Man Killed by Pit Bull While Trying to Help Dog's Ill Owner

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Man Killed by Pit Bull While Trying to Help Dog's Ill Owner

WHEELING, W.Va. — Mar 9, 2015, 7:31 AM ET

Police in West Virginia say a pit bull attacked and killed a man who was trying to help the dog's ill owner.

The incident occurred Sunday night at a home in East Wheeling.

Lt. Phil Redford says police believe the dog's owner suffered a heart attack. The other man was attacked by the dog as he tried to resuscitate the owner.

A police department news release says both people were pronounced dead at a local hospital. Their names haven't been released.

Ohio County Animal Control removed the dog from the home and placed it in quarantine.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/man-killed-pit-bull-dogs-ill-owner-29494941

[Lurks Often]

1. What a horrible outcome for all involved

The man trying to save a life, the man whose live might have been saved and a dog protecting his sick human.

On edit: There are any number of breeds that might have done the same thing in an effort to protect their human, including German Sheperds, Rottweilers, Dobermans among others.

[DrDan]

2. capable of the same thing . . . true . . . but one breed seems to top the statistics (2/3 of the

deaths in 2014)

[GreatGazoo]

4. the strongest correlation with fatal attack is unneutered male (of any breed)

Around 92% of dog attacks fatal to at least one human are done by intact male dogs. That said, pitbulls are a breed least likely to be neutered.

Unneutered male dogs are involved in 70 to 76 percent of reported dog bites in the United States, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

"We know that an intact male is four times more likely to bite," said Hillsborough Animal Services spokesperson Marti Ryan. "It's not because they're mean. This is nature."
...
Her research, which involved fatal attacks, shows the percentage of intact males involved is even higher — between 90 and 95 percent. There were 59 fatal dog attacks in the United States in 2005 and 2006, she says, involving 109 dogs. Just five of those were spayed or neutered.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/neutering-dogs-may-be-kindest-cut-when-it-comes-to-preventing-dog-bites/983589

[hedgehog]

5. But how many of those unneutered dogs were pit bulls?

[Lurks Often]

7. Sloppy breeding and bad owners

There are people out there breeding for aggressiveness in pit bulls either for fighting other dogs or for owners who want a "tough" dog to impress/intimate their friends and neighbors. Combine that with owners who tolerate or encourage this behavior and this is what happens. Personally I'd like the owners prosecuted more often.

Go back a little and based on news reports, pit bulls were rarely an issue until relatively recently:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_States#Media_reports_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_States

Some of the breeds included in the above link: St Bernard, Pomeranian, Newfoundland, Golden Retriever, Labrador retriever and a Beagle mix.

I volunteer at a shelter rescue and while I've been there (8 months) 4 pit bulls* have come through and not the slightest hint of aggression from any of them, including one that had been used as a puppy mill and showed signs of abuse.

*Pit Bull is a generic term covering at least three different breeds

[magical thyme]

6. the dog clearly thought he was protecting his person from attack

CPR looks like violence. Actually, it can break ribs.

[Orrex]

8. Protected him to death.

[66 dmhlt]

3. That's just a terribly sad, sad story