Holiday pittery from Ohio

A Cleveland jogger was horrified when two large pit bulls attacked her dog and needed to be beaten off by their owners with baseball bats.  She feels, and rightly so, that if the pit bull owners came out with baseball bats to control their dogs, they knew the dogs were vicious.  Albie, the year and a half old Samoyed will recover but Albie's owner, Elizabeth Froberg is reconsidering her morning jog.  There is no mention of exactly who will be paying Albie's vet bills.  My guess is that Ms. Froberg is likely to be stuck with this.

  

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Toledo police, investigating possible drug sales from a residence, were charged by two pit bulls released from that home.  A nineteen year old Toledo woman was hit in the foot by a bullet aimed by police at the charging pit bulls.  Police Chief Mark Holden stated " As the resident opened the door, two large pit bulls ran from the apartment and charged the officers (who) were pursuing the resident."  "As the dogs approached the officers, one fired his weapon at the animals and fell as he was trying to retreat.  Other officers also fired as the dogs charged the fallen officer."   The young woman was treated and released, as was the officer, and the pit bull.

Kyle E. Zarcone, 19 of 309 Dale Ave., and Anthony R. Hicks, 19 of 607 Pleasant St. were arrested and transported to the Huron County jail.  Zarcone was charged with possession of a controlled substance and Hicks was charged with trafficking in marijuana, per the Norwalk Reflector.

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Herbie, the neglected and emaciated pit bull found in Lorain Ohio has been diagnosed with untreatable cancer.  Despite recent weight gains and the excellent care Herbie has received, he will not survive. Click here for more information on Herbie.    

Something really good in Cincinnati

I have been very hard on the city of Cincinnati recently and it is time to talk about something in that city that is truly extraordinary, the Shriner's Hospital for Children.  Shriner's Hospitals are non profit, supported by the Shriners organization and donations from the public,  not funded through taxpayer dollars.

The Shriner's Hospital for Children in Cincinnati Ohio has accepted another pit bull mauling victim. On Wednesday Lilly Goodson of Spaulding County Georgia, age five, was mauled by the family pit.  It took a bullet from a police officer's gun to end the attack on Lilly, and on her grandmother who was trying to protect her.  Shriner member Bill Hatchett said "It's just the most heart-wrenching thing you've ever seen in your life.  The little girl, she's beat up from her head to her toes, and she's fighting for her life right now."  "She is going to need several surgeries.  There is no way without the help of Shriner's Hospital that the family could afford to do that."    The Shriner's Hospital specializes in reconstructive surgery.  Lilly has severe injuries to her face and body and lost an ear in the attack.  She will require many surgeries.  The transfer to Cincinnati will take place as soon as Lilly is stable enough to travel.  Lilly will be the third pit bull victim treated at this hospital.


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Two year old George Sumrall of Sumter South Carolina is being treated at Cincinnati Shriner's Hospital for his pit bull mauling injuries.  George lost both ears and his scalp in the attack.

Eleven year old Brandon Williams of Cocke County Tennessee  is being treated at Shriner's Hospital Cincinnati.  Brandon lost both ears and had severe damage to his right arm in the attack.

Nine year old Malik Harvey is being treated at a California Shriner's Hospital for Children for his pit bull inflicted injuries.




The Shriner's Hospital in Cincinnati is designated by the American Burn Association and the American College of Surgeons as a Verified Burn Center.  Many victims of pit bull maulings require treatment in burn centers because their skin is simply gone, just like skin that is burned away.  These areas need protection from infection, specialized treatments, and skin grafts.  Burn Centers treat the patient from acute injury through reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation.

Shriners's Hospitals will treat a child until that child reaches the age of eighteen with no charge to the family of the child.  Shriners is an outstanding organization and deserves recognition for their work!  For more information on Shriners Hospitals click here.

1/27/2013 Update.  Garrett Carrier of Middleburg Kentucky will have surgery at Cincinnati Shriner's Hospital for Children.

Garrett almost lost his arm to a pit bull attack last July. Garrett's mother describes the surgery. "“They’re going to take muscle from his back and build him a new armpit, and they’re hoping there’s enough left over to build him a new deltoid, too,” his mother explains. “They’re also going to take some nerves from his ankle to put in his arm, and give him Botox injections to firm up the muscle.” 

Per the Central Kentucky News "If Garrett’s upcoming surgery is successful, doctors believe the range of motion of his left arm will increase dramatically, though he’ll probably never be able to raise it above his shoulder. And it is hoped, with continued therapy, that he will regain 100 percent of the function of his left hand, Sims said.

While those outcomes would be something to cheer about, the damage done by the dog bites will never be repaired enough to allow him to resume playing baseball, basketball, football and other activities that used to be his favorite things. It’s something he’s learning to accept."  

