OHIO -- Police in Dayton said a dog was so seriously injured by a pack of other dogs that he could barely walk.
According to witnesses, the pack of dogs went after several other animals Monday in the area near Hoover and Oakridge avenues.
Investigators said children were playing just a short distance away from where the attack happened.
Witnesses said even from a distance, you could tell the dog was badly injured because it was not putting any weight on its left front leg.
Emergency crews said the dog’s leg was likely broken.
People who were in the area, said the pack of dogs went after the animal around 10:30 a.m.
Aaron Thorpe, who was playing nearby, said he was not going to break up the attack.
“I couldn’t. I did not want to get bit,” Thorpe said.
Simenola Meriner of Dayton was nearby and said, “It was three of us cars lined up blowing our horns trying to get the dogs off each other.”
Other people even threw cans and bottles at the dogs, hoping to save the animal’s life.
Meriner said a pit bull was the one dog that attacked the animal while the other dogs in the pack watched.
Witnesses said the pack left, but then the pit bull came back again. This time he was alone and went toward the injured dog again, but an officer scared the pit bull away.
The Montgomery County Animal Resource Center went to get the injured dog. Officials said the German Shepherd mix is still alive.
Officers said they located another dog that is believed to have been part of the pack. They said they had to use a Taser on the animal in order to get control of it.
The Animal Resource Officer said they have been called to the area several times since last summer on complaints of packs of dogs.
(WHIO - Feb 16 2009)
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Nebraska medics save woman from pit bull attack
NEBRASKA -- A dog on a rampage critically injured an Omaha woman.
Lorrie Ellis is now in fair condition at The Nebraska Medical Center after the Douglas County Sheriff says her son's pit bull attacked her.
"The dog just attacked a lady, I can not get him off of her and there is blood everywhere," says the dog's owner's girlfriend to a 911 operator.
It happened inside the 48-year-old woman's West Omaha home. The pit bull was growling at a child inside the home Sunday night. When Ellis tried to stop the dog, the he turned on her.
(EMS1 - Feb 10, 2009)
Lorrie Ellis is now in fair condition at The Nebraska Medical Center after the Douglas County Sheriff says her son's pit bull attacked her.
"The dog just attacked a lady, I can not get him off of her and there is blood everywhere," says the dog's owner's girlfriend to a 911 operator.
It happened inside the 48-year-old woman's West Omaha home. The pit bull was growling at a child inside the home Sunday night. When Ellis tried to stop the dog, the he turned on her.
(EMS1 - Feb 10, 2009)
Thursday, February 5, 2009
United Kingdom: Girl attacked by Bull Mastiff, ends up with more than 100 stitches in her face
UNITED KINGDOM -- Niamh Webster-Guy's cheek and lip were rebuilt in a three-hour operation after a bull mastiff attacked her.
The schoolgirl was outside a house when the dog reportedly leapt onto a garden fence and jumped at the her.
Niamh's mother, Cheryl Webster, said: "I was absolutely terrified - Niamh's face and lip were just hanging off.
"She was on the pavement outside her friend's house when the dog came bounding out. It put its paws on the fence, then went straight for her face.
"There was a big loss of blood and they had to completely reconstruct her lip - she had to have over 100 stitches.
"The police spoke to the owners but, apparently, they don't want to put the dog down because they say it's never done anything like this before.
"But it's vital that the dog is put down - that's what I want more than anything."
Niamh, a pupil at Cotmanhay Junior School, near her home in Cotmanhay, Derbs, was waiting outside the house with a friend when she was attacked last Tuesday.
She was taken to Ilkeston Community Hospital by her parents and transferred to the Queen's Medical Centre, in Nottingham, before being moved to Nottingham City Hospital.
She was released three days later but Miss Webster, 39, said Niamh would not be ready to go back to school for a couple of weeks.
Miss Webster said: "We've had to take her back to hospital since she left because she was bleeding through her stitches.
"The injuries are, thankfully, healing well and little traits of her personality are starting to come back.
"But it was a scary ordeal for her and it worries me that others may have to go though what we're going through while the dog is still around."
Niamh's father, Darren Guy, 43, said: "No-one should have to go through the pain and suffering that Niamh did, or the heartache that me and Cheryl had to go through."
