King County Animal Control Seattle Animal Control is investigating a reported attack by a pitbull on another dog being walked on Broadway Wednesday night in an incident that also injured the pitbull’s owner.
According to police, officers were called to Broadway near Seattle Central after reports from callers who saw a bloodied woman who they thought had been attacked by a pitbull. Officers arrived to discover it had actually been the woman’s small white dog, Oscar, who had been attacked.
CHS received an email from Oscar’s owner Mandy who shared details of the incident:
I wanted to send a quick heads up to dog owners in the area. I was walking my dog in front of SCCC on Broadway Wednesday night, around 10:15, when my 8 year-old Westie was mauled by a pitbull. The owner tried to get her dog under control, but the pit wouldn’t let go. My dog, Oscar, suffered extensive injuries and underwent surgery at ACCES in Lake City.
Police were alerted to another injured woman in the area inside a nearby business. There they found the pitbull’s owner who had suffered a significant injury to her hand when she tried to stop the pitbull from attacking. Police say medics advised the pitbull’s owner to get immediate medical attention for her injury but that she refused transport to the hospital.
Mandy says she has talked with animal control investigators about the incident and that Oscar is expected to recover. “He has a rough few days ahead of him, but he’s doing as well as can be expected,” she said.
CORRECTION: When first posted, this article erroneously reported that King County Animal Control was the investigating agency. Instead, Seattle Animal Control has jurisdiction for the incident.
People always say things like.. “it’s all about the owners” and blah blah blah. Well, guess what… pitbulls just have it in their breed.
That pit bull needs to be put down for it’s agressive behavior!
Feel better soon!
Why would you just jump to conclusions that it’s not the owners fault. I had a lab (supposed to be a friendly breed) corner me in the park not too long ago. His owner did not have him leashed and had no control over him what so ever. Didn’t even know how to properly speak to the dog so that the dog knew she was boss. My guess is that this had everything to do with the owner and not the breed. But I don’t know for sure, because this article doesn’t give enough details. What else do you go around judging just based on appearance? It’s a very dangerous trait to have…More so than being a Pit Bull or any other thing or person that you decide to pigeon hole or stereo type. Still though, now this dog probably will need to be put down because a human wanted to own a Pitbull but didn’t want to take the responsibility to properly socialize it. How dare you just blame the dog and an entire breed with out even knowing the facts.
Wow, that article wasn’t written by someone biased against pitbulls or anything. Was the breed confirmed? Had the attack been by a lab or a boxer or another breed would it have been reported in the same way? I think not. Disappointing, to say the least. Hope both parties are okay; animals are just that- unpredictable and act on instinct. What happened is terrible but let’s all be smarter than to blame an entire breed for the problem.
One thing if for sure. The pit owner wasn’t some glamorous North Capitol Hill housewife. How much do you suppose Oscar’s visit to the emergency vet cost? Oh I’m sure the pit owner will pay the thousands of dollars-no problem………………..
Poor little dog.
Just call your insurance company and tell them you are getting a pit and watch them drop you like a hot potato! Or try renting a place with one of these monsters. Owners should have to carry a large bond to own one of these dogs. Most of the ones I see on the street are being dragged around by thugs or other lowlife types.
Statistics don’t lie.
why is this breed walking around the streets? if you cannot control your dog on a leash and your dog does this to another dog on a leash – it needs to get put down.
I just don’t see the love afiar with these killers.
Sure every breed has it’s loose cannons, but Pitbulls are continually being brought up in attack stories… as some point you have to look at the numbers and say – these dogs are not safe around other smaller dogs and small kids.
Agree with it being the owner’s fault. She obviously isn’t a responsible pet owner. Dogs have thousands and thousands of years of breeding behind them to curb their aggression. Even “aggressive” breeds like dalmations, poodles, and labs. It’s all on the owner. If you don’t socialize your children, they become shitty people around other people. Same with dogs.
I’ve owned (adopted from a shelter) a pit bull that was the sweetest biggest wimp in the world. He’s such a wimp that he was attacked by a german shepard and instead of fighting back, he just took it. Dogs have personalities too. Any breed can be aggressive. It’s all on the owners. If you own an active breed in a city and do not know how to take care of it (feeding it twice a day, locking it up in your apartment all day, and then taking it for a short walk once a day is not taking care of it), your dog is going to act out. Again, it’s like a child. Neglected children end up being bullies.
Oscar is my dog, and I can say this is just reporting the facts. The dog was a purebred pit, I spoke with the owner before the pit broke her leash and attacked my dog. She was a rescue, and the owner knew she was aggressive with other dogs. A $10 muzzle would have saved me the $1300 I’ve paid in vet bill so far…
Mandy, I hope the owner of the pit is held fully responsible for the vet fees. This really could happen with any breed, but it didn’t.
So Oscar is doing better. He is recovering at my house and takin it easy. My sister called me and explained what happened. Turns out the pit was a rescue the lady had got not that long ago. She approached my sister asking for a cigarette, but didn’t want to bring her pit that close to my sister’s dogs. So she tied the pit up and by the time she walked the 15 ft to my sister the pit had broke the leash and was on top of Oscar giving him a death shake. The owner of the pit did what she could but the pit was to strong. She bit the dog’s ear so hard it drew blood and the dog dropped Oscar.
