Pitbull Kills 2-Year-Old Boy in California

[RamboLiberal]

A 2-year-old Concord, Calif. boy is dead after he was attacked by his family's pitbulls at home.

Police say the child walked into the garage where the three pitbulls are kept around 8:45 a.m. Thursday when the animals attacked.

The child was severely injured and later pronounced dead at a hospital. Police say two adult relatives and a young sibling were home at the time. The Contra Costa County Animal Services department is assisting in the investigation.

The child's death comes amid a recent series of pitbull attacks that have renewed calls to put restrictions on owning the breed, which was developed for fighting.

One person was killed and three others hurt in a pit bull attack in Memphis, CBS affiliate WREG reported Tuesday.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/22/national/main6703350.shtml?tag=stack

I've watched too much Dog Whisperer to condemn the breed those as Cesar says these are a gladiator breed. Unfortunately I do think we have some fools for owners who want these dogs for fighting & macho image & the innocent pay.

[ZombieHorde]

1. Sad. nt

[smalll]

2. The Onion: "Boy's Tragic Death Could Have Happened To Any Family...

With 20-Foot Pet Python"

http://www.theonion.com/video/boys-tragic-death-could-have-happened-to-any-famil,17024/

:shrug:

[Critters2]

57. !

:rofl:

[smalll]

78. Yes, that was one of the best little Onion videos out there -

"shopping and then to the movies" "get a lock, well, a door and then a lock" "see it in his eyes" "therapy snake" --

Golden from start to finish!

[KurtNYC]

3. many of the most abused dogs in this country are pitbulls

but not all. It makes me sick to think how many people think their dogs understand their threats, and beatings and punishments. Never mind the breed, some people just should not own dogs.

[valerief]

4. The child's death comes amid a recent series of pitbull attacks.

This can't be repeated often enough.

The child's death comes amid a recent series of pitbull attacks that have renewed calls to put restrictions on owning the breed, which was developed for fighting.

[GSLevel9]

22. Does ANYONE here believe...

that if I take a 6 week old PB puppy into a controlled environment and I take a 6 week old Schnauzer into a similar controlled environment

Does ANYONE believe that the PB will be more "dangerous" than the Schnauzer?

Please let me lol...

[flvegan]

24. Here on DU

there are plenty. They laugh at Freepers for buying into media hype, yet...well, you see where I'm going with this.

[Warren DeMontague]

64. And, you'll also get the "it was the 2 year old's fault, not the sweet little doggie" crowd, too.

:eyes:

[Critters2]

66. Yep! Just wait for it. The 2 yo moved wrong, made a growling noise,

smelled of dirty diaper...somehow caused this attack by just the cutest widdoe puppy dog to ever walk the face of the earth. :eyes:

[KurtNYC]

40. Is a 45mm more dangerous than a BB gun?

How many schnauzer have killed babies this week?

[petronius]

76. If I store 1 pound of dynamite and 100 pounds of dynamite in the same conditions,

which is more dangerous?

Even holding everything else constant, some dogs by their physical nature will be more dangerous than others (actually, you made this exact point yourself with that cute Russian thingy downthread).

Perhaps some of the disagreement on threads like this comes from differing definitions of dangerous: I get the sense that some people use that word to mean 'disposed toward doing damage' and others use it to mean 'capable of doing damage'...

[flvegan]

5. Kept in the garage?

Sigh. I'm sorry for the family for their loss.

[valerief]

6. My neighbors illegally bred pit bulls in their garage. I was afraid to go

out to my car after a couple had wandered into my yard. I finally had to spend thousands of dollars to put a up fence. The neighbors foreclosed on their house and are now gone, but I'm worried new neighbors will have the dangerous dogs, too. The damn things are everywhere.

[GSLevel9]

7. unrec'd for another pitbull bashing thread. nt

[valerief]

9. No, it's actually a pro-two-year kid thread. nt

[GSLevel9]

11. would you blame teh Chevy Suburban...

if the 2 year old was run over in the driveway by the mom driver?

[valerief]

13. Would you blame the animal if it was a mountain lion instead of a pit bull?

Should people keep mountain lions in their garages?

[GSLevel9]

18. where's teh rolling eyes emoticon?

So people abuse the animal and make the animal a bad character through abuse and training... and you blame the animal?

[valerief]

25. Should people keep mountain lions in their garages, too? nt

[frylock]

53. no!

they shouldn't keep red herrings in the garage either.

[flvegan]

56. lol

:rofl:

[Critters2]

59. self-delete

cuz it's not worth it

[Warren DeMontague]

67. Right here.

:eyes:

[dems_rightnow]

15. If Chevy Suburbans

have been shown to have a much higher incidence of running over kids than other vehicles.... yes.

[valerief]

16. +1

[GSLevel9]

19. they DO, because the rear visibility is hampered. nt

[Maine-ah]

55. the same with my xterra

hubbie parked his little honda behind me at the top of the drive. We were trying to sell it at the time, I didn't see it and backed right up into it, crushed the little thing.

[burnsei sensei]

12. +1 nt

[piratefish08]

8. rec'd.

