February 22nd pit bull roundup. Pit bulls shot by police, pit bulls attack their owners, pit bulls fail as guard dogs, pit bulls continue to attack in communities that dropped breed bans, pit bulls abused by their owners, and more.

Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging but we are back and hope to post more regularly in the future. 

12/20/2017

Crystal Lakes Ohio
Clark County

A deputy shot a dog apparently belonging to a bystander observing a routine traffic stop.

Per New Carlyle News " What we have been able to piece together is that a deputy initiated a traffic stop near the Kennedy Rd address.  It is currently unclear how, but bystander with a dog became involved, and the deputy told a man to control the dog or it would be shot.

Conflicting reports of the dog's behavior are emerging. The owners of the dog are maintaining that the dog did nothing wrong. However; people familiar with the area tell us that the dog charges at everyone and everything. Neither can be confirmed or denied at this time.

The dog was alive and was being taken to a veterinarian for treatment.

A woman on the scene  was visibly upset with the deputies. "Is that what you guys do, go around shooting peoples' dogs," she screamed in a profanity-laced tirade. “What am I going to tell my 6-year-old now?”

You can't make this stuff up. Don't want your dog shot?  Don't interfere with law enforcement officers who are simply doing their job.  Don't allow your pit bull to charge men with guns.

This is the pit bull involved in this incident.  His name is Duke and he is not yet one year old. It was reported that he was taken to a veterinarian's clinic for overnight observation.  If he lives through the night surgery is expected.  

This is a strange story, but wait... video has been made public and this mess has been explained. There was apparently no bystander.  A legitimate traffic stop was in progress, two men were in the truck.  The truck, possibly stolen, was driven into a yard, the non compliant passenger in the vehicle, Michael Seals,  ran to the house carrying a mysterious backpack. Someone (Seals?) held the door open for the pit bull.  The officer yelled for the homeowner to control his pit bull but there was no compliance so the rapidly approaching and obviously menacing pit bull was shot.

Duke did not survive. The driver of the stolen vehicle was charged for a tail light violation.  Seals was charged for failure to comply, resisting arrest, and obstructing official business. Seals also had an active warrant through Fairborn.  It all makes sense now. 

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10/25/2017
Highland Heights Ohio
Cuyahoga County

Highland Heights police shot and killed a pit bull mix at the direction of the dog's owner.  The pit mix attacked the owner and his 18 year old son.  The pair were trapped in a basement room.  The owner told police " the dog was chewing at the door trying to get to them and his son was losing a lot of blood. The dog attacked officers as they entered the home so they shot and killed it.

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10/20/2017

Middletown Ohio

Butler County  

Pit bull fails as a guard dog.  A female  Middletown resident hired a 34 year-old man to install a new door on her home paying $150 in advance.  He later returned, with his 29 year-old girlfriend, to rob the woman.  The home owner stated "She also said she was surprised that her pit bull that usually barks when strangers are in the house didn’t move when the suspects were in the residence." 

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9/12/2017

Avon Lake Ohio

Lorain County Ohio

Pit bulls attack in Avon Lake.  Avon Lake, a community that had a breed ban prior to a 3 1/2 year effort by city councilman Dave Kos to remove the ban, continues to have pit bull problems. Please note that councilman Kos hired a pit bull advocate/animal rights lawyer to write breed neutral law the has proven to be ineffective.

In the most recent incident, the loose pit bull attacked four different individuals in just a few minutes. Click on this link and you can see actual video of the dogs in action.  One of the victims, a young boy jumped in a neighbor's pool to escape.  These two pit bulls have a history of running at large.  The owner lives in a rental property with a "no dogs" stipulation on the lease.

Avon Lake pre-bite+ ordinance, click here.

Avon Lake post-bite ordinance, click here.     Avon Lake taxpayers paid a pit bull advocate lawyer to write this law.  They were cheated.

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1/16/2018

Toledo Ohio

Lucas County

You rarely see the Toledo Blade report on a pit bull attack so this is a special event.  Toledo police officer Mel Russell was attacked by a pit bull while helping to evacuate a home that was the scene of a stove fire.  A pit bull owned by the occupants of the home attacked the officer as he helped the residents exit the home.  Rude behavior. Officer Russell threw the pit bull off but the pit bull resumed the attack, biting the officer on his left forearm.  Again the officer attempted to throw the pit bull off but was unable to do so.  He shot the pit bull three times, killing it.  Officer Mel Russell was treated and released from a local hospital.

