BAD: Dog attack

[schwaa]

Victim tried to stop dogfight

By STEPHEN THOMPSON and NATALIE SHEPHERD

spthompson@tampatrib.com nshepherd@wfla.com

Published: September 19, 2009

Her arms were gnawed to the bone after she tried to break up a fight between her pit bull and one of her other dogs in the backyard.

As Patricia Thiel remained in critical condition Friday at Tampa General Hospital, a day after being mauled by the 100-pound dog at her St. Petersburg home, her boyfriend said she was concerned about their other dogs being held responsible for the devastating attack.

"It was just Jake," Robert Jacks, who lives with Thiel, said in an interview at the hospital, where she was taken for emergency vascular surgery. "You can't blame the other dogs."

Jacks said Thiel, a 39-year-old nurse, told him she had just arrived home on Bonita Way South when she decided to let their four dogs out into the backyard. Jake and another dog got into a fight, and when Thiel tried to break it up, Jake turned on her and began mauling her, he said.

"Jake ended up turning on Patty," said Jacks, 43. "He never did that before."

St. Petersburg police said a neighbor heard Thiel's cries and went looking for help. Neighbor Joseph Wharton was summoned to the scene by his daughter and grabbed his 9 mm handgun. He said he fired a shot into the ground, but that didn't stop the attack
Wharton then fired three shots at the dog. Two hit their mark, and the dog was killed.

The couple had three other dogs, two pit bull mixes and a Chow-shepherd mix, and they were taken into custody by Pinellas County Animal Services.

"I'm hoping to get them back," Jacks said, adding that so does Thiel. "That's the first thing she asked about: 'Where are the other dogs?'"

Jacks said he and Thiel have been together 18 years, and Jake had been with them four to five years. Jacks works at a nearby country club, and Thiel is a nurse at All Children's Hospital.

Jacks said Wharton did the right thing by shooting the dog.

"I'm going to thank him when I see him for that. I'm glad that was done the way it was, to save her life. That's the most important thing."

He said Thiel had surgery to restore blood flow to her hands. He didn't know how much nerve damage she might have but said she has sensation in her fingers, which were very swollen, and can move her thumbs.

Animal Services director Welch Agnew said investigators are trying to determine whether any of the three dogs in custody were involved in the attack. If they were, they need to be quarantined to ensure they do not have rabies, he said. Also, a decision would have to be made as to whether they should be destroyed if they were involved in the attack.

Jake's body is also being tested for rabies.

"We are very hopeful we'll get those dogs back because I've had those dogs since they were puppies," Jacks said. "They don't deserve to be put down."

This person was very lucky that someone had access to a firearm. Its horrible what happened, but it could have got much worse if they had waited for LE to arrive. Too bad he wasnt CC.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Ram Rod]

Never....I mean never attempt to break up a dog fight or step in the middle of one. That would be just plain crazy no matter who you are.

[tiwee]

A pointer of ours on a quail hunt got caught on a barb wire fence. She bit the heck out of my dad as he lifted her off the wire. Even trusted, gentle, family raised from pups, dogs can and do bite when in pain or in a life or death dog fight.

[retsupt99]

Another pit bull attacks, his owner? Yea, their great dependable dogs...OMO, your may definitely vary.

[mojust]

Let's hear it for 9 mil.

[Bark'n]

Another pit bull attacks, his owner? Yea, their great dependable dogs...OMO, your may definitely vary.

Hmmm... Funny that as soon as I saw the thread title, I knew the breed even before I opened the link to read the story. Coincidence?

Ok, I admit in the afternoons at work I watch a lot of the "Judge Shows." Judge Judy, Joe Brown, Judge Alex and Peoples Court.

Week end and week out, there's always a Pit Bull case. Judge Joe Brown always puts up on his big screen a study done of all the breeds with a propensity to be labeled "vicious breeds" and the number of attacks by breed. Next time I see it up I'll pay closer attention as to the source of the study and the numbers.

But listed are the Pit Bull, Rott, Doberman among a few others.

Always the #1 breed is the Pit Bull.

Anyways, case after case after case... the owners all say, this has never happened before. yada yada yada...

I do believe, that especially with Pit Bulls, often times, the 1st event is also a fatal event for the person attacked. (This is from newspaper articles and local news stories I've read or seen on TV news)

Now, I'm a dog lover, and I know there are going to be lots of people who have never had a problem with their Pit Bulls. They've had several of them, or had them for years and they wouldn't hurt a fly.

Or the bad pit bulls are only because of bad owners! Hey, I'll accept that. That may very well be true. And that's great!

But, for me... I don't trust them. I wouldn't own one. And if I witness one attacking any person or one of my dogs, I'm shooting it. And there's plenty of case law and undisputed evidence to support my beliefs.

Merely my opinion... Your mileage may vary.

[StevePVB]

I know it is popular to "defend" pit bull stories by pointing out it is the owner that is at fault. I'll acknowledge that may be the case but I look at it a little differently.

We have different dog breeds because they were bred for a particular purpose. My Basset Hounds were bred for their sense of smell (plus ability to sleep). Other breeds love to swim and retrieve things. It is hard to "blame" a pit bull for following his instinct. But, I don't think it is a coincidence that they are involved in more attacks than other breeds.

