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A North Texas family is mourning the loss of two of their pets. The nine-month-old pit bulls were shot and killed by a neighbor who says it was self defense. The shooting happened in a neighborhood off Ten Mile Bridge Road in northwest Fort Worth. The neighbors never had any problems before. But that all changed over the weekend. The man who pulled the trigger says he didn't have any choice. But the dogs' owners disagree. Kristopher Harrison has a six-year-old daughter. He says that's why he was upset when two pit bulls wandered into his backyard Saturday afternoon. Harrison...

" Police say daycare workers didn't know the toddler went outside into a backyard after going through a rear door. The home of the daycare provider, Anita Brunke, is in the 800-block of Edmund Street. She says the boy, 18-month-old Demetrius Allen, was the only one home at the time of the mauling. The pit bull was fenced in the backyard, but in an instance, the dog had the child in his mouth. "The dog had the little boy, bouncing him up and down like a rag doll," said a neighbor. Brunke says the dog attack happened when she was...

Bob Berube may be the fastest draw in Park City.     If you're a dog owner, you might see him as a pepper-spray-slinging villain.     But if walking with mutts doesn't melt your butter and you just like to amble along the town's paths and trails, maybe he's your Clint Eastwood.     In the past several months, Berube has pepper-sprayed two off-leash dogs and has raised the hackles of dog owners. So much so, that someone has taken to putting up posters around town with Berube's picture and phone number.     "Warning," its banner headline screams, "This man has been...

Keeping Fido with you in the driver's seat is dangerous and should be against the law. ...It's surprising that a bill to ban drivers from holding pets in their laps has been the target of ridicule. AB 2233, introduced by Assemblyman Bill Maze (R-Visalia), has been called a nanny-state bill. That would be true if the intent were to protect the pet. Much as we love dogs, we'll leave that job up to their owners. But if legislators thought hanging on to a cellphone was a driving hazard -- and it is -- what about an animal blocking the driver's...

FORT WORTH -- A 3-year-old girl was in critical condition at Cook Children's Medical Center after being attacked by two pit bull terriers Wednesday night. Police responded to the call shortly before 8 p.m. at a mobile home park in the 5000 block of N. DeSoto Court, Lt. Jimmy McCarthy said. The child's aunt, who was also injured, was taken to Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital, McCarthy said. Police declined to identify the woman. The girl does not live where the attack took place, but was in the care of her aunt at the time, said Lynn Alexander, a neighbor...

Should I Get a Dog? Dogs are one of the most popular pets in the world. They have enjoyed this status for a very long time, probably from the time 10,000 to 15,000 years ago when Stone Age cave dwellers lived and hunted with dogs. If you think you want a dog, you're following a well-established tradition. Why You Might Want a Dog There are a number of reasons that people think they might want a dog for a pet. The most universal is the desire for the companionship of an animal who will be a loyal friend for many...

SEATTLE -- The owner of two pit bulls was arrested after one of his dogs bit a man's hand on Tuesday night, according to police and fire officials. Police received a call around 9 p.m. from a man who said he and his dog were attacked by two pit bulls while they were out walking. Police arrived at the intersection of 24th Avenue SW and SW Trenton to find the dogs roaming around in the street. When a neighbor came outside to complain about the dogs to police, the dogs began to stalk him. An officer tried to distract the...

(Jan. 27) - His back resting comfortably against her chest, Hector nestles his massive canine head into Leslie Nuccio's shoulder, high-fiving pit bull paws against human hands. The big dog - 52 pounds - is social, people-focused, happy now, it seems, wearing a rhinestone collar in his new home in sunny California. But as Hector sits up, deep scars stand out on his chest, and his eyes are imploring. "I wish he could let us know what happened to him," says Nuccio, the big tan dog's foster mother. Hector ought to be dead, she knows - killed in one of...

DETROIT -- An elderly man and a woman were mauled to death by pit bulls in Iosco Township, Mich., on Thursday afternoon, police said. Michigan State Police were called to a farm and found a 90-year-old man mauled to death by dogs. The Iosco Sheriff’s Department said the man’s 70-year-old son went to check on his father, who was visiting the property, and found him dead in the yard. Police said there were still pit bulls in the yard when the son arrived. Upon further investigation, MSP found dogs had also fatally mauled a 56-year-old woman who was jogging, just...

