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UNION CITY (CBS SF) — A six-year old boy was mauled to death by a pit bull at a home in Union City Monday morning, according to Union City police. Fire crews and an ambulance were called to an address on Elizabeth Way about 11 a.m. Monday morning. The victim, identified as Dixon resident Nephi Selu, was taken to Stanford Hospital where neighbors of the family say the boy died. Police said the boy was visiting relatives and had been playing with the dog in the backyard when the dog attacked him, biting him on the top of his head....

Pamela Devitt was taking a morning walk through her neighborhood earlier this month when a pack of pit bulls mauled her. The retired office manager suffered 150 to 200 puncture wounds in the fatal attack. When the first sheriff's deputy arrived on the scene in the Antelope Valley town of Littlerock, he saw Devitt on the ground with one of the dogs still mauling her. On Thursday, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office charged the dogs' owner with murder. Prosecutors could not recall ever filing a similar murder case, but said the incident warranted such serious charges because the...

Some residents in Valencia Park are resting easier this weekend. Two pit bulls that were terrorizing the neighborhood have been put to sleep following an attack Friday. A viewer contacted 10News on Friday afternoon after her dog was mauled that morning. The County of San Diego Animal Services confirmed that the two pit bulls in question killed a neighborhood dog in 2009. The owners of the pit bulls are now facing criminal charges, despite the dogs having been euthanized. ... The County of San Diego Department of Animal Services says within the past three years, both pit bulls have been...

RENO, Nev. -- Shots rang out in a Stead neighborhood early Sunday afternoon after two pit bulls attacked a jogger and his dog. It happened on Rising Sun Drive. Police say the man lives in the area and was jogging in a residential area when the pit bulls attacked. "Two loose, unrestrained pit bulls attacked his dog and when he tried to separate the pit bulls and his dog, the pit bulls attacked him," said Sgt. Joe Lever of the Reno Police Department. "He was jogging with a concealed firearm which he has a permit for. He discharged the firearm...

HEMET [california] (CBSLA.com) — Authorities say a 91-year-old woman who was found dead in her motel room was apparently mauled to death by her two pit bulls. Elsie Grace was found dead in her room at a Motel 6, in the 3900 block of Florida Avenue, in Hemet Friday morning. “The victim had a great deal of trauma to her body,” Hemet police Lt. Duane Wisehart said. “(At) this time, it appears to be a horrific accident.” Police were called to the motel about noon. An autopsy on Grace, who most recently lived in Desert Hot Springs, is pending, Wisehart...

FRENCH VALLEY (CBS) — A French Valley man shot a pit bull-boxer mix after it began to attack his 11-year-old son, a sheriff’s sergeant said Saturday. The dog was later captured and put down by Animal Control officers, according to officials. The incident occurred shortly before 4 p.m. Friday near the intersection of Orange Blossom Drive and Allium Lane in unincorporated Riverside County, according to Sgt. Steve Fredericks. The dog, owned by a neighbor, broke free from its leash and then bit the boy. The boy’s father got his handgun and fired one shot when the dog lunged toward him,...

AMELIA, Ohio - When emergency workers found Carol Forste's body in Ohio after Friday’s tornado, they also came across one of her dearest possessions, her dog, still at her side. The storm that killed his owner and best friend spared the dog's life, even as it crushed his spirit. Kush, Forste's pit bull survived Friday's storm. Doctors at All Creatures Animal Hospital in Amelia, say it will take weeks for Kush to truly heal. One look into his eyes and you can see he is still shocked and traumatized from Friday's tornado. "Kush would not leave her deceased body's side...stood...

A 3-year-old Canton girl who wandered away from home Thursday afternoon was found safe six hours later. Van Zandt County Sheriff Pat Burnett Jr. said Zoey Smith was found just after 7 p.m. in a wooded area nearly two hours away, holding on to the collar of the family's pit bull named Brownie. "The dog helped her stay safe, I think," he said. NBC 5's Omar Villafranca snapped a photo of paramedics checking on Zoey inside an ambulance. "It's just been a nightmare and a dream all come true in one night, you know?" said her father, Steven Smith. Burnett...

