Pit Bulls attack and kill grandmother

[Spring~Fields]

Another attack:

Pit Bull Kills Cat and Attacks Woman in Her Own Home
WDTN-TVDayton, OH, - Witnesses say that a Pit Bull ran into a Dayton home and attacked a cat before turning on a woman inside, sending her to the hospital.The victim's family tells us they simply opened their front door and their neighbor's dog ran inside. They used pots and pans to beat the Pit Bull as it attacked their cat.

This violent ordeal happened around 9 o'clock on the 200-bock of Hunter Avenue in Dayton.

The dog killed the cat before attacking a 45-year old woman. Witnesses tell 2 News that the dog's owner apparently saw it run into the house. So, he ran in after it to stop the attack. But by then the victim had already been bitten.

Paramedics took her to the hospital with deep cuts and a possible broken hand.

Animal Control officers took dog into custody.

Today, the victim's family-members say they're lucky no one else was hurt.

"Everyone was in the kitchen and I ran into the kitchen and all I seen was the dog with the cat in its mouth, shaking its head real hard," said David Hale.

"And I got all kinds of kitchen utensils showing where I beat and beat this dog, and he wouldn't stop until it was dead and then it attacked my mother," said the victim's daughter, Kelly Nickerson.

Animal Control officers say the dog will be quarantined for 10 days and it likely will be euthanized.

Investigators say the dog's owner will be cited for allowing a classified "vicious breed" to run loose in the city.

Fortunately, the victim is expected to be OK.

[GoReds]

The woman who was responsible for the dogs that attacked my wife's grandmother goes on trial tomorrow. Here's the article from the local rag.

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2...2192005/153983

Trial set in deadly dog attack

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Deanna Large

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Spotsylvania defendant faces prison if she is found responsible for the death of an 82-year-old woman who was attacked in her yard by a trio of pit bulls.

Date published: 12/19/2005

By KEITH EPPS

The highly publicized trial of a Spotsylvania woman charged in connection with a fatal dog mauling is scheduled to begin tomorrow.

Deanna Hilda Large, 37, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the March 8 death of 82-year-old Dorothy Sullivan of Partlow. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

The trial will be held in Spotsylvania Circuit Court and is expected to last two days. At least seven television stations have informed courthouse security of their intention to have satellite trucks on the premises.

Sullivan and her small dog, Buttons, were mauled to death outside her home by three roaming pit bulls. Authorities say the dogs belonged to Large, who lives about a mile from the Sullivan residence.

The case has attracted widespread attention because of the nature of the attack and because no one in Virginia has ever been convicted of manslaughter as the result of their dogs' actions.

Commonwealth's Attorney William Neely said that the last time such a prosecution was even attempted was in 1967 in Amherst County, where two boys were killed by dogs.

That prosecution was unsuccessful, Neely said, in part because in those days the state had no statutes covering dangerous dogs or dogs running at large.

Large, who has been free on bond since shortly after her arrest, is also charged with three counts of allowing a dangerous dog to run at large. Those Class 4 misdemeanors carry no jail time and a maximum penalty of a $250 fine.

In pretrial hearings, Neely argued that the involuntary manslaughter charge is a valid one because Large had previously been warned not to let the dogs run loose.

Authorities said her dogs had killed another dog and a cat prior to the attack on Sullivan.

Defense attorney Eugene Frost has said that while he feels badly about what happened to Sullivan and understands the public's outrage, there is no legal basis for the charge against Large.

However, his efforts to get the felony charge dropped prior to the trial have been denied.

Neely said he expects to call between 15 and 17 witnesses during the trial, including a state veterinarian and a forensic scientist from the FBI lab. Frost has subpoenaed four witnesses.

Sullivan's death has also led to potential legislation designed to make it easier to punish dog owners whose pets kill or injure someone.

Sen. Edd Houck, a Spotsylvania County Democrat, has been working on the legislation since shortly after the incident and plans to present the Dorothy Sullivan Memorial bill to the General Assembly next month.

Houck's proposal would specify that fatal dog attacks are covered under the state's involuntary-manslaughter statute. It would also make it possible for animal owners whose pets seriously injure someone to be charged with a felony.