Never attack a police officer, they carry guns.  The countdown begins for the owner of the pit bull to demand justice for his dog.  

1/17/2018 Update  We knew this was coming.

The pit bull owner is complaining that the officer shot his dog rather than tasing it.  "Ya'll could have done more to not make it a situation you didn't have to kill my dog," Holmes tells WTOL. "Ya'll could have Tased him. You Tase humans and humans are stronger than animals."

Toledo police defend their officer.  Per Cleveland.com "Police Sgt. Kevan Toney defended Russell's actions. "When a dog is attached to your arm biting you, you have to quickly make a decision and it could potentially cause further injury," Toney tells WTOL. "So, I think the officer in this case was doing just what he had to do."

The pit bull owner is also claiming that in addition to serving as a guard dog, his pit bull was also a "certified therapy dog."  It should be noted at this point, there is no certification for therapy dogs.  You can't make this stuff up.

There is no record of exactly where the family obtained the pit bull.  Was it placed by the Lucas County Pit Crew?  The Pit Crew proudly announced their 1000th pit bull placement this month.  How many of these placements went as wrong as that of Bosco the Biter?  Did the Pit Crew count that placement as two since they placed Bosco with a Fulton County family where he bit the new owner on the third day in the household and after a whole lot of legal trouble for the Pit Crew and the president of that organization, Jean Keating, went on to a life changing mauling for  out of state "pit bull expert" Jacqueline Johnson?  

Dogs placed by rescues should be micro chipped by law so that responsibility can be determined.   

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2/13/2018
Hamilton Ohio
Butler County

A 21-year-old Hamilton man was charged with animal cruelty after a video surfaced of him beating his pit bull with a thick rope leash.  Sometimes a pit bull's worst nightmare is his owner.  Wouldn't mandatory neuter and spay be better than this?  Dogs not conceived so not suffer. Zeus the pit bull was removed from the home by county dog wardens.  This is Butler County and the dog warden is Kurt Merbs.

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2/20/2018
Hamilton Ohio
Butler County

Speaking of Butler County and dog warden Merbs, there is more cruelty to report.  A 39-year-old Middletown homeowner, Tina Jackson, was charged with three counts of animal cruelty after three dead dogs, and the head of a forth dog were found in her back yard.  Merbs stated   "We made entrance into the backyard. There are dog kennels everywhere, dog houses everywhere. Right when we walked in and turned, there is a black plastic tote, sitting up on a wooden bench. Inside that tote was a decapitated head of a dog and an English bulldog," Butler County dog warden Kurt Merbs said.  The bulldog was dead, Merbs said. He said they also found a dead pit bull curled up inside a dog house. "And across the yard, inside one of the kennels, inside another dog house was a black-and-white little pit bull curled up, deceased as well," 

There was no explanation for the decapitated dog head.  Merbs stated "There's no body. There's no signs of a body. There's bones. There's no hair, fur, anything, so that would rule out that a dog ate this other body," Merbs said. "There was no animal marks, period. There was no biting, pulling, tearing. It was a clean slice of the head."

The dogs belonged to Jackson's husband ex-husband but she was reportedly caring for them.  A fifth dog was found inside the home and was in good condition.

Wouldn't mandatory neuter and spay be better than this?  Merbs spends a whole lot of his time on pit bull calls.  He should be demanding mandatory neuter and spay for the protection of dogs in his county.   He should also be demanding a change in leadership of the Ohio County Dog Wardens Association.  The association website, as of 12/11/2017 lists Mark Kumpf as president of the the OCDWA with a president-elect listed as Adam Chellis of Wayne County.  Why is Kumpf still running the show?  The man, as reported in a decision by the Court of Appeals of Ohio Second Appellate District, does not enforce the law but rather has chosen a failed policy of "dog owner education" in Montgomery County. Since taking over as Montgomery County dog warden in 2006 there have been FOUR fatal attacks in Kumpf's jurisdiction and countless attacks upon humans and pets.  Three of these fatal attacks have come from dogs already in Kumpf's system. Type Dayton into the search box at the top left of the page.  You will be here all day.   Ohio residents deserve better. 

