Pit bull blamed for death of New Port Richey infant

Source: St Petersburg Times

NEW PORT RICHEY — Seven days after he was born, Thomas James Carter Jr. was mauled to death Wednesday by his parents' dog, described as a brindle pit bull terrier by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

The infant apparently died while sharing a bed with his sleeping 16-year-old mother in their Moon Lake Estates home, neighbors said.

The mother, whom neighbors identified as Nicole Koezeno, didn't realize that her son was dead until a neighbor knocked on the door at 10548 Olson St. and woke her around noon.

Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article1087370.ece

---

Nothing to say.....

and put it on the dog. I agree, the poor baby, the poor teen mom, heartbreaking.

By writing "omgpitbull" when it wasn't, it takes the focus off the poor dead baby and family.

Tragic story.

"Jason Koezeno, 18, said that his sister was excited about her pregnancy despite her young age, and had a big baby shower.

He said the mother and father were trying to be a family. "They love each other," he said."

and she didn't hear the crying? Surely the walls of the trailer would have echoed that.

And of course they blame the dog - it removes the responsibility from mom and everyone else, like making sure the dog
couldn't get to the kid when she could't supervise.

And putting pit in the headline insures a good distribution for the story.

Wonder if they will file this as one of the nearly 1800 deaths by abusive parents or caretakers?

Next we will have calls to ban the dogs, and mom can go back into her stupor...

The guidelines for American Pit Bull Terriers range at around 30-45 lbs. This dog was identified as 100 pounds.
So it was a mix of something - so let's call it what it is and not let the newspaper reporter make money by adding
hyperbole to tragedy, on the back of this unfortunate family. And since the bills for the home, where kids are kept,
and safety is not up to the dog, perhaps rolling all this off on his back isn't going to help anyone.

And where is your concern for the 22 month old that was killed in the same town in December by the Rottweiler-Lab mix?

How 'bout we hold the people responsible for their actions?

Even better, how 'bout we hold people responsible for their INACTION?

Like the hospital that didn't ask "Do you have a dog at home? Because you must keep them separated and not
allow them to be unsupervised for the next 6 years".

Like the doctor that didn't ask "Do you have a dog at home? Because you must keep them separated and not
allow them to be unsupervised for the next 6 years".

Like everyone who has allowed multinationals to suck the income and life out of our existence so that the BEST people can hope for is a
trailer home that only has to be replaced 2 or 3 times before they end their life in a nursing home crying because their kids won't
visit cause it's too painful?

Yes, I am concerned for the dog, because he is as much a victim here as the mother who may have been so dragged out by caring for the kid that she didn't wake up, (where is the help for this gal?) or maybe self-anesthetized wtih her drug of choice against the world knowing that she was going to be responsible for a little life that she wasn't capable of nurturing.

Cheers.

as weighing about 45 pounds.

Now they also say "pit bull mix" and are thinking he may have rabies.

I think they saw the markings on this dog and identified it as a pit just from them...

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How does someone sleep as their child is being mauled to death in the same bed?

I cannot fathom.

And one living with a low income, at that.

Putting a baby in a crib takes, what, 2 minutes?

Sorry, there are no excuses for this. NONE.

...that just does not seem possible.

Maybe the baby was dead BEFORE the dog got to it? :shrug:

:cry:

Very sad story. :cry:

By the way, the dog is 90 lbs, way over what pit bulls are.

Not a very well cared for dog! No wonder the baby had puncture wounds. Preventable tragedy period. Put the baby in a crib AND the dog in the yard when sleeping.

Happened in my area. They ARE testing the woman for any "substances" she may have been on or exposed to as part of their investigation.

"described as a brindle pit bull terrier by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office."

I actually revisited this thread to mention that the local news had this on and that the dog looked nothing like a "pit bull" but alas, you beat me to it!

