Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar press conference after Heather Rodriguez is perp walked.
Babysitter Arrested
Bexar County, TX - On Monday, multiple pit bulls of the XL variety attacked a baby boy and a 13-year old, who had been left to look after him. The baby did not survive. Prior to the baby dying, police arrested Heather Rodriguez, 36, in connection to the attack and charged her with serious bodily injury by omission, which carries a 5 to 99 year penalty. Rodriguez was supposed to be babysitting. Instead, she left the baby with her 13-year old daughter. Rodriguez was not home when the dogs attacked.
Investigators said the two children were sequestered in a room when the dogs forced their way inside through a door the dogs had previously damaged. Sheriff Javier Salazar said a "tug-of-war" over the baby ensued between the teen and one of the dogs, until she fled into a bathroom with the baby, where the dogs forced their way inside. The teen then retrieved her phone to call 911 and fled into another room with the baby and barricaded that door "using her body" until help arrived, he said.
"Do not go through the front door," states the dispatcher for Bexar County Fire and EMS. "They are advising to go through a window upstairs. The dogs are not letting the complainant out of the room, or anyone into the residence."1
Salazar also said the dogs chased the teen from room to room. She even held the baby above her head. "She made every effort possible, even lifting that baby up over her head...the dog actually climbed up onto something and was able to get the baby out of her hand and tear the baby out of her hand, this little girl was put in a situation where she went from that bedroom, to a bathroom, to another bedroom and was chased every step of the way by these dogs who were continuing to bite her."
The attack occurred around 10:00 am in the 9700 block of Spruce Ridge Drive near Converse. The baby was transported to San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) with severe head and throat injuries, where he later died. On Tuesday, the Bexar County Medical Examiner identified the boy as Jiryiah Johnson. He died on Monday shortly before 9:30 pm. Sheriff Salazar said the attack lasted about two minutes. Salazar said Rodriguez had previously been cited for the dogs running at large.
Three XL bullies were seized from the home, but not without resistance. Rodriguez "didn't want to give us the dogs," Salazar said. She even tried to barter. "Okay we're just going to give you this one but not these others," Salazar mimicked. The deputies stepped in and took the dogs by force. All three dogs were present and/or participated in the violent attack. Rodriguez has been uncooperative with investigators. "She refused to give a statement. She didn't have anything to say to us," Salazar said.
Bexar County Sheriff's Office released crime scene aftermath images of the interior of the home.
Thank you so much for joining us. We wanted to show you this suspect, but also to clarify some information that was given to us preliminarily...Heather Rodriguez, which is the 36-year-old female that you just met, she is not related biologically to the baby. She is in fact, in my understanding a caregiver. This morning, she took custody of the child for purposes of babysitting. At a certain point, we're still trying to determine at what point that was, Miss Rodriguez left the house and left the baby in custody of her, Heather's, 13-year-old daughter. That 13-year-old and the baby were in a bedroom. My understanding is that there was an effort to keep the baby sequestered from the dogs because these dogs were known to cause damage. At a certain point, the little girl, the 13-year-old, was in the bedroom with the one-year-old little boy when the dogs forced their way into the room. My understanding is that the door leading into that room was already damaged by the dogs at some point before that rendered it not completely secure. The dogs were able to force their way into the bedroom, and at that point began biting the baby.
The 13-year-old was able to maintain control of the baby but at this point, and what's being described to me is it was almost a tug-of-war for the baby between at least one of the dogs and the little girl. At a certain point, additional dogs came into the room as well. Then they joined in the attack. The little girl then spent several minutes trying to fight them off. She was able to get the baby and herself into a bedroom -- or I'm sorry a bathroom attached to that bedroom. The dogs also went into that bathroom. They forced their way into the bathroom. They then began to resume their attack on not just the baby but also on the 13-year-old. She was also bitten in the process.
