6/27/13: Florida man gets 14 years for beating friend's dog to death with tire iron

FLORIDA -- A Florida sicko has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for beating a shop owner's beloved dog to death with a tire iron.

Kevin Koscielniak, 52, pleaded no contest to the charges including animal cruelty and armed burglary in Sarasota court Wednesday, the local Herald-Tribune newspaper reported.

The walls and ceiling of John's Automotive on Snug Harbor Place were spattered with blood after Koscielniak broke into the shop on April 27 and bludgeoned owner John Olaya's mastiff, Ashton, to death.

The brute sold scrap metal he collected at the shop, but had been kicked off the property earlier in the day for showing up drunk, the newspaper reported.

Security footage showed him climbing a barbed wire fence and breaking into the shop after it had closed for the day.

According to WFLA.com, Olaya saw footage of Koscielniak beating his dog to death.

The 4-year-old pup's battered remains were later found buried on an adjacent property. A bloody blanket was discovered in Koscielniak's truck.

"This was a senseless act of violence indicative of a depraved mind," state prosecutor Art Jackman said.

Koscielniak is a career thug with a long rap sheet, including busts for burglary and battery, according to the Herald-Tribune.

(NY Daily News - June 27, 2013)

NOTE: Iowa, take notice. Beating an animal to death is animal cruelty! ("Appeals Court: Beating a puppy to death with baseball bat is not torture")

Earlier:

• Deputies: Man beat boss’ dog to death in Sarasota

6/19/13: Man cited in two separate dog incidents

TENNESSEE -- Less than a month after being attacked by a dog in her neighborhood, a Lebanon woman said there's been another incident involving a dog owned by the same man.

On May 22, Jane Counts was walking her Boston Terrier in her subdivision when a Great Pyrenees, weighing around 125 pounds, attacked her from behind.

 

 Counts was bitten, scratched and mauled on both legs as well as under her arm.

"I was really fearing for my life. It was very, very vicious. So afraid I could not get off," she remembered.

The 50-year-old woman said she is still in pain and has terrible scars. It took more than 100 stitches to close all of her bite wounds.

Counts believes she could have suffered a worse fate if a motorist hadn't have come by when the attack took place.

"Yes, she was driving by and I grabbed my dog and jumped in the back of her car," she explained.

The Great Pyrenees was owned by Andy Poston, who lives nearby.

"I am very sorry about it. I apologized to Ms. Counts and we had our dog put down, and that was the end of it," Poston said.

Police stated that the dog was euthanized and Poston was cited for not having current rabies vaccinations.

He ultimately tested negative for rabies.

On Tuesday, Counts called Animal Control on Poston again.

She said she witnessed another one of his dogs, a chocolate Labrador, get loose and allegedly act aggressively toward another neighbor walking his dog.

"The man was walking his dog. He was very scared. He didn't know what to do," she said.

Poston told Nashville's News 2 that on Tuesday, their lab got loose.

"We had it in the garage ever since," he said. "She is about 15 years old and my son was right behind her up the street to get her."

Poston was cited into court once again for having a dog running at large.

 

Lebanon's police Chief Scott Bowen said that pet owners are ultimately responsible for their own pets.

"As an animal owner, you have to be responsible. It's not the animals fault. Ultimately it is up to you to make sure that your animal is under control," Bowen explained.

Counts is undergoing laser treatments for her scars. She said she amassed medical bills and lost time at work as an independent sales person.

 

(WKRN - June 19, 2013)

Earlier:

• 125-pound dog that attacked Lebanon woman will be euthanized

6/12/13: Pit bull kills Abingdon couple's beloved pet

ILLINOIS -- Bob was a particular feline.

He liked to get up early in the morning. He liked to make sure his owners, Lissa Mings and Bobby Landon, filled his food bowl. And when weather allowed, he liked to be let outside for a lap around the house before settling on the front porch to gaze and blink at the world as it passed through Abingdon.

“That was Bob. He was a good cat,” Landon said Monday afternoon. “He had his own personality. Some people might not understand this — but Bob was a big part of our family.”

You may have noticed Landon spoke of Bob in the past tense. That’s because the black cat that brought his own indelible personality to the house Mings and Landon share at 411 W. South St. is dead.

Bob died Saturday morning after being attacked by a pit bull.

Bob, right, and Nemo share a moment.
Bob was attacked, mauled and killed by a pit bull.

Mings, who found Bob when he was a stray, is distraught. Landon is saddened. And angry. He relayed the horror he and Mings experienced Saturday because he — like a growing number of people in Knox County — thinks something needs to be done about dog attacks.

“Bob was up early Saturday,” said Landon, who serves the city of Abingdon as a volunteer firefighter. “And when he gets up, somebody has to get up. He is adamant about his food. Even if he doesn’t eat right away, he wants to see you put food in his bowl.

“Then I let him out. Bob is — was — one of those easy-going cats. He didn’t chase squirrels or bother the birds. He’d do his one lap around the house and sit on the front porch and just watch. That’s what he did.”

Landon let Bob out. The cat was joined by his feline buddy, Nemo.

“I started getting ready for work,” Landon said. “I was getting dressed and I heard a thump against the front door. Then I heard a single, distressed meow.

“I knew there was something wrong on the porch.”

Barefoot, in boxers and a shirt, Landon threw open the front door. He said he’ll never forget what he saw.

“There were two big dogs on the porch — a big black pit bull and a big black rottweiler,” Landon said. “And the pit bull had Bob in its mouth.”

Landon grabbed a handgun.

“I didn’t know what else to do,” he said. “And I went back to the porch and as soon as I drew down on those dogs, they took off.”

Then Landon heard the screams of Nemo from around the side of the house. He reached the scene and found the cat on top of a birdhouse and another pit bull — tan in color — circling.