Yes, some women can sleep that soundly without drugs or alcohol. But yeah...if I could have seen this family before the attack I would have predicted disaster: 16-year-old mother, baby who may not have crib at all, and large dog who is used to being the center of attention, isn't anymore and took steps to eliminate the thing that's put him in second place. Now we've got a dead kid, a prison-bound mother who wishes she was dead and a dog who soon will be. Sad all around.

of new mother sleeping needs. which is why babies are supposed to be in cribs and why teenagers should not be new mothers. Sorry for the criticism but it is only common sense. And the baby may not have made noise. he could have been asleep and killed almost instantly when he was small as a newborn would be.

Maybe not a LOT of noise, but a 90-pound dog can't move completely silently.

I wasn't far out of my teens when I had my first and I changed from being a heavy sleeper to waking up the second my baby moved or made a sound. There's something not right about someone who could remain asleep while her baby was mauled to death beside her. The dog mauled the baby, and dogs aren't silent and unmoving when they do that sort of thing...

it only takes one time to produce a tragedy. There is far too much evidence to deny that something punitive and preventative needs to be done with pitbulls and their owners.

to really get back to just where you were when you were pregnant vs. after labor. It really drains you.

Beverly police shoot bull terrier that was attacking dog walking with owner
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/punews/local_story_102223200.html
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Owner fined after dog bites Huron officer
http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2010/04/14/front/doc4bc6154d83899693614055.txt
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Officer Protects Toddler From Dog Attack
http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-dog-attack-txt,0,3523759.story
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Dog put down after boy savaged
http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2010/04/15/bundy-put-down-after-boy-savaged/
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Sun Prairie police investigate dog attack
http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12307708
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Toddler injured in dog attack at Rustington
http://www.littlehamptongazette.co.uk/news/Toddler-injured-in-dog-attack.6221847.jp
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Postman to sue dog's owners over attack
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Cambridge/Postman-to-sue-dogs-owners-over-attack.htm
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Toddler back home after dog attack
http://www.vicksburgpost.com/articles/2010/04/05/crime/doc4bba09e02f6b0075724825.txt
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Bayswater girl scarred by dog attack
http://knox-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/bayswater-girl-scarred-by-dog-attack/
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Keilor boy Kurt fears animal cruelty charges after mastiff cross kills his pet labrador
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/keilor-boy-kurt-fears-animal-cruelty-charges-after-pit-bull-kills-his-pet-labrador/story-e6frf7kx-1225851275680
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Dog attack horror
http://www.garstangcourier.co.uk/news/Dog-attack-horror.6220614.jp
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Dogs' Fate Unknown After Friday Attack
http://www.ketv.com/news/23129209/detail.html
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Kearns boy recovers after dog attack
http://macarthur-chronicle-campbelltown.whereilive.com.au/news/story/kearns-boy-recovers-after-dog-attack/
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Diego Maradona has surgery after shock dog attack
http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities-news-in-pics/31-03-2010/53572/general/
***NOT a Pit Bull***

11-Year-Old Boy Mauled in Dog Attack
http://www.thebaynet.com/news/index.cfm/fa/viewstory/story_ID/17393
***NOT a Pit Bull***

'Sorry' not enough after dog bite, authorities say
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14794248
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Virginia dog bite injury - Child lost ear in Poquoson dog attack
http://www.newyorkinjurynews.com/2010/04/07/Virginia-dog-bite-injury-Child-lost-ear-in-Poquoson-dog-attack_201004073133.html
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Animal control seeks witnesses in dog park attack
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/05/1358019/animal-control-seeks-witnesses.html#ixzz0l6y4wEm8
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Owner Could Face Charges In Fatal Dog Attack
http://www.ketv.com/mostpopular/22912479/detail.html
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Mastiff kills terrier mix at Frazier Dog Park
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/02/1353086/mastiff-kills-terrier-mix-at-frazier.html#ixzz0l6yiHw2U
***NOT a Pit Bull***

Victim’s Family Talks About Dog Attack
http://www.wkrg.com/alabama/article/victims_family_talks_about_dog_attack/792595/Mar-18-2010_8-23-pm/
***NOT a Pit Bull***

and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on....

But stories like this just never seem to generate a sufficient level of outrage in some people here unless it involves a Pit Bull. Therefore, only stories with Pit Bulls as the bad guys get posted - never mind what the owners were doing.

by our family dog when I was three. He was a German Shepard. I would never have a dog around young children or infants.

