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But I have a problem with pit bulls. And it has more to do with the two-legged creatures holding their leashes (if there is a leash).Because of their sheer numbers—estimates show that there are anywhere from 5 million to 10 million pit-bull-type dogs in the U.S. today, out of about 61 million total dogs—pits have become the dog du jour for a lot of people, not just gangbangers and wannabe thugs who use a pit as proxy for toughness. About 20 percent of dogs in ASPCA shelters are pit mixes. I've seen those who adopt these dogs for all the...

Man Wants Punishment for Dog Shooting By JOHN GEROME Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)--A traffic stop following erroneous reports of a robbery ended in heartbreak when the family dog bounded out of the car, his tail wagging, and was shot to death by police. Now, the dog's owner wants the police officers punished, and the officer who pulled the trigger says he's been getting death threats. ``I don't ever want to see this happen to anybody else. That's why we can't let this go away,'' said James Smoak, who owned the 1 1/2-year-old pit bull-boxer mix named Patton. Cookeville...

In Maury County tonight a family grieves the loss of a pet and waits for answers. The family claims a school officer shot their dog. Just as school let out at Highland Park Elementary School on Friday in Columbia, a family who lives adjacent to the school says a school officer came over and shot their dog. The family says the officer shot the dog without warning. The two year old Labrador Retriever was shot right in front of Betty Rimaudo’s daughter. Rimaudo says she confronted the officer. “ I saw the officer standing there and I said, ‘Did you...

SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. -- The owner of three dogs that fatally mauled an 82-year-old neighbor in Virginia has been sentenced to three years in prison. Deanna Large was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in December for the death of Dorothy Sullivan, who was attacked by the roaming pit bulls last March. Large was also found guilty of two misdemeanor charges for allowing her dogs to run loose. She could have faced up to 10 years in prison. During the trial, witnesses testified that Large's pit bulls menaced the neighborhood. At one point, Large had 13 pit bulls in her trailer. Animal control...

Cecil Wallace awoke about 4:30 a.m. Saturday to the bawling of cows and the howling of dogs. The Buford farmer grabbed his shotgun and went running out the back door. His son and next-door neighbor, Kenneth Wallace, also jarred awake — also carrying a shotgun — joined him. Father and son ran toward the pasture... ...Reaching the pasture, the Wallaces saw a cow, bloodied and torn, its calf standing nearby. As they approached the animal, according to reports, two dogs came running towards them. Kenneth Wallace raised his 12-gauge. Boom! The larger dog hit the dirt, howling. Wallace fired again,...

69-year-old Victim in Critical Condition Three pit bull terriers attacked their owner, inside a Frankford home Wednesday night. 69-Year-Old Margaret Grace is hospitalized in critical but stable condition, after having surgeries to repair injuries to her face, ear, arm, and leg. Philadelphia Police say Grace was mauled by the three dogs in the living room of her home in the 5400 block of Montague Street. Grace lives in the home with her daughter and adult grandson. All three had ownership of the dogs. Right now, it's still unclear what provoked the attack. The victim's daughter says the dogs did not...

The scene was so gruesome that even seasoned emergency responders broke down and cried. "They were never agressive; never seen them agressive," Watson said. "Never bit no one." "I'm scared," Watson said. "I've got three kids who are going to be without a mom to be there for them." Watson was sentenced to seven years in prison; that's part of the reason she can't stop crying.

Fed up with pit bulls, a Saginaw man sets out to trap them by Dean Bohn The Saginaw News Saturday April 04, 2009, 8:01 AM Tracy D. Albert said he's had enough of pit bulls. So he's setting out traps to catch them and is offering a $50 reward for the name of the owner who brought pit bulls into his yard and urged them to attack his cat. He said he wants to prosecute them "after I talk to their mommy and daddy about what they've been doing." Albert said his family's 13-year-old cat, "Lucky," was sunning itself outside...

Tiny Jasmine Rawlings had just finished playing on a trampoline in grandmother Carole White's front garden on Park View, Woodbury, when the dog attacked, biting into her jaw and pinning her down. Jasmine, who was admitted to hospital after Friday's attack, returned home on Sunday and yesterday had her 85 stitches removed. Mum Lisa White, 21, pulled the Golden Retriever clear before calling an ambulance and Jasmine's father, Jason Rawlings, who was at home in Exmouth following his shift as night superviser at the Southgate Hotel in Exeter. "When I saw Jasmine later she was crying and wailing as the...

