.

William Faversham

February 12, 1868 - April 7, 1940

Legendary british film and stage actor William Faversham had a passion for fighting dogs and when he came to America, he brought them with him. Faversham was a significant player among bull terrier breeders. He was a breeder and judge of bull terrier show dogs.

During his early years in the America, Faversham was at times homeless and spent his sundays pitting his bull terrier against laborers' dogs in Harlem. Faversham's pit dog was a champion.

On August 3, 1891, two of Faversham's 30+ bull terriers SOMEHOW managed to escape their kennels and go on a mauling spree. The bull terriers attacked 2 women and 3 kids and when William Truss came to their aid, they mauled him. Faversham responded and called the dogs off. Truss' flesh was tore from both arms and the back of his legs.

Mayor Thomas H Leonard ordered the man biters removed from the town within 24 hours, not culled.

In September 1897 when he was starring in a Chicago play, he found being apart from one of his dogs unbearable so he wired his friends in New York and asked them to ship one of his dogs. It died en route and Faversham wept and stated he was heart broken.

Faversham died in poverty at the age of 72 in a New York rooming house.

Links

New York Times September 20, 1897

New York Times August 4, 1891

The Outing Magazine 1912

New York Times April 5, 1914

New York Times May 6, 1917

http://www.wayneturney.20m.com/favershamwilliam.htm

part three of three

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." -- John F. Kennedy

the topic of part three is my agenda. the nutters are always pontificating about my agenda, but like 99% of what they spew, there is very little truth in it. i don't favor rounding up gripping dogs and euthanizing them, well not until they get loose attack or menace people, pets, livestock or cars.

a couple of years ago, i tried to work with two others to strengthen my local dangerous dog laws. that crusade lasted less than a month. there were just three of us. the other woman, whose cat was killed in her yard by a loose rampaging pit bull, refused to be involved in anything breed specific. and the man, who lived next door to a pit that chewed through the garage and went for a joy ride, refused to be involved if it was not breed specific. neither one could be swayed from their position. i finally threw up my hands and walked away. i decided it is best to leave the lobbying to people with more patience than i.

my agenda is simple.

1) counter the pit bull propaganda with facts so that people can make informed decisions about pet ownership and legislation.

2) encourage pit bull advocates to follow their own advice – think for themselves and do their own research, don't just mindlessly consume the pit nutter propaganda.

3) incite people to take up arms and meet the threat head on.

people are getting the message without my help. in just the month of april alone, i documented 13 instances of private citizens who have been forced to shoot or stab gripping dogs in france, louisiana, oregon, texas x2, pennsylvania, alaska x2, california, south carolina, massachusetts, illinois and virginia. that's a good start but more people need to be sending the message to nutters and lawmakers that we will not tolerate these mutants attacking us, our animals or inhibiting our freedom.

in marengo, illinois residents have armed themselves with baseball bats just to walk their dogs. (i have two neighbors who have been carrying bats for the last year and half)

in live oak, texas a man shot and killed father and son pit bull owners after they became belligerent when they were told by the shooter's wife to keep their pit bull contained.

in columbus, ohio law makers are attempting to repeal the only state pit bull law in the nation that designates pit bulls as different and requires basic minimum standards: containment and insurance. ohio is the only state to get it right and they are trying to undo it.

in alabama, the pit bull apologia came out in force to oppose NON BREED SPECIFIC dangerous dog laws last november.

pit bull owners have made peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to take the necessary precautions to keep those around them safe from their mutants, by combating legislation that protects people, pets and livestock and by regurgitating the "it's all how you raise 'em" nonsense that encourages any idiot to adopt one. it is time for the inevitable. i am officially declaring war on loose menacing dogs, especially gripping dogs. a loose gripping dog should be a dead gripping dog. a gripping dog entering the property of another should under no circumstances leave that property alive.

take note lycanprincess, i am not talking about preemptive strikes against gripping dogs. i do not condone indiscriminately killing gripping dogs that are legally and safely confined on their property. i am referring to neutralizing threats as they arise.

city, county and state governments don't care about our safety enough to stand up to the shrill pit nutter minority. even the feds have thumbed their noses to community safety with their loose unenforceable policy on service dogs. animal control is over run with pit nutters who are more interested in education than enforcement. and the police can not respond in time to protect us. the onus is on the individual to protect themselves and their family against vicious dogs. my safety and the safety of my dogs is my burden alone. i rely on no one else. since we have been forced to return to the wild west, we'd better be prepared to meet the challenge. maybe an all out war will get the attention of law makers.