Pit bull attacks change lives, it is a disgrace that children continue to suffer maulings like Garrett's.  The pit bull that mauled Garrett has been put down and the owners of that dog have moved away.   These dog owners have walked away from the suffering they created.   

It has been far too long since the last Pit bull roundup.

These will be in no particular order, I'm just housecleaning here. I'm sorry about the font changes, I seem to have no control over it.


Findley Ohio police shot a pit bull named Cujo.  The son of of Cujo's owner was attempting to stop Cujo from biting a child when he became the victim.  Both of these quotes are from the same article.  You tell me if these two statements go together.
 "England (the owner) said her son is especially saddened by Cujo's death, and she said the dog was very protective of her children.
Dog Warden Dana Berger said he has investigated several bites involving Cujo."  

This leaves me confused, Cujo attacked England's son when he intervened during an attack on a child... and he is "protective of her children"?  Dog Warden Berger states Cujo has a history of biting.  

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Since passage of HB 14 removed any disincentive for breeding pit bulls stories like this animal cruelty story will probably become more common.  Per Newschannel 5 "Officers arrived at the scene and found a light brown pit bull, severely emaciated but still alive. The animal's bones were clearly visible through its skin. Lorain police said a dog of this breed should weigh around 75 pounds, but this dog appeared to weigh around 25 pounds."  There has been no further statement on the condition of this dog.



Charges are expected if the owners of this dog can be located.  Sometimes a pit bull's worst enemy is his owner.

For an update on this dog's condition click here.

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From Dayton Ohio, home territory of Montgomery County Dog Warden Mark Kumpf, a vocal supporter of HB 14, comes this story.  A woman and her three year old child approached a local store, a pit bull was tied outside the store and "The mother reported that she tried to walk around to avoid the dog, but it got loose and bit the boy above the right eye.
She was able to hit the dog and it grabbed her sleeve, dragging her to the ground. The dog then reportedly went after the boy again, biting his leg before the woman was able to get control of the dog and tie it up again."  

The child was transported to a local hospital for treatment.  Will the 27 year old owner of this pit bull have insurance to cover the medical treatment of the child?  I doubt it, Ohio law no longer requires it. Per the Dayton Daily News the dog owner "was issued quarantine paperwork for the dog and could be cited for failure to control his dog"  The law Mr. Kumpf so strongly supported mandates declaration of this pit bull as a dangerous dog.  

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More from Dayton Ohio.  Sometimes a pit bull's worst enemy is his owner, part two for this evening, dog fighter edition.  A dead pit bull was found hanging from a barn window.    Per ABC22 "The Montgomery County Animal Resource Center was called to 20 Salsbury Dr. on Friday afternoon after a passerby saw the dead dog hanging from the window.  In all, 10 pit bull and Perro de Presa Canario dogs were confiscated.  The owner is licensed to own and breed up to five Perro de Presa Canario.  ARC says many of the dogs are malnourished.

ARC Director Mark Kumpf says at least one pit bull showed signs of dog fighting, with cuts and scars all over its face.  The dogs were also kept chained up, in small enclosures within the barn.

Mr. Kumpf is very busy these days.

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Still more from Dayton Ohio.  Police were forced to shoot a pit bull during an investigation prompted by complaints by neighbors that drugs were being sold out of a Dayton home.  The pit bull did survive.

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Wayne County Ohio is on alert.  A pit bull/rottweiler/mastiff mix killed another dog and the Wayne County Sheriff posted warnings for residents of the Shreve area. Until this dog is caught, residents in the area are urged to:

- Not approach the dog 

- Not allow young children to walk to a bus stop or play outside unattended 

- Not leave pets outside unattended 

- Monitor your small livestock and, if possible, don't leave them unattended 

- Not enter an outbuilding that could shelter the dog unannounced 

- Not to kill the dog "unless it's to prevent injury or death to people or livestock at the time it's chasing, threatening or harassing," the humane society said. "If you must kill the dog, please avoid damaging the dog's head and notify us or the Wayne County Health Department immediately so a rabies test determination can be made."

Warnings like this are seldom issued for Beagles or Yorkies, or that dog that breed specific advocates love to cite for temperament issues, the Chihuahua.

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From Cincinnati Ohio comes the story of the Virginia Whitman, wife of Judicial  candidate Bruce Whitman, attacked by a pit bull as she was posting yard signs for her husband's campaign.   Her injuries were serious  per this article. Virginia  Whitman was hospitalized for five days and requires a home health nurse to visit twice a day to repack and bandage her wounds.  Her husband stated " She is not doing that great, she can't work.  She's just now starting to walk.  She's traumatized and emotionally distraught."   

So far Cincinnati City Council  decision to drop their breed ban looks like a bad deal for the residents of that city.   It should be noted that Virginia Whitman is also a lawyer.  The owner of this particular pit bull may regret his choice of dog.