I’m so sorry this happened to your dog! I hope he makes a full recovery. Although I think your statement supports the fact of a poor owner/handler. It’s sad to know that these animals are being fostered out to people who clearly don’t know what they are doing with them. Because of her poor decision not only are you out of the money for the vet bill, but an animal that may have otherwise been able to be properly socialized will have to be put down. It’s sad all the way around. If she knew the dog was aggressive why did she have it out there with out a muzzle? Other than the fact that she was not equipped to have the dog in the first place. I see people mentioning huge insurance rates and such. Why don’t we just be a little more conscience of what animals we are adopting and if we see a friend with an apartment who wants to adopt a Pitbull, or any other large breed for that fact, try to talk them out of it for gods sake! It IS a form of animal abuse!
Pitbulls have been strategically bred by targeting aggressive traits for so long that it actual is a genetic issue concerning the breed of dog. While it is true that attacks like this can often be the result of a bad owner, that does not mean that a pitbull with a “good owner” will never attack, just that the combination of a pitbull with a “bad owner” is especially dangerous.
You can say individual pitbulls “would never hurt anyone” blah blah blah, but the fact is, statistics aside, these dogs are genetically-predisposed to aggression and they should not be allowed in densly-populated cities like Seattle. There is a reason they are outlawed in many cities, and it is not because of “bad owners,” it is because they are genetically predisposed to behavior like this. It’s the same reason you would worry about seeing someone walking a tiger down the street, even if that person was a “good owner” who claimed his tiger “would never hurt anyone.”
I understand pitbull sympathizers, especially ones that want to rescue them, but the fact is that they are genetically predisposed to aggression issues and it is not safe to have them in cities like Seattle. If you disagree with me on this issue, please do not throw out any more of that “not all pitbulls are the same” fluff. It is a genetically-based issue, and whether or not the dog’s owner has trained it well is beside the point.
Not that I expect a bystander to do this, but if it’s your dog or you being attacked, grab the dogs balls and squeeze. He will let go. Over 80% of dog attacks are done by males. A male pitbull is 6 times more likely to attack than a female. Neutered and spayed females are far less likely to attack than their non-fixed counter part, any breed. So chances are pretty good the dog attacking still has it’s anatomy intact and will release you or your animal if you grab their junk and yank. I really hope your sister and her dog are doing well. Thank you for the update.
If you banned pit bulls today, another breed would replace it. It isn’t the breeds of pit bulls (pit bull is more of a catch all term for the look of a dog), but rather crappy owners. The short-minded thing to do is to punish the dog, and ignore the owners, but how does that solve anything. Pit bulls are the 4th most registered dog in Seattle, the vast majority live without any incidents, so the breeds aren’t going to be banned. Start looking towards the other end of the leash, and think with logic rather than emotion before you post. BSL hasn’t ever worked, nor will it ever work, unless all dogs were banned. Ban one type of dog, then people will be looking to ban the next type of dog. it is an endless cycle, and that is why a very small percentage of places instill bans. They just do not work at all.
Well … I’ve never heard of a Westie mauling something. Just sayin’.
Its not the pitbulls fault it IS the owners lack of responsibility and improper training. The breed is NOT born to attack. It is taught to act that way, just like your children are taught (or not taught) manners. Do not blame the breed. My 135lb mastiff was attacked by a pug. Do I hate pugs? No. I feel bad for the dog who clearly wasn’t living in a happy home, who wasn’t receiving proper training or affection. If people REALLY think one breed is just ment to attack, you really need to educate yourself because you simply just sound ignorant of the facts.
I’ve seen more attacks done by Maltese, chiuauas, and other small breeds. The effects just arent as dramatic because they are small animals but the aggressiveness behind it is just as bad. People simply need to train their animals and treat them well then these accidents won’t happen.
How many news articles have I seen in local and nation wide where the debate follows? “No it was the owner.” “No, it was the pitbull breed.” – Way to many! Sorry just not seeing this endless parade of atrcles and circumstance with other breeds. Yes it was both, the owner and the breed.
I take offense at the suggestion that only poor people own pits – I have a beautiful, gentle pit at home who wouldn’t hurt a fly. She has been socialized, trained and has a kind disposition I believe she was born with. Should she have ever exhibited signs of aggression, it would’ve been dealt with appropriately. I have a large community of friends who are also responsible dog owners and who have pitbulls. Besides the horrible reputation this breed carries, they are also well known for being people-pleasers, smart, loyal and great with children. It is ignorant to base hateful thoughts on only one side of a story. I hope if you see me on Capitol Hill with my purebread pit you will stop and say hello and pet her – you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Interesting how you turn it into “bred to attack” when the real issue is that through a lengthy history of breading dogs such as pitbulls have developed undeniable genetic traits that predispose them to aggressive behavior. While good training and an attentive, loving owner can often help suppress those genetically-based aggression issues, the fact is that the BREED is predisposed to aggression.
I have a smaller sized dog whose breed was strategically bred to hunt rodents for many years. Obviously I don’t train him to hunt rodents and I don’t think he’s ever even seen one. But there is a reason they are not good dogs for people who have pet rodents… get it, or do I need to walk you through it further?
Many breeds have been programmed for “aggression.” Many working, hunting, and shepard breeds are too, but of course that’s not brought up.
