I was walking a friend`s dogs down Bryant Street, NW around noon when two (2) pitbulls coming out of # 126 attacked one of my friend`s two (2) dogs. I tried to beat the attacking pitbull off of my friend`s dog to no avail. Finally someone from that home brought a broomstick out and pressed it up against the pitbull`s neck. My friend`s dog was seriously injured and bleeding everywhere. I contacted the police and animal control.
The scary thing is that when Animal Control came they found that neither pitbull was licensed or registered as required by DC law. I was also bitten on a finger and my leg. To my shock and dismay, they did not immediately remove both animals from the premises. I spent the rest of the day at the Friendship Animal Hospital getting care for the injured dog. He had multiple puncture wounds and is lucky to be alive. I never got a chance to have my bites examined and will have to do so tomorrow. I now also will have to undertake a rabies treatment as the pitbull`s owner did not know when (or if) the animals had last been vaccinated for rabies.
Please let people in the neighborhood know that there are dangerous animals residing at 126 Bryant Street, NW. I heard from a couple people that these pitbulls have been seen on the loose in the neighborhood before. I don`t want what happened to my friend`s dog and myself today to happen to anyone else. I am going to do what I can to have DC Animal Control remove both pets from this residence as they are a safety risk to myself and others.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Bryant St NW pitbull attack; pitbulls not registered as required by DC law
See this Sunday, 08-28-2011 message from a Bloomingdale resident:
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25 comments:
I am so sorry that happened. That's terrifying. I hope the injured dog and person both recover well. And I hope you have success working with Animal Control to get the dogs removed from an unresponsible, unsafe situation.
I would like to point out, however, that ALL dogs in DC require licensing (and rabies vaccines), this is not a pitbull-specific law as the post title seems to implyl.
I, too, am very sorry to hear this, but I have to say that I find this post to be a bit irresponsible. This wasn't a "pitbull" attack, as noted in the title -- this was a dog attack. Please don't perpetuate the stereotype that Pit Bulls are all dangerous and unruly. I can name you more than a dozen breeds that are as likely if not more to go out of control and attack people. The problem is the owner here - ANY dog can be a danger if not properly trained and monitored, from Pits all the way down to Poodles.
Please make sure to be vigilant about your bitten finger. I spent two days in the hospital following a dog bite last summer. I had stitches at the emergency room initially, and when I went back two days later to be re-checked, the injury was red and puffy and required IV antibiotics.
Robert, please name those 12 breeds.
According to this study, http://www.dogsbite.org/bite-study-deaths-maimings.htm, Pit Bulls, and close Pit Bull Mixes, are .05% of the dog population, but responsible for 56% of attacks on humans that result in maimings and 47% of attacks on humans that result in death.
It seems nonsensical to say that an animal that makes up half a percent of the total population but accounts for an enormous number of the attacks is being unfairly targeted.
What are those 12 breeds that are as likely, if not MORE likely to attack?
Folks...this is not supposed to be a commentary on whether Pit Bulls are viscous or not. You all have completely missed out on not only the point but also a teachable moment. The breed was clearly ONLY identified to alert the public as to an important detail, not to disparage the breed...come on folks...
I think the better point here is, these dogs have human owners. Those human owners should be held accountable for their actions. Not only should the dogs be immediately removed from the custody of these moronic owners but the owners should face criminal charges PERIOD!!! No warnings, no second chances. Take the dogs away and file criminal charges in real criminal court.
Maybe if these people are held accountable for their actions those of us who follow the rules and laws will be free to walk the neighborhood without the fear of being mauled.
Also it has been rumored these two dogs were also the two dogs that ripped apart another dog a few months back...and they and their owners are still around? PITIFUL!!! SHAME ON THE OWNERS AND SHAME ON THE COPS FOR DOING NOTHING!!! What will it take...a person being killed?
If you, the person who posted this incident are reading this CALL THE COPS AND PRESS CHARGES IMMEDIATELY. If you do nothing the next time someone may be killed.
Hey, I can cite the first page of Google results, too: http://www.2keller.com/library/types-of-dogs-most-likely-to-bite.cfm
"Small dog owners often overlook their dog's behavior because of their size and/or think they may not have a propensity for aggressive behavior. The truth is, little dogs bite more than big dogs. There have been numerous cases involving dog bite attacks with smaller dogs. Size should never be used as a predictor toward the likelihood of a dog’s potential to attack."
