Gallina [NM] Man Killed by Pit Bull

Rio Grande Sun ^ | 05/03/06 | Mike Gisick, John Foster

[maxwell]

Gallina Man Killed by Pit Bull

Juan Garcia attacked, dragged 50 feet

By Mike Gisick and John M. Foster
Rio Grande SUN

A Gallina handyman was mauled by a pit bull Tuesday, then dragged by the dog more than 50 feet, a Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s deputy said. Juan Garcia, 52, died after the attack, which happened at a home off County Road 419 in Gallina.

The dog was later found covered in blood, Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Deputy J.B. Turner said. The dog, named Max, belongs to Julie Coletta Pederson. Pederson told deputies she had no idea what Garcia was doing at the property but acknowledged he occasionally did some odd jobs.

Turner said the victim arrived at the yard Tuesday to find the pit bull behind a gate. However, the gate was "feeble" and the dog managed to push through the bottom.

Once out, the dog began mauling Garcia, then dragged the man 50 to 60 feet down a hill. Two other dogs were present but there was no sign either was involved in the attack, Turner said.

More. . .

[maxwell]

I want to point out a couple things here, that got this guy killed: the owner was blatantly delinquent in her control (i.e., none) of her property (i.e., the dog); the vic apparently approached the dog alone on the dog's turf without the benefit of the owner present.

My point is, these things add up. I also emphasize that I am not necessarily blaming the victim since I don't know the whole story.

For the thread police: I searched and didn't find this posted already.

[maxwell]

Gallina is about 2.5 hr west of Taos.

[Flavius]

yes people need to learn how to kill dogs

[Tijeras_Slim]

Rio Arriba, a very strange part of the world.

[Ken522]

Two other dogs were present but there was no sign either was involved in the attack, Turner said.

Right. They should be brought in for questioning - eyewitnesses, you know ....

[maxwell]

Ain't that the truth.

It sure is beautiful country though.

[joesnuffy]

And elect politicians who will not get in their way when they need to kill dogs...

[maxwell]

We got enough problems with people, let alone dogs.

I should try to find the article that came out in the Santa Fe New Mexican the other week, where city management is pondering a pit bull ban. They will hit some hardcore opposition to a ban that will be virtually unenforceable, except that they might have better luck with tracking down dogs than meth labs.

[fishtank]

Ahhh, the bustling metropoli of both Coyote and Gallina.....

.....this little incident will live long in the lore of those two hubs of commerce, industry and culture!

</small town sarcasm off>

[Bommer]

yes people need to learn how to kill dogs

Enlighten us to the technique on killing a pitbull because Guns don't do it very well!

[Tijeras_Slim]

Maybe Bob Schultz can work this case. :)

[maxwell]

Bwahaha...

I am waiting for the near-inevitable "dog-of-peace" poster to show up. Not trying to start a rumble, here; looking for serious discussion and dissection of why this incident occurred. "All pits should be shot" is not a valid answer in my book.

[Flavius]

there is allways one

here try this for a start

http://www.neighborsdog.com/

[greyfoxx39]

Rio Arriba, a very strange part of the world.

With some very strange people living there. I watched the TV news report of this incident, and the woman that owned the dog showed absolutely no remorse or caring about the death of the man, in fact, seemed to have a sappy smile on her face during most of the interview....wonder what she was smoking.

[HostileTerritory]

You'd think that pit bulls and meth labs would go together.

[maxwell]

The cross sections would overlap to some extent.

Most everyone here has a dog with some pit in it though. Why punish the many for the sins of the few?

[spunkets]

Blatently deliquent in control. Own turf doesn't matter. Dogs claim turf.

[maxwell]

Unfortunately I don't have to look very hard to find this: Police report from April: "City detectives... were involved in a... Narcotics Task Force raid on a house in Pecos. There were approximately 21 pit bulls at the residence and one had been shot and killed by officers..."

Pecos is just SE of Santa Fe. My speculation is, some type of breeding/fighting operations were being run in conjunction to the canine property security deal.

It is up to responsible dog owners to make a stand and counteract such delinquency.

[maxwell]

Yeah that thread has already succumbed to knee-jerk comments like "I would rather own a hand grenade than a pit-bull."

I am not going on that thread.

[altura]

It's amazing that a grown man could be killed by this dog.

It's usually women and children first.

But, dogs are incredibly strong.

Bubba, for example, my exceedingly large and even more exceedingly greedy, Lab wanted to get at a bird. A bird carcass that is.

I was holding with all my might, he had a pinch collar on. It should have hurt him a little to pull like that.

I couldn't hold him. I called to a passer by to help me and he gave me the, "Lady, you've gotta be kidding" look.

Can't really blame him. Bubba is big and black. But then, so was he.

Funny how strong animals are.

But Pit Bulls are really sweet and misunderstood.