At a certain point she had to break away and physically left the baby behind in the bathroom being attacked while she went to go get her cell phone to call for help. She was able to grab her cell phone, come back and resume fighting with the dogs over the baby. At a certain point she was able to call for help. She then took the baby and went into another bedroom, at which point she was able to put the baby on the floor and barricade the door using her body to prevent the dogs from coming into that bedroom. When deputies arrived, that's when they were able to come in, take custody of the scene, take control of the scene. They found the baby there. Began first aid. Called for EMS, who was there pretty quickly. EMS was able to transport the baby to the hospital. From what we understand about the baby right now, definitely critical condition. My understanding is that they were not able to get the baby stabilized enough to move to University [Hospital], as we were hoping for, but rather they maintained care of the baby there at SAMMC.
The injuries are pretty substantial. I've actually seen some pictures of the baby gleaned from our body camera video of the deputies, and it's heartbreaking. To see anybody in that condition -- even more so a one-year-old baby -- pretty severe head injuries. My understanding is that the baby's throat and airway are actually damaged to the point where the baby's not able to breathe through normal means. Obviously, they've had to do some surgical intervention to allow that to happen. My understanding is that the actual parents of the baby are now at the hospital.
My understanding is that...this dog had some sort of history prior to this happening. In April, the sheriff's office was dispatched for loose dogs, and the dogs were keeping the caller inside his car. In other words, they were not letting him get out of his car. They were barking and growling at him. He was afraid for his safety, did not get out of the car, and called for us. We were able to show up and get the dogs away and allow that caller to get out of the car. The dogs were secured, and at that point Miss Rodriguez was actually cited for having dogs running free of restraint. In other words, unleashed dogs. She was allowed to maintain custody the dogs at that point.
My understanding is that the parents knew that Miss Rodriguez had dogs, but they did not know that the dogs were problematic. I'm led to believe they would not have let her care for their baby...had they known these dogs were unsafe.
At any rate, the parents are with the baby at this point, and Miss Rodriguez, it is our intent, as she's being transported over to south tower, our intent is to book her for injury to a child with serious bodily injury by omission. It's a first-degree felony. She may face additional charges for the injuries sustained by her own daughter, the 13-year-old. I've got to be honest. The 13-year-old in this instance is absolutely, I'm considering her a hero. I think that that her actions led to that baby not being mauled even more seriously or even killed as a result of this savage dog attack. So this little girl, unfortunately she sustained injuries herself. I believe she's going to have some lasting psychological effects as a result of it, but I do I consider her a hero. CPS is actually involved in this case as well not just for the welfare of the baby himself but additionally...the 13-year-old.
It's a certainly a heartbreaking situation for all. Again, Heather Rodriguez will be booked, and our intent is to book her for injury to a child, serious bodily injury. That's pending if the DA's office will accept that charge...
Responses to media questions:
Q: Are the baby's injuries life-threatening?
A: The baby boy is in critical, life-threatening injuries, definitely life-threatening injuries.
Q: Do we know the extent of the 13-year-old injuries?
A: My understanding is that she was...it's horrible to say. She was covered in blood, but I think the majority of that blood belonged to the baby. She was injured. I don't believe she was injured so much to the point where she had to be hospitalized...She was left there at the house. CPS, once they get over there, may determine that she needs to be hospitalized...or at least removed from the home...Again, I consider her a hero in this situation. She got left in a pretty bad situation for any 13-year-old to be left in charge of a baby like that, but in a house full of vicious dogs. What did this lady, the suspect, think was going to happen?
Q: You called the 13-year-old a hero. How long do you think she went back and forth with this dog before she was able to call 911?
A: It was about two minutes. All said and done, this attack was about two minutes. The dogs, I haven't seen the dogs, but they're described to me as XL pits of bulldogs. They're very thick very heavy muscular dogs. So, for a 13-year-old little girl, I haven't seen how big she, is but for her to be able to fight...Two minutes is a long time to fight when you're outnumbered. We're talking at least two, possibly three dogs that she was fighting with, probably each weighing more than she did...My understanding is it's four dogs...This is not the first time being babysat...