The thing is, this is a relatively new breed. Most dog breeds are. There are still 30,000+ years of breeding that programs dogs as a whole to be docile and non-aggressive.
It’s a product of conditioning.
This is exactly right. Bad owners make their dogs predisposed to attacks like this. Dogs who have a history of specific breeding to highlight attack traits and aggressive behavior are predisposed to attacks like this. Put the two together and the possibility of an attack like this becomes infinitely worse.
I feel terrible for Oscar and Mandy!
Every time I walk my small pooch I make damn sure he’s not near one of those rabid pitbulls because i’m afraid something like this could happen! And Yes, 90% of pitbull owners I see around Seattle are low life trash and thugs. Pitbulls need to be outlawed from the city!
It doesn’t even matter what ‘kind of owner’ you are, anyone who owns a pitbull is an impractical person who wants to look like a badass at the expense of everyone else. That goes for people riding choppers and lifted trucks as well.
read the various updates to the incident story and NOT see this was an owner issue? Seriously, the girl has a dog that she knows to be aggressive with other dogs, and she ties it to a tree and walks 15 feet away (TOWARD the other dog)?!? What an idiot – if your dog is getting agressive, you GET IT AWAY from the situation, and reinforce that you are the one in charge. What this chick did only made the dog more aggressive.
I had a pit mix for years. She loved everyone and everything – honestly, her sunny disposition was astonishing. But I never forgot that I had an animal that was capable of causing greater damage than the other dogs who tended to attack her, and I always paid attention to her when we were out and about. The first inkling of trouble and we would leave whatever situation we were in. And even though I think pit bulls are among the sweetest dogs out there, I think they attract people who own them for the wrong reason and either don’t know how or don’t care to train them properly, so I check out both dog and owner if I encounter a pit bull.
I’m very glad Oscar is ok. What a horrible ordeal, for him and his owner. Is it too much to hope that the other dog’s owner will pay for this?
No, it’s not a issue with genetics, it’s conditioning and training. Pits are not more naturally agressive then other dogs, this lady was a shitty owner. If you read the comments from Oscar’s owner, the dog was a recent rescue with know aggression issues who the owner tied to a pole and the dog snapped the leash. First off, if you have any sort of strong working breed with dog agression issues (NOT just pits, but shepards, labs, mountain dogs, rotts, etc) don’t buy a crappy leash that they can snap. Second, don’t approach another smaller dog while isolating your aggressive dog. You need to be able to either physically control your dog, or control them through training. THis woman could do neither of these things and shouldn’t have had this dog. Pitts and other working dogs are not trendy beginner dogs. They they take effort and discipline. I’ve had dogs all my life, and my current pitbull is by far the sweetest of them all because I am a good owner. I’ve been training her since she was a puppy and socialized her from a young age. We exercise and I work hard to tire her out on a daily basis.
If I am out walking my Cairn Terrier and see a pit I would cross the street to avoid it. Even with out my dog I am afraid of them and will avoid them at all costs. I think they can sense fear and will attack you. And unlike other dogs that might nip or bite you (including small dogs like mine LOL) a pit DOESN’T let go causing a huge amount of damage and, yes, sometimes death! I have never read a statistic of a Cairn Terrier killing a child or an older person. Seems to be a daily occurence with pitbulls……………
Ok, assuming you are right and the issue was a bad owner, surely you cannot deny that a disproportionate amount of attacks like this involve pitbulls (statistics I have seen say approx. 25%). What you seem to be suggesting is that pitbulls may be attractive to people who are more likely to be “bad owners.”
Here is the problem: attacks like this are a very bad thing, whether the victim is a human or another dog. They are such a bad thing that I believe dog attacks in general are a serious safety issue in a busy, pedestrian-filled city like Seattle. So the ultimate issue is: is there a feasible way to reduce the likelihood of attacks happening?
It is not realistic to think that the problem can be approached by putting restrictions on owners, unless you want to suggest something like mandatory muzzles on all dogs. Leash laws only do so much, as this case demonstrates, and they do nothing to protect against attacks that occur on private property.
When you hear that 25% of these sort of attacks involve a breed of dog that has traditionally been bred for fighting, that is know to have genetic traits that predispose it to aggression more so than other breeds, and that certainly does not make up even CLOSE to 25% of the dog population, doesn’t it sound like maybe there is some sort of correlation between this breed and attacks?
I get that you really want to blame all these owners, but the fact is that “bad owners” don’t disproportionately own pitbulls to the point that you have any sort of a statistically based argument. THe fact is that a “bad owner” + a pitbull has a higher chance of causing SERIOUS harm than a “bad owner” with a less-aggressive breed of dog. There is no way to outlaw “bad owners,” so the best thing to do is outlaw the breed of dog that accounts for so many of these cases of serious harm.
If you have a logical argument that the issue is entirely determined by the quality of the owner and has nothing to do with the breed of dog, I would love to hear it. But just saying that you were a good owner does little convince me that all those pitbulls that disproportionately account for so many attacks like this just had bad owners.
Come on, pitbulls are more dangerous than other breeds of dogs! Aggression is a spectrum, and it is very clear which end of it pitbulls are on!
You can’t deny that pitbulls are disproportionately involved in these sort of incidents. here are some facts:
“According to the Clifton study, pit bulls, Rottweilers, Presa Canarios and their mixes are responsible for 74% of attacks that were included in the study, 68% of the attacks upon children, 82% of the attacks upon adults, 65% of the deaths, and 68% of the maimings.”
