Two more Americans have been mauled to death since the first installment of Death and Excuses, posted 4/27/2013.
Antelope Valley CA
A 63 year old woman, a mother and grandmother, Pamela Devitt was mauled to death as she walked for her health. Per Benjamin Devitt, husband of the victim, Mrs. Devitt walked and jogged to "stay healthy and live a long life for our family and herself."
A woman in a car witnessed the attack. She honked her car horn in an attempt to scare the dogs away and she called 911. The distracted
pit bulls attacked the tires of the woman's car. One of the dogs was still attacking the victim when a deputy arrived. The deputy tried to scare the dog off, it ran away then returned to attack the deputy who took a shot at the animal before it ran away again. Devitt was dragged 50 yards, was
scalped and her arm was removed. She died in the ambulance during transport to the hospital.
Per NBC4 "
Hours after the attack, authorities served a search warrant on a nearby home, confiscated several dogs and arrested their owner on suspicion of growing marijuana, said Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department."We had complaints before about these dogs being aggressive." Officials said the owner, Alex Jackson, 29, had previously been cited for allegedly failing to vaccinate, license, spay, neuter or microchip his dogs. The dogs were also involved in previous incidents in January and again in April. The January attack involving a horse and a rider. Six pit bulls and two mixed breed dogs were removed from Jackson's home.
In a statement to CBS Los Angeles neighbor
Epi Mandonado stated he saw video of the seized dogs and recognized one of them. He stated that he was attacked by the animals near Jackson's home in January
“My friend and I were riding the horse. The dogs were attacking my horse. They bite me close to the shoes. So they don’t hurt me because I got the shoes but they bite my horse very bad,” Maldonado said."
Although this attack and death occurred in California, a state with a prohibition against BSL, there are questions about the wisdom of current law and discussion about going back to the state legislature and making some changes. Please click
here for more information.
Since California's anti-BSL law, HB 428 was passed in 1989 a total of 35 California residents have been mauled to death by pit bulls. Just three months after the passage of HB 428 seventy year old Margee Lilly died of a pit bull mauling. Governor George Deukmejian said
"I am disturbed and distressed as anybody...We have to have some kind of law against owning them or some other way of completely controlling them"Click
here for more on this mauling death and the Governor's change of heart.
Pamela and Benjamin Devitt
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Dorchester County SC
Carlton Freeman, an eighty year old bilateral amputee was dragged from his motorized wheel chair and mauled by four pit bulls. Mr. Freeman's injuries were so serious that he died four days later.
The four dogs that killed Mr. Freeman were identified as pit bulls by Freeman's widow. She also stated the dogs belonged to a family member in this video included in
this article.
Per ABCNews4 "The victim's wife of 35 years, Rita, told reporters "All he wanted was that they catch those dogs before they hurt somebody else." Three of the dogs were owned by
Barbara Goodwin, variously listed as a neighbor or a family member. Mr. Freeman did not want charges filed. In an apparent effort to honor Mr. Freeman's wishes the investigation lists the dogs a feral and that
no charges would be filed..
Carlton Freeman
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Here are the excuses, all from articles on these two mauling deaths. Keep the fact in mind that these comments were made in defense of dogs that mauled a mother and grandmother to death, they scalped her and tore off one of her arms. They were made in defense of dogs that dragged a disabled elderly man from his motorized wheelchair and mauled him to death. What made any of these people feel that these remarks were appropriate or necessary?
I'm certain if this were 60 years ago, I'd be combating your similarly ignorant notion that all black people should be banned based on the anomalous actions of a few. Is it an exercise in futility? Probably. But it makes me feel better, especially knowing that, even if my good sense is falling on your mature, deaf ears, good always eventually overcomes ignorance.
In the unlikely event that you choose to open your mature, unpunkish mind, you will see that I am doing you a favor. Pit bulls are the most amazing dogs. If you cower, flinch, clutch your purse and cross the road when Babette, my pit, and I approach you, your ignorance and cowardice just cost you an opportunity to meet the most gentle, loving dog you would've ever known.
Yes Sean and history will also tell how loyal they can be. Look up Nanny Dogs. Look up Sergeant Stubby, or the thousands of other Pits that were part of our armed forces. The most vicious dog is the chihuahua the only reason they don't get a bad rap is cause they have little teeth, so bites go unreported because they need no medical attention with small teeth. A dog is a dog and as a dog owner you should train responsibly not matter what breed.
