Pit Bulls, Breaking Constraints, Killing Dogs Like Mad

Pit Bulls Kill 2 Dogs in Bethlehem
Bethlehem, PA - Ramon Girona told reporters that he looked out his window to see his two chihuahua's being attacked by a pack of pit bulls. The three pit bulls got loose from their house. They didn't make it more than a block away before killing his two dogs and injuring two others. By the time police arrived, the pit bulls had already moved into his neighbor's yard and started to attack another dog there.

Police removed three pit bulls from the area after the attacks. They're now at the Northampton County Center for Animal Health and Welfare, where officials say they will have to be euthanized. The dog's owner, Sam Lopez Junior relinquished his rights and handed them over. He faces multiple public safety penalties under the Pennsylvania dog law, the worst of which is considered a second-degree misdemeanor.

Back in July, a pit bull hopped a fence and severely attacked a 75-year old Bethlehem woman that was sitting on her porch. Millie Valenti suffered numerous bite marks on her legs and arms and a chunk of flesh is missing from her leg. The dog owner, Lisa Rodriguez, was cited for harboring a dangerous dog. Police had been to Rodriguez's home in June for a separate bite incident, but no charges were filed.

In other news:

Dogs Identified as "Boxer-Mixes"
UPDATE 09/27/08: The attacking dogs who were described in the first article as "possibly pit bull mixes" were later identified as two 9-month old boxer-mixes. Island County Animal Control Officer Carol Barnes said "Just because they are people-friendly doesn't mean they aren't dog-aggressive." Various websites say that boxers can be dog aggressive. Pit bulls, however, were selectively bred to be dog aggressive.

09/25/08: Dog Attack Leaves Another Dog Dead, Woman Hurt
Whidbey Island, WA - Animal control officers on Whidbey Island are looking for the owners of two dogs that attacked a woman and her Chihuahua. The attack left a 75-year-old woman covered with bite wounds and her Chihuahua so badly injured that it had to be put down. Treva Rogers was walking her dog Budda when two dogs came at them from out of nowhere.

Rogers said the dogs knocked her to the ground three times. "They both got us and I kept holding Boody...one had his throat and the other one had his leg and I was just completely blood soaked with blood...it was horrible. It was like a horror movie." She picked up her dog and ran into her sister's house and the dogs followed. Her brother-in-law chased the dogs out by hitting them with a broom.

Pit Bull Attacks, Kills Sheltie in Smyrna
Smyrna, TN - The last images of Bob and Tonya Dowd's dog, Scott, are graphic cell phone photos taken minutes after their Sheltie purebred was killed. Tonya Dowd let the dog outside Tuesday at her Smyrna home. The next thing she knew, she heard a piercing squeal. A pit bull from a nearby subdivision had made its way into the yard and was slinging her dog around “like a rag doll,” she said.

Sarah Luna, the owner of the pit bull, was only fined and authorities haven’t picked up the dog. Rutherford County animal officials said that since the dog had made its way back to its owner and was on a leash before they arrived, there's nothing they can do, other than a citation for the dog running loose. The pit bull had no previous record of dangerous behavior.

Luna said that the dog bit off his chain and jumped over the fence, and that there is a better chain for the dog now. She said she has no plans of giving up her dog. The Dowd family said that they plan to sue the pit bull's owner for the cost of their dog and for grievance. "Our dog was murdered by this other dog," said Bob Dowd. "When you reach that level of violence, the dog should be taken away. Bottom line."

Related articles:
09/12/08: Boy Scout Stabs, Kills Pit Bulls Attacking Friend's Dog
08/29/08: Owner of Mauled Yorkie Sues Pit Bull Owner for $250,000
08/09/08: Pit Bulls Attack Grandmother's Dog While Gardening