It is also pretty common for people to say “my dog would never do that” or “he/she has never attacked anyone.” again, more facts:
“In more than two-thirds of the cases included in the study, the life-threatening or fatal attack was apparently the first known dangerous behavior by the animal in question.”
So tell me this: do bad owners SO DISPROPORTIONATELY own pitbulls to the point that these statistics are totally explained by the “bad owners” argument? And more importantly: there is nothing you can do to ensure that only good owners can have pitbulls, but you CAN ensure bad owners cant have them by banning them altogether!
concerning the above post, I meant to include my source: http://dogbitelaw.com/dog-bite-statistics/the-dog-bite-epide
and if any of you “pro-pitbull” people who are caught up blaming “bad owners” as opposed to admitting the breed is disproportionately accountable for these sorts of incidents, I would love if you could provide similar statistical studies, whether they be based on attacking humans, other dogs, or both.
Obviously there are TONS of sites and studies out there with statistics about how dangerous pitbulls are, so if anyone would like to provide any such sites/studies that support the “bad owner” argument I would be more than willing to take a look.
Why stop at banning specific breeds of dogs? There are certain “breeds” of people who are statistically far more likely to commit violent crimes. Can we ban those “breeds” as well?
Sure, I will take a stab at this.
It is definitely possible that these issues with pits, rots, etc are wholly based on the type of person that owns the dog. These sorts of dogs can be considered accessories to a lot of people, much like a retriever is perceived as a family dog (though they are hunting dogs, and lab are also known to showcase aggression when they are not allowed to be active) or many small dogs are basically like a necklace or bag to a lot of people. Meaning, there are definitely bad people or neglectful people or just trashy people that own these dogs. When you look beyond just the numbers with these studies, you are probably going to find an owner that fits into at least one of those three categories. Dogs (like humans cats or horses) are a product of their surroundings. When you pay an appropriate amount of attention to your pet or your child, your pet or child is going to behave better. Treat it badly or neglect it and it’s going to turn out bad.
I bet if you did a controlled experiment with a a set of pit bulls and two sets of familie (one set of families being responsible loving pet owners and the other set being dirtbags) you will see dramatically different results on both sides. The problem with thee statistics is that you are only seeing the number of attacks and not the number of dogs that exist that harm no one. It’s in the same vein as crime statistics. The vast majority of violent crimes are committed by people with troubled pasts. Why? It’s not because they are horrible people or because they are “bred” that way. Those criminals are products of their… read more rroundings and upbringings. If your parents are meth heads and you live out of a car for your entire childhood and you steal or cheat or lie to get by, chances are that you are probably not going to be a model citizen. This is why early childhood education, after school programs, etc are good things. They help deter crime in the same way proper training, attention, and love will produce socially and mentally healthy animals. These beings are not just things that we own. They are intelligent wonderful creatures that deserve as much attention and love as we do.
King Co. Animal Control should have taken the dog immediately and kept it until confirming that it attacked the other dog. After confirmation, Animal Control should put the dog down.
Did Animal Control detain the dog? If not, why?
ignorant racist!
“reported attack by a pitbull on another dog” because the only time these stories become news is when it’s a pitbull attacks. and reading all of these comments reminds me of how racists Seattle folks are but sssshhhh we won’t talk about that.
dog owners need to take responsibility for their dogs no matter what the breed is!
First of all, “I bet…” hypothetical experiments have no basis in a logical argument. I know you think the quality of the owner is all that matters, so I know you bet a study would show that. If you have any unbiased statistics to support that, please provide them; if not, lets talk about the plethora of statistics that are credible and that show pitbulls commit an extremely disproportionate amount of dog attacks…
Second, you say “The problem with thee statistics is that you are only seeing the number of attacks and not the number of dogs that exist that harm no one.” This argument flawed: pitbulls account for a very high proportion of total dog attacks, while they account for a very low proportion of total dogs owned as pets. You are trying to explain this completely with the “bad owner” argument; it seems completely unrealistic that these stats are completely the result of “bad owners,” and I assume you would be unable to find any statistics to support that argument.
Third, you seem to argue that good owners will prevent attacks, and the problem is that most pitbulls are owned by “bad owners.” There is very little we can do to make sure pitbulls are only paired with “good owners.” If we lived in a world like that, I’m sure there would be significantly fewer pitbull attacks. but that world is not a possibility. Furthermore, how many people would be willing to admit they are “bad owners”? Statistics show that most pitbull attacks involve dogs who “have never hurt anyone before;” don’t you think they would sound a lot like you? Remember those guys in Vegas with the Tiger? They thought they were good owners too.
So rather than keep debating, lets look at what can actually be done about this. You seem to suggest the problem is that pitbulls require good owners, and that most pitbull owners are bad owners. Obviously “bad owner” + pitbull is a pretty big safety hazard. We can’t pass a law that says pitbulls can only be owned by “good owners;” it’s not feasible. But we can pass a law that says pitbulls can’t be owned by bad owners by outlawing them altogether. Sometime a small portion of the public (in this case, “good owners” with pitbulls) has to give something up to fix a serious problem and improve public safety as a whole.