Sullivan's family has pushed for the changes, saying that otherwise their relative will have died in vain.

[WMR]

Wow, GoReds, this is the first time I've seen this thread, so sorry for your loss.

My Grandma lives alone too and has a small dog that she loves to death and I just know that she would do the same thing as your Maw if put in a similar situation. Very scary and again so sorry for your family.

[westofyou]

The woman who was responsible for the dogs that attacked my wife's grandmother goes on trial tomorrow. Here's the article from the local rag.

Shelby Lynn the singer (she plays Johnny Cash's mom in the movie Cash) recently had her little dog ripped out of her arms back stage by her roadies rottweilers. They killed it, she didn't press charges or anything though (her friend I guess) Quite sad and lucky it didn't escalate.

[OldRightHander]

They need to do something about the dogs there. Condolences to your family. I guess I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. If you want to have a pit, and you have trained it adequately that it is not a danger to you or your family, fine, but don't let the darn thing roam free out of your yard. I don't think any dog, regardless of breed, should be running free and unrestrained. My neighbor has a huge Rottweiler that is as docile as a teddy bear. Anyone comes near the fence and he is there with his paws on the top of the fence and his tail wagging, waiting for his head to be scratched. Not too many people will go near him though, but I've become his best buddy since we moved into this house three years ago. The problem is that a lot of people think they can own dogs and then they aren't responsible enough to keep them restrained or properly trained.

[TeamBoone]

This is a horror story seemingly growing more horrible by the day. It makes me angry that in the earlier report, the owner was charged with only a misdemeaner when he/she owned a lethal weapon that was not locked up. Had it been a gun... well, you know it would have ended up differently.

So sorry this happened to one of your dear family members. I can't even imagine what you must be going through.

[Boss-Hog]

This is also the first time I've seen this thread. GoReds, I'm very sorry to hear about the news and hope the owner of the pit bulls is convicted.

[Falls City Beer]

I'm not one for extreme measures and I'm generally libertarian in my views, but pit bulls should be exterminated; not brutally or anything, but they really need to be put down, each and every one.

Electric companies are allowed to exterminate Quaker parrots for nesting on transformers and "ruining" commercial equipment. I might be crazy, but I think that owning an animal that is an obvious menace not just to property but to human and other animal lives should be illegal. No one's ever given me a solid argument for NOT exterminating them in the interest of human safety.

I'm an animal lover, but humans come first. Period.

[GoReds]

Really, really appreciate everyone's kind words and input.

The family has started a movement to get a law on the books - it's referenced in the article I posted - named for my wife's grandmother, Dorothy Sullivan. They are circulating petitions in the area in hopes that the law will get passed next session. The petition is asking for felony charges to be brought against an owner of a dog that either injures or kills a person. It's not breed specific, because there really is just no way that the people in this area would support it.

I'll update this again Friday, hopefully with good news.

[RedsBaron]

My local paper today has a story about a postal carrier suffering a "nasty bite" from a pit bull. Earlier this year, a two year old girl in Huntington was killed by a pit bull; the dog's owners are now awaiting trial.

[Steve4192]

I'm not one for extreme measures and I'm generally libertarian in my views, but pit bulls should be exterminated; not brutally or anything, but they really need to be put down, each and every one.

It's not the breed that is the problem, it's the idiots that own the dog that are the problem. The only problem with pit bulls is that they have an aura/reputation that attracts malicious/negligent owners, and the result is a lot of dangerous pooches. If you kill all the pit bulls, those idiots are just going to find some other breed to abuse. Give me a happy docile golden retriever or labrador puppy and let me abuse and neglect it for a year and I'll give you a dangerous animal.

Besides, enforcement of such a law would be downright impossible. Pit bulls are already illegal in Cincinnati, yet they are still the most popular breed among dog owners in lower income areas. How the heck are the authorities supposed to track down and euthanize every pit bull in town when they can't even enforce the law that is already on the books?