"Let your gun be your companion on all your walks." -- Thomas Jefferson

part one about me

part two my journey from pit nutter to pit hater

Mortality, Mauling, and Maiming by Vicious Dogs

The the usual suspects have come out in force to criticize the San Antonio Dog Bite Study recently released by the University Hospital and defame the authors because the image painted of their beloved pit bull is not quite in sync with their idealized version.

Study authors

John K. Bini, MD

Stephen M. Cohn, MD

Shirley M. Acosta, RN, BSN,

Marilyn J. McFarland, RN, MS

Mark T. Muir, MD

Joel E. Michalek, PhD

The TRISAT Clinical Trials Group, include trauma faculty members:

D. Dent, M. Corneille, S. Wolf. D. Mueller, B. Eastridge, G. Goodwiler, J. Gourlas, J. Oh; M. Bohnenblust, K. McBride and biostatistician C. Lounden.

click their names to view their impressive resumés

Excerpt from Mortality, Mauling, and Maiming by Vicious Dogs:

Dog bites are a serious public health concern in the United States and across the world. They result in substantial emotional and physical trauma and in a substantial economic cost to the victims and to society. Fortunately, fatal dog attacks are rare, but there seems to be a distinct relationship between the severity and lethality of an attack and the breed of dog responsible. The unacceptable actuarial risk associated with certain breeds of dogs (specifically, pit bulls) must be addressed.

Go to Dogsbite.org for a full review of this important study.

DECEIVE, INVEIGLE, OBFUSCATE

“You find out a lot of information when you deal with the circumstances. That leads you down a different road on what causes the bites and attacks and it's not the breed of dog. It's usually the people who are involved and the surrounding situation that's involved.” Brent Toellner

BRENT TOELLNER, the man who makes his living convincing people to purchase things they don't need, can't afford and are sometimes harmful, told nbc action news, 'it's not the dog, it's the owner'. There's one way to test that theory. Take any serious pit bull mauling and substitute other breeds. Take 85 yr old Rosie Humphreys for example. Rosie and her small poodle were killed by BRIAN PENNINGTON'S loose purebred american pit bull terrier during a routine daily walk. Now try substituting golden retriever in that sentence. How about dachshund? collie? Absurd, isn't it? If breed is truly irrelevant and the problem is truly irresponsible owners, then ANY breed of dog owned by BRIAN PENNINGTON would have yielded the same deadly result.

TOELLNER'S criticisms go into more detail on his blog. One of the criticisms is valid but that does not invalidate the study. My issue with the study is the citing of AKC registered dogs. The APBT, the breed that makes up the bulk of "pit bulls" is not recognized in the AKC registry and not all pit bulls involved in fatal attacks are purebred. The inclusion of AKC numbers only opens the door for pit nutter criticism. Though their method is accepted in academic circles, I would have preferred the authors left that data out.

TOELLNER has a long list of complaints; lack of peer review, small sample, the use of animal people and dogsbite.org data (congratulations guys!), and the fact that the authors failed to consult with animal behaviorists and with ms dog bite herself, KAREN DELISE. These are major flaws in his mind that invalidate the study, in HIS mind. TOELLNER praised the authors for stating the obvious, pit bulls do not have locking jaws or an exceptionally powerful bite, but then admits that he is puzzled that the authors still came to the conclusion that pit bulls posed a greater danger than other dogs. At the end of this blog post, pit bull experts DIANE JESSUP and CARL SEMEMCIC will explain why pits are more dangerous.

