Elderly FL man loses arm & badly mauled by neighbor's 2 dogs

[RamboLiberal]

A 74-year-old man was severely mauled by two dogs belonging to his neighbor near Hawthorne on Friday morning.

Roy McSweeney, of 259 Old Hawthorne Road in Putnam County, was rushed to Shands at the University of Florida for extensive surgery including an attempt to save one of his arms. The other arm had been completely ripped off by the dogs, said Putnam County Sheriff's Capt. Johnny Greenwood.

"He was in his yard doing yard work when the dogs jumped over the fence and attacked him," Greenwood said, adding that the fence was thin wire. "An investigator said the surgery would take six to eight hours."

-----

Authorities have twice dealt with Blitch over dog bites, Greenwood added.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20110610/ARTICLES/110619976/-1/news?Title=Hawthorne-man-badly-mauled-by-neighbor-s-dogs


HAWTHORNE — As Angela Taylor talked Saturday about the dogs that roam freely through her rural neighborhood, a small dog, running loose, yapped at a neatly dressed salesman heading up the dirt road toward her house. That set off more barking from nearby houses in several directions.

It happens all the time, she said.

Taylor said she has called authorities numerous times after seeing aggressive dogs on the loose, roaming through her close-knit neighborhood of dirt roads, trailers and small homes.

They left her terrified for herself, for her daughter and for her neighbors. Her fears were realized in the worst way Friday after two dogs mauled the man she called “Daddy Roy.”

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2011-06-11/story/roaming-aggressive-dogs-have-been-issue-putnam-where-man-was-attacked#ixzz1P2WBzI8W

Ahole owners like these fools need criminal charges filed. I'm sick of reading the horror of these attacks on innocent kids & adults. If this man lives he's just lost whatever quality of life he has left cause a couple of idiots had to own dangerous dogs & didn't control them.

[tammywammy]

1. That's just awful n/t

[provis99]

2. pit bulls, of course.

Now cue the DU pit bull owners to show up and say how their pit bull is the sweetest doggy ever, and wouldn't harm a flea.:eyes:

[Aerows]

4. Exactly

One killed 20 sheep, now this. That is an animal that is killing out of AMUSEMENT, not fear or hunger. Jumping a man in his own damn yard, ruining his life.

But yeah, I'm waiting for them to pile in and proclaim how harmless they are. They cause more fatalities and attacks against humans than all other breeds COMBINED. They had one last year that killed a damn horse. I knew some people that had one, and loved it - right up until it attacked the husband when he got up in the middle of the night to get milk out of the refrigerator and the dog attacked. They put him down the next day, and won't ever have another one.

I had a Doberman that was extremely well trained, and the only time he ever attacked ANYTHING was when a dog ran at us while I was walking him. He probably attacked more to protect me than himself. I relayed that the last time we had one of these pit bull attacks because I was accused of disliking dogs. Then the apologists claimed that Dobermans had a horrible reputation in the past, and pit bulls were just picked on because of their reputation. That's bullshit - it's because of statistics. When one breed attacks more than all other breeds combined, that's not a reputation problem, that's a problem with the breed being vicious.

[napi21]

6. I would never say Pit Bulls are harmless. That's just living in denial.

I'm a real dog lover, but my little kids are Bichon Frise's and they're both little scaredy cats. I have met some pit bulls that are very nice dogs. When I was growing up, my grandparents had one, and I remember crawling all over him, and pestering him the way lots of little kids do. His only response was to go hide so he could be left alone.

I happen to think a lot of Pits temperment is due to how they'er raised. Some people deliberately raise them to be fighters.

[Sonoman]

7. It's the owners. We have dozens of dogs.

We ranch with hard-ass dogs. Rotts, Aussie Healers, Great Pyrenees, and then the ever-friendly Border Collies.

We never have problems.

My house dogs are two sibling Staffordshires and they tolerate my two feral sister cats quite well.

Dogs are like children, they are what you make them.

That is, if you are up to the task.