“I saw Nemo was safe and went flying down South Street toward the highway (Illinois 41),” Landon said. “I almost caught those dogs. They crossed the highway and a car came by and I had to stop.

“And I’ll never forget this. That black pit bull was on the other side and it just turned and looked right at me. I felt like it was almost taunting me.”

Landon rushed back to check on Bob.

“He wasn’t on the porch,” he said. “Lissa was out of the house and I told her to call the police and to call a vet. I called out for Bob once. And we heard him cry.”

The couple found Bob under a car in their driveway.

“By the time I put the car in neutral and pushed it clear of Bob, I knew from one look Bob was dying,” Landon said. “His pupils were dilated. His breathing was abnormal. He was going to die.”

Landon praised the Abingdon police, who were on the scene in moments. They took pictures of the scene and took Landon’s statement while Mings raced to get Bob to the vet’s office in Roseville.

Bob lasted just three minutes in the vet’s care.

“He died after getting to the vet’s office,” Landon said. “They couldn’t save him. The dog had done too much damage.”

Landon knows who owns all three of the dogs. It’s not the first time they’ve run free in Abingdon.

“I’m told that the owners knew their dogs were loose the night before — that they had tried to get them in, but gave up when the dogs took off,” Landon said. “And right now, the only thing they can be cited for is allowing their dogs to roam off a leash.”

Landon said people should be tired of dog owners who don’t have to take responsibility for the actions of their pets.

“On one hand, I don’t want to see a ban on pit bulls because I don’t know that we want to tell people what kind of pet they can own,” Landon said. “But it is ridiculous that there is no accountability for what a pet does.

“What if Lissa and I let a small child out on that porch? What if that had been a kid the dogs found and not a cat? Here’s a fact — no one owns a pit bull. That kind of dog owns you. We know they are a breed of dog that can snap any time. They snap and they can kill another pet. They snap and they can kill a child.”

Landon said owners who let dogs like pit bulls and rottweilers roam free should face heavy fines. And he said owners of dogs that kill should face jail time.

“If you are negligent with a car or a gun or you kill someone out of some other kind of negligence, you are held accountable. And you should be,” Landon said. “Why don’t dog owners have to take responsibility for what their dog does?”

Now Mings and Landon are dealing with a death in their family.

“People can laugh and say ‘It was just a cat. It was just a pet.’ But Bob was much more than that,” Landon said. “Bob loved us. And we loved him. It didn’t matter that he was a cat. Lissa rescued him and loved him and he was a living thing with a personality who gave her a lot of joy.

“I’m angry. But mostly I’m sad. Sad for Lissa. And sad for Bob. He had to suffer. No living thing should have to die the way he did.”

(PJ Star - Jun 12, 2013)

What sixty bites from three pit bulls looks like

GEORGIA -- On first glance this looks like a homicide scene photo.

It's not.

It's how the victim of an Athens dog attack appeared before the ambulance arrived.

According to an EMS worker, Montes
had over 60 bite wounds across his body.

Luckily, none of Bertildo Montez's major arteries were cut during the mauling and he's recovered nicely.

The three dogs were euthanized.

(Joe Johnson Facebook - July 12, 2013)

Earlier:

• Pit bulls attack jogger in Athens

6/26/13: ASPCA uses USDA photos in fight over puppy mills

UNITED STATES -- The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is bolstering its campaign against puppy mills by showing photos of sick puppies and harsh kennel conditions taken by the federal agency that licenses commercial breeders.

The organization has added 10,000 photos to its "NoPetStorePuppies" website showing dogs at breeders across the U.S. with matted hair, bloody stool, long nails, injured eyes and dental disease.

The pictures were taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the past few years and were obtained through a public-records request. The breeders were warned or given citations to correct the problems.

The ASPCA wants people to boycott puppy sales in pet stores and on the Internet, the places where most puppy mill animals are sold. It included the photos in a database that can be searched by breeder, license number or ZIP code.

"A lot of pet stores will say, 'We don't get pets from puppy mills, but from USDA-licensed breeders," said Cori Menkin, senior director of the ASPCA puppy mills campaign.

Rod and Lindsey Rebhan bought a miniature Australian shepherd for $1,000 at a Novi, Mich., Petland store in 2011. The newlyweds considered Jack "our first baby, our little boy," Lindsey Rebhan said.

About a month later, the dog had its first seizure. After 25 seizures over the next four months, he had to be put down.

Because Jack's epilepsy was so severe, vets said it was probably hereditary. The store refunded the sale price, but didn't pay vet bills.

"I'm pretty sure it was hush money," Lindsay Rebhan said.

If the couple had seen the website, they would never have been in the pet store, Lindsey Rebhan said.

Jack came from Evergreen Designer LLC, owned by Daniel Schlabach in Fresno, Ohio, according to purchase papers and the ASPCA website. Phone messages left for Schlabach were not returned.

Photos of the kennel taken Nov. 2, 2011, show a dog with scabs and ulcerations on his muzzle; an underweight dog; four dogs with diarrhea; dirt and hair buildup in den boxes; two dogs with raw skin on their paws; one with a cloudy left eye; and one with a runny nose and a cough.

In a reply to an email query, Petland Novi said it didn't discuss customer claims because its customers are entitled to privacy.

The puppy mill fight started long ago. Agencies took up the cause as the number of pet owners telling heartbreaking stories of illness, death and costly vet care swelled. The sale of puppy mill dogs has been banned in some cities, including Los Angeles. Stores can sell shelter animals or hold adoption events on weekends.

Dead dog found in cage in outside run area

The ASPCA and other animal welfare groups claim the way dogs are kept at some breeders — where they are producing hundreds of puppies at a time — cause chronic physical ailments, genetic defects or fear of humans.

Breeding females are overbred, kept in unsanitary, crowded cages without vet care, adequate food or water. When they can no longer breed, they usually are killed, experts say.

