My pup might not make it :(

[JBGRAY]

I'm sure some of you have seen some pics of Berlin, my little Pitbull puppy.  Here are a couple of his pics.



Here he is with a poodle I babysat, a more recent pic.




Yesterday, I was walking him and two large full-grown pits charged towards my dog.  I had little time to react as they came out the side of a fence.  I had never seen these dogs before.  One of them clamped around his midsection, punctering his legs and ultimately a nasty gash across his stomach that was also deeply punctured.  I kicked and fought off the dogs before they did anymore damage and they ended up running away.  I was bit on the hand as a result, but didn't notice it at the time.  My shirt was covered in gore from my pup's blood.  Police were called, photos were taken, witness statements taken, owner is known. 

I took him for X-rays last night.  He came home with me last night, shaken, but still lively with a big bandage wrapped over him.  He slept in the bed with my wife and I.  I greatly fear it may have been his last night with us 

He is going into surgery today after the vet examined the wound this morning.  The puncture on his belly penetrated the muscle there and into the fat.   They are unsure if it actually penetrated to any organ.  He is being hooked up with a tube to drain out gasses that are present in the stomach area.  If an organ is penetrated, it doesn't look good.  I'm praying he is ok... I know pits are resilient..mine sure as heck didn't even show that he was severely wounded. 

I never thought one could get so attached to a dog...I had always thought those people were a bit flighty.  Guess I know now why such a thing is(I never had a dog before, just occasionally dog-sat).  Sorry to ramble a bit just gettin' all of this outta my system.  thanks.

[~flower~]

Damn JB,       I hope he pulls through.  I know it's hard to deal with a hurt or ill pet, let alone to go through what you had to deal with.

  Will keep him and you in my thoughts and be waiting for updates.

   Hang in there.  

[SinCitysmallGUY]

Damn brother.. I am really sorry to hear about this.. I hope all is well with your little guy. Keep us updated. The family will be praying for you and your lil guy.. Pits are tough so I hope he is okay. With all these stories of dogs running up on people's pets I am thinking of packing my lil .38.....

What would the police do if you ended up shooting another dog if it was attacking your dogs. Do you think you would go to jail?

J keep us updated as to how your boy is doing he is a very pretty dog..

[knny187]

Dogs are very tough....& I will say he stands a fair chance to pull through.

He's got his young age on his side.

I always carry a knife on me & would not hesitate slitting the throat of an attacking dog or pushing it far enough through the eyeball to enter the brain.  I would feel bad killing a dog....but would feel 100 times worse if my dog was killed. 

Sincitysmallguy.....pack ing heat probably isn't a bad idea...just be careful of local/city/state laws.

[chaos]

fuck, that sucks.

Did you stomp a hole in the owner yet?

good luck with the surgery and I'm sure he'll pull through, he is a pit afterall

[Princess L]

Yesterday, I was walking him and two large full-grown pits charged towards my dog.  I had little time to react as they came out the side of a fence.  I had never seen these dogs before.  One of them clamped around his midsection, punctering his legs and ultimately a nasty gash across his stomach that was also deeply punctured.  I kicked and fought off the dogs before they did anymore damage and they ended up running away.  I was bit on the hand as a result, but didn't notice it at the time.  My shirt was covered in gore from my pup's blood.  Police were called, photos were taken, witness statements taken, owner is known. 

I took him for X-rays last night.  He came home with me last night, shaken, but still lively with a big bandage wrapped over him.  He slept in the bed with my wife and I.  I greatly fear it may have been his last night with us 

He is going into surgery today after the vet examined the wound this morning.  The puncture on his belly penetrated the muscle there and into the fat.   They are unsure if it actually penetrated to any organ.  He is being hooked up with a tube to drain out gasses that are present in the stomach area.  If an organ is penetrated, it doesn't look good.  I'm praying he is ok... I know pits are resilient..mine sure as heck didn't even show that he was severely wounded. 

I never thought one could get so attached to a dog...I had always thought those people were a bit flighty.  Guess I know now why such a thing is(I never had a dog before, just occasionally dog-sat).  Sorry to ramble a bit just gettin' all of this outta my system.  thanks.

I am so sorry to hear about this.    Please keep us updated.

JMT, can you speculate as to the reason little Berlin was attacked?

 They do not snap, contrary to popular belief, and they have a reason or goal for every one of their actions.

[JBGRAY]

Update.

Berlin completed his surgery yesterday to a resounding success.  He should be ready to come home this evening, no later than tomorrow afternoon.  Very lucky that no organs were penetrated.  The vet said that he was a very tough guy.  Can't wait to see him.

