Johana Villafane, 33, died after her own pit bulls attacked her in Irving, Texas.
Vet Issues Statement
UPDATE 03/27/19: The veterinarian at O'Connor Animal Hospital, where Johana Villafane was brutally killed by her two pit bulls on March 23, and where the dogs had been staying in quarantine after a March 15 bite, has a released a statement. Dr. James Kang, DVM, stated Villafane's dogs were so aggressive his staff could not walk them and told Villafane the clinic could not keep her dogs due to their aggressive behavior, unless Villafane herself would walk them twice a day.
Dr. Kang's statement, however, must be weighed against another revelation. On Tuesday, London Pinder, a North Texas college student, told media outlets she was almost killed by a dog at the O'Connor Animal Hospital 15 months ago while working as an intern. A pit bull she was trying to put a leash on suddenly pinned her down and latched onto her neck. The dog nearly hit an artery. Pinder filed a dangerous dog report with Irving Police, but only got an apology from Dr. Kang.
Part of Dr. Kang's statement:She brought 2 dogs for rabies quarantine in our office on March 18th 2019. I examined the 2 dogs at the time of admission. The male pit bull terrier was friendly, but the female pit bull terrier seemed to be scared as well as frightened. The next morning, our staff could not walk them in the backyard due to the dogs' aggressive behavior. We called the owner and told her that we could not keep her dogs in our hospital for quarantine due to their aggressive behavior, and the dogs will only be able to stay at our hospital unless she is able to walk them. Their family came to the office, twice a day, walking their dogs for a whole week without any incident.
Johana came into our office at 11am on Saturday, March 23rd 2019 to walk her two dogs.
She let them out in the backyard at 11:10am. We were very busy taking care of clients and patients all morning that we were unable to hear any noise or screaming that occurred in the backyard. One of our receptionists saw her laying in the grass in our backyard at 11:45am. She called 911 immediately for assistance. We were trying to reach her, trying to rescue her but were not successful because the two dogs were guarding her. Paramedics came in at 11:50am but could not get to her until the police arrived at 11:52am. The police discharged their weapons and shot the two dogs, then the paramedics attended to her and took her immediately to Parkland Emergency Hospital.
All parties involved in this sordid tale appear to be hopelessly clueless about dangerous aggression issues and the "select few" types of owners -- behaviorists, trainers and game dog breeders -- who could ever reliably manage such aggression. Villafane obviously did not fit the bill nor did any employee at Kang's animal hospital. Pinder, who was a teenager at the time, said staff members only had a "broom" available to fight off the pit bull that was clamped onto her neck.
911 Call Released
On April 1, CBS 11 published the 911 call made by an employee of the animal hospital. She states, "The dog bit her owner; she's on the floor." Over one minute into the call, the dispatcher is still trying to understand how urgent the call is. Finally, at 1:16 there is an indicator by the caller, "She's full of blood." At 2:25, dispatch asks, "What kind of dog is it?" She replies, "Pit bulls -- they're big." The dispatcher then realizes there are two pit bulls involved and wraps up the call.
CBS 11 reports there is surveillance video of the deadly pit bull attack. Police will not release the video due to its graphic nature, unless the Texas Attorney General requires it. A source also told CBS 11 the attack lasted 31 minutes before anyone at the animal hospital became aware of it. Now consider the statement by the caller again, "The dog bit her owner; she's on the floor." After a sustained mauling of 31 minutes by two pit bulls, Villafane would have been unrecognizable.
03/25/19: City Shelter At Capacity
Because the Irving Animal Shelter was at capacity for quarantine space, Johana Villafane, 33, boarded her two pit bulls at an Irving animal hospital, where the dogs fatally attacked her during a visit Saturday. The city-operated shelter would not have allowed her to visit during quarantine, police said. Villafane died after being mauled by her two pit bulls at the O’Connor Animal Hospital in Irving. Her two pit bulls had been ordered into quarantine after biting a man eight days earlier.
On March 15, the dogs escaped their property and attacked a man in his 20s, Public Information Officer James McLellan said. That night Villafane met police and animal control officers at her home on Windmill Lane. She was issued citations for having dogs at large and for not having rabies tags, McLellan said. The bite required her dogs to be quarantined for a 10-day period. Because the Irving Animal Shelter was "at capacity," Villafane was provided other alternatives.