Q: Do we know if all four dogs took part in the attack?
A: At this point, no. I believe at least two. But it's possible all four of them may have...We'll see what ends up happening. Obviously for any dog that took part in it needs to be put down. I don't think there's any scenario in which we could see giving any of these dogs back...That's outside our hands it's up to animal control to determine which dogs were involved...
Q: Question [regarding the babysitter, dog owner]
Initially we thought she was related to the baby. We come to find out that she's not. What I can tell you is that at that scene they really gave our deputies a hard time as far as they...didn't want to give us the dogs.
Then it was, "Okay we're just going to give you this one but not these others." The deputies stepped in and said no, "we're going to take all the dogs." We took them all. If we're able to find out that one of the dogs or several of the dogs were not responsible for it then fine perhaps those can go back. You know she seemed to be more concerned with what was going on with those dogs than with the fact that that her inaction, her omissions, almost caused the death of a baby and still might, God forbid...At this point, I believe we're trying to find out if she went to work or went to run an errand, but certainly nothing could be so important that you would endanger the life of a baby like that.Q: We also don't know how long she was gone from the house?
A: We don't.
Q: Seems like she is not cooperating?
A: Oh, she came down with us, and she refused to give a statement. She didn't have anything to say to us...
Q: Can you just talk about the state of Bexar County in San Antonio with it seems dog attacks happen unfortunately once a week?
A: Sure. It's something that we are seeing way too often. I think the whole system -- city, county, statewide -- I think all of us could stand to tighten things down a bit. We know that it's a continuing issue with us. At present, we're looking at our own internal policies, and [asking] what can we do? Unfortunately, in this situation, Animal Control doesn't answer to me or my agency. We do what we can to work with them. So we'll see what we can do to tighten up our part of the process. All the indicators are that they'll work with us, but we just need to see how we can work better together to prevent these things from happening...it is something that we're seeing with much more frequency -- dog attacks on the elderly, dog attacks on babies. It's not something that we can continue to just let the status quo..
The Dogs, Owners & Breeders
Last night, we researched the owners and breeders of these dogs. Heather Rodriguez and Jason Reddick are both associated to the address where the attack occurred. Reddick promotes "Snowstorm Bullies." Both of them have photos of "Snowstorm's Scooby Doo," the celebrated male stud dog, on Facebook as recently as January for Reddick. Two other dogs we believe were seized at the scene is Pinky Pie (pink collar) and the mother of both, "Queen Monae", who bore that litter in late 2021.
That said, given the nature of "tight" XL bully breedings, all of the dogs seized could be offspring of Scooby Doo or Queen Monae that share similar markings. However, given Rodriguez's behavior of refusing to give up the dogs and "bartering" with deputies, so that she could at least keep one or two of them, indicates to us she wanted to hold onto the moneymaker(s) for future breedings. Salazar was stunned by her behavior. Unfortunately, we are not. Currently, Rodriguez is still sitting in a jail cell.
"House Lions" Aren't Safe
This teenager is lucky to be alive. In 2022, a family with two "house lions," as the father called their XL bullies, killed both of their children -- Hollace and Lilly Bennard -- and critically injured their mother. When Salazar spoke about the child's mother, he said, "The parents knew that Miss Rodriguez had dogs, but they did not know that the dogs were problematic. I'm led to believe they would not have let her care for their baby...had they known these dogs were unsafe." House lions, generally, are unsafe.
Salazar also mentioned the "DA's office." Yes, it's the same DA's office -- Bexar County District Attorney's Office -- that recently prosecuted Christian Moreno and Abilene Schnieder in connection to the death of Ramon Najera. He was brutally killed by two pit bulls in February 2023. Our nonprofit just ran a 4-part series about the trial. Finally, Salazar said, "Animal Control doesn't answer to me or my agency." Our question to Salazar is why not? Perhaps BCSO should have a Vicious Dog Unit?