[Pisces]

10. Many homeowners insurance will not insure a property with pit bulls or other

agressive dogs. It should also be in rental contracts. I am not into generalizations but a pit bull is like having a loaded weapon in your house.

[GSLevel9]

14. yeah, I know... idiots insurance co's.

in my spare time I volunteer at a dog rescue and I've worked with MANY, MANY pit bulls and dozens of other breeds and I will tell you RIGHT NOW, there's no difference in their mentality or character. I've seen prey-driven Labrador's that'd kill the neighbor's Poodle and I've seen Pit Bulls mauled by Golden Retrievers. HERE's the deal... ban the breed and low-lif trash will buy and breed Shepherd mixes and they'll be the NEXT pitbull, lol.

Ban stupid people, not dogs.

[flvegan]

20. Thank you for volunteering.

[RamboLiberal]

23. You are correct

When I was growing up Doberman's were the breed some bad owners wanted as the macho breed.

For the unfortunate pit bull there are some factors that make them attractive.

1 - Dog fighting - there's more of it than many of us know about.

2 - The dog has become a fad for many - and with fads come some very unregulated and bad breeding practices.

3 - And with fads we get some bad owners who shouldn't own a dog.

I don't know in this case about the owner. They had 5 pit bulls.

Bottom line though is a 2 year old is still dead. And it is these stories and the one in Memphis that have communities wanting breed bans & insurance companies jacking rates for certain breed ownerships.

[GSLevel9]

26. fantastic post.

I've been bit 3 times in my life...

1) by a Dobie in the 1990's

2) by a Boxer a few years back

3) and by an English Bulldog with a brain tumor.

[valerief]

28. If it were a pit bull, you might be dead now. That's why civilized countries ban them. nt

[GSLevel9]

35. you mean the weenie EU countries? ;) nt

[frylock]

50. word up

[valerief]

17. Or a mountain lion. You never know when either will "snap" and when

they do, it's deadly.

[CakeGrrl]

39. My dog's daycamp facility will not allow pit bulls or

wolf breeds. There's a reason for that.

I agree that aggressive breeds should be treated like weapons; if you can't properly manage them or guarantee your family members' safety against them, be prepared to pay a price.

[Critters2]

60. The rally training program where my dog and I go no longer accepts pit bulls either.

There've been two in the program in the 4 years we've been going, and they were both too aggressive to be around the other dogs. The owners were furious when they were asked to leave, but the rest of us were deeply relieved.

[teenagebambam]

21. At the risk of being flamed

I really have to wonder why people are compelled to own pitbulls if they're NOT fighting them illegally. Within a two-block radius of my house, there have been three pitbull attacks in the last year. One was on my 30-pound beagle, snatched from my arms by a pitbull that jumped its fence. One was one a dachsund that was being walked by a child (the child was not injured, but the dachsund was killed.) All of the attacks were perpetrated by family dogs that were "the sweetest things" and "had never hurt a fly". All were dogs that were off their property, not defending their homes from intruders. I mean, I KNOW any dog can turn on a moment's notice, but COME ON.

[valerief]

27. My neighbor (who was illegally breeding pit bulls) said his dogs

"wouldn't hurt a fly."

The last time I heard that phrase was when I read in the newspaper about a pit bull owner whose dog killed a neighbor.

[GSLevel9]

30. you know what dog scares the hell out of me?

the chihuahua.

Seriously. My sister had her ankle torn open by a chihuahua. Every time I'm around one fo those things my Spidey-Sense is on 10X

[madmax]

44. My son has a chihuahua

and a pit bull. The chihuahua beats and bites the hell out of him and he takes it. He's still a big baby puppy at 10 months. Hope one day he doesn't eat her. :wow:

I agree those little yappers can hurt - ok, not kill ya but, they do damage.

Sorry about the little boy. Where there are small children one needs safety locks and all types of lock to anything remotely dangergous.

[baldguy]

46. But "Chihuahua kills 2-yr old boy" isn't an acceptable headline. It isn't even a story.

But if they can make the dog a "pit bull" - well, then it gets a 2-in tall boldface headline on the front page.

[Critters2]

61. My first beagle was attacked. Survived, but wit permanent damage to his spinal cord.

Once that happens, pits don't seem so cute and cuddly anymore. I'm sorry for your beag.

[teenagebambam]

77. Thanks, he is fine now

The owners paid the vet bills ( which is all they're compelled to do in this state) but it was one he'll of a scare.

[UndertheOcean]

29. Pitbulls scare the hell out of me , would never dare a pet an unknown pitbull

They are just so unpredictable.

They should never be left alone with kids :(

[flvegan]

32. Hm. I'm not dumb enough to try to pet an unknown dog of any breed.

And no dog should be left unattended with children.

[UndertheOcean]

36. Well , It is a weakness , I admit ... (specially if it is a Lab)... but I haven't been bitten, yet

[GSLevel9]

33. who's scarier?

the second dog... believe it or not... is a much greater physical danger.

[KurtNYC]

43. Tell it to Michael Vick

tell him he wasted millions breeding Pits when whatever that 2nd one is could have won all his illegal fights for him. BS.