Of course, I'm scared of them anyway, so I'd never have a dog. ;)

really, that some people have been so traumatized by a single incident like yours that it has cost them the joy of the unconditional love and companionship enjoyed by most dog owners. I understand your feelings, just find it sad.

loves her dogs. She's tried to reassure me. I don't she her much as she lives on the opposite coast.

Ofcourse, my son will prolly want a pet one day so there's still hope. Maybe a small dog??

I'd prefer a fish tho. ;)

I'm happy you enjoy your pets.

It turns out that those OMG HUGE DOGS WITH LOTS Of TEETH AND DROOLING AND BARKING AND JUMPING UP ON THE SIDE OF THEIR CAGES actually weren't trying to get out and attack us but wanted to get out and play. My aunt/uncle would lock up the dogs when we came over so we could run with the cousins rather than tripping over the dogs and the dogs didn't like that.

It took me a long time to be comfortable around german shepherds and I still am less comfortable than with other types of dog. I've had 95lb to 10 lb dogs in my life and have been happy with them all except a husky/wolf mix that had attitude issues and we had to have put down.

Here is the 90 lb Sidon who mauled the baby in OP.

If it's a real Brindle I find the attack odd. Because Brindles are highly intelligent, loyal, and obedient. They usually have a good temperament unless threatened. Then they are very defensive and aggressive. But the aren't aggressive in the bite first and ask questions later sense. They just don't back down. They stand their ground and advance. They would rather scare you away than bite you. They do a good growl, snarl, and snap display. At least all the ones I have encountered have been this way. Over all they are usually a good dog. You don't have too much abuse of brindles by dog fighters. Because brindles are guard dogs by nature. Not so much fighters. Biting is kind of a last resort with them. Not their first instinct. So fighters don't like them.

Brindle is a coat coloring pattern in animals, particularly dogs, cats, cattle, crested geckos and, rarely, horses. It is sometimes described as "tiger striped", although the brindle pattern is more subtle than that of a tiger's coat. The streaks of color are usually darker than the base coat, which is often tawny or grayish, although very dark markings can be seen on a coat that is only slightly lighter. (wiki)


Many types of dogs have brindle coloration. Here is a website on it:
http://bowlingsite.mcf.com/genetics/Brindle.html

Had one -- a male -- many years ago.

or should I say OMG A BRINDLE!!! what a cutie

....so many think that the only color Scotties come in is black. While most are black, there are brindle and wheaten Scotties, too!

:hi:

color description for scotties (as well as "wheaten terrier").

She looks like a dark chocolate bar with tiny little strips of white

Pointer maybe...definetly not a Staffie or APBT

I've never had a problem with the pit bulls. My mastiff's are the biggest of the big. They're Tibetan Tiger Head Mastiffs. The one that killed the terrier was probably an english mastiff. The Tibetan Tiger Head Mastiffs will go after a tiger like most dogs go after an alley cat. 9 times out of 10 the mastiff wins the fight. Not much call for that in my neck of the woods. But it's nice to know that if one ever escaped from a circus or zoo my dogs would protect me from it. lol

That dogs besides pit bulls attack people???

For sure they do.

I would probably never trust any dog around a baby or small child no matter what the breed.

However if you look at the statistics, the pit bulls and pit bull mixes are responsible for the largest amount of bites and last I checked the most dog related fataties.

You get bit by a pomeranian or a jack russel or even maybe a collie or something you might get a bruise or some puncture wounds but with the pit bull good chance you may need surgery or worse.

You know dairy cattle give more milk than beef cattle because they have been bred for milk production. A layer chicken lays more eggs than a broiler because she's bred for egg production.

A pit bull is bred to fight. Almost all the famous pit bulls that are in the bloodlines have bitten people, and they are bred to fight and kill.

So really neither the statistics nor the actual breeding history support that pit bulls are no more dangerous than other dogs.

But I will give you than all dogs will bite.