Various Clarifications
Salazar clarified that Rodriguez and her 13-year old daughter are not related to the victim, Jiryiah Johnson. Rodriguez lives in the home where the attack occurred. This is not the first time the victim was being babysat at the home (13:50). Rodriguez may face additional charges for the injuries her own daughter sustained. According to social media posts, Rodriguez and Reddick share children together and share the dogs, but only Reddick bills himself as a seller of XL bullies for Snowstorm Bullies.
According to online records from the Bexar County court system, Rodriguez was charged with one count of felony injury to child/elderly/disabled reckless; one count of abandoned/endanger child (imminent danger, bodily injury), a second-degree felony; and injury to child/elderly/disabled with intent for serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony. A defense attorney has been appointed to her. A special condition bond has been created: no possession of firearms, no alcohol, no contact order.
Snowstorm's Scooby Doo is featured on Rodriguez's and Reddick's Facebook pages.
Pinky Pie, the tri-colored female, always seen wearing a pink collar, is a sibling of Scooby Doo.
The mother of both, "Queen Monae," was acquired in 2020, had a litter in late 2021, which bore Scooby Doo and Pinky Pie, after being matched with Snowstorm's Oliver Winston.2
All three dogs are seen in this video by Jason Reddick of "Snowstorm Bullies Texas" shot in the backyard of Rodriguez's home in the 9700 block of Spruce Ridge Drive near Converse.
2The owner of Snowstorm Bullies, Shelton Snow, made a video of "Oliver Winston" with a child seen having a game of "tug-of-war" with the dog then pulling its tail, as well as the dog "play biting" her, calling Oliver a "Nani-dog," but Snow apparently did not know the correct spelling of "Nanny Dog," which is a long touted myth disseminated by pit bull owners, pit bull fanciers and fighting dog breeders. April 3, 2024 video (a reprisal) @snowstormbullies YouTube Snowstorm Bullies. Title: "American Bullies (aka. Nani-dogs)" Description: "Fact: American Bullies are also called Nani Dogs. 💪🏿🙌🏾" -- Original May 26, 2021 video @mbaaatc YouTube Shelton Snow. Title: "Oliver Winston and the baby." Description: "This video show how gentle Snowstorm Bullies are with kids. Snowstorm Bullies loves exercise. As you can see , this friendly game of tug and war, simply gives Oliver Winston all the exercise he needs with his baby sister. He is so gentle with her because he knows that she is a baby. Please enjoy." The irony. "Tug-of-war" and "babysitter."
View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: Texas Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.Related articles:
09/20/24: Prosecution Closing Arguments In Fatal Dog Attack Trial; Judge Issues Sentences
09/20/24: 2023 Dog Bite Fatality: Horrific Pit Bull Mauling in San Antonio Kills One, Hospitalizes...
10/02/23: 2023 Dog Bite Fatality: Man, 47, Mauled by Pit Bull Dies While Hospitalized in San Antonio
Law enforcement departments across the United States should release consistent "baseline" information to the media and the public after each fatal dog mauling, including these items.
All three adult are dumb.the babysitter for owing not one but three vicious dangerous pitbull. the mom for letting this idiot owner to watch her precious son and the dad who also let her watch his baby.knowing she own pitbull. The mom of the baby was interview she knew that she own pitbull but she locked them in the room while he there. Why on earth would they trust pitbull owner not only that but her home was horrible conditions and heather she let her little girl watch the baby when she step out that when the dogs attack the baby .poor little girl she must be scared trying to save him brave little girl she is.