Neighbor Grant Dickey, who spoke out earlier, clarified the length of time Villafane and her family had moved in -- about a year earlier. Dickey said he had several encounters with her dogs since then, including when the dogs broke through his fencing (on a previous occasion) and pushed through his back door, which apparently was not latched fully. Dickey took this photo of his damaged back fence after the March 15 incident, which involved a young man being bitten.
The dogs were about a year old, according to Public Information Officer James McLellan. The dogs are described as a black-and-white male pit bull, named Oliver, and a brown-and-white female pit bull, named Delfina. The police description matches the two pit bulls seen on a family member's Facebook page. The severity of injuries inflicted on the man in his 20s remains unknown. The Facebook fund for Johana Villafane has exceeded $15,500 in two days.
Two pit bulls that killed their owner while in bite quarantine for an attack eight days earlier.
03/24/19: Previous Biting Incident
New information has been release about the previous biting incident that caused both pit bulls to be ordered into quarantine. On Saturday, while 33-year old Johana Villafane was visiting her dogs in quarantine at a private animal hospital, the dogs fatally mauled her. The attack occurred when Villafane took them for a walk in an enclosed area behind the building. The first biting incident involved her pit bulls eating through a neighbor's fence and escaping into the neighborhood.
"A whole bunch of police and animal control people showed up to my house," Grant Dickey said. "They had seen the pit bulls going in and out of the hole that they made in my back fence and asked me if they were my dogs," Dickey said. "I said 'no, it's the neighbor's dogs. They broke through into my yard earlier.' And they said, 'well they bit somebody when they got out." Dickey said the dogs were "friendly, but aggressively friendly if you will. Jumping on you," Dickey said.
It is unknown who the first bite victim is or the severity of injuries the person suffered. Villafane's pair of pit bulls was a male and female. Previously, Public Information Officer James McLellan told WBAP the female pit bull was pregnant and attacked along with the male. Neighbor Rick Warner stated Saturday that Villafane and her family were new to the neighborhood on Windmill Lane. In 2018, 25% of all fatal attacks involved a dog or person new to a household (0-2 month period).
03/23/19: Pit Bulls Kill Their Owner
Irving, TX - A woman is dead after being attacked by her own pit bulls outside of an animal hospital. Police officers shot and killed the dogs. Johana Natalie Villafane, 33, was transported to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, where she later died. The attack occurred outside of O'Conner Animal Hospital, where the dogs were being held in quarantine after a bite earlier this week, Irving Police said. Animal hospital staff allowed Villafane to visit the dogs while they were in quarantine.
Animal hospital staff told police the pit bulls attacked her when she took them for a walk in an enclosed area behind the building, reports NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. An employee found her unresponsive with severe dog bite injuries. The dogs would not let animal hospital staff, fire or police officials near the victim. Police were forced to fire on the dogs, killing them. Irving police confirmed both dogs were pit bulls. Police are characterizing the attack as a "tragic accident."
The attack occurred about 11:45 am Saturday. Fox 4 News spoke to Irving Police Officer David Dickinson. "The dogs were involved in an incident earlier in the month in which they bit someone," Dickinson said. "They were here at the animal hospital being quarantined per regulations. She was attending to the dogs, coming up to the dogs, and it’s my understanding that she was walking the dogs when the event occurred." We expect significant news coverage in the coming days.
Previous Biting Incident
Police have not released details about the previous biting incident, but neighbors offered clues. Rick Warner, who lives down the street from Villafane, said he saw a marked Animal Services vehicle at Villafane's house recently. "Lights were flashing the entire time it was down there," Warner said. "We didn't know why, we didn't ask why, we didn't go down to find out why." Neighbors said Villafane and her family were new to the neighborhood on Windmill Lane.
Multiple news reports state the pair of pit bulls was a male and female. The Public Information Officer for Irving Police, James McLellan, told WBAP the female pit bull was pregnant and attacked with the male. Investigators will be looking into how long the pit bulls had been part of the family and whether they were adopted or raised from puppies. Villafane was a wife and mother of two children. A photograph on her husband's Facebook page shows the two family pit bulls.
Irving Police Officer David Dickinson gives press conference after pit bulls killed their owner.
