Father pleading for pit bull owners to be trained after daughter bit

CANADA -- A Penticton man is hoping to bring awareness and education to dog owners after his nine-year-old daughter was attacked by a pit bull.

Seann Gentry and his daughter Haley were visiting a friend earlier this month who owned the pit bull. The animal was unprovoked before biting Haley’s arm.

Haley has since recovered, and while she still bears marks from the bite, Gentray said she is in good health.

“Haley’s doing fine. We went to trauma counselling today. We didn’t even step in the office because she’s strong and is over that, and we don’t want to relive the horror.”

Gentray is now hoping to garner support for an awareness campaign to educate pet owners about the dangers of not having animals socialized.

“I believe the owners should be trained. Some of the provinces (pit bulls) have been banned, basically, but how many of our children have to be maimed and is that dog next door safe with children around the home,” Gentray said.

Since the incident, Gentray has been reading up on the subject of animal socialization, currently looking to Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin as a guide. Grandin, an autistic woman who has had a biographical film made about her life, is an advocate for animal welfare and a professor of animal science at Colorado State University.

Gentray agrees with her views on animal socialization, and hopes to get the word out to minimize attacks.

“I just want to bring awareness out,” Gentry said. “You have to socialize your dog.”

A study by the non-profit organization DogsBite.org  analyzed press accounts of animal attacks in Canada and the U.S. between 1982 and 2014.

That study found that incidents involving pit bulls greatly outnumbered that of any other breed with the number of instances causing bodily harm totalling at 3,397, with pit bulls responsible for over 60 per cent of attacks.

The study has received backlash from bloggers since its release and the debate between whether it’s the owner or the breed is not one that Gentray is entering.

“It’s a little bit of both. We have to train the people, we have to educate them about their dog’s social activities and that sort of thing,” Gentray said.

The non-profit organization HugABull is a community and advocacy group made up of pit bull owners, advocates enthusiasts, and their website lists the Penticton SPCA as a pit bull-friendly shelter.

“Any dog has the capacity to be aggressive, be it a Chihuahua or be it a pit bull,” said Corinne Ross, branch manager BC SPCA South Okanagan/Similkameen branch.

Oh yes, the oft-repeated complaint of Chihuahuas being more aggressive than pit bulls. OK, that MAY be the case but a Chihuahua will not maul your face off. A Chihuahua will not pull your arms and legs off. A pack of Chihuahuas will not pull you down and rip your guts out like a pack of pit bulls will.

Pit bull rips off owner's arms

Woman loses part of leg after pit bulls 'raised in a loving home' attack

Girl attacked by dogs continues long recovery

Amputee dog attack victim will
have prosthetic limb within weeks

Child dog attack victim: 'I thought I was going to die'

Girl who lost an arm aged 8 after being mauled by two
pit bulls in sustained attack awarded $72 MILLION by jury

Boy, 10, faces years of facial reconstructive surgery after
he is viciously mauled by two pit-bulls while riding
on a scooter he got for Christmas

Dog attack survivor, 50, who lost his arm, leg and EAR after he was
viciously mauled by a dozen pit bulls reveals he is haunted by nightmares of the attack

From the jaws of a pit bull to recovery

“I’ve had volunteers in this organization who have had pit bulls who would roll over, have lived with kittens, puppies, other dogs, other people, walked down the street to heel without a leash on and they are awesome,” Ross said. “But there can be the capacity for that dog to be aggressive if it’s been brought up that way.”

Ross’ sentiments echoed Gentray’s in that socialization is key to how a dog related to people or other dogs.

“It can have very bad consequences if they are not socialized as puppies and trained and looked after like any dog should be. A lot of it is about socialization,” Ross said.

Gentray is still formulating how he is going to proceed with bringing awareness to the public, though he hopes to work hand-in-hand with dog trainers to organize a protocol regarding handling and educating dog owners about everything they need to know to safely own their pet.

“My daughter loves animals. Myself and my daughter we just want to educate the people and recommend Temple Grandin because I believe she’s the expert,” Gentray said.

“You can’t always put a dog on a leash. You have to expose them to themselves because they are just as dangerous when they are locked up in every yard. They should socialize,” Gentray said. “We can’t have any more victims.”

(Penticton Western News - Apr 14, 2015)