"I'm not gonna 'get over it'. I'll never get over it."

Victim in pit bull attack wants breed banned

WISCONSIN -- A 56-year-old Wausau woman who was mauled last month while trying to save her dog from a pit bull that attacked it now is pushing the city to ban all pit bulls from Wausau.

Cindy Ryder was attacked June 19 by a neighbor's pit bull after it charged from its home on the 900 block of Washington Street, just feet from her home. Ryder bent to protect her Chihuahua, Bartok, as the pit bull came at her and was bitten in the arm, wrist and back of the head.

 

The pit bull eventually was brought under control by the father of the dog's owner, but it was too late for Bartok. Ryder was taken by ambulance to the hospital as Bartok took his last breaths in the arms of a neighbor.

Still suffering from her injuries, Ryder now is starting an effort to petition the city to ban all pit bulls.

"I feel if I don't do something about this, it will never get accomplished," Ryder said.

Wausau police already have declared the pit bull that attacked as "prohibited dangerous" and it remains quarantined at the Humane Society of Marathon County. According to city ordinance, the owner of the dog, Amanda Williams, had five days to remove the pit bull from the city or to appeal the declaration that the dog is dangerous to the city's Public Health and Safety Committee.

A 56-year-old Wausau woman who was mauled last month while trying to save her dog from a pit bull that attacked it now is pushing the city to ban all pit bulls from Wausau.

Cindy Ryder was attacked June 19 by a neighbor's pit bull after it charged from its home on the 900 block of Washington Street, just feet from her home. Ryder bent to protect her Chihuahua, Bartok, as the pit bull came at her and was bitten in the arm, wrist and back of the head. The pit bull eventually was brought under control by the father of the dog's owner, but it was too late for Bartok. Ryder was taken by ambulance to the hospital as Bartok took his last breaths in the arms of a neighbor.

Still suffering from her injuries, Ryder now is starting an effort to petition the city to ban all pit bulls.
"I feel if I don't do something about this, it will never get accomplished," Ryder said.

Wausau police already have declared the pit bull that attacked as "prohibited dangerous" and it remains quarantined at the Humane Society of Marathon County. According to city ordinance, the owner of the dog, Amanda Williams, had five days to remove the pit bull from the city or to appeal the declaration that the dog is dangerous to the city's Public Health and Safety Committee.

"I have seen it from awesome dogs, I have seen it from poodles, from shepherds, from pit bulls," Kirlin said. "I have seen it from just about every breed that is out there."

To prevent attacks, training and socialization is key, said Kirlin. She said anyone who owns a dog should be prepared to raise it just as they would raise a child — with love, attention and discipline.

"You get what you put in," Kirlin said. "We are supposed to be the smarter species."

The ordinance change Ryder is pursuing would not be a first for the state. Some areas have either banned the breed or have specific requirements in their care. Others have permitted pit bulls but declared the breed as a whole as "dangerous" or "vicious" without prior examination of each individual dog.

(Wausau Daily Herald - July 10, 2014)

Earlier:

• Woman in pit bull attack feared for her life