The study which claimed that compiled bite stats for each breed of dog individually - except for "Pit Bull-like dogs" for which they grouped four or more different breeds for the numbers (Staffies, APBTs, Bullies, American Bull Dogs, and others), then compared those numbers of bites to the numbers of APBTs only. That makes as much sense and is just as honest as taking all the bites from herding dogs and assigning them to GSDs.

Were Pit Bulls originally developed to fight other dogs? Sure. Just as GSDs were developed to herd sheep, small Terriers were developed to kill mice & rats, and Bull Dogs were developed to kill bulls for sport. But they ALL - WITHOUT EXCEPTION - were also developed to have the desire to please their human masters and to live in human society. (After all, a working dog who doesn't heed their master isn't much use.) But most people who own German Shepherds today don't herd sheep, they have the dog as a family member & companion. Most people who have small Terriers don't let them chase & kill rats, they have the dog as a family member & companion. Most people who have Bull Dogs don't engage in bull-baiting with the dog, they have the dog as a family member & companion.

And 99.99999% of people who have dogs which are descended from the original "pit bulls" don't engage in dog fighting, they have the dog as a family member & companion.

Here's one:

http://www.dogsbite.org/bite-study-deaths-maimings.htm

Every pit bull is the sweetest dog ever, until it's not.

It's not another study. It's a study based on the same fallacy that the other studies were based, debunked and discontinued on.

Go do some real fucking research and stop relying on GoogleFail.

I'm aware of the purported "fallacies"; most use some pretty twisted and improbable reasoning. Basically, the criticisms boil down to
potential misidentification of the breed and the unknown relative representation of the breed among the populace. Clifton was careful to chose reports where the breed was clear and however many rotts and pit bulls there are, they certainly do not outnumber retrievers, labs, and other more congenial breeds which makes the numbers all the more striking.

I'll leave it at that, though. I'm not interested in arguing with data-immune zealots.

Clifton wasn't "careful" about what BS media hyped reports he chose to use or not use. If you believe that, you shouldn't be discussing the topic.

And I'll leave it at that.

Even CDC says it should be looked at skeptically. Sorry, that one doesn't work for any sort of truth.

Or do you have a link?

The dog in the OP is ****NOT**** a Pit Bull - any more than its a Beagle or a Schnauzer - which exposes a major problem with that report and others like it. A second major problem is that it places the blame squarely and solely on the dog without taking into account how human behavior affected it.

Humans are responsible for a dogs actions. Proper supervision, socialization and training is essential to prevent tragic events from occurring.

That show that pit bulls are responsible for the largest number of bites? Because I don't think that's true.

It's incredibly stupid and short sighted to single out an entire breed, or even dogs in general, when the ones who should be held to blame are the OWNERS.

Any idiot can own a dog and abuse it as he sees fit, and that's just wrong. That's where the outrage belongs.

So put the killer dog down, definitely. But prosecute the fucking owner, and prevent him or her from ever owning another dog.

with a coyote?

Coyote-related deaths of children since 1980... 1.

Dog-related deaths of children per year... every year.... 17

Just sayin'.

That coyotes are safer than dogs? The numbers couldn't have anything to do with the literally millions to one incidents of dogs living in the home vs. coyotes living in the home? If there are only 17 deaths per year dogs are even more safe than I suspected. In fact they have to be one of the greatest, least dangerous defensive tools available...everyone should have one..

http://www.tincher.to/deaths.htm


Average number of U.S. child hyperthermia fatalities per year since 1998: 37
http://ggweather.com/heat/
"Last year there were a total of at least 33 such fatalities in the United States due to hyperthermia after they were left in hot cars, trucks, vans and SUV's. Since 1998 there have been at least a total of 445 of these needless tragedies. "

OK, ok, ok, just pulling up some quick links, not going to argue guns/cars, just comparing to the quoted "17 deaths/yr by dog" thing.

someone on DU who is more in favor of liberal interpretation of the 2nd Amendment than I, we agree that dogs are inherently safe by that statistic. I would be willing to bet that the incidents of dogs defending children annually must be thousands to one over severely injuring children...making dogs among the safest defensive tools available to families with children..not to mention the rewards of the companionship of dogs.

that things with the word "canus lupus" in their species classification shouldn't be left with babies. Canus lupus familiaris - the family dog - is only a subspecies of canus lupus - the wolf.