When the puppies are sold, they often are stuffed into crowded trucks and hauled thousands of miles, sometimes getting sick from the trip itself, arriving in bad shape and unable to bounce back from illness or parasites.

"Not all breeders run puppy mills," Menkin said. "Breeders without violations typically won't appear in the database, but if they're only meeting USDA standards, and not exceeding them, then we would consider their operation a puppy mill."

The database photos go back to 2010, and the number for each breeder varies.

"I have not studied it because it's a waste of time," said Karen Strange, a lobbyist for the Missouri Federation of Animal Owners. "Much of the information is old, and it's a publicity stunt for the ASPCA ... and other radical animal rights groups to garner money from the unknowing public."

USDA records show a third of the 2,205 licensed dog breeders in the country are in Missouri.

Republican state Sen. Mike Parsons of Bolivar, Mo., recently told the Legislature there that commercial dog breeding in Missouri was a $1 billion industry that employs thousands and spends millions every year on dog food, veterinarian services and utilities.

Strange said some breeders contacted her when they heard about the photos, wondering how they should react. She said they were told to conduct business as usual and if they were in compliance with state and federal law, they had nothing to worry about.

Outside part of adult shelter building. May 4, 2011

Menkin disagrees, citing legal loopholes. For example, she said, federal law says a breeder must have an attending veterinarian, but it doesn't say dogs have to be handled by the vet.

Tanya Espinosa, a legislative and public affairs spokeswoman for the USDA's Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service, said the agency would not comment on the website.

The ASPCA obtained the photos through the Freedom of Information Act and plans to continue posting pictures, Menkin said.

Heather Nyein in Syosset, N.Y., bought a Shiba Inu at a pet store in January. She said Kiku, now 7 months old, came from an Iowa puppy mill.

It had kennel cough, and the store reimbursed Nyein $160 for two vet visits and medicine. Kiku survived.

"I completely lucked out with her," Nyein said after looking at some of the photos on the website.
If she had seen the pictures before getting Kiku, "I wouldn't have done it. I wouldn't do it again."

She's getting another dog, "but this time it will be from a Shiba rescue."

(WRAL - June 26, 2013)

Related:

• ASPCA "Where pet store puppies come from"

Owners put down pit bull after puppy attacked

CANADA -- The pit bull dog that savagely attacked a puppy in Chemainus last week is dead.

"The owners have had it put down. These are wonderful people who just did the right thing," said Sheila Wray, who last week shared the story of how Zorro, her three-month-old shepherd/husky cross, had been mauled by an unattached pit bull that appeared suddenly down at Kin Park.

Wray said Tuesday, July 2 that she had been happy to hear from the dog's owners almost immediately. "The next day after the article came out in the Citizen, I got contacted by the pit bull owner. That was really wonderful. It was real closure for me because you hear about these bad dog owners, especially in relation to pit bulls. But they were the exact opposite of all that.

"They'd adopted this pit bull two years ago from another owner. They had watched it closely and it didn't appear to have any aggression issues or anything. But they did have it chained up in the yard so my guess is they still must have had some concerns. In any case, it had gotten loose and the woman had run down to the beach shortly after the whole thing had happened and I imagine got her dog back then."

Wray had left the park to go to the veterinary clinic by that time so she was unaware of what had happened.

"The dog got put down. These are wonderful people who just did the right thing. He said it broke his heart to do it but they had to do it because if it's happened once it could happen again. And they also said they'd pick up all my vet bills. It was wonderful, it really was," Wray said.

Now, she can concentrate on making sure little Zorro is not permanently harmed by his experience.

"Oh he's absolutely not traumatized at all. He remembers, but it comes out in strange little ways. For instance, there's a big boxer who lives next door. He's a gentle giant of a dog and he's played with Zorro in the past. Well, he came running out of nowhere and spooked little Zorro and Zorro came yelping back briefly with his tail between his legs like he'd been injured and he then turned around when he realized who it was he went back and played with [the boxer] for the rest of the afternoon.

"He knows he's safe but once in a while he gets spooked."

Wray said she was happy to have the chance to talk about the story's conclusion.

"I think it's important to know the follow-up, especially around pit bulls and their owners. These people were wonderful, they were just horrified at what happened. In the owner's words, his wife was mortified by it. They contacted me, too, I didn't have to hunt them down, which I didn't want to have to do."

[So if we're going with the argument that it's bad owners who train them to be this way, then we must blame this couple and say that they must have beat the dog and abused it and "made" it mean. Or are we going to give them a pass and say that, although they'd owned the dog for two years, we're going to blame the previous unnamed owner - that it's his fault that this dog attacked this puppy?]

(Cowichan Valley Citizen - July 2, 2013)

Earlier:

• North Cowichan puppy attacked by wandering pit bull

6/19/13: Horse Rescued From Tire In Barbour County

WEST VIRGINIA -- A horse in Barbour County found itself in wheel trouble.

Belington police, firefighters and residents pitched in to come to the horse’s rescue when the horse somehow got stuck in a tire Monday in the town.

A police officer spotted the horse and other emergency workers then came to the horse’s rescue.

 

It took them about 30 minutes, but they were finally able to free the horse. The horse was taken to a local veterinarian and is doing OK.

One of the horse's owners, Tonya Long, told The Inter-Mountain in Elkins that she believes Rowdy got stuck after an altercation with other horses.

No one really knows for certain how the horse got into the predicament, but for the horse, it turned out to be a “Goodyear.”

(WCHS - June 19, 2013)

6/26/13: Raynham ACO rescues pricey homing pigeon injured en route from Tennessee to Cape Cod

MASSACHUSETTS -- Raynham Animal Control Officer Casey Dwyer has had his hands full lately — and not just with cats and dogs.

In the span of a few days last week, he herded a peacock, drove around with a pot belly pig named Wilson on his lap and rescued a homing pigeon injured on his way from Tennessee to Cape Cod.

