Nebraska: Kenneth Harrison, 28, who claimed to find dog in dumpster, admits he lied

NEBRASKA -- A previous version of this story indicated a man found a dog inside a trash bag in a dumpster. The man, according to the Nebraska Humane Society, has admitted he concocted the story. A revised version is below.

A man who claimed to have found a dog discarded inside a black trash bag in a dumpster concocted his story, according to a Nebraska Humane Society press release issued Saturday afternoon.

The man, Kenneth Harrison, 28, and his girlfriend, who live in Omaha, owned the dog.

In a Saturday morning interview with NHS investigators, Harrison admitted to lying about finding the dog in a dumpster, according to the release.

Harrison, who claimed to be a New Yorker visiting family in Omaha, had initially told the Humane Society and members of the media he had found the dog while getting his truck washed near 72nd and Maple Streets.

“When I picked him up, he just immediately started licking,” Harrison told The World-Herald on Friday. “He climbed up my arm and onto my shoulder and just started licking. And I just melted.”

In a World-Herald interview Saturday, Mark Langan, vice president of field operations for the Nebraska Humane Society, said Harrison told investigators he was worried he'd have to pay a fee to surrender the dog or fines for not having a dog license.

"He simply could have surrendered the dog to us and walked out the door with no money out of his pocket," Langan said.

The NHS had first received a tip via phone Friday evening that Harrison and his girlfriend owned the dog.  Harrison was cited under an animal control ordinance, which says it's illegal to lie to the Humane Society as to how one came into possession of an animal. He faces a maximum punishment of six months in jail and/or a $500 fine, Langan said.

Any person who donated to the Humane Society based on this story will be contacted and offered their donation back, the press release said.  The silver lining, Langan said: "The dog showed no signs of injuries or illnesses that would be associated with being wrapped inside a plastic bag."

In other words, Little Eddie, a 2-year-old terrier mix, is doing fine.

(Omaha.com - June 29, 2013)

Earlier:

• Good Samaritan Saves Dog Dumped In Trash

Couple Mauled By Pit Bull Both Recovering From Surgery

MARYLAND -- A couple, viciously attacked in their home by a pit bull, is now out of the hospital.

Rochelle Ritchie spoke with family members, who say the injuries were so severe, both needed surgery.

The couple was dog-sitting the pit bull, which is said to belong to one of their children. The dog is now dead and the couple is recovering at home.

On the bottom floor of an apartment building in Glen Burnie, a husband and wife are tending to their brutal wounds after being attacked by a pit bull.

“You hear about pit bulls a lot and all, but I didn’t know the dog, so it’s just sad that it happens,” said Sarah Jiunta, victim’s niece.

Family members spoke to WJZ outside the couple’s home, telling us the bites tore and shred their skin.

Ritchie: “Did it tear tendons or muscle?”

"Yes, he said they were just hanging out,” said Sandy Jiunta, victim’s sister.

The aftermath of the attack left a bloody scene.

“The dog had his hand in his mouth. He tried to muzzle the dog and the dog just continued to bite him and bite his arms up,” said witness, Andrea Barnard.

Witnesses say the dog chased the 57-year-old back to his building. His wife– the dog’s next target.

“Her arm was wide open. One of her arms was wide open. He had gotten both of her arms,” a witness said.

Police were called and found the couple bleeding from severe dog bites.

The dog tried to attack the 53-year-old woman again, but was tased by officers and died.

Pit bull owners in this apartment complex say they were stunned by the attack, and say unfortunately, incidents like this only support the stereotype surrounding pit bulls.

Courtney Lescallett says her nine-month-old pit bull has always been gentle with family, and what happened a few doors down doesn’t change her perception of her own dog, Scar.

“I know I will never give him up ever because we’ve never had any trouble with him. People always say, ‘they’re dangerous, they’re dangerous.’ All dogs are dangerous if you don’t take care of them correctly,” Lescallett said.

The couple did not want to be interviewed. No word if any charges will be filed.

The pit bull was between two and three-years-old.

(WJZ - June 24, 2013)
Earlier:

• Dog attack seriously injures two in Glen Burnie

Woman trying to save her dog gets punched and spit on

UNITED KINGDOM -- A dog walker claims she was punched in the face in a spat between two pet owners on Mousehold Heath.

Stephanie Adams said she was walking her two Kerry Blue Terriers on the morning on Sunday June 9 by Lavengro Road.

She let one of them, Parker, off the lead when a white Staffordshire Bull Terrier attacked it.

“A large white Staffy charged at him,” she said. “It knocked him over and stood over him with its nose against his belly.”

Mrs Adams, who lives near the heath, said she grabbed the Staffy by its harness pulling it away from her dog.

