Dogs and defense
Via Caleb (BTW, the answer is anyone with a knife stabbing away and screaming is a threat to anyone around him), comes this odd story of some dude stabbing a pit bull:
The Newnan Police Department responded to the incident and questioned those involved. Hiser said that a police officer told her that the man “had a right to defend his dog.”
Newnan Animal Warden Cyndi Hoffman will be taking over the case, Hiser said.
During the stabbing incident, according to several sources, the man yelled, over and over, “f***ing pit bulls!”
Mike Wohler and his fiancé, Teresa Reeves, were at the adoption event, looking for a male pit bull, when they heard a commotion.
“We were literally there for maybe two minutes when we heard screaming from the front of the store,” said Reeves. “When they (the dogs) first got into the scuffle, the man started screaming and that is what we heard.”
Erin Burr was at PetSmart when the incident occurred. According to Burr, Clara had been taken outside to go to the bathroom. After Clara and her handler came back in Burr said the man said “If you bring that f***ing pit bull near me I’m going to stab it.”
Burr said that the smaller dog growled at Clara.
Not sure about all states, but in TN, if two dogs are allowed to meet on the street and they fight, it’s tough turkey for the dog that got the bad end of the deal. I learned from my recent consultation with animal control. Now, if someone tells you keep your dog away (even in tossing in the “or I’ll stab it” part), that probably means it’s not tough turkey for the person who said to keep it away. But this guy had pre-meditated his reaction in announcing he’d stab the dog.
And one point that I don’t think I’ve made yet is that people who own small dogs (like the Westie here) tend to be the absolute worst dog owners on earth. The anthropomorphism can be dangerous. They treat the little dogs like spoiled kids and then are shocked when they actually act like dogs and other dogs react to them acting like dogs.
September 2nd, 2014 at 6:39 pm
I’m going to need to see video before I decide who the idiot handler in this story is. You’ve got witnesses saying completely opposite things and it’s hard to tell who is right.
September 2nd, 2014 at 6:44 pm
Definitely. I’m guessing both at fault a little but one at fault more than the other.
September 2nd, 2014 at 7:18 pm
Well, I won’t argue with the “right to defend his dog”, but a bite-hold on an ear isn’t exactly a life-threatening attack either…..
I’ll admit to being biased though. I own a very large protective breed dog, and have had far to many run ins with nasty little dogs and their idiot owners who think its cute when their little snot growls and snatches at my dog’s face with no warning or justification……
September 2nd, 2014 at 7:21 pm
I’m torn on this one. On the one hand, Unc is right about small dog owners, and the anti-pit bullshit is crazy.
On the other, when I was walking my dog and an irresponsible neighbor’s dog broke out of their fence (no leash, despite the law), I had gotten both dogs by the scruff but they were holding on to each other, too. The neighbor’s dog was looking at me like I was next.
Had someone else (NOT the owner) not showed up to intervene, my knife was going in that dog’s neck.
September 2nd, 2014 at 9:20 pm
I’m still of the opinion that little dogs are rats that bark and small dog owners never seem to understand when their little Pooky is being an aggressive s**t…
That said, I reserve judgement in all cases because there’s always some sort of withheld information that I’m not privy to.
September 2nd, 2014 at 9:32 pm
Yeah, maybe it’s the little dogs fault. On the other hand while pits can be quite sweet with people, as a breed they don’t tend to be so sweet with other dogs. I think I’m going to reserve judgement here.
September 2nd, 2014 at 9:39 pm
Not the little dog’s fault. The owner’s fault. And pits generally do not like dogs. They’re not dog people. don’t take them near dogs. also owner’s fault.
September 2nd, 2014 at 11:33 pm
The little dog owner sounds like a deranged asshole, but the update has the pit bull getting away from its handler. If it was off leash, this is on the pit’s handler.
September 3rd, 2014 at 12:58 am
If an uncontrolled animal (of any size) comes after my animals (who are being controlled properly) or my family members it will die.
I don’t see anything crazy about protecting your dog from another uncontrolled dogs assault.
