This Pit Bull Attack Never Had To Happen

The Pooch Master is fed up!

Almost all dog attacks could be prevented with a bit of common sense.

Here is an account of a recent pit bull attack in Florida (Orlando Sentinel)

<<According to reports, a 16-year-old girl was standing in the front yard, holding the dog on a leash. She lives at the home with her brother, Epifanio Loya, 24, and Kristina Meeks, 19, the owners of the dog, deputies said.>>

Sorry to say it, but I have found that even adult women can barely hold onto the leash when a 65 lb dog is in full fight mode. Children can't control a dog like that at all. Adult men are stronger, but a dog over 90 lbs is going to be a challenge for a typical, healthy, strong 180 lb adult human male. If you aren't in good physical shape, with fast reflexes, and experienced in deploying a dog in fight mode, then you shouldn't be on the other end of the leash. A 16 year old girl shouldn’t have been on the other end of that leash, period!

<<As soon as the mother and the girl walked through the gate, the pit bull started jumping, barking and acting aggressively toward Clara, authorities said.>>

Where were the parents of this 16 year old girl? And why did the visiting mother let her small daughter keep approaching into a yard with a snarling and lunging dog? I can't tell you the number of times I've seen people continue to approach a dog that is clearly showing aggressive intent towards them. Why didn't they go back out the gate immediately?

<<When the teen could no longer hold the leash, the animal lunged at Clara, clamped down on her head and pulled her down. Her scalp was marked with deep cuts and puncture wounds, according to reports.>>

OK, this is NOT typical pit bull behavior. Sorry, but people have been breeding "freaks" that don't resemble the way any pit bull should act. Pit bulls are supposed to be PEOPLE FRIENDLY dogs. If this had been a friendly dog, this would have never happened.

<<The older girl and Martinez tried to pry open the dog's jaws, deputies said. When that didn't work, the 16-year-old ran inside to get crackers, the dog's favorite food.>>

WRONG! First, you can't pry a dog's jaws open with your hands. Forget it. Second, you can't turn off aggression with a treat. The aggression will only be terminated with the submission of either the dog or the victim.

The way to get this dog off the victim would have been to put the dog into a CHOKE HOLD, just like they teach you in jiu-jitsu. You wrap your arm around the neck of the dog and choke the dog into unconsciousness. A choke cuts off the blood supply to the brain. Strangling cuts off the windpipe. You want to choke the dog.

<<"Apparently, she thought giving it a treat would distract the dog and draw it away," said Sgt. Christie Mysinger, a sheriff's spokeswoman.>>

This wasn’t an old shoe in this dog’s mouth. This dog wasn’t in “prey” mode. It was in a state of aggression. This girl was unqualified to be handling this dog. Kids need to be educated concerning how to manage a dog. I also doubt, based upon my years of experience, this was the first time this dog showed this kind of behavior to a visitor or a stranger.

<<When the girl returned to the front yard, she saw the pit bull lunging at Martinez and clamping down on her right forearm with its jaws.>>

NOTE: Once the dog had the child in submission, the dog attacked the mother. Like I said, the dog won't end the attack until one or the other is neutralized. There was no way for them to fight and defeat this dog into submission. And they couldn’t let it put them into submission. So, they needed a different way out: a choke hold on the dog by the 16 year old girl.

<<After Martinez and the older girl pulled the dog off, they ran inside the house, with Martinez carrying her injured daughter, authorities said. Martinez and the girl called 911.>>

Geez. How did the dog attack get this far? In addition, you NEVER pull a dog off. You’ll make the injuries WORSE.

<<Clara was airlifted to ORMC with severe injuries on her head, face and chest, emergency officials said. Martinez had bites on her arms.>>

Pretty bad, eh?

<<Authorities said Loya also owns an adult female pit bull, an adolescent pit bull and a litter of puppies. All of those dogs were either leashed or in pens in the back of the property during the attacks, according to reports.>>

See? This dog was a canine misfit. Breeding is an art and a science. In the year, 2005, we have all the tools to breed and raise good, useful dogs, of any breed. A proper pit bull is a good and trustworthy dog. This dog had a screw loose, and some kid paid the price for it. I hope they never bred this dog!

This never had to happen. I blame the parents of the 16 year old, and I blame the parent of the kid who was bitten. I also blame the breeder of that dog, and whoever raised it and was responsible for its socialization, training and containment. Assuming the story was reported accurately, the parents could have prevented this from happening.