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A Norwood Ohio man plans to appeal a Judge's order to have his pit bull euthanized.  A Hamilton County Judge found Kenneth Goodin guilty of having a vicious dog and letting it run loose.  Several dogs were attacked by a loose pit bull near Norwood View Elementary School but Goodin states his dog "never did such a thing."  Classic response from this pit bull owner.       

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From the Cincinnati area, again, three people are injured in a pit bull attack.  First responders were unable to reach the injured until Animal Control removed the dog.  Neighbors report the dog had a history of biting.  Why was this dog not declared dangerous and regulated?  Ohio law now demands this. 

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A Newark Ohio postal worker is injured in a pit bull attack.  There is no information on exactly who owns the pit bull.  The postal worker will be on restricted duty for an undetermined period of time.  Who will pay for her medical care?


Interestingly, Newark Ohio is considering changes in laws regulating vicious dogs.  Per NBC4i.com "  Under the new proposal, owners would no longer have to carry mandatory insurance on the dogs, and the pit bull would be taken out of the vicious category."

Don't do it Newark... consider Cincinnati.  It is not working out well for them. 

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I will finish up with a bit of good news.  Archbold Ohio will continue to enforce their current laws regarding pit bulls  despite changes to Ohio law.  Pit bulls must be insured and kept in compliance with Archbold law.  Archbold lawmakers, thank you for your common sense!

Cincinnati in the news again, or A Tale of Two Cities

With HB 14's changes to Ohio law and the end of Cincinnati's breed ban things have sure changed in that city. Several weeks ago I received an e-mail from a Cincinnati resident, she already wants the breed ban back. Per her report, pit bulls are everywhere and they are a menacing presence.   She is afraid to walk her dog in her own community, afraid to use the community dog park.  It would  be a pretty safe bet that these pit bulls are uninsured, state law no longer requires it. Many of these dogs may well have been kept in Cincinnati during the breed ban, it would be foolish to believe that banned dogs do not exist in breed ban areas but they are kept in a bit more careful manner.  When your neighbors have the ability to report your banned dogs for running at large, or menacing, or report an owner for breeding banned dogs, then it is in the dog owner's best interests to keep a low profile.  Now anything goes. This post is a comparison of the experiences of Cincinnati Ohio and Miami-Dade Florida.

Pit bull advocates have worked for years to reverse breed bans. Breed specific advocacy put a tremendous amount of pressure on Florida state government to void the home rule rights of Miami-Dade.  "Lets Make A Deal" was played between the State Legislature and local government, Miami-Dade's pit bull ban was put on the ballot. A great deal of advocacy money was spent in an effort to convince voters overturn Miami-Dade's breed ban.  Best Friends Animal Society brought in baseball pitcher Mark Buehrle.  (It should be noted that Mr. Buehrle came to town demanding that local law be changed to accommodate his recently obtained pit bull.  Mr. Buehrle played in Florida for one season and was traded to Toronto, another area with a breed ban. The man has no luck.) It came as a shock to the pit bull industry that by an overwhelming margin the residents of Miami-Dade voted to keep the breed ban.

Contrast this with Cincinnati Ohio, another breed ban city.  Shortly after the passage of HB 14 it was announced that Cincinnati was  looking at changes to "bring local law more into keeping with state law."  This phrase usually indicates a sell out, and did in this case.  Cincinnati's breed ban was dropped..

The dangers of this sell out are becoming clear.  Susan Mazzei, a 71 year old Cincinnati resident found a stray pit bull and gave it a good home, hers.  It did not go well for her.  She was hospitalized for a mauling that occurred in her own home.  It was later revealed that the dog had bitten her previously and had also killed a cat.  Ms. Mazzei failed to consider possible reasons why this dog may have been abandoned, like a history of aggression.

Abandoned pit bulls are turning up, things did not go well for this one.

Cincinnati is finding dog fighting in town.  Five spectators were arrested and an Animal Control officer was bitten and will require rabies shots.

The Cincinnati area has experienced its first dog mauling death

The wife of Bruce Whitman,candidate for Appeals Court was mauled as she was posting campaign signs.  Virginia Conlan Whitman's injures were severe, she spent 5 days in the hospital and time confined to her home receiving home nursing care.

Recently in the news is the story of a Cincinnati area resident who found three pit bulls on Craigslist.  He brought them all home only to be mauled by them three weeks later.

Which city made the better deal?  Miami-Dade let the voters speak and they did so loudly with a 2 to 1 vote to keep their ban.  Cincinnati law makers partnered with breed specific advocacy without consideration of the sentiments of their constituents.  Those constituents are not happy with the result.  Voters have long memories, members of the Cincinnati City Council might keep this in mind.