HOUSTON (CBS Houston) — A pet serial killer is on the loose in the Houston area. Seven dogs were found dead, six of them pit bulls, over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. Three of those pit bulls were fatally shot, while the other four dogs suffered blunt trauma to the head. “We started finding an unusual number of dead dogs, all of them pit bulls,” Emily Crossley, founder of Backstreet Brutality & Relief, told CBS Houston. “Two were found on top of each other … another one was found shot in the head inside a crate.”

MEZHDURECHENSK, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) -- A grandmother committed suicide in southern Russia on Saturday after two dogs mauled a one-year-old baby to death, local media reported on Monday. The tragedy happened on Saturday at a home in Mezhdurechensk, a city in Russia's Kemerovo Oblast, when a one-year-old baby boy was left alone at a home. He is believed to have walked or crawled to a room where two dogs, a Staffordshire terrier and a pitbull, were kept. The Russian ITAR-TASS news agency, citing police, reported that the boy's grandmother committed suicide after she found the lifeless body. It was not...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Authorities say a Philadelphia woman found dead in her home had been fatally mauled by her own dogs. Autopsy results were released Thursday on 50-year-old Carmen Ramos.

Pet pit bull mauls and kills 15-day-old baby Pit bulls and other large dogs continue to maim and kill people. Is it because these dogs are aggressive and dangerous or are they owned by irresponsible and careless people? Buster didn't have a history of being aggressive. He was a family pet, a year old and hyper like many young dogs. Buster's owner, 25-year-old Mallory Wildig had been staying at her mother's house following the birth of Darius on February 4 along with her 2-year-old son, Keylin Tillman. She would return home to feed Buster and let him outside. The times...

The wandering 65-pound Pit Bull mix might have seemed menacing to some passerby, but one woman will always remember him as her “guardian angel.” The dog, which authorities think is lost and not a stray, successfully thwarted a robbery attack on a mother and her 2-year-old son, who were held at knifepoint Monday afternoon. The Florida woman, who has been identified by authorities simply as “Angela,” was leaving a playground with her toddler son in Port Charlotte when a man approached her in the parking lot with a knife and told her not to make any noise or sudden movements....

BREMERTON, Wash. — Police in the Washington state city of Bremerton say a pit bull reported as a menacing dog was just protecting its owner who had suffered a heart attack and died on a sidewalk while the two were out walking. A detective says the 51-year-old Bremerton woman collapsed late Tuesday. The dog was loose once she fell and was being "protectively aggressive" — not letting neighbors help its owner. No one was bitten......."

Mail carrier Bryan Bloomquist survived a harrowing attack by two pit bulls, with help from neighbors and police who killed the dogs. The adversarial relationship between mail carriers and dogs is well-known. But as two pit bulls tore relentlessly into Bryan Bloomquist's arms and legs outside a north Minneapolis house Tuesday, the mail carrier didn't think about clichés. He thought about dying. "I had no fight left in me at that point," said Bloomquist, a 6-foot 3-inch, 300-pound Iraq war veteran said from his hospital bed Wednesday. "I thought it was over."

DERRY — A pit bull was shot and killed after attacking a beagle on South Avenue. Police responded to a call Sunday about 5:30 p.m., after an incident between the two dogs at 35 South Ave. Officers found the dead pit bull, which received two gunshot wounds, lying in the yard. The beagle suffered bites on its throat and neck. The owner of the beagle told police he was tying his dog to his deck when the pit bull attacked from a nearby yard. Police said the pit bull's owner lives on Desmarais Avenue. The beagle's owner said he was...

DERRY – A dog owner shot and killed a pitbull Sunday afternoon when it attacked his dog in the owner's back yard, police said yesterday. Police said the incident took place about 5:30 p.m. at 35 South Ave. The resident told police he had been having problems with the pitbull, which lives in the neighborhood, said Sgt. Eric Kester. Kester said an investigation is continuing, and the names of the shooter and pitbull owner were unavailable last night. Kester said the pitbull had bitten the South Avenue resident's dog several times, and a warning shot did not deter the attack....

