I wonder about having pit bulls!!!

Shawnee123 · 12-12-2006, 05:47 PM

Pit bulls were bred as fighting dogs. When they do attack, they do so without warning, and do not have the "turn off" mechanisms that most dogs have.

This is not to say all pit bulls are bad. It is, of course, possible to raise a very well behaved pit bull, as it is possible to raise a vicious Golden Retriever (though I can't imagine that!)

However, should a parent take that risk, not ever really being sure what is in the bloodline? Or, even let any dog unattended around a baby that young?

Also, I can't imagine that 4 toes were totally gone before the baby cried at all. Parents can't hear a newborn fussing? Don't most parents say every noise, when the baby is so small, raises an instinctive parental alarm?

We don't have all the story, but I would say the parents were negligent.

glatt · 12-12-2006, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

We don't have all the story, but I would say the parents were negligent.

Yeah, they are negligent because there is nobody else to blame, but they are barely negligent at all. It was a friggin puppy. Who thinks a puppy is going to eat a kid when they are right there next to the kid?

The pit bull was a puppy, so it wasn't trained yet. Which means it hadn't been trained to be mean, the way many pit bulls are. It was just a puppy.

This is really an accident more than anything, on the same level as accidentally slamming a car door on a kid's fingers.

I'd think differently of them if they were drug users/dealers who were passed out and under the influence, but there's none of that here. They probably had a sleepless night taking care of their crying kid, and they fell into a nap with their baby at an arm's length away. Parents do that all the time. They probably figured their mere presence would make things OK.

Unless there is more to this story, the DA prosecuting them is an ass.

Shawnee123 · 12-12-2006, 07:54 PM

Either the baby doesn't cry, or the parents were incapable of hearing a baby getting its toes chewed off.l

How do you know there weren't drugs or alcohol involved?

Either way...maybe I was wrong to jump to the negligent parent thing. I did say we didn't have the whole story.

But, I have to wonder how dog nibbled 4 TOES OFF before anyone realized it? I imagine most of the parents I've seen post to these boards would have heard their baby, who was right next to them, fussing because having body parts gnawed off kind of hurts. At least I would imagine it does. Hell, most of the parents here would hear a fly buzzing around their newborns and come hell or high water that fly would have to go.

Doggy being sweet doggy and "nursing" or doggy being evil toe-eating dog...how could it get that far?

glatt · 12-13-2006, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

How do you know there weren't drugs or alcohol involved?

The article doesn't mention them. I'm assuming drugs and booze weren't present. If they were present, then my opinion of the parents changes.

I think social services should keep an eye on this family for a while. The parents screwed up and the baby got hurt as a result. What I'm saying is that they shouldn't be charged with a crime. It was an accident.

Shawnee123 · 12-13-2006, 07:39 AM

I am the biggest animal lover on earth. I hate to think that this happened but the crux of the issue, to me, is the parents not hearing the child. Toe-chewing off would take some time:

Quote:

Local veterinarian Dr. Valri Brown said if the puppy chewed off the infant's toes, it would not have happened quickly.

"It would have to be a period of time -- maybe at least an hour," she said.

This is where I get confused.

There is also some speculation that the resident ferret might have had a hand, er, uh...tooth in this:

Quote:

Teresa Miller, who sold the puppy to the Hansches, was skeptical the dog did it.

"He didn't chew on anything while he was with me. Out of all of them (in the litter), he was the least chewy."

It is all still up for speculation, but I can't get over the fact that it took so long to realize their baby was being chewed on. I am jumping to a conclusion when I consider that they may have been sedated in some way. I am probably even stereotyping when I read of the couple asleep on a mattress in their living room with the baby sleeping in a car seat next to them...a 6-week old puppy (they didn't think the baby would take up enough of their time?) and a ferret who may or may not have been running around the place free.

It just adds up to skepticism on my part.

At any rate, I do hope the baby is OK; she is now listed in stable condition.

Above quotation source: KTBS News website

chrisinhouston · 12-13-2006, 07:56 AM

Here's a video link of the story
http://video.ap.org/v/en-ap/v.htm?g=...f=txhou&fg=rss

The puppy looks so scared, he's shaking!

glatt · 12-13-2006, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

Above quotation source: KTBS News website

Well, now that additional information is coming in from other sources, I'll change my tune. If the baby was screaming for an hour (not stated in original article) and the parents were arm's length away, they could have easily rolled over, opened their eyes and looked at the kid. If all that is true, then they should have seen a puppy gnawing on the foot for an hour. They are negligent, and deserve to be charged.

Griff · 12-13-2006, 10:57 AM

A disturbing thing I noticed on the pitbull front locally is that they are giving away pitbull pups at the humane society. There was even a photo of one in the paper labeled lab mix. No lab ever resembled the dangerous mutt in the paper. Unsuitable pets like pitbull and chow mixes should not be distributed to families with kids by local pseudo-authorities especially under the false pretense of taking in a nice kid friendly dog. Like RZ said, a pitbull can be a very good dog if well-bred and well-trained, unfortunately that is becoming a rare creature.

Charge the family with neglect and put down the dog. You don't want either of these in the gene pool.

12-12-2006, 05:47 PM	#1
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Pit bulls were bred as fighting dogs. When they do attack, they do so without warning, and do not have the "turn off" mechanisms that most dogs have. This is not to say all pit bulls are bad. It is, of course, possible to raise a very well behaved pit bull, as it is possible to raise a vicious Golden Retriever (though I can't imagine that!) However, should a parent take that risk, not ever really being sure what is in the bloodline? Or, even let any dog unattended around a baby that young? Also, I can't imagine that 4 toes were totally gone before the baby cried at all. Parents can't hear a newborn fussing? Don't most parents say every noise, when the baby is so small, raises an instinctive parental alarm? We don't have all the story, but I would say the parents were negligent. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

12-12-2006, 07:54 PM	#3
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Either the baby doesn't cry, or the parents were incapable of hearing a baby getting its toes chewed off.l How do you know there weren't drugs or alcohol involved? Either way...maybe I was wrong to jump to the negligent parent thing. I did say we didn't have the whole story. But, I have to wonder how dog nibbled 4 TOES OFF before anyone realized it? I imagine most of the parents I've seen post to these boards would have heard their baby, who was right next to them, fussing because having body parts gnawed off kind of hurts. At least I would imagine it does. Hell, most of the parents here would hear a fly buzzing around their newborns and come hell or high water that fly would have to go. Doggy being sweet doggy and "nursing" or doggy being evil toe-eating dog...how could it get that far? __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

12-13-2006, 07:56 AM	#6
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	Here's a video link of the story http://video.ap.org/v/en-ap/v.htm?g=...f=txhou&fg=rss The puppy looks so scared, he's shaking!

12-13-2006, 10:57 AM	#8
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	A disturbing thing I noticed on the pitbull front locally is that they are giving away pitbull pups at the humane society. There was even a photo of one in the paper labeled lab mix. No lab ever resembled the dangerous mutt in the paper. Unsuitable pets like pitbull and chow mixes should not be distributed to families with kids by local pseudo-authorities especially under the false pretense of taking in a nice kid friendly dog. Like RZ said, a pitbull can be a very good dog if well-bred and well-trained, unfortunately that is becoming a rare creature. Charge the family with neglect and put down the dog. You don't want either of these in the gene pool.

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