"Only" 17 deaths of kids by dogs per year in the US?

OK, if that doesn't impress you... 2% of the population of the US is bitten by dogs every year. 368,000 people go to the ER with their injuries every year..... that's the fifth most common cause for an ER visit.

Every American has a 1 in 50 chance of being bitten by a dog every year.

I've had dogs my entire life, but I would never leave a dog... even my Labs... with a baby.

"I've had dogs my entire life, but I would never leave a dog... even my Labs... with a baby. "

I am a believer in the inherent danger of simply living. Dog bites, cat bites, falling down, drowning, and a million other things are dangerous in life but I do them anyway and accept the risk. Owning dogs absolutely includes some risk, it is minimal though IMHO. 17 deaths compared to the number of households which has dogs has to equal a statistic which is multiple times less dangerous than, say, the stat associated with having a private swimming pool or even having drain cleaner under the sink.

he wouldn't stop slobbering and chomping at the chain link fence trying to get out to kill me. sad thing is it does this to the male owner, he doesn't do it to the female owner. I and the male are both very gentle people and love animals, so I was disturbed at how angry he was immediately with me. They also had a brown pit bull, and she was very loving but I didn't like that it was near the infants so often (even if the brindle was kept outside). These dogs were all muscle. If they turned on you - say goodbye to at least some fingers.

I'd rather have that furball below it.

It breaks my heart every time I hear of a little baby being killed like this. :cry:

I'm looking at the pic stll trying to figure out what kind of a dog that is. It is definetly not a "pit bull"

according to the story.

is wrong.

This dog is brindle in coloration, but is not a pit bull terrier

some kind of a mix of maybe a red nosed pit and something else.
It sure as hell isn't a brindle anything.

The statistics for pits are highly inflated by the tendency to call ANYTHING that bites someone a pit bull. I've seen stories that called everything from Rottweiler's to Blue Ticks pit bulls after they'd bitten someone.

And of course if it was rabid the breed doesn't matter in the least. Any breed is going to go nuts if they've got rabies.

Is most certainly not a pit bull terrier. I have owned pit bull terriers, American staffordshire terriers and staffordshire terriers since I was 9 and I'm 46 now. From the look of it there is most likely some molloser blood in it, mastiff maybe, but that ain't no "pit" by any stretch of the imagination.

Pit bulls may be the worst, but the first problem is big dogs with big teeth and big jaws around children, and the second problem is adults who can't or won't control the animals. Most big dogs are owned by people who have no business owning any pet, much less one that can kill a human. When it comes to big dogs, good owners with responsible practices are not the majority. The dogs have become symbols of aggression for many in society, and the dog is a physical specimen its owner can never be.

We should require licensing of dog owners for any dog over a certain size, and we should require such persons to buy liability insurance to cover any harm their dog might do to any person or other animal.

I don't care if they're pit bulls, mastiffs, Great Danes, Labs, or Golden Retrievers. If they're above a certain size and still have their teeth, they present a societal threat and should be regulated the same way other dangerous activities are regulated. Require owners to get and maintain a large dog license, which licensure would require taking a course in safe and mandatory handling of large dogs.

But try and enforce. Try. Most locations do good to get 30-40%. You have to pay people to go out and do that, and we can't even keep teachers, firefighters, and police employed. Most places have a leash law to at least keep the dogs confined, same problem. Out of frustration because they can't enforce those existing laws some communities add a law and institute a ban. Costs skyrocket, and bites go up in every place that a ban has been instituted, because the resources are now used to track down illegal dogs instead of working on keeping dogs confined. The people who you are most trying to influence are very likely the people who are most likely to ignore the law, which makes enforcement nearly impossible and costs crazy $$$.

There are around 80 million dogs in this country. About 30 deaths a year. Wildly varying stats about bites, but not anywhere near approaching the number of dogs, even dogs living in horrible conditions where they are as much a victim as anyone.

On the other hand nearly 2000 kids are killed by parental or caretaker abuse every year. You spend more on tracking down dogs and you have less money to pay teachers or involve yourself in a dangerous home life.