As for the owner, I'm pissed as hell.  I don't know who he is, but I know where he lives.  Though I do feel like going over there, I'm not sure what kind of person he is(or if he has a gun...this is Florida after all).  I already called Code Compliance over there and have a consultation with a lawyer today.  With the surgery, 2 vet visits, the prescription drugs and such, it cost me over 2 grand out of pocket.  Not to mention whatever I am going to get charged by the lawyers.  I plan on getting at least all of my money back, hopefully more(I've never been to civil court before, or dealt with any court really). 

I'll detail more specifically what happened while I was walking him.  Two pitbulls charged towards us from the opposite side of the street of which I was walking him(the street was pretty narrow).  The male immediately attacked my dog by clamping his jaws around berlin's lower midsection.  The other pit just circled around.  I started to kick and beat at the pit that had my dog in his jaws.  He let go and I put Berlin up on my shoulders and the pit had jumped up in an attempt to reach him again, jaws snapping.  This is where my hand was bit(not severely though, I had to clean the wound thoroughly).  When he went back down, a stomp square solid to the face is what made him take off.  Both pits then scampered off and sat down on their owner's front steps and I moved down a few yards to see the extent of my pup's injuries.

I don't know why the one attacked my dog.  I was not on their property.  They came from a giant hole in the side of a fence in which enclosed the backyard they came from.  I've walked my dog down this street before with no incidents.  The one that attacked was not small at all....it was massively thick(and ears cropped, of course) as hell, first thing I noticed.  So, again, I dunno the reason at all and have never encountered or saw these dogs before.

[JediKnight]

Because the dog actually bit you besides your dog,,you should have the 2 pits put down. The owner of the pits has to be responsible with dogs like that and he wasnt so you should press full charges and try and get alot of money. If your dog died then the guy with the pits wouldnt of cared, so get as much money from him as you can, and also have his pits put down. Before someone else gets hurt.

[temper35]

I don't know why the one attacked my dog.  I was not on their property.  They came from a giant hole in the side of a fence in which enclosed the backyard they came from.  I've walked my dog down this street before with no incidents.  The one that attacked was not small at all....it was massively thick(and ears cropped, of course) as hell, first thing I noticed.  So, again, I dunno the reason at all and have never encountered or saw these dogs before.

Because most of the time, people who own pitbulls are fucking scumbags.  They get the dogs because they want to act like a badass, and don't train them or take care of them.  If any dog is dog aggressive what you described can and does happen.

I am glad Berlin is doing good he is adorable, but I have one bit of advice for you, and listen to what I am saying.  I mean it.

Enroll your dog in a GROUP obedience class immediately and put a GIGANTIC emphasis on SOCIALIZATION WITH OTHER DOGS.  What happened to your dog during the age he is at can be DEVASTATING for his outlook to other dogs.  Things like this happen to a much less severity all the time, such as just an adult rolling a pup, and the dog is aggressive towards other dogs forever.

Do not baby him and keep him away from other dogs because of what happened.  Then again, don't ever let him come in contact with a strange dog you don't know.  Try to find a puppy socialization class, or put an ad in the paper for looking for similar dogs of that age who are looking to be socialized.  Take him everywhere.  Don't carry him everywhere, but take him everywhere.  You need to help reverse the negative experience as soon as possible before it becomes like the dogs that attacked Berlin.

As far as the owner of those dogs, handle it legally.  Call animal control, call everyone.  Do everything you can.

I hope Berlin is doing well, and although the circumstance is severe it can surely be fixed.  What I am saying is a precautionary measure that you should absolutely do.  If you don't, you are really rolling the dice.

Good luck sir.

[chaos]

Enroll your dog in a GROUP obedience class immediately and put a GIGANTIC emphasis on SOCIALIZATION WITH OTHER DOGS.  What happened to your dog during the age he is at can be DEVASTATING for his outlook to other dogs.  Things like this happen to a much less severity all the time, such as just an adult rolling a pup, and the dog is aggressive towards other dogs forever.

Do not baby him and keep him away from other dogs because of what happened.  Then again, don't ever let him come in contact with a strange dog you don't know.  Try to find a puppy socialization class, or put an ad in the paper for looking for similar dogs of that age who are looking to be socialized.  Take him everywhere.  Don't carry him everywhere, but take him everywhere.  You need to help reverse the negative experience as soon as possible before it becomes like the dogs that attacked Berlin.

I can agree with this, my neighbor had the mailman mace her pit puppy while he sat on the front porch because he stood up, the mailman said he was going to attack, so he maced him. She was on the other side of the screen door, she's looking into action against the mailman. Now the dog is deathly afraid of men in general in public, if you go into their hiome he if very friendly, she should also enroll him in a class like this.

[Princess L]

JMT,

Your silence is deafening 

[jmt1]

I am so sorry to hear about this.    Please keep us updated.

