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Charlotte police shoot 3 pit bulls

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Comments (15)

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

(Updated 7:07 am)

By The Charlotte Observer

CHARLOTTE (MCT) — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say officers shot three pit bulls in two recent dog attacks. Two people were hospitalized, and the dogs were later euthanized.

On Monday, animal control officers arrived at a home off Rozzelles Ferry Road and Brookshire Boulevard at about 1 p.m., police say. They found two people who had been attacked by pit bulls. Animal control officers called paramedics to treat the victims, and police to help with the dogs.

According to police, the dogs charged at the officers, who shot and injured both dogs. The dogs' owner surrendered both dogs, which were euthanized and sent for rabies analysis.

Police said the two victims were taken to Carolinas Medical Center with injuries that weren't life threatening.

The other attack happened Friday when detectives tried to serve a search warrant at a home on Taylor Avenue. Police said the resident released two pit bulls that tried to attack the officers. The officers shot one dog, which was later euthanized. The other was taken to animal control.

Last month, a 9-year-old girl required medical attention after her neighbor's pit bull bit her in the face.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say dog bites are up 20 percent this year. In 2008, there were 166 reported dog-bite incidents. There have been 208 so far this year. There were 23 dog bites in July.

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robien6

August 11, 2009 - 8:31 am EDT

I'm not even going to preemptively comment on the droves of people who will read this and think that pit bulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, and dogs like these with bad media raps deserve for these terrible things to happen to them.
I'm not going to say that if the first 2 in the story were rabid that they shouldn't have been put down, I'm more going to comment on the fact that the man who released the 2 dogs onto the police wasn't questioned, and that this story only focuses on this specific breed attacking. I am 100% certain that other dog breeds have attacked people in the recent past, though that is not reported here.
Exactly how did that man train those dogs to attack people? Pit bulls do NOT naturally show aggression towards people. If you disagree, it shows your ignorance and lack of research. So it should have been brought immediately into question if he abuses his animals, though I'm certain it wasn't because the breed has been stigmatized so heavily that for most it doesn't seem to matter whether they are abused.
People who do not properly train their animals run the risk of those animals attacking. This includes ALL dog breeds, even retrievers and labs, and especially small dogs. And this story is only reporting pit bull attacks. It is biased and foments ignorance and hatred toward specific breeds, which would be similar to only reporting the number of crimes committed by a specific race of people.

lipeachy23

August 11, 2009 - 8:43 am EDT

I think you are absolutely correct. Why are they only focusing on the dogs? It's obviously the owners' fault these dogs are behaving so badly. I have met with several pit bulls, rottweilers etc. which were perfectly calm and loving. Why are the owners not arrested? They have all the responsibility for these animals. Especially the one who set the dogs on the officers. They should be arrested for attempted murder. These animals are being used as weapons and follow what they are taught without regard to a shield. I get so mad with these articles. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OWNERS????

thunderbird

August 11, 2009 - 12:50 pm EDT

I agree with both two above. i have seen about deputies usually do the panic easily to shoot quickly without focusing. They are correct about what happened to the pet owners . they should be in jail for abusing them its sad about the pitbulls how the people treat them. the owner should be responsible and should be fined or arrested. THINK deputies and do not blame the dogs for attacking . Just remember that owners are ones who abuse them and train them to be mean. so arrest the owners!

weatherwithyou33

August 11, 2009 - 10:04 am EDT

Overall I agree that these dogs aren't as bad as the media makes them out to be if properly trained. However it is unfortunate that a large percentage of the owners of these dogs are training them to be overly aggressive and using them again for fighting. The breed, a mix of terrier and bulldog, was bred to be eager to rush into a dangerous situation and to be very strong. Remember these dogs were bred initially to be used for bear baiting until it was outlawed and then used in dog fighting up until the 1800’s when dog fighting was outlawed. The size and power of these dogs, along with their eager nature, makes them much harder to handle when they become agitated and makes the damage they inflict that much worse. While the dog has been bred to be more passive over the years, lazy and abusive pit bull owners can reverse this trend. If we are not careful we will end up breeding the dog back to an aggressive state.

Panacea

August 11, 2009 - 9:34 am EDT

I too, would like to know what happened with the owners in these cases.

It is the owners fault, always, when dogs behave badly.

But unfortunately, pit bulls are bred for aggressiveness. Unless you are lucky enough to find, and have the money to afford, a pit bull from a line documented for an agreeable temperment, pit bulls are accidents waiting to happen.

They should be banned. Too many pit owners get them BECAUSE they WANT a vicious dog. Ban them.

robien6

August 11, 2009 - 9:50 am EDT

I'm sorry, but that is completely untrue. My current pit bull was a stray, and she has never harmed anyone or anything. I can force my fingers into her mouth when she's eating something she shouldn't (which of course happens with all dogs because they're like toddlers), and I still have all of my fingers. It isn't about the blood lines or luck, it's about patience and the willingness to train them. I said it before, and I'm saying it again:
It is all about training because training is necessary for any dog to be even tempered.
Your ignorance regarding banning them isn't startling, though, as it's blatantly obvious that many people share it. It's obvious through the ridiculous amount of breed specific legislation that exists. Pit bulls are not bred to be human aggressive. Human aggressive and animal aggressive are completely different and one does not necessitate the other.