Let’s be honest though, with the pit bull advocacy crowd making it their mission to spread misinformation and propaganda every day, trying to convince society that pit bull attack stats are overinflated, spreading falsehoods about less dangerous breeds of dog in an attempt to deflect from pit bulls and trying to shoehorn pit bulls into America’s history and culture (even though they’re seen as a white trash facet of 1980s trailer parks and gangs and have little to no importance in any nation’s culture), is it any wonder that these parents never thought it would be dangerous? The lack of public awareness about pit bulls, the rise of misinformation in the digital age and the decadent West’s bizarre fixation on domestic pets as “members of the family”, coupled with the lack of America’s efforts to implement a nation-wide ban on “bully breeds”, can all be attributed as notable factors in dog attack cases. False, saccharine sentiments like “it’s not the dog, it’s the owner” and referring to pits as “nanny dogs” (which, in reference to the fictional novel Peter Pan, was actually a St. Bernard, not a pit bull), the suggestion that pit bulls are victims of persecution and prejudice and abuse, these falsehoods are extremely misleading but admittedly effective in eroding boundaries. Sure the parents could do their research, but when I look up “are pit bulls dangerous?” on Google most of the results that come up are either directly or indirectly influenced by pit bull advocates, even the AI bot Google Gemini is biased in favour of defending pit bulls, or click Google Images and scroll endlessly through the pro-pit memes and images of pit bull puppies with cartoon flower crowns and heart emojis superimposed onto them. The 13-year-old girl being there may have also confused the parents into thinking that since she had never been attacked by the pit bulls, the dogs were safe around children. There’s a glaring lack of government information, public service announcements or even brief notices that directly highlight or focus on pit bulls as dangerous, and people who already love dogs to begin with feel guilt-tripped if they start to think badly of pit bulls. Society’s overall attitude towards the pit bull problem, plus these pit bull advocacy groups that are like the N.R.A. of pet ownership, have a lot to answer for when it comes to horrific cases like this. They refuse to simply own a different breed of dog that isn’t considered a “bully breed”, which is an aesthetic preference as owning a pit bull is wholly unnecessary, they fight any potential for a pit bull ban every step of the way, they’ve made pit bull ownership into a mini culture war (even going to far as to compare pit bulls to black people facing racism, and suggesting that people who don’t like pit bulls must be Democrats), and they prioritize the lives of pit bulls over human beings and even other pets. Canada has similar issues with pit bull advocacy groups, but not to the same sociopolitical and legal extent as America does. Luckily the UK banned XL bullies last year and hopefully we start seeing a lot more of that in the near future. Anyway, factoring in the manpower and economic expense it takes for law enforcement to investigate, handle and process pit bull attack cases, it would probably be cheaper overall in the long term to just ban pit bull ownership altogether. Pit bull advocacy groups have every right to freedom of speech and should not be censored, but they should have no right to own a pit bull any more than I have the right to own a pet coyote or a pet bear.
I blame heather the most but the mom is dumb I know daycare is expensive but she should do her homework more.she own pitbull that red flag there .her house is horrible dirty and filthy. So why would she trust her to babysit her son.is she in the pitbull cult that she believe are pitbull are good and bad owner .was she so desperate for someone to watch her son so she trust a pitbull owner sheesh she also would let crackhead watch her baby.
I feel sorry for the baby I can’t imagine what he went through .three pitbull ripping and tearing with their sharp into his baby skin.gosh those dogs must be really strong if they can bust through hard wood lock door .and the girl she put him over her shoulder so the dogs can’t get him they must jump really high in order to get him and and she use her body to shield him.and lock the door and those monsters still killed him.
Like the last two perps who are in jail for the murder by dogs, I hope this horrid, selfish woman does the maximum time in jail. My God, at SOME point it must make a difference in the numbers of people having these killer breeds!!?
What a despicable human being!
Too bad they can’t dirtnap her with the murder dogs.
This home is a pigsty with the pig -size dogs. I would never leave anything there to be taken “care” of.
Just imagine the ongoing life of that girl now, reliving the nightmare she went thru.
Someday, I think – it will be established a real psychiatric disorder for that people that worship this kind of animals and projecting all kind of quality on them, they do NOT have, ignoring the potential danger for their children or for the people at large around this dogs… I will always wondering what is causing the real, but still perverted feeling of love towards this dangerous and ugly creatures .
One more, beautiful life lost ….
Yet another example of why having a pit bull owner as a babysitter is a bad idea.
I like your idea of the sheriff’s office having a vicious dogs unit.
