Dogs maul, kill 8-year-old Wash. boy

[icymist]

http://www.nwcn.com/topstories/stories/NW_042504WABdogmaulSW.15dd0cbb1.html

Dogs maul, kill 8-year-old Wash. boy

06:26 PM PDT on Sunday, April 25, 2004


From KING Staff

SIFTON, Wash. - On a quiet street in Sifton, Wash., just outside of Vancouver, a neighborhood is in mourning after the tragic death of a young boy. Police say 8-year old John Streeter died after being mauled by two dogs in the backyard of his neighbor's home.

Nicole and Curt Fleishman live next door to the home where the attack happened. Curt said he saw the child playing just minutes before.

"And I saw John jumping on the trampoline, and it was five minutes later that I heard all the screaming to dial 911," said Curt.

Police say the neighbor's teenage children found the freckle-faced, blue-eyed boy unconscious in their back yard, covered with bites and puncture wounds. When paramedics arrived, his mother was trying to give him CPR.

"When he heard her scream and saw her … Bobbi, the mother … just clench her fists and scream, he knew that her son was dead," said Nicole.

(more)

[Aidoneus]

1. does it say what kind of dogs?

it seems to require a registration. Without looking, I'd guess pit-bulls..

[icymist]

2. More of the article....

<snip>
The two dogs, a mix of bull mastiff and German shepherd, are now being held at the Southwest Washington Humane Society.

