Pit Bull Attack...divine intervention

[chasfm11]

This afternoon at 3:30, I was walking my 18lb Shih Tzu mix along our very rural road. We walk every day about a half a mile down and then come back and she is always on a leash. Because of the car traffic, I keep the retractable leash to about 3-4 feet. I wouldn't want her bolting and have a car close by.

Out of seemingly nowhere, a 50lb pit bull appeared and attacked her. I was even facing the direction from which he appeared. He cleared 50 yards before I could even think to react. I've had other dogs come at us and I immediately pick her up. I never had that time. He was on her before I could even bend over. After that, it like I was watching a slow motion video. He grabbed with his mouth for the back of her neck but she has wide rhinestone collar and he didn't get a grip. He tried again but ended up with mouth fill of her harness at its attachment point. His next bite was the middle of her back and he started to shake her. For those who say that you can stop a dog fight by lifting the back legs, I say no way. I couldn't have grabbed his constantly pumping back legs on my best day. I did all that I could by trying to put one knee in the middle of his back and drive him into the ground. Even that wasn't working. He was energetic and vicious. I finally got her separated from him and picked her up. By then the dogs owner was there and hauled him off.

The divine intervention was in two parts. He did not kill her outright. She has a badly injured shoulder and may have some internal injuries from the shaking. I was able to get her to our vet, whose office is only blocks from our house. He has given her anti-biotics, anti-inflamatory drugs and pain killers. She is expectedly lethargic but hopefully will survive without permanent injuries. My sister in PA had a pit bull jump her back fence, get into her yard and nearly kill one of her crippled Pomeranians. It almost didn't survive. The disparity of force between a large pit bull an[/hr]d one of these smaller Our Vet said that it was a miracle that our dog came out of it as well as it did. He said that most small dog victims of pit bulls end up buried. I'm grateful that she isn't one of them, at least so far.

The other divine intervention was that I wasn't carrying. It was one of the rare days that I had been working in the yard and had my grubby clothes on. I normally carry OC but didn't have that with me either. When the animal services rep showed up, she said that it is rare that OC works on an aggressive dog. They will fight through the pain and keep on grinding and shaking. If this had happened during yesterday, I had my Glock 30SF on and there was a moment where I could have drawn and fired and put a bullet through the back of the dog's head without any risk to my dog or anyone else. Given the feelings that I had to during the attack today, there is no doubt in my mind that I would have done just that.

I had a somewhat testy exchange with the animal services rep. She told me the truth that I didn't want to hear. The legal system does not protect me or my dog and provides, IMHO, protection for dogs who commit these acts. It takes killing another pet to have a dog labeled as "dangerous dog" Even then it isn't assured. My editorial comment is that it is the exact irresponsible people who have these kinds of dogs, do nothing to train them and the allow them off the leash on a regular basis. I will be keeping all of this in mind in the future. NOBODY is going to walk a dog off leash in my presence ever again. We are going to have the fight before there is damage.

[striker55]

Sorry about your dog, we have a neighbor who has a pitbull and that dog has charged at myself and neighbors but not bitten anyone. I live on a cul de sad, I've pulled my gun two times to stop it in my front yard. Both times the sheriff was called and he said I had the right to shoot it. I have two small dogs and did not want to shoot his dog, luckily both times the dog chose to stop coming at me. I finally took the neighbor to court and with the testimony of two neighbor's we had the dog declared a dangerous dog. No trouble since. I don't care what people say but pitbulls are a danger, even the judge agreed. I hope your dog gets well.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=96010

[flechero]

The other divine intervention was that I wasn't carrying.

You and I see that very differently. What if the pit had instead attacked you or turned on you when you tried to defend your dog? The Divine Intervention may well have been the Lord reminding you to never leave the gun home when you are out on your walks.

That dog needs to be put down.

[cheezit]

I don't care what people say but pitbulls are a danger, even the judge agreed. I hope your dog gets well.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=96010

People and judges say the same thing about "high capacity " magazines and ar15, does that make them right? Or is it a case of irresponsible owners?

[chasfm11]

You and I see that very differently. What if the pit had instead attacked you or turned on you when you tried to defend your dog? The Divine Intervention may well have been the Lord reminding you to never leave the gun home when you are out on your walks.

That dog needs to be put down.

I doubt if killing the dog would have made any difference in the outcome. The damage that has been done was done by the time I could safely shoot arrived. I say "safely" because I would not put my own dog in jeopardy with my gun. Shooting the dog might have landed me in jail. That would definitely not have helped the situation. The animal control person pretty much told me that I have no rights in the matter.

[Jago668]

Check out Health and Safety Code, Title 10, Chapter 822, Subchapter B. Sec 822.013

"(a) A dog or coyote that is attacking, is about to attack, or has recently attacked livestock, domestic animals, or fowls may be killed by..."

[chasfm11]

Or is it a case of irresponsible owners?

It is always about the irresponsible owners. The irony is that we face the same thing with guns. People do bad things with them and the rest of us get blamed. The one point of agreement between me and the animal control officer was that the very people who shouldn't have pit bulls get them. I know that there are a lot of responsible owners out there who have pit bulls. But the irresponsible ones who might do better with a cocker spaniel, bypass that breed in favor of a pit. Why can't irresponsible people get chihuahuas? The animal control person said that chihauuas are a lot more aggressive than pits - and I believe that - but they are not capable of inflicting the kind of damage that pits can. She also tried to sell me than many other breeds can do a lot more damage in a full on attack - like a German Shepard. That might be true but Shepards have a lot more predictable behavior than pits do, IMHO.

