Pit Bull law considered in Blair

An attack on a Labrador retriever by two pit bulls is prompting Blair officials to look at enacting an ordinance aimed at dangerous dogs.




Bill and Jane Straube of Blair are to speak about the need for the ordinance at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. The Straubes’ dog, Sophie, was the victim of an attack by a pair of pit bulls on July 21 while in the family’s yard.



“It could have been disastrous,” Jane Straube said Monday. “Our 9-year-old son could have been out in the front yard. I got bit on the toe trying to pull (the pit bulls) off.”



The dog required numerous stitches but survived the attack. The pit bulls are being held at the Blair Animal Shelter.



Jane Straube said one of the pit bulls, which lived across the street, had been identified as a dangerous animal in 2007 after it chased some neighbors.



City Administrator Rod Storm said the current Blair dog ordinance gives a dog two strikes before it can be destroyed.



Jane Straube and her husband intend to ask the City Council to allow a dog to be destroyed after one unprovoked attack.



“We want them to toughen up the law, because right now two chances is one too many,” Jane Straube said. “This attack could have been much worse, and it was very traumatic for our family.”



Storm said his office is gathering information from several communities about their dog ordinances to present to the council.



“We were approached by one of the council members in the wake of the attack (upon the Straubes’ dog) and asked to come up with a stronger ordinance,” Storm said. “We’re working to give the council a complete picture so they can make their decision.”

Judge Judy on PIT BULLS

Judge Judy: Do you have grandchildren?


Man: Yes 3.

Judge Judy: Do they come to your house?

Man: Yes all of the time.

Judge Judy: It can happen in a second. Lhasa Apsas doesn't cause alot of damage. Just telling ya sir. I read about it everyday in the paper, and so do you.


Man: I know your honor. I know they are very different dogs and thats why he's well taken care of, he's always home, I walk him.


Judge Judy: Listen to me, so do all of the other people who are owners of this breed, that say I never had a problem with them, [snaps her finger] turn in a minute!

Update on 5 year old from Bush

This is an update to my recent blog post -- http://bslforpitsmakessense.blogspot.com/2010/08/pit-bulls-attack-5-year-old-boy.html

BUSH — The 5-year-old victim of a dog attack Friday in Bush was taken off a ventilator when he came out of a coma at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center of St. Louis and had his breathing and eating tubes removed also, said Hurst Police Chief Ron Harvel on Monday about Winston Bankston.




“He is still in ICU (intensive care unit) and they are still watching him. But, he’s doing real well,” Harvel said about the little boy’s condition.



Two dogs mauled Bankston in Bush Village Park in the late morning as he and his 9-year-old brother were playing.



His mother, Regina Culpepper, suffered injuries to her legs as she rescued her son. A Bush city worker, Lester Taylor, drove the dogs away by honking and screaming from his truck as Culpepper and Bankston reached shelter at Bush Village Hall.



Harvel arrived at the scene and shot and killed one dog and wounded another. The dogs were identified as pitbull mix breeds and not up to date on their vaccinations. The wounded dog was euthanized at its owner’s request.



Harvel said he has removed himself from the case investigation because he was directly involved with the incident, having had to shoot to death one of the attacking dogs.



The city of Hurst acts as a first responder to emergency calls from Bush.



Williamson County Sheriff’s office is continuing a case investigation, he said.

 
It is good to see the child is doing better, but still has a long way to go. The temerity of Pit Bull owners continue to hurt innocent people.

Pit Bulls attack 5-year-old boy

BUSH, IL (KFVS) -A 5-year-old boy is clinging to life after being attacked by pit bull dogs while he played in the city park.




The brutal attack on little Winston Bankston happened on Friday morning at the Village of Bush public park.



Winston and his brother were playing on the playground equipment when the dogs attacked.



Bush city worker Lester Taylor heard the boy's mother screaming for help.



"I was checking water meter, and I heard this woman screaming," said Taylor.



" I look up and I don't see anyone. So I get in my truck and come around the corner. And that's when I see three pit bulls on woman and kid biting them and chewing them up. I drove straight for them honking my horn and screaming at the dogs."



Taylor was able to distract the dogs long enough for Regina Culpepper to scoop up little Winston and run into the village hall.



"Scared me to death, I hope I never have to see anything like that again in my life," Taylor said.



Hurst Chief of Police Ron Harvel was the first officer on the scene. He described is as the worst thing he's ever seen in his years in law enforcement.



"What I saw was a horrific scene, the mother was sitting on the floor holding the child covered in blood, the child covered in blood. I was shocked," Chief Ron Harvel said.



"I ran back outside and called for an ambulance. That's when I saw the dogs over on the west side of the park by a big tree. I grabbed my shotgun and killed one and wounded another one."



Winston was airlifted to a Saint Louis hospital in critical condition.



"I spoke with a member of the family this morning. And Winston is in ICU at Cardinal Glennon, he is in a medical induced coma and on a ventilator," Chief Harvel said.



The Williamson County Sheriff's office is now handling the investigation into the dog attack.

I laid my Pit Bull to rest.

I will probably not be blogging as much for awhile. I am grieving, and it may take some time for me to get back to normal.


As most of you know, I had a rescued Pit Bull.