Staff members say the females, named Diamond and Precious, have been calm and docile ever since they arrived. The breed is known as a "gentle giant."

~~~
This is tragic and I'm not sure what to think about it yet. Since something like this seems to happen every other month or so in Washington state I, most likely, expect to see some sort of over-reacting in a form of law(s). This is why I have no pets except for a lonely Siamese Fighting Beta.

[progressivebydesign]

3. Bull Mastiff/German Shepherd apparently.

I read about it in our regional paper. Horrid, sad event. I was amazed when someone was quoting that the owner of the dogs had them "under control". It doesn't appear, at this point, that they'll put the dogs down. How absurd. The kid was at the house hanging out with the kids that lived there (14 & 15 year old). It wasn't as though the kid invaded their territory. I am the biggest animal lover around.. but these dogs need to go. How could you ever trust them or love them again? I couldn't. Besides the fact, these people will never get any kind of homeowner's insurance again, as long as they own those killers.

[0rganism]

5. I wonder if the teenagers ordered the dogs to attack?

14-15 year-olds can be incredibly mean if they view the younger kid as a nuisance, and it's bizarre that two dogs well-acquainted with humans would just attack out of the blue like that. The teenagers may have thought that they could just put a scare into the 8-yo and it got out of control.

Anyway, whatever the reason, I agree with you about the dogs; now that they've killed a human, they simply can't be trusted again.

edit: I'm really getting pissed at these news sites that require registration. WTF is up with that?

[Rex]

4. Unless the child is the owners, some dogs seem to look at small

children as potential targets. I dunno why, but I've experienced it first hand more than once. A dog will be docile/obedient, but when a small child gets close they just seem to go crazy. Not all dogs, but some (I currently have one that shows these traits).

[demon67]

6. Almost happened to me

I was mauled and almost killed by a neighbor's dog when I was six years old. I don't know about overreaching laws, but dogs -- or at least viscious breeds -- should be treated like any other inherently dangerous object and owners should be held strictly liable for damages caused their dog.

My heart goes out to this boy's family. It is a senseless tragedy.

[icymist]

7. I don't mean so much as 'overreaching' laws, but mostly...

over-reacting. One law comes to mind that I know of, I forget what city at the moment, is where every dog weighing over a certain amount be labeled 'vicious', requiring the owner(s) to purchase a special high liability insurance. I believe the weight is ten pounds, making lapdogs seeming as the only 'normal' breed of the animal.

Yes, this is a senseless tragedy and should not have happened.

[jdj]

8. Just last week in Charlotte

a boy, also 8 years old, was mauled and killed by 4 pit bulls in his own back yard. They belonged to his father, who was arrested on drug and weapons charges.

[icymist]

9. Welcome to the DU jdjkkse!

Pretty much everyone knows that pit-bulls are bad news, especially under the circumstance you describe. The owner of the dogs in this latest story was out of town when this happened, which brings to mind, who was taking care of these dogs? Since the event just happened this evening, I expect more in-depth coverage in tomorrows papers.

[ramapo]

10. Give pit bulls a break

Pit bulls (the breed) are not bad news. I've worked with many of these dogs. Some are the sweetest animals I've known. But a few have been scary.

I've also known scary dobermans (very), shepards, rotties, boxers and a few more.

Pit bull owners who train them as attack animals are criminals.

Almost any dog can kill, just like people.

[icymist]

11. Agreed.

I should rephrase that as pit bulls have a widely known bad reputation when it comes to this type of attack because of the emphasis the media puts on this one breed. Many people, when they first read such a story, first think 'pit bull'.

[RebelOne]

33. Agreed here, too.

I have had a pit bull. He was the sweetest dog you would ever want to know. I am sure you have heard this before, but the dog's temperament is determined by the owner and how it was raised. I now have a Rottweiler, Legend, my second Rottie, and she is a real sweetheart, as was my first Rottie, Bear Bear. My son has a Cocker Spaniel that is more vicious than either of my Rotties or my pit bull.

[belladonna]

12. Never thought I'd say this

But I agree with you 100%. Until my son got a pit bull, I shared the popular view that pit bulls as a breed are vicious and wanted nothing to do with them. Fortunately, my son got him as a PET and not a weapon and he's the sweetest, most affectionate dog I've ever seen.

[BiggJawn]

20. I'd rather sit in a room with a loaded gun than a Pit Bull.

As long as no one touches the gun I KNOW I'm safe. Can't make the same statement about Pit Bulls.

I love dogs. but I can not fathom why people are so inclined to get dogs, especially breeds that have a "reputation", then "attack train" them (usually consists of beating them until they're barely tolerant of their "masters") just so they can think they're someone to be "reckoned with"...

[TX-RAT]

23. Have to agree with you there

Seems we average about 3.5 attacks a year. Most if not all are the result of Pit bulls. Its interesting how often you see drugs and pits at the same houses. Seem like every time we served warrants on suspected dealers we'd have to wade through pits just to get to the doors.

[BiggJawn]

24. The Dogs guard the Drugs

Fair assumption?

I have seen that too. In some places the drug teams have to take animal control officers with them to handle the dogs when they raid a lab or crack house.

Might be easier to get more money out the addicts, too, if they have growling bulls between them and the door.....

[TX-RAT]

27. ordinance will require 8ft fence for pit bull owners

That ordinance is going before our count commissioners for vote next month. Not sure i agree with it totally, but it would have prevented the death of the last victim, a 2 year old girl who wandered into a neighbors backyard. The dog was chained up but there was no fence.

[ramapo]

40. Stupid law

NJ was going to enact a law a year or two ago imposing all kind of draconian regulations on owners of pit bulls. The proposal included everything from special liability insurance (probably unattainable and/or unaffordable) to rules on how to keep them leashed, fenced, and caged.