I find it rather amusing that TOELLNER vigorously condemns the San Antonio University Hospital study, yet he finds no fault with the self report questionnaire study that found dachshunds to be the "biggest biters".

KAREN DELISE (a former vet tech), the great neo cortex's official condemnation of the study begins with the fact that SURGEONS have dared to express an opinion about dangerous dogs. Those opinions are reserved for herself and handful of highly trained gifted supreme beings endowed with mystical powers. DELISE thinks surgeons should stick with surgery. I can certainly relate to that sentiment, I always find myself thinking along those lines whenever the nutter lawyers like LEDY VANKAVAGE, DEBRA BRESCH, LAURA ALLEN, NATHAN WINOGRAD, KEVIN THOMASON open their mouths about animals. They should stay out of the animal AND medical business.

The vet tech writes "Those, whose professional lives are spent with pets and their owners, have been consistent in their recommendations: education of adults and children concerning dogs and dog behavior; and humane care custody and control of all dogs." This cited quote from DELISE is attributed to Texas vet BONNIE BEAVER who under oath testified in 1991, "By its origin, a pit bull is a fighting dog that takes very little stimulous to initiate aggression, and it will continue to fight regardless of what happens" and "Pit bulldogs have been responsible for about 70 percent of the deaths of humans killed by dogs since 1979."

No critique of this study would be complete without the classic pit bull sleight of hand trick, Find The Pit Bull. "There is robust evidence that guesses even by animal professionals of the breed or breeds that make up dogs whose ancestry is not known to them correlate extremely poorly with DNA analyses of the same dogs." Rule number #2 in the pit bull advocacy handbook, ALWAYS cast doubt on breed identification!

The vet tech continues "The authors seem to have begun their research with a belief regarding “pit bull” dogs, and then exploited the tools of epidemiology to legitimize that belief." ALL science starts with a belief. The belief that scientists go into research without any preconceived notions is absurdly naive. The former vet tech/"research director" fails to recognize that ALL SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY BEGINS WITH A HYPOTHESIS which states a belief or expectation. Without a belief, expectation or hypothesis, it is impossible to conduct scientific inquiry!!! Karen, objectivity in science is an illusion and only unethical researchers lie to their audiences and themselves with fantastic claims of absolute detachment and neutrality.

"The illusion of objectivity is most powerful when its victims believe themselves to be free of it." Rupert Sheldrake

The evil genius makes a big deal about the percentage of children in emergency rooms. She claims only 2% of all child visits to the E.R are for dog bites, not 20% as the San Antonio University Hospital surgeons suggest. But the vet tech's only accomplishment is exposing herself as JANE BERKEY'S hired gun and the vet tech only succeeds at fooling her gullible drones with the attack on the authors' one in five visits. A 1998 AMA study, (which you can find at dogsbite.org along with lots of other studies and great information), found that 23% of the children who visit the emergency room, are there for dog bites, in other words - roughly one in five.

*I was extremely disappointed that KAREN DELISE didn't take this opportunity to expand on her theory of the meteorologic effects on dog aggression. Oh well, maybe next time.

JIM CROSBY also had plenty to say about the study. The most surprising criticism came in the form of doubting the number of pit bulls shot and killed. The authors of the San Antonio University Hospital study claim that 1.5 pit bulls are shot and killed each day. I tracked shootings/stabbings from 10.07.09-10.19.10 and came up with 631 shooting/stabbing incidences. (Dogsbite.org tracked pit bull shootings from 2008-2009 and has come up up with similar numbers.) The overwhelming majority of incidences that I documented were shootings opposed to stabbings and the overwhelming majority of dogs were "pit bulls". Of course not all were killed but I don't have a hard time believing that 546 pit bulls are shot to death each year, especially when you consider that only a fraction of the shootings receive media coverage. Pit nutter PAT MILLER states the media reports 250-300 dogs are shot by police each year and estimates another 1000 shootings that are not picked up by the media. That is 3.56 per day, shot by JUST the police! MILLER credits her data to ASPCA's RANDALL LOCKWOOD.

uncharacteristically, WHITEWASH JIMMY expressed empathy for the human victims when he criticized the authors for including the "flashy but irrelevant" statistic; 94% of the attacks were unprovoked, adding "Small children do not have the capacity to knowingly provoke a dog. Older kids should be given the benefit of the doubt unless observed tormenting a dog."Traditionally, pit nutters search desperately outside of DNA to explain and excuse pit bull aggression. Their first line of defense is always - the dog was provoked. Congratulations JIMMY, I believe this is a pit nutter first! And i will be sure to credit you in the future.

