Sunday, May 22, 2016

Ohio pit bull roundup, 5/22/2016. Pit bull advocates blame victims, pit bull owners attack police, pit bulls attack adults, babies and St. Bernards,

We have far too many Ohio attacks for one post so we will break this down into manageable sections.


4/22/1016
Maumee Ohio
Lucas County

Just when you think you have seen it  all from pit bull owners.

An elderly lady was walking her 12 year old, leashed Cockapoo in her own neighborhood.  She noted a pit bull mix approaching from the rear, dragging a small child who was holding the leash.

You know where this story is going.  The pit  mix attacked the sweet old dog, the sweet old dog's owner began hitting the pit mix on  the head, she was able to free her own dog.  Don't mess with  senior citizens.

The child grabbed the leash of her pit mix and ran home.  Here is where we hit a new standard for pittery. The child's mother called police and reported that the Cockapoo was the aggressor and had bitten her daughter.  The Cockapoo was quarantined for biting.  Upon investigation it was determined that the wound on the child's hand was a cut from her own leash, there was no bite.  Shocker, a pit bull owner lied about an attack, who would think?

Please click on  the link for video of an interview with the Cockapoo owner, watch the sweet old dog.
Were there charges for filing a false police report?

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5/1/2016
Aurora Ohio
Portage County

More from the "you just can't underestimate pit bull owners" file.

Two Aurora police officers were dispatched for a call reporting a disturbance at a local residence, the resident had attacked a neighbor.  When police arrived 26 year old Brandon Bayless hit an officer in the head with a tire iron. Two officers also reported an aggressive pit bull at the residence. Who would have seen that coming?  Shots were fired but no gunshot injuries were reported.  Bayless was subdued with a Tazer. Bayless was treated and released from a local hospital and was booked into the Portage County jail.

Brandon Bayless. Courtesy Portage County Sheriff.
Brandon Bayless, booking photo.

The two police officers were also treated and released from a local hospital.  Nobody knows what became of the pit bull. I hope the neighbors are carefully watching their children.




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5/2/2016
Greenwich Ohio
Huron County

A pit bull, family pet, bit a one month old baby on the face.  The baby was on the floor while the mother was in the shower. (?) The mother heard her baby crying and found that the pit mix had attacked.  The baby was transported to Mercy Willard Hospital via ambulance then on to an undisclosed Toledo hospital for treatment.

The pit mix was reported to be 7 or 8 years old, the family reported no previous problems with it but they do not want it back after the 10 day quarantine.  Smart choice.

Per the Norwalk Reflector "Dog warden Gary Ousley confirmed the dog has been quarantined and discussed its temperament.
“The dog was perfectly fine. We’ve had it here in the office and it’s been fine. It’s been friendly with (Officer) Josh (Jasinski) and me,” Ousley said. “I don’t see the temperament of this dog to be aggressive.”
The dog warden’s office is waiting for photos from police and feedback from the dog owner. Ousley said once his officers speak to the owner, they will know what the next step is after the mandatory quarantine."
Sounds like unless the family insists on euthanization their dog will be recycled right back in to the community with some unsuspecting family.

Bad choice.

Here is another bad choice, Included in the Norwalk Reflector story on this attack on a helpless baby is a video titled "From our partners: a blue 'pit bull' longs for a home and another joins a family"  promoting pit bull adoption as family pets.  Who thought this was appropriate?   What are you thinking???

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5/16/2016
St. Marys Ohio
Auglaize County



 A pit bull attacked a St. Bernard, on the property of the St. Bernard's owner.  Police were called.  Per the Evening Leader "  “The St. Bernard was in its own yard and the pit bull was running loose,” St. Marys Police Chief Mark Ernst told The Evening Leader. “The officer tased the pit bull five times. The first few times, the pit bull went back after the St. Bernard. The last few times, the officer was tasing it to try and get control so they could get a dog pole but the dog was up and moving around. They were afraid the dog would break the leads and if so, they would have no control over the dog. With the kids and adults around, the officer was afraid it would attack a person.” It was at that time the officer shot the dog. Ernst said the pit bull’s owner eventually showed up at the scene. “He stated he understood why it happened,” Ernst said.