JMT, can you speculate as to the reason little Berlin was attacked?

hi princess, this is my first time looking at this thread. hope the puppy pulls through.

in the other thread i made that comment that pitbulls just dont snap and attack. one of the many crazy myths about pitbulls is that there is something in the breed which causes their brain to swell at which point they will snap and go crazy. some people actually believe that type of nonsense along with other myths such as the strength of their bites, locking jaws, ect.
apbts are a very intellegent, stable, trustworth breed but like any other dog they need to be trained.  they can be dog aggressive and many irresponsible owners dont take the time to properly train and socialize their dogs. when things like this happen people want to blame the dog when the blame should go to the irresponsible owner. it could have just as easily been a rottie, lab, chow, german sheppard, ect who attacked. any dog in the wrong hands can be dangerous. it just so happens when it turns out to be a pitbull type dog, people like to take that and run with it.

[newmom]

I'm not sure if you need a lawyer. just file it pro se..I found a statute in florida that pertains to your situation.

Florida Statutes

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X GlobalCite Results
All Documents/Cases — 2
Cases Only — 2
Statutes Only — 0
Treatises Only — 0
Other Documents — 0
   Florida Statutes
   TITLE XLV TORTS
   CHAPTER 767 DAMAGE BY DOGS

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767.13 Attack or bite by dangerous dog; penalties; confiscation;
destruction. —

  (1) If a dog that has previously been declared dangerous attacks or bites
a person or a domestic animal without provocation, the owner is guilty of a
misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
775.083. In addition, the dangerous dog shall be immediately confiscated by
an animal control authority, placed in quarantine, if necessary, for the
proper length of time, or impounded and held for 10 business days after the
owner is given written notification under s. 767.12, and thereafter
destroyed in an expeditious and humane manner. This 10-day time period
shall allow the owner to request a hearing under s. 767.12. The owner shall
be responsible for payment of all boarding costs and other fees as may be
required to humanely and safely keep the animal during any appeal
procedure.

  (2) If a dog that has not been declared dangerous attacks and causes
severe injury to or death of any human, the dog shall be immediately
confiscated by an animal control authority, placed in quarantine, if
necessary, for the proper length of time or held for 10 business days after
the owner is given written notification under s. 767.12, and thereafter
destroyed in an expeditious and humane manner. This 10-day time period
shall allow the owner to request a hearing under s. 767.12. The owner shall
be responsible for payment of all boarding costs and other fees as may be
required to humanely and safely keep the animal during any appeal
procedure. In addition, if the owner of the dog had prior knowledge of the
dog's dangerous propensities, yet demonstrated a reckless disregard for
such propensities under the circumstances, the owner of the dog is guilty
of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082
or s. 775.083.

  (3) If a dog that has previously been declared dangerous attacks and
causes severe injury to or death of any human, the owner is guilty of a
felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s.
775.083, or s. 775.084. In addition, the dog shall be immediately
confiscated by an animal control authority, placed in quarantine, if
necessary, for the proper length of time or held for 10 business days after
the owner is given written notification under s. 767.12, and thereafter
destroyed in an expeditious and humane manner. This 10-day time period
shall allow the owner to request a hearing under s. 767.12. The owner shall
be responsible for payment of all boarding costs and other fees as may be
required to humanely and safely keep the animal during any appeal
procedure.

  (4) If the owner files a written appeal under s. 767.12 or this section,
the dog must be held and may not be destroyed while the appeal is pending.

  (5) If a dog attacks or bites a person who is engaged in or attempting to
engage in a criminal activity at the time of the attack, the owner is not
guilty of any crime specified under this section.

History. — s. 4, ch. 90-180; s. 4, ch. 93-13; s. 4, ch. 94-339.



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[Princess L]

hi princess, this is my first time looking at this thread. hope the puppy pulls through.

in the other thread i made that comment that pitbulls just dont snap and attack. one of the many crazy myths about pitbulls is that there is something in the breed which causes their brain to swell at which point they will snap and go crazy. some people actually believe that type of nonsense along with other myths such as the strength of their bites, locking jaws, ect.
apbts are a very intellegent, stable, trustworth breed but like any other dog they need to be trained.  they can be dog aggressive and many irresponsible owners dont take the time to properly train and socialize their dogs. when things like this happen people want to blame the dog when the blame should go to the irresponsible owner. it could have just as easily been a rottie, lab, chow, german sheppard, ect who attacked. any dog in the wrong hands can be dangerous. it just so happens when it turns out to be a pitbull type dog, people like to take that and run with it.

"Two pitbulls charged towards us from the opposite side of the street of which I was walking him(the street was pretty narrow).  The male immediately attacked my dog by clamping his jaws around berlin's lower midsection.  The other pit just circled around.  I started to kick and beat at the pit that had my dog in his jaws.  He let go and I put Berlin up on my shoulders and the pit had jumped up in an attempt to reach him again, jaws snapping.  This is where my hand was bit..."

