Pit bull shot in attack on woman

[JimR]

If I had been attacked before, I wouldn't have waited to be attacked again. Ms. Patterson shows more restraint than I would have.

Of course, there is no reason for someone to need to carry a handgun. [/sarcasm]

Pit bull shot in attack on woman

By DAVID HENCH, Portland Press Herald Writer

HARPSWELL — A local woman was defending herself when she fired a single shot from her 9 mm Smith and Wesson semiautomatic, killing a pit-bull terrier that was attacking her, authorities say.

Ramona Patterson was standing in her front yard Tuesday when Jade, a neighbor's dog who had attacked her before, ripping her clothing, charged her and began barking viciously and nipping at her, authorities say.

This time, the 32-year-old mother was armed.

Patterson was not charged, but the dog's owner, Harold Owen, must go to court to answer charges of keeping a dangerous dog and letting it run loose.

The violent confrontation follows a series of incidents in which Jade, who was just a year old, and his mother, a pit bull also owned by Owen, have been accused of terrorizing neighbors.

"This dog has had a considerable history, this one and the mother of it," said Dick Wyer, the town's acting animal control officer. "The town itself was going for a dangerous dog decree on him, but hadn't got around to it yet. If you have a dog that's a biter, or attacks people, it can be deemed a dangerous dog" and the town can take it or order it destroyed.

Owen, who lives nearby on Harpswell Road, said Jade must have slipped his collar, said Sgt. Tom Williams of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department. Owen insisted the dog was no threat and called him a lap dog.

But Patterson and her 12-year old son Zachary told police a different story.

The roughly 70-pound dog had chased them before and had bitten Patterson. None of the injuries were serious, or broke the skin, Williams said.

"There's been several incidents. So far luckily no one has been seriously hurt. A lot of clothing torn and bite marks, but not major skin breaks," Wyer said.

Neither Patterson or Owen could be reached by telephone.

Wyer said problems between Owen's dogs and neighbors have been occurring for the past six to eight months with Jade, and longer than that with the dog's mother.

On Tuesday, just before suppertime, Zachary Patterson was walking to his mother's house when he spotted Jade standing on Zachary Way, the private drive they live on.

"From what I can gather, her son was coming down from a relative's house," Wyer said. "He let out a bellow 'cause the dog was coming after him. His mother went out and the dog decided to make a run at her and that was his big mistake."

The dog leapt at Patterson who was about 90 feet from her front door, Williams said. She shot once, knocking the dog to the ground, went inside, set down the gun and called the sheriff's department.

The dog crawled to a nearby snowbank and died.

"This time he was coming at her," Wyer said. "She's been gotten before, so I can't say I blame her."

Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at: dhench@pressherald.com

 

[bastiat]

Couldn't this woman have just called the police when the dog attacked her? Ordinary citizens have no use for guns. Civillian firearm ownership is obsolete with 911 service.

Seriously, nice shot under pressure by the mother.

 

[justice4all]

"The town itself was going for a dangerous dog decree on him, but hadn't got around to it yet."

They were going to wait til it killed some child, then get around to it?

 

[Matt VDW]

Owen, who lives nearby on Harpswell Road, said Jade must have slipped his collar, said Sgt. Tom Williams of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department.

"Slipped his collar"? How does a dog "slip" something that's buckled around his neck?

And BTW, aren't we going to have any comments on the stopping power of the lowly 9x19mm? A one shot stop on a charging pit bull sounds like excellent performance to me.

 

[gyp_c2]

Once they learn how, you can't keep them from it!
They turn their head and put torque on the restraint, as they keep turning the skin"stretches" and rolls out of the collar..."slips" is just the term for it...All dogs have a lot of loose skin around the neck, a very muscular dog, will have lots of it...Lots of animals handle their young by grabbing their necks...It's used by others in the pack to establish dominance as well...Most owners "know" if the dog can slip the collar, they just can't believe "their" pet is dangerous to others...It's sad really...No doubt, it was more humane to put the dog down than for anyone to be hurt before the owner acknowledged the problem...

 

[EnochGale]

What she used a SW? She must be a bad person.

 

[Coronach]

One shot? Thats not bad at all. I know LEOs who have had to fire several shots to hit a charging Pit, and I have seen a couple of Pits that took multiple shots to stop, with .45 ACP.

Sad. I love dogs. I honestly think I'd have more trouble shooting a dog that was attacking me than a person. Dogs don't know any better- people should.

 

[gitarmac]

I have a greyhound and her neck is bigger than her head. When I first got her she slipped out of the collar (one of those special greyhound collars) a couple times when the collar was new and stiff. She's very docile though.

 

[10CFR]

gyp_c2,

That is in interesting fact which I have also observed where dangerous dogs are concerned. The owners almost never acknowledge that the dog is dangerous. "He wouldn't hurt a fly...." I had one owner tell me that, or something close to it, while their huge lab had me backed into the side of my car with his muzzle against my stomach, growling. I was scared sh**less!

When I was a teenager, I went to visit a friend, and I had an encounter with his dad's three-legged German shepard which chased me around and around my motorcycle as I was trying to get on it to escape. That dog was a known biter, and his owner, in that particular case DID acknowledge it. No one came out to help me. I made it without getting bitten, although I don't know how. My friend and I didn't visit that day (maybe they were trying to tell me something).

