Just wanted to share my own personal dog attack/bite story with y'all. 1st, please believe, I AM a true animal lover, have had many large breed dog's, am a responsible pet owner, alway's have vet care with required shot's, have spayed &/or neutered my animal's, had last rottweiler trained at Man's Best Friend. So, all that said: unfortunately, in my lower class neighborhood, is a neighbor not very responsible with her pet's, 2 pitbull's. I have been aware since, maybe, last June, 2004, of the 1 pitbull constantly running loose in the neighborhood, chase's cat's, appear's to hate them, as I have seen this dog attack & kill 5 cat's, a couple of them were mine, since last June, 2004. I have spoken on many occasion's with the dog owner pleading with her to please secure her pitbull in a better manner than on a chain, in her unfenced yard, as the dog get's loose & away from the owner almost daily/nightly, but, she has not not changed the containment. I have called City of Houston Animal Control at least 30 time's since last June, 2004, about this dog, tho, they have never responded, that is, until I was finally attacked & bitten, viciously, in my own garage by this animal. This dog has been so intent on chasing & killing cat's that it has climbed the tree's in my front yard to the very top, thin branch's after my cat, it has literally gotten stuck under a friend's car who was visiting me, so that we had to inflate the tire's as to extricate the pitbull, due to chasing a cat. I have opened my front door on many occasion's to leave in the afternoon for work, only to have to slam the door shut, because there was the pitbull, trying to force her way into my house to kill my cat's. On the night of New Year's Eve, after I'd gotten home from work, I heard horrific scream's & crashing sound's coming from my garage, & upon opening my kitchen door to the garage, discovered the pitbull had managed to chase a female mother cat under my slightly opened garage door, I saw that the dog had alreqady killed 1 3 week old kitten & had the mother cat in her mouth, the front leg of the cat already ripped away from the cat, the cat stil alive & screaming horribly, so, I had to let the dog "finish" her off. Then I went & got the dog owner, she was reluctant & rude, didn't want to come down & clean up the dead mess of cat's in my garage, but she finally did. The next day I discovered that her landlord is also my landlord, so I called him, in hope's he would do something positive about containing the dog better, but, this did not happen. On the morning of Feb. 5, 2005, again I heard the same horrific sound's coming from my garage, & upon opening the door, again saw the pitbull in my garage, this time with my 5 y/o 3-legged cat in her mouth, & I just couldn't let the killing happen again, so, I tried to get the dog to release my cat & then the dog turned it's attack on me, knocking me to the floor, biting me on my head, my right hand, my left arm, both leg's & feet. I was able after about a 20 minute fight with the dog, able to gain control of the situation enough to drag the dog to my closest neighbor to ask them to call 911 for help, & they did. The police, ambulance & finally after 2 hour's animal control, arrived, to take statement's et al. The dog owner had no vet record's, no city dog liscense, & was allowed to "surrender" the dog on the next day, for quarantine for rabies. This was done, after 10 day's the dog was returned to the woman, it is still being contained in the same manner as previous, it was seen as recently as this past Friday, running loose in the neighborhood. I have not been able to get much needed medical attention for a severe complication from one of the bites inflicted by this dog, as I am told I require a hand specialist for hand surgery for the damaged tendon & nerve to my right ring finger, the pain level has been from an 8 to 10++, I have retained an attorney, the dog owner & the property owner/landlord have been sent certified letter's by the lawyer, which both parties have chosen to ignore the 3 attempt's to deliver, & now the attorney must file official lawsuit's. Why is this dog still able to run loose, why hasn't the dog owner & or the property owner been responsible enough to take the right step's to aid me, the victim? I'm a nurse, need both hand's to function properly & efficiently at my job on the spinal cord injury unit, working with quadra & paraplegic's at the Houston V.A. Hospital. Anyone have any ideas or suggestion's for me??? Thanks for listening/reading my story. Terry Knorr

I'm sorry to hear about your ordeal. I can't beleive Animal Control isn't doing more in this situration. I hope they aren't waiting for someone to get killed. What if it had been a child instead of you that the dog had attacked.

