[Taltarzac725]

Pit bull attacks in South Africa—a historian sheds light on the issues

I saw the news on the other Villages news site. Sad. Dog dies after vicious attack by pit bull on Historic Side of The Villages





















Last year, my pooch had been bitten by a pit bull looking dog at the dog park on his paw but thankfully the dog had not closed its jaws. And the owner was right there to get the dog off of Beau.

I have encountered many very gentle pit bull or pit bull mixes here in the Villages though.

It is often an owner that does not seem to know how to control the dog or does not even seem to know the dog's history.

When we lived in Palm Harbor we lived next door to a man who was training pit bulls but mishandled it so badly he brought down the Humane Society as well as the news media down on him and probably the police as well. The dogs seemed very nice though. It was the owner/trainer that was the problem.

[village dreamer]

when you say , pitbull it doesn't end well.its the few that we hear about.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by village dreamer

when you say , pitbull it doesn't end well.its the few that we hear about.

There was a sweet pit bull named Jade at the dog park years ago but after it started playing regularly with the boxer like pooch named Harlow at the dog park it seemed to get more and more aggressive.

Eventually the dog park owners banned both dogs. And I would before that just avoid the area of the park the dogs' owners were.

[tophcfa]

My heart goes out to the poor folks who lost their dog in such a terribly way.

[ThirdOfFive]

My brother had a pit bull. It was the sweetest, most even-tempered dog ever.

Right up to the time it attacked his daughter.

You can't blame the dog. A pit bull is what it is. And what it is, is a dog bred to be aggressive; bull-baiting and dog fighting primarily, with a powerful bite strength of 235 psi. But when they bite they don't just bite. They tear. They hang on and rip. That is why a pit bull attack can be the most damaging of any dog, even dogs twice it's size.

Statistics bear out the danger of this breed. In the time-period 2005 - 2017, dog attacks killed 433 Americans. 284 of these deaths were by pit bulls. Rottweilers came in at #2, responsible for 10.4% of the deaths. That is two-thirds of all deaths from dog attacks in America--by a breed that numbers-wise makes up barely 6% of the canine population in this country (International Dog Day 2020 website). Pit bulls lead heavily in the number of reported attacks as well, with 3,397 attacks in the time-period compared to 535 by rottweilers.

Not all pit bulls are dangerous. But far too many times, a trusted family pet turns killer, with the most unsettling statistic being that fully 25% of pit bull fatalities are of children 0-2. My niece was lucky: her father was in the house at the time, interrupted the attack and the pit bull met it's maker a few minutes later courtesy of a .357 magnum bullet to the head. But not all children are so lucky.

Many countries ban pit bulls totally. In America a lot of home insurers won't insure your home if you own a pit bull.

Maybe it's time we looked at banning them too.

[Stu4206]

I saw the news on the other Villages news site.Dog dies after vicious attack by pit bull on Historic Side of The Villages

Can you post a link please?

[bsloan1960]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

Pit bull attacks in South Africa—a historian sheds light on the issues

I saw the news on the other Villages news site. Sad. Dog dies after vicious attack by pit bull on Historic Side of The Villages























Last year, my pooch had been bitten by a pit bull looking dog at the dog park on his paw but thankfully the dog had not closed its jaws. And the owner was right there to get the dog off of Beau.

I have encountered many very gentle pit bull or pit bull mixes here in the Villages though.

It is often an owner that does not seem to know how to control the dog or does not even seem to know the dog's history.

When we lived in Palm Harbor we lived next door to a man who was training pit bulls but mishandled it so badly he brought down the Humane Society as well as the news media down on him and probably the police as well. The dogs seemed very nice though. It was the owner/trainer that was the problem.

Pit Bulls top the statistical lists as the #1 killer of people every year. But trying to get people to believe this fact is like trying to convince anti-vaxers to get a shot. They will always say things like, "They always misidentify the breed", "There are no bad Pit Bulls- only bad owners". "I've owned Pit Bulls my whole life and they are gentle". The deeply rooted denial of facts in the face of solid, repeating statistics boggles the mind. Go ahead- do a Google search ("Google is flawed", "The American Kennel Club's statistics are wrong")

[Caymus]

Will the pit pull owner face any penalties? I assume at least a civil lawsuit to recover losses.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

My brother had a pit bull. It was the sweetest, most even-tempered dog ever.

Right up to the time it attacked his daughter.




Many countries ban pit bulls totally. In America a lot of home insurers won't insure your home if you own a pit bull.

Maybe it's time we looked at banning them too.

I agree with you, 100%. That said, I believe Florida has a law that prohibits municipalities from banning a specific breed of dog.

[Nucky]

I'm not certain if things have changed in the 6 1/2 years we've been here but when we did purchase our first home in the Historic Section we were told by The Villages Insurance that several breeds of dogs were not allowed to be on our insurance policy. All I cared about was if a Boxer was allowed or not. Turns out it was NOT because it was deemed to be too aggressive.

You could have been breaking into our home when Barney the Boxer was home alone and instead of protecting our home, he would have gotten them something cold to drink from the fridge. Sorta like Alex from Strohs.

I rolled the dice and just left him off the policy. I am not usually a dice roller on such things but he was our boy and what the hell was I going to do with him? So having child molesters in the surrounding area is okay, drunk drivers, no problemo but having a Boxer is a problem? I know you could blow a thousand holes in the way I'm thinking about this but a Boxer being aggressive? Not any that I've ever come across. We loved that damn dog and losing him so early was a heartbreaker. I brought him to the dog park twice and the second time he had a run-in with a beautiful-looking Pit. Nevermore to the dog park. Our boy got a little chipped up but was fine in a few days. The Vet gave him something for the bite or scratch he got. I paid for it all and just let it go.

That being said. If he was killed by that Pit I'd probably be living at Coleman in an Orange Colored uniform.

Bastards, control your animal. Keep them on a leash and whoever called someone in another thread I read yesterday a M....F I hope karma catches up with you quickly.

I rest my case!

[shut the front door]

Originally Posted by Stu4206

I saw the news on the other Villages news site.Dog dies after vicious attack by pit bull on Historic Side of The Villages

Can you post a link please?

If you saw it on the other site, why do you need a link?
Links to that site aren't allowed here.

[Stu4206]

I cannot find it on the other site. I also did not know you could not post a link from the other site.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by shut the front door

If you saw it on the other site, why do you need a link?
Links to that site aren't allowed here.

It is called The Villages News or something like that.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Stu4206

I cannot find it on the other site. I also did not know you could not post a link from the other site.

It happened Monday afternoon. Dog named Casper.

[Velvet]

Sometimes I think one should need a a special license to own one of these powerful dogs. Very sorry to hear what happened to the little pooch, but historically the pits were bred for dog aggression and they need specific training and handling to socialize.