Jordan Fuller · Central Point, Oregon
Sean Whitcomb they are only bred to be vicious when the BREEDERS have vicious intentions. You don't think German Shepards are a vicious breed, do you? We train them for police dogs. and they are EXTREMELY vicious. It has NOTHING to do with the breed but the owners that breed them. Pitbulls are all over the place because of the ghetto gang bangers that breed them for dog fighting. You're saying that's the DOGS faults? That's ridiculous to say. When a child does something vicious, the parents are blamed. This is no different. Granted if you took two pit bulls bred for fighting and have been MADE to do so, then breed them some more. The puppies will probably have some of the vicious trait, but that's nothing a GOOD person can't fix. They aren't wild animals. They are still dogs.
David Dempsey · Top Commenter
No, it's not in their nature. Their nature is fairly placid, actually. Packs of dogs including poodles can and do run down deer constantly in the northeast. This guy obviously raised them like that to protect his stash.
Amanda Fitzgerald · Follow · Top Commenter · Baltimore, Maryland
Pit Bulls were bred to be NOT be aggressive to humans so they could be pulled out of the fighting ring.
Kristi Dandrea · Palmdale, California
It is NOT in their nature read up on the breed! And even read up on what those horrible dog fights are like & how those dogs never bite the humans!!!! And the reason you DO NOT hear about the other dog attacks is because they do not want you to!!!!!! Think about that for a minute!!!
William Jason Helton · Follow · Top Commenter · Imperial Officer Academy
James Deatsch So you're going to eradicate an entire breed because of a few bad eggs? BSL is racial profiling/genocide. That's a fact.
David Dempsey · Top Commenter
Lol, and the line "widely reported pit bull attacks" is another clue. Most people see picutres of rotweilers and think they are pit bulls.
Melonie J. Winchester · Royse City High School
M.j. Williamson you are an idiot. 'I'm sick of humans turning into narrow minded hateful monsters. So should we just do away with monsters like you? Humans are the most aggressive animal on this earth, animals however are innocent.
Monicza Oppelt · Pacific Lutheran University
The owners should be the ones put down. They trained those dogs to kill, I have had 3 pits and they are better tempered than my black lab. In fact pits score higher on the temperment tests than lab, and german sheps. In the 80's it was german sheps that were demonized, in the 90's it was dobermans, and now it's pits. It's not the dogs it's the loser owners who have no business having dogs.
Melonie J. Winchester · Royse City High School
Leave pit bulls alone. If people would raise them right then they wouldn't be aggressive. Anger and hate are taught not bred. Pit bulls are not a dangerous breed. Humans are. I have owned pit bulls my entire life and never has one of my pits attacked a person or another animal for that matter. I have a 9 year old male pit and a 1 year old female lab/pit mix plus a 6 year old cat and a guinea pig my dogs love the cat and the guinea pig. I have five children ranging in age from 18 to 4 years old and my dogs would defend my kids like no one's business. My male pit is the best babysitter ever. Tony Bell Spokesperson for Los Angeles You are a DOUCHEBAG! People like you need a nice pat on the head with a hammer.
this bread of dogs are like wolfs two or more and they are agressive animals 1 by itself can be friendly.
Thanks a lot a**hole! Irresponsible owners like you make the rest of us look bad and put our family pets in peril thanks to stupid ineffective legislation!
Justin Anderson
/SEAN WHITCOMB Maby, if people like you werent so ignorant these things wouldn't happen so often. If you would take the time to educate yourself you would learn that the American Pit Bill Terrior is NOT aggresive towards people naturally. Infact they are bred to be attracted to humans but aggresive to DOGS. They breed them that way so after the fight they don't turn on the human. In fact if you would take time out of your day to EDUCATE YOURSELF you would see that even the CDC has made a list pertaining to Dog bites and the dogs that top that list are the Lab, Golden Retriever, Cocker Spaniel, ETC. Would you please stop spreading your ignorant opinion that was force fed to you by your "media" PUNISH THE DEED NOT THE BREED!
Louise Cook · Top Commenter · Huntington Beach, California
More rubbish about pitbulls. Statistics prove that in biting incidents, pitbulls are in the lower part of the list. But pitbulls make great headlines. This is not an isolated case of a pack of dogs who were probably thrown away, have become vicious. And yes, the packs include Shepherd mixes, and other breeds. They didn't breed themselves to have their jaws, SOB's wanting to fight them did. Years ago they were called 'nanny dogs' because they loved and protect kids. I've had 4 and they are my favorite breed.
Amanda Fitzgerald · Follow · Top Commenter · Baltimore, Maryland
So frustrating. Over 90% of all dog attacks are by unaltered dogs, juts like this case. I am a wife, mother, teacher and a pit bull owner. I have had my pit bull for 8 years when I rescued her at 6 months. I have NEVER had a single aggressive incident with my dog period. I am sick and tired of idiots giving the rest of us a bad name. I would love for any media outlet to come and do a story on my perfectly fine pit bull terrier.