Johana Villafane died after her pit bulls attacked her during quarantine for a previous bite.
View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: Texas Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.Join Texas Dog Bite Victims' Advocacy - Join our Texas email list to stay informed
Related articles:
02/02/18: 2017 Dog Bite Fatality: 22-Year Old Woman Dies in 'Grisly Mauling' by Own Pit Bulls
08/11/13: Father of Pregnant Pacifica Woman Killed by Her Pet Pit Bull Writes Letter
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.
“Good” pit bulls are man-made psychopaths, created to mature to have the drive to attack and kill family /their own kind on mutant instinct alone.
Since “good” bully dogs will kill all other dogs, even submitting, opposite sex juveniles, no other species (humans, horses, farm animals) is safe when instinct to attack and not stop meets opportunity to reach a victim.
Good “dead game” pits continue attacking even after suffering severe personal injury, even as they are dying.
No person, group, or business that has the welfare of all dogs as a priority would want more dog killing dogs to be born.
I wonder if this was the only time she visited her dogs or if she visited multiple times. We’ll never know why the dogs turned on her other than the fact they were pitbulls.
She and her family had visited and walked the monsters daily, at the Vet clinic for a full week prior to the attack.
It’s become clear, there are no good #PitBulls. Clearly there is something they are born with that compels them to attack to the point they render their victim helpless or dead. It’s time to outlaw their very existence. I’m an animal advocate and love them all. But it’s clear this specie’s needs put to an end. Why continue to wait for further maulings and killing other animals and humans?
Thank you. So tired of the apologetics and reality twisting by pro-pit-bull groups and owners. There is a reason we don’t allow dangerous animals as pets, be they bears, tigers, alligators etc to interact with other animals or humans. Pit bulls are in this same category. They have been bred to not just kill but to become killing machines, violating even their fundamental instinct to survive. The idea that it’s the “owners’ fault” becomes fully exposed for its absurdity when the most caring and loving of dog owners or their children get their faces ripped off by the family “angel” pit bull after years of all the love and care. All pit bull related breeds need to be erased from the world or kept in the same facilities we otherwise keep aggressive deadly predators.
Darwin’s theory at work again.
Hate to say it, but I’m not feeling sorry for the situation here. Obviously another delusional sh*tbull owning psychopath that valued her dogs over human life, and likely felt more sorry for them than the bite victim. I hope that the person who was bitten is doing okay and recovering quickly.
A fanrastic example of when pit bull advocacy kills.
Want to see insane advocacy in action? Follow the “news coverage” link, which is in the yellow highlighted text. Real nuttery, in all its glory.
This is very tragic. When will pittbull owners wake up and realize that these aggressive animals are time bombs waiting to attack the innocent. Owners are more concerned about these pathetic dogs than humans safety. I got bit and everyday I live in fear of being attacked again and see the results left on my once beautiful leg. Thank the Lord he spared my life.
Breeding more bully dogs. Proof that the bully people don’t care about bully dog welfare.
Breeding more bully dogs. Proof that the bully people don’t care about bully dog welfare.
Once the aggression switch turn on in a pit bull it can never be a safe pet animal again. In reality it never was in the first place. Well said DB!
https://www.theepochtimes.com/texas-woman-mauled-to-death-by-pet-pit-bulls_2850808.html
Wow. That cop has no business trying to sound like an expert on pit bulls. Shame on the newspaper for calling stats from Dogsbite.org controversial.
I can’t understand how a mother of two children felt it was ok to keep two dangerous dogs in the house. You would think maternal instinct would kick in and the need to keep her kids safe would prevail. Normally it’s childless women who are crazy about dogs, their maternal instincts being misplaced.
Her husband apparently had no problem with two hazardous animals living with his children either.
Maternal instincts? I guaranteed she called those Frankenmaulers her “babies” right in front of her real children.
people are crazy for having these dogs , other dogs bite sometimes. These dogs kill , big difference!
The comments on the news report state ” it’s not the dog, it’s the owner” well, what in the world do these owners do that makes their own dogs attack and kill them ? This woman didnt look like the type that was abusive or fighting her dogs. And why are people so ignorant and misinformed that they get pitbull so as a pet when they have children, what’s wrong with a Labrador or golden ? I hope the lawsuit in Pima country sets a precedent for all shelters that are willing to adopt out dangerous dogs.