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2/20/2018
Dayton Ohio
Montgomery County

Speaking of Montgomery County, this from Dayton.  Two pit bulls entered the home of a Dayton woman and killed her cat - INSIDE HER HOME.  The dogs were still on the property an hour later when animal control officers arrived to pick them up.  Animal control was unable to identify owners of the dogs.  As I recall,  ownership of the pit bull that killed  Dayton resident Maurice Brown  in April on 2017 has not been determined despite full knowledge of exactly where the dog was harbored.  That address has a long history of animal control calls.  Montgomery County residents deserve better.

Enough for today, this is depressing.  What is even more depressing is that there is a LOT more.  
             

Pit bull roundup 11/25/2016 Pit bulls break into homes to kill cats. Pit bull owners feel persecuted when they harbor dogs banned in the community. Pit bulls kill sweet little dogs owned by senior citizens. Pit bulls kill other pit bulls.

Here we are with another batch of  pit bull events and attacks.  We will look at these in no particular order, for as long as my patience lasts.  I'm sorry the first post here is so old, I can't keep up.   

2/22/2016

Lancaster Ohio

Fairfield County

A woman heard her children screaming IN HER HOME.  She investigated and found that a pit bull had entered the home, attacked the family cat.  The pit bull carried the cat outside and dropped it on the sidewalk, where it died.

Per the Eagle-Gazette " The dog owner said that the pit bull had inadvertently gotten free from her home when it was seen running around the neighborhood."

Inadvertently gotten free?  That's pretty much like "somehow" got  loose.  Classic pit bull owner excuse.  The pit bull owner apparently never noticed that the thing was loose until the Fairfield County Dog Warden arrived to investigate.  If a Pug "inadvertently got loose" the cat would still be sleeping on the couch.    

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10/11/2016

Kenton Ohio

Hardin County                                                                                                                                   

This turned up in another blog. I thought the story was so outrageous I'm going to let another blogger tell the it.  The story was taken direct from the pit bull owner's Facebook page.  The post is difficult to read because the pit bull owner is unable to spell or construct a sentence.  Punctuation does not exist.  The gentleman lives in an Ohio community with BSL and he is angry that he was cited for keeping a  pit bull.  This screen shot sums up the story but PLEASE visit Four Legged Friends and Enemies for the full story, apparently his family reported the pit bull.  You can't make this stuff up.  Click here for the link.  

 

Thanks to the blogger at Four legged Friends and Enemies!

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8/30/2016

Hamilton Ohio

Butler County

This story brings our old favorite, Kurt Merbs, Butler County Dog Warden back into the news.  One would think he would get tired of being interviewed about pit bull attacks.

Picture the scene as described by WCPO Cincinnati News.  

"Butler County authorities said Tuesday that a pair of pit bulls led them on a long, dangerous chase after attacking and killing another dog that morning.

Kurt Merbs, Butler County’s dog warden supervisor, got the call around 9 a.m. When he arrived at the scene, Hamilton police officers were already chasing the pit bulls through several neighborhoods. At one point, the two dogs charged at them.

"They were going through yards, jumping fences and we had to divert several people riding bikes, walking to get them off the streets because these dogs were not friendly to people or animals," Merbs said.

He said the attack happened while a man was walking a Shetland Sheepdog named Princess for his elderly neighbor, Doris Oleson." "These dogs came out of nowhere, and he didn’t have a chance," Merbs said."

 

 Princess died.  Police cornered the two pit bulls later in the chase but the owner pulled up in her car and the things jumped right in. The owner, Haley Suffridge, was cited for allowing the pit bulls to run at large, and for not licensing them.   As is frequently noted after a violent attack, shock was expressed by Suffridge's boyfriend that these fine and upstanding pit bulls had attacked another animal (and killed it).  He told reporters "I've had little kids come over and play all the time with them."

Suffridge and her boyfriend Rodric Pearson will be allowed to keep them if they are neutered and micro-chipped, kept in a fenced area with dangerous dogs signs and registered as dangerous dogs.  Whoop.  Will they be required to purchase insurance?  Ohio law requires the owners of dangerous dogs to have insurance and after a public attack like this, that insurance will be expensive.  Possibly expensive enough that Suffridge and Pearson will have second thoughts on keeping these  maulers.      One of the killer pit bulls.