This comment was posted by the pit bull owner. Please remember, the pit bull was at large and attacking another dog on the property of the other dog's owner.

Brittany Bullock ·
Titan ran out of the house when the door was opened moving a bookshelf. There was three kids under 5 yrs of age at the house and he did not harm either one. 3 adults also not harmed. Ever thought Titan, "the vicious pit" was just protecting someone the St. Bernard was goin after. Considering the owed of the Saint said he was aggressive. He didn't tear that dog up severely.. It had two puncture wounds and some stitches in the face. He wasn't attacking him or he would've been way more injured. He was licking his jaws to keep him in place probably. And the owner also said they beat Titan with boards.. And this happened in 7-10 minutes then police arrived. No adults were outside during this so there's no witness to what exactly happened before the dog fight. Titan was a gentle obedient submissive dog. Never barked or growled.. Literally. And was super protective over every dog and human especially children and babies. There bits and pieces missing to this story.. That's for sure. Me and my ex got Titan together. And he was very well trained and babied with lots of love. We had him around people and other dogs before. Never a problem. He was bit before but never fought or attacked the dog back. He was an inside dog and slept in our bed every night. We eventually had a puppy after we got him and he loved that dog so much. That was his brother. So maybe if people would tell the rest of the story then we could understand the whole timeline. And what really happened.

There is a gofundme page for the St. Bernard's medical expenses, please click here .  He could use a few bucks.




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5/19/2016
Youngstown Ohio
Mahoning County

This one is a stunner and in my mind I hear part of this blog in Judge Jeanine Pirro's voice.

We begin with the facts.  A Youngstown woman, 36 year old Billie Schweikart, was attacked by the family pit bull. The three year old pit bull was "being trained" as a "service dog" for Schweikart's small daughter.  Schweikart  was apparently in her yard with her children when she was attacked.  Her screams brought the neighbors who hit the dog with a baseball bat and ran it over with a van in attempts to terminate the attack.

Per Vindy.com "The interior of the victim's van was covered in blood as was a car seat in the van that witnesses were using to try and fend the dog off, speckled with chunks of flesh."  A neighbor was quoted "He had her on the ground dragging her. He was chewing her up." The same neighbor stated that the victim was somehow able to get into the van to drive away but the dog continued the attack.

 The children are in the car, screaming,  at this point. Picture this from their viewpoint.

The explanation for the attack (there is always an explanation for pit  bull attacks) was that friends had gone to the victim's home to take her out  to lunch and the dog got excited and "jealous" when the victim picked up a small child  SO THE PIT BULL ATTACKED THE OWNER. Makes perfect sense to me.

This pit bull was "adopted" and reportedly had a history of abuse.  This is a common excuse because these dogs are picked up as strays and nobody knows where they came from or what their background is.  The pit  bull is aggressive in the shelter or the rescue? Must have been abused, obviously.  What other excuse might there be?

It does not get better, the dog has a history of aggression "but not to this extent".  Jax the  pit bull has attacked a neighbor mowing his lawn. A trainer had been sought for the lawn mower aggression issues but apparently without any positive result.    They put up with this in Youngstown?

Yes, they have to put up with it in Youngstown. Youngstown dropped their pit bull ban last year at the urging of Boardman resident Jason Cooke.  Why?  God only knows. We will get back to this point.

Two days after the attack Schweikart has forgotten her pit bulls previous aggression and stated Jax
had "never shown aggression."  Per WFMJ "We love Jax he was like apart of the family but, to see him that day he wanted me dead," said Schweikart.
Mahoning County Dog Warden Deputy Dave Nelson tells 21 News the attack is one of the worst he has come across in 28 years on the job.
Schweikart is badly bruised, with more than 100 stitches, and an arm and leg bitten to the bone.
She says she can't believe "Jax," who had been so good with her daughter, would suddenly attack.
"It went on for about 20 minutes of him just attacking me until the neighbor came over and ended up hitting him on the head with a baseball bat just enough to get him off of me," said Schweikart.
Schweikart says she doesn't know what caused Jax to act out of character but, Thursday afternoon he bolted for her and didn't let up.
Even after she took refuge inside a family van.
"Jax went under the van and sat right under where I was at, like waiting for me to open the door so he could finish. Like he was dead set he was going to kill me," described Schweikart.
Medics who arrived on the scene were unable to get to Schweikart until Jax finally gave up his fight when the van tried to pull away."
 PICTURE IT!