“It’s been a busy week,” Dwyer said Friday.

Raynham Animal Control Officer Casey
Dwyer is nursing this homing pigeon back to health.

 

Dwyer estimated the racing pigeon is worth $15,000 to $20,000. A Hall Street family found him walking across their backyard last week. He has a microchip in a band on his leg that tells where he’s from.

The handsome white and gray feathered fellow with touches of iridescent purple seems to have suffered an impact injury, rather than having been attacked by a hawk or other predator, Dwyer said.

Dwyer, who is in the process of tracking down the bird’s owner, guesses the pigeon has a blown air sac in his wing, which should heal on its own in a few days.

He was competing in a 1,200-mile race from Tennessee to Cape Cod with a bunch of other homing pigeons. Such races take several weeks and the owners fly out to meet their birds for a big celebration at the finish line, Dwyer said.

The pigeon rescue followed several days of adventures for Dwyer.

On Wednesday, June 19, Dwyer got a report of a colorful male peacock loose on Titicut Road. The storm had spooked him and Dwyer had to herd him back to his house on White Street, walking behind him and guiding him in the right direction.

Then Thursday, Dwyer got a call about a pot belly pig loose on Orchard Street. Dwyer coaxed him into his car with an apple and the pig insisted on sitting on his lap as they drove around the neighborhood. About 45 minutes later, his owner realized he was missing and called the police.

Wilson the portly potbelly pig enjoyed riding around
Raynham with animal control officer Casey Dwyer.

Dwyer was able to reunite him with his friendly porcine passenger.

As of Friday, Dwyer was sheltering five cats and a bird, the pigeon, in the makeshift shelter he’s fashioned in his basement because the town lacks a formal shelter.

That doesn’t even count the two baby raccoons he had to relocate from Aggregate Industries on King Philip Street Wednesday.

The pigeon race was supposed to end some time this week, Dwyer was told by a racing association he contacted.

“From what I’m told this bird was making good time and had a good shot at winning,” Dwyer said.

(Taunton Daily Gazette - Jun 26, 2013)

6/25/13: Animal shelter rescues young fox from old sewer facility

CALIFORNIA -- Petaluma's animal control officers rescued a young fox on Tuesday afternoon after it was found trapped at the bottom of a decommissioned sewer treatment tank on Hopper Street.

The tank was about 20 feet deep, and it appears the baby, or kit, fox must have fallen inside, said Officer Jason Pietsch.

He and partner Mark Scott lowered a ladder in order to get to the bottom and approached the fox strategically with nets.

"You want to be as quick as possible," Pietsch said. "In a situation like that, you don't know what you're dealing with. The animal could be injured and defensive, it's freaked out, and two monsters with nets are chasing it."

In this video, courtesy of the Petaluma Animal Shelter, the officers can be seen netting the fox. After it was covered in a towel and secured in a crate, it calmed down, Pietsch said.

He estimated the young fox was under a year old.

The officers then called Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, and at the agency's advice, plan to release the fox close to the animal shelter, also on Hopper Street.

"It wasn't injured, and we know there's a den near the shelter," Pietsch said. He added, "Getting the kit out of there safely is the kind of thing that makes us glad to do our job."

(Argus Courier - June 25, 2013)

Internal investigation into K-9 police dog shooting closed

ALABAMA -- A Hanceville police officer will face no disciplinary action in the shooting of a K-9 police dog last week, which occurred after the animal attacked the officer during a training session.

On Monday, June 24 around 3:45 p.m., the Belgian Malinois Ichi Bon attacked officer Anthony Childress during a training session at C.W.Day Park. Following the attack, Childress shot and killed his canine partner and was taken to the hospital with lacerations to his head that required surgery.

Per procedure, an internal investigation was conducted following the shooting. Police Chief Bob Long said the results showed that Childress followed protocol during the incident.

“The dog bit our officer and I’m sorry we lost the dog, but it had to be done,” Long said. “The situation could have been a lot worse. The investigation is closed, he faces absolutely no disciplinary action at all.”

As Childress continues to recover, Long said he was examined for a shoulder injury he obtained during the attack and it could require surgery.

“A couple of months ago while he and dog were playing, the dog jerked Anthony and pulled his shoulder out of socket,” Long said. “During the attack, when he was knocked down, he fell on his shoulder and dislocated it again. Following a recent doctor visit, we were told he could need surgery and if that happens he will be off work 6-8 weeks. We are going back for a second opinion in case he just has to do rehab, but surgery is a possibility.”

He said the Hanceville Police Department’s main concern is Childress’  health and safety.

“It’s one thing if it happens once, but what if he’s on duty confronting a violent subject and he gets into a fight and dislocates it again,” Long said.

“We have to make sure the injury is okay. Again we’re thankful it’s not worse than what it was. We want to get him healed up so he’s back on the road to patrol.”

The police department chipped in to purchase Ichi Bon a headstone which will be placed at the grave site. The dog was buried the day after the incident.

(cullmantimes - July 5, 2013)

Earlier:

• ‘I loved him’: Officer says only option was to shoot canine partner

Owner of Dog Shot by Police Wants Apology

CALIFORNIA -- Owners of a dog that was shot by an officer last week are still waiting for an apology from the Concord Police Department.

Kirby, 13, a cocker spaniel retriever mix, recovers at home
with owner Zach Grimm, left, and his roommate Dave Biller in
Concord, Calif., on Monday, June 24, 2013.
(Susan Tripp Pollard/Bay Area News Group)

The dog, Kirby, is recovering from his wound. X-rays show he still has a bullet fragment near his spine. The 13-year-old Cocker Spaniel retriever mix was shot as the officer was searching the neighborhood for a suspect.