Bull mastiffs, a cross between a mastiff and a bulldog, were originally bred to help gamekeepers against poachers.
Under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, various hurdles must be overcome before any prosecution can be brought.
A spokeswoman for the Derbyshire Police said: "We are still making inquiries at this stage to see if any offences have been committed."
(Telegraph UK - Feb 5, 2009)
The schoolgirl was outside a house when the dog reportedly leapt onto a garden fence and jumped at the her.
Niamh's mother, Cheryl Webster, said: "I was absolutely terrified - Niamh's face and lip were just hanging off.
"She was on the pavement outside her friend's house when the dog came bounding out. It put its paws on the fence, then went straight for her face.
"There was a big loss of blood and they had to completely reconstruct her lip - she had to have over 100 stitches.
"The police spoke to the owners but, apparently, they don't want to put the dog down because they say it's never done anything like this before.
"But it's vital that the dog is put down - that's what I want more than anything."
Niamh, a pupil at Cotmanhay Junior School, near her home in Cotmanhay, Derbs, was waiting outside the house with a friend when she was attacked last Tuesday.
She was taken to Ilkeston Community Hospital by her parents and transferred to the Queen's Medical Centre, in Nottingham, before being moved to Nottingham City Hospital.
She was released three days later but Miss Webster, 39, said Niamh would not be ready to go back to school for a couple of weeks.
Miss Webster said: "We've had to take her back to hospital since she left because she was bleeding through her stitches.
"The injuries are, thankfully, healing well and little traits of her personality are starting to come back.
"But it was a scary ordeal for her and it worries me that others may have to go though what we're going through while the dog is still around."
Niamh's father, Darren Guy, 43, said: "No-one should have to go through the pain and suffering that Niamh did, or the heartache that me and Cheryl had to go through."
Bull mastiffs, a cross between a mastiff and a bulldog, were originally bred to help gamekeepers against poachers.
Under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, various hurdles must be overcome before any prosecution can be brought.
A spokeswoman for the Derbyshire Police said: "We are still making inquiries at this stage to see if any offences have been committed."
(Telegraph UK - Feb 5, 2009)
Oklahoma: Army soldier Cody Hahn denies dragging dog and then abandoning it on the side of the road to die
OKLAHOMA -- A Sapulpa soldier at the heart of an animal-abuse case steadfastly denied ever dragging a dog behind a vehicle, and told the Tulsa World he was looking forward to proving his innocence.
Cody Wayne Hahn, 20, appeared Wednesday before Creek County Special District Judge Richard Woolery, who set a March 11 preliminary hearing for Hahn, charged with cruelty to animals.
The case against him stems from an Oct. 16 incident in which several witnesses told sheriff’s deputies they saw a dog being dragged by a sports utility vehicle along 161st Street.
Deputies found the vehicle the next day and questioned Hahn, who denied any knowledge of the incident, authorities said.
However, the Sheriff’s Office said those witnesses picked Hahn from a photo lineup as the SUV’s driver.
(NewsOK - Feb 4, 2009)
Earlier:
Cody Wayne Hahn, 20, appeared Wednesday before Creek County Special District Judge Richard Woolery, who set a March 11 preliminary hearing for Hahn, charged with cruelty to animals.
The case against him stems from an Oct. 16 incident in which several witnesses told sheriff’s deputies they saw a dog being dragged by a sports utility vehicle along 161st Street.
Deputies found the vehicle the next day and questioned Hahn, who denied any knowledge of the incident, authorities said.
However, the Sheriff’s Office said those witnesses picked Hahn from a photo lineup as the SUV’s driver.
(NewsOK - Feb 4, 2009)
Earlier:
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Oregon: Hyrum Long buried his sick dog alive. Judge says it was "monstrous and barbaric"... but then drops his felony charge to a misdemeanor and sentences him to just 120 days in the county jail
OREGON -- In January Hyrum Long pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree animal abuse, a misdemeanor. The original charges of felony aggravated animal abuse and animal abuse were amended to the single misdemeanor charge.
Today Judge Rick Knapp sentenced Long to to 120 days in jail, with two years of formal probation and 100 hours of community service to follow. In addition, Long was forbidden to own, control or possess any animals.