Mr. Pearson asked to speak to  Mrs. Oleson in order to apologize but she stated that she needed time to grieve over the death of her beloved pet.  "We have no children, so she was our child."  "I just hurt so bad.  Even though she looked terrible (after the attack), I'm glad I could at least say goodbye."
Click here for the WCPO coverage of this attack.  Both the Sheltie owner and the pit bull owner were interviewed.  



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 9/27/2016

Middletown Ohio
BUTLER County

This is the story of a pit bull attack on a pit bull.  Spoiler Alert - both pit bulls die.

Pit bull owner Mollie Watkins called the police to report that her neighbor, Gregory Orona, kicked in her door and killed her dog.  When police arrived they found Watkins' home undamaged.  

They got a very different story from Mr. Orona.  

Per WCPO " Orona described the incident differently. He said he had been playing in his backyard with his own dog, Scout.  “The neighbor’s dog came flying through the side yard, it grabbed (Scout) by the throat and started shaking it," he said. "I hit the dog in the head and I killed it. I was very sorry for that, I did not want to do that, but that’s what happened."
"According to the police report, Orona told police he had tried to separate the dogs but was bitten in the process and had no choice but to kill the attacking animal.  The officer who responded to the call noted blood on both Scout and Orona in the report."

Watkins and Orona agreed that if she would pay the vet bills for the swelling in Scout's neck he would not press charges for her pit bull running at large.  It is not a surprise that when Scout's vet bill arrived Ms. Watkins did not pay it. Shortly after a follow-up visit to the vet Scout died.  Mr. Orona 
stated "Words can go a long ways.  For the lady to come over and say 'I'm sorry' would have made a tremendous difference."  Watkins did not respond to a request for comment by WCPO.  She has been charged with a first offense dangerous dog at large, a misdemeanor, and was to appear in Middletown Municipal Court on October 6th. 

 

The swelling on Scout's neck is clearly shown in this photograph.

Mr. Orona did not get his apology, nor did he get his vet bill paid.  Both dogs are dead.    The physical evidence supports Mr. Orona's account.  He has stated that he is sorry Watkins dog died but his actions were reasonable, he was protecting his own dog in his own yard.

Consider, if you will, this story told with a slightly different cast of characters.  Watkins owns, say, a Pomeranian. Mr. Orona owns a Beagle.  Watkins behavior is still irresponsible but nobody dies, the conflict between these neighbors becomes one of a tiny dog at large leaving tiny piles of dog poop in the neighbor's yard.  Watkins phone call to police becomes, at worst, "I answered a knock on my door and found a tiny flaming bag of tiny dog poop."  

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10/27/2016

Brunswick Ohio

Medina County

A Brunswick woman was attacked as she attempted to break up a fight between her own pit bull and her brother-in-law's pit bull.  Her injuries are describes as "substantial."  She was transported via ambulance to Southwest General Hospital in Middleburg Heights and was later transported via life flight to Cleveland Metro Hospital, a trauma center for the Cleveland area.  The woman told police she had been caring for her brother-in-law's pit bull for "several months."   There was no explanation for this but the dog was immediately returned to his owner in Strongsville Ohio. It was the brother-in-law's pit bull that attacked her. 

  We frequently warn that accepting responsibility for someone else's pit bull is folly.  We make the same warning here. 

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11/8/2016

Bainbridge Township Ohio

Geauga County 

"BAINBRIDGE TOWNSHIP, OHIO - Animal Problem, Market Place Drive:Two men took a pit bull dog off-leash into Walmart 10:22 p.m. Nov. 8. When confronted by a manager, they claimed it was a service dog. The dog did not have a service vest and the men were asked to leave."

What makes anyone think that taking your pit bull to Walmart at 10:30 at night is a good idea?  Top it off with the classic "service dog" lie?   Thanks to the Walmart manager who put a stop to this!

                                                  

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11/15/2016

Olmsted Falls Ohio

Cuyahoga County

Animal Complaints, Lindberg Boulevard: Nov. 15, a caller told police that he and his dog had been attacked by a pit bull. While separating the dogs, the caller sustained a small cut on his hand. This was the second time that pit bull had acted aggressively against him, the caller said.

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This is just a sample of pit bull activity in Ohio.  As usual, we have LOTS more to talk about. Next post will deal with Bay Village and Bexley plus the usual attacks and insanity.  

Pit bull roundup 10/25/2015. Attacks on children and adults, little dogs mauled to death, pits shot by police and by citizens, clueless rescue angels.