Kirby, 13, a cocker spaniel retriever mix,
recovers at home with owner Zach Grimm.
(Susan Tripp Pollard/Bay Area News Group)

The entry wound from a bullet can be seen at top and the exit wound at
bottom, yet a portion of the bullet remains near the spine of Kirby, 13, a
cocker spaniel retriever mix, who recovers at home with owner
Zach Grimm in Concord, Calif., on Monday, June 24, 2013.
 (Susan Tripp Pollard/Bay Area News Group)

Kirby's owner, Zachary Grimm, said the officer went into his backyard through a gate. Kirby ran out the back sliding door and directly at the officer, which is when the officer opened fire.

"I don't think my brain registered that it was a gunshot really and or who'd been shot or what happened and then I heard Lloyd basically yell, 'They shot Kirby!' Grimm said.

In the middle of this X-ray of Kirby, 13, a cocker spaniel retriever mix,
a bullet fragment close to his spine cane seen in Concord, Calif., on
Monday, June 24, 2013. (Susan Tripp Pollard/Bay Area News Group)

Investigators said the dog was aggressive, and the officer felt he was in enough danger to give a warning and then shoot.

"Even if that dog was coming at you full bore...I mean...you're just gonna shoot that thing?" Grimm said. "It's not like he...he never growled or lunged at him."

Zach Grimm, owner of Kirby, 13, a cocker spaniel retriever mix,
stands in his side yard in Concord, Calif., on Monday, June 24, 2013
where his dog was shot by a Concord Police Officer on June 17.
(Susan Tripp Pollard/Bay Area News Group)

Grimm wants Concord police to apologize, pay for the dog's mounting medical bills and disciplinary action against the officer who shot Kirby.

(nbcbayarea - June 25, 2013) (Photos: Mercury News)

Out-of-control Staffordshire bull terrier attacks people and dogs in Barrow

UNITED KINGDOM -- A DOG walker had an epileptic fit after she and her two dogs were attacked by a Staffordshire bull terrier.

The out-of-control dog went for the throats of a boxer and a Yorkshire terrier and nearby workers attempted to beat the dog off with a scaffold pole.

They then had to throw the woman’s bigger dog into their van to protect it as the Yorkshire terrier fled in fear.

One woman who witnessed the attack told how she ran barefoot from her house and ended up covering the female dog walker in a blanket after she suffered a fit.

She was then taken to hospital by ambulance where she was checked over and treated for minor injuries.

Joan Martin, 53, was at her mother’s house in Chiltern Crescent, when she witnessed events unfold.

She said: “I had seen her walk past earlier on with her two dogs. I then saw her come back. As I looked out I could see this Staffie had her boxer dog by the throat. She was kneeling on the floor trying to get it off. She managed to get it free and tried to walk away but the dog just went for the boxer’s throat again. She tried to free it again and the dog went for her.

“The scaffolders came over and tried to help. They managed to get the boxer in their van for its safety and the Staffie then went for the terrier’s throat.

“I ran out in my bare feet to try and help and lots of other people were coming out of their houses. Someone even heard her screams in West View Road. The man who owned the Staffie had puncture wounds in his arm where he had tried to stop the dog.

“I found the woman around the back of the house lying on the floor. She had had an epileptic fit. I got her a pillow and wrapped her in a blanket. She was then taken to hospital in an ambulance.’’

Simon Hatton, 32, and Ross Hughes, 28, who work for Pickering Scaffolding Ltd in Barrow, described how they came to the woman’s aid.

Mr Hughes said: “The dog just went a bit mental. It went for the boxer and then it attacked the terrier. We had to get a scaffolding pole to get the dog off.’’

Police confirmed they attended the scene just before noon on Wednesday after reports of a dog fight. No complaints have been made to police so no further action is being taken.

(in-cumbria.com - June 28, 2013)

Family of boy attacked by pit bull fears psychological scars

GEORGIA -- Even when 5-year-old Anthony Ivey wears a ball cap, the reminders of a terrible afternoon in March still peek out from the edges.

There is no hair on the back and side of Anthony’s head, and the patchwork of skin looks as if someone poured acid on him.

By all accounts, Anthony cheated death March 14.

Anthony Ivey, 5, plays with a couple of toy cars June 13 outside his
great-great-grandmother’s apartment in Warner Robins. Anthony’s
head, seen above, required skin grafts over several surgeries in Boston
after he was attacked by a pit bull in a north Macon yard in March.
The dog had a history of violent attacks. Photo: JASON VORHEES

The 50-pound boy found himself in the jaws of a large pit bull with a history of violent attacks. Witnesses say Anthony is alive only because of the timely intervention by a neighbor.

Since the attack, Anthony has spent five weeks in a Boston hospital where he underwent three surgeries. Surgeons grafted skin from his thighs onto his exposed skull, to replace the part of his scalp the dog tore away.

The dog also damaged one of Anthony’s eyes, but remarkably, his family said, he didn’t lose any vision.

As horrific as those physical scars are, Anthony’s family fears the psychological scars may be worse.

“One little girl told him his head was ugly,” his mother, April Foster, said.

Rosemary Armstrong, his great-great-grandmother, said she thinks Anthony’s brother D’Vonte, who was with him when the dog lunged and began thrashing Anthony against the ground, may be suffering emotionally even more than Anthony.

“(D’Vonte) has changed a lot,” she said. “He gets an attitude and gets upset real quick. What he’s seen is really bothering him.”

The bad memories also haunt Eddie Deeb, the neighbor who saved Anthony’s life by pulling away the growling, gray pit bull named Blue that was tearing into the boy’s head.

Deeb said he can’t remember a lot of the details about what happened that day on Ousley Place in a north Macon neighborhood off Forest Hill Road.

“I don’t even remember going (into the yard),” said Deeb, who heard screams from next door and saw Blue attacking what Deeb first thought was another dog.