WASHINGTON - A Northeast Washington woman is talking about her encounter with the pit bull that attacked her in an alley as she walked her 3-year-old daughter to day care. Patrice Langley was bitten on her arm and stomach. She says she still worries about what her daughter saw. "She seen me get attacked by a dog that was just about to attack her,' Langley said. Langley got out of the hospital late Tuesday night. On Wednesday, she walked back to the alley where she and her 3-year-old daughter Emoni came to face to face with a pit bull on...

Any dog who can pretend to snore while keeping one eye open on the sly is a keeper for sure! And as far as her new family is concerned—not to mention the entire neighborhood—Scarlet the pit bull is more than just a keeper. She’s an inspiration. Wes and Melissia McBride of Rolla, Missouri, were on the Best Friends website hoping to find a dog to adopt. At first, they thought perhaps one of the Vicktory dogs, but most of them are still not ready for homes. When they contacted Best Friends, the adoption staffers pointed them toward Scarlet on Adorable...

Italy is to scrap its blacklist of dangerous dogs, replacing it with a law making owners more responsible for their pet`s training and behaviour, Health Undersecretary Francesca Martini said Tuesday. The new law, which will come into effect in April, will wipe clean the current list of 17 breeds which are considered potentially dangerous, including Rottweilers, pit bull terriers, bull mastiffs and American bulldogs. Under the current law, owners of these breeds are required to keep them muzzled in public places and ensure that they pose no danger to others, while failure to respect the law can result in the...

The story of Daisy Mae the pit bull is like that of any other survivor — she suffered pain, got back on her feet, and is now living a sweeter, more meaningful life because of her experience. Daisy Mae, formerly part of a dogfighting operation, is now a therapy dog in Santa Barbara making weekly rounds at Cottage Hospital’s pediatric ward and Villa Riviera retirement home. Gentle and affectionate, the three-year-old cuddles with the elderly and frail, and even allows small children to hold her tight when they are undergoing painful medical procedures. Her miracle of rehabilitation mirrors that of the dogs...

A SEVEN-month-old boy has been killed by two pit bull dogs at his grandmother's house. Texan news website Mysanantonio.com reports Izaiah Gregory Cox was attacked when his grandmother left the room to warm milk bottles. She was also attacked and injured by the dogs. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said officers had to shoot the dogs so that paramedics could get into the house. "What can you say about the death of a seven-month-old baby at the hands of pit bulls?" he asked. "It's senseless without words."

A Warren toddler is recovering after being attacked by a pit bull over the weekend. Three year old Christine Francis required 19 stitches after the animal bit her face. The dog got inside her home on Saturday after her father trapped it on the front porch, hoping animal control officers would come and pick it up. However, due to budget constraints, no one was available. The girl's father, Thomas Holmes, says he understands the city's financial concerns, but feels an exception should be made when it involves something dangerous. "I know those dogs aren't good to have around. When something...

The Central Texas toddler attacked and killed by a pit bull wandered into a backyard with the dog while his mother slept. 18-month-old Tyson Miller died Thursday in Luling. Police say the child woke up before any of the adults in the house and walked outside through an open door. His mother, Melissa Miller, woke up between 12:15 and 12:30 p.m. She told police she searched the house then went to the backyard and discovered her son with severe wounds to his head and neck. Police say it appeared the child had been dead for "a while" but they don't...

HOMESTEAD, Pa. -- The owner of a pit bull in Homestead defended her dog Sunday after it attacked a 7-year-old neighbor. Jenna Dunn has 40 stitches on her face after she pet Princess the dog last week. The dog's owner, Kelly Gasch, said she feels awful about what happened inside her home but added that she warned the little girl to stay away from the dog on the morning of the attack.

By Shomari Stone & KOMO Staff KING COUNTY, Wash. -- The owner of the two pit bulls that viciously mauled his elderly neighbor has been sentenced to seven years in prison. Travis Dean Cunningham was sentenced in an incident in which his two dogs attacked a 71-year-old woman near her home in SeaTac. Investigators said the dogs attacked Huong Le on the morning of September 8, 2008 as she returned home from walking her grandchild to the school bus stop. Family members said Le chose not to be present for Friday's sentencing because her emotional scars from the attack have...

anuary 6, 2009 THOMASVILLE, GA (WALB) - A 5-year-old girl was killed by her family's pitbull dogs in Thomasville. Monday evening in the confines of a fence marked with a sign "Beware of Dog," three dogs attacked and killed one of their owners, five-year-old Chyenne Peppers. Neighbors didn't want their names or faces on camera but said they heard the shouting in her backyard at 105 Executive Drive. "I heard some screaming and carrying on and I just assumed they were out playing," says the woman. The Peppers own three pit bulls. Animal control says one was roaming loose in...