WHITEWASH JIMMY'S analysis of the surgeons' study goes above and beyond the picayune by pointing to an age error of a victim. The authors claim a victim was 11 months old while the "well covered" attack by the media reported the victim to be 7 months. "A small error-but a factual error that knocks one more pebble from a crumbling edifice. You would think that an attending physician might just know how old his patient was." Funny how the nutters always caution us against believing the media when it comes to dog attacks and pit bulls, yet JIMMY is steadfast in his belief that the media reported the victim's age correctly and the suregons reported incorrectly. laughable.

WHITEWASH JIMMY attempted to bring his small band of zealous devotees to their knees in awe. Thumping his superior on scene fatal attack investigator chest, he points out that the dog responsible for the december 2008 death of 62 yr old Chester Jordan in Muncie, Indiana was in fact a Dogo Argentino gripping dog. But hey, in his generous spirit, he would give the authors the benefit of the doubt and call the dogo a pit bull. I don't track fatal attacks and I don't follow them closely, so I consulted with people who do and who I value the opinions of, Merritt Clifton and Colleen Lynn. The attack was in fact in November, NOT December. A small error-but a factual error that knocks one more pebble from a crumbling edifice. You would think that an on site investigator might just know what month he traveled to Indiana. Colleen's memory of that attack was just as clear as if it happened yesterday. She remembered seeing the news footage of an unbloodied white dog running around in the background while the authorities removed the two bloodied brindle pit dogs from the home. Colleen also remembered BRENT TOELLNER first positing that the "killer" white dog may have been a dogo or an ambull. And sure enough, there it is. And here are the two bloody brindle bulldogs.

Thank you Colleen!

My absolute favorite part of mr canine aggression expert's critique of the San Antonio University Hospital dog bite study, was the final sentence: "Shame on them, shame on the authors, and especially shame on the peer review committee that should have done basic fact checking before publication." This statement comes from the man who looks to KAREN DELISE as his mentor! Click HERE and HERE to see how well DELISE performs basic fact checking.

note: ALL of the links to WHITEWASH JIMMY'S references are conveniently dead and were directed to this page.

LEDY VANKAVAGE'S attack on the San Antonio study was addressed in detail HERE, but I have a few thoughts of my own to add. LEDY is very good, maybe the best at rallying the pit nutter troops over at change.org and stretching or misinterpreting the truth, I can't tell which. Perhaps a poll is needed to help me determine whether she is morally corrupt or intellectually bankrupt. to quote LEDY, "One glaring example of the report's shoddy work that they cite is that the authors state that one in every five children visits an emergency room because of a dog bite." That is quite different from what the authors ACTUALLY wrote, "One of every 5 emergency room visits by children is related to dog bites." If you do not understand the difference between these two statements then you must immediately leave this blog and go back to school. I also have to wonder if we just witnessed the birth of a lie or if researchers should take this as a sign for the need to dumb down the language of future studies for easier consumption by pit bull advocates.

VANKAVAGE, DELISE et al feel that doctors are not qualified to make statements about dog dangerousness. I think emergency room medical staff, plastic surgeons and first responders are the MOST qualified to make these statements. We are talking about HUMAN injury and death after all.

Who the fuck are these people and WHY should anyone take them seriously?

Meet no-kill/pit bull activist and marketing/advertising whiz BRENT TOELLNER who has not an ounce of medical school behind him yet feels qualified to lead the debate on public policy regarding dangerous dogs!