Knapp also called the situation appalling and said, “I would not empathize with anything about your situation at all, what you did was monstrous and barbaric.”
“It was not my intent to hurt nobody,” Long said. “I apologize for all I did. I have no animosity towards nobody.”
“There’s no disputing that the case, on its face, is horrific,” said Long’s defense attorney, Donald J. Watt, who explained that Long grew up at a time when pet owners euthanized their animals without veterinarians.
“That’s what was done in those days,” he said. “He is not an evil person. He did something that he felt needed to be done.”
Yeah, I guess in the old days when you had a sick dog that showed long-term malnutrition, hadn’t eaten for most of a week and had a skin disease that had went untreated for more than a year you would just bash it on the head with a hammer then bury it alive up to its neck then go out to enjoy a Chinese dinner. Hmmmm…. I never heard stories like that.
His lawyer argued to have Long sentenced to only community service rather than jail time because his wife was sick. Wouldn’t someone be worried he might try to take that situation in hand….. nevermind, won’t go there.
Anyway, he’s been sentenced and will do his time. Molly is in a better place now, I have to look at it like that or it will hurt too much to think of her last hours.
In December, Long’s daughter, Susan Johnson, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree animal neglect before Washington County Circuit Judge Rick Knapp. She was sentenced to 90 days in jail, two years formal probation 100 hours of community service and cannot own any animals for five years.
(fortheloveofthedogblog.com - Feb 3, 2009)
Earlier:
Today Judge Rick Knapp sentenced Long to to 120 days in jail, with two years of formal probation and 100 hours of community service to follow. In addition, Long was forbidden to own, control or possess any animals.
Knapp also called the situation appalling and said, “I would not empathize with anything about your situation at all, what you did was monstrous and barbaric.”
“It was not my intent to hurt nobody,” Long said. “I apologize for all I did. I have no animosity towards nobody.”
“There’s no disputing that the case, on its face, is horrific,” said Long’s defense attorney, Donald J. Watt, who explained that Long grew up at a time when pet owners euthanized their animals without veterinarians.
“That’s what was done in those days,” he said. “He is not an evil person. He did something that he felt needed to be done.”
Yeah, I guess in the old days when you had a sick dog that showed long-term malnutrition, hadn’t eaten for most of a week and had a skin disease that had went untreated for more than a year you would just bash it on the head with a hammer then bury it alive up to its neck then go out to enjoy a Chinese dinner. Hmmmm…. I never heard stories like that.
 |
| Monsters Susan Johnson and Hyrum Long |
His lawyer argued to have Long sentenced to only community service rather than jail time because his wife was sick. Wouldn’t someone be worried he might try to take that situation in hand….. nevermind, won’t go there.
Anyway, he’s been sentenced and will do his time. Molly is in a better place now, I have to look at it like that or it will hurt too much to think of her last hours.
In December, Long’s daughter, Susan Johnson, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree animal neglect before Washington County Circuit Judge Rick Knapp. She was sentenced to 90 days in jail, two years formal probation 100 hours of community service and cannot own any animals for five years.
(fortheloveofthedogblog.com - Feb 3, 2009)
Earlier:
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Illinois: Boy's spirit survives pit bull mauling
ILLINOIS -- Nick Foley is coolly approaching the milestone of starting high school, but the 8th grader knows his mother worries how he will handle the inevitable questions about the scars left from a pit bull attack.
"I really don't have fears about starting high school other than stress and stuff that every kid worries about," he said, turning to his mom, Polly, in the kitchen of their Cary home. "You're more nervous than me."
Nick was 10 years old in November of 2005 when he was dragged and his flesh ripped by a neighbor's three pit bulls as he and a friend were going door to door selling candy and magazines.
Initially, he was in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. He spent six weeks in a hospital. Since then he has had 17 surgeries, many of them plastic surgery. So much flesh was shredded from his right forearm that he could wrap a finger and thumb around it.
His mother said she is concerned about her 13-year-old son's first step toward adulthood. She and her husband, Brooks, will be in the background this fall as he navigates the turbulent social life of high school. He now attends Cary Junior High School.
Nick, she realizes, undoubtedly will be the subject of questions and maybe some stares as he forges relationships with a new group of boys and girls.
"In some ways, I feel like it will be his first challenge," Polly Foley said.
