Westwego woman lost eye, ear and both arms after pit bull attack

[The Straight Story]

A Westwego woman lost an eye, an ear and both arms to amputation Wednesday, after she was viciously attacked by three of the four pit bulls she and her boyfriend raised in their shotgun home. Westwego police who tried to rescue the woman shot and killed all four dogs, two of which attacked the officers who responded to the home at 341 Avenue A on Wednesdsy about 3:30 p.m., Police Chief Dwayne "Poncho" Munch said.

Linda Henry, 54, was in critical condition at LSU Interim Hospital in New Orleans on Thursday, her boyfriend Clarence Allen said outside their home, which still bore remnants of her blood that had dried on the wooden porch.

"I don't know why they did it," the shaken Allen said of the dogs, which he raised from puppies. "We had those dogs like kids in there. They never had a fight. I don't understand it."

...

"When I got to the store, my little cousin called me on the phone and told me the police was down here shooting my dogs," Allen said.

He rushed home to find that Henry had been mauled. "They tore the scalp off the back of her head," he said, adding that she lost an eye and an ear in the attack.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2013/03/westwego_woman_lost_eye_ear_an.html

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. nothing like a little

Friday afternoon and maybe a

sP

[postulater]

7. Is that stout a Beamish or a Murphys?

I'm waiting till after work.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

16. if I could find a Murphy's I would be in heaven

but for now... Guinness will have to do!

sP

[cherokeeprogressive]

2. Was it a "good" dog until it wasn't? n/t

[The Straight Story]

3. I dunno, but that guy that shot his ring off earlier...should have tried a pit bull instead

[Marrah_G]

6. Always is!

[kimbutgar]

4. A few years back a young boy 12 years old lost his life in San Francisco to a pitbull attack

It was a family dog that attacked and killed him because the female dog in the family was in heat and the dog was hot and bothered got aggressive and mauled the boy to death. I wonder if this was a similar case. That said to this day whenever I see a pitbull I steer clear of it.

[Marrah_G]

5. When you have 4 powerful dogs like that ....it's a pack

And if you are not clearly the leader of that pack, then you are fair game.

"We had those dogs like kids in there."

Dogs are not kids. They are dogs. They are animals with their own genetic makeup and instincts.

I love our Malamute. But she is not my child. She is a companion that must always, always know that she is beneath every human in the family in the pecking order of things.

[hollysmom]

8. you should never have more dogs than you can control.

I never have a dog that weighs more than I can carry - well because I had a dog that died because I could not lift it and get it to the vet, so .. long story, moving on.

I think it is a form of abuse to not train your dogs and control them.

[Marrah_G]

9. I agree

[timdog44]

11. Finally I hear a voice of reason

in the wilderness. Reading these threads on dogs and guns and the like, what I hear is extremes. You succinctly say what I have thought all along regarding dogs. And it applies as well to guns and other subjects.

Dogs are not kids, and it is almost at the point where they should be purchased or adopted with the provision that people are educated in taking care and understanding them. The few dog attacks I have witnessed or been involved in are with people who have dogs who they think are their kids, or purposely trained to be mean.

On the side, just down the road from where we live, there is a Malamute rescue facility. They are beautiful, but very large and very powerful dogs. The howling at first made me think they were being mistreated, but I guess that is how they sound. Now it is a part of my environment and I think I would miss it if gone.

[Marrah_G]

12. It's so sad to see them in a rescue

Malamutes are very strong willed and unless they trained from birth with consistency they can end up being given up. Unfortunately they are not an easy dog to adopt out, because once those bad habits are established in them, it's very hard to train them later on. We considered a rescue, but we live in a very populated area and just could not risk having one that we couldn't fully trust.

At mealtime our dog will sit and wait for an okay to eat her food and we randomly will take the food bowl away for a few minutes while she is eating. This keeps her from being food aggressive. Once we gave her one of those real bones, with the marrow still in it. She loved it!!!!!! but when someone went to take it away she growled.... if you have ever seen a Malamure growl.... it's like a wolf. Scared the hell out of me. My guy put her on the ground and she doesn't get bones anymore.

And yes, Malamutes do two noises. They howl and they do sort of a deep woo woo woo sound when they are greeting you or are excited.

In my opinion, bad dogs are the result of bad owners who baby their animals and treat them as humans.

[hollysmom]

10. and here is a story where a golden retriever dismembered a 2 month child

Family dog attacks child of South Carolina parents whose infant son was killed by another pooch last year

basically like gun ownership, dogs need to be handled safely as well. I register my dog every year, by the way, Does that mean the government can just come and take all dogs away some day?

[DollarBillHines]

17. That couple sure knows how to impress a judge.

The way they were dressed in that pic was atrocious.

[Crepuscular]

13. Pictures

Will Micheal Moore call for publishing the photo's of pitbull victims?

[justiceischeap]

14. I was down in NOLA after Katrina

and I can tell you there are a lot of pits down there and I would say that 99/100 that we saw were fighting dogs or had the scars of fighting dogs. We only encountered 2 or 3 that weren't agressive (whom we rescued anyway and caught shit for).

[Trajan]

15. I am not a dog person ....

... having been seriously bit at age 11 by a Dalmatian, which left me wary of ALL dogs ever since ....

Here is my reasonable solution to the problem:

Because it is known that dogs of ANY breed can suddenly, and without warning, progress into aggressive behavior .... Because it is known that this is the natural state of these animals, and because it is known that ANY breed can attack, maim and kill other animals or human beings ... my solution is this:

ALL dog owners will assume direct responsibility for ALL actions of the animals that they own; As if they themselves committed the acts.

They will be held liable in civil and criminal courts for the actions of the animals of which they assume ownership ... If the animal bites or maims or kills another animal or human being - The OWNER bit or maimed or killed that animal or human being ....

Owners of animals need to stop denying their own culpability by asserting an 'ignorance' about the possibility their own animals 'might' revert to feral behavior and go on attack.

ANY dog can attack ... ANY dog can maim ... ANY dog can kill .... We all know this is true ....

So, knowing this is true; ANYBODY who decides to take ownership of a dog, KNOWING this truth, must be prepared to accept responsibility for the choice they made in the face of that truth ....

I know that pit owners are fond of pointing out that pits are not any more dangerous than other breeds .... I reluctantly agree with them, but, I would state this in reverse ; ALL dog breeds are capable of being just as dangerous as pit bulls ...

So, knowing that ALL dog breeds are capable of being just as dangerous as pit bulls ... Owners of ANY breed should carefully consider the ramifications of taking ownership of these animals. which they KNOW could possibly cause harm or death, and assume the legal responsibilities of their choice to maintain ownership in spite of the knowledge of these facts ....

NO owner should be able to say "I didn't know" .... You DID know .... EVERYBODY knows - Dogs can attack, maim and kill ....

Take responsibility for your choice in a court of law ....

[hollysmom]

18. I will do that to certain limits -

If it bites a person, dog or cat, but if it goes after a squirrel or mouse or gerbil - all bets are off, this breed has been raised to hunt and there is no way to get rid of that trait - so I confine my dog to where the mice or squirrels killed are in my immediate vicinity. Usually my yard or the dog park. If a squirrel is dumb enough to run thought a dog park, Darwin demands that the squirrel must die.