This is the lawsuit to which Cs is referring:
https://kvoa.com/news/n4t-investigators/2018/10/22/n4t-investigators-county-faces-lawsuit-after-adoption-from-pacc-bites-woman-in-face/
II have change my view on this breed. since Moving to Dayton, Oh in 2004. Seeing so many dog aggressive P.B.s @ the dog park. Neighbor behind me, 1 pit paralyzed my German Shepherd, the other killed a small dog being walked done the street. There have been cases of them killing innocent people in this town. A woman visiting her Grandson in Dayton, told me personally how his P.B. escaped from the bedroom & attacked her going for the throt & her ER surgery with a plastic surgeon. I know there a truly loving P.B.s out there. Please those loving owner don’t take offense. I am not talking about your babies!! You are good owners. But this is a dog bred to kill/ in there genes. It’s like telling someone a Jack Russell is mellow by nature. Look up statistics on death be dog bites.
Sharon G. Spicer you’ve just grabbed the life saver and you’re treading water. Now climb up into the boat…
The pure stupidity of humans never ceases to amaze me. Everytime I hear of another pitbull mauling…I just chuckle and Darwin would concur. The issue is that this “breed” is game of Russian roulette. Eventually there’s a bad ending. Who in there right mind would want this animal anywhere near them? I especially love the PB owners that say “my animal is sweatheart!”. Yes…of course…until the screw comes loose and they’re running for their lives…Lol!!
yep, natural selection is weeding them out..hopefully someday there won’t be any more pit lovers and once peaceful neighborhoods can be peaceful once again.
Robert you make an excellent case for Darwinian Evolution being taught in schools…Darwin started his work with his observations on dog breeding and fancy pigeon breeding…
Unfortunately not all the pit mauling stories would win a Darwin award. Sometimes it is an innocent couple toddler in a parking lot or the neighbor’s teenager who gets torn limb from limb. I have very little sympathy for this mother of two because it could have easily been someone’s mother, father, child, baby, dog or cat. You can say it is Darwinism at its finest but I see it as God’s justice. Let it be the pit owner, not the neighbor’s children. I would much rather let it be no one. If it were up to me she would haven’t had the dogs in the first place and at the very least they would have been destroyed because of the family’s lack of ability to control the dogs. But if that can’t be then let it be the pit owner or someone in her family not an innocent person who just happened to cross paths with these idiots and their Frankenmaulers.
Sad as it may seem to some, especially those who think it’s ok to have such an unreliable agressive dog just because theirs has not attacked Yet. Clearly there is something so deeply bred inside their genes, it will never change its being compelled to attack and kill without reason.
The breed needs to be destroyed.
This coming from a lifelong animal advocate and lover if animals. There’s just nothing good in them that will ever outweigh their compulsive drive to attack and kill.
It’s time to enforce a law that anyone found with a Put Bull face large fines, community service and mandatory the animal is removed and destroyed.
A few years back we, my son was skateboarding and daughter was tricycling down the path at the park, suddenly my son saw off in the distance 2 dogs running by themselves as fast as they could directly toward his sister….he sped up and intercepted the dogs who attacked him immediately….he was brought to his knees by a dog bite on his leg while the other dog jumped on and bit his back…..he started kicking and swinging his 10 year old little arms and legs as hard as he could…..my husband and i ran as fast as we could to pull the dogs off our son, which we did…..our daughter was 5 as about 70 lbs, her spindly arms and legs would have been torn off by this evil encounter! We were blessed that our young son did not hesitate, and was capable of foressesing the immenint threat for which this pair imposed, without hesitation valiantly rushed to his sisters aide! Our little girl would not be here today if it wasnt for her brothers quick response! Yes, both of these dogs were pitbulls and 1 had already attacked a human previously!!! To own one of these dogs is a crime against humanity…….how ignorant is mankind to allow this breed to continue to reproduce to terrorize our children, victimize our neighbors and torment our communities. People say how sweet and loving their pitbulls are…..guess what….life isnt fair! GROW UP and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY because your supposedly sweet dog can turn on you in a heartbeat we as a whole have heard and seen this happen over and over…..you own a ticking timebomb…..how much clearer can these reports be? And why do you think you are so special that your pet pitbull would never do that??? You myst be brain damaged and live in fantasy land!!! Do you pay with green paper on fantasy land or with rocks & leaves??? Because you are delusional if you truly believe that your pitbull is SWEET when really he is trying his hardest not to eat your neighbors cat or gnaw off the postmans leg!! It is in their genes and thats just a matter of fact clearly!!