As for my opinion: it’s hard to find a middle ground, and it’s nearly impossible to approach this issue from the “quality of the owner” perspective, but a starting place would be to require muzzles on all pitbulls in public. That would shorten the gap between “bad pitbull owners” and “good pitbull owners.” Might not seem fair to those who believe they are “good owners,” but given the alarming statistics it seems necessary that something MUST be done to promote public safety.
The breed needs to be banned – No more ugly pitbulls!
First, these statistics mean nothing when you have nothing to provide any sort of balance – which is why a controlled environment is really the only way to prove your point (that the breed is inherently violent).
Second, irresponsible owners can still apply. There are a lot of pit bulls in shelters. It’s one of the most neglected breeds. Again, this is due to their stigma/status
Third, I am saying that most pit bulls that attack other animals/people are owned by owners that don’t know how to take care of pit bulls, not that pit bulls are all owned by bad owners. Can you show me the number of pit bulls alive vs the number of pit bull attacks? It’s probably a low percentage of attacks within the breed. When people understand the breed of dog that they take home, chances are that the dog is going to do well. I.E. owning a husky or a grayhound in a studio is just cruel. Those breeds are both dogs the require lots of space and activity. If they don’t get that activity, they act out. That’s pretty simple to grasp, I think.
It’s not as simple as good vs bad, it’s a matter of responsible ownership. Literally anyone can be responsible or irresponsible. Nice and sweet people can still be irresponsible owners. Just like nice and sweet people can be horrible parents.
You’re right about one thing. We will never live in a world where people will make responsible decisions. We will forever live in a world where people will get a dog because they think it’s cool or cute and then realize that it’s a lot of work to take care of an animal. We’ll forever livei n a world where there will be irresponsible parents… read more o, and we’ll forever live in a world with damaged people because of that too.
My roommate, literally, brought home an 8-9 week pit-mix puppy OFF THE STREET. Someone had turned it in to her vet office, after it had been found at large. The vet techs told her “If you take it, we’ll give you it’s shots for free.” WHAT A FANTASTIC IDEA! Clearly a pit-mix, she lies to her home owners’ insurance that it’s a lab mix, not that they check up on these things. I have watched this fixed, female, less-than-a-year-old puppy go from “Hooray! Happy play time!” with my 4 year old, male, fixed Brittany and you can literally see her thought process snap! In an instant her body language changed, she lunged at my dogs throat, and began tearing in the opposite direction, trying to rip his throat out. My dog didn’t even try to bite her back. He tried to run away and I had to pry her off of his neck. Thinking once I got her off it would be over, I let her go, and as my dog retreated, she lunged at his throat a second time. It took me slamming the pup into the floor to get her to stop. This incident repeated itself 2 weeks later, and a third time, while I was at work. That time the pit pup tore my roommate’s hand up when she tried to pull her off of my dog.
I received a phone call at work from my boyfriend who was hanging out at my place until I got home so we could go to dinner. He was kneeling, loving on my dog when the pit attacked again. Unable to move away fast enough, and instinctually protective of my dog, he got his forearm ripped open by her and a trip to ER for stitches! She’s less than a year old. No owner error can be contributed that early in life.
Animal Control is too busy giving out tickets for having dogs on the beach.
…in Cal Anderson, about a week ago. I was sitting on a bench with my dog. A youngish woman with a very nervous looking pit bull sat down on the next bench. Of course the dogs started attending to each other, at which point she said, “my dog isn’t good with other dogs…she’s a rescue and I just got her.”
I thanked her for sitting down next to my dog with her dog who isn’t good with other dogs, and walked away. She seemed pretty damn clueless.
In any case, I’m sorry this happened to Oscar, and hope he heals fast.
Will you admit that pitbulls are involved in a disproportionate amount of attacks as compared to all other breeds? while statistics range, most sources say pitbulls account for around 25% of all dog attacks. This is much higher than any other breed.
Now, if there were no issue with breeds or “bad owners” and all breeds were equal, those attack statistics would suggest that 1-in-4 dogs is a pitbull, right?
But we know pitbulls dont account for 1/4 of the entire dog population. not even close. do you think they even account for 10%? 5%? 1%?… so what I’m saying is that while the “bad owner argument” can explain SOME of that gap, there is clearly something else causing this disparity. The difference between the percentage of attacks involving pitbulls (25%) and the percentage of the entire dog population that are pitbulls (probably less than 5%) makes it clear that pitbulls are WAY more likely than any other breed to be involved in a dog attack. That is a major public safety concern.
You said “It’s probably a low percentage of attacks within the breed.” It is a breed that makes up a very small portion of the dog population, yet is involved in 25% of attacks. Doesn’t that make it clear that, compared to other breeds, pitbulls have a much higher propensity for involvement in attacks?
If you are trying to say that the entire gap between the 25% involvement in attacks and the small portion of the dog population they actually account for is explained completely by a bunch of bad owners and has nothing at all to do with the breed, those numbers suggest you are delusional and blinded by your love for your own dog (which is understandable, but illogical).
and yet, most pitbull owners commenting on this story would probably say you’re just a bad owner… At what point will people remove their blinders and just accept that pitbulls are too dangerous to be allowed as pets?
right, everyone has it out for pitbulls because they are disproportionately owned by minorities, and NOT because they are disproportionately involved in dangerous attacks… you’re the only one on here talking any sense!