“I saw the child’s feet (from underneath the dog),” he said, admitting his own fear. “It was divine intervention, brother.”

A mad dog
Armstrong worked for the pit bull’s owners, Charles and Theresa Gay, for several years as a housekeeper. Sometimes, she said, Anthony and D’Vonte tagged along, and she watched them while she worked.

Armstrong said she had long been terrified of the Gays’ dogs.

While cleaning the house the afternoon of the attack, she explicitly told D’Vonte and Anthony -- who live in Warner Robins -- to watch cartoons and not go outside, she said. But while Armstrong was in another part of the house, Charles Gay told the boys it was OK to play in the backyard, D’Vonte said.

“The dog started to surround us, like it was scared of us,” he said.

Even before Anthony’s attack, Blue already had a dangerous reputation in the neighborhood. Deeb said Blue may have been involved in the deaths of other dogs the Gays owned over the years.

On two separate occasions, Deeb said, a Rottweiler and pit bull were killed in the backyard by other dogs the couple owned. Additionally, animal control removed another of their pit bulls and put it to death for being dangerous, Deeb said.

According to records, police were called to the Gays’ residence in 2008 after a neighbor claimed one of their dogs killed his cat.

Anthony Ivey’s repaired skull with skin grafts after several surgeries in
Boston. Ivey was attacked by a pit bull on March 14.
Photo: JASON VORHEES

Attempts to reach Charles Gay to comment for this story were unsuccessful. Telephone messages left for him went unreturned, and no one appears to be living in his house on Ousley Place.

There are a lot of elderly people on Ousley Place, said Deeb, who lives in the home of his late parents.

Deeb said his parents didn’t go into their own backyard for the last couple of years of their lives because of their fear of the dogs. Even the Gay family rarely went into their backyard other than to feed the dogs that were known to escape the fence, he said.

“This (incident) should have never happened,” Deeb said. “For all practical purposes, those dogs were feral. They had no human interaction, no social development. Even Charles was afraid to go into his backyard. ... This was something that was going to happen.”

On that afternoon three months ago, after circling Anthony and D’Vonte, Blue suddenly jumped at Anthony and sank his teeth into the child’s scalp, twisting and tearing it. D’Vonte said he ran inside the house, calling for Armstrong.

Armstrong, 78, said she heard the cries for help, ran outside and saw the dog mauling Anthony. She wanted to grab the dog to pull it away, but she fell down before she reached him. She said she was lying in Anthony’s blood while trying to get between him and the dog.

“I was just screaming and hollering,” Armstrong said. “Mr. Eddie jumped over the fence and pulled (the dog) off. Charles didn’t even move. But he has some good neighbors.”

According to a Macon police report, Gay told officers ‘I just never seen (the dog) do anything like that.’ ”

Deeb said he put Blue back in the backyard but forgot to secure the gate. Blue escaped and chased two other children from the neighborhood as well as another dog before he was captured and later killed by the county.

“My family said I’ve lived a colorful life,” Deeb said. “I’ve seen some nasty stuff. ... But I’ve never seen anything this horrific involving a child.”

The aftermath
Macon police charged Charles Gay, 60, with cruelty to children in the second degree, and he later was released on bond.

Deshala Dixon, an assistant district attorney, said Gay’s case hasn’t yet been presented to a grand jury because investigators were unable to talk to Anthony for weeks while he was in Boston. Dixon said the case probably will be presented to a grand jury in August.

Foster, 25, has suffered a series of hardships following the attack on her son. Because of the length of time she was with Anthony in Boston, she lost her job, she said. And without any income, Foster said she also lost her home.

Currently, Foster and her four children -- ages 3, 5, 7 and 9 -- are living in Armstrong’s public housing studio apartment in Warner Robins with Armstrong and Armstrong’s brother. She said she has tried to get assistance finding somewhere to live, but to no avail.

“I have all my clothes in my car,” she said, adding that the widespread publicity the attack generated has done little to aid her plight. “There are so many places that are supposed to help the homeless, but when the homeless come, they don’t care.”

Foster said she has gone back to school to get her nursing degree. She’s looking for any kind of help -- housing, clothes, money -- for her family just to get by these days. She said Anthony still needs to go back to Boston to make sure the scars are healing, and he could face additional surgeries if he hits his head and damages the tissue.

While Medicaid is paying for Anthony’s skin grafts, Foster said she doesn’t think it will cover the cost of plastic surgery to restore his appearance because it’s considered a cosmetic procedure.

Since the attack, Anthony doesn’t want to be around any animals, she said.

“He is afraid of animals, period,” Foster said. “You can see the way he handles things with his brothers and sister. He’s a little more aggressive. ... He has an I-don’t-care attitude.”

For example, Anthony recently was running across a courtyard at the housing complex, wearing socks but no shoes. Foster asked him to go to the car and get his shoes. Anthony initially refused.

Before the attack, Foster said, he never questioned her or talked back.

Anthony Ivey, 5, right, with his brother D’vonte Foster, 9.
Photo: JASON VORHEES

The road to recovery won’t be an easy one for Anthony, who will start kindergarten this year. He hasn’t had any counseling to deal with the psychological trauma, and his mother said it will be at least two years before he can have more plastic surgery to help conceal the damage on his head.

Meanwhile, Deeb said he’s familiar with post traumatic stress syndrome, and he said he experienced it in the wake of the ordeal.

His lasting image of that day is of Anthony, covered in blood and standing with his arms spread wide, wanting someone to pick him up and hold him.

Deeb has only managed to get past some of those feelings after finally getting to see Anthony after his return from Boston.

“It was especially bad, because I didn’t know the child before,” Deeb said. “The only thing I could think about was how he’s doing.”

This month, Deeb and Anthony finally were able to spent some time together. Since then, Deeb said, “I’ve been doing pretty good.”

Information from Telegraph archives was used.