CBS) HAWTHORNE, Calif. Two children menaced by pit bulls in Hawthorne were safe Friday, but a woman running from the dogs broke her leg and a squad car being driven to the scene collided with another vehicle, injuring an officer and a motorist, police said. A report that two pit bulls were menacing a 16-year-old girl and her 6-year-old brother in the 2900 block of 141st Place at El Segundo Boulevard and Prairie Avenue was received by Hawthorne police about 8 a.m., Hawthorne police Lt. Michael Ishii said. An animal-control officer distracted the dogs with a chemical spray, and the...

Boudreaux and his son Guy had been under investigation by state police since January. The streaming video shows aerial surveillance footage of the Boudreaux property in Broussard. It was shot by Customs agents with the Department of Homeland Security. The Boudreaux's had come under the gaze of Customs because of their international sales of pit-bull terriers. The Boudreauxs were arrested today at their south Lafayette parish home. 2 1/2 months of investigation ended today at this home behind me when investigators made their move. Investigators say 70 year-old Floyd Boudreaux is one of the most notorious dog breeders in Louisiana...

Woman mauled by home-invading pit bulls 07:45 PM PDT on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 KING5.com Staff Animal control officers say the victim was covered in blood after the dogs attacked PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. - In what deputies describe as the worst mauling they've ever seen, two pit bulls entered a Wauna-area home via the pet door and attacked a woman in her bed. Pierce County Sheriff's Dept. spokesman Ed Troyer said a neighbor's Jack Russell terrier also entered the home in the 10600 block of 132nd St. Court NW through the dog door and the pit bulls attacked the terrier...

A kitten needed help and got it from an unusual source that came to the rescue. Meet Jade -- a three-year-old Rottweiler with a soft-spot for cats. The kitten was just a few days old when its mother died. So, Jade stepped in. She never had any pups of her own. But, surprisingly, she was able to start nursing the kitten. Veterinarians say that's rare, but it can happen.

She's a lucky dog indeed. The female pit bull brought to the Atlanta Humane Society on Wednesday with a hunting knife lodged in her skull is improving nicely from surgery and may soon be adopted into a new home. The 28-pound dog required three stitches on her head after the knife was removed, along with a couple on her side, the AHS said. She'll be spayed and kept for observation for a few days, but could be heading home next week, AHS president Carl E. Leveridge said. He has tried without luck to contact the dog's owner, and suspects that...

Perhaps, his loved ones can only speculate, young Zachary King Jr. had gone to get a puppy in his family's basement, where their full-grown male pit bull was chained. When the 7-year-old boy's older sister came inside to look for him Thursday afternoon, she found him badly bitten and lying on the basement floor. She ran to get their father, but it was too late. The dog killed Zachary, who was about to enter second grade at Hope Academy, a private Christian school in Minneapolis. The pit bull, which had previously bitten other people, went for the boy's throat, police...

A homeowner in Palmer shot and wounded a pit bull after it charged at him. Police say they went to the home last week and found two pit bulls had escaped from a nearby residence. 1 of the dogs charged a neighbor. Police say the dog tried jumping through the neighbor's screen door last week. When it tried again, police say the homeowner shot it. The dog's owner arrived within minutes and took the wounded dog to the North Star Animal Hospital. Police say while discharging a firearm is against a city ordinance, the homeowner was well within his rights...

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - In the old lobby of San Antonio's Animal Care Services, a cheerful-looking sign written in neon pink, blue and yellow delivers a somber message: In a week's time, the city-run shelter took in 1,004 dogs and cats and adopted out or rescued 76. It killed 925. The shelter wants to turn those numbers around. By 2012, San Antonio plans to become a "no-kill" facility, meaning it wouldn't kill any animal deemed healthy or treatable. By reducing the homeless pet population through spay-neuter programs and working with other shelters to find permanent homes for animals, the San...