AC has been taken over by zealots that believe there are “no bad dogs”.
There needs to be someone to enforce laws against dogs and their owners.
After all there is a reason the job used to be called “dog catcher”.
I would just like to add the description of the attack read like a horror movie.
Having to play keep away with a house full of hell hounds bound and determined to kill the baby.
Going from room to room as they bust through doors, having to play tug of war with the dogs, using the baby as a rope until finally, in spite of putting the baby up as high as you can on the top of your head, one of the dogs climbs up on something else and rips the baby from your hands so it can have the satisfaction of mauling it to death.
If you put that in a horror movie, people would claim it was unrealistic yet we have the account of how it happened right here.
Why wasn’t the teen who fought to save the baby and was also bitten TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL to be examined?! I hope she’s taken into the foster system to receive proper mental health care and live in a clean, non-chaotic situation. Just horrible.
It’s my guess that the bullies could be expensive dogs. Why would one turn over expensive dogs when those people expect lots of money for the puppies. The dogs should all be euthanized. The owner cannot control the dogs. CPS needs to take the child. How
could one give these dogs to someone who cannot control them. This will happen again. How would one control it?
That was one of the saddest things I have read on here. The mother( the hired babysitter) left her 13yr old in charge of a 1 yr old. Then she takes off for who knows where ( drugs), and the poor young girl tries her best to protect the baby from multiple monster super sized pitbulls. All of them probably descended from Kimbo , a stud dog that spread his seed all over the world. He got around , or at least his sperm did. He had human aggression .
Next, the mother of the teenager comes back and is ONLY worried about the dogs , and is angry the authorities took her monsters. Was she even concerned for the poor 13 year old child ? That was a very sad story to read for not only the death of an innocent child but for everyone involved in that needless death.
omg
digging into this snowstorm pedigree situation
Each of us should want to do what we can to make people be and feel safe. Is this not what makes us civilized? How can we not see through people who want to believe owning dogs that can attack and harm people is a form of kindness?
I would never own a dog because I will not deny the evidence dogs are the largest source of pathogens in urban environments and the fourth largest cause of injuries. I happily do what I can to help make people be and feel safe. That people try to say I am uncaring for opposing owning dogs is duplicitous nonsense.
I also do not drink and drive, smoke or try to impose ideologies on others. Many of the most precious freedoms are freedom from the horrible things inconsiderate people impose on others. We only enjoy the rights and freedoms enough of us have agreed to respect.
I could not agree more Peter! I used to be a dog owner and considered myself a “dog person”. After living most of my life in urban areas with inconsiderate dog-owning neighbors and friends, I’m done!
Thank you Dayna. I also grew up with dogs. My father was a dog lover who let our dog wander around the neighbourhood unleashed. Our dog attacked a police officer riding a motorcycle. He attacked me while I was riding a toboggan. My father enjoyed having authority ranking relationships and loved the dog because it would do what my father ordered. My father did not treat humans well because they had minds of their own and would not play fetch.
I also had eczema so bad it would bleed. When my mother had finally had enough and got rid of the dog my eczema disappeared. As a child I considered my mother cruel for not wanting the dog in our home. As an adult I increasingly came to appreciate how my mother was actually more caring and responsible than my father. She cared enough to not deny the dangers dogs inflicted on humans. She was authentically kind.
Well while I don’t contest in any way your fear of germs and dogs, this type of dog is very unique among animals that were domesticated. The greatest majority of dogs go through life never biting or hurting, any type of animals or people. As long as puppies properly socialized they DO NOT bite or rip someone to pieces or ever even put their mouth on someone once they get past the mouthy puppy stage. Even unsocialized dogs do not usually attack people, with the exception of pit bulls of course because socialization can’t undue the genetic differences that make them behave this way!! Mouthy puppies rarely ever break the skin because they have been taught by the mother dog & litte mates that it isn’t okay to bite hard. So let’s not go lumping all dogs in with vicious pit bulls or even Rottweilers!
