Let your three pit bulls maul a young child, hide them,

June 20, 2001 2:22 PM

Let your three pit bulls maul a young child, hide them, go to jail. This would be a lot less appalling if the SF Chron had not chosen to run it underneath the story about "poodle boy".
posted by swell (12 comments total)

Man, I don't know how many more violence-against-children threads I can take. Seems like there's been more than a few of them over the past couple of days.

(I'm not criticizing your linking this, swell. I'm just getting a bit raw on this sort of topic.)
posted by bilco at 2:29 PM on June 20, 2001

So, you've got a pack of dogs with a taste for kid-blood. Whatta ya do with them? Why, set them free to roam the countryside. What an asshole.
posted by ColdChef at 2:32 PM on June 20, 2001

(at this point, the dog lovers enter. They exclaim that not all pit bulls are bad. They knew a good one several years back. It's those dastardly owners!)
posted by websavvy at 2:36 PM on June 20, 2001

Pit bulls are a mistake; they were engineered through breeding by idiots who wanted kick-ass fight dogs. They were made to be weapons.

Yes, I feel bad for the pit bulls, as they didn't ask for this. But still -- screw 'em.
posted by bilco at 2:41 PM on June 20, 2001

That would be a few topics back.
posted by websavvy at 2:42 PM on June 20, 2001

Is it time for the ManBeef link to make yet another appearance today? Probably.
posted by bilco at 2:44 PM on June 20, 2001

I don't know how many more violence-against-children threads I can take.

I heard that. I've left work early to rush home to my kid every day this week. He doesn't understand why his pop is so happy to see him, but he seems to like it anyway.
posted by UncleFes at 3:00 PM on June 20, 2001

websavvy - I am a dog lover and proud of it. And no, not all pit bulls are bad. Funny thing, though, I've never met a good one. I've met good owners that take the time to control their dogs (extreme amounts of time IMO). So maybe we shouldn't be looking at the dogs as the culprits.

BTW, bilco is right. Pit bulls were bred for one thing and this post shows it in its ugliest form. I have a friend who has a pit bull and I think she's got issues. I love dogs more than most people, and I will never understand the weak self image that must be in play for ANYONE to want to own a pit bull.

I do think we need a little focus here, however. The dogs are just that, dogs. The real story is that some asswipe has hidden his dogs and compounded an already ugly situation by KNOWINGLY causing more pain to a young innocent. I'm much more frightened of the asshole who would place his obviously out of control animals welfare above that of the boy that they attacked.

And I rushed home after reading this and gave my dogs a hug. They don't understand why I'm so happy to see them, but they like it anyway.
posted by Wulfgar! at 3:39 PM on June 20, 2001

"I think they should ban these dogs out of the neighborhood," said Mary Rincon, 72, whose daughter called 911 to report the attack

If pit bulls are outlawed, only outlaws will have pit bulls.
posted by fooljay at 5:17 PM on June 20, 2001

If pit bulls are outlawed, only outlaws will have pit bulls.

Hey, it's the Sphinx!
posted by gyc at 6:02 PM on June 20, 2001

I have actually known good pit bulls. Scooby, Nitro, Brindy, and Judas (as in Priest, and he was only half Pit) were all kind, sweet dogs who were raised gently but firmly and taught to be friendly. Granted, they are all protective animals, but that's hardwired to some extent into most dogs. It is possible to have good pit bulls, but it takes a massive amount of work and some serious control.

I get very frustrated, however, when people make irresponsible choices regarding their dogs. I think folks purchase Pit Bulls as a status symbol or because they "want protection" (although, like I said, any dog will be protective to an extent) then don't follow up with the amount of training required to make them obedient and friendly dogs. Eventually the dogs end up in the pound, or nearly killing some poor kid who will no doubt be terrified of dogs now, which in this kid's case is the least of his worries.

As a side note, the city where I used to live was home to a pretty thriving business of pit bull fighting. Most of the dogs were killed, but some did end up available for adoption in the pound. Sad thing is, I am an adamant proponent of adopting shelter dogs, but I would never do it there since most of the dogs there are ill-treated Pits.

That said, the dogs that attacked this boy need to be found and put down. Gack. I hate saying that but my lord, an unprovoked attack that ripped the child's ears from his head? And from the severity of the attack, I can only guess this man taught his dogs to be aggressive. Asshole.
posted by jennyb at 7:05 PM on June 20, 2001

This idiot dog owner is still claiming he released the dogs in wooded areas because he "panicked" when he saw what happened. The attack on the boy is horrific, but I can't believe that the owner would release killer dogs out into the open like that. I'm just totally freaked out. It's exactly this kind of thing that makes me scared of dogs when I see them on the street.
posted by megnut at 10:49 PM on June 20, 2001