January 7, 2009 BAINBRIDGE, GA (WALB) - New information on the horrific dog attack Tuesday. Animal control officers caught another one of the five dogs Wednesday. But two are still on the loose. 73-year-old Joanne Johns told us she often walks on Johnny Skipper Road. That's what she was doing Tuesday morning when a pack of dogs attacked her. Johns underwent seven hours of surgery at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Wednesday she was in cardiac intensive care. She'll have more surgery Thursday. Doctors think she's going to be okay, though she will need a lot of plastic surgery to repair wounds...

Tough Talk For Dog Owners About The Obama Presidency Apathy, Inaction May Doom Dog Ownership in America by JOHN YATES American Sporting Dog Alliance http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org asda@csonline.net WASHINGTON – Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States following a landslide victory based on strong support from an overwhelming percentage of the electorate. He also carried the Democratic Party to virtually unassailable power in both the House and Senate. Obama sought after and received the strong endorsement of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and this animal rights organization most certainly will try to cash in its...

Archdale, NC -- It sounds too bizarre to be true, but a local woman fended off a four-legged intruder's attack with a butcher knife. Nancy Verzone says a loose pit bull first went after her rat terrier in her backyard. When she snatched her dog from the pit bull's jaws, the attacking dog followed her inside. "Here I was just stabbing just as hard as I could to get him to let go and he kept coming and coming," says Verzone, who has the bloody t-shirt to prove it. "The harder I stabbed the more he got mad," she says....

LANCASTER [CALIFORNIA} - County Animal Control officers have concluded a two-month effort to crack down on pit bulls, an effort that led to nearly 100 citations and the rounding up of more than 150 canines. The crackdown was initiated in September by Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, whose 5th District includes the Antelope Valley. Antonovich was responding to complaints raised by the City Council concerning the number of pit bull-related injuries in Lancaster. Councilmembers were advised Nov. 12 that county Animal Control officers had raided 42 illegal kennels, investigated 87 pit bull owners for possible inhumane treatment, investigated...

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- 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...

Buddy uses a plastic green donut to play tug of war with his cage mate. Camden licks her handler's face as he feeds her a hot dog. And Franco has eyes only for his tennis ball. Those three dogs were among a group of "Super Seven" pit bulls on display yesterday at the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, which held its first-ever "Super Star Pit Bull'' adoption event. "We're trying to bring them back into the home," said Susie Gilbert, intake team leader for the North Side humane society and organizer of the event. "This dog is a great family dog....

TAMPA, FL -- Angel the pit bull received quit a bit of attention recently after her story exposed many people to her plight. She was tossed from a moving car and managed to move her malnourished body to a home while she waited to be rescued. She is making a tremendous recovery so she was able to lead Saturday's Pit Bulls Pounding the Pavement Parade at the corner of Bayshore and Bay To Bay Boulevard. She joined at least 40 other so called bully breeds and their owners for a 4 mile walk to promote a positive image for a...

Cesar Millian The Dog Whisperer 5 Ways Never to Behave Around Your Dog Dogs need a leader. In the wild, they look to a pack leader for guidance. In your home, your dog needs that leader to be you.... What make a pack leader? Here are five steps to becoming one: 1. Never be aggressive. ...always compassionate, but quietly in control. 2. Never project weak energy. ...A dominant dog will have its head up, chest forward... you should follow suit: Stand...straight... hold your head high! 3. Never let yourself get too worked up. ... Pack members must trust their leaders,...

5-year old Dies After Being Mauled by Pit Bull KTLA News September 30, 2008 SIMI VALLEY -- A 5-year-old girl has died after being mauled by a pit bull in a family friend's back yard in Simi Valley, authorities said. Katya Todesco, of Simi Valley, was attacked by the dog while she and her mother, Katia Todesco, were visiting a friend last Tuesday night in the 1000 block of Appleton Road, said Lt. Paul Fitzpatrick of the Simi Valley Police Department. The little girl and the friend's 13-year-old daughter were playing in the back yard when the 5-year-old bumped into...

It was a tragic scene in North Las Vegas involving a baby and two dogs. A four-month-old was attacked by two Pit Bulls. The dogs were attacking so viciously police say they had to shoot them dead upon arriving at the scene. Residents in the neighborhood near Cheyenne and Martin Luther King say they are shocked but not surprised that it happened. Neighbors tell News 3 the two Pit Bulls were full grown dogs and when the baby girl arrived at the house four months ago they began to display aggressive behavior towards the child and anyone who held her....

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