A violent dog can be as deadly as a loaded gun, the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday - and the dog can get you in just as much trouble with the law if you misuse it. The pit bull that a Vancouver man ordered to attack a police officer last year counts as a "deadly weapon" under Washington law, Judge David Armstrong found, and can justify a harsher sentence in an assault. It could be an especially important ruling for owners of pit bulls, a mixed breed whose surging popularity since the mid-1990s has led many puppies to be...

CBS) TUSTIN, Calif. Two loose pit bulls attacked and killed a poodle and injured its owner Wednesday, and one of the dogs escaped, prompting police to escort students at a nearby Tustin middle school onto campus as a precaution, a lieutenant said. A 75-year-old woman was walking her poodle about 6:30 a.m. in the area of 17362 Vinewood Ave. when two pit bulls "came out of nowhere" and attacked the dog, which was killed, said Tustin police Lt. John Strain. The woman tried to intervene but received lacerations on both hands, Strain said. She was taken to Western Medical Center...

(06-01) 17:42 PDT VACAVILLE -- There are thieves and then there are thieves who steal puppies from children. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of a man who shoved a 10-year-old Vacaville boy to the ground, snatched his favorite puppy and jumped into a getaway car as the distraught boy screamed for his pet. "I think it is horrible," said Vacaville police Sgt. Denise Quatman, who on Friday made a plea to the public to help investigators find the pet-napper and return the little dog to its owner. "It's not something...

Here is the contact information for the sheriff: Harold D. Brown Sheriff (I) 757-294-5264 Fax 757-294-5111 P.O. Box 233, Surry, VA 23883 Took Office 01/01/1991 surrysheriff@ruralam.net

Search warrant not executed at Vick home NFL.com wire reports RICHMOND, Va. (May 29, 2007) -- Authorities have a search warrant to look for as many as 30 dog carcasses on property owned by Michael Vick that is at the center of a dog fighting investigation. But the warrant has not been executed. In a news release, Sheriff Harold D. Brown said the warrant issued May 23 has not been executed at the request of Brown and Surry County Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald G. Poindexter. The release did not say why the two officials leading the investigation into possible dog fighting...

He arrived at the hotel room, where our cameras were set up, in a T-shirt and jeans. "I'm nervous," he said, surveying our lights and camera equipment. "I've never done anything like this before."

A 59-year-old woman was attacked by a friend's pit bull and hospitalized with "horrific" arm injuries, Petaluma authorities said Friday. This was the second time the dog had bitten Isabel Pollium, said Nancee Tavares, Petaluma's animal services manager. Pollium was in fair, stable condition at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital on Friday. The apparently unprovoked attack took place about 11 p.m. Thursday, Tavares said. In 2005, the 3-year-old purebred, named Dozer, bit Pollium's leg but she declined to press charges, Tavares said. It also bit another dog that year. The attack on the dog prompted a dangerous dog abatement order to...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — This is a dog story. It's about a plucky little Jack Russell terrier named George, who stood like a giant against two marauding pit bulls and gave his own life to save five kids from the steel-trap jaws and razor-sharp teeth of the vicious attack machines.

Dogs 'given P' to make them fiercer By RICHARD WOODD and LYN HUMPHREYS - Taranaki Daily News | Thursday, 3 May 2007 The pitbulls that terrified a group of children will be destroyed today, amid claims that some owners feed their dogs P to make them more aggressive. OWNER OF HERO JACK RUSSELL WANTS DOGS CONTROLLED IN TOWN Yesterday, acting on a tipoff, animal control officers and police took the rogue dogs from a Manaia property. The story made international headlines because a tiny Jack Russell terrier called George was badly mauled as he defended the children from the attack...

Owner of hero Jack Russell wants dogs controlled in town NZPA | Wednesday, 2 May 2007 The owner of a small dog that was mauled as it protected children from a pitbull attack says he's reluctant to get a replacement while unsecured dogs roam his town. TERRIER DIES TRYING TO PROTECT KIDS FROM PITBULLS George, a nine-year-old Jack Russell terrier, was put down after being savagely attacked by two pitbulls in the Taranaki township of Manaia on Sunday. George was walking into town with a group of children who lived next door when the pitbulls rushed the group, heading for...

