coworker's kid mauled by dog

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Betty

New member
One of my coworkers is at the hospital today - her 4 year old daughter got mauled by an Akita. The family was over at their son's friend's house. Mia, the little daughter, apparently slipped and fell over the porch (the exact details are a little fuzzy on how she toppled) and into the penned area where the dog was kept. Her head split open, and she screamed.

The dog, excited by the screams and the unfamiliar child, rushed over and attacked her, biting her tiny face open. The owner's son pulled the dog off her. Mia's older brother (about 7 years old) witnessed the entire incident, went into shock, and to be treated at the hospital as well. The dog is under quarantine, fate to be determined. Mia has over 100 stitches from her fall and dog bites (a special surgeon was called in to do tiny stitches on her face that wouldn't leave nasty scars).

I'm surprised the boy managed to pull the dog off Mia and not get harmed - I would've figured the taste of blood and adrenaline rush in the dog would've made the dog snap at the boy as well. My first reaction to the story was "shoot the darn dog". But even if I was there, even with my gun already drawn, I probably couldn't have done a thing, at least not to prevent the dog bites. The incident went down fast and caught everyone off guard. The dog, according to the owner is "friendly towards children and never bit anyone before".

One of my old classmates was mauled by a German Shepard when she was a kid - he practically "swallowed her head" as she described it. Even in her mid 20's now, she still has permanent fears of the smallest pooch. I hope Mia doesn't end up with the same fear of all dogs.
 
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Dave R

New member
What a sad tale. Condolences. Shows that "dogs are people, too"--they can have a strong reaction to the sudden appearance of a strong stimumlus on their home turf. I'll bet the dog's owners are saddened by this, too. My prayers for the little one.
 
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cuerno de chivo

Moderator
:(

I hope she gets well soon. I hope the people are decent enough enough to put down the dog. BTW aren't Akitas known as as the worst dogs in cases of attacks/bites/injuries to humans.
 
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Rickmeister

New member
I, too, was once bitten in the face by a dog. I was three at the time. Fortunately, there are few physical reminders of that gory incident, except maybe a small groove in the upper-right corner of my mouth that could easily be mistaken for a tiny wrinkle when I smile, and then only when the light happens to be at the right angle.

All the same, the mutt's lousy attitude left me unimpressed (I still love dogs). Truth is, the attack was mostly my fault. The dog was wooing another, and---I now realize---was obviously in heat. When it saw me approaching its intended mate (I only wanted to pet it), it lunged at me in a raging fit of jealousy---not realizing that I don't do "hotdogs".

I don't know what happened next. The only thing I remember was being whisked by my five-year-old brother toward my on-rushing and hysterical mom; a general numbness above my neck; and the lukewarm, sickly taste of "iron" on my lips.

Now if I was a bystander watching something like this happen, I wouldn't immediately gun down the pooch---I could just as easily hit the kid! I would first coax the ill-tempered canine away. If it is small or medium-sized, I would kick the living sh** out of it as best I could. Make no mistake: hell hath no fury like a loving parent. I almost did just that when a stupid weimaraner raced toward my petrified daughter as we strolled around the neighborhood one day a little over a year ago. And I would probably do the same even if it were a big dog---only then I WOULD open fire, given half a chance; but all the time bearing in mind the four classic rules of gun safety.

That, my friend, is what I would do.

As for "Shep"... well, he's tasted human flesh; so now he's gotta be euthanized :D
 
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The Terminator

New member
How sad. I guess that this is why we call them accidents. There are two Rottweilers living in my neighborhood. One is right beside me and she is a pushover, she will lick you to death if she gets the chance. I went and met with her owner and got aquainted. Now my son (six) and I pet her several times a week, so that she will "know" who he is and not ever want to bite him. Several people are feeding this gentle, sweet 2 year old dog.

Across the street is another dog of the same kind. He is very aggressive and is in a fence that he could jump on a whim. Last week my son and I were sitting in our yard petting a cat that wandered through. The dog across the street was head and shoulders above the fence looking like he might jump over. I had my 38 in my pocket and was looking for a chance to blow him to smitherenes if he came over the fence.
 
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redneck

New member
Thats really sad. I hope it all turns out OK. I have a friend with an akita and its one of the friendliest dogs I've ever seen. With its owners and with total strangers.
 
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The Terminator

New member
For discussion sake, at what point - if any - are you willing to shoot a dog to defend yourself or another?


Erick,
I can't imagine anybody who would not do this. My response may be stronger because I live in a neighborhood with more than its share of big, aggressive dogs. My son and I go for frequent walks, and I am more concerned about the dogs than I am about the people. It kind of pisses me off that people have these beasts, and I can't get the county to pick them up when they get loose and wander around. We have a leash law in our county. If one ever gets aggressive with me or my son, he goes down. Despite these sentiments, I do like dogs and like petting them. I just don't like it when people make them mean and are irresponsible with them. It is for this reason that I will not carry a mouse gun. A .38 with Corbons is my minimum, and I don't even really know what it will do to a large dog. I do know from experience that a dog is very hard to hit, even when very close to you.
 
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KP95DAO

New member
When my youngest was about 2 & 1/2 he was across the street playing in the back yard with the little girl that lived there. They were taking turns riding the battery powered vehicle.

That family had a Cockapoo who took exception to my son riding the vehicle and the dog nipped his cheek. No blood just scraped it. When this happened I was watching and my son did not hesitate. He reached out and grabbed the dog by the ears and bit it on the nose. The look on that dog was very funny. It was the last thing it expected to happen. The dog took off and the mother came out and started apologizing for their dog nipping my son. I was still laughing about the look on that dogs face.