A person in the position of spending finite funding has some hard decisions to make. Now if we could just get the multi-naitonal corporations to quit screwing everyone so we could have enough time and money to create a better life...

do you have any stats to back up these assertions? Somewhere up thread there is a stat of 17 deaths of children 0-17 annually. This number is so incredibly low, if correct, that it is nearly statistically non existent danger.

When it comes to big dogs, good owners with responsible practices are not the majority.

Complete idiocy, that statement right there....let's see your stats, any stats, to back up this statement of absolute, seething ridiculousness.

we don't agree

Do you have any idea how many larger dogs are in homes across America?

And about those stats to back up your demonstrably false statement? 'We' know you can't back up your nonsense because it is either the ramblings of someone who has had a rare bad experience, an effort to troll this thread or simply a lie.

edit..Oh, and all Texans are Bush supporters....I guess we don't agree on that either, huh? See how making an equally stupid assertion doesn't make a statement true?

I have no need to convince you.

You have an opinion, and it's different from mine. I don't care. The public is already deciding against your point of view, nationwide, as it prosecutes irresponsible dog owners and bans more dangerous breeds.

on this issue. I said nothing at all about prosecution of irresponsible dog owners or bans on more dangerous breeds. This is about your completely idiotic statement "When it comes to big dogs, good owners with responsible practices are not the majority.", demonstrated false yet you proclaim it as truth? Is the earth flat too? Was the US space program conducted in a quonset hut? Is the moon made of green cheese? It would be very easy to admit that you went too far with the above statement, and in fact were wrong. Everyone who reads this knows you are....bet not one single poster jumps to the defense of this silly statement of yours.

And to hold dog owners responsible for attacks their dogs make.

The "let the dog eat your face" lobby in America really isn't very strong.

between banning dangerous breeds, which may or may not have statistical merit, and holding dog owners responsible for attacks, which most everyone probably agrees, and making the statement that all dog owners are dangerous monsters? You really can't bee this stupid and/or obtuse. You made an absurd statement which is demonstrably false or a lie depending on the spirit in which you said it.

Questioning assumptiongs is always fair, btw. I have certainly been wrong before, and I would really appreciate a heads up if you see a flaw below.
And I know this overanswers your question, but this stuff always comes up and I had this file kind of handy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_attack (you can check CDC and other sites, the info is about the same)
" In the 1980s and 1990s the US averaged 17 fatalities per year, while in the 2000s this has increased to 26"
My note: I think it was 30 last year, but you could google that pretty easily.

http://www.avma.org/reference/marketstats/ownership_calculator.asp - Assuming the population of the U.S. is 307,000,000.
Number of Pet Owning Households Pet Population
Dogs 45,681,600 77,609,600

I apologize for not having a source, but I am unaware of any national surveys that evaluated dog "size". Having worked in shelters, and a bit on the streets in more than one city it has been my experience that a large percentage, maybe half or more of all owned
pets, are "big" dogs - that is 40 lbs and up or so. If most owners weren't responsible the stats would be far worse. There are some regional surveys that agree with my experience in cities that I haven't been in, but your area may not have as many large dogs. Don't know.

http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/fatality.cfm
The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) reported an estimated 1,760 child fatalities in 2007.

This person was nice enough to compile the stuff I have spent some time with on other sites;
(As compiled from data reported by the National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 50, No. 15, September 16, 2002)
http://www.the-eggman.com/writings/death_stats.html
Cause of Death/Age Range Under 1 Yr 1-4 yrs 5-14yrs
Total Number of Deaths 881 0.90% 1,826 1.90% 2,979 3.00%
Motor Vehicle 168 19.10% 651 35.70% 1,772 59.50%
Unspecified nontransport accid'ts 572 64.90% 266 14.60% 267 9.00%
Falls 8 0.90% 36 2.00% 37 1.20%
Poisoning and Noxious Subst's 14 1.60% 32 1.80% 45 1.50%
Drowning 75 8.50% 493 27.00% 375 12.60%
Exposure to Smoke, Fire, Flames 37 4.20% 290 15.90% 266 8.90%
Other Land Transport Accidents 2 0.20% 31 1.70% 98 3.30%
Complications of Med/Surg Care 19 2.20% 22 1.20% 31 1.00%
Accidental Discharge of Firearms 1 0.10% 18 1.00% 67 2.20%