7/28/2015
DAYTON Ohio
Montgomery County

A Dayton teenager was bitten in the face by a neighbor's pit bull.  The pit bull ran from the owner's yard to attack the 14 year old. The girl required stitches to her upper lip and will require dental implant surgery to replace a tooth knocked out  by the the neighbor's pit.  The dog was known to the girl and considered safe and friendly.  As always,  the pit bull owner believes that her dog did not bite the girl but instead "got excited" jumped on the girl, knocked out her tooth and scratched her but did not bite her.

ABC22 News in Dayton began this story with "Another day, another dog bite in Dayton.  This time a 14 year old girl."  It was reported that as of July Dayton Children's Hospital had treated 126 children for dog bites. Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley promises to look into tougher laws to protect the public from vicious dogs. Getting to be routine in Dayton.  Please keep in mind that the Montgomery County commissioners gave Mark Kumpf, Montgomery County dog warden, a raise this year while admitting that the year had been "difficult."

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7/14/2015
Port Clinton Ohio
Ottawa County

A 10 year old pit bull jumped a fence in Port Clinton to kill a seven year old Pomeranian in the yard of the Pomeranian owner and then went on to go after the owner of the dead Pomeranian.  The girlfriend of  Astro the pit bull's owner, took control of Astro after the attack, a responding Police officer put Astro in the back of his cruiser and followed procedure by notifying the county dog warden. The dog warden refused to respond to the scene and told police to release Astro right back to the owner "because the dog attacked another dog and not a human being."  Even the pit bull owner was surprised by this and promised to have Astro put down after the 10 day rabies confinement.  William Yount, owner of Astro was charged with the misdemeanor Failure to Confine a Dangerous Dog with a possible fine of $250.



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6/2/2015
North Canton Ohio
Stark County

A North Canton family dropped off their little eight pound Pomeranian/Poodle mix dog at Promway Kennels, they were on their way out of town for a business trip.  They have used Promway Kennels many times in the past and were pleased at the care Shadow received.  Things did not go so well this time.

 Kennel owner Bill "Novotny said a kennel employee mistakenly put Shadow in the area where two lab-pit bull mix dogs were and they attacked Shadow.  The dogs were rescued from a shelter and Novotny said he was trying to find them a home.

Novotny said steps have been taken to make sure something like this doesn't happen again and he said the dogs have been euthanized. "I feel terrible," said Promway Kennels owner Bill Novotny.

At the time of the Newsnet5 news article dealing with this senseless death the owner of Promway Kennel, Bill Novotny, had not apologized to Shadow's owners and appears in the video with this story calling the mistake leading to Shadow being in the same run with the pit mixes as "unfortunate."  Do you think Novotny learned anything here?

The answer to that is no.  Below is a Facebook post made by Bill Novotny in early July of this year, just weeks after the mauling death of little Shadow.  Please take a look at the Facebook page for Promway Kennels. Novotny is STILL pulling unplaceable pit bulls from shelters, fostering and adopting out these pit bulls from his business.  That business is caring for other people's beloved pets.  Please spend a few minutes watching the videos of Novotny's interviews.  He is relaxed, genial, smiling, while talking about the death of a client.  While a "trusted employee" may have made an "unfortunate mistake" leading to the death of eight pound Shadow, the big mistake was made by Novotny. He is responsible for housing rescue pit bulls at the Promway facility.  Novotny made the choice to harbor and "work with" the pit bull that killed Shadow.  Novotny stated that the killer pit bull was euthanized but he has apparently learned nothing from Shadow's death.

From the Promway Kennels Facebook page.

Promway Kennels

July 13 · 

Fosters that are currently at Promway- call Bill (330-494-8100) between 8am-5pm to set up a time to meet them - we would love for them to find their forever home!

  More on the available pit bull Dalton.  Background information, Dalton has been at Promway, waiting for placement for 3 1/2 YEARS.  Dalton has his own Facebook page.
   

Promway Kennels added 2 new photos.

September 1 · 

Dalton is enjoying his morning with some cuddle time.

For those who might be looking for a second hand, apparently unplaceable pit bull, GOOD NEWS, Dalton and Lexi are still available.  Novotny also places non-pit bulls and finds takers for these dogs but the pits stay on and on.  Does this tell him something?