Nick will attend Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock, where his older sister and brother, Maureen and Alex, are students.
His siblings will help make the transition easier. But Nick understands that he will be leaving the comfort zone he found in Cary, where he rarely had to explain what happened because so many knew the story. The attack and his fight to recover were the subject of a series of articles in the Chicago Tribune.
"Now he's going to Marian, and most kids probably don't know what happened to him," Polly Foley said. "He's going to be undressing for gym, they'll see his arms and legs, and there will be questions."
Nick seems bemused by her concerns, showing flashes of his trademark resilience.
"You worry too much," he said.
These days the teen is more apt to chat with adults than he was in the months after the attack. He makes eye contact and is willing to listen and reflect. He has grown expert at fending off questions about what happened with a wise-cracking "shark attack" response.
At 5-feet-7, Nick now is almost as tall as his parents.
"I have a little anxiety, but it's not as much as I had," he said of the fears that haunted him after the attack. "If I see a pit bull or another dog and I feel anxious, I calm myself down and tell myself the chances of it happening again are really slim to none."
His childhood dreams have changed, too. Once he envisioned himself as a professional baseball player. Now he dreams of becoming a plastic surgeon, perhaps a nod to the surgeon who helped reconstruct his body.
"I just think it's interesting," he said. "I want to know what it's like to be on the other side of the operating table."
Nick is almost fully recovered. He has difficulty jumping because the dogs tore his hamstring muscles. His right fingers were bent because of nerve damage, but surgery has straightened them, which has helped him sharpen his basketball skills.
On Sunday, he scored four points in a tight basketball game that his team won by one point.
"He just has this amazing resilience to everything he has been through," said his coach, Scott Hamann. "He doesn't want anyone to feel sorry for him, and he doesn't feel sorry for himself."
Now that their focus has turned away from helping him heal, his parents are trying to draw attention to the danger of vicious dogs.
Nick was invited to tell his story before the Chicago City Council last year to help champion a spay and neuter proposal that would require dogs and cats to be fixed by the time they are 6 months old.
But after talking it over with their son, Polly and Brooks Foley thought he was too young. Nick said he would be willing to speak to aldermen privately if the proposal resurfaces.
"Nick has a story to tell, and we can use it for advocacy without exploiting him," Polly Foley said.
Each time a pit bull attack is reported, the Foleys say they feel the urgency to tell their story.
They have connected with several animal welfare groups to help focus the issue on vicious dogs, not necessarily on a specific breed.
When Polly Foley learned that the pit bulls of former NFL quarterback Michael Vick were being rehabilitated, she canceled her subscription to the magazine that featured them on the cover.
Vick, who played with the Atlanta Falcons, was sentenced to 23 months in prison in December 2007 for operating a dogfighting compound in Virginia and lying about it to authorities. Four pit bulls, which were abused, were seized by authorities.
Polly Foley said she thinks often about the damage the pit bulls did to Nick, dogs that were the beloved pets of a neighbor and were not abused.
Police shot all three of the animals during the attack.
"I just don't know how anyone could be comfortable with rehabilitating them," Polly Foley said. "Look at Nick. Is it worth the risk?"
As for her son, he's focusing on what's in front of him: homework, friends, basketball, and spring break.
Asked how he'll handle whatever challenges might come his way in high school, he calmly said, "I just like to wing it."
(Chicago Tribune - January 30, 2009)
"I really don't have fears about starting high school other than stress and stuff that every kid worries about," he said, turning to his mom, Polly, in the kitchen of their Cary home. "You're more nervous than me."
Nick was 10 years old in November of 2005 when he was dragged and his flesh ripped by a neighbor's three pit bulls as he and a friend were going door to door selling candy and magazines.
Initially, he was in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. He spent six weeks in a hospital. Since then he has had 17 surgeries, many of them plastic surgery. So much flesh was shredded from his right forearm that he could wrap a finger and thumb around it.
His mother said she is concerned about her 13-year-old son's first step toward adulthood. She and her husband, Brooks, will be in the background this fall as he navigates the turbulent social life of high school. He now attends Cary Junior High School.
Nick, she realizes, undoubtedly will be the subject of questions and maybe some stares as he forges relationships with a new group of boys and girls.
