Bosco the Biter is dead, The final chapter in this story was written recently when Bosco mauled the "expert" who harbored and loved him. The crowd funding page for Jacqueline Johnson states that she was injured when Bosco "became agitated" attacking another dog in the home. Mrs. Johnson was mauled when she attempted to stop the attack. Johnson's arms were broken, a wrist shattered and a finger lost and surgically reattached. Johnson has rods in her arms and, like pit bull attack survivors everywhere, is in excruciating pain. Johnson is an employee of Best Friends Animal Society, a national entity heavily involved with promotion of pit bulls, funding legal efforts to deregulate the dogs in all states. Best Friends has lots of lawyers to assist with this effort but apparently does not provide medical insurance for employees.
Best Friends is responsible for current Ohio law regarding dangerous dogs and the law is a complete failure. Bills have been introduced into both the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate to fix the mess created by Best Friends, but I digress.
Claims that Bosco was just a misunderstood sweetheart of a dog were made Jean Keating as president of the Lucas County Pit Crew when she and her group were fighting legal charges in Fulton County and later when they trafficked this legally designated dangerous dog across state lines to Arizona for the purpose of rehoming. Despite his misunderstood sweetheart status, things did not go well for Bosco in his new state.
Jacqueline Johnson wrote honestly about the dog in her blog. This takes courage. From her post on "Overcoming anxiety for Bosco" Johnson stated "I have postponed writing this post, because it’s hard to admit that sometimes the things you have always done are not working. Kevin and I have had challenging dogs in the past, but they have easily responded to all of our positive reinforcement without issue. That hasn’t been true of Bosco."
12/8/2017 update. The "Overcoming anxiety for Bosco blog post has been removed from Johnson's blog but has been archived. Here is a link. Damage control?
She went on to state that her own daughter could not safely enter her home because "Bosco became so anxious he began acting out." This "acting out" eventually turned on Johnson's husband. Accounts indicate he was bitten but did not seek medical treatment for fear of creating legal issues for Bosco but they continued to walk this time bomb in public until Operation Make Bosco Happy was conceived. Another quote "The one thing everyone agreed was important was limiting his exposure to triggers. Which is why we temporarily suspended walks. I also have a big sign on my front door asking that visitors not knock or ring bell. Instead I give them our cellphone number to call or text. We aren’t taking car rides right now. In fact, we’ve pretty much hit a reset button on almost all of Bosco’s activities."
Johnson's post on Bosco also includes mention of a consult with Ohio pit bull advocate Steffen Baldwin. Interesting to note that Baldwin also consulted on another pit bull named Joe Dirt. Despite Baldwin's advice, Joe Dirt also mauled his owner's arms so badly she was hospitalized and sought crowdfunding to pay her hospital bills. Posts on Joe Dirt have been scrubbed from the Internet.
PLEASE read about Operation make Bosco Happy. Johnson ends this account of turning her life upside down in order to "save" Bosco with This comment " This is a great little dog. And he is worth every bit of effort to help him live a happy, comfortable life."
Johnson was encouraged by what she saw as progress. In August Johnson was delighted to report that Bosco, her "special dog" was able to make a vet appointment, sedated, without "losing his mind."
While you have to admire the dedication to saving damaged dogs you also have to question when is enough actually enough. Johnson's daughter reported that she helped Bosco, that "poor soul" go over the bridge after the mauling of her mother. She expresses anger that the mauling of her mother by a known and legally designated dangerous dog, trafficked across many state lines, and nearly two thousand miles travel will encourage those who think this practice should be a violation of law.
Victims deserve a happy and comfortable life too. Survivors are truly sorry for Jacqueline Johnson's injuries and pain, the experience is shared.
Thanks to the Fulton County Commissioners and to the Fulton County Dog Warden for refusing to be bullied by pit bull advocacy and for enforcing the law while this dog was in their jurisdiction.