That is awful what your son and family went through! God bless your son, I hope he doesn’t bear the mental or physical scars of that.
Anna…my heart skipped a beat as I read your story. I know I can’t live continually in fear, but I have 4 grandchildren and we truly have a public safety menace in our midst. The “bully” breed is unique in that it will attack children and the elderly without provocation or any signs of aggression. In some videos I’ve seen, these monsters are WAGGING their tails as they attack! These are deranged dogs created by deranged breeders. God bless your brave son, and thank God your girl was safe.
10 years ago i was attacked by two loose pitbulls , they worked the attack in coordinating tandem, I fought them valantly keeping them off my neck even when they knocked me to the ground , a eight month pregnant woman chased the smaller but still vicious off me so i could concentrate on the 150 lb larger one , i finally put a death grip on him while on my back, the other onlookers too frightened to help me i dont blame them , the sound of ripping clothes ,flesh and snarling would frighten anyone, anyway some brave soul leased the one i had pinned down, those dam dogs are very strong , I recieved 30 deep bite wounds in mainly both legs and shoulder which he crunched when he bit down on it , by the way the prgnant woman children call me me grandpa, her heroism evened the playing field
This is so frightening. I am sorry it happened to you. I don’t think I would ever step out of my house again after such an agonizing experience.
And if the dogs hadn’t killed her she’d be taking them home so they could escape again and maul or kill someone else.
Don’t you know it, KaD! Maybe nutters are missing the part of their brain that is…. COMMON SENSE!
This exemplifies why pits that maul need to be PUT DOWN. A second chance is merely a second chance to kill- and these dogs took it.
This should be a case study in why dogs which have bitten someone should be immediately euthanized. No expensive quarantine, no time for the dog to go to a rescue which will almost certainly mask or downplay their bite history, no owner reclaiming them to bite again… and no chance for them to even turn on and kill their owners. Think of how often in these stories a dog has bitten someone once and then has gone on to not just wound but to kill their next victim. Too many times! It’s long past time for serious and permanent consequences for dangerous dogs.
People have lost touch with reality when they value a dog’s life over not just the life but even the safety of any human. My sister’s dog which bit my 6 year old daughter in the face with no provocation whatsoever was not put down, and I can’t help but feel that it is because on some level my sister must value that dog over her own niece. And because she still owns that dog despite having young grandchildren now, I can’t even fathom how she has weighed whatever attachment she has to that aggressive dog as being of more value than the safety of those grandkids. She would deny that up and down if asked, and would be incredibly hurt by the insinuation that she must care more for the dog than those little children, but the fact remains that she still owns a dog which is known to be vicious and which has no qualms about attacking a small child. I know she loves my daughter. I know she loves her grandchildren. So why even keep a dog is known to bite? She locks the dog away from the grandkids when they visit, but mistakes happen easily and I have no doubt that this dog would attack again. My only comfort is that at least this particular dog is not a pit bull or other gripping breed.
Because our current misguided culture values the lives of mere dogs over people and allowed “Oliver” and “Delfina” to remain living after an attack on a human, this woman is dead. Her own foolishness in believing they were safe certainly comes into play, but it is just further evidence of a society that has gone animal crazy.
People who harbor and excuse vicious dogs are not right in the head. Their judgement cannot be trusted and they should have NO voice in the vicious dog problem. They are the cause, euthasol is the solution.
Dogs bite for different reasons. Some bites are very minor. Some bites are horrific. I think the idea of destroying any dogs which bite any human beings is insane. When I get bitten by my own dogs (not bully type dogs), it is 100% my fault. Fear. Misdirected aggression from dog fights. I had a puppy sink her baby canine teeth to the gums in my wrist because she was scared of a bath. It took considerable time before I was able to forgive her. Now I forgive them immediately. I very rarely get bitten.
It is my responsibility to ensure that my dogs bite no human beings and no pets for any reason. The problem with pitbulls is that the owners tend to be unable to control their own dogs.