Sonoman

[Aerows]

15. Ahhh

But you just listed the reason you can have Border Collies, Rotts, Great Pyrenees and Aussie Cattle dogs. 90% of the problem with Rottweilers getting into trouble is because they are so damn strong, and they need a hell of a lot of exercise. They need something to do to keep them out of trouble. All four of those breeds do, but they thrive in the environment you have them in.

You keep yours busy. Of course you have no problems. Rotts aren't designed to be raised in a tiny backyard or an apartment LOL, nor are many other working dogs.

Pitt Bulls... they are a whole other story. They aren't working dogs. They were bred with a specific purpose - to be fighting dogs.

[Aerows]

11. I read an article evaluating the dog fatality/maiming issue

The problem with Pit Bulls and Rottweilers is that while other dogs might have bad moments, and somebody gets bitten, the victim of the bite isn't maimed for life or killed. When a Rottweiler has a bad moment, they are so damn powerful they kill.

When Pit Bulls have a bad moment, they kill and maim, too. The difference with Pit Bulls is that they will not quit once they are in a frenzy.

I have no idea how Dobermans have such a bad reputation, other than the fact that they make superb guard and watch dogs. If you are dumb enough to enter a Doberman's assigned territory, well, you get what you deserve. Some teenager jumped our fence for lord only knows what reason, and our Doberman nearly took the fence trying to get after him. I'd imagine that he had to change his pants when he got home, but other than that, no harm was done to him.

[jtuck004]

13. More accurate to say "incompetent government workers not enforcing the law, of course".

Notice in the story - "Authorities have twice dealt with Blitch over dog bites, Greenwood added".

These dogs have bitten before, and the owner wasn't required to make provisions to keep them and his neighbors safe. Has nothing to do with the breed - which no one is sure of anyway (read the story). It doesn't matter what breed you have if you have dogs that have bitten before who are not managed properly.

Once a dog has bitten it is almost a sure bet that they will bite again.

On the other hand, if one is more interested in sensationalism than resolving the problem, then might as well blame the breed.

What a waste of space.

[Aerows]

3. I didn't even really have to look to see what breed they were

Pit Bulls. Color me shocked. Two weeks ago they had one that killed 20 sheep. An animal that kills 20 sheep is killing for amusement, not for self-defense or out of hunger. These dogs have already bitten before, and now this poor man had his life destroyed. In his own fucking yard.

[DrDan]

23. EXACTLY - knew it immediately as well

These dogs need to be bred out of existance for the safety of all.

[tblue37]

5. The dogs' idiot owner had a thin wire fence for her yard.

People with large dogs need fences strong enough and tall enough to keep them in!

[sweetloukillbot]

10. I'm angry at the owners, but I'm also angry at Animal Control.

If those dogs had bitten before, they should've been put down then. I'm sorry, I love dogs and absolutely do not blame it on them being pits, but a dog that attacks like that is a loaded gun, and apparently it had already gone off at least once.
I had to put down a dog of mine that was aggressive and it was the hardest thing I ever did, but there was no way I could risk him attacking my wife, my neighbors, or my little nieces and nephews. And sadly we could see those scenarios looming.

[Raine]

8. That poor man, this is so sad

it makes me just sick. Life is hard enough for an older person and now with this it's going to be so much more difficult. :-(

[snagglepuss]

27. Hopefully he can sue those losers out of house and home.

[RamboLiberal]

28. From tenor of article sounds like a poor neighborhood semi-rural

Probably not much they own. May not even have insurance.

[mrbscott19]

9. You are more likely to be attacked by

a poodle or a lab than you are a pit bull. That is a fact.

[Aerows]

12. I beg to differ

Here's a study for you:

http://www.dogsbite.org/pdf/dog-attack-deaths-maimings-2010.pdf

If you get "attacked" poodle, you don't get severely injured, maimed for life, or killed. Labs, while one of the most popular breeds in the country and certainly of a size to cause damage... don't.

If a Pit Bull attacks, someone is going to get seriously injured, that's a fact many studies have made more than abundantly clear. I'll take getting "attacked" by a poodle over getting attacked by a Pit Bull any day. Poodles aren't known to roam in packs killing sheep, old people and children, either, nor are Labs, and if they are, there is almost always a Pit Bull involved in that pack somewhere.