PORT ST. LUCIE — When Dawn Sharbuno's husband came into her hospital room Thursday night where she lay with nearly her entire face ripped off by the family dog, she worried he would leave her. No, he told her, "We've been through hurricanes together. We've been through everything together. I'm not going to leave you now." Sharbuno, 46, underwent eight hours of reconstructive surgery at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where she was flown after the attack. She has three or four more surgeries to go. She had just gotten out of the pool and was sitting...

SURRY -- Property in Surry County owned by Atlanta Falcons quarterback and Newport News native Michael Vick was searched Wednesday as part of a State Police narcotics investigation -- and now there are allegations of dog fighting, too. Vick does not live there in the two-story brick house on a couple of acres, but his nephew does, State Police spokesman D.S. Carr said. Vick is not a suspect in the drug investigation, Carr said. After the State Police arrived at the Moonlight Road property, they called in Surry Animal Control. Dogs on the property appeared to be neglected, Surry County...

Toddler dies after pit bull attack From Live5 News Authorities say a toddler was mauled to death when the family pit bull got loose from inside a laundry room and attacked the young boy. Brian Palmer died Tuesday morning from his injuries. He would have turned two-years-old in August. The 2-year-old dog was euthanized, and its head was sent to Columbia for testing. Authorities say the dog had killed a family cat and fought with another dog within the last month. There were --no-- adults in the house when the attack occurred and the oldest of four children at the...

Dogs in Texas are presumed safe until proven dangerous. But maybe not for long. Under a bill that got unanimous approval in the state House on Tuesday, dog owners could be sent to jail for up to 20 years after a first-time mauling, representing a sea change in canine jurisprudence. Prosecutors in Texas operate under the "first bite is free" principle: Until a dog is proven dangerous as determined by a documented attack or an official court order, their owners generally can't be held criminally liable. House Bill 1355 would establish felony penalties for the owners of dogs that seriously...

An infamous attack six years ago may set a new legal standard. It rests on the owner's intent. SAN FRANCISCO — Did Marjorie Knoller know that walking her dogs without choke chains or muzzles could mean someone would die? The answer to that question, now before the California Supreme Court, will decide whether Knoller is returned to prison for the murder of Diane Whipple, 33, who was mauled to death six years ago by Knoller's two Presa Canarios in the hallway of her Pacific Heights apartment.

DAYTON, Ohio - Local, state and federal authorities simultaneously raided seven kennels and a warehouse where they said dogfights were about to be staged, seizing 64 dogs and arresting two dozen suspects following a yearlong investigation. All of the dogs seized Saturday night in southwest Ohio will be euthanized because they were bred to fight, even if they appear friendly to people, said John Goodwin, deputy manager of animal fighting issues of Humane Society of the United States. He called it one of the largest dogfighting investigations in Ohio history. "It's heartbreaking. You have a female pit bull and she's...

TORONTO — The bulk of the Ontario government’s controversial ban on pit bulls has survived a constitutional challenge. But two key elements were struck down in a ruling issued today by Superior Court Justice Thea Herman. Herman declared the definition of a pit bull terrier unconstitutional, and also struck down a provision that allows the province to use certificates from veterinarians to prove a dog is in fact a pit bull. Attorney General Michael Bryant says the province got “99 per cent” of what it wanted out of today’s decision. Lawyer Clayton Ruby, who led the challenge, said in a...

A 2-year-old Texas girl riding her tricycle was attacked and fatally mauled by her family's male pit bull, it was reported Friday. The Dallas County Sheriff's Department responded to a 911 call Thursday afternoon from a man believed to be the girl's father, The Dallas Morning News reported. Deputy Michael Ortiz said the girl's injuries were mainly to her face and head but neighbors who witnessed the attack said she also appeared to have been bitten on the throat and buttocks. Witnesses said the girl's father was trimming weeds nearby when one of the family's pit bulls apparently broke it...