I realize this could be any breed of dog (or could it?).     JB's just walking his little pup and out of no where these dogs come charging little Berlin.  WTF    Is that due to an irresponsible owner, bad training, what    There sure seems to be a lot of these types of stories out there 

[Vet]

"Two pitbulls charged towards us from the opposite side of the street of which I was walking him(the street was pretty narrow).  The male immediately attacked my dog by clamping his jaws around berlin's lower midsection.  The other pit just circled around.  I started to kick and beat at the pit that had my dog in his jaws.  He let go and I put Berlin up on my shoulders and the pit had jumped up in an attempt to reach him again, jaws snapping.  This is where my hand was bit..."

I realize this could be any breed of dog (or could it?).     JB's just walking his little pup and out of no where these dogs come charging little Berlin.  WTF    Is that due to an irresponsible owner, bad training, what    There sure seems to be a lot of these types of stories out there 

My experience working with the legal side of these types of cases is that its all of the above and there is a whole lot that we dont' know about the situation.   No matter what the breed, I am of the firm opinion that canids (be it a dog, a wolf, wolf hybrid, a fox---any canid that humans keep as a pet) does not "JUST SNAP".  There are many predisposing factors from husbandry/pach heirarchy (For the exotic species) to simply training (For domestic dogs) that have a cumulative effect with the violent ending.   Almost always there is a human idiot involved too.   And unfortunately that person is generally in denial about the possibility of their canid/dog/wolf/whatever being capable of doing what happened. 

[temper35]

It is called being DOG AGGRESSIVE.

There is no lengthy explanation needed.  Someone raised their pitbull like a jerkoff, and it is now dog aggressive, as are so many other APBT's, because of the way people raise them, and the types of people who generally aim towards APBT's.  A dog is dog aggressive, it sees another dog, it tries to kill it.  That is aggression.  The dog did not snap, no brain swelling or anything.  For whatever reason, that pitbull was dog aggressive, and it saw a dog, and attacked it.  It was probably not socialized, dominance games were emphasized, it was not exercised properly, it was not trained, it had no rules, and that is the end result of it.  It is not APBT specific, this can happen to any breed.  But as I said, generally people get pitbulls who want them so they think they have a tough dog, and the extent of their training is to see how high they can get them to jump and how much of a fight they put up while playing tug of war.  What happened is a travesty and this is exactly the case 90% of the time when another dog is attacked.

No training + no guidance + no socialization + no rules = aggressive and uncontrollable dog.  It has nothing to do with the breed.

Period.

[~flower~]

Berlin completed his surgery yesterday to a resounding success.  He should be ready to come home this evening, no later than tomorrow afternoon.  Very lucky that no organs were penetrated.  The vet said that he was a very tough guy.  Can't wait to see him.

 A few days behind but glad to hear the good news!!!     

[chaos]

It is called being DOG AGGRESSIVE.

There is no lengthy explanation needed.  Someone raised their pitbull like a jerkoff, and it is now dog aggressive, as are so many other APBT's, because of the way people raise them, and the types of people who generally aim towards APBT's.  A dog is dog aggressive, it sees another dog, it tries to kill it.  That is aggression.  The dog did not snap, no brain swelling or anything.  For whatever reason, that pitbull was dog aggressive, and it saw a dog, and attacked it.  It was probably not socialized, dominance games were emphasized, it was not exercised properly, it was not trained, it had no rules, and that is the end result of it.  It is not APBT specific, this can happen to any breed.  But as I said, generally people get pitbulls who want them so they think they have a tough dog, and the extent of their training is to see how high they can get them to jump and how much of a fight they put up while playing tug of war.  What happened is a travesty and this is exactly the case 90% of the time when another dog is attacked.

No training + no guidance + no socialization + no rules = aggressive and uncontrollable dog.  It has nothing to do with the breed.

Period.

yeah, ok, just come on here acting like you know the truth and all

























































for those with no sarcasm meter, that was sarcasm.
excellent post

[Butterbean]

JBGRAY, hope he is getting better every day.....update please!

[JBGRAY]

He's doing great.  Doesn't even whine anymore in pain.  He's like his old self, except for the lamp-shade around his head and a buncha stitches and scars on his stomach and legs.  He will make his final Vet visit next week when his lamp-shade comes off....meanwhile, I'm mired in getting a small claims going against the owner of the pitbulls.  I've spent close to $1800 in Vet bills, and I don't really want to swallow that entire amount. 

Oh, and he is also enrolled in obediance school in the week after he gets his collar off.  He has also had some contact with other dogs(ones I know) so as to ensure he doesn't become dog aggressive.  Thanks for the advice there, btw.

[Butterbean]

Thanks JBG, so glad to hear he is doing well