softersoftest

August 11, 2009 - 10:21 am EDT

I totally agree. You never see in the news about other breeds of dogs biting people. Its not just pit bulls that attack people. I have been bitten by both a chow and a german shepard. The media is giving these dogs a bad rap. It isnt the dogs fault if their owner abused them or trained them to attack people. It is not the dog but the owner that is at fault. I have three pit bulls right now and none of them have ever shown agression towards people . They are the best dogs that I have ever had. I have a 18 month old son and he loves them to death and they are great with him. He tries to ride them and they never seem to mind any of it. If they don't like something he is doing then they just go to another room. They never act the least bit aggressive to him or anyone else. But then I trained my dogs correctly and I have never had a problem out of any of them. I worked at a vets office a few years ago and lots of pit bulls came in there and i was never the least bit afraid of any of them. If they are loved and treated right then they are just big babies. Its not fair to these dogs that the media is giving them a bad reputation. People who believe that all dogs of any breed are bad are idiots. Any breed of dog can be trained to bite and yes occasionally there is one that doesnt have a great temperment but when that is the case the owner should have patience and train them well. Anyone who has never had one can't say that all of them are bad. Its like saying that because a few children are bullys they all are. You can't judge an entire breed based on a few dogs.

dogexaminer

August 11, 2009 - 9:57 am EDT

I was at the hospital where the dog was taken when this occured. This was a sad case of a terrible owner who sees his dogs as personal property, not as a companion/pet. I am trying to get more info. on what happened to the owner.
Panacea: Don't fall into the ignorance...ANY breed can be trained to be aggressive. If Pits are banned, they will find another breed. It's not fair to penalize families that are responsible.
Just to be clear to everyone on this: Pit Bulls were not bred for human aggression, they have been bred with dog aggressive traits. Dog aggression and human aggression are not related to each other in the least. Pit Bulls are not naturally typically human aggressive.

wssurams06

August 11, 2009 - 10:18 am EDT

Panacea,

Just like these owners ignorances does not give you the right to speak about these animals. I'm not calling you an ignorant person, put you are ignorant when it comes down to understanding these dogs. You can say go and ban them, but do you realize that the next "big thing" are Presa Carnios? I' own two pitt bulls and a chow and do you know my chow has to be put away when company comes over and not my pitts? Lady and Blaise are very sweet. I have a neice that is 1 and that's able to walk around them, pull their tails and they do nothing. Nala on the other hand has very bad food aggression and now that my neice is walking we are going to have to give her away due to her aggression. She's 11, stuck in her ways, and we do not want people to feel uncomfortable when visiting. Now please inform me on why my "vicious" pitts are the tamed ones? Before I decided to become owners of these breeds I made sure to RESEARCH and UNDERSTAND these animals. They are followers. They love pleasing their owners. They understand that my boyfriend and I are the leaders and they follow. We take them outside and people cannot believe how well trained they are. Overall they are very good dogs, and people like yourself that are so quick to want to pass a ban on them really hurts owners like myself who has taken the time to understand and learn about these animals. Please understand that all of these dogs are not bad just like there are good people and bad people. If a man goes in and kills 3 three women because he is upset does that mean all men are bad? And please keep in mind that we've had more men go in and kill massive people lately, but I do not say let's put a ban on allowing men to own guns. Please just educate yourself on these animals before passing judgement on all of them.

Thanks.

claysmth

August 11, 2009 - 10:24 am EDT

I disagree!! All you have to do is LOOK AT THE RECORD. Pit Bulls are aggressive dogs and should be "eliminated," at least in the United States, as legal pets. Python snakes aren't "naturally aggressive," either, but also should be banned as legal pets.

robien6

August 11, 2009 - 10:34 am EDT

A small amount of research would indicate the opposite, actually. Try visiting http://www.atts.org/ and looking at breed statistics. This is the organization that does temperament testing. You will very likely be surprised to find that American Pit Bull Terriers actually score better than Golden Retrievers, the "All-American Family Dog."

ckhol

August 11, 2009 - 10:51 am EDT

I have 2 pit bulls and a boxer. They are the sweetest animals in the world. One of our pits sleeps our bed and goes every where with us. I have 2 small kids in the home and tons of friends and family that comes around and my pits are the best behaved dogs anyone has seen. They follow simple word commands and most of the time our body language says more than our words and they follow. When we leave we put them in their cages and we can say "cage" and all of them walk into their crates and turn around to wait for us to shut the door. Just like any dog they are protective of their home and family. A german sheppard in our neighborhood attacked my smallest pit and another dog and owner in the neighborhood but that doesn't make news. I love all dogs and all dogs can be nice or mean it is up to the owner...not breed, not gene's but enviroment. I had a rescued cocker spaniel she was 4 years old when we got her and that was the meanest dog I have ever seen we had to put her to sleep b/c she bit several people pretty good. People give these dogs a bad name but don't blame a whole breed for a fews misactions I think that same thinging can go to a lot of areas in our life as well.

wssurams06

August 11, 2009 - 11:28 am EDT

Like I said about the other person..that is very ignorant of you. It'll be owners like yourself of these dogs (God forbid they give you one) that'll make them just as ignorant as you are. My friend to had a cocker spaniel and had to put that one to sleep. Another had a Golden Retriever that bit her daugthers hand..so..go figure

thestatelottery

August 11, 2009 - 10:56 am EDT

How about we ban you? I have a pit bull for 4 years now and she is the greatest, sweetest dog ever. I would only get a pit bull the next time I wanted another dog. They are the most loyal, loving dogs if they are raised the proper way. The owners of pit bulls are the problem, not the dog. They aren't "naturally" aggressive, fighters, etc. That's learned behavior, just like in humans. Wake up!

newkid

August 11, 2009 - 10:24 am EDT

Pit Bulls have a bad rap, and are certainly adaptable to aggressiveness training. But the training (or neglect) reflects upon the owners, more than the dogs. Case in point, last week at the dog park in GSO I saw 3 pit bulls who were aggressive and one dog that was docile. The temperaments of the dogs 100% reflected the personalities of the owners. The lady with the docile pup was concerned that her dog would pick up bad habits from the aggressive dogs.