[jtuck004]

17. One can differ and still be wrong. Getting hatchet info from a right-wing

site like dogsbite, which is nothing more than a group of people with a bigoted view with an axe to grind, whose opinions are contradicted by most published accounts of the CDC, American Veterinary Association, as well as scores of professional behavioral organization), and trying to cite it as authoritative is nearly laughable.

Take a look here - http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/dog-bites/dog-bite-studies/, or here - http://www.avma.org/public_health/dogbite/, or here - http://www.dlcc.ca/prevent.html - and read what real researchers have to say about dog bite prevention.

You will note - nowhere in all that is breed considered an important factor, if one really wishes to be concerned about dog bites. On the other hand, if they want to stand on a chair and yell to feed their ego, or create unsubstantiated fear, or manipulate people for their own gain - sure, then breed is important.

But that tells us a lot more about the person than it does about the dogs.

[Aerows]

18. How is a scientific study "right-wing"?

You know, you can litter box train a mountain lion, but it's lunacy to assume that they aren't anymore dangerous than a house cat. You clearly have a Pit Bull, so you are going to defend the breed. The reality, though, is that there are a lot of dog owners out there than should not have the breed. All breeds are not created equal.

There is a very good reason why wolves and German Shepherds have two different temperments - certain aggressive traits have been bred out of them. Certain aggressive traits have been bred into Pit Bulls. Can those traits be overcome with training? Sure. Wolves can be trained out of aggressive tendencies, as can lions and tigers. You can't approach any of them, however, like they are a run of the mill dog or cat, because they aren't.

The problem is that when an owner isn't prepared to take the time to do the proper training, Pit Bulls can be deadly. An improperly trained Cocker Spaniel or Greyhound isn't going to maim or kill someone or become uncontrollable trying to attack another animal. Ignoring that fact is ridiculous.

Yes the owners are the problem, you can certainly put it that way, but another part of the problem is that they have the potential to be dangerous dogs if not handled correctly, and many advocates of the breed tend to gloss over that fact.

[jtuck004]

31. A lot of assumptions in that post - some of which are baseless.

It's not science when it is an agenda-driven hatchet site designed to push a point of view regardless of the facts. They do very little but spew hate using cherry-picked stats with little to no context, outright lies when it is convenient, mostly based on the perspective of 1 warped little person. They don't tell you that these incidents happen all the time, that if they are reported it is only local - unless someone can slip the words "pit bull" in, (see here). This often causes the stories to go "viral" and be repeated in as many as 200 or more papers, and often given more significance than a single incident likely deserves. What makes the kid whose face is bitten less important when the animal is not called by a particular breed name?

If that is science then what would one call the work product of the AVMA or CDC - both of whom say breed has little to nothing to do with resolving the bite issue? Calgary has reduced bites to nearly nothing, shelter intake to virtually nil - they say it has nothing to do with breed. Denver banned "pit bulls" - not only did bites from other breeds increase, but even the head of their animal control says there are more "pit bulls" now than before the ban. Similar results in several other cities lead credence to the idea that focusing on breed inhibits their ability to provide for public safety.

No reasonable person says some dogs aren't dangerous, such as the Jack Russell terrier that killed the kid last year, iirc. On the other hand, most well-informed people who have taken the time to educate themselves are not only hesitant to label dogs but find that any focus which takes away from the person who is responsible undermines resolving the problem. (Breed ID is so troublesome, in fact, courts have ruled that cities must pay for DNA tests and prove the dog is what they say it is, because so many have been proven wrong. Most of the troublesome dogs are more properly called "terrier mixes" or "unknown mixed breed", but that doesn't sell newspapers.