Meet the great prestidigitator KAREN DELISE, former vet tech, founder and director of "research" for the National Canine Research Council, a subsidiary of JANE BERKEY'S blatant pit bull advocacy organization, the ANIMAL FARM FOUNDATION.

Meet JIM CROSBY, the "lone wolf" whitewasher who feels that he ALONE has more expertise combined (as a dog trainer and former police officer and FAILED -- FIRED -- AC officer) than the impressive group of 17 listed at the top of this page. Hardly a "lone wolf" gig like a typical Crosby undertaking. This professional whitewasher claims that chihuahuas are as dangerous as pit bulls. GOOD JOB JIMMY! You've never looked more stupid or more petty than you do today!

Meet LEDY VANKAVAGE, the senior legislative analyst (a paid lobbyist) for the Kanab, Utah animal rights group known as Best Friends. This attorney and life long pit bull owner feels qualified to lead the argument on public policy regarding dangerous dogs!

MORE TEXAS DOG BITE STUDIES

The results of the San Antonio University Hospital dog bite study validates previous Texas dog bite data. The state of Texas has a decent history of documenting dog bites. in 2000, Dr David Blocker presented a paper on dog bites from Bexar County (San Antonio - the exact same region that involved the University Hospital study) found the Odds ratios for each of the five most commonly biting dog breeds versus all others presented similar findings (Table 30). The odds of a Pit Bull in Bexar County causing a bite were 5 times greater than the odds for all other breeds combined, at 4.9 to 1. Chow Chows and Rottweilers also had odds ratios significantly greater than the average, at 2.9 to 1 and 1.8 to 1, respectively. The odds ratios for German Shepherds and Labrador Retrievers were significantly lower than the average, at 0.67 to 1 and 0.26 to 1.

Medical doctors Stephen F. Viegas, Jason H. Calhoun and Jon Mader published an article on the savage pit bull attack of an 83 yr old man that resulted in extensive injuries requiring an amputation and later died in the Volume 84 November 1988 issue of Texas Medicine, Pit bull attack: case report and literature review.

"During the one-year period between June 1986 and June 1987, 14 people were killed by dogs in the United States. Ten of those 14 deaths are attributed to pit bulls. Thus, 71% of the deaths during that period were attributed to a type of dog that accounts for 1% of the US dog population (8,10,22)."

and

"Most breeds do not repeatedly bite their victims; however, a pit bull attack has been compared to a shark attack and often results in multiple bites and extensive soft tissue loss (3,10). Although the teeth of dogs are not very sharp, they can exert a force of 200 to 450 psi. Pit bulls inflict more serious bite wounds than do other breeds because they tend to attack the deep muscles, hold on, and shake (3,10)."

and in conclusion

"With this trend and the increasing population of dogs in general, and in pit bulls in particular, the occurrence of cases similar to the one reported in this article may increase."

Hmmm, 71% of the people killed by dogs from june 86 - june 87, were killed by pit bulls is consistent with DR BEAVER'S 1991 sworn testimony. Weren't the 1980's supposed to be the decade of the doberman?

The Texas Department of Health used to track animal attacks and submit yearly summaries.

The number and percentage of each breed of dog involved was noted...

As well as the number and percentage of each breed for attacks so serious, hospitalization was required.

Did you notice how the pit bull was number 4 for dog bites but jumped to the # 1 spot for hospitalizations?

I don't have the summaries for 2000 and 2001 but at some point the Department of Health stopped parsing out the percentage of breeds that required hospitalizations. Pit nutter tantrums, I suspect. Those tantrums most likely put an end to this tracking of animal attacks/bites altogether, as 2002 seems to be the last year for these bite summaries.

You can read the 1999 and 2002 Severe Animal Attack and Bite Surveillance Summaries HERE and HERE.

PIT BULLS ARE DIFFERENT!

Pit bulls differ from other dogs in not only HOW they bite, but WHERE they bite. This difference results in catastrophic damage to the unlucky person who happens to be on the receiving end of their gaping maws of doom.

But i don't expect you to take the word of a hater.