That dog never bothered my son again, about anything. When we asked him why he bit the dog he said, "He bite me, so I bite him." From the mouths of babes.
 
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Betty

New member
I'd have to shoot a dog, even if it were my own, if it attacked somone. There's an older thread where I got into more detail.

I wouldn't shoot while the dog is on the victim - that would risk shooting the person. I'd have to use my baton or knife. Wrenching the base of the ears worked in previous experience. I'd have to pin the dog down with my body weight and keep the muzzle from turning around and biting me.

A coworker went to go see Mia - she said the stitching is done very well (but her head & hair is a mess), and even though Mia wouldn't talk about the incident, she has really bad nightmares. The tossing, turning, and screaming in her sleep kind. :(

I bought her a giant stuffed frog.
 
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spacemanspiff

New member
i always have a big bottle of pepper spray with me whenever i go walking. it may not put a dog down but it will make it stop whatever its doing. but i also have a couple of knives on me at all times.

i don't carry (yet) so i'm not sure if i would have any compulsions about shooting a dog.
 
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Gunter

New member
He bite me, so I bite him

Biting down hard on the ear of an animal is one proven method to teach it not to bite. It's said not to taste nice, and might be risky with a dog though.
 
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Master Blaster

New member
A couple of weeks ago I had an experience with a rotweiller, and there was a very long and heated thread about when to shoot or not. I did not and niether my dog or I were injured. In this case the Rotweiller jumped a chain link fence and crossed the street to attack us.

I had my hand on the butt of my glock 26 the entire time, including the begining of my encounter with the owner. No one was aware that I was carrying as I did not have to draw.

I would post a link but the moderator has disabled the search feature at this time.:)

The most common phrase after a dog attack is
" _____ is a good dog why we have six children who play with him all the time and he has NEVER bit anyone before."

Dogs dont have judgement or planning skills, thats why humans are the masters.
 
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115grfmj

New member
Being the father of a 13 month old girl a story like this ripps at my heart. I dont think there would be any question as to what any of us would do about the matter. We must remember that pet or no pet it's just a damn animal. :( :( :(
 
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mjn

New member
Akitas

My kids grew up treating my 120 lb Akita as a living stuffed animal- crawled all over him as soon as they could crawl, and started riding him around the house when they could sit up. This afternoon I had to chew the 3 year old out for hooking his toy fishing pole to his collar and using him as the fish in the "fish off the couch" game. Of course, I also taught my kids to leave him the heck alone if he started making grumpy noises. Not that he's going to bite- he just gets up and walks off when he's fed up- but he deserves that respect and they need to learn that lesson.

There are good and bad dogs, but more often there are good and bad owners. Akitas have gotten more popular recently, and that has led to inbreeding and more dangerous examples reproducing. They are big, very tough, and don't back down from anything (they were originally bred to drive large bears out of villages in northern Japan). They were also popular babysitters in rural Japan- farmers would go out to the fields in the morning and leave the Akita in charge of the kids.

It disturbs me that this one was apparently kept in a pen in the back yard. Akitas want to be family members; mine always wants to be in an out of the way corner where he can watch my boys or me without getting in the way or getting stepped on or tripped over. I would expect problems with one that had to stay in a pen in the back yard all the time. They aren't the dog for everyone, or even for most people, and the standard advice is not to get one as a first dog. If you aren't willing to treat them as a family member and make sure they know who's boss, DON'T GET ONE! If you ignore that advice, don't blame the dog for your shortcomings.
 
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Al Thompson

Staff Alumnus
MJN, that's good advice for any dog. They are pack animals and want to belong. Sticking them in a fenced in back yard or on a lead :)barf: ) is torture.

Giz
 
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UltimaThule

New member
Bad as it was, it could have been worse. There was a tragedy in my country a couple of weeks ago, when a seven year old was killed by four stray dogs. The dogs belonged to a woman who lived alone with 26! dogs. It turned out that her neighbours have been of afraid of the dogs for years, but the local authorities have not done anything about it. The sheriff's office is now under investigation for ignoring multiple complaints about aggressive dogs running loose. Local law did react fast after the fact, though. A vet was called to put down the dogs, all of them, not just the four that attacked. The dogs were so aggressive that the vet didn't get close enough to use the usual injection, he had to shoot them... The owner can't understand how her nice dogs could possibly hurt anyone.

BTW, in this country a sheep farmer can shoot any stray dog on sight if it is spotted anywhere near his sheep. A dog that attacks a person can't be destroyed without the owner's consent or a court order (unless it's obvious self defence). I guess you have to be a lawyer to understand why an animal should be more "valuable" than a human. I certainly don't understand it, we're not (yet) completely destroyed by "Disneyism" over here - I can still buy a whale steak at the local supermarket.

I love dogs, but there is only one cure for a dangerous dog. And yes, the destruction of the dogs mentioned above was probably illegal - nobody has challenged it, although some "animal rights" people seem to think that it's unnecessarily "brutal" to shoot animals as opposed to a humane lethal injection.:rolleyes:
 
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Oleg Volk

Staff Alumnus
A pack of five medium-sized dogs turned up in the back yard recently. I'd hate to face them in the dark. However, I can shott the damn things if they attack. The neighborhood kids can't and I doubt that they can outrun these critters,either. We called Animal Control but they were closed.

I suspect that a .22CB to the guts would kill them long-term without littering the place with corpses. Not humane but effective.
 
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