Joni Parshall
These dogs are NOT born aggressive..its the human owners who are the ones to blame and also the ones who should be punished. If anything they should be retrained and maybe become drug smelling dogs for law enforsement..Anything, but not destroyed.
Ridge Terry Kaialoha
The IGNORANT raise their UGLY heads and by many of the remarks posted here, a BUNCH of the IGNORAMUS have suddenly appeared in one place. That would be HERE! J HOLY C, folks, This is NOT a DOG BREED ISSUE, what-so-ever! This is a IRRESPONSIBLE OWNER ISSUE, P E R I O D! Some of the comments posted here must SURELY make YOUR Uncle Dads and Aunt Moms pretty damn proud ~ ~ ~ ~ UNF--KING BELIEVABLE ~ ~ ~.
ilovedannies
have 3 pitbulls and they are the SWEETEST dogs ever. I hate this ****. Everyone putting down the breed. It's these **** who don't know how to raise them. If you think pitbulls are bad dogs then honestly go **** yourself!
theone 5669
Its easy to blame the breed.. makes good headlines too.. works for politicians because they dont have to address it as a people problem and actually do they're jobs and make laws... But one takes into consideration the actual facts... That Pit bulls come from Royal Bloodlines... for hundreds of centuries peasants could not own this breed of dog, Nobles could not either .. It was a Royal Breed.. .They are a dog that was breed to fight.. They come from a breed of mastiff i believe originally that was breed to Bait grab and hold down on the the nose of cattle... No more than 10-15 years ago we never say this many attacks because they were still fighting the dogs... When a dog is a fighting dog, they are trained to not bite people, They are not human aggressive because you cant have a human aggressive dog around a crowd of people.. They were dog aggressive.. Its hard to control
Steven Hulbert · Top Commenter
Been socializing pit bull terriers for years while volunteering at a shelter. Never been bit by any and they dont know me because most are strays. The owners take advantage of their pleasing nature and exacerbate the aggressiveness. If you dont like facts then dont respond!
Robert Aitchison · Top Commenter · West Hills, California
What kind of "regulation" do you have in mind? I'm guessing that in your mind that "regulation" is a euphemism for "ban" which of course ignores the reality that breed bans don't work, because even if you were to snap your fingers and make every breed of dog that had a slight resemblance to a pit bull (many dog attacks attributed to "pit bulls" are really carried out by completely different dog breeds) the bad owners would just move on to other breeds and dogs such a Rottweilers, Dobermans and German Sheppards, even if you could eliminate every large breed dog I guarantee there would be people abusing and training Chihuahuas to fight each other, though I suppose at that point the dogs wouldn't pose much risk of serious injury to humans.
Christina Nichole Ryan · Aint Nobody Got Time For That
Why don't we kill parents because after all, Over 200 kids every year die by the hands of their own parents. Now does that mean that every parent is bad? No!
Vixin
I think some of the other commenters are idiots. Pit bulls used to be used as nanny dogs. Studies have shown that from a very young age they prefer the company of HUMANS over other dogs. It has only been RECENTLY that they have been given a bad rap. A few attacks by pit bulls with bad owners - media circus pit bulls are bad - pit bulls now bought specifically for that reason/trained to be vicious - more attacks - more media circus, the cycle continues. A few decades ago it was German shepherds (protective, police dogs), and before that the larger breed like Great Dane and Pyrenees (now acknowledged to be lazy, gentle giants). There are no bad breeds, just bad dog owners who don't know how to handle dogs and don't bother to train or discipline them. Dogs must be TRAINED! Dogs must be WELL FED! ANY dog breed if given proper care and training, not abused, can be an excellent dog.
Clay Hundenshire · Top Commenter · Virginia Tech
Well, that's your perception, because you choose to live in the ghetto. Where I live, normal people own pit bulls, and there aren't any problems with them at all. That right there proves it's in the training. The thugs you talk about choose different breeds over time. When public fear and ignorance diminishes about pit bulls, thugs will move to a lesser known breed and give that a bad name. the real problem is people, not breeds. Do better in life and move to a safer area, rather than stereotype dogs in your neck of the woods.
Shelby Meeks
People don't understand it's not the dogs fault it's the owners for raising them mean! We need to stop the owners from making pitbulls seem like they are mean. Pits are amazing dogs its the owners that make them that way we should be going after owners for mis treating the dogs!