Read the professional opinion of former animal control officer, pit bull advocate, owner, breeder, trainer, historian, author, expert DIANE JESSUP as she pontificates on pit bulls and bite work in protection sports:

There are aspects of ring sport which put the bulldog at a disadvantage when competing against sheepdogs like shepherds and malinois. The sport requires the dog, at times, to bite and then quickly release and retreat - something no true bulldog is willing to do. Also, biting the leg, which is considered preferable, takes more training for a bulldog who will naturally shun the extremities in favor of the more "courageous" bites to the body. A bulldog is bred to grip the head of its prey - whereas a sheepdog nips the legs. Therefore sheepdog breeds have a natural advantage in this regard.

and

Another very real detriment to the sport are those few decoys, (so far I have found them only in Western Canada) who are so terrified of pit bulls that they treat them with prejudice.

Gee, I can't imagine why bite work decoys would be prejudiced against gripping dogs, I mean aside from the tendency to courageously lunge for the FACE!

Perhaps fighting dog officiando CARL SEMENCIC can shine some light on this.

(Gladiator Dogs, page 19)

"Photographer and veterinarian, Markus Rogen with Tough Guy's Baby, a protection dog that can destroy the arm guard of an attack suit with one bite (the same arm guards that can last 10 years with a German Shepherd.)"

click image to view larger

Hypocrisy Nutter Style: The Ledy Vankavage Edition

Recently, a group of Texas trauma care surgeons, physicians and nurses published a study concluding that pit bull attacks are more severe on average, cost more and have a higher risk for death than attacks by other breeds. The additional risk is completely avoidable and unacceptable. They conclude that legislators should protect their citizens from this unnecessary and unacceptable added risk.

Of course the pit bull apologists and the pit bull pushers came out in force attacking these professionals from all sides. Ledy's attack oozes condescension. You can easily envision the curl of her lip as you read her words belittling the work of these concerned surgeons, doctors and nurses who have seen and tried to sew up the bodies her beloved pitties tore apart.

She feels these professionals' work is so shoddy and their study is so small that it's not research at all; it is simply embarrassingly blatant propaganda. Ledy muses that these professionals were so incredibly incapable they probably didn't find the magnificent research conducted by the illustrious Dr. Victoria Voith that allowed the good doctor to conclude "animal shelter folks" can only correctly identify the heritage of mixed breed dogs 25% of the time! You know if Ledy Vankavage relies on it, Voith's study (download the first pdf entitled ACVB AVSAB Dog Breed Poster) must have been large and impeccably designed. It must be work that would put the good doctors and nurses to shame.

Right:

The total sample of dogs was 40. Dr. Voith doesn't offer how the dogs were chosen, only that the sample represents the dogs that could "be there" on a given day. From the very huge sample of 40, they "randomly" selected 20 dogs.

Of the dogs selected, only 16 had been identified by breed mix by shelters when they were adopted. So, only 16 of the 40 dogs could be used (40%) to come up with their statement.

11 of the 20 dogs were less than 6 months old when the unknown rescue or shelter workers attempted to identify the heritage of the dog. Uncharacteristically, half these shelter dogs were adopted as puppies making Voith's "study" particularly useless to criticize the University Hospital study because presumably none of the attacking dogs were puppies under 6 months old when identified. (This can be verified because the researchers do have this information.)

The dogs in Voith's study had been identified up to 11.5 years prior to the "study" by unknown shelters, rescue groups, foster housing, animal control and other agencies. Because of this study's "design," we know nothing of the actual experience, training or education any of these anonymous people had or even if the owner's recollection of the assigned breeds is correct. Ledy wants to compare the expertise of unknown shelter workers trying to promote puppies to the expertise of AC officers, LE officers and veterinarians tasked with investigating a serious injury or death.

The Mars test used only has an 84% accuracy in first generation crossbred dogs. None of the dogs were identified as being a first generation cross, so there is no guarantee of accuracy for the test whatsoever and, because of this "study's" design, no way to verify whether the genetic test is correct. So we don't know if those Tibetian terriers, black russian terriers, and Nova Scotia duck-tolling retrievers get around as much as they seem to judging from these 20 dogs.