The info above about breeding and traits is lacking in depth - real "pit bulls" are trained to be aggressive to other animals, not people. A dog that bites a handler in a ring fight is likely to be destroyed on the spot - they have to be able to control the dogs. And if "aggressive traits" have been bred out of Shepherds, how then are they so popular for security work? A Pomeranian killed a 6-week old child a few years ago, and serious bites from Cocker Spaniels are pretty frequent. Those dogs have little in common with the untrained and unmanaged indeterminate breed of dog hopping in and out of a careless owenrs back yard. What lions and tigers have to do with this I have no idea, other than to introduce a little sensationalism.

In my world there is very little difference between some right-wing loon being rude or hostile to a woman in a burka on a plane because they heard some "Muslims" blew up some buildings in New York City and someone who wants to run around screaming about "pit bulls" using unsupportable data or irrelevant coincidence. Both are twisted, rotten little people - (NOTE - I am not talking about you). It's just hate speech and bigotry, and causes more problems than it fixes. But some people prefer spreading hysteria, superstition and hate - it's easier than doing the hard work, and maybe they get something out of it. Human ignorance is a huge barrier and far more of a threat than any scary dog, or person.

btw, I don't have a pit bull, but I am interested in keeping kids from getting their face torn off, or stopping cruelty to animals and people.

[jbnow]

14. "That is a fact" should have a link. In any case the breeds likeliest

to kill are pit bulls and Rottweilers. and that's a fact
(These are pdf files)

"Studies indicate that pit bull-type dogs were involved in approximately a third of human DBRF (i.e., dog bite related fatalities) reported during the 12-year period from 1981 through1992, and Rottweilers were responsible for about half of human DBRF reported during the 4 years from 1993 through 1996....he data indicate that Rottweilers and pit bull-type dogs accounted for 67% of human DBRF in the United States between 1997 and 1998. It is extremely unlikely that they accounted for anywhere near 60% of dogs in the United States during that same period and, thus, there appears to be a breed-specific problem with fatalities."

(Sacks JJ, Sinclair L, Gilchrist J, Golab GC, Lockwood R.
Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998
JAVMA 2000;217:836-840.)

The Clifton study of attacks from 1982 through 2006 produced similar results. According to Clifton study, pit bulls, Rottweilers, Presa Canarios and their mixes were responsible for 65% of the canine homicides that occurred during a period of 24 years in the USA.

Clifton, Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada, September 1982 to November 13, 2006

[Quantess]

19. Not sure I trust your authority on "facts".

Poodles are likely to bite, yes. So are chihuahuas, pomeranians, schnauzers.
Labs, beagles, are a lot less likely to bite.

I don't have a link, so I'll just say, IMHO.

[JCMach1]

20. When we the last time you heard of a chihuahua chewing someone's arm off

I bet you could probably drive to the ER with it still attached with no problem!

[Quantess]

21. Of course.

Another DUer posted that pit bulls and rottweillers are most likely to kill someone, and that's because they are so physically powerful.

Kitties can be pretty mean, too, but they don't kill many people with their clawing and biting.

[DrDan]

22. and you are more likely to be seriously wounded or killed by a pit bull - and that is a fact

[eilen]

24. A fact because you said it?

LOL.

[QuintanarooBoy]

16. Faithful DAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWG!!!

:puke:

[MadHound]

25. And once again, the breed is getting the blame instead of the owners

Heck, not only are the owners at fault, but in some ways the government is liable, since these dogs were already known to be a problem, having bitten before, and nothing done.

But the howling mob wants to go after an entire breed instead of the true culprits, the humans who owned the dogs, and the community that did nothing about the situation.

[DrDan]

26. completely ignoring the strength and tenacity of the breed - as usual

[provis99]

30. here; look at the list of fatal dog attacks.

Most fatal attacks are done by pit bulls. They are the Bull sharks of the dog world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_States

[Aerows]

29. Why was this sent to Florida politics?

I'm in the extended Panhandle, that is the Gulf Coast, and it's a problem here, too.

It's unfortunate to realize that you have bonded with an animal that is dangerous when it attacks the *first* time, but you do need to be aware of that fact. There are thousands of other breeds that respond to even moderate training without killing or maiming people.

[onethatcares]

32. the man died yesterday.

R I P

[KathieG]

33. RIP. What a horrible way to go. :(