Escaped Pit Bulls Attack Six in Illinois

[Cannikin]

CARY, Ill. - A 10-year-old boy was in critical condition Sunday after three pit bulls escaped from a home and went on a rampage, attacking six people before police shot and killed the dogs, authorities said

No charges had been filed Sunday, but McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren said it was being investigated as a crime scene.

"The screams were horrible," she said. The dogs were "relentless, like they were possessed."

The pit bulls attacked the two children, and when the dogs' owner tried to stop them, the dogs turned on him and bit off his thumb, Nygren said. The boy's father also tried to protect his son and was attacked. The dogs went after another neighbor as well.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051106/ap_on_re_us/pit_bull_rampage

[flvegan]

1. The only time the breed name makes the headlines is when

the breed is a variety of the bully breeds.

I love the media. They make me laugh.

I do feel very badly for the youngster and his dad, though. Obviously, something went very, very wrong here.

[LisaL]

2. When chiwawa attacks and kills someone, I guarantee you it

will make the headline.

[flvegan]

9. A news of the wierd headline, maybe

[LeftyMom]

13. Sounds like a Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie

Tonight at eight, "Attack of the Chihuahuas" and at ten "Attack of the Chihuahuas II: It Came From the Puppy Mill."

[Angry Girl]

36. Cocker Spaniels are resonsible for the most bites in the U.S.

And the smaller toy breeds (like chihuahuas) are the ones that will eat your corpse if you die and they're stuck with you in the apartment. Big dogs supposedly never do that (eat their owner's corpse)....

I don't know why I went there. Just free-associating, I guess....

URGENT! Timing is critical to save earthquake victims before winter!

[Elidor]

7. The breed name becomes newsworthy when the dog in question

Can deliver a crushing 2,000 PSI bite. And even moreso when that breed does not lock its jaws, but repeatedly works them back and forth, the better to rend flesh from bone.

I think of them as little land sharks. I've had a close encounter with one, and frankly, I'd sooner face an angry bull in heat.

[flvegan]

10. Really? How so?

I'd suggest that it's an attention garnering buzzword, "pitbull" which obviously works.

[Elidor]

12. Oh yeah, they're such harmless little fellas.

Okay, I smell a dog-owner. Admit your bias, you...you...you vegan fiend. :D

[flvegan]

16. My bias is that a breed is slandered and libeled.

You should see what a Neopolitan Mastiff could do...or a Great Dane...or a Dogo...

but...those don't make good SCARY headlines.

[LisaL]

25. Oh please. When the presa canary killed that poor woman

in San Francisco, it was all over the news. If mastiff or great dane kill someone, it will be on the news. The pit bulls are on the news all the time because they kill the most people, not because they are wrongly accused.

[Lochloosa]

37. Great Danes don't belong in this discussion

I have been around Danes all my life and there is not a more protective dog when it comes to childern. And oh how they love to play with them....

[TheProphetess]

It's true - I worked at a dog kennel for several years

One of our most loving and playful regulars was a pitbull. It's all in the owner. Yes, these dogs can do damage but so can plenty of other breeds. Pitbull by definition does not equal killer.

[bettyellen]

42. just maybe because you don't see these vicious "Dogos" around much

and less people who want intimidating dogs don't choose mastiffs or great danes...
maybe because there's more of them (a lot) and many more of the owners are total assholes.

[JJackFlash]

17. They are the most dangerous dogs, bar none

"PitBulls, except for last year, averaged the most human fatalities annually for many many years WORLDWIDE. PitBulls in most cases are highly aggressive towards ANY animal, no matter what kind, number, or size. PitBulls are one of the most dominant and powerful mammals out there. They have the most solidity and defined musculature of any dog breed, or animal for that matter. They ARE THE MOST GAME ANIMALS ON THE PLANET. Gameness as a quality means never backing down, fighting to the death even with missing limbs and eyes, and always wanting to quarrel with another animal."
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=007nut

[flvegan]

18. Most dangerous?

You should stretch yourself beyond the MSM.

The fatality info is for the US only, I believe.

You're also dealing with animal control workers that have no idea what dog breed they're seeing. Broad chest? Fat head? Must be a pit bull, right?

Right...and Cheney is innocent.

BTW, your info on pits, is totally bs. The most "game" animals? Not hardly. You should check out cane corsos, dogos, etc before you spout off on something you know NOTHING about.

I find it comedic that a message board is quoted as fact here.

Joke. Punchline. Silence.

[JJackFlash]

20. Of the 20 or so stories I've seen

of killer dogs, all but one were pit bulls, but being so knowledgable, you must be right - all those stories of pit bulls mutilating and killing people must be mistaken identification.
If pit bulls never let go once their 2000 psi jaws clamp down, then how do you figure other breeds are more game?

[flvegan]

24. Well, I can say this

Considering I run a rescue that deals largely with pitbulls, staffies and what not, mostly abused, mostly ex-fighters or bait dogs, I feel that I CAN respond to most inane, uneducated posts (not that your is one)

All those stories...as you suggest...are the MSM dragging you into their levels of fear. Enjoy the company.

BTW...2000 psi...what's a Neo got? Look it up...

More "game"? That's fighting terminology. You don't partake, I trust...