Published: June 9, 2010 Updated: 1:01 p.m. Officials: School secretary brutally attacked by pit bull By DEEPA BHARATH THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER GARDEN GROVE – A long-time school secretary at Woodbury Elementary had to undergo emergency surgery Tuesday afternoon for a punctured artery after a pit bull wandered into the school office and brutally attacked her, school officials said. The incident occurred about 3 p.m. when school was out and there were still about 200 children in the Boys and Girls Club's after-school program, said Alan Trudell, spokesman for the Garden Grove Unified School District. "The dog followed a parent...

Three-year-old killed by pit bull in Tenerife By: ThinkSpain , Monday, June 7, 2010 A three-year-old child has died today in Santa Cruz de Tenerife after being bitten by a pit bull terrier. According to information provided by the police, the incident occurred at around 3.30pm in the La Gallega district of the Tenerife capital. The child was in his mother's arms when the dog pounced on him and bit his neck. The child was taken immediately to the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria hospital, but died shortly after his arrival there. The dog, who is owned by the child's...

Published: Saturday, June 05, 2010 By JOEY KULKIN Staff Writer BORDENTOWN CITY — The pit bull that attacked a beagle in front of schoolchildren Friday morning was adopted by a woman who defended herself in a phone interview with The Trentonian yesterday. “I have not gone away in about two years because I don’t like leaving my animals alone,” the 27-year-old woman said while crying. “I go away for one night, and this is what happens. I am not a bad person.” The woman said she rescued the female pit bull from a Hamilton shelter in 2007 and that a...

Mail carriers are scrambling in Scranton this spring after seven dog bite attacks—the most in recent memory. Letter carrier Lyn Sottile was bitten by a chocolate Labrador that ran through an invisible fence, bit her leg and punctured the can of mace she carries. The injury took her off the route for a week, according to local news reports. Postal workers are victims of only some of the more than 4.7 million dog bites annually. Each year 800,000 Americans seek medical attention for dog bites; half of them children. Of those injured, 386,000 require treatment in an emergency department and...

UPDATED: 9:04 pm EDT June 3, 2010 KOKOMO, Ind. -- A 9-year-old Howard County girl critically injured by a pit bull over the weekend died at an Indianapolis hospital on Thursday, police said. The attack happened in the 4600 block of East County Road 200 South on Saturday, said Howard County Sheriff Marty Talbert. The girl, Savannah Gragg, underwent surgery at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, but died Thursday afternoon. Police said that Savannah was opening a door at the home to let the dog outside when it jumped on her and knocked her to the floor, biting her...

CAPE MAY – The owner of the Wagging Tail Pet Shop in Erma was reportedly attacked on Monday by a pit bull that was owned by the tenant of an apartment above the business. Patsy Nelson suffered serious bite wounds to her hip and one arm, according to police reports. Police said Donald Titus, 25, who lives in an apartment above the shop, was constructing a dog pen in the backyard when the attack occurred. Nelson was taken to the Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May Court House for treatment of her injuries. Titus was cited for failure to...

STORY FROM 5/31/10 A pit bull attacks its owners sending a woman to the hospital and injuring a man. Eau Claire County Sheriff Ron Cramer says the pit bull attacked the couple around 6 p.m. Monday at their home on Skeels Ave. in the Town of Washington on Eau Claire's south side. He says there appears to be no reason the dog attacked them. The woman was taken to the hospital for wounds to her arms. The man had injuries to his stomach and chest but refused medical treatment. The sheriff says the pit bull is now at the Eau...

His hand thickly bandaged, 91-year-old Ken Heffren described Tuesday how he fought off a vicious dog attack in his backyard. Heffren, a feisty World War II veteran and retired telephone company employee, said he was fighting for his life as he tried to fend off the 80-pound pitbull-Rottweiler cross on Sunday afternoon with a hammer and a gardening trowel. With no-one home, Heffren said his calls for help from neighbors went unanswered for several minutes as the dog came at him. The pitbull cross dug below the fence between Heffren and his neighbor to enter his yard, Auburn Police reported....