This is the kind of "study" Ledy uses to bash doctors and nurses who were motivated by what they see in the trauma room. This is the kind of "study" that Ledy uses to expose these professionals' "embarrassingly blatant propaganda."

I am still trying to imagine how Ledy envisions the conversation where doctors and nurses decided to propagandize:

Dr. to nurse during surgery: "Hey, if you're not busy for the next few months, would you be interested in concocting some propaganda to destroy the reputation of pit bulls?"

Nurse: Why do you want to do that?

Doctor: Just 'cuz.

Nurse: Sounds fun!

the mesmerizingly stupid educating the mesmerizingly gullible

a new pit bull advocate has emerged on the battle field.

introducing YONAH WARD GROSSMAN!

GROSSMAN apparently fancies himself as some kind of comedian. i suspect he is in search of a loyal following to give his career a boost. and there is no audience in the galaxy that is more gullibly loyal than pit bull owners.

GROSSMAN doesn't just repeat the old propaganda, he is creating new material for future generations of gullible morons.

on may 2, GROSSMAN kicked off his trilogy of pit fantasy promoting the "intelligent, faithful, sweet, gentle" breed as mascot and baby sitter. GROSSMAN completely omits any mention of the pit bull's original function as fighting dog. he cites fictional characters NIPPER, TIGE and PETEY as his proof. GROSSMAN contrasts america's wholesome babysitter with the GSD, the dog used almost exclusively by the military and law enforcement. "German Shepherds for example are vicious, unreliable, uncontrollable and a movement has been formed to ban them altogether."

GROSSMAN'S second installment is my favorite. he doesn't just regurgitate the nanny dog myth, the first it was the GSDs, then the dobermans.... myth, and the ATTS scam. GROSSMAN states: "In temperance tests (the equivalent of how many times your kid can poke your dog in the eye before he bites him) of all breeds the most tolerant was the Golden Retriever. The second most tolerant was the pit bull." WTF? this test is a figment of his imagination. it is not enough for this nutter to debunk the locking jaw myth and most powerful bite myth, GROSSMAN attempts to create another bugaboo breed by stating the honor of most powerful bite goes to the german shepherd!!! again, complete fabrication that flies in the face of reality. watch this youtube video comparing dog attack styles and bite force among the malinois (195), dutch shepherd (232), american bulldog (305) and a mastiff (556). or this youtube video where they compare the GSD (238), pit bull (235) and rottweiler (328)

just for fun, here is a wolf (406) and he is not even trying.

in GROSSMAN'S may 6 blog post, he transforms one smuggled boston bulldog (sgt stubby) into an army of pit bulls that became known as "our national canine babysitter". "They also fought in the trenches with our soldiers and died on the battlefields beside them." GROSSMAN tosses in a smattering of photos and vintage illustrations as evidence for his position. only the illustrations appear to be american pit bull terriers. (fyi, General Patton's dog was an english bull terrier, a pit bull, but not an american pit bull terrier, ie nanny dog). it is always a head scratcher when pit nutters prance around the "pit bull's" military history which is in sharp contrast to military reality. there is absolutely no evidence that the military EVER utilized pit bulls and military strictly forbids pit bulls from their bases. GROSSMAN then tries to reinforce the "they won't start the fight but they'll finish it" myth in comparing the US attitude towards the world war one and two."We tried hard to avoid a fight but if left no other choice we were going to seriously fuck you up." YONAH, please read the language of dogs, normal and psychopathic to better understand the pit bull's role in this myth.

GROSSMAN ends his tribute to the pit bull with "The dogs of course are exactly the same. Only the owners changed." of course this statement also collides with the facts:

"When the Pit Bull Terrier was introduced into America, he was more commonly found to be owned by prize fighters, saloon keepers and habitues, sporting men and the like. From the start the breed has earned an unjust reputation due to his fighting ability and the character of the owner." (Colby, 1936) then and now, the riff raff has always been drawn to the pit bull.

YONAH, stick with what you know - PENISES.