I'll wait for your answer...

[driver8]

28. Dog lover here and I have a question about ex-fighting dogs.

Is it possible to "reform" them so that they are adoptable? How do you do that? How about "bait" dogs (ugh, just writing that makes me sick).?
How do you teach these poor dogs to trust someone?

Bless you for helping them.

[flvegan]

30. Is it possible? Yes.

Is it always successful? No.

Bait dogs are (in my experience) easier. They tend to be more submissive to authority. Trust is a HUGE issue with them, though. We have one that took a week before I could even approach him. Now, though he's always looking over his shoulder, he's extremely loving and trusting, and will approach new people on his own.

Ex fighters are usually good with adults, but I wouldn't place one with kids nor other dogs, just in case.

I, of course, can see this as our rescue does limited numbers. Were we a much larger-scale organization, it might be different.

[HEyHEY]

44. I'm sorry but three dogs on a rampage is a valid story

[sundog]

3. the return of the pit bull wars

[LisaL]

4. Just hope those wars don't involve actual pit bulls.

My neighbors got one, and they have their kids walking the dog. He is not even on the leash most of the time. I don't know what they are thinking, but I am thinking it's not going to end well.

[sundog]

5. ...

[Cannikin]

6. Who? Me? Never.

:evilgrin:

[MissB]

21. I have a hard time giving Pit Bulls the benefit of the doubt.

:evilfrown:

[sundog]

23. they creep me out

just a personal thing

[ScreamingMeemie]

27. We had a story of a poodle (yes a poodle) mauling a 2 year old here

in MI last month, and it didn't make the evening news. I think we should be fair, at least and report all mauling cases while we're at it. :hi:

[driver8]

29. Contrary to their image, Poodles are tough dogs!

We used to take our dog to this dog park and there was a pit mix that was always causing fights. He started some shit with a Standard Poodle and that poodle had him on the ground with his jaws on the pit mix's throat in about 5 seconds.

Weren't Poodles originally bred for hunting??

[Lochloosa]

38. Standard Poodles were bred to be hunting dogs....

they are tough

[shanti]

8. oh no.....

not again :cry:

[astonamous]

11. Why would someone own 6 pitbulls? n/t

[Rich Hunt]

14. probably a bad owner

There is no way those dogs would be behaving that way unless they were conditioned to be vicious. He could be an illicit breeder - not all bad owners are dogfighters, either. He could be deliberately raising vicious dogs for either fighting or 'security' (some nuts actually WANT an intimidating dog for some reason).

I hope he gets held accountable for this.

[LisaL]

15. There was 3 pit bulls. They attacked 6 people.

[astonamous]

26. Ooops! My bad. Would it surprise you that I am blonde? n/t

[flvegan]

19. Don't know. Why would someone have 6 poodles?

[HEyHEY]

45. To feed six pitbulls

[alittlelark]

22. Most ppl owning that many are training them to fight.

Few, other than rescue group ppl would own that many. They are high energy/ high mainntanance. I have met 8 or so really sweet pits, and a couple REALLY nasty ones that were kept on short tied leashes (fighters) It would certainly explain their extreme aggressiveness.

[Mizmoon]

31. Golden Retrievers never maul people to death

don't tell me "it's not the breed" because clearly it IS the breed.

[Shell Beau]

32. My golden retriever mix mauls me with his tongue!!!

I feel like Fred Flinstone when Dino jumps on him when he gets home from work!!

:)

[RedCloud]

39. I know the feeling!

I have to keep reminding mine that her name is Lucky, not Licky.

She is completely insane with the licking. Licks my clothes, bed.
And she has an extra long tongue for those hard to reach areas, like the other side of the table!

[Cannikin]

41. I was going to say the same thing about Goldens

[Shell Beau]

33. I feel bad for all of those who were injured.

[WeRQ4U]

34. You know, these debates get played out like everyone has a script...

Can't we all agree that there are many animals with the potential to be quite dangerous, and that when these potentially dangerous animals are raised by incompetent or irresponsible owners, problems will arise.

Likewise, can't we agree, on some level, that although it's obvious that the media loves to report these types of attacks and perpetuate the misconception that ALL pit bulls are evil, blood thirsty, baby killers, that perhaps it IS possible, that due to their athletic build and aggressive tendencies, that Pit Bulls DO account for a great number of dog attacks? The two are not mutually exclusive.

[Divameow77]

35. I had a friend that had a pitbull

since he was a puppy, always treated the dog extremely well, and yes the dog eventually turned and bit another person, completely unprovoked. The dog broke his arm and my friend had to have the dog put down. I know this is only one story and not all pitbulls will do that, but I saw what the dog did and that experience has made me very fearful of that breed of dog.

[LisaL]

40. There are many stories like this.

It appears that something can trigger these dogs, and what was previously a normal dog can become violent and attack.
I know a woman who was attacked by a pit bull while the owner was there. That dog run after her, biting her on her legs. She managed to get into her car and that saved her, but the dog still did a lot of damage to her legs.

[RebelOne]

43. I have owned 2 pit bulls and they were the sweetest dogs

you would ever want to know. But in lieu of all the bad press these dogs have gotten, I think that there should be a ban on breeding them.