"In some ways, I feel like it will be his first challenge," Polly Foley said.
Nick will attend Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock, where his older sister and brother, Maureen and Alex, are students.
His siblings will help make the transition easier. But Nick understands that he will be leaving the comfort zone he found in Cary, where he rarely had to explain what happened because so many knew the story. The attack and his fight to recover were the subject of a series of articles in the Chicago Tribune.
"Now he's going to Marian, and most kids probably don't know what happened to him," Polly Foley said. "He's going to be undressing for gym, they'll see his arms and legs, and there will be questions."
Nick seems bemused by her concerns, showing flashes of his trademark resilience.
"You worry too much," he said.
These days the teen is more apt to chat with adults than he was in the months after the attack. He makes eye contact and is willing to listen and reflect. He has grown expert at fending off questions about what happened with a wise-cracking "shark attack" response.
At 5-feet-7, Nick now is almost as tall as his parents.
"I have a little anxiety, but it's not as much as I had," he said of the fears that haunted him after the attack. "If I see a pit bull or another dog and I feel anxious, I calm myself down and tell myself the chances of it happening again are really slim to none."
His childhood dreams have changed, too. Once he envisioned himself as a professional baseball player. Now he dreams of becoming a plastic surgeon, perhaps a nod to the surgeon who helped reconstruct his body.
"I just think it's interesting," he said. "I want to know what it's like to be on the other side of the operating table."
Nick is almost fully recovered. He has difficulty jumping because the dogs tore his hamstring muscles. His right fingers were bent because of nerve damage, but surgery has straightened them, which has helped him sharpen his basketball skills.
On Sunday, he scored four points in a tight basketball game that his team won by one point.
"He just has this amazing resilience to everything he has been through," said his coach, Scott Hamann. "He doesn't want anyone to feel sorry for him, and he doesn't feel sorry for himself."
Now that their focus has turned away from helping him heal, his parents are trying to draw attention to the danger of vicious dogs.
Nick was invited to tell his story before the Chicago City Council last year to help champion a spay and neuter proposal that would require dogs and cats to be fixed by the time they are 6 months old.
But after talking it over with their son, Polly and Brooks Foley thought he was too young. Nick said he would be willing to speak to aldermen privately if the proposal resurfaces.
"Nick has a story to tell, and we can use it for advocacy without exploiting him," Polly Foley said.
Each time a pit bull attack is reported, the Foleys say they feel the urgency to tell their story.
They have connected with several animal welfare groups to help focus the issue on vicious dogs, not necessarily on a specific breed.
When Polly Foley learned that the pit bulls of former NFL quarterback Michael Vick were being rehabilitated, she canceled her subscription to the magazine that featured them on the cover.
Vick, who played with the Atlanta Falcons, was sentenced to 23 months in prison in December 2007 for operating a dogfighting compound in Virginia and lying about it to authorities. Four pit bulls, which were abused, were seized by authorities.
Polly Foley said she thinks often about the damage the pit bulls did to Nick, dogs that were the beloved pets of a neighbor and were not abused.
Police shot all three of the animals during the attack.
"I just don't know how anyone could be comfortable with rehabilitating them," Polly Foley said. "Look at Nick. Is it worth the risk?"
As for her son, he's focusing on what's in front of him: homework, friends, basketball, and spring break.
Asked how he'll handle whatever challenges might come his way in high school, he calmly said, "I just like to wing it."
(Chicago Tribune - January 30, 2009)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Orland Park man fatally shoots neighbor's pit bull
ILLINOIS -- Orland Park police are investigating a [dog attack] last week that led to a local man fatally shooting his neighbor's pit bull.
The homeowner told police that he shot the dog, killing it, after it attacked his yellow Labrador retriever in the backyard of his house in the 16600 block of Robinhood Drive, police said.
The Labrador was taken to a veterinarian where it had a neck wound and a paw sutured to stop the bleeding, police said.
(Chicago Tribune - January 29, 2009)
The homeowner told police that he shot the dog, killing it, after it attacked his yellow Labrador retriever in the backyard of his house in the 16600 block of Robinhood Drive, police said.
The Labrador was taken to a veterinarian where it had a neck wound and a paw sutured to stop the bleeding, police said.
(Chicago Tribune - January 29, 2009)
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