[baldguy]

47. Fighting dogs a made, not born.

[KurtNYC]

54. then why do dog fighting investors choose ONLY pitbulls?

(or are you agreeing with me? -- I couldn't tell)

[guitar man]

62. Not true

There are a variety of "fighting" breeds including Shar Pei , Presa Canario, Akita, Bully Kutta among others

[Critters2]

63. Pit bulls included. nt

[baldguy]

70. They don't. Dog fighting has existed long before pit bulls have.

And just look at the Vick case. He was convicted of animal cruelty in part because he tortured & killed pit bulls because they didn't fight as well as he wanted them to.

Simply because assholes choose to fight some pit bulls doesn't mean all pit bulls are fighters.

[TorchTheWitch]

74. because they aren't human aggressive by nature

though by nature they do tend to be dog aggressive, and because they are extraordinarily physically resilient. They are so loyal they will allow themselves to be grossly brutalized by their owners yet be so loyal as to put up with such despicable abuse. Dog fighters DON'T want a breed of dog that is likely to turn on them or not be physically capable of surviving extreme physical abuse. Sadly, it is the pittbulls' loyalty and physical resilience that make them ideal dogs for the despicable "sport" of dog fighting.

[baldguy]

75. +1000

[GSLevel9]

48. the second dog is a Caucasian Shepherd.

a russian dog, an ovtcharka...

they are the most aggressive natural guard dog ever placed on Earth. And I'll take the ovtcharka in the ring with a pitbull.

There are MANY reports from Georgia (the country) of ovtcharka standing their ground with wolves. And even MORE stories of ovtcharka in pairs KILLING wolves.

[guitar man]

49. Potentially dangerous to humans?

I'd pick the bottom one, potentially dangerous to other dogs, the top one.

[flvegan]

51. No, the ovcharka is without a doubt

the most able regardless of the competition.

[guitar man]

58. Oh no shit

You're right, I'm looking at it on an iPhone and I thought it was a Great Pyraneese.

[baldguy]

31. The breed doesn't matter.

If a dog is maltreated & abused and not socialized, then it WILL be unpredictable & dangerous.

[dionysus]

38. +1

[guitar man]

34. so sad

just sad :cry:

[dionysus]

37. never been much of a fan, but the neighbor got one, and he's nice as can be. most times,

tragedies like these are caused by crappy owners (but, not always. any dog has the potential to snap)

[Critters2]

69. Not around here. Every time a pit bull kills a kid in the Midwest,

the family always insists it was just the cutest, most lovable, would-never-hurt-a-fly, well-cared for creature to ever grace the planet. They are SHOCKED! SHOCKED, I tell you! to know that their little sweetums tore the jugular from the neighbor kid's neck.

[RedCloud]

41. Just put the parents in a cage with hungry tigers.

[madmax]

45. +1

[GSLevel9]

52. I'll agree with that!! nt

[guitar man]

42. still looking for pictures of the dogs

I wonder what kind of dogs they were

[Warren DeMontague]

65. Like guns, hyper-aggressive dogs are just too clearly some peoples' swinging dick substitutes

You criticize them at your peril.

[Critters2]

68. +1 nt

[rosesaylavee]

71. So sad. It's not the breed but the owners.

So sad that they lost their child because of their inability to control their dogs. I too have watched a lot of Cesar Millan - wish more people would too and then we would have more balanced dogs of all breeds.

[RamboLiberal]

72. Step-grandfather held in boy's mauling death

A 2-year-old Concord boy was fatally mauled today by three pit bull terriers belonging to his family, and police arrested his step-grandfather in connection with his death, authorities said.

The dogs attacked the boy at about 8:45 a.m. in the garage of his home on the 1700 block of Trailcreek Court, on the eastern edge of Concord, police Lt. Jim Lardieri said.

The boy was pronounced dead at a hospital of injuries that were "obviously very severe," Lardieri said. His name has not been released.

The boy's step-grandfather, Steven Hayashi, 52, was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and owning a mischievous animal that causes great bodily injury or death, both felonies, Lardieri said. Hayashi is being held at Concord City Jail in lieu of $120,000 bail.

Hayashi wasn't home at the time but acknowledged to police that he owned the three pit bulls that mauled the boy as well as two other pit bulls that were in the yard at the time. All five dogs have been euthanized by Contra Costa County animal services.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/22/BA701EIDTO.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0uSKqu5ha

[EFerrari]

79. When I was about 5, my godfather bought a boxer to fight in Chinatown

in San Francisco (as I figured out years later). He brought it to our house because we had a back yard and said it was for me. Right. I went down there exactly one time and was so scared by the vibe, I didn't go back there again until it was gone. And, my mom, grandma and uncle who lived there with me were so busy working long hours, they didn't even really check it out. I don't know why that dog was eventually moved or what happened to it but it was a horrible accident waiting to happen.

[TexasObserver]

73. Killer pit bull. Destroy the dog and hold the owner responsible.

[roody]

80. Why would anyone have 5 pit bulls?

This is horrible. I love dogs and pit bulls too.