(macon.com - June 30, 2013)

Earlier:

• Macon Boy Mauled by Pit Bull in Critical Condition
• Dog mauling witness: Pit bull ‘just like a demon’

Oklahoma: Pit Bull attack victim recovering, back to Jehovah's Witness ministry work

OKLAHOMA -- Beverly Wright walked with a cane, slowly, avoiding uneven ground on Wednesday morning as she went door-to-door on North Delaware Avenue inviting people to an upcoming Jehovah's Witnesses convention.

A week ago she had what she hopes will be her last of five skin grafts to repair wounds she received March 19 when a pit bull mauled her so badly that doctors told her she might lose her leg.

Wright, 43, could have escaped injury that Tuesday morning when an 80-pound pit bull burst through the front door of a house in the 2000 block of N. Lewis Place (2027 N. Lewis Place) and attacked her ministry companion and longtime friend, Irene Parker, 78.

But it never occurred to her not to help her friend.

Both women were severely injured in the attack. And both knew their injuries would not keep them from going door-to-door with the Jehovah's Witnesses. Six weeks after the attacks, in early May, Wright returned to her ministry.

"The doctors are amazed how fast I am healing," she said.

She goes out weekly, usually tiring after two or three hours, even with breaks. She does it, she said, "because it's what Jehovah wants ... to let people know what God wants."

At first she was a little nervous, she said. "But I realized it was one of those things that happened. It doesn't happen all the time. That helped me get out of the car."

She has been going door-to-door with the Jehovah's Witnesses for 18 years, and nothing like that ever happened before, she said.

Parker's recovery has been slower. She went off her pain medication a week ago and is still in constant pain but is able to sleep, she said this week at her daughter's Sand Springs home, where she is recuperating.

"I'll be glad when I can get back to my ministry. It'll be awhile. When I get better, I'm ready to go out again. The only thing is, I'm going to be more cautious.

"I'm doing better and I'm happy about it. ... All the prayers and cards and gifts have been very encouraging," she said.

The events of that day three months ago are still fresh in Wright's mind. She was two houses away from Parker when the dog attacked.

"I heard the screams and ran down there. I pulled the dog off of her. I had it in a head lock," said Wright, who is 5 feet tall.

The dog squirmed free and continued to attack Parker. When Wright pulled it off a second time, it turned its attack on her, tearing at her arms and then dragging her across the yard by her leg.

Wright grabbed a baseball bat from the dog's owner who was standing by screaming and struck the dog twice before losing her grip on the bat.

The dog continued to tear into her leg.

"I was seeing him do it. It was awful," she said.

The attack ended when a man working two blocks away heard the screams, grabbed a gun from his truck, distracted and shot the dog.

Parker has little memory of the attack that broke seven bones, disfigured her face and nearly killed her.

When she knocked on the door that day, she said, she heard a dog barking. As soon as a woman opened the door, the dog charged through the screen door, knocked her to the ground and attacked her head.

She heard her right ear being ripped off and saw blood. "I don't remember anything after that ... I didn't feel nothing," she said.

Both women were taken to St. John Medical Center, where doctors used several hundred stitches on each of them to close their wounds and then placed them in intensive care.

As Jehovah's Witnesses, they do not believe in receiving blood transfusions. One hospital worker told Wright she would probably die without blood.

"So be it," she said.

Wright was released in eight days, Parker in 18 days. Both are still in physical therapy.

Parker has had five surgeries, with more scheduled. Her latest surgery rebuilt part of an eyelid that was ripped off, making her unable to close one eye.

Wright said she still has dreams about the dog.

"I see him shaking Irene. I might be afraid of dogs, but I'll never let them know it," she said defiantly.

The two women have been in contact with Mike Harrell, the man who shot the dog.

"He's very polite and humble," said Mike Elliott, Parker's son-in-law.

Harrell saved Wright's life, and Wright saved Parker's life, Elliott said.

"And I believe Jehovah had a hand in it," he said.

"We believe angels accompany us in ministry."

The women have had no contact with the dog's owner.

Jehovah's Witnesses spokesman Mark Snead said church members "always try to exercise due caution" in neighborhoods, taking note of dog warning signs.

"It's very rare for these kinds of events to happen," he said.

"I've been going out since I was a child, and I've never had a dog attack me."

Tulsa-area Jehovah's Witnesses are in a three-week door-to-door campaign to invite people to their annual district Bible convention July 5-7 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on the University of Tulsa campus.

"We hope to reach the majority of homes in the Tulsa area," Snead said.

The convention will draw more than 5,000 people from 49 congregations in northeast Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, he said. It is identical to about 300 other conventions being held around the United States that will draw more than a million people.

The Tulsa area has more than 20 Jehovah's Witnesses congregations that meet in nine Kingdom Halls.

Wright said that accounts are set up in the women's names at the Bank of Oklahoma to help with medical expenses that are not covered by insurance.

VIDEO NEWS CLIP:

(Tulsa World - June 29, 2013)

Earlier:

• Oklahoma: Day After Pit Bull Attack: Women's Conditions Upgraded, Lawyer Weighs In
• Oklahoma: Police say man who shot attacking pit bull saved lives
• Oklahoma: Women recovering from dog attack, animal control issuing tickets
• Oklahoma: Survivors tell of their fear and their faith after being attacked by Pit Bull
• Oklahoma: Second Tulsa Woman Attacked By Pit Bull Recounts Mauling
• Oklahoma: Daughter Says Tulsa Woman In Good Spirits After Pit Bull Attack

Aggressive Bichon repeatedly tries to rip out throat of owner's pit bull... wait, what?

NEW ZEALAND -- "I (Abbey Draper) run Christchurch Bull Breed Rescue. I have owned bull breeds for 15 years and have rescued and rehomed them for the past eight.