NEWSFLASH, There is a  reason these pit bulls are in the rescue system. They have already failed in at least one household, likely more, killed another dog, killed a cat, bit the owner, bit a neighbor, jumped a fence and created a dangerous nuisance in a neighborhood, cited by animal control, the classic reasons for surrender of a pit bull.  Relocating these secondhand maulers is a dangerous business.  Shadow paid with his life.  Pit bull advocacy refuses to learn.  Promway kennels has been in business for 30 years, there is no excuse for the death of Shadow. Bill Novotny knows better.


For additional video please click here.

As it might be suspected, this particular attack touched a nerve with me. I will end this section of the post with a meme from the Facebook page for Dalton of Promway (the unplaceable pit bull) posted May 30th, just prior to the pit bull mauling death of Shadow..



Clueless?  Yes.  Sanctimonious?  Yes.  Learning from the death of a client's dog in an attack that that may well be a kick in the financial bottom line of your business?  Nope.  Why do pit bull activists feel that the peaceful public just needs a little "education" about pit bulls?  The actual news educates us every day. Educate yourselves.                                                      


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 6/12/2015
South Toledo Ohio
Lucas County

Per the Toledo Blade, a Lucas County deputy dog warden and two police officers responded to an animal complaint.  A resident stated that he had been walking in an alley when he was attacked by three dogs that had escaped from Jay Rummel's residence.  When the animal control officer was serving the citation for failure to confine the dogs to Rummel, Rummel's 20 year old roommate Brandon Gill opened the door and let the three dogs out again, disobeying a direct order from police to keep the door shut. After the dogs were let out they charged police.  The lead dog was shot several times. Per police reports, after the dog was shot Gill "came off the porch and started swinging at the officers."  After a brief struggle Gill was taken into custody, charged with felonious assault on a police officer, ordered held at the Lucas County jail in lieu of the bond pending a preliminary hearing.

The dog, a pit bull (surprise!) was taken to a local veterinarian but the injuries were noted to be very serious.  Rummell surrendered his pit bull to  Lucas County Canine Care and Control.  Julie Lyle, Lucas County dog warden, stated the pit bull had been shot in the left front leg, left shoulder area, and right leg.  The pit bull was euthanized.

Animal Control officers investigating this incident discovered that a second of Rummell's pit bulls was also involved in the biting incident earlier in the day.  This pit bull was seized and declared vicious.  Rummell stated to reporters that his dogs were not aggressive with people (despite biting a passerby and charging police) had not bitten anyone in the past but could be "territorial."  Rummell was allowed to keep the remaining pit bull.

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6/5/2015
Norton Ohio
Summit County

From the Norton Ohio Police blotter. Police were called to a Norton Avenue residence June 5 after a man reported his dogs were attacked by a pit bull that was running loose in the area. Officers observed bite wounds on one dog’s head and neck and the other dog’s snout. The pit bull had been corralled and the county dog warden was notified.  


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7/1/2015
Cleveland Ohio
Cuyahoga County

A federal judge in Cleveland sentenced the organizer of an Akron dog fighting ring to two years in prison.  The raid on the Akron dog fighting ring has been covered in Scorched Earth blogs several times.

 Per WDTN News "56-year-old Alvin Banks apologized during the hearing Tuesday, saying he grew up with people who had dogs fight and didn’t realize the practice is inhumane. He pleaded guilty in April to five charges, three related to dog-fighting, a felon in possession of a firearm, and marijuana possession."  

"He didn't realize the practice (of dog fighting) is inhumane?"  You can't make this stuff up.  Mr. Banks will have two years to think about this.




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6/5/2015
Toledo Ohio
Lucas County

Two pit bulls were shot by a citizen in Toledo but the Toledo Blade did not cover the story. A Toledo dog owner found his neighbor's two pit bulls attacking his own German Shepherd, in his own yard.  Per the Chronicle " a 29-year-old man from Toledo heard dogs growling in his front yard. He found his German shepherd pinned down by the neighbor’s two pit bulls. One of the pit bulls was biting the dog’s neck, while the other one was on top of the German shepherd biting his hindquarters. 

After attempts to scare the dogs failed, the man went into his house and retrieved his shotgun. He fired one warning shot, and when the dogs continued their attack, he shot at each of the pit bulls. Although the dogs retreated, one returned and approached the man"  That pit bull was shot and killed.