Little dogs are much more likely to bite, as are well-loved breeds like Cocker Spaniels, Lassie and other Collies, and any number of Asian breeds. The stats you cite, nft4513, are about maimings, not all bites.
I will agree that a Pit Bull bite can be far worse than many, but there are a lot of factors that lead to the statistics you mentioned, including popularity of the breed (.05% of the population is a joke), potential for abuse by breeders and trainers, and often, a lack of understanding on the victim's part on how to approach these dogs (btw, I am NOT saying that happened in this case).
I go back to my original point -- there are no "bad breeds," just bad owners. Blaming the breed is counterproductive and stupid.
And I concur with John -- whoever this happened to, call the cops! For everyone's sake.
Can we get a description of the dogs beyond them being pit bulls such as color, size, etc? I have two pit bulls and I have seen well over 20 in the neighborhood.
As a new resident in Ledroit (Adams St.), I must say I'm more than a little concerned by the number of dogs I've seen running loose since we moved in in June. On 1 August a contractor doing work at my home witnessed a pit bull, sorry, but he IS one, that happens to reside on Adams Street attack a young woman. I didn't witness this event myself, but HAVE seen that particular pit bull loose on several occasions. In fact, he came after me and my three very small dogs when I was returning home from a walk. Thank God he didn't notice the front gate to his yard was open (as usual) and he instead ran for the corner of the fenced in yard. Or I'd have been in trouble. He scared the hell out of my poor dogs and me. This is especially terrifying for me as a I lost a beloved Chihuahua this past May to a dog attack (not in this neighborhood). Something must be done about these irresponsible pet owners.
BTW: the dog to which I was referring is mostly black with white markings. Please keep an eye for him when walking in the neighborhood.
You can and should file charges, especially since you were injured. This type of behavior isn't just inconsiderate; it's dangerous and life threatening.
Before I moved to DC, my neighbors lost their five year old son because he was attacked by a loose pitbull, after repeated warnings by the sheriff to lock the dog up or keep him on a leash. It was very tragic for the family and our community and the dog had to be put down.
Hopefully a citation or jail time will force these residents to think twice about putting other people's lives in danger.
I appreciate the heads up about the pit bulls and the location. For identification purpose it is good to know where I should be caution and what I should be looking out for. You said that animal control did not remove the animals from the house. Any further news on this? Do we need to mobilize some voices to get them to act?
I'm very sorry to hear about this and commend the OP for trying to protect the dog being attacked and giving us all a heads up, including by letting us know what kind of dog it was.
Has the ANC and/or Civic Association been notified?
If i were the poster, I would do everything possible to 1) ensure the owners are held accountable 2) have the dogs removed from the property. They are obviously not being cared for properly. I also think the community should all call in their concerns to the Humane Society about these dogs. They are a danger to the community at large.
I too am very upset that you and your dog were injured by this attack. You should push prosecution on this to the fullest extent, but I also don’t want people to have the impression that Pitt Bulls were the problem. It was the owner and their lack of concern for other people’s safety as well as the lack of training of their dogs. As an example me and my wife were walking the other day and a woman walking her 2 dogs on a leash had one of them come after my wife for no reason, this dog I believe was a Giant Poodle or maybe an English Terrier, I’m not sure. Dog owners know their dog’s disposition and if they have a violent dog than they should keep them muzzled and restrained when they are in public places, before this escalates into something very ugly, which it would have if that dog had of bitten my wife.
I had a similar situation happen while walking my Corgi Jake in Woodridge. A loose German shepherd ran across the owner's yard and grabbed Jake by the neck while we were on the sidewalk. The owner was in the yard at the time and was able to get his dog to release Jake, but the resulting injuries required numerous staples and vet trips (we also went to Friendship). I filed a report with DC Animal Control which triggered a check to see if the dog was registered and what its vaccination status was. At that point it was up to me to decide whether to proceed with a 'dangerous dog' investigation. I did, and submitted statements, copies of vet bills and photos of Jake's injuries to DC Animal Control. I'd recommend you document the attack carefully now because in a month or so when the investigation goes through, some details might be fuzzy. Also, take photos NOW while the wounds are fresh to show the full extent of the injuries. They investigated and found the dog 'dangerous', a decision the owner then repealed. We both had to meet with the Animal Control investigator in front of a DC judge who later denied the appeal and upheld the dangerous dog ruling, mainly because the attack was unprovoked and caused serious injury to Jake. In order to keep his dog, the owner had to (among other things) have him neutered, there must be a 'dangerous dog' warning sign on his property, and the dog cannot be taken out in public without a muzzle. It may seem like an arduous process, but please have your friend file a dangerous dog incident with the DC Animal Control to get these dogs off the street.