"In all that time I have had to have one dog put to sleep due to aggression. Through no fault of her own she was put on the end of a chain and not socialised. By the time she came to me it was too late and I didn't feel safe putting her into another home. 

Posing her son with one of the pit bulls

"This would've happened regardless of breed - dogs need socialisation, affection and boundaries. A dog on a chain or locked in a yard had no idea how to react to the outside world and will usually react aggressively out of fear. Being owned by a family doesn't necessarily make it a family dog. 

"I personally own a pit bull that came through my rescue. He is desexed, well socialised, well trained and is an all round good dog. I have two young children and trust him.

"My pit bull was recently attacked at our local dog park by an aggressive bichon frise. This dog repeatedly went for my dog's throat and was out for blood. My dog submitted and waited for me to save him from he attack.

"Had my dog been the aggressor it would've made headlines, but because he's the big bad pit bull and it's 'only a bichon' it's apparently ok, funny even.

"People need to wake up and realise that dogs are the same regardless of breed and need to be respected and treated well. 

"Once we start putting more attention onto the owners and make being a dog owner mean something, things may begin to change.

"While the breed is condemned we will get nowhere."

[I might be inclined to believe her if only I could see these photos of these kids, elderly people, cats, dogs, ponies, goats and other pets which have been torn to pieces by these aggressive Bichons.]

(Stuff.co.nz - June 20, 2013)

6/12/13: Disabled man's dog is aggressive and often runs loose, couple say

CANADA -- A Langley City couple said they have witnessed multiple incidents of bad behaviour by a dog belonging to a disabled man who complained he was unfairly fined $100 for letting the canine run off-leash.

Sheila Webb and Ib Meyer-Obel came forward after The Times reported on the incident involving Ed, a three-year-old Pomeranian belonging to Kevin Steele, who ran afoul of a City of Langley bylaw officer last month.

In the June 6 article, Steele told The Times that Ed, whom he described as a service dog, has a calm, laid-back personality that is soothing to be around.

“Everybody loves Ed,” said Steele.

Webb and Meyer-Obel told a different story.

The couple, who recognized Steele and Ed from the photos in the paper, said the dog is often badly behaved and aggressive toward other dogs.

“This dog is out of control,” Webb said.

She said she personally witnessed two separate incidents last year where the unleashed Ed got into a scrap with another dog, one about his size and the other a lot bigger. Both were on leashes.

There were no injuries either time, Webb said, but it was clear Ed is not quite as mellow as Steele claims.

“His little dog has got the quite the temper,” Webb said. “It should go back to get trained. And so should he.”

Webb and Meyer-Obel said they have had to lift up their own dog to get her away from Ed on more than one occasion.

The fine, they said, was warranted.

“Okay, he likes his dog,” Meyer-Obel said of Steele. “Everyone likes their dog. Unfortunately he’s one of those who lets his dog roam and expects everyone to accept it.”

Steele, a 51-year-old former driller, lost one leg in a 2009 workplace accident that left him permanently disabled after a 1,350-lb. pipe fell on his head.

A letter from his psychologist says Ed is “more than just a typical pet” who has “become one of his [Steele’s] main coping strategies” for dealing with the loss of his leg and related pain.

[So the "service dog" is not actual a service dog. Wow, big surprise there.... that seems to be the theme of 2013: people claiming their pets are service dogs when they aren't]

Steele said he intends to file a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal that he is being discriminated against as a disabled person.

(Langley Times - June 12, 2013)

Earlier:

• Man complains that his non-certified service dog should run loose

Man, 43, attacked by pit bull on Meritas Drive

GEORGIA -- A black and white mixed pit bull dog was captured early Friday after it attacked a man on Meritas Drive, Columbus police said.

The man, 43, sustained bites to his left foot and right elbow, but was not treated by emergency medical personnel.

In a report, the victim told police he was walking on the street about 2:10 a.m. when the dog sprinted from a porch in the 4200 block of Meritas Drive and attacked him.

An officer from Animal Control captured the dog after the man pointed it out. The dog was quarantined.

The victim didn’t want charges filed in connection with the attack, police said.

(ledger-enquirer.com - June 29, 2013)

Complaints Mount Up Against Local Dog Rescue Organization

ARKANSAS -- A woman who runs a dog rescue organization in Garland County is defending the way she operates her business after several complaints from the community.

The organization is called a Dog's Life Rescue Inc.

A woman filed a report -- at the Garland County Sheriff's Office -- stating more than a dozen dogs live inside the owner's home.

The report states the feces is so deep the owner must shovel it out of the home.

The Humane Society of Garland County along with the organization Stop Animal Cruelty also received complaints about the organization.

But the woman who runs it, claims she's doing nothing wrong.

Susan Williams says the dogs she rescued are healthy, happy and waiting for their forever homes.

She said, "They're getting all the proper care they need."

But the person who sent us a photo of the organization said something different.

She didn't want to do an interview, but said the dogs are living in filthy and unsanitary conditions.

And, in a report filed with the Garland County Sheriff's Department there are more accusations against Williams' organization.

It states the dogs live in a flea-infested, urine and feces covered home.

Williams admitted her yard is a mess. She said, "Yes, there's a trash problem and I need help."

She [says she] was too embarrassed to show us her property but says no matter how it looks, the dogs are fine.

The reporter asked, "How many dogs do you have?"

Williams answered, "There's 16 right now."

The reporter asked, "16 dogs living in your home, would that be considered healthy conditions?"

She said, "I have to sweep up the hair every other day. I've never been a good housekeeper, so it's never really mattered to me."

Williams says she's just trying to save animals that would otherwise be euthanized, but some argue a Dog's Life Rescue Inc. is not giving those dogs the life they deserve.

Williams will be in court next month to defend herself against that report filed at the Garland County Sheriff's Department.

As of now though, she has not been charged with anything.

(fox16 - June 27, 2013)