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Wednesday, June 18, 2008


Woman, Police Officer Attacked by Pit Bull in D.C.

Pit Bull Attacks Handler Without Warning
Washington D.C. – A D.C. woman is struggling to understand why her boyfriend's pit bull suddenly, without warning, attacked her while she was out walking the dog. The victim, Sharmin Spriggs, does not understand that pit bulls are the only dog breed in which unpredictability has been selectively bred into it.
[The dog] never showed any aggression toward me...I don't know why this time was any different, she said.
Given the genetic background of a pit bull, this time doesn't have to be different. This time or any old time is a perfectly suitable time to attack. Unlike other dog breeds, provocation before an attack is not required for a pit bull. Owners of pit bulls, particularly those who claim, "My dog is the sweetest dog in the world," may be at the greatest risk of a sudden attack.

In the case of the Spriggs, police Officer Kevin Whaley's son and wife were outside their home when they saw the pit bull. After the dog started attacking Spriggs, Whaley's family ran and told him what happened. Kevin grabbed his radio, gun and badge, then raced outside. He said the woman was "down on all fours on the ground" with blood rushing down her arms and thighs.

Due to the closeness of proximity of the victim and attacking dog, Whaley held off firing his weapon. He instead stepped in and tried to pry the two apart. Subsequently, Whaley was bit. He said he picked up the dog with the dog's jaws still latched onto his arm. "It felt like he almost broke my forearm," he said. After separating the woman and dog, Whaley fired several times at the pit bull, killing him.

Now that the nightmare of the attack is over, Spriggs will undergo the nightmare of recovering from severe pit bull injury wounds. DogsBite.org hopes her boyfriend has a homeowner's insurance policy that will cover the cost of her medical treatment.

Related articles:
04/28/08: Father Shoots Son's Pit Bull Mix After it Attacks Him
04/17/08: Pit Bull Attack Puts Owner in the Hospital
03/21/08: Owners Put Down Pit bull After it Attacks Them

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4 comments:

Anonymous Anonymous  |  6/18/2008 6:07 PM  |  Flag  
And in Indiana, another woman was attacked by her own dog. Sorry people, my sympathies are reserved for those truly deserving of it, horses, goats, people who are minding their business, taking out the trash, riding their bikes weeding their flower bed and checking their mail. People who are attacked by their own dogs, are not on my list.

http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8515939

Anonymous Anonymous  |  6/19/2008 5:37 AM  |  Flag  
Great...Another Police Officer on medical leave thanks to the fighting breed fetishists!

The net drain to society caused by the Pit-Community is incalculable.

Anonymous Doug  |  6/19/2008 11:31 AM  |  Flag  
I'm with you anonymous, my sympathy for owners attacked by their own pit bulls sort of faded away after 30 or 40. And the story from your Indiana link is becoming a classic: Never aggressive before - raised from a puppy - attending obedience class on weekends. Sounds like they're doing everything right except for their choice of breed.

But I'm still infinitely sympathetic for the child victims of the so called "Nanny Dog." No child ever made the choice of having a nanny dog from the breed responsible for killing more children than all other breeds combined.

Considering this, I'm at a loss to understand why child protective services placed a 5 year old in a home with a pit bull. The pit bull killed the child. What will CPS say? That they didn’t know pit bulls are dangerous? Outrageous! http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5845661.html

Anonymous Anonymous  |  6/19/2008 6:22 PM  |  Flag  
I am the unsympathetic anon poster above and I agree with you Doug. Although UNsympathetic to adult pit owners, I am overwhelmed with grief for the children who are attacked by their own family dogs.
I wish I would have made that clear in the above post, especially in light of the recent tragedy in Texas.

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