[chasfm11]

Check out Health and Safety Code, Title 10, Chapter 822, Subchapter B. Sec 822.013

"(a) A dog or coyote that is attacking, is about to attack, or has recently attacked livestock, domestic animals, or fowls may be killed by..."

s
Interesting. The animal control person didn't even hint that such a law exists. I would be interested to know about any case law on domestic animals and whether pets are part of that definition.

The other complicating factor is that we had been walking in front of the house where these people where staying. They are not the owners of that house. The attack dragged us from the roadway onto that property. So I would have been discharging a weapon on someone else's property. I'd guess that makes the situation more iffy. I probably could make a better case if the attack occurred on my own property.

[03Lightningrocks]

Check out Health and Safety Code, Title 10, Chapter 822, Subchapter B. Sec 822.013

"(a) A dog or coyote that is attacking, is about to attack, or has recently attacked livestock, domestic animals, or fowls may be killed by..."

s
Interesting. The animal control person didn't even hint that such a law exists. I would be interested to know about any case law on domestic animals and whether pets are part of that definition.

The other complicating factor is that we had been walking in front of the house where these people where staying. They are not the owners of that house. The attack dragged us from the roadway onto that property. So I would have been discharging a weapon on someone else's property. I'd guess that makes the situation more iffy. I probably could make a better case if the attack occurred on my own property.

Governor Rick Perry promptly dispatched a coyote that was coming at his dog while out for a walk using a 380 LCP. They even named a pistol in honor of the event. It is perfectly legal to dispatch any animal attacking you or your pet. That lady is full of beans.

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Perry ... 59844.html

[C-dub]

Chas, I hope your girl is going to be okay. She may end up quite a bit afraid to outside for walks from now on, so hopefully you can find something else to do when she recovers.

The person that told you a dog will fight through the pain may have thought your were talking about OC spray and not Open Carrying a .45ACP. Although, we know they will fight through that until and unless something vital is hit that stops them.

Since you know who the owner of the Pit is I hope LE can handle this and they will pay for all your girl's medical and the Pit is quarantined and evaluated whether or not it should be put down.

[chasfm11]

Chas, I hope your girl is going to be okay. She may end up quite a bit afraid to outside for walks from now on, so hopefully you can find something else to do when she recovers.

The person that told you a dog will fight through the pain may have thought your were talking about OC spray and not Open Carrying a .45ACP. Although, we know they will fight through that until and unless something vital is hit that stops them.

Since you know who the owner of the Pit is I hope LE can handle this and they will pay for all your girl's medical and the Pit is quarantined and evaluated whether or not it should be put down.

You are right about OC meaning pepper spray when I was talking to her. I deliberately did not mention that I normally carry a gun in that conversation so the OC was not open carry. A .45ACP round through the back of the dogs head would probably have stopped everything.

Animal Services is handling this. She said that she will evaluate the dog for excessive aggressiveness but indicated that she was unlikely to find that. The more she talked, the less I felt any security that the matter wasn't simply going to be brushed aside. We'll see. Right now, I'm just trying to get through the night with my dog. I'm watching for more symptoms. A trip to the emergency vet in the middle of the night could still be in my future.

[C-dub]

Chas, I hope your girl is going to be okay. She may end up quite a bit afraid to outside for walks from now on, so hopefully you can find something else to do when she recovers.

The person that told you a dog will fight through the pain may have thought your were talking about OC spray and not Open Carrying a .45ACP. Although, we know they will fight through that until and unless something vital is hit that stops them.

Since you know who the owner of the Pit is I hope LE can handle this and they will pay for all your girl's medical and the Pit is quarantined and evaluated whether or not it should be put down.

You are right about OC meaning pepper spray when I was talking to her. I deliberately did not mention that I normally carry a gun in that conversation so the OC was not open carry. A .45ACP round through the back of the dogs head would probably have stopped everything.

Animal Services is handling this. She said that she will evaluate the dog for excessive aggressiveness but indicated that she was unlikely to find that. The more she talked, the less I felt any security that the matter wasn't simply going to be brushed aside. We'll see. Right now, I'm just trying to get through the night with my dog. I'm watching for more symptoms. A trip to the emergency vet in the middle of the night could still be in my future.

Does or did your vet do any x-rays or other lab work?

[chasfm11]

Does or did your vet do any x-rays or other lab work?

Not yet. I've been given specific symptoms to watch for which could indicate internal bleeding. The Vet was very through in going over her legs and back and could not pinpoint a problem other than her one shoulder which might need xrays. He said nothing is broken and that it was probably hyper-extended in the attack. He wants to see the effects of the anti-inflammatory medication. Right now she isn't even eating enough to get a pain pill into her.

[narcissist]

Hopefully your dog has a full recovery!

Of course pitbulls were bread for fighting and are great for hunting hogs ect. I believe you are right about the owner needing it on some kind of restraint, since its apparently aggressive.

My brother owns a American Bull dog, so sweet and he was great friends with his neighbor/now not. The neighbor had a family member move in and brought a pit with a attitude problem. It attacked his dog going under his chainlink fence, he also stopped the fight by hand [ crazy im my eyes ]. Two dogs that are true killers in their bloodline might not be a good idea to get in between.

Of course any dog can be taught to fight or be aggressive and even pitbulls can be a very good companion also a sweet kind dog. It's mainly how it was raised as far as these citys banning pit bulls is [ bull ] imho.

[Liberty]

Check out Health and Safety Code, Title 10, Chapter 822, Subchapter B. Sec 822.013

"(a) A dog or coyote that is attacking, is about to attack, or has recently attacked livestock, domestic animals, or fowls may be killed by..."

If it's good enough for Rick Perry it should be good enough for us peasants.