“I lifted it up and hung it in the air so it couldn’t bite him,” she said.

The dog’s owner then appeared and Mrs Adams said the owner hit her in the face and grabbed the dog.

The 46-year-old added: “I wouldn’t let go of the dog and I was screaming for someone to get the police. I was really quite traumatised. It happened very quickly. I was screaming for help but no-one was around.”

My dog then jumped up and bit the Staffy on the back.”

While the women were tussling over the Staffy, three men heard the screaming and called the police.
Officers arrived and the Staffy’s owner denied that she had hit Mrs Adams.

They took statements from the two parties.

Mrs Adams said: “It was only that I reacted so quickly that my dog was saved.”

A police spokeswoman said: “We were called to reports of a disturbance between two dogs and their owners on Lavengro Road at around 11.40am on Sunday June 9. Officers spoke to both owners and there was no evidence to suggest any criminal offences had taken place.”

It is the latest in a series of dog attacks around Norwich.

In May, Dillon, a six-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier was set upon by a rottweiler and a Staffordshire cross pit bull in William Mear Gardens, close to Lion Wood, while in February Pat McAndrews, 66, from Douro Place, off Dereham Road, saw her dog Jazz attacked near her home.

Meanwhile in January Lesley Smith’s guide dog, Unis, was attacked outside the Back of the Inns entrance to the Castle Mall by a dog described as a ‘bull terrier-type’.

(Norwich Evening News - June 28, 2013)

'Selfish' owners blamed for deadly dog attack in Surrey

CANADA -- A Surrey mom is furious with dog owners who let their pets run free in on-leash parks after her dog was killed by an off-leash dog last week.

During a walk in Sullivan Park last Tuesday night, Anita Uppal took out her iPhone to photograph her newly groomed, four-year-old Havanese Shih Tzu cross, Bella. She had no idea that her dog would be dead an instant later.

Anita Uppal, left, with niece Pamela Uppal, centre, and daughter
Simran, with the family’s remaining two dogs, Coco and Cookie.

"As I was preparing to take the picture, I noticed two unleashed, large dogs that were running toward us," said Uppal, holding back tears. "(Bella) was smelling the tree and the grass - she had her back to them so she didn't know they were coming."

She said the two dogs - a Rottweiler cross and a Golden Retriever - came at them full speed and locked onto Bella in a "predatory" manner. The Rottweiler cross bit into the back of Bella's neck, lifted her off the ground and slammed her into the dirt, killing her instantly.

"It all happened so fast," said Uppal, adding that she tried to grab Bella, but was frozen in fear.

She screamed at the top of her lungs to get somebody's attention. "The owners, at that point, were nowhere to be found."

As she screamed, a man and woman ran around the corner, identifying themselves as the owners of the off-leash dogs. They saw Bella on the ground, motionless, her neck severed.

"I was yelling at them that their dog had just killed my dog," said Uppal. "I was afraid that they were going to run because at first, they weren't taking responsibility.

"On one hand, she was apologizing and she was saying that she's sorry, but on the other hand, she was saying, 'My dogs are really friendly.'"

Uppal's 24-year-old niece, Pamela, tried to pick up Bella, but neither could bear to look at the dog. They exchanged information with the owners and called Anita's sister before taking Bella to the veterinarian, but it was too late.

As a result of the attack, Uppal is calling on dog owners to leash their pets in on-leash parks in hopes of preventing this from happening to others. The City of Surrey has eight parks where dogs are allowed off-leash.

"People need to be aware - it didn't need to happen," she said. "She was just so selfish to have her dogs off the leash. She had no control, none."

Uppal described Bella as "the glue that held our family together," and said the loss of their beloved dog has profoundly affected her 19-year-old daughter.

"That dog was her whole purpose," said Uppal, adding that her daughter hasn't slept in days. "We've been watching her for two days because she is so distraught...she's not able to process it, she's not able to regulate her emotions."

Kim Marosevich, manager of animal care and control with the City of Surrey, said that once cases are reported with the department, a bylaw officer will gather information from all dog owners involved and any witnesses to figure out what course of action should be taken.

To determine if a dog is a danger to society, the department looks for a history of aggression, trends of irresponsible dog ownership, which dog instigated the incident and whether the offending dog has attacked humans instead of animals.

"In some cases, we may go as far as pursuing what's referred to as a 'destruction order' against the offending dog if the incident is severe enough," said Marosevich.

During the summer months, as more people are out walking their dogs, the department sends out more bylaw officers to patrol parks, do investigations and pick up stray, injured and deceased animals.

But Uppal and her family know no level of increased patrol will bring Bella back.