September 3rd, 2014 at 1:18 am
I’ve had a neighbor’s mean Husky snap at a little Prince Cavalier I was taking care of for a friend without provocation. I didn’t stab the poor Husky, I picked up the Prince Cavalier. People should have more sense than a dog.
September 3rd, 2014 at 10:57 am
I’ve had to explain to people that while they know their dog is just trying to make friends, my dog doesn’t think that way, because he is a dog. Usually, while hoisting my leashed dog in the air to keep it from attacking their unleashed dog.
I have often wanted to let him go on the unleashed critters, while explaining that my dog is just trying to establish dominance over a strange dog, don’tchaknow, and not to worry, my dog usually wins.
September 3rd, 2014 at 11:09 am
My girlfriend has little dogs, one of which thinks he is 10x bigger than he actually is. Thus, he stays on his leash, and does not get to meet unfamiliar dogs. Because one day, he would snap at the wrong real-size dog, and that dog would kill him. That being said, if the real-size dog is off-leash and attacks our little brat of a dog, the aggressing dog is going to meet either a boot or a bullet.
September 3rd, 2014 at 9:56 pm
All the stories thus far indicate that the knife-wielder did not simply pick up his small dog. This, as well as the verbal threat he issued, does seem to validate the idea that the knife-wielder is indeed a deranged asshole.
September 4th, 2014 at 12:49 pm
ENTIRELY the fault of the pit handler.
AND this pit bull has a HISTORY of being a “problem dog” — they’ve been trying to adopt it out since well before January 2013, and the pit bull adoption folks were already saying on the “Click for Clara” Facebook page IN JANUARY 2013 —
Clara had problems being “dog tolerant,” according to the Facebook page. In a post on Dec. 12, 2013, the moderator states that she “started this FB page after she was banned from adoption events, in an attempt to get her visibility … she needs some training to be more dog tolerant and a feline free home.”
That’s from the people who were trying to get the dog adopted out.
Now, look at the following from the news story with that in mind:
“A pit bull that was repeatedly stabbed during an adoption event at the Newnan PetSmart Sunday afternoon had gotten loose from her leash moments before she bit a Westie Terrier.
“The terrier’s owner attempted to get the pit bull, named Clara, off his dog, and then stabbed her several times with a pocket knife. The dog, a foster who was there for the adoption event, was later euthanized because of the extent of her injuries. ”
and from an uninvolved witness who was six feet away, “[b]The pit bull came charging past me and my family and straight towards this small dog who was on a leash[/b]. His owner was checking him in or out at the vet hospital. The pit was not on a lash. Don’t know if he broke his leash or whoever had him lost his grip or what. It was terrifying.”
“Stottlar wrote that the man was yelling for someone to get the pit off his pet, and was kicking Clara several times. “He yelled ‘get the dog off or I will stab him.’ He said it several times,” Stottlar wrote. ” [emphasis mine – Geodkyt]
A viscious, aggressive, uncontrollable animal ended up having to be put down.
I feel for the Westie and its owner. Not the pit bull who was the aggressor, who was known as an aggressive dog, and who had been previously banned from multiple adoption events because of its aggressive behavior towards other dogs.
No, it’s not a “breed” problem. But this animal probably should have been put down a year and a half ago.
September 4th, 2014 at 12:55 pm
So, you’re bringing your terrier to the vet, when an OFF LEASH pit bull comes charging in and attacks your leashed dog.
There’s a reason the PIT BULL’S OWNERS volunteered to pay all of the Westie’s vet bills. They’re lucky the Westie’s owner didn’t get injured.
Pit bulls aren’t a “bad” breed. But like ALL breeds, they have “quirks”. Unfortunately, those quirks are [b]extremely[/b] dangerous to anything the pit doesn’t accept as its superior, and the dogs were specifically bred to be as strong, aggressive, stubborn, and pain resitant as possible — which is a VERY dangerous combination when they do get into trouble.
September 5th, 2014 at 9:44 pm
Oh hellz, I have a black lab that would eat a terrier and ask for seconds. She’ll terrorize an arbitrarily sized group of humans, but when I tell her, she’ll do what the fuck I say. The husky/GSD mix is more sedate. He’s a good boy.