Click here for a hospital bedside interview.    Photos within the video show that there is no fence around Schweikart's yard. Other photos show Schweikart's small daughter with Jax.  One may not ask why the child might require a service dog but one may legitimately ask what task this dog was being trained to provide for the child.  Since the dog did not benefit from training to reduce his lawn mower aggression it is hard to figure out how this dog, adopted a year ago with known previous aggression issues and the mythical abuse history, was an appropriate choice for a child's service dog. Possibly I'm too picky.




Jax the pit bull is expected to be euthanized.  Schweikart is concerned that pit bulls might get a "bad rap" from this attack and adds that this is not her first pit bull. She is an experienced pit bull owner. The reputation of pit bulls should be her last concern at this point. It is reported that Schweikart will be hospitalized for a month and has several surgeries to look forward to.

Taxpayer alert ! Guess who will foot the bill for this?

Now lets talk Youngstown.  This city had a breed ban until late last year.  Pit bull advocate, and hoarder Jason Cooke, from Boardman Ohio,  approached a city council too naive to realize they were being outrageously manipulated by a non local breed advocate with no interest in the safety of Youngstown residents. Per Vindy.com "Cooke, who owns eight pit bull terrier mixes, said he and numerous pit bull owners will have a celebratory rally  outside city hall at 4:45 Wednesday  with Council meeting at 5:30 p.m. that day."  They are celebrating the victory before the vote.  Here is a photo of the "numerous pit bull owners at the  "rally."  Please keep in mind that the the estimated population of Youngstown Ohio is 65,062 and you get 8 people (nobody knows where they came from) one out of town breed activist, and one dog and THIS is a "rally of numerous pit bull owners?"

Jason Cooke Protesting BSL Pit Bull Ban

The Youngstown city Council dumped a proactive law that, if enforced would have protected Schweikart, her daughter, and her neighbors from the outrageous Jax attack for THIS pitiful handful of pit bull owners?  I believe the grinning man with the "End Breed Prejudice" is Cooke.

Per the Barkpost " But now, after the Youngstown city council voted unanimously to end the ordinance, citizens of Youngstown can “own, keep, harbor, or possess” Pit Bulls to their heart’s content – without restriction."  I'm sure Schweikart's neighbors are thrilled.  

Cooke is flushed with his success "Cooke said he and his organization will also seek to eliminate bans in Struthers, Columbiana, and the village of Poland in the coming months."

Here is the question, and this is the part that I hear in Judge Jeanine's voice.  Will Cooke and his organization accept responsibility for what they have done? Until  Cooke's meddling in the affairs of Youngstown resulted in the loss of a proactive law that would have allowed Schweikart's neighbors to complain about a known aggressive pit bull harbored in a home with a small child, and an unfenced yard, they had legal recourse.  Now anything goes.  Who will mop up the blood and pay the medical bills?

Who is Jason Cooke?  Here is a photo of Jason and one of his eight pit mixes posted on his public Facebook page. He has labeled this photo "share away" so we will.



You can't make this stuff up.


The icing on the cake here?  Jax was reportedly obtained from a dog training center in Girard Ohio. Girard Ohio has a pit bull ban that would not allow Jax to be placed with a local resident.  Pit bull advocates put the same pressure on Girard that they put on Youngstown but Mayor Melfi of Girard,  stated "I have done some investigating and the fact that most insurance companies won't insure home owners if they have a Pit bull is one reason we are not interested in lifting the ban,” said Melfi. “That means if a Pit bull harms someone or somebody else’s dog they are not insured to pay the victim any damages incurred by that particular dog." "“That this not breed discrimination,” said Melfi. “You really don't see in the news where they say, someone was killed by a Beagle, or a Golden Retriever, or a Schnauzer so there is plenty of evidence speaking to this result. The bottom line is that elected leaders must protect people.”

Smart man, Jax was trafficked out of his city and the mauled pit bull owner is not his responsibility.

Smart man.  Elected leaders must protect people.