At doggy obedience school, we have a dog aggressive pitbull. I don’t trust that dog or her owners. Her owners think her behavior is amusing. I don’t so I will avoid them and their dog. Tonight they were trying to label the dog a different breed than she is. I even question if it’s humane to put a very dog-aggressive dog in a training class with other dogs.
Insane to euthanize dogs that bite? Does anyone think I mean minor nips here? I guess I should have been more clear and specified actually injurious unprovoked bites.
What I find strange is how you have been bitten by your own dogs enough times to say “when I get bitten” and that you’re now you are are “very rarely get bitten”
(which would indicate that at one time it was more common) and how quick you are to defer blame. It is not normal to be bitten by one’s own pets, even for “mishandling.” Pet dogs should not be biting their owners, except in extreme cases such as when in pain. I would not be quick to forgive a dog that bites me… I would be wary of it from that point forward and would never be willing to trust it with anyone else. I’ve never been bitten by one of my own dogs, and personally don’t even know someone who was bitten by one of their own dogs. And when I read that someone has been bitten by their dogs and they just seem willing to accept that as normal dog behavior, I am tempted to classify them as being in the same mindset as some of these pit apologists who defend biting dogs.
When you’ve handled as many dogs as I have, you’re going to get bitten occasionally. I have only once been bitten by a dog of mine such that I needed sutures. (My fault – misdirected aggression – I had inadvertently let a bitch in with her dam. The older bitch was the instigator, but I was bitten by her daughter. They hadn’t locked up yet, and the room was too small for me to get out of the way. Once they were locked on each other, I split the fight safely.). This is life. The bitch who bit me grabbed and released her bite.
Other dogs that have bitten me include a minor bite from a pitbull and a very annoying bite by a Dalmatian. The Dalmatian owner told the neighbor kids that I wasn’t actually bitten and put catsup on to look like blood. I went to an immediate care facility and got seven sutures in that bite that didn’t exist.
I am an animal professional. When someone gets hurt, somebody was careless. That includes me. However, I’m not going to take on a vicious pitbull. I am not young, and I know my limits.
Actually, getting bit by one’s pet is pretty common these days, thanks to animal shelters purposely hiding bite and aggression history from adopters. I’ve known 3 people who were bit by their dog, adopted from animal shelters (thankfully these were not pit bull pets!) 1 returned their dog to the animal shelter, where they were then told the dog had previously been returned for biting (of course, they would not have adopted the dog if they had been told that in the first place.) 1 took their dog to their vet and had it put to sleep. And 1 decided to give their dog another chance (this was a small dog who was not going to kill anyone.) The right thing to do is going to depend on the individual situation. Knowing now, how common it is for animal shelters to readopt known aggressive pets, I would recommend that people not return a biter to the animal shelter, but I can understand why they would do so and want to get their money back. Of course, with pit bull’s killing history, euthanasia is the only reasonable option for a biting.
Sellis, I’m truly sorry that your sister kept her dog after such a traumatic attack on your child. Locking the dog away is ok it it simply frightened someone, or growled, but after an actual attack in the face, I can’t believe she kept the dog. I would consider it an insult to both my child and myself – to let the poor child see her attacker and relive the attack, and to let me see the vicious dog that attacked my child, enjoying life and being content, when my gut feeling is to grab a kitchen knife and send that creature that hurt my child to it’s wolf forefathers.
Well, as sad as this is, I’m glad her monster dogs decided to kill her instead of her innocent neighbor or her innocent 2 children. These dogs are killers, and while I wish they wouldn’t kill anyone, they *are* going to kill, so better the deluded owner then the innocent people around them. Pit bulls lovers are a dangerous cult.
I couldn’t agree more!!
Isn’t it odd? I’m also reminded of the young woman who was mauled to death by her two pits while walking them in a wooded area, and how the Internet seized upon that story and wild accusations flew around, such as suggesting that the woman was killed by a bear or a roaming psychopath.
It’s strange how multiple children and older people will be killed by dogs in rapid succession, with barely a peep outside their immediate area, but an attractive young female owner is killed and the crowd really seizes upon that.