May 3, 2010 1:00 pm US/Pacific Elderly Auburn Man Attacked By Neighbor's Pit Bull A 91-year-old man recovering with 30-plus stitches after being attacked by a neighbor's Pit Bull in the backyard of his own Placer County home. The attack happened Sunday afternoon in the 800 block of Dairy Rd. in Auburn. The elderly man was working on his sprinkler system when a neighbor's dog dug under the fence and attacked him. When a police officer arrived, they found the dog had cornered the 91-year-old man against a tree. The officer was able to rescue the man who suffered severe...

UPDATED: 7:25 pm EDT April 27, 2010 PITTSBURGH -- A man was taken to a hospital after being attacked by his girlfriend's dog in Pittsburgh's Crafton Heights area, the city's Animal Control office said. "The boyfriend was giving the dog a treat and then decided to take the dog treat back. That's when the incident occurred. He was bitten in the leg," said Animal Control supervisor Gerald Akrie. The woman who owns the pit bull called Animal Control on Tuesday morning because the dog was preventing her from getting inside her Obey Street home. She only had the dog for...

Published : Tuesday, 27 Apr 2010, 8:22 PM EDT INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Two people are facing charges after using a pit bull in a robbery. Police say Andrew Townsend and Carley Woodward drove up to the bus stop at 3100 West Michigan Street and confronted Townsend's ex-girlfriend. Police say when Woodward and the victim began to fight. Townsend got out of his car with a pit bull and started punching the victim and ordering the dog to bite her. Woodward and Townsend then stole the woman's purse. Police later captured the two but they are still searching for the dog.

Monday, April 26, 2010 An 11-year-old Toledo girl who was attacked by two Pit Bulls is honoring the good samaritan she says saved her life. Today was the first time Sarabeth McAdams and her 18-year-old rescuer Sam Granata met since the attack. Sarabeth's mother arranged the meeting because she wanted to personally thank the man she says saved her daughter's life. Just over a week ago, Sarabeth was riding her bike when she was attacked by two Pit Bulls. Granata was on his way home from work when he saw the attack. Today, a tearful Sarabeth expressed her gratitude to...

Shovel Stops Pit Bull Attack: Update Published Date: 2010/4/26 12:34:34 Article ID : 7748 Version 1.00.02 By Keven Drews UCLUELET — A 27-year-old Ucluelet man says he was forced to knock out a pit bull with a shovel Saturday night in order to stop an attack on a family pet being walked by two children. Jesse Stenbaugh told the Westcoaster.ca Monday he heard children’s screams of “help, help,” while walking home from a friend’s house near the trailer park on Cynamoka Road at about 8 p.m. When he ran across the street and arrived on scene, Stenbaugh said he saw...

Published: 04/24/10 9:20 am | Updated: 04/24/10 9:27 am PORTLAND, Ore. - A Portland police officer who was bit by a pitbull during an investigation has been hospitalized after developing a serious infection. The Oregonian reports that 33-year-old Stephen Gandy had surgery to remove part of his upper right thigh because of the infection. A spokeswoman with Legacy Emanuel Hospital and Health Center said Friday that Gandy was in serious condition.

PETA criticizes use of fighting pit bulls in Mafia Wars by Dave Rudden April 23, 2010 10:20 AM PST The animal advocacy group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is protesting Zynga's use of animals as attack items in Mafia Wars. In particular, PETA is accusing the Facebook game developer of perpetuating the stereotype of pit bulls as a dangerous breed. Earlier this week, Zynga introduced pit bulls and African lions as items in Mafia Wars in preparation for an upcoming update in which "animals will become a fully-fledged combat item class." PETA has taken exception to the move,...