That being said this story was very sad! I have read that the babysitter was called into work at a different job and due to living in poverty she felt compelled to work those hours. I’m not trying to excuse her owning known dangerous dogs and then leaving inside the house with her daughter in a room those dogs had already ripped apart to get into her female when she came in heat. This situation also has the worst way possible to make the case for providing spay/ neuter services to help poor people who otherwise could not afford the ever increasing cost of vet care! The lack of vets and corporate gereeed have combined to make vet care unaffordable for all but the wealthy and this causes more unwanted animals! If people who are running the wealthiest nonprofits for SUPPOSED animal welfare then instead of continuing to invest in keeping dangerous pit bulls that the majority of people do not want and instead provided low cost basic vet services to low income families then we wouldn’t get so many puppies and kittens who will never have a home! The kittens are just being dumped into the streets to die horrible painful deaths, the puppies are still mostly pit bulls. The fact is people do not want the puppies of irresponsible backyard breeders or poverty stricken accidental liters of pit bulls! I have been checking on the availability for a lower cost spay/ neuter at my local shelter in the Bay Area since the pandemic and they have continued to close their wait list because they are so overwhelmed with need! I have personally chosen to forgo spay/neuter for my own dogs but it’s not a problem for me. I do not understand what the difference between the US & the majority of the Scandinavian countries are that do not fix their dogs yet still are not overflowing with unwanted animals! However, it still remains a fact that puppies with rabies caught from their unvaccinated mother were transported across stae lines and caused a lot of people to endure rabies shots! Had low cost basic vet care been available the female dog would more likely been vaccinated preventing the spread of rabies and hopefully fixed preventing the existence of those puppies who were doomed to euthanasia as are 2 million other pit bulls!
I am an actual dog person. Actual dog people know not to let their dogs run up to people because you don’t know how the other person might feel about dogs. Actual dog people have dogs who are trained and exercised enough so that the dog doesn’t act like an unmedicated/untreated ADHD kid.
That takes time and effort. It takes time and effort to teach a dog how to act in a human social environment.
Most people don’t want to, or don’t think they need to, spend that kind of time if they’re going to own a dog. There’s a trade-off. You get home from work, you don’t get your dinner. You walk the dog. You get up, grab a fast beverage and walk the dog. Before you sleep, you walk the dog even if you’re tired, it’s cold, there’s a blizzard, it’s pouring rain etc. It’s a commitment to another lifeform. In return for all that training and walking and exercising–you have a sociable companion. Chucking the dog into a yard to potty without adding in training and walking and training how to react in social environments is an abuse of the trust relationship you need to build with that dog.
Add in temperament. It’s okay to have a mean cat. That’s relatively easy to manage unless there are children involved. A mean dog is an entirely other story where both of you and your family are living in a he11scape of fear and aggression, together. As are your neighbours.
Working dogs need to work. They *need* jobs. Taking home a working breed and not providing it with some kind of work to do is the road to disaster. This is a very common problem with people who pick a clever dog that’s smarter than they are, and bored.
This story is horrifying. Pitbulls’ job are to fight. They’re apex predators. It’s that simple. They don’t belong in neighbourhoods or as family pets at the best of times. The odd one that actually is family friendly and doesn’t attack other dogs is a failed pitbull.
It’s not surprising this happens. It’s surprising it doesn’t happen more often. The dogs did everything they were bred to do.
You don’t expect a lion *not* to attack other predators or humans. That’s why it’s illegal to own a lion as a pet.
Sadly, idiots abound.