You’re so right. These are the stories that get the attention. There have been so many babies and children killed by pits, and yet…AND YET…we see none to little national media coverage. But, of course, every other night there’s a “cute” dog or cat story. My skin crawls when I see pictures of infants in the paws of a pit. This is a crime, it’s called child endangerment. I’m reminded of the couple who brought their newborn home and had the pit in bed with them. Mom coughed suddenly and the pit ended the baby’s life in one second. Tragic.
So many women get pits and other “power breeds” for “protection”. If the word gets around that a pit is more likely to kill or injure you or a loved on than an attacker it would eliminate an entire class of pit owners.
I live in a very pit bull friendly city full of bleeding hearts who love to “rescue” them. Every walk I take with my 10 week old puppy is punctuated with pit bull encounters that leave me nervous and worried. What if one day one just snaps and reaches over and kills her? There have been incidents in this city very recently of pit bulls killing smaller dogs. I’ve commented before that my neighbor across the street owns a massive male pit bull which she absolutely refuses to leash and which is aggressive and confrontational when it sees people. She just runs after it and says “no no no!” As though it would ever listen to her. I’m truly sick of it and living in fear in this city. My niece, as I have also mentioned before, had facial reconstructive surgery to correct the damage a pit bull inflicted when it decided to latch onto her head while she was playing hide and seek with some friends. It was a friendly family pet supposedly.
Get a gun, learn how to use it, and get self defense insurance. Also, take time and date stamped pictures EVERY TIME a moron pit owner disobeys the leash law or breaks any law and send them to animal control to start a paper trail.
Bear spray works too, however, if you know how to use a gun…go for it. I would take a bullet for my grandkids, AND I would not hesitate to kill to defend them.
Very sad for the children who have lost their mother.
Extraordinary behavior mentioned by the neighbor, who says one of the times the 2 pit bulls broke into his yard, they followed him into his house by pushing open an unlocked door. That level of boldness is very unusual in any dog, let alone an adolescent in a strange place (the pits are only around 1yo).
One article quotes yet another ‘canine behavior expert’ aka dog trainer. “Scott Sheaffer, who runs USA Dog Behavior, LLC… “I have literally worked with thousands of dogs, hundreds of breeds — I see it all — and I can honestly tell you … I don’t see any correlation between breed and aggression,” Sheaffer said. “I have Dachshunds that want to tear your eyes out, and I have pit bulls that are sweet and lovey-dovey.”
Most of the people making money in dog-related businesses today – vets, trainers, stores, etc. – have chosen to promote pit bull owner talking points. The younger ones have normalized pit bull behaviors and effects, the older ones have rationalized it as a lofty moral position.
He looks like John Belushi.
Same s**t, different day. Another pit bull licks someone to death. Nutters and self appointed “dog experts” come out in force. Victim blaming ensues (which in this case is warranted). Pit bull advocacy utilizes the situation to push their “all dogs bite/pits have a bad rep” BS. Nutters continue to put innocent people in danger. Rinse and repeat. The pit bull news cycle is as predictable as the tides, unlike their demon spawn beasts.
Pretend conversation with tour average unhinged pit lunatic.
Nutter : “It’s all in how you raise them.”
Normal person: “Then shouldn’t we immediately euthanize all pit bulls seized from fighting rings and other abusive situations? Aren’t they more likely to hurt or kill someone, since they haven’t been raised right? Isn’t it worth saving a life?”
Nutter: “Rescue pits are the sweetest dogs you’ll ever meet! They have so much love to give! Look at the Vick dogs! We have to save them all!”
Normal Person: “Then how do you explain the beloved family pit bulls that kill people?”
Nutter: “It’s all in how you raise them! That dog had to have been trained to rip that innocent baby’s face off! My pit bull is so sweet!” (Shows picture of their infant on couch with pit bull).
Normal Person: “But you just said….”
Nutter: “Why don’t you get educated, you racist! What kind of sick person wants to eliminate an entire bread (spelled wrong on purpose) of dog?!”
Normal Person: “What kind of sick person puts the lives of dogs above innocent human life? Or blames babies and toddlers for being mauled? Or blames elderly people for walking in their neighborhood? Or engages in abhorrent behavior when their sick point of view is challenged?”
Nutter: *expletive and threat laden tirade*
Normal Person: “Riiiiiggghhht… I’m actually a little dumber now since talking to you.”