The dog had been uncontrollable for about two years.

I really do not know what happened to her, it's just like a switch turned on when she turned five years old and we could not get it turned off.

I lived with her in her crazed state of mind for about two years, too long.

I took her to training and worked with her starting the week I got her, and like I said, she was fine up until she turned five, then she just changed drastically.

I still took her to several other trainers AFTER she started behaving in an unsafe manner, and even they could not figure it out. It was NOT that she was not loved, it was NOT that she was not excercised (we walked her two times a day for 45 minutes each time), and it definitely was NOT that she was not socialized... I took my baby everywhere, and I do mean everywhere.

But, as two of the trainers told me, she is just doing what comes naturally to Pit Bulls.

There was not the option of adopting her into a new home. Obviously is she was not safe with me, then she would not be safe with anyone else.

Her aggression and unpredictability got so bad, that it got to the point that she could no longer go anywhere, except on her walks, and I had to be very careful that nobody or no dog approached us.

Well,  I cannot have an unsafe dog with children. I cannot have a dog-aggressive dog. I cannot have a dog that I cannot physically control, or one that kills anything that gets in our yard, or one that is such a liability, I just could not do it anymore.

Having a Pit Bull mentally drained me, seriously.

I loved her very much, but on August 5th, I had to say good-bye, to her, and Pit Bulls, forever.

Rest in peace baby girl . I will miss you forever. All dogs should be as lucky to be as loved as you were.


Even though I'm ok with my decision, I'm not ok..... Does that make sense?

Pit Bull mix attacks, leaves infant in critical condition

9 month old infant attacked by a full grown pit bull recovering from bites on back and legs.

This pit bull mix dragged an infant to the back yard before adults could rescue her.

An infant who was bitten by a pit bull mixed breed in an Ellenwood home remains in extreme critical condition in a Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, Clayton County police said Saturday.

Police have cited the dog’s owner, Bryant Sidney, 44, for prohibitive treatment of the dog and not having a rabies tag.

Sidney is the great uncle of the baby, believed to be about 9 months old, Clayton police said.

In information released by Clayton police late Friday night, a family member who was taking care of the baby had sat her on the kitchen floor. Another relative went outside through the kitchen door to give the dog some water, police said.

The dog unexpectedly entered the house and “he placed the infant’s lower left side in his mouth,” police said.

"The dog took a large bite out of the little girl’s buttocks," Lt. Tina Daniel with Clayton County police told the AJC.

The dog then dragged the child to the back yard before the baby's mother managed to snatch the baby away, police said. A family member walked up to the dog and struck it with an iron bar until it dropped the baby, police said.

Authorities at first said the baby's mother was in the process of feeding the child and the dog at the same time when the baby got out of her high chair and onto the floor near the dog. Officers told Channel 2 Action News the dog then dragged the child to the back yard before the baby's mother managed to snatch the baby away.

The baby suffered extensive injuries to her bottom and lower back, Daniel said. The baby's name is not being released.

The dog is an adult, pit bull mixed breed, Daniel said.

The baby was taken to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston and underwent emergency surgery, Daniel said.

Investigators have not yet determined if the girl was in her own home or visiting the home, Daniel said. The investigation into the incident continues, she said.

And, read an insensitive comment left on the news website about the attack. Not surprising. --
It's too bad that the media makes a big deal out of EVERY pit bull attack - that's why everyone thinks they are such vicious dogs. Posted by: pitbull owner
Yes sir, it is not a big deal at all that a baby is in critical condition from a Pit Bull attack... The damn media always makes them look like they are so vicious! Why don't they go pick on falling coconuts, since coconuts kill more people a year than Pit Bulls do!



UPDATE 8-10-10:
An 8-month-old Clayton County girl who was severely injured in an attack by a pit bull is improving, the girl's aunt said Tuesday.

Tabitha Sidney told the AJC that although the infant is still in intensive care unit, she is doing fine.


“We go see her every day,” Sidney said. “The doctors say she’s doing really well.”

Sidney said the family is unsure of when the baby will be released from the hospital.

The baby’s condition is also unknown. Saturday, the infant was listed in extreme critical condition in the neo-natal intensive care unit, according to Clayton County police.

Police have cited the dog’s owner, Bryant Sidney, 44, for prohibitive treatment of the dog and not having a rabies tag.

Pit bull spay, neuter ordinance pitched in Contra Costa

Two Contra Costa County supervisors are working on an ordinance that would require owners of pit bulls to spay or neuter their pets.


The effort follows the July death of 2-year-old Jacob Bisbee, who was killed by three of his stepfather's pit bulls in the garage of the family's Concord home.

Supervisors John Gioia, of Richmond, and Mary Piepho, of Discovery Bay, want to model the ordinance after a 2006 San Francisco law that followed the death of a 12-year-old child.

The measure will be aimed at reducing the number of unwanted, unclaimed or neglected pit bulls, Gioia said. Dogs that are spayed or neutered also tend to be less aggressive, he said.

"If you walk into a local shelter, the most prevalent breed is a pit bull or pit bull mix," Gioia said. "(Controlling overbreeding) is a humane thing to do since unclaimed animals are eventually euthanized."

Read the full article here http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_15684911?source=pkg&nclick_check=1