Posted on 03/11/2005 3:44:19 PM PST by conservativebabe
ROCK ISLAND -- Good Samaritans helped save an elderly man's dog from a pit bull in Rock Island Wednesday afternoon.
The pit bull had apparently broken its leash to attack the smaller dog, a Yorkshire terrier, near the intersection of 18th Avenue and 41st Street.
Moline Fire Department paramedic Chad Snook and his partner were on their way back to Fire Station 3 shortly after 2 p.m., after taking a patient to Trinity Medical Center's West Campus, when they thought they saw a pit bull attacking an elderly man.
Mr. Snook, of Colona, got out of the ambulance and was trying to pull the pit bull off when he realized it was attacking the smaller dog, which was in the older man's arms.
"I really thought the dog was attacking the older man," Mr. Snook said. "When I got up close to it, I realized he had a little Yorkie in his arms and the pit bull had that in its jaws."
Bill Foss, Rock Island, was leaving his job as a custodian at Alleman High School when he saw the elderly man wrestling with the pit dog and Mr. Snook running toward the scene. Mr. Foss parked his vehicle and ran to help.
"The pit bull was shaking that little dog like a rag doll," Mr. Foss said. The older man, he added, "was really crying, yelling for help. He was really in distress. When I jumped out of my van, I thought that dog had (the older man) by the arm. I started hitting the (pit bull) as hard as I could, the firefighter was trying to pull it off. A lady, I think it might have been the pit bull's owner, was trying to hit it with a shovel. It wasn't letting go. Then we'd get it loose and the pit bull would grab (the little dog) again. That probably happened three times."
Mr. Foss described the pit bull as probably weighing close to 75 pounds. The attack ended when Mr. Snook was able to get his hands inside the pit bull's mouth and pried its jaws open.
The unidentified woman got the smaller dog and its owner into her house, and then opened a car parked near the house and got the pit bull to jump in.
Mr. Snook was bitten, but wasn't seriously injured. He said the dog was current on all its vaccinations.
Rock Island Police Sgt. Jason Foy said animal control officers have impounded the pit bull and are investigating the incident. He said the older man was walking his dog when the attack happened. He didn't identify either the man or the pit bull's owner. He did say that to the best of his knowledge, both dogs were still alive Thursday.
Mr. Snook and his partner monitored the older man until Rock Island Fire Department paramedics arrived. Mr. Foss said the older man told him he had recently had heart surgery.
Debra Garner, Milan, was coming from a doctor's appointment with her father when she saw the incident happen. She said what Mr. Snook did goes above and beyond the call of duty.
"It was a horrible thing to see," Mrs. Garner said. "It's horrible to think something could happen like that."
These dogs keep proving to be vicious animals.
Even a leash didn't stop this animal.
I am a total dog lover! But these viscious dogs or just lethal dogs should not be allowed. If we start really slamming people who do not control these animals, maybe it would stop.
ping!
I just hit the abuse button.
Ambrose is supposed to be the only one who posts Pit Bull stories.
:)
I'm all in favor of treating these incidents as attempted murder. If someone owns a pet, and that pet commits a crime, it should be treated exactly as if the owner committed the crime with a deadly weapon.
Huh?
Where is ambrose...I thought ambrose posts these threads....:-)
Hahahaha!
Sorry, but the animal has a will of it's own. It's a lot different from an inanimate object like a gun or a knife. You can't always predict an animal's actions, or control it. And you can't watch it 24x7, either, any more than you can watch a child every second of every day.
Ambrose is our pitbull go to guy.
Am I missing something? Someone has exclusive rights to pitbull stories?
I don't get it.
There, for all you pittbull lovers out there, I said it for you. Now, ban the dang things. Enough people - and little dogs - have been mauled. Exterminate the breed.
Thanks for clarifying. I was really confused.
Seriously, I feel for the people who have raised their pit bulls to be gentle. They suffer from the acts of the rest. But...this is what these dogs are. This is what they have been bred to be.
Bird dogs are "birdie". That's just the way their brains are wired. Not all are, but probably the vast majority. Put a bird dog in a situation where there are birds and it's nature takes over.
Pit bulls are wired to do what this one did. Not all...but who knows how many or which ones. I wonder what it would take to set one off so that nature overcomes nurture. How many of us have the strength to handle a full grown pit bull that has given itself over to the full fury of its dark side?
Relax..
Can you imagine this poor little old man, walking with his little dog and then being unable to defend yourself from animal like that?
Very scary.
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