KP: I spit my water laughing. If this wasn’t such a serious issue, I wouldn’t feel guilty for cracking up. But what you wrote was the absolute truth.
The very fact that some people choose to be “breed advocates” is very scary and sick. I mean, the healthy thing for people to do is to love their family, do their job right, be devoted to their country and their faith. It’s only when people are confused, stripped of their faith, disconnected form their family, told that patriotism is stupid, deprived of all healthy ways to have an identity – then people develop creepy unhealthy attachments and ways to identify who they are. I mean, people used to fight for their fatherland, and now they fight for dogs??? That’s just really sick.
Absolute truth.
I couldn’t agree more. I love my pets, and I enjoy having them in my life, but they are pets. They’re not my “furbabies”, I’m not their “pet parent”, and I don’t have a paw print shaped sticker on my vehicle that says “whatever breed mom.”
This society has developed an unhealthy obsession with pet ownership. We’ve put pets on the same level as our human children, sometimes even above the lives of children. Pet spas, pet psychologists, pet centric hotels and restaurants, dogs beside us on airplanes, etc. It’s nuts.
The lives of our loved ones, especially children, should always take precedence over animals.
Unfortunately, the “rescue” machine is large and lucrative in this country. Like a cult leader (think Jim Jones), they know how to appeal to certain personality types and manipulate and prey upon the gullible and rootless . And in the same vein as Jim Jones, the pit cult is sacrificing their children in the name of their obsession. It makes me sad for those that get caught in the rescue machine’s cogs.
Absolute truth, KP! There has been a shift in the way in which modern society views pets. It seems to have coincided with the advent of social media. I have always been an animal person, but I do not consider any of my pets to be my “furbabies” or my “fids” (feather kids), and I must admit that when I hear people use terms like that or refer to their pets as their sons or daughters I am wary of that individual and consider them at worst completely deluded or at the least terribly misguided. The rescue culture has played to the heartstrings of otherwise normal and sane people to such a degree that people now look at you askance if you mention that you actually bought an animal. You know, paid money for it to be your pet…. not adopted it like a child to give it a “furever home.” The very terminology sickens me, and it seems most rampant in the pit rescue culture. Humans always, always, always should take precedent over animals. We would see far fewer deaths by deadly dogs it that were so. But as long as people buy into this “fur parent” mentality and rescue culture, we will see more and more deaths as people lose their common sense and respect for human life.
KP…you nailed it. I’ve read countless stories of pit puppies raised in a loving home who went on to KILL their loving owners. Those who spew pit propaganda don’t want to talk about facts…just their own fantasy or some version of their truth.
A dog can’t grasp the idea of its own life or death, it doesn’t know when it’s getting a needle for a heartworm check, surgery or being euthanized. So, why is it so sad to put these dangerous or potentially dangerous dogs to sleep humanely? I don’t get it. I’ve known people who’ve been attacked or bitten ( not an accidental play bite ) by their own dogs, that weren’t pit bulls, one attack or bite gets them a one way trip to the vet
Each of these tragic stories should be studied to understand where and how you or your loved one can be attacked by dangerous dogs. We already know it can be “family dog” of your relative, friend, or your child’s babysitter, it could be a loose neighbor’s dog that escaped from the front door or dug under the fence in the back yard, it could be a dog that it’s irresponsible owner is walking without a leash or muzzle, and now it’s clear that it also could be a vet clinic. These dogs attacked their owner, but they may as well have attacked an innocent person who brought their yorkie for a checkup in that clinic, or a vet technician. The clinic agreed to host those aggressive dogs, and they clearly were not muzzled, because otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to kill their owner. Also, they could have easily attacked someone while she was letting them out of their crate, to take them outside, either the clinic staff or visitors. That’s something to remember when you go to a vet clinic – there could be a couple of murderous dogs in the back, and they could get loose when someone’s trying to feed them or walk them.
Thank you, Colleen, for the courageous work you do and for providing a forum for sane people.
If the cops had been allowed to shoot them after the biting incident she would probably be alive. Is it just me or does the white and brown one look like it is just about to attack in every pic?
Hopefully the husband doesn’t buy another breeding pair and restart the family business.
The bright spots in this are the pits did not kill an innocent bystander or child and the female pit was shot before giving birth.