[2ndsupporter]

Another pit bull attacks, his owner? Yea, their great dependable dogs...OMO, your may definitely vary.

+1 I have several friends who have Pits, and they all say the same thing "they wouldn't hurt a fly".

Locally we have a 7 or 8 year old girl fighting for a normal life from a family pit that wouldn't hurt a fly!

[Rcher]

Another pit bull attacks, his owner? Yea, their great dependable dogs...OMO, your may definitely vary.

I couldnt agree more. I have no time for pits myself.

[BaserRonin]

I know it is popular to "defend" pit bull stories by pointing out it is the owner that is at fault. I'll acknowledge that may be the case but I look at it a little differently.

We have different dog breeds because they were bred for a particular purpose. My Basset Hounds were bred for their sense of smell (plus ability to sleep). Other breeds love to swim and retrieve things. It is hard to "blame" a pit bull for following his instinct. But, I don't think it is a coincidence that they are involved in more attacks than other breeds.

That right there is the point. A pits instinct is to NOT attack a person. That was specifically bred out of them. What other arguments do you have? I can refute any except the dog-aggressive behavior. Pits were specifically bred to be docile and people friendly. A Pit that is not people friendly to a fault is either inbred, abused, or terrified.



Pet Pit Bull - Breed Information

"Much of a dog's temperament relates to it's breed history and genetic inheritance. I won't go too deep into the history of the Pit Bull as there are many good books and websites that cover the origin and history of the breed. It is common knowledge however, that the Pit Bull breed was developed for blood sports: Bull baiting, bear baiting, and later, dogfighting. What is not common knowledge is that in the days of organized dogfighting, the handlers of the combatants were habitually IN THE PIT with the dogs for the duration of the fight. They were required to pick up and separate the dogs several times while the dogs were in full fight frenzy. Before the fight, the handlers were required to wash each other's dogs, and after the fight, the badly injured dogs were often treated at ringside by strangers. Any dog that attacked or bit a handler (even if it was the other dog's handler) or anyone else at any time was culled, often on the spot, and would never have been bred. "

[ghost tracker]

No Pitbull defender here (but I do have a Boxer/Pit female). Did y'all know the Golden Retriever just moved into #3 position on the "Reported Aggressive Bite" list? Surprised me too. Saw it just yesterday on Animal Planet "Dogs 101". The problem is much like handgun caliber. No one wants to be gun shot or dog bit. But if it does happens, you hope the gun is a .177 Crosman or the dog is a Teacup Peekapoo. S&W .500 Magnums and Pitbulls won't/can't just nick/nip 'ya. Those guns & those dogs demand MUCH more vigilance & responsibility.

[steelhawk]

No Pitbull defender here (but I do have a Boxer/Pit female). Did y'all know the Golden Retriever just moved into #3 position on the "Reported Aggressive Bite" list? Surprised me too. Saw it just yesterday on Animal Planet "Dogs 101". The problem is much like handgun caliber. No one wants to be gun shot or dog bit. But if it does happens, you hope the gun is a .177 Crosman or the dog is a Teacup Peekapoo. S&W .500 Magnums and Pitbulls won't/can't just nick/nip 'ya. Those guns & those dogs demand MUCH more vigilance & responsibility.

Caliber is important. My wife was bitten by a medium size dog that snuck up on her from behind. It bit, then took off. We washed it out and put a bandaid on it. If it had been a pit bull, she would have needed much more than that.

Bad owners do make bad pit bulls, but even good owners have bad pit bulls. The dog has a lot to do with it. All the pit bulls I have seen but one were agressive and nervous animals, especially when their owner was not present.

Even the Pit Bull books will tell you that the dog is not to be trusted around other dogs.

[Maverick7340]

There are times when someone with a gun goes on a killing spree who has never hurt anyone before. The anti gun people want to take guns away from everyone.

We tell them that not all people with guns are bad. Don't judge all gun owners based on a few bad guys with a gun.

Then you see stories about pit bulls and hear the anti pit bull people say how they want to kill all pit bulls.

All I ask is don't judge all pit bulls the same based on a few bad dogs.

Judge pit bulls with the same mindset as you do gun owners.

I'm not here to debate over pit bulls. To me it's like the gun anti gun debate. You are on one side or the other and no matter what anyone says you can't change the other persons mind.

BTW- I own a pit bull and volunteer at the local animal shelter and work with the pit bulls up for adoption. The aggressive pit bulls are put down.

I'm all for putting down any dog of any breed that shows signs of aggression. I've seen a large number of dogs put down from all breeds.

I tell people who don't know about guns to come shoot one and those that don't like pit bulls to meet one.

[Thumper]

Never....I mean never attempt to break up a dog fight or step in the middle of one. That would be just plain crazy no matter who you are.

"NEVER"!

[woodust]

I know that way too many people are afraid of pitbulls and thats too bad.
but to the people who hate the just because they are pitbulls,...ignorence is bliss
and the ones who say they will shoot a pitbull if it starts after them,as a pitbull owner,and a ccw carrier,you WILL answer to my .45
if you draw on my dog.