Mother Explains Fatal Pit Bull Mauling

Yahoo News ^ | June 12, 2005

[Rennes Templar]

SAN FRANCISCO - The mother of a 12-year-old boy killed in his own home by one of the family's two pit bulls said she had been so concerned about one of the dogs that she shut her son in the basement to protect him.

Maureen Faibish said she ordered Nicholas to stay in the basement while she did errands on June 3, the day he was attacked by one or both of the dogs. She said she was worried about the male dog, Rex, who was acting possessive because the female, Ella, was in heat.

"I put him down there, with a shovel on the door," Faibish told the San Francisco Chronicle. "And I told him: `Stay down there until I come back.' Typical Nicky, he wouldn't listen to me."

Nicholas apparently found a way to open the basement door.

Faibish said she felt compelled to call the Chronicle Saturday to defend herself against widespread public outrage directed at families with children who own pit bulls.

"My kids got along great with (the dogs)," she told the newspaper. "We were never seeing any kind of violent tendencies."

Faibish found her son's body in a bedroom. He was covered in blood from several wounds, including a major head injury. No charges have been filed.

Ella was shot to death by a police officer the day of the attack. Rex was taken to a shelter, but Faibish said she wanted him put down.

"I think of Rex as someone who ... murdered my child," she said.

[DB]

What happens if there's a fire and your kid is locked in the basement while your away?

The woman's priorities was clearly the dog over the kid.

A disgusting "mother".

[spinestein]

Well Said!

[spinestein]

My folks brought a Dalmatian into the house when I was younger, but when my sister was born it saw her as an "intruder" and began to act aggressively.

It took about 2 seconds for them to find a new home for the dog.

[walkerk]

Remember, this is San Francisco where you are not the "owner" of a "pet". They are your "animal companions" and therefore are on the same level as humans. Or so the city council stated a few months ago.

[elmer fudd]

Pitbulls are ussually dangerous because they are mistreated by people with lots of testosterone and low IQ's. These people go out and get a potentially aggressive dog, chain it up, neglect it, abuse it and generally just make it mean and f----d up. Then they fail to properly contain and control it. It's a disaster waiting to happen and if you go into any ghetto you'll find hundreds of dogs like that.

Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with the breed. They've just been bred for aggression and require a careful owner who's willing to take precautions that wouldn't be necessary with a golden retriever.

[Neanderthal]

I didn't know anyone had a basement in California.

[Melinda in TN]

My husband's brother once had a German Shepherd that would allow you to come in the front door but not the back door. The back door went into the back yard where the dog's fenced in yard was. He was trained to not let anybody come in through that door and he didn't. They had to put him down after he bit a teenager that climbed over his fence. He didn't try to kill him though. He just put him back on the other side of the fence. It could be that the Pit Bull attacked when the boy came in the house through the basement while the mother was gone and he felt like he was on duty. That's no excuse but guard trained dogs are like that. Pit Bulls don't even have to be trained to be aggressive. The dogs should have been in the basement behind a locked door if they couldn't be trusted. Stupid woman!

I can't imagine leaving any child home with an aggressive dog of any breed. I probably wouldn't leave a 12-year old at home by himself anyway, dog or no dog.

[SLB]

So, I think we blame people who act irresponsibly, not ban the animals. But, in order for that to work, a woman like this needs to be arrested, charged, and convicted.

Exactly. In society today no one will take responsibility for their actions. They want to blame any and all for their own actions.

[Issaquahking]

This was posted to isasis, but seeings you want to take issue with it, I'll address you on it.

Sounds as smart as the pit bull owner we know doesn't it? Stupid a$$ apologists would say bout anything to prove there precious isn't that way.


Good Lord! Here we have a perfect example of a clueless and irresponsible pet owner that encouraged this attack through negligence and all you can do is suggest that this proves all pit bulls are vicious dogs?

I don't suppose that you might consider that the "we" might infer that it is possible we personally know somebody that is brain dead about their pet, and being a responsible pet owner? Maybe your just part of the second sentence.

Now I'm going to put on my flame proof suit and say I wouldn't have a pit bull if I were paid to! The dog may work for other people, and great for them, but I'll pass.

[infocats]

Has anyone seen my pet pit?

[carmody]

That website lists Pit Bulls and Akita's as EXCELLENT WITH CHILDREN.

[nuconvert]

You're right.

[astounded]

Don't give me that BS. There is no reason for pit bulls to exist as a breed. You can rationalize, apologize, do whatever dissembling you wish. They are born and bred to fight and kill, and are like old, sweating dynamite - you never know when they will explode.

[shellshocked]

" in SF if you're a white supremacist "


In San Fransisco, where the treat isn't really rice, "white" and "supremacist" are the same thing to those bozos.

[Rennes Templar]

That is one scary breed.

[Rennes Templar]

I had dogs on my paper route when I was a kid. I (ingeniously) got the idea to pack a squirt gun filled with ammonia. After a few squirts the dogs would go the other way when they saw me coming.

[moog]

I had dogs on my paper route when I was a kid. I (ingeniously) got the idea to pack a squirt gun filled with ammonia. After a few squirts the dogs would go the other way when they saw me coming.

Good idea that I never thought of. Rocks worked okay though.

[Rennes Templar]

We had A German Shepherd when we were growing up, seven children, had him for seven years. We played with the dog for hours at a time, and he would tolerate it to no end. He would also protect us and challenge anyone that looked threatening. We or our parents never even conceived of him attacking us. The difference between the breeds I think, generally speaking, is that Shepherds would not turn on their own, whereas the Pb's don't discern.

[TXFireman]

Sad.

[Recovering Hermit]

`Stay down there until I come back.' Typical Nicky, he wouldn't listen to me."

That's it...blame the dead kid.