"I miss my dog," she said. "That dog was everything to me."

(Vancouver Sun - June 24, 2013)

Pennsylvania: Justin Bartlett, 21, accused of burning cat to death. John Johnston, 38, is accused of snapping a cat's neck

PENNSYLVANIA -- Two local cases of cruelty to animals in which cats were killed have been sent to Allegheny County Court.

Justin Elliott Bartlett, of 637 School Alley, Tarentum, waived his right to a preliminary hearing before District Judge Carolyn Bengel in Brackenridge, sending his charges to county court.

Bengel bound the charges against John Johnston of 1220 Outlook St., Harrison, over to court following a hearing.

Brackenridge police charged Bartlett, 21, with cruelty to animals, arson, burglary, criminal mischief and theft in an incident that occurred around Jan. 21.

Police were called to the residence of Richard Marvin of Cleveland Avenue, who told them that he had just arrived home and found a glass patio door broken and a skylight knocked out in the ceiling. Marvin told police he looked around but could find nothing missing except his cat.

As he walked around the house with police, Marvin found his cat, which had been burned to death.

In addition, police said Marvin's cat carrier was melted in the backyard. There were paw prints leading from the carrier to where the dead cat lay.

An empty gas can was on Marvin's back porch, which Marvin identified as Bartlett's.

Marvin said he had been friends with Bartlett, but they had a falling out recently.

Police say Bartlett initially claimed that he was out of town. When pressed, police say he admitted to burning the cat, saying he was hurt that Marvin ended their friendship.

Police say he signed a confession admitting to breaking into Marvin's house and burning the cat alive.

Bartlett is being held in the Allegheny County Jail.

2ND CASE OF ANIMAL CRUELTY

John Johnston, 38, was charged with cruelty to animals and disorderly conduct. Those charges resulted from a June 6 incident in which a neighbor, Steve Peloquin, said he saw Johnston pick up a cat, described as a “neighborhood cat.”

Peloquin testified that Johnston had the cat by the neck, twirled it around and then threw it, “with all his might,” over an embankment into some woods.

Harrison police Sgt. Floyd Taraszewski testified that he located the cat on a porch of a neighbor, who fed the animal.

“I went over to the cat and it could hardly walk,” he said.

(Tribune Live - June 28, 2013)

Texas: Pit bulls attack Jasper Area woman; no one willing to step forward and claim ownership of the maulers

TEXAS -- A resident of the Beech Grove Community, west of Jasper, was severely injured on Wednesday morning, when she was attacked by two dogs at her home on County Road 143, near the Beech Grove Community.

Captain Bob Walker of the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department said emergency dispatchers received a call shortly before 8:00, from 46 year old Wanda Lofton, who reported that the Pit Bulls had attacked her, biting her on both the arms and hands.

Sheriff Mitchel Newman said the attack occurred while Lofton was outside her home and that she did not know who the dogs belonged to. He said that a check of the neighborhood also revealed no one who would claim the dogs.

Walker said Lofton was taken by ambulance to Christus Jasper Memorial Hospital, where she was treated before being transported to a hospital in Lufkin, where she was at last word still undergoing treatment.

Newman said the two dogs were taken into custody and that they were taken to the City of Jasper’s Animal Shelter where they are being held by Animal Control Officer Rene Collier.

Collier said late Wednesday that the dogs would be euthanized and that they would be tested for Rabies.

(KJAS - June 27, 2013)

And the denial continues.... on this website (Dobermantalk.com) forum, a poster named "shiloh" posts the following with the title "Pit Bull Attack -- Need Your Help". At first I thought she was wanting help finding the owners of these dogs. Instead, though, she was requesting assistance for her anti-BSL agenda. Wow.

Dogs attack Jasper Area woman - KJAS.COM: Local News
"This just happened in my home town yesterday, and this is how it was reported through our local radio news station.

"I was asked to write an article about it for the local newspaper just a few moments ago.

"Being a Anti-BSL advocate (and a Doberman owner/foster), I would like to take this opportunity to educate the public of my rural community on bully breed misconceptions, proper pet care, and animal ownership ethics.

"So, any research findings, statistics, comments, etc., that anyone has to offer in response to this article's information would be appreciated."

As mentioned earlier with the article "Woman taken to task after daring to say pit bulls are dangerous", which was posted on a GUINEA PIG WEBSITE(!), I've mostly been mining stories from legitimate news outlets but am apparently missing out on a wealth of crazy, defensive, excuse-making behavior from these forum posters.

I love RedFawnRising's advice to make sure to mention in her article for the local newspaper that we're all too stupid to be able to identify a pit bull. Do you see this woman's arm???! Do you not think she got a CLOSE UP look at the dog that was trying to kill her?