Fortunately the proposal died as it would have forced most owners to have to give up their pets or keep them illegally. I don't think it would've had any effect on the drug dealers and other low lifes who use these dogs for the sport of killing.

Once again, ANY dog is capable of killing. Shepherds, rottweilers, dobermans, pits, even the lovable lab can and has killed. You cannot legislate against any one breed.

[mulethree]

26. I knew an old lady with two attack dogs

Alicia Alonso she was an old cuban star ballerina who was nearly blind. She took these dogs everywhere she went and they would attack people every day. I was operating an old elevator at a hotel building where she was staying and I used to stop the elevator 2 feet above floor level whenever I went to her floor because the dogs roamed the whole floor.

But it was "ok" and "cute" because they were like 3 pound chihuahua (?sp) dogs. The girls put up with it because Alonso was a "diva" a legendary prima ballerina who, due to the cuban-US relations, hadn't been in the US for many years.

[rocktivity]

38. My niece has a lab-pit bull mix puppy

and a 7-month old son.

:headbang:
rocknation

[newyawker99]

18. Hi jdjkkse!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[MisterP]

19. viscuous breeds?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

13. Was the trampoline in the kid's yard or the neighbor's?

I can't get the story unless I sign up.

Anyway, I was wondering if the boy might have fallen from the trampoline onto one of the dogs. That would certainly make them feel the need to defend themselves...

[icymist]

14. Here's the whole story, it's a short one.

SIFTON, Wash. - On a quiet street in Sifton, Wash., just outside of Vancouver, a neighborhood is in mourning after the tragic death of a young boy. Police say 8-year old John Streeter died after being mauled by two dogs in the backyard of his neighbor's home.

Nicole and Curt Fleishman live next door to the home where the attack happened. Curt said he saw the child playing just minutes before.

"And I saw John jumping on the trampoline, and it was five minutes later that I heard all the screaming to dial 911," said Curt.

Police say the neighbor's teenage children found the freckle-faced, blue-eyed boy unconscious in their back yard, covered with bites and puncture wounds. When paramedics arrived, his mother was trying to give him CPR.

"When he heard her scream and saw her … Bobbi, the mother … just clench her fists and scream, he knew that her son was dead," said Nicole.

The two dogs, a mix of bull mastiff and German shepherd, are now being held at the Southwest Washington Humane Society.

Staff members say the females, named Diamond and Precious, have been calm and docile ever since they arrived. The breed is known as a "gentle giant."


"Like any animal they can be protective of their owner, but this is totally out of the ordinary for this breed," said Kate Dulemba of the Humane Society.

Clark County Sheriff's Sergeant Steve Shea said the owner of the dogs was away from home on vacation when the boy was attacked.

Shea said detectives from the Major Crimes Unit are investigating and when they are finished, information will be sent to the prosecutor's office for a decision on any charges to be filed.

Sorry that they want you to register with them just to read the news. That seems to be the trend these days.

[undergroundpanther]

15. Pit bulls

Are cuddly funny faced canine drool factories with big lolling tongues.
i have known two Mannie and Millie.The only way they'd kill ya is by drooling on you until you drown.. These two changed my assumptions about pit bulls as ALWAYS being bad dogs.they both had very strong scrappy bodies and mouths with teeth like sharks,If they turned they'd be a nightmare. But the truth is if you love an animal and do not beat it down or ignore it,it can grow kind hearted,just like children who are loved grow up to be kind adults.If you abuse a dog or a child good chance they will learn to be vicious and their worldview will be one of the world is not safe..

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. Thank you

It's not really clear whose yard the boy was playing in, or whether the neighbor boys were at home during the time of the attack.

How heartbreaking!

[Rex]

17. Something else to think about.

Dogs at one time hunted and killed other animals for survival. Though it was thousands of years ago, who is to say that it can be completely eliminated from a dogs most basic behavior. As tragic as this story is (I feel sorry for everyone involved) it should be a reminder to us all that dogs are still animals that we have domesticated (mostly), but can still act feral if for no other reason than the fact that it was instinctual behavior for a longer period of time when compared to domestication.

[mulethree]

22. same

is true of humans. I've seen lots of boys abuse dogs and get bitten for it even when the dogs are sweet family dogs and docile breeds. Boys will just keep at it until the dog gets so upset that the boy is scared into better judgement.

If you have 2 sweet docile females living together as family, both can get defensive if one is threatened. Make them big girls like these, and a small boy. And it could end up fatal like this incident.

[MadHound]

21. Please, please people, knock off of the stereotyping of dogs as vicious

Just because a dog is a certain size, or a certain breed doesn't make them vicious. The ONLY factor in whether or not a dog is vicious is how it is brought up and raised. I've known and owned some of most supposedly "vicious" dogs on the face of the planet, and yet they were all drooling teddy bears. I've also seen the most vicious of behaviour coming from some of the smallest, and supposedly gentle dogs in the world. Every dog is different, and every dog is a reflection of it's upbringing.

One of the problems I've seen with canine stereotyping is that it will cause people to act inappropriately when meeting a supposedly vicious dog. Panic, fear etc are easily picked up by any dog, and exhibiting such behaviours when meeting any dog for the first time is not the best thing to do.

[progressivebydesign]

28. Agreed there is conditioning for viciousness.. however..