By Don Reid The Daily Reporter Posted Apr 22, 2010 @ 03:35 PM Sherwood Township, Mich. — For the second time in two weeks, a victim of a pit bull attack in Sherwood Township was hospitalized Wednesday night. Joshua John-Allen Hicks, 13, of Coldwater, was at his uncle’s home on Lilac Lane when a pit bull broke its chain and lunged at the boy. The reddish-colored dog bit and mauled the teen on both arms causing severe damage to his left one. It also bit Hicks on the chest and face. When the dog lunged at the boy’s uncle, he...

5-year-old mauled by pit bull in Hurricane April 20, 2010 HURRICANE -- Many owners of American pit bull terriers say the dogs get a bad rap, that they can be as sweet as any other breed and can make great family pets. But if a pit bull attacks, one Utah mother says the results can be devastating. A pit bull mauled Katie Weeks' 5-year-old daughter, Saleena Wickward, in Hurricane Monday night. The little girl is now recovering from reconstructive facial surgery. "She's already asked her mom for a mirror, and we're waiting on that," Weeks says. Right now, Saleena's face...

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) ― The owner of a pit bull that bit off part of a Sheboygan boy's cheek has been fined $177. Police records released Monday show that 52-year-old Thomas J. Schmitz was cited over the weekend for owner liability for a dog causing injury. A telephone listing for Schmitz was disconnected. Police say a 12-year-old girl was walking the dog on a leash Tuesday when it attacked the 8-year-old boy.

Updated: April 14, 2010 JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - Tuesday’s dog fighting bust is just the latest incident surrounding the controversial breed. These pit bulls were trained to fight and now face an uncertain future. People who own the breed say that’s not their nature. One group is determined to prove that image isn’t everything. A whiff and a sniff—just like any other dog. Only these are the much maligned pit bull. Their owners say they are just like any other dog. “They’re full of life, full of fun,” said Lee Nolan, founder of The Guardians Pit Bull Owners Club. “They’re hilarious...

Her 32-year-old uncle was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after the incident at around midday on Saturday. Police officers were called to an address in Cotton Walk after reports that the baby was unconscious and had suffered serious head injuries. The girl, who was with her three-year-old sister, mother and grandmother, was taken by ambulance to East Surrey Hospital in Redhill, but she was pronounced dead on arrival. The dog suspected of killing the girl was being held by police. The animal is believed to be a mastiff-type breed.

The dad who stabbed his dog to death after it savaged his two-year-old daughter said yesterday it was like a scene from a horror film. Gereth Sim, 31, is haunted by the moment the French bullmastiff, named Trigger, sank its teeth into little Taylor's face. He said: "I had turned away for two seconds and heard a growl. The next thing the dog had Taylor on the floor and was biting her face. "I punched him until he let her go, then stabbed him with a kitchen knife. Taylor's face was covered in blood. It was like a horror film....

Memphis Girl Mauled by Pit Bull: Family Wants Dog Euthanized Reported by: Kevin Holmes Email: kholmes@myeyewitnessnews.com Last Update: 7:58 pm SHELBY COUNTY, TN – A Memphis child was mauled by a pit bull while inviting her friends to her birthday party. The 8-year-old girl is recovering at Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center, as authorities decide what should happen to the dog that attacked her. Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies say the dog was chained to a tree in a front yard on Northdale Drive when it got loose. Hailey King has undergone several surgeries to repair her hands, face, legs and...

By Gus Burns | The Saginaw News April 15, 2010, 6:00PM SAGINAW — Bridgetta Hadley considers the neighbor who rescued her from a pack of attacking pit bulls, suffering wounds so severe he since has had several toes and fingers amputated, a hero. Now a national organization has endorsed Hadley’s view. The Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission is awarding Duane E. VanLanHam the Carnegie Medal for the civilian heroism he displayed March 5, 2009. VanLanHam, 48, of Buena Vista Township is one of 22 award recipients so far in 2010, said Doug Chambers, the commission’s spokesman. VanLanHam rushed from his...