The pit bull owner stated that his son had left a gate open allowing the pit bulls to escape and he understands why his pit bulls were shot.   The German Shepherd was reported to be in critical condition at a local veterinary hospital.

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5/19/2015
Toledo Ohio
Lucas County

A Toledo woman surrendered 14 dogs to a local Humane Society after Toledo police responded to a noise complaint of dogs barking.  The residence where the dogs were housed had no furniture and was unoccupied other than the 20 dogs found there.  The owner stated that she was in the process of buying the house but humane officials referred to the residence as "unsanitary because of fecal matter and urine"  Just picture it.

Per the Toledo Blade "  The owner said she first bought a female from a man selling puppies on the street, and could not afford to get her spayed then. The dog got pregnant, and the situation spiraled from there as the dogs continued to breed.

She said she made a number of attempts but was unable to find homes or a rescue for many of the dogs that she said are “pit bull” and German shepherd mixes.

“It got out of hand,” she said. “I love dogs, and I thought I could do it on my own. ... I knew I needed help, but every place I contacted would either not call me back or tried to send me in a different direction, which always never helped.”

 My guess is that neighbors are VERY pleased with the removal of these dogs.

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5/8/2015

Youngstown Ohio

Mahoning County

A Youngstown woman, walking in a local park was attacked by a pit bull.

“Horrifying” and “terrifying”... Those are two words used by a south side woman to describe her encounter with a dog while exercising at a city park.

June Calhoun was taking a late morning walk at Jackson Park in the area of Lenox and Windsor Streets, when she found herself caught in a pitbull's stare.

"I didn't hear him. I didn't see where he came from. He jumped at me."

After the dog knocked June down, she found a stick and threw it at him. He backed off, but as she was trying to get up, he jumped on her again.

"Oh they can jump so high. Unbelievable! And he's muscle, you know, he knocked me down."

Her arms took the brunt of the dog's aggression because June was trying to protect a more vital part of her body.

"I don't know where I got that strength, but I was going to survive because he was trying to go for my neck. And why I was putting my arms up like that."

Calhoun was able to signal a jeep passing by as the dog was distracted.

"And I was able to run over to the truck but he saw me again and came after me again. I was able to get in the truck before he get to me."

June says the dog ripped the skin on her right wrist. She also has bites on her left hand, arm and knee. Her right shoulder was also injured in the attack.

The pit bull was unlicensed. The Mahoning County dog warden expected to file charges for failure to control and failure to license. The dog was being quarantined in the owner's possession.  

Youngstown Ohio regulates pit bulls but Ohio pit bull activists ignore attacks like the one on Mrs. Calhoun and are demanding removal of Youngstown BSL.  There have been no offers by pit bull advocacy to cover Mrs. Calhoun's medical bills.  

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5/13/2015

West Chester Ohio

Butler County

A tiny Poodle was attacked by a pit bull, and a Cane Corso mix at a school bus stop, in full view of the Poodle owner, her  children, neighborhood children, AND a school bus full of children.  Watch the video here.  These children are traumatized, the neighbors are traumatized and the dogs are at large regularly. "I heard all this screaming, and I ran out, and Gracie was over in the next yard, laying in the grass with this huge open wound, looked like no hair and no skin," neighbor Nan Adler said. The two adult dogs involved in the attack on little Gracie the poodle are frequent offenders, West Chester police took them to the Butler County dog warden's facility a month prior to this attack.   

Our old friend Kurt Merbs makes this statement on camera " "Unfortunately, the dog actually has to die to make the dog dangerous," Merbs said. "To stipulate a dog is dangerous, it has to bite a person, which in this case it did not, or it has to kill another dog."

Little Gracie lived, she was released to go home six days after the attack.  As Merbs has stated, the pit bull and the Cane Corso mix will not be designated as dangerous.  

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In honor of yesterday's National Pit Bull Victim Awareness Day we will end this post with the image of another child killed by a pit bull. The child is Mia DeRouen, 4 years old, killed by Niko, the dog in the photo.  This monster pit bull was owned by Mia's mother's boyfriend.   Mia was killed inside her mother's apartment as she and her mother watched television together.  When police arrived in response to the 911 call the dog was so violent that Mia had to be handed out a bedroom window to first responders for transport to a hospital. The pit bull was shot by police. It required 13 bullets to stop Niko.