Mother and Child Attacked by Family Pit Bull in Salina, Kansas
Dog Owner Blames Animal AgencyUPDATE 10/16/08: The
City of Salina bans pit bulls, which places the owner of the dogs that recently attacked two people in a bind. Of the three pit bulls that were removed from the home, one is being called the main aggressor and is also being described as an American bulldog boxer-mix. It's unclear what entity offered the description. But it's a good mask for an animal that otherwise would be subject to a pit bull ban.
Hashim West, the owner of 2-year old Scrappy that attacked his 16-year old daughter, Christina Chapman, had the animal euthanized. Like many owners of these dogs, he experienced the "increasingly aggressive behavior" (and even biting him) phase the animal may undergo between the ages of 1.5-2 years old. Tom Skeldon, the Lucas County Dog Warden in Ohio, spells it out clearly in a
previous blog post:
"[The owners] all think that these pit bulls are nice sweet animals and some of them are, but by the time they get to be a year and half or two years old, they're pretty intent on what they're bred to do and that’s grab ahold of things and shake it until it's dead."
West then goes on to blame the Salina Animal Shelter. He said that after the dog bit him a few weeks ago, he requested that the shelter pick up the dog. He said he was told he would have to bring the animal in himself and sign documents releasing it to the city. West said he was too afraid to transport the "snapping and biting" dog. He was not however, too afraid to leave the animal with his daughter. The shelter disagrees with his account.
10/15/08: Shot Gun Blast Did Not Stop DogSalina, KS - In a developing story, a woman and a child were transported to the hospital after being attacked by the family pit bull. Derek Rico, a 16-year neighbor, said that he and a friend heard screams coming from their neighbor's backyard. He went to see what was going on, and found a pit bull mauling a woman. Rico got a shovel and smacked the dog in the face with it. Then the dog turned on Rico. He jumped a fence to escape.
Police arrived at the scene and shot the dog in the chest with a shotgun. The dog did not go down. Animal Control next arrived, and shot the dog with a tranquilizer dart. It still did not go down. The dog finally subsided after an animal control officer got close enough to give it a tranquilizer injection. Officer Shane Hyman ended up taking three pit bulls from the home. It appears none of the dogs, were properly licensed or legal.
The woman and child that were attacked lived at the home with the dogs. The woman was hurt more seriously than the child, with numerous bites on her legs. The child had a bite on the arm.Related articles:07/27/08:
Pit Bulls Consistently Attack Their Owners07/22/08:
Another Woman Attacked by Her Two Pit Bulls
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