As I sit here writing this column from my childhood bed in my parents’ home in Indianapolis, the local evening news is telling yet another horrific story about a 68-year old woman who was attacked by two pit bulls as she took out her trash on Sunday. The woman lives not far from here. The anchorman points out the pools of blood on the ground just a few feet from the woman’s own doorstep where she was mauled. The woman’s son motions towards some clothing on the ground splattered in blood; they tore her coat and her shoes right off of her, he says sobbing. The anchor man adds that there is a chance the woman might lose her leg.
My three dogs – Borage, Jigs, and Chloe – are curled up next to me in bed sound asleep; this story makes me sick.
What is a dog lover to do?
When I run with my dogs or just take a stroll around the block with my mom, I always carry a fresh supply of bear spray and a hammer.
Many might consider me paranoid, but I regard myself as prepared. It is depressing how many people I have met in my travels who no longer take their dogs out of their own yards, or let their children play at a public park, or allow their elderly parents to go on walks - all because of pit bulls.
So I carry bear spray that I can shoot at a charging dog from 30 feet away. I added a hammer to my arsenal after a friend of mine who shows American Staffordshire Terriers (I know her dogs to be wonderfully sweet) suggested that once one of these bred-to-fight dogs latches onto something, no cayenne spray in the corneas is going to inspire it to let go. Dog fighters carry “break sticks” to get their pit bulls to loosen their deathly grip on their competitors in the pits; a metal bar or hammer would be a good option, she said.
Unfortunately, dog attack stories are becoming so common that they often don’t even make the headline news. Even so, I, like many others in Indianapolis, remember Amaya’s story.
On May 26, 2006, a mother was taking a walk with her two children when a pit bull came running out of a house and pulled Amaya Hess, just 2 years old at the time, from her stroller by the head.
According to the family website at www.amayahess.info, the pit bull had the girl’s head in his mouth “for a considerable period of time, somewhere from 5 to 8 minutes. When the claw end of a hammer was used to pop open his locked jaw, half of Amaya’s scalp was missing, her right eye was not in its socket and her right ear was torn from the side of her head.”
Amaya survived and is “walking, talking, and playing.” She faces 30 to 40 more surgeries over the course of her lifetime.
Last February I spent a week in Lubbock, Texas doing Iditarod talks in the schools. At that time, the town was in a panic and a rage over recent pit bull maulings.
An article by Robin Pyle from the Avananche-Journal on February 3, 2008 begins with, “The death toll from pit bull attacks in Lubbock last week: 13.”
On January 31, 2008, two pit bull terriers attacked five miniature horses – Oreo, Jolly, Sparkles, Pepper Jack, and Honor – in their stalls on the Hearts and Hooves farm in Lubbock. Hearts and Hooves (www.hearts-n-hooves.org) is a non-profit organization which raises and trains miniature horses for indoor therapeutic healing in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices.
Oreo died in his stall at the scene. Three weeks later, Jolly passed away from a widespread infection. The city of Lubbock was heart-broken.
On the same evening of the pony attacks, two goats were killed by pit bulls in Lubbock County. And then on Saturday, February 2, 2008, a pair of pit bulls killed 10 more goats.
Just two weeks later, a three-year old Lubbock boy was mauled in front of his home by a pit bull mix.
And then on March 21, 2008, an 89-year old Lubbock man was on his way inside his home when he was attacked by pit bulls.
It’s important to look at the problems that plague other communities right now, knowing they eventually will come our way.
For some, a pit bull ban seems to be the best option. In 1989, the City of Denver passed a pit bull ban which still exists today.
According to www.dogsbite.org, “Over 250 U.S. cities have enacted breed specific laws (BSL), nearly all focus on pit bull type dogs.” Parts of Canada, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia are just a few of the foreign countries which are also enforcing BSL.
Others suggest mandatory spaying and neutering of pit bulls; San Francisco already has a pit bull sterilization ordinance.
Many think mandatory micro-chipping and liability insurance on pit bulls will make owners more accountable.
And most agree that felons should be prohibited from owning a pit bull.
We have a lot of options. Now, it’s time to make a plan.
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