“Why stop at banning specific breeds of dogs? There are certain “breeds” of people who are statistically far more likely to commit violent crimes. Can we ban those “breeds” as well?”
lol i was waiting to see someone make that argument. thanks for stepping up and being the one. unfortunately, we’re talking about animals, not people…
i can make dumb, illogical arguments too though, watch: why ban any animals as pets? lions, tigers, bears, wolves, dragons? its prejudice against the dragons! lolz…
Sounds like her. Clueless then, Clueless now.
The surgery on Oscar could not have been inexpensive. I hope the pitbull owner is presented the bill or sued for it. Then she can rethink whether she really wants to own that breed.
I couldn’t agree more – it’s not the breed, it’s the owner. I’ve been bitten by labs, goldens, and several jack russells, but never a pittie – and I’ve come in contact with several through volunteer work and owning a dog myself (a wimpy pit-hound mix).
But ignorant people LOVE to have a scapegoat. By the logic displayed here by pitbull haters, should we also assume that since prisons are full of non-white people, all non caucasians are out to commit crimes? If you don’t like pitbulls, then don’t own them – hell, avoid them if you must. But don’t deny a good, responsible person the opportunity to love a deserving dog, as so many pitties are.
I’m glad Oscar is ok. The owner of the pit should be held fully accountable. No matter what breed you own, all dog owners need to be aware that even their dog can have an unpredictable and sometimes very dangerous outburst.
They freak me out. I hate seeing them in the park or on a bus. I’d support a breed ban.
For those who are attempting to cite “statistics” to prove that pit bulls are responsible for some percentage of attacks or fatal attacks, you may want to keep in mind that such statistics are actually not kept. The Centers for Disease Control stopped keeping statistics in 1998, because they were not reliable (complications include determining what a dog’s breed actually is, whether it’s mixed or purebred, etc). Both the CDC and the American Veterinary Medicine Association are against breed bans as effective ways to reduce dog bites.
What can be tracked are factors such as whether a dog is neutered or not (intact males are responsible for about 90% of bites) or whether they’re typically kept chained outside (chained dogs are several more times likely to bite). Those are verifiable and controllable risk factors, and they’re the ones around which reputable groups center their information.
The “statistics” that some groups in Seattle like to trot out as evidence are based on studies that counted not the actual breeds involved in reported bites in any verified manner, but MEDIA COVERAGE only. Given that the only time a dog bite tends to be reported by the media is when it’s by a pit bull (such headlines vastly increase site traffic and readership, as opposed to when a ‘mere’ dog bit is reported), of course a study that looks only at media headlines and the proportion of dogs identified in such headlines will “prove” that pit bulls are vastly more aggressive than other dogs.
I would just add that the amounts of comments on this story prove my point about how headlines increase site traffic….When was the last time CHS reported on any dog bite?
Get well soon, Oscar!
Animal control will only put a dog down after two incidents, and even then only if the other owner files an “official” complaint. When my dog was attacked, the officer discouraged me from filing an official compliant, though I did so anyway. The problem is, after a dog is reported once, the owner usually runs the second time his or her dog attacks in order to protect the dog.
For those of you who are concerned about dog bites that kill, read http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-fatality-citatio
It does seem like over half of all U.S. fatal dog attacks are done by pit bulls or part pit bull types. Some of them are actually cute dogs but so are lions, tigers and sharks. Those shouldn’t be owned by the general populace. Remember the guy in Ohio who had all kinds of dangerous animals on his “farm”? He freed them all and killed himself.
I don’t like pittbulls because I think they are ugos BUT I also don’t think we should be comparing dogs to people. People are people not breeds and dogs are dogs.
I have a boston terrier and he’s a little bitch. But you know what? Sometimes when he sees other dogs on leashes while he’s on a leash he gets all crazy.
Dogs are dogs. It sucks that some are more aggressive but all dogs can be at times.
Cheers
PS. Oscar feel better!
Maybe you should read my comment above….The difficulty of truly determining what type of dog was involved in an attack is why the CDC has not kept records on breed status for almost fifteen years now. This is a good law review article on the complexity of breed bans, why they don’t work, and why statistics are misleading: http://www.animallaw.info/articles/arus74fordhamlrev2847.htm
If you really want to reduce the incidence of dog bites, start advocating that dogs be neutered/spayed, and that they not be tethered or chained. It doesn’t involve the fun fearmongering factor, but it’s rooted in reality.
racist
you read about pitbulls because of sensationalist, racist, biased reporting like this piece. If it were any other breed, it would have been “animal control investigating reported broadway dog attack”, something that happens more often than you might think.
Just because a bunch of shitty people own pitbulls and gave them a bad rap doesn’t mean we should ban a breed.
My name is Sean and I was the one who showed up and took the owner of the westie aside and looked at him, I noticed it wasn’t a neck wound and I calmed the young lady who owned the westie down, and called the emergency vet for her while she waited on her boyfriend to come pick her up. I also spoke to the owner of the pit bull who was also pretty shaken up. Although I don’t believe it’s the pit bull’s fault I do believe that people need to be more OBSERVANT AND ATTENTIVE TO THEIR DOGS. If your dog isn’t friendly — Don’t walk it down Broadway where you know 10 other little dogs are going to be strutting their stuff. I own a 105lb dog who also can get weird with other dogs but I know him and I am attentive to his needs and responsible enough to not put him in a situation where he might have to use his instincts. I felt so bad for the young lady who’s dog was attacked and I can sympathize with her… it’s her baby. I’m just glad that I was able to step in and help the situation… I was really worried about the little guy and I’m so happy to hear that he is going to be ok! If you are reading this and you are the young lady who owned the Westie and you remember me, you can find me on Facebook! Sean Cormack. I’d love to visit with the little guy once he’s all better!