I love pitts, but there are some that need something done to or for them.

Not sure what else you can do, but to take them to court and sue them.

If you do hopefully you get a judge like Judge Judy. I would never like to have to face her. She scares me, but she seems like a good judge. Lets people know what she thinks of them.

Good luck I hope you can get the medical treatment you need. It would be nice if people like that would take proper care of their animals and did the right thing when their animals do something wrong. Unfortantly a lot of them don't and thats why we have lawyers and court systems.

Hope everything works out OK.

See it is your first post. Hello and welcome. Not being a nitpicker and do not mean to criticize, but in a long, informative post like that please use paragraphs and paragraph breaks. Was tough to read...sorry..ok.

I am also a true animal lover to a POINT. Couple of my animals killed. Without provacation by a dangerous animal. I would resort to what ever was necessary to stop this beast or beasts, and lawyer up...if you know what I mean. You are a lot more patient and understanding than myself if this unfortunate situation was to befall me. Not giving ANY advice, in any form or forum. Good luck

WOW! That story really hits home with me. There is a mean pit that has threatened me, my daughter, neighbors,dogs in the neighborhood and also workers here on post. Yesterday infact was the last occurance. The owners of this dog let it run off lease while they get their mail and etc.. I am afraid to go out to my car. I hate it. I really hope they do something especially in your case.

Reread your story again, still sad and disturbing. Since my last response I still remain a true animal lover. Now its time for me to be a jackarse. WHAT the heck are you doing? I'm hardly a tough guy, but this would have been dealt with immediately. I've heard the saying "first bite free" in the legalese, but wouldn't multiple kills on your property, of your animals equal doggie death row? Animal control officers and the police can not be everywhere at once.

Pit Bulls, as a generalization are obviously an extremely tough dog and often insensitive to pain...btw I am TRULY very sorry about your injuries even though I am "upset" that you let it progress this far.

Terry I am unaware if you are male or female, know several Terrys of each sex that spell it the same way...just curious. If you are a male you should have gotten a set long ago, never would have gotten this far. If you are a lady I apologize for my crassness and rudeness, but still something needed to be done long ago.

That being said my sister is also a nurse, does pretty well for her self. Sounds like you are a specialist and a caring person. Your HMO sounds like the @#$%'s I deal with when I have a situation. Regardless of me being a jerk I still wish you good luck.

Read the subtitle of your post. Sorry. I need to read and scrutinize info more carefully. Regardless this shouldn't have gone on this long.

How awful. Did your 3 legged cat survive?

You might check to see if there is a pit bull rescue in your area and contact them. They may be able to help you get the attention of animal control, as they might have contacts there for the purposes of pulling dogs from shelters. When owners allow this kind of thing to happen, it reflects badly on all of us [pit bull owners] and this is unfortunate. I imagine the pit rescues would want to help to keep incidents like the one you have gone through from happening again.

In the meantime, I would keep the garage door shut and put a gun in a handy place in there, so that if the dog comes in to attack your cats again, you can take care of the problem without being further injured. People might not agree, but if it were my home and my pets, after all that has happened, it's what I would do.

Shinyblackpit I agree. For some reason this particular post just bothers and upsets me...nothing to do with what you said, wish my thoughts could have been as logical as yours though. This pet owner claims prior ownership/experience with another large and potentially aggressive canine, just rubs me the wrong way. Hope no little kids live around there, never mind adults that could lock a garage and stick up for themselves. A bunch of could have, should have would have.

Get a gun. Shot the dog. Put the dog in a nice grave in the back yard. Say nothing to the "owner".

In my state it is legal to shot a dog after you or your animals as long as you take care of the remains. It is not legal to "detain" someone elses animal however.


If that does not work for you... Call the newspapers, tv show and get some attention. Call, and write every animal rescue, shelter in your area.

Something about this story doesn't seem right. I don't know, maybe it's just me.I'm not trying to be rude or anything.