("Whatever you do write, try to make sure to make that point-- that most of the general public cannot properly identify a 'pit bull' so there is an over-reporting of 'pit bull attacks.'").

And of course you have "jrh03" who says that we (the general public) ONLY report pit bull attacks. That there are (apparently) Retrievers running rampant and attacking people and we don't report them.

("Basically if a retriever bites somebody the owner apologizes, maybe some words are exchanged, and that's it, but if a pit does the same bite (maybe not even breaking the skin) the person thinks "oh I better call and report this attack by this vicious killer dog they are keeping")

Woman complains that police shot her brother's dog, which was attacking man at the time it was shot

Nashua police rapped for killing pit bull attacking man on city street

NEW HAMPSHIRE -- Tina Bennett was screaming and covering her ears. She couldn’t stand to listen to the whimpers the dog was making seconds before it died in the middle of Chestnut Street Wednesday morning.

Nashua Police shot and killed Buddy, a 3-year-old pit bull, who attacked a city man around 11 a.m. close to the bike path that crosses Chestnut Street near West Hollis Street.

 

Bennett might feel differently if the dog had been latched on to her leg.

Bennett said the police officer who fired the fatal shot was too quick to pull his gun and fired much too close to her. Police said the officer made the right decision in a split second because he feared for the victim’s safety.

 

Bennett was walking Buddy, her brother Michael Bennett’s 60-pound brown-and-white pit bull, near the bike path when the dog attacked 54-year-old John Goba. Two bike patrol officers nearby heard screaming and found Goba on the ground struggling with the dog, police said.

 

Bennett said Goba has a history with the dog and has taunted it before. He walked close to the dog after she warned him, Bennett said, and Buddy latched onto Goba’s pants.

 

[Exactly why is it the victim's responsibility to go to the other side of the street to avoid your brother's aggressive dog? Why are you not in control of your brother's aggressive dog - which, by the way, has attacked someone in the past?]

 

Bennett, 44, said it was seconds after police arrived that one of them shot Buddy in the side. He died within seconds.

 

“It happened so quickly. He shot him within three or four seconds of being on the ground,” Bennett

said. “The way they did it, it was just totally wrong. I just covered my ears and started screaming.”

 

Bennett and her son, Jose DeLeisa, are outraged the officers didn’t use some other means to stop the attack.

 

“They could have tased him. They could have pepper sprayed him. They could have hit him with a baton,” DeLeisa said.

 

[Um, no. You can't taser a dog that is latched on to someone without the victim being tased as well. You can't pepper spray an animal that is latched on to someone without the risk of blowback - everyone else being hit by the spray as well. Everyone knows you can't beat a pit bull in the head with a baton and make it release.]

 

Bennett and DeLeisa were also shaken because Bennett, as well as Goba, were so close to Buddy when the officer, who they said was officer Andrew Roy, fired.

 

“If that bullet had ricocheted, it could have hit my mother,” DeLeisa said.

 

 

Deputy Chief Andrew Lavoie said given circumstances, the officers seem to have made the right choice to shoot Buddy before Goba was more injured or even killed.

 

“This person was being actively attacked by this dog, and they couldn’t physically get the dog off of him,” Lavoie said. “What I was briefed on, it certainly sounded reasonable and prudent to prevent this man from being further injured. Certainly their decision-making has to be quick.”

 

Goba had at least one significant but non-life-threatening injury to the back of his right hip near his buttocks and was treated at the scene by AMR Ambulance personnel, police said.

 

Buddy’s vaccinations and licenses were all up to date. Bennett said she was walking him on a leash, as well as a choker and a training leash – a short length of stiff rubber with a handle.

 

Bennett said Buddy has bitten someone once before. He bit Bennett’s grandmother while lunging for another person who had taunted the dog, she said.

 

“He’s never attacked anyone. He just protects people,” DeLeisa said.

 

DeLeisa said he’s already filed a complaint with police and is exploring the possibility of filing a lawsuit.

 

Lavoie said police would investigate any complaint the family files as they do other complaints about officer conduct. He said firing a service weapon is a use of force, which requires the officer to file a report describing his or her actions and is reviewed as a matter of department policy.

The dog's owner, Michael Bennett was out of town when the attack occurred. His cousin said he was distraught when he heard the news. However, she also said Bennett has been trying to breed his male dog with a neighbor's female pit bull.

"He hopes it worked and that he'll be getting a puppy soon," she said.

(Nashua Telegraph - June 28, 2013)

Earlier:

• Nashua police shot, kill pit bull that was attacking a man on a bike path