Adding to my earlier comment, the woman who handled my case at Animal Control told me that they see cases of dangerous dogs of ALL breeds, from the smallest to the largest. Any dog is capable of aggression resulting in injury no matter what their size.
As a dog owner in Bloomingdale who walks a few blocks from this address all the time, I want to thank you for alerting your neighbors so soon and in such detail. I think it is important for your neighbors to know the details of the situation (including the assumed breed of the dog) in order to be aware and alert while walking their own dogs. I would feel the same way had it been any other assumed breed of dog.
So sorry to hear you and your friend's dog were hurt.
Take Care.
I am the owner of a pitbull. We have a greater responsibility to control our dogs than anyone else and promote the breed in a positive light because of what the media and other individuals portray. It is owners like this person who give all pitbulls a bad name and make it harder for the responsible owners. I do not blame the dogs in this situation because I will bet they have not been trained, have not been socialized and do not get proper exercise. The part that bothers me about this post is that the word pitbull shows up 6 times. I am willing to bet if this were another breed that this poster wouldn't have said that breed's name over and over again. My pittie has never attacked any dogs and has been attacked 3 times without even fighting back because he was trained properly.
I have shared the information above about this attack with my dog park contact in the DC Department of Health. Her division also investigates bites cases. She forwarded the address of the two dogs to her colleague who handles investigations. I will share any additional information that I receive. Sadly, I think these dogs may be the ones that mauled a small dog to death a few months ago (it broke my heart hearing the story from the dog's owner).
Please be careful out there!
Maria
President, Bloomingdale LeDroit Dog Park Association
www.bldpa.org
Twitter: @bldpadogs
With that being said, I do believe these dogs should be taken out of the home and placed into a home of responsible owners who will properly socialize and train these dogs. It is never acceptable to allow your dogs off leash out of the house or fenced in area regardless of breed because these are the types of incidents that can happen and this dog is lucky that this incident didn't turn out worse.
Okay, everyone, there is now a subsequent post by the person who reported this incident yesterday.
Thanks everyone for your comments. The information from this posting and everyone's comments has been very helpful. The dogs that were attacked were mine, and I'm glad so many people were willing to take the time to comment.
I would like to add one thing. I'm sorry that this message insinuated anything against pit bulls. That was never the intent. It was simply intended as a post to provide people with information about a scary situation that happened in our neighborhood. To provide some context, I am currently out of the country for work, and my friend was watching my dogs for me. First, imagine my dismay on learning of this attack. It is my worst fear that I will not be present when my dog passes away, and being out of the country and unable to travel home only added to my fear and concern. Second, my friend's first thought was that he had to save my dog at all costs. As a result, he ended up with multiple dog bites himself, as well as an infection in his finger and a badly injured arm from hitting the attacking dog multiple times in an attempt to dislodge it from my dog's throat. He may now have to undergo treatment for exposure to rabies himself. Finally, while my dog is now on the mend after losing quite a bit of blood, he now has 12+ staples in him from bites and puncture wounds on his head, neck, throat, shoulders, ear, front leg, and back leg. This was clearly a traumatic experience. I'm sorry if the attempt to spread the news about this incident appeared to be a statement against pit bulls. I've spent considerable time around pit bulls and I have a friend who has a pit bull mix and she's a gem. However, I'd like to remind everyone that as one person already said, this was not meant as a statement against pit bulls but merely an attempt to inform the neighborhood. How helpful would it have been if we all received a message saying "a dog attacked my dog"?
I am so sorry you went through this, it is an absolutely terrifying story. Thanks for letting your neighbors know the address so we can be aware. I am sorry for your injuries, and for the trauma and feel so terribly for the poor dog you were walking. Thank goodness you were able to save its life.
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