I also apologize for not having a source other than my own experience for the low numbers of licenses, but
having volunteered or worked in more than one shelter, I can attest to how low licensing really is in most
municipalities, and I am sure most local shelters, if they will tell you, will confirm this. There are exceptions
such as Calgary, where they say it is near 90% - but they started low, made sure there was good compliance,
and got citizen buy in over the years. Other cities could learn by their good example.

As far as what happens when breeds are banned, there is public proof with links to the sources
on this blog - http://btoellner.typepad.com/kcdogblog/failed_bsl/, as well as others. The most
common outcome to a breed ban is an increase in dog bites, large increase in expenses (And sometimes
rather large lawsuits) for animal control, and in some cases (Denver) an increase in the numbers
of the very dogs they were trying to rid themselves of.

The only real solutions are owner education, enacting and enforcing leash laws, and making spay/neuter
available to everyone, starting at no cost in areas of low income and making it easy and relatively
affordable as you go up the income ladder. Calagary is a great example - almost non-existent killing
in the shelter, education of dog-bite avoidance in two different grades of elementary schools, training
available for postpersons, meter readers, people who might meet dogs. More damn dog parks than I can count.

We are still going to have tragedies. But we could knock them down from 30 to 5 in a couple of years, I suspect.

"When it comes to big dogs, good owners with responsible practices are not the majority."

Isn't it cute what you can claim on the internets? MrBush was a lawfully legally elected President. Barack Obama isn't. Good owners with responsible practices are in the minority when it comes to big dogs. Most owners of big dogs have no business owning any pet.

Wild.

we don't agree

was present when my daughter was born at home in '78.
He got a nose to face introduction an hour later with
instructions to protect her. They were best friends for
the next 10 years. I never worried about him.

It's the owners who fail to know or train their dogs properly
who are to blame. Mandatory jail time might make owners
think twice before buying potentially lethal life-style accessories.
A dog has to know it's place in the family "pack".
If it's allowed to think it's the "Alpha" entity,
you will have no peace, it has trained you.

I HATE pitbulls.
For every sh*t pitbull, there are 10 owners claiming what great dogs they are.
Pitbulls SUCK!

Look at the picture, look at the size (90 lbs), read the rest of this thread. It isn't a pit bull.

How brilliance does shine when revealed.

Because they ARE great dogs.

my dogs would not be in the same room as an infant or child.

The parent is respsonsible for this tradgedy. The child never had a chance.

"Kevin Doll, spokesman for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, said Koezeno is undergoing toxicology tests to determine why she slept through the attack."

"His head was to be chopped off and sent for rabies testing in Tampa. (clip) Because of Sidon's behavior, (Denise Hilton, manager of Pasco County Animal Services)thought the dog might have rabies."


He is un-neutered. Here is another picture of the dog from another paper:

toenails are terribly unclipped. Baby sleeping with mom who is so passed out she could not hear a dog attacking?

Very sad story.

It's 45 lbs instead of 90. Enough people must have called them on their " monster 90 lb pit bull" story .

What we have here is a very sad story. A young mother with a pathetically uncared for mutt that killed her precious newborn baby.

It's just tragic all around :cry:

Really though, I am a mom to human and furry kids and I have two comments:

1. NO DOG should be allowed unsupervised with a young child.

My dog is the sweetest and gentlest mutt ever (all 130 pounds of her) and I never allowed her to be alone with my kids while they were very small. Currently, my 18 month old pets her and plays with her, but always with competent supervision.


2. I find it really hard to believe that a mother could sleep through something like that. When my kids were teeny babies, I did sleep with them sometimes and woke if they so much as stirred. Even them shifting position in their crib (which was in our room for the first few months)woke me up. Most other moms I know are like this too, so what the heck was wrong with that girl?

It makes me sick when people don't take care of their babies.

Not the dog.