Sean – Of course I remember you, and thank you so much for your help. You were amazing and really did make me feel so much better. I’ll find you on FB. Thank you again!!
Also – a huge thank to the woman who held my other dog. He’s just a puppy and I was so appreciative that there were people who were kind enough to help me.
There’s a young woman who lives in my building who has an all-white pitbull. She seems really cautious with it (when people walk by, she stops and holds him/her near her until they pass) out of fear it will be aggressive. Because the owner seems so nervous, I feel vulnerable when I’m in the elevator with her and the dog.
What color was this pitbull? I wondering if it’s the same one..
Macchiato said nothing about race. Defensive much?
I’m so tired of all the defensive rationalizations given by pitt bull owners and defenders…..it’s the owner, it’s racism, it isn’t true, mine is “sweet,” etc etc. They are not in touch with reality on this issue. The bad reputation of this aggressive breed does not come out of nowhere! Whenever there is a newspaper report of an unprovoked attack on other dogs, or a child….a pit bull is almost always the culprit…and they tend to cause the most severe injuries, and sometimes even death.
I truly do not understand why anyone, with all the wonderful dog breeds available, would choose to have a pit bull. They need to be banned…the currently alive ones could be grandfathered-in, but otherwise they have no place among us.
When I was looking for a dog I went to the shelter every week. While I was there about 80% of the breeds were either a pit or pit mix. You don’t really have many options because many dogs at shelters have pit in them. Would you ban all mixes? That would essentially take half the dogs out of Seattle. I chose mine based on her demeanor and how she was with other dogs. She has turned out to be a wonderfully sweet dog but I also never once showed aggression to her and took her to the dog park 4 times a week. I also got her at an early age to make sure she was raised right. She has NEVER been in a fight at the dog park and runs away if another dog shows aggression. Banning is a knee jerk reaction and would solve nothing.
I’m sorry that happened to your dog but obviously that dog had been abused before your friend adopted it. The first time the puppy attacked was the red flag that something was wrong with it and you should have done something about it because that ISN’T NORMAL. Any dog that had to fend for themselves at an early age can turn aggressive. It may have been in an environment where it had to do so to survive. ANY dog can be corrupted at an early age. The unpopular ones are going to make up the majority of the outcasts.
Although, I do feel like your story is partially fabricated because you didn’t do anything to rectify the situation. If a rescue attacked my dog I would immediately do something about it, get it evaluated and separate it from other dogs. Assuming any rescued dog, no matter what age is going have perfect behavior is extremely ignorant. I’m going to assume that you are NOT an idiot or a bad dog owner but just trying to jump on the “DEERP PITBULL BAD” bandwagon. But if this is true, I feel really bad for your dog.
Pits are genetically predisposed to dog aggression. With 100’s of breeds/types from which to choose, which dogs do illegal dog fighters use exclusively? Yup, the APBT type. Empirical evidence is that pits do NOT have to be angry, mean or vicious to suddenly begin tugging and wrestling, chewing and crushing another dog as it is instinct to many adult pit bulls. A beagle is not angry or mean when following its instinct to trail a rabbit, tho the rabbit fears for its life. Watch the videos of the pit bulls, hanging from a knotted rope in their clenched jaws, tugging all the while, all four paws off the ground, for hours. This behavior is instinctive and self-rewarding to many pit bulls.
Pit bulls are often acquired for reasons other than companionship, and many suffer disproportionately from severe abuse, neglect, abandonment, young death; soon the US will be killing approximately 1,000,000 pit bulls every year.
Many who are breeding pit bulls do not breed for benign temperament. I can find no pit bull breeder website that states: “all our dogs are dog friendly; we never breed dog aggressive dogs.” In fact the opposite is true: “Dog aggression is what makes a pit a pit”. “Pits are the warrior of the dog world.”
Altho many normal dog owners have embraced spay/neuter, pit owners frequently do not. The result is too many pits being born for each to live. Therefore, we cannot adopt our way out of killing pits.
Oddly, this situation is all acceptable to the pit promoter, who only cares about himself and his ability to breed and own pit bulls. The suffering of pit bulls and the suffering that is caused by pit bulls means nothing to him.
Pit promoters and those who fight pit bulls are the same: selfish and accepting of preventable cruelty.
Tragically your roommate dog is doing exactly what pits were created to do, using centuries of selective breeding.
If a bird dog went into a “point” at a toy placed on a bookcase, it would be displaying instinct. Attacking for essentially no reason is behavior that was prized and helped to win dog fights.
Forget the recent pit bull propaganda and read some books and articles written before 1980 by those who “love” pit bulls and their ability to fight for hours, their prized “gameness”. One states “A good pit bull will only release his grip to gain a better hold.” And “as long as these dogs are bred, there will be pit contests to see who owns the better fighting dog.”