Very well put Boni! When I was looking for a dog I found two labs that had been left in isolation in the backyard. As soon as the dog was no longer a cute puppy the person responsible for him lost interest in him and while he played with the puppies he never trained them, never socialized them. He bought one and felt bad for it once he put it in the backyard so he bought another and dumped it in the backyard once it wasn’t a cute puppy so there they lived, until he tired of feeding and cleaning up after them. I’m sure there’s hope for those 2 purebred Labrador retrivers. However, they wanted nearly as much as a puppy, while they did have their AKC papers they’re pretty worthless. They have some events through the AkC that doesn’t care if the dogs been neutered but if you want to show them only children are allowed to show dogs that have been fixed, hence part of the reason I forgo fixing my dogs, but the point remains the same even people who are wealthy or perhaps it’s part of the reason they neglect their dogs! While I have trained a great number of dogs and knew I’d have to train my puppy quickly I just didn’t feel like I had the energy to train an adult dog to the level I needed. I’m sure a lot of people were put off by their wild behavior since they are in a foster home hopefully they will receive training! Had they been pitbulls they would be dangerous due to the lack of socialization & their genetic propensity for aggression! In the end I bought a Labrador retriver, so my family could give me shit for not adopting dogs that would probably fail me as a service dog. I got one who came from a long line of service dogs and he’s doing great! It is still very sad to see people neglecting their dogs and then taking them to the shelter. After that the nonprofit bought them for $100 each or possibly got th3m free, them jumped their prices to $1000 each! Somethings broke e n in the animal “resxue’ situation!
I will never understand how people can look at those monstrous, deformed dogs and think they’re cute or desirable as pets. The UK is definitely on the right track. Wish the U.S. would catch up. That poor little girl…I could only skim through those details, and I can’t even begin to imagine how she feels and what she is still going through. This trauma will stay with her for the rest of her life. It’s all so horrible and messed-up. If only they’d had some Malti-poos or something instead.
Court hearing is scheduled for 12. December . I can not find the link, where I saw that date. (on Reddit )
And now the father deactivated his FB account. He probably heard of the latest prison time for the couple -owners ..
They have four children that grew up with this animals , who ruined – how many lives ???
Just an update four our commenters. We were right about the dogs (they are Queen Monae (dam), Scooby Doo (offspring), and the pink collar dog, who we now know is named, “Pinky Pie” (offspring). Today, a judge ordered all three dogs euthanized — but the babysitter has 10 days to appeal. We watched the hearing live, but the audio in the courtroom was poor. KENS has a good recap. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYM9BsKTJ5U The babysitter, who testified from jail, was over an hour late to the hearing (we initially thought she defaulted). She wanted the dam, “Queen Monae,” to be spared, because apparently, she wants the dam to keep “producing killers” while she is in jail. The male, Scooby Doo, was the primary aggressor. The babysitter didn’t care about handing over Scooby Doo or Pinky Pie to authorities. She just fought for the “producer,” Queen Monae.
Today was also the day of the baby’s funeral. The father speaks here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vQ84R3lQLA
This is the insanity of pitbull cultists. The absolute gall of someone who thinks they get a say in which of their maulers is spared the pink juice is beyond comprehension.
Lady, your dogs *killed a baby*.
You had the power to prevent this by proper fighting dog management at best and by not purchasing such a dangerous breed to live in a social environment, at worse.
You shilled these animals as *pets*. Or you shilled them for dogfighting. Either way, breeding these apex predators does not give you a single right to a say in the outcome when you profited by unleashing these he11hounds on the general public.
Five years ago, I was in a restaurant in a nice town with my teenage daughter. We struck up a conversation with the woman seated at a table next to us. (Her husband was coming right back.)
It was very pleasant, and as we were leaving a bit later, she stopped us and said, “Your daughter is so nice. Does she babysit?” My daughter immediately said, “Yes!”
But I said, “It depends. We’d have to know it would be a safe place for her to work, since we’ve only just met, though you seem very nice. Do you have a dog?” “Yes,” she said. “Is it a pitbull?” I asked.
Her face immediately hardened and then broke into a sneering contempt. “If I have a pitbull your daughter can’t babysit for us?” “That’s right,” I said, “She cannot in that case.”
“Well I’m done here,” she said.
Yeah. I’m a protective parent. You wanna know why?
Because we are surrounded by arrogant people who think it’s okay to own killer dogs and it’s okay for other people to be killed by them.
That is absolute madness.