A lot of people like the pump-action 12 guages, like Mossbergs, but to be honest, I just love the feel of a break-action double-barrel. There's not as much risk in not being sure if the gun is loaded (For the record, ALL guns are loaded) and the 20-guage is easy to wield, especially for women or people not used to handling guns. Minimal recoil compared to a 12-guage, especially with a padded stock. Aim for the head and pull both triggers-- you'll have plenty of time to reload while whatever is left of the dog is trying to function.

OMG- that is a truly scary post. This is an animal forum, not gun lovers forum. jeesh.

First of all, I have to say I'm P.O'd about this pitbull attack. Obviously it is the woman who owns this dog who needs to be seriously reprimanded. Personally, I'd be tempted to shoot HER, not the dog. People like her make me really sick and MAD, and it is because of people like her that BSL has gotten so out of control.

Secondly, as reluctant as I am to even speak of shooting an animal - this dog is a menace and needs to be removed from its current situation - preferrably through a rescue group. However, I understand and somewhat agree with people who have the right to protect themselves, their property and loved ones. It's one of those situations where things have gotten so out of hand that the only course of action is the saddest one.

I'm truly sorry for your losses and attack - trust me, not all pit bulls are like that. The pit bull that attacked you and your cats is a victim as well - a victim of negligence and abuse and its owner should be the one held accountable.

Another thing - I can't BELIEVE that animal control ignored you like that. I have never heard of such a thing - usually they act swiftly and with an iron hand! I would lodge some complaints against them as well, obviously someone is not doing their job, and other people/animals could potentially get hurt in the future due to the negligence of animal control.

In any case, good luck - sue the hell out of that nasty woman, and get well soon.

I don't own any guns, for the record, I "hate" guns. (I'm a typical liberal, I hate guns until I need one, then I'm kicking myself for not having one)

Didn't mean to scare anyone. :)

rednosered,

I totally agree with you. This story sounds completely OFF.

Hey what i like to say is "Don't Blame The Breed Blame the Deed." Don't stereotype a pitbull just because its a pitbull! If a dog does somthing wrong blame the dog or owner but dont diss on it just because of a certain breed.you understand what I am saying?



***Edited By: choppers1dinky2 on 3/24/2005 3:32:26 PM***
Reason: word error

"I was able after about a 20 minute fight with the dog, able to gain control of the situation enough to drag the dog to my closest neighbor to ask them to call 911 for help, & they did."

Sorry but this is a bit unbelievable. As not only a Pit bull owner but a dog owner in general I know that a human vs dog fight would not last 20 minutes.
I have been attacked by a dog before and it's bite were swift and quick and mostly to my mid section and hands I sustained broken ribs fractured hand as well as many stitches to my abdomen, arms and hands and the whole attack lasted approximately 30 seconds.

Pit bulls are known for their small animal aggression they look at smaller animals as prey some just have a very strong prey drive.
It is essentially the owners fault for not controlling their dog. If they knew their dog had small animal aggression they should have teken the necessary steps to keep the dog contained at all times.


***Edited By: GinaH on 3/24/2005 3:51:18 PM***
Reason: **

it frustrates me to read peoples responses sometimes. This woman is saying that she was attacked by a dog. something i am sure is severly traumatic to her. so for some people here to doubt her or say things which discredit her i am sure really hurt her. she has been through a terrible battle with this dog and its owner, both physically and emotionally.
I know people are going to stick up for their dogs breed, but lets face it no matter the breed their are going to be lemons. within owners there are going to be lemons.
so when someone is posting looking for support and help, let's try not to be rude and snobby about it...ok??

ya know what does seem kinda off now that I think about it...the original poster hasn't said a thing about any of the responses.

hmmm.

and...you're right dog attacks (and I've been in several) don't usually last that long...

Story doesn't ring true to me either. The 20 minute thing does not seem right and able to contain and drag a dog that just attacked you. I would also not be putting up with a dog that kills my animals. Just a threat to Georgie and I will protect her with whatever means I have at my disposal. I agree with Shiny and the others.

If it is true, I feel sorry for the poster, the cats and even the dog since it was not taught or contained properly.

Merk 1982, there have been quite a few posts especially from one-time posters with wild stories designed to get everyone arguing. That is why people are so skeptical.