Also, how do you define what is and is not a pit bull? The vast majority of pit bulls owned in lower income neighborhoods are not pure bred pit bulls with papers from the AKC. They are mixed breeds. Does one drop of pit bull blood make that dog a pit bull, or does it have to resemble a pit bull in at least some physical characteristic? What if a mixed breed dog is half pit bull but has the physical appearance of its non-pit bull parent? How exactly do you determine this without having papers on the dog? Many bull-terrier breeds share a passing resemblence with the pit bull but are not, in fact, pit bulls. Should the police just destroy any dog that resembles a pit bull, even if it is in fact a plain old bull terrier (like Spuds MacKenzie) or a Staffordshire bull terrier or some mixed breed thereof?

[Falls City Beer]

Besides, enforcement of such a law would be downright impossible. Pit bulls are already illegal in Cincinnati, yet they are still the most popular breed among dog owners in lower income areas. How the heck are the authorities supposed to track down and euthanize every pit bull in town when they can't even enforce the law that is already on the books?

Well, just because a law is difficult to enforce doesn't mean it shouldn't continue to operate as a mechanism of checking and curbing behavior/maintaining safety. And to be sure, the owners absolutely exacerbate the problem by continually training them to be vicious.

But as an inner-city dweller myself, I know firsthand the havoc that certain breeds (okay--obviously I can't parse breed perfectly; and yes, I understand that identifying and labeling dogs as "pit bulls" is difficult, but one look and few moments in the company of certain breeds generally reveals all one needs to know about how it will behave in most circumstances) can wreak. And yes, nothing much gets done about them because, well, law enforcement typically doesn't do much to protect (or can't due to poor funding) the safety of inner-city people--so you're right--the problem is not easily resolveable and points to a much larger set of problems.

In general, though, this is a problem at the site of breeding (and less so a problem of owners, who are typically clueless)--breeders can turn a buck selling these incredibly strong and hostile animals because it plays to a certain machismo, and government is loath to crack down on people turning a buck on things (except drugs, of course), even if those things are killing machines. But then again, virtually every problem centered on the pet world gets better or worse depending upon the social responsibility of breeders (be it birds, cats, dogs, whatever).

[Steve4192]

In general, though, this is a problem at the site of breeding (and less so a problem of owners, who are typically clueless)--breeders can turn a buck selling these incredibly strong and hostile animals because it plays to a certain machismo, and government is loath to crack down on people turning a buck on things (except drugs, of course), even if those things are killing machines.

Let's assume for a moment your proposal to destroy all pit bulls is 100% effective. Every last pit bull in the country is humanely euthanized and bredding/selling them becomes a felony offense.

Do you really think that is going to put these people out of business? I don't. I think they'll start pumping out 'incredibly strong and hostile animals' of another breed. They'll just start training Dobermans/Rottweilers/Chow Chow's as their breed of choice and go about their merry way.

Destroying the pit bull breed won't have done anything. It would be the equivalent of outlawing whiskey and expecting intoxication-related crimes to be eliminated. The reality is, people would just switch to beer, vodka, gin or something else as their drink of choice and continue to get their drink on.

[WMR]

Let's assume for a moment your proposal to destroy all pit bulls is 100% effective. Every last pit bull in the country is humanely euthanized and bredding/selling them becomes a felony offense.

Do you really think that is going to put these people out of business? I don't. I think they'll start pumping out 'incredibly strong and hostile animals' of another breed. They'll just start training Dobermans/Rottweilers/Chow Chow's as their breed of choice and go about their merry way.

Destroying the pit bull breed won't have done anything. It would be the equivalent of outlawing whiskey and expecting intoxication-related crimes to be eliminated. The reality is, people would just switch to beer, vodka, gin or something else as their drink of choice and continue to get their drink on.

Pit bulls have an innate aggression that is wholly unique to their breed.

I've read accounts of pit bulls who were raised from puppies in a loving home and then, blammo, one day they snap and maul one of the kids.

[Falls City Beer]

Destroying the pit bull breed won't have done anything. It would be the equivalent of outlawing whiskey and expecting intoxication-related crimes to be eliminated. The reality is, people would just switch to beer, vodka, gin or something else as their drink of choice and continue to get their drink on.

That's an exceedingly false analogy--dog ownership and chemical dependency. To me, a better comparison is to compare outlawing pit bulls with outlawing certain classes of deadly weapons being owned by private citizens, like grenades and neurotoxins.