The following comment was left on an article that clearly stated that there was a witness to the attack and that one of the dogs was still attacking as a deputy arrived. It appears that when an advocate doesn't have a response she will simply bumble along and advocate anyway.
Angelo Ingrao
yeh they weren't pit-bull pittbulls are nanny dogs or working class cattle hearding dogs boxers were the original fighting dog pit bulls get ther name because they used to put rats in a pit and the dog that killed the most won ignorance is no excuse besided its California if the lady had a gun he she could have shot the dogs ive been chased by labs shepereds and lil dogs ive had a American bull terrier for 7 years hes one year older than my daughter its not the dogs its the scumbags that raise them oh I got a two year old son too just because a human cant sway another humans dogs loyalty don't be mad quit owning garbage.
Angela Link · Macomb Junior - Senior High School
Without any witness account verification, how do they even know numbers? This sounds like a set up kind of thing to me.... just saying!
Ångel Zubiå · Follow · Buena Park, California
It is sad when there is a dog attack that they always go to the pit bull. I owned one, I have friends that have pits, and they are the coolest dogs ever. Very sweet, very lovable, very protective. If you raise them from pups, they are the biggest babies as far as breeds go. The dog I own now is mostly pit with a little terrior in her and she just wants to be played with, cuddled with, and loved.
Thor Hendrickson · The Eyeballer at Eyeball industries
ur an idiot, nice made up facts moron, actually most dog attacks that result in deaths come from different breeds other than pitbulls and there are different breeds of so called pitbulls anyways, most likely not even pure bredd pits
Andrew S. Brown · Top Commenter
Pit bulls are "known" to be very dangerous dogs the same way Jews are "known" to be cheap and Latinos are "known" to be lazy and Native Americans are "known" to all be drunks and gay men are "known" to all go nuts over Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand and African-American [men] are "known" to all have huge penises and father children by multiple women. It's called a stereotype. If you believe stereotypes to be facts, then you are a racist or a moron or both!
Griffin Mekelburg · Follow · Santa Monica
People die every day, its the media deciding to make this a platform to ATTACK the breed in the first place. I hate how irresponsibility can go and cause the death of anyone but in all honesty the media shapes our country and people are just trying to fight back against a topic. Its an open forum for debate here and thats what is happening. No one likes that a woman died but no one also likes the badgering of this breed.
"These dogs are known to be very dangerous dogs."
That is false, and exactly why people defend them. Are you some sort of canine expert that disagrees with ALL other canine experts? Your opinion derived by hearsay is exactly the reason people that actually know what they're talking about defend pit bulls. A dog is a result of how it is managed by a human being. Obviously these dogs were taught to attack. Any large dog can be taught that.
Andrew S. Brown · Top Commenter
Tess Hoff , that can happen with ANY breed. To single out pit bulls as if they are any more likely to "turn" and attack is woefully ignorant! I may even say RACIST!
Deneane Fiorentino-stevenson
I HAVE PITBULLS! THEY ARE VERY LOVING DOGS...IT IS ALL ABOUT HOW YOU RAISE THEM
AND MY GRANDCHILDREN ARE EVEN AROUND THEM AND PLAY WITH THEM
Kristy Graham · Follow · Top Commenter
And again..some random woman saw dogs attacking a woman. Okay fine..but it also says she saw "3 or 4" she didn't even know how MANY she saw? But yet, she was able to determine what breed they were? Really? And yet, the cop saw one dog. So. And yet again, they neglect to mention.."Pit bull" isn't a breed!
Rafa the baby pibble
*sigh* Since it's been PROVEN that pit bulls don't have jaws that lock, that they aren't any stronger than any other dog (and actually weaker than some) you morons are now going to go to "they can identify them by their bites". Really? Are you so stupid? Obviously so. when will you people that think this attacks are so damn horrific going to actually focus on the CAUSE of these attacks (stupid humans) and leave the dogs out of it. Regardless of BREED, damn near ANY dog attack can be traced back to a human doing something stupid.
Barbra Ann
Typical reply from a typical dogsbite.org member. Name calling when you can't get everyone to swallow your load of bull.
JulieandJosh Maracle · San Diego, California
It's very annoying that the first dog to blame is always the pitbull. Most of the time, people can't even identify what breed, they just assume... so frustrating!
Jessica Price
its because pit bulls get such a bad rap. I have a pit bull and shes the best dog ive ever had.
Griffin Mekelburg · Follow · Santa Monica
so all dogs, and humans, sheesh lets restrain spoons too since those can be a tool. How about instead or restraining our freedoms of everything we actually educate the public and restrain the epidemic of ignorance that is coming over the country.
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