I was attacked by 4 different poodles when I was a kid. There was an irresponsible dog breeder down the street and their dogs were little shits. Guess what, it never was written about or put on the news. It took the third time reporting it before anyone from animal control even showed up to confront the owner. Once every occurrence of a dog bite is put on the news and the Pitbulls still vastly outweigh all other dogs by 80 to 90% then and only then will I believe the hype that this dog is truly as dangerous as you make it out to be. Don’t get me wrong, there are certain pitbulls I would never be in a room alone with, but I have met more that are amazing animals. Poodles on the other hand, now those shits are always aggressive.
I’d rather be attacked by a gang four of poodles as a kid 100 times than attacked by one pitbull once. It’s sort of like being shot. I’ve been shot with water guns, bb guns, nerf guns but never something like a .45 or 10mm (knock on wood).
I’ve also picked up and been bitten by harmless garter snakes but never a King Cobra. The difference is pitbulls kill children more than once a month in the U.S. Poodles don’t. This should be easy enough for a even first grader to comprehend.
More rationalizations by pit bull owners. Another poster stated that most serious attacks by pit bulls were NOT preceded by any incident or behavior which would be a red flag….I don’t know if this is true or not, but certainly it would give the owner of a “sweet” pit bull pause, and question the wisdom of having such a breed.
And, yes, the majority of dogs in animal shelters are pit bulls/pit bull mix. Doesn’t this tell you something? Certainly it’s a comment on what kinds of people own pit bulls, but it also indicates that their mean/aggressive behavior is something to be avoided.
I realize that some people cannot afford to buy a dog from a private breeder, and must get one from a shelter instead, but it shouldn’t be that difficult to find/adopt a dog which is not a pit bull.
Is there any update to this situation? Has AC located the pit and owner? This whole situation is unfortunate but that pit owner is reckless and should be punished. And to think all this for a damn cigarette. Poor Oscar and Mandy, my heart goes out to you two. I wish Oscar a speedy recovery.
While I sympathize with this poor woman and her dog and wish them a swift recovery, I cannot believe the pure ignorance that comes from a state of supposedly educated people. I AM from the south and I have a pitbull but I also have an astoundingly high IQ, I make approximately 8000 dollars a month and my wife is a paralegal for kitsap county, I do not fight dogs and do not have a need to own a dog for protection as I am six foot five and almost three hundred pounds of force to be reckoned with. Now I say this because the stereotype for pitbull owners seems to be inconsiderate and moronic rednecks with bad jobs and a desire to seem big and bad. I own an American Pitbull Terrier, I own a male Rottweiler, and a Rottweiler/German Shepard/ Pitbull/ lab mix and I can say without a doubt as a truly educated person that this ban dogs attitude does no one any good. My wife and I are also certified dog trainers and take in supposed “aggressive breed dogs” and introduce them to society as well behaved and loving members of the community.
Now most Pitbull owners will play the blame the deed not the breed or blame the owner argument, I intend to explain why this woman with the pitbull was incredibly stupid and most pitbull attacks happen and can explain ways to prevent them. First however I would like to start with some information so as to help you ignorant masses understand why this probably happened. Pitbulls have an enormous prey drive that is genetic to the dogs HOWEVER this prey drive was breed into them for the bull baiting they used to be used for. In fact most good pitbull owners love this prey drive, also called gameness, because it makes the dogs very easy to train out of it. Pitbulls are not naturally animal aggressive and are commonly mistaken for having this aggression because of their gameness, for example my pitbulls gameness is used to play fetch, she will chase her ball and ignore everything else. This is how a responsible pitbull owner harnasses this breeds inert drive to chase. This can be a great motivator in things pitbulls are used in such as search and rescue and police training.
Pitbulls also have an innate desire to please and as such do things such as dog fighting even though they are tortured because it is something their owners want them to do. They will risk severe injury to please their owners because they have so much love and adoration that it isn’t even a concern for them.
Pitbulls also contrary to popular belief do not have locking jaws, pitbulls also do not have the strongest bite force of all dogs, that honor goes to the Rottweiler. Pitbulls are also lumped together with 30+ breeds of dogs in most dog bite statistics. Pitbulls also out perform most normal family dogs in temperament tests and canine good citizens tests.
So as it pertains to what more then likely caused this attack it was more then likely a pitiful knowledge of the breed, a lack of socialization, and a lack of good strong leadership. My pitbull for example doesn’t really go anywhere on a leash anymore because she has been properly trained and properly socialized. It may have also been a lack of proper exercise. Proper exercise is important in any breed but especially pitbulls, proper exercise allows the dog to waste a lot of energy that could otherwise be used harmfully. A good hour long walk or a good game of fetch like I do with mine is an excellent way to release any pent up energy or frustration. Pitbulls are not dogs for lazy and uneducated owners. In short to prevent this whole thing she needed to establish dominance by flipping her dog on its back and letting the little dog sniff it while correcting any growls or anything. I know this because my pitbull is well trained and loves all dogs. It boils down to bad ownership and an unsocialized dog. Unfortunately I believe this article may be biased because it is almost impossible to identify a pitbull by even most experts. Thank you for taking the time to read this and listen to me.
Wow, whole lot of stupidity going on here. Learn your breeds of dogs, then run your mouth.I have two 80 pound Pitts
And they’re therapy dogs,working with CHILDREN!!!!