We have a person in our general neighborhood who allows his rottweiler to run loose. It is also a confrontational dog. My brother has had at least one tense encounter with it and was able to scare it off. I was hunting groundhogs in my brother's field and that dog walked out of a stand of hay about 30 yards downwind of me. I froze. The last thing I wanted was to get into a confrontation with the dog and have to shoot it. He never saw me as he turned and walked the opposite direction from where I was standing. I stood like a statue until he was out of sight.

I love dogs, but they can be very scary. I once volunteered to take a bite (with a protective sleeve on) from a large german shepard who was trained to bite. It was at that time that I truly gained a new level of respect for the amount of destruction a dog is capable of wreaking on the human body. They bite down with an incredible force and hang on like you wouldn't believe. If a dog does that and shakes you, they will SHRED whatever part of you they have hold of. Knowing what I know now, I would not hesitate to shoot a large dog that was intent on attacking me or someone else.

-10CFR

 

[Matt VDW]

That is in interesting fact which I have also observed where dangerous dogs are concerned. The owners almost never acknowledge that the dog is dangerous.

Parents of violent criminals seem to have the same problem. "Oh, sure, he's had his problems, but he's really a good kid." It's amazing how many assaults, murders, rapes and thefts are committed by "good kids".

 

[Steve B]

I can`t imagine that hitting a dog that`s running right at you is an easy shot. Nice shooting on her part.

 

[jadams951]

Gotta agree with everyone good shot placement by the lady. It is fairly easy for a dog to slip their collar. I had a lab that once he figured out how to do it he would do it as easy as can be.

 

[ArmySon]

Not to change the subject but why do they have to use "Pit Bull"? If it was a Collie or any other lovable type dog, they would've just used dog. Mr. David Hench can't even spell the name right. It's Pit Bull Terrier, not pit-bull terrier.

Sorry but I get just as defensive protecting this breed as I am with our 2nd Amendment rights.

 

[JimR]

We have a person in our general neighborhood who allows his rottweiler to run loose. It is also a confrontational dog.

If the dog is truly on the loose often and confrontational, what are you waiting for? BTW, I like dogs, too, and have two.

 

[w00dy]

Pit Bulls are not vicious dogs by default. They have to be trained to be that way. When I was 13 I was bitten by a friend's Pit Bull but it wasn't the dogs fault. I was over at my friends house playing Nintendo and his dog was there. She was a really nice dog and not vicious at all. Well my friend's 19 year old brother who was not a nice guy grabbed me by the arm and was spinning me around the room and threw me on the floor. The dog jumped off the couch and bit me on the back of my right leg. The dog locked her jaws on my leg and I had to hit her on the head a few times with my elbow to get her to let go. She was just protecting her master. He was throwing me around to make the dog think that I was attacking her master so she defended him. I do not blame the dog, I blame the ******* brother for tricking the dog to bite me. Needless to say I didnt hang out there anymore when the older brother was around. The dog didnt like me much after that though, probably because of the elbowing to the head.

 

[Elizabeth Petersen]

Just my .02

I've worked with and owned numerous large breed dogs over the years, including Dobermans, German Shepherds and Malamutes. I grew up with a sweet-as-pie-but-dumb-as-hell Lab mix who once charged a fireman who had climbed the fence to get to a brush fire. (Never seen a guy in full turn out gear jump that high or that fast before in my life)

There are breeds who are inherently more aggressive than others. Often, I have found, they are also very intelligent (with the exception of my last Dobie, a humongous red male who was dumber than a box of rocks and once ate the next door neighbor's cat).

Among the more aggressive breeds are: Poodles (yes, poodles. Mean buggers.) Chihuahuas (Land Pirahnas) Dalmations (after all those Disney movies, people were buying them like crazy only to find out that they weren't good "kid dogs".)And of course, the usual suspects: Akitas, Dobies, German Shepherds, Malamutes, Huskies,and the always picked-on Pit Bull Terrier (BTW "Petey" from the old twenties "Our Gang" serials was a Pit, wasn't he?). But what makes a dog MEAN is the owner. Being aggressive does not make them dangerous. Being abused, untrained - or intentionally trained to BE mean - is what makes for a dangerous dog. It is the fault of the owner, not the dog.

However, if faced with an aggressive, attacking dog, I wouldn't hesistate for a moment to send the mutt to Pooch Heaven. Then a call to animal control would be in order.

But then again, I'm MEAN.

 

[10CFR]

Matt VDW - that's exactly right.
JimR - I don't want to be the one to be put in that situation. I don't want to shoot a dog unless I am directly threatened and it is a last resort. It has to be a clear cut case of self-defense, otherwise, people who shoot dogs here go to jail. Unfortunately, until the dog does something, there is no *legal* evidence that the dog is dangerous. A call to authorities at this point would result, at the most, in a citation to the individual for not keeping the dog confined. He probably wouldn't get even that unless the authorities actually found the dog running loose. If the dog comes at me or a member of my family, I will do what I have to do.

I don't want to come across like I don't like or respect dogs. That is not the case.

-10CFR

 

[Red Label]

I have always felt that in most cases of a dog gone bad, it is the owner of the dog who ought to be shot.

I have a little dog who is no threat to anyone, but sometimes acts a little vicious toward trespassers. That's why I have him (that, and I really love that dog). But I guess that I am an extremist, because I'm of the mind that if you come on my property and get nipped, that's the breaks. My dog stays on my property. Stay off and you will be fine. I would NEVER enter a property with a "beware of dog" sign showing. But if my dog got out of the yard and posed a threat to someone else, then shame on me for allowing it to happen...