"Inseparable"
Cherryland CA - It was reported late last week that a woman was killed when her 100-pound pit bull dragged her onto the railroad tracks and into the path of an oncoming train. Authorities said the San Jose bound train was likely traveling at about 70 miles per hour when it struck and instantly killed both the woman and the dog. Apparently, the woman, in her early to mid-30s, was unable to let the dog go because of how she had the leash wrapped around her hand.
The video said the woman was "petite," less than five feet tall. The dog likely weighed 3/4 of her body weight.
Alameda County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. J.D. Nelson said two people with a dog were attempting to cross the tracks ahead of an approaching train near the Hayward Station that day. The man was able to make it through. "She tried to stop," Nelson explained. But the dog did not and "dragged itself and her into the train." Family members identified the woman as 32-year-old Vida Isabel Silver. Relatives said Silver and the pit bull named Mama were "inseparable."
Related articles:
09/26/08: 19-Year Old Attacked After Two Pit Bulls Break Constraint
05/07/08: Pit Bull Busts Chain, Attacks Boy, Drags into Bushes
04/07/08: Banned Pit Bull Breaks Chain, Attacks Children
Even on a leash, these pople can't control these pit bulls. We have read so many accounts of attacks to people and pets while the pit bull is on a leash. Owner couldn't stop it.
Clearly leashing isn't enough for a pit bull.
"Everywhere she went, the dog went"
Looks to me more like everywhere the dog went, she had to follow.
Pits currently dominate canine weight pulling competitions as well as chain breakin', fence bustin', window smashin' and leash snappin' incidents.
This owner mistakenly thought she could control the dog.
Pit bulls "pull" over 1,300 lbs in weight pull competitions. It's hardly a stretch one of these dogs could completely dominate an adult trying to walk it. What a horrible way to die…
http://swampdogkennels.com/IWPAChampionshipMedalists.html
FYI:
On May 24, 2009 at a weight pull event in Mossyrock,WA, an 81 lb pit bull named MAFIA owned by Richard Barnes pulled 6000 lbs.
Pulling 6000 lbs is roughly the equivalent of pulling 200 cocker spaniels or 550 dachshunds or 1000 chihuahuas.
http://www.weightpull.com/results/home.asp?idd=2298
We've been watching comments on this post and seeing how they unfold. We have now removed some as well. Ad hominem attacks, which include celebrating the death or illness of any person, are usually disallowed in comment sections. We don't believe any of our remaining comments are doing so in this case. The DogsBite blog is also not a typical blog. We primarily deal with the issues of severe injury and death and the prevention of both. Most here are familiar with the death of Diane Whipple. She was mauled to death in the hallway of her apartment because Marjorie Knoller could not hold onto the leash of her presa canario dogs. The powerful dogs physically drug Knoller down the hallway as they launched their deadly attack and there was nothing she could do to stop them. The point of posting the story of Vida Silver was to question the paradox of owning a dog that is far more powerful than one's self.
There are various sides to this argument. A member of pitbullforum.com takes the dog owner side by asking, "Why wasn't the dog better trained?" We don't know that the dog wasn't well trained. As stated in the Fox video, Silver and Mama were "inseparable." The two attended social gatherings together (including functions at the homes of friends and relatives), indicating that the dog must have been trained. While perhaps sounding insensitive, others feel that at least an innocent bystander (such as Diane Whipple) was spared death in this instance. Finally, there are pit bull owners that attempt to be "breed ambassadors" and "lion tamers," to prove to the rest of us how well trained their dogs are, but at the risk to us as well. We do not know if Silver was either of these types. What we do know is that the way she had the leashed wrapped around her hand, possibly to prevent a sudden lunge or attack, led to her own death.
In the end, the issue returns to a common sense question: Is it safe to own a dog that can easily, if the animal chooses, overpower you?
See this is why pit bulls should be banned, they're too strong and empty headed to know there was a train coming. I mean don't you think the dog would have seen the train at least? My goodness I feel sorry for this woman and I hope this opens the eyes of people that pit bulls are too strong and vicious!
A male pit bull owner that can't stop his dogs:
Oct 13, 2009 — "The owner of the dogs couldn't control them and got dragged up the hill! They were so strong they pulled off his shirt by dragging him along the concrete, all while trying to get to my dog. The officer also said he'd fax a copy of the report to the dog control officer and advised me to take my dog to the vet."
http://www.salemnews.com/puopinion/local_story_286122545.html
More "train aggression" here:
Perhaps she was chasing a train, or following train crews. Bomberger will never know the why of the accident, but she concluded the dog, who did die of her injuries, was a victim of a train, not a vicious dog.
http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_4d199012-f724-11de-ace2-001cc4c03286.html
This is the greatest website…I am learning so much from it. After reading the Leesburg document about training your dog, I am appalled at how little I knew. Man, if we could just become a lot more informed about how to train and handle dogs, we could avoid soooo many accidents that are fatal to the owners, the dogs, the neighbors, etc. People should have to register their dogs, yes. The owners should also have to be certified and trained properly. I am convinced that we know so little about dogs and they are quite wonderfully complicated.
Dog owners need to be trained as well as the dogs. Dogs can be considered weapons…they really are dangerous and can kill people. No dog should be sold or bought unless the owner is certifiably capable of training it. Dogs are not people nor are they CHILDREN. They are adults and they have a mind of their own and the owner needs to be able to handle that dog at all stages of its life. You are either in charge of the dog or it is in charge of you.
I don't believe it is possible to deal with the pit bull problem w/o legislation. Owners seem to be bizarrely attached to the idea that they are no only safe, but extremely good-natured.
It's very weird when you look at the numbers of horrible death, particularly to children. Typically, they involve the family pet.