Quote:
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Originally Posted by 0313H3
 Yep! .45 would get it handled. |
Oh yea? Our police department carries .45's.. Took 3 shots to stop this pit bull a couple of weeks ago.. (1 shot to chest at point blank and 1 shot to head and 1 shot to hip area) Dogs name, "
Felony".
http://courier.evansville.net/news/2...ttacks-owners/
Pit bull attacks mother, daughter
By KATE BRASER
Courier & Press staff writer 464-7622 or
braserk@courierpress.com
Originally published 12:00 a.m., January 11, 2007
Updated 10:51 a.m., January 11, 2007
While a mother and daughter underwent treatment at Deaconess Hospital for wounds inflicted during a vicious attack by their own dog, neighbors couldn't shake images of Wednesday morning's bloody mauling.
Some wished they could have done more to help 20-year-old Tia Franz, who reportedly screamed for help as she cowered in her back yard while Felony, a white 2-year-old pit bull, relentlessly ripped at the flesh on her arms and chest.
The victims, Susan C. James, 39, and her daughter, Franz, were taken from their home at 1216 Harriet St. to Deaconess Hospital with injuries police described as "extreme."
Police said James has severe injuries to her hands and arms, and Franz has severe injuries to her hands, arms, chest, abdomen and right side.
Medical personnel told police both victims would require surgery, but Deaconess personnel said they could not release information about the women's conditions.
For Miranda Kirby, it all began shortly after 8 a.m., when she heard screams. Kirby stepped outside and saw James bleeding, then called police.
Back outside, Kirby found Franz pleading for help while the dog was "swinging (Franz) around like a rag doll." Kirby tried to throw whatever she could find at the dog, but the canine was not deterred.
Robert Stotlar said he felt helpless. "No matter what, the dog just kept digging in and tearing," said Stotlar. "That dog was determined to do damage."
Police officers had to fire several times before the dog released its grip. It died from the gunshots.
The women told officers the attack started after they got into an argument. The dog lunged at James first. Franz tried to get the dog away from her mother, but it turned on Franz and chased her through three rooms and into the back yard.
Hours after the attack, the porch was spattered with drops of blood as neighbors gathered nearby to talk.
Jennifer Walker said it looked "like a murder scene."
"It looked so bad I had to turn away at one point. I thought I was going to get sick," Walker said.
Stotlar said Felony roamed free at times, but his owners told concerned neighbors Felony was a family pet, a good dog with no previous aggression.
"Something like that I'm not going to forget," Stotlar said, staring into the back yard where he watched Franz trying to fight the dog off. "I wish I could have done something for her. After awhile, I just started getting sick. I had to walk away."
Animal Control Superintendent Tom Hayden said he has received no previous complaints about the dog.
"We had people tell us while we were there that the dog was never vicious or dangerous, but the thing people don't understand is that the dog has a hierarchy of its surroundings and domain," he explained. "It's like if you saw your children fighting. What would you do as a parent? You'd get in the middle and separate them."
Hayden said the attack marked the first this year; but he also gave it a more dubious distinction.
"It's up in the top percentage of (violent dog attacks), based on the severity of the two individuals' injuries," he said.
Evansville's new animal control ordinance, which was recently adopted, does not ban the ownership of pit bulls.
A study cited by the Centers for Disease Control analyzed fatal dog attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998. Pit bull-types had the most, 76, followed by Rottweilers, 44, and German shepherds, 27. Some cities, such as Denver, have banned pit bulls.
The number of pit bull attacks is high compared with other breeds simply because there are more of them, breed advocates say.
Nowhere is that more evident than in the city's shelter. Of the 1,500 animals adopted last year, at least 75 percent were pit bulls or a pit bull-mix. But animal advocates say the problem is often irresponsible owners, rather than the dogs.
Whether those dogs became aggressive or a playmate is up to the owner, Kendall Paul, Vanderburgh Humane Society director said last year.
"A gun, in the wrong hands, is lethal," she said.