9-Year Old Badly Hurt In Pit Bull Attack By Michael George SHEBOYGAN- 9-year old A.J. Sterling is recovering at home after being attacked by a pit bull. His injuries are severe, and his parents are angry with the dog’s owners. Witness Connor Lieser tells TODAY’S TMJ4 the attack appeared to be unprovoked, as the boy was reaching down to pet the dog. Maria Ramirez and Afero Sterling, parents of A.J., just watched him go through plastic surgery. He was bitten on the face by the pit bull just one block from his home in Sheboygan. “I wouldn’t want any child...

Police said they arrested a Lincoln man on suspicion of felony animal abuse after his pit bull was stabbed in the head and neck. A woman told police her live-in boyfriend, Anthony Hollman, 48, was drinking and poking their pit bull. She said the dog got angry, biting Hollman in the leg.

<p>A 2-year-old boy died after a chained-up pit-bull terrier in a neighbor’s backyard attacked him Wednesday morning in Prescott, police said.</p> <p>The boy and his 3-year-old brother wandered out of their home about 9 a.m. and made their way into an unfenced yard two houses away where two dogs were chained up, police said.</p>

Here is a video report on a pack of wild dogs killing an elderly couple in Georgia. Apparently, the elderly woman, Sherry Schweder, took a walk on the country road near their home and was attacked by a pack of wild dogs. When her elderly husband came looking for her when she did not return, he too was attacked by the dogs. Their bodies has multiple wounds consistent with an attack by animals. The couple had both been employed at the University of Georgia - Mr. Schweder for many years as a German Professor, and Mrs. Schweder at the library....

Ohio Town May Define Every Dog As ‘Vicious’ HSUS ‘Pit Bull’ Scare Tactic Being Used Nationwide by JOHN YATES American sporting Dog Alliance http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org asda@csonline.net This report is archived at http://eaglerock814.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=45 AVON LAKE, OH – The sky is not falling in this tranquil suburban town on the outskirts of Cleveland, but local animal rights activists are trying to convince the Avon Lake Municipal Council that a tough ordinance is needed to control “vicious dogs.” What’s happening in Avon Lake this week also is happening now in dozens of communities across America. Thus, we urge dog owners everywhere to read this...

Stereotypes are usually negative and should be avoided. That’s what we teach our children. Yet, some adults are still incapable of understanding that discriminating against a dog, based solely on his breed is wrong. You cannot judge an entire breed of dog on a few individuals. Pit bulls are misunderstood and used as a scapegoat when dog owners are negligent. You could eliminate pit bulls from the planet, and dog bites would still occur. Another breed would then be persecuted. The first point to make is that ‘pit bull’ is not a breed. Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier,...

In a recent article about legislation against Pit Bulls, I ended with a comment on how fear and anger over isolated and heavily reported attacks was resulting in reprehensible actions being taken against Pit Bulls as a breed group, blaming the dog, and not irresponsible dog owners. A common refrain is "get rid of these dangerous dogs", even though breed specific legislation has not resulted in changes promised. Not anywhere.Petraits for Lake Shore Animal Shelter After reading an article showcasing a Baltimore group which, like the HSUS's "End Dogfighting in Chicago" organization, is working to help Pit Bulls and the...

you can read the article here Caged ideas about breed sometime wrong Why doesn't FR automatically make links active?

According to a story in today's Sun by Brent Jones, Phoenix, is in stable condition at an unnamed hospital in Pennsylvania. Sounds like the next few days will be touch and go as she fights potential infections and other burn-related issues. In case anyone missed yesterday's stories, someone in Southwest Baltimore doused the 1-year-old pit bull puppy with gasoline and set her on fire. A police office saw her in flames and put the fire out with a sweater. There is a $1,000 reward being offered for information on who might have done that to the dog. Unleashed will try...

A dog owner from the Forest of Dean has been saved from burning to death after his Staffordshire pitbull leapt on the bed to wake him. Nathan Williams, 29, owes his life to his dog "The Hoff" - named after Baywatch actor David Hasselhoff - who battled to rouse him as flames licked around the bedroom door. Mr Williams, who suffers from health problems, was asleep when a fire broke out in his ground floor flat. But as the fire swept through the living room, kitchen and bathroom, the bulky pet jumped onto the bed to alert him. Nathan then...