Bill would require bad-dog insuranceBy Mark Binker Staff Writer Thursday, February 15, 2007 RALEIGH — Owners of dogs that animal control officials dub "dangerous" or "potentially dangerous" would have to carry at least $100,000 in liability insurance to keep their animals if the General Assembly passes legislation from a Piedmont Triad lawmaker. State Sen. Stan Bingham, a Davidson County Republican who represents parts of High Point, said the bill was inspired by a friend who was stuck with mounting hospital bills after a neighbor's dog attacked him "a few years" ago. "He's still paying on these hospital bills," Bingham said....

Mother: Ferret, not pit bull, gnawed off baby's toes BENTON, La. – The parents of a month-old girl whose toes were gnawed off while they slept apparently disagree about whether the culprit was their ferret or their 6-week-old pit bull. Mary Hansche, 22, told KTBS-TV on Tuesday that she thinks it was the ferret. "The way the bite marks were on her foot. The ferret being out of its cage. I knew it wasn't the dog," she said. [snip] "We were told that the puppy had blood on its fur. But when the officers arrived there, the animal did not...

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- Dozens of pit bulls seized in dogfighting investigations have bitten workers at an animal shelter and generally behaved so badly that visitors are warned away from their cages. Most of the 72 dogs bark furiously at visitors, propelling their muscled bodies against cage bars and grabbing hold of coats of passers-by, said Mark Kumpf, director of the Montgomery County Animal Control Center. The dogs were confiscated in raids by police, starting in July. The animals have been housed by the county at a cost to taxpayers of about $60,000 as the cases go through the courts....

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - A 10-year-old girl has died after being attacked by her neighbor's dog while trying to help the animal after it had gotten its collar caught on a chain link fence. Amber Jones was in her backyard Friday afternoon practicing cheerleadering moves when she noticed that in an attempt to jump over the fence, the pit bull was caught. As she had done several times before, she asked her mom if she could help the dog. He mother said yes. When the girl went to the dog's rescue, the dog attacked her. Hearing her daughter's screams, Lori...

Lori Jones heard her daughter's screams. She ran into the backyard and saw the pit bull on top of her daughter. It had bitten Amber in the stomach and was now attached to her neck. Frantic, Amber's mother tried to push the dog off. A man rushed to help and added the needed strength to get the dog away from both mother and daughter. . . . As they waited for the ambulance Lori Jones held her hands over the wounds in her daughter's neck and stomach. The dog continued to hover. Amber's father, Robert, drove from his job at...

... Police said the parents were sleeping on a mattress in the living room of their residence and the month-old girl was in an infant seat beside them when the puppy began chewing on their baby's toes ... Teresa Miller, who sold the puppy to the Hansches, was skeptical the dog did it. "He didn't chew on anything while he was with me. Out of all of them (in the litter), he was the least chewy."

A Houston-area family was mourning the death of their 4-old-son who was killed by two pit bulls that attacked as he was playing with his 2-year-old brother. Pedro Rios died of his injuries Tuesday afternoon in a mobile home park east of Houston, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday. He and his brother were playing when the dogs approached. The younger boy managed to escape. The boys' mother heard screams and raced to the boy and tried pulling the dogs off but they wouldn't let go until lights and sirens of sheriff's deputies' cars startled them, the report said. Deputies killed...

Pit bull owners more likely to be criminals Washington November 17, 2006 - 12:23PM People who own vicious dogs such as pit bulls have significantly more criminal convictions - including crimes against children - than owners of licensed, gentler dogs such as beagles, American researchers report. A study of 355 dog owners in Ohio showed that every owner of a high-risk breed known for aggression had at least one brush with the law, from traffic citations to serious criminal convictions. And 30 per cent of people who owned an aggressive breed of dog and who also had been cited at...

My sweet little cocker spaniel dog was nearly killed by two pitbulls who jumped a fence to get to her. She crossed a nearby driveway and they got her. By the time my neighbors got the dogs off, (within seconds) the pits had grounded my dog, tore out her left eye, dislocated her left leg, and left ten gaping wounds in her body. She couldn't move or even howl in pain. That's how I found her.My dog weighs 40 pounds. She's large for her breed. She's AKC registered and pedigreed. She was a very beautiful dog. This happened 10 days...