Certain dogs have certain tendencies bred into them for certain reasons. You could train a poodle to be an attack dog all you want, but an 8 pound poodle cannot kill an 8-year old child. There are certain breeds, and certain temperments that warrant caution. It's just the nature of dog breeds. If you want to train a good herding dog, you wouldn't buy a labrador. If you want a dog that is bred with the ability and physical characteristics to kill another animal or human being, you would choose a certain breed. The dogs that killed that poor woman in San Francisco were a type of Mastiff. German Shepherds, they are lovely dogs.. but they are naturally bred toward guard work and police work. I've known a few sweet pit bulls.. but never in a million years would I leave a child alone with a pit bull, etc.. Humans can only do so much in training a dog to live as we want them to. My mini-Aussie has never been trained to herd anything but frisbees.. and yet, if you aren't going the direction she wants you to.. will give you a slight nip on the leg or heel. We never taught her to do that... it's ingrained. Our lab carries her food dish everywhere... she has never been on a bird hunt in her life, has never been trained to carry the spoils of a hunt, yet she carries that dish around like Snoopy. It's ingrained in her breed.. just as the characteristics that increase the chance of dog to human or dog to dog violence are ingrained deeply. We just can never know what might set it off. BTW, our dear lab came to us at 3 months.. when we adopted her she had scars all over her muzzle.. seems that two neighboring pit bulls tried to pull her through a fence by the muzzle, to kill her, having already killed cats in the area. She's never recovered emotionally from that attack.. it was very vicious.

[MadHound]

36. Yes, I agree that certain traits have been bred into certain breeds

And that guard work is one of those traits. But part of the problem is such close breeding, and that effects any breed, any size dog. I worked as a vet tech for a number of years, and the only bite that I got was from a high strung, inbred dachsund. And if you don't think that a small dog will spontaneously attack a child, well I've a scar below my eye that was put there by a pug when I was four to prove you wrong.

On the other hand, I was raised with German Shepards throughout my childhood, from serious guarding breeding lines(females from the line Purina farms bred for police work). These were some of the sweetest, gentlest dogs I've ever known. Not only were they gentle with me, but with anybody they met.

And I've owned a couple of pits myself, and both have been sweet, well mannered dogs. My friend at the time had two small girls, 3 and 5, who would wool him around, pull on his tail, typical stuff, and the worse he would ever react to any child was to either lick them or walk away.

Yet my wife was terrified of dogs until she met me and my Rott mix. Sweet gentle dog, not vicious at all, and she won over my wife who had been terrified of dogs since childhood, because of the family pet, a vicious, irratible, cocker spaniel.

Pits are the vicious dogs of the year for right now. Drug dealers take the cute gentle pit pup, and abuse it and neglect it until the poor thing becomes a vicious monster. This is what they want, a killer dog to unleash on the cops or competitors. They could do the same process with any breed dog and achieve the same result. But there was something, a certain cache about pit bulls, so that is the breed they chose, and now it is a status symbol. Did you realize though at one time the pit was considered a fine kids' dog? Check out the old breed books, or look closely the next time you watch the Little Rascals, and notice the pit up front.

Actually I think there is an undercurrent to get rid of all dogs, and have the population rely on electronic security rather than four footed securtiy. After all, you can always turn off the alarm system, but you can't turn off the family friend.

[mulethree]

30. well

I've had similar experience, but I did have a golden retriever who just couldn't stop retrieving. She would dig up rocks and bring them to drop at your feet, she usually carried 3 tennis balls around in her mouth at the same time and seemed to have classic hunting-dog behaviours without any training or ever going hunting. Beautiful sight to see her searching out a frisbee in tall grass.

Anyway if that behaviour has been bred into her, I expect other breeds must have other behaviours that have been bred into them.

[BiggJawn]

25. Hey, wasn't this thread locked a minute ago?

I wanted to reply to someone and had to go to their in-box because the "reply" function went away....

[DrWeird]

29. Ban trampolines.

I bet they cause more injuries then pitbulls.

[DrWeird]

31. pitbulls

Their ancestors were brought to the Unites States in the mid - 1800's by Boston-Irish immigrants. Originally bred from a variety of bulldogs and terriers, American breeders increased his weight and gave him a more powerful head. A forbearer to the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, they were originally bred to be a fighting dog. Bull baiting was banned in England in 1835 and these dogs are no longer been bred to fights. There is some complication in registries of this breed. The AKC considers the American Staffordshire Terrier as separate and distinct from the American Pit Bull Terrier, yet the UKC will register both as American Pit Bull Terriers (APBTs).
In America, the Pit Bull flourished. It was one of the most popular breeds, highly prized by a wide variety of people. The Pit Bull was used to represent the US in WW1 artwork; popular companies like RCA and the Buster Brown Shoe Company used the breed as their mascots. A Pit Bull named Petie starred in the popular children's television series, Our Gang; a Pit Bull mix named Stubby became a decorated WW1 hero. Pit Bulls accompanied pioneer familes on their explorations. Laura Ingalls Wilder of the popular Little House books owned a working Pit Bulldog named Jack. Famous individuals like Theodore Roosevelt and Helen Keller owned the breed. It was during this time that the Pit Bull truly became America?s sweetheart breed, admired, respected and loved.
In 1898 the United Kennel Club was formed with the express intent of providing registration and fighting guidelines for the now officially-named American Pit Bull Terrier. Later, those who wished to distance themselves from the fighting aspect of the breed petitioned the American Kennel Club for recognition of the Pit Bull so that it would be eligible for dog shows and other performance events. The AKC conceded in 1936 but only under the stipulation that the dogs registered with them be called "Staffordshire Terriers", the name of the province in England the breed supposedly originated in. Upon acceptance of the breed, many people dual-registered their dogs with both the AKC and the UKC. Lucenay's Peter (the dog that starred in the Our Gang series) was the first dual-registered Pit Bull/Staffordshire Terrier. The UKC evolved, eventually beginning to register other working-type breeds, and later holding shows similar to those of the AKC. Currently, the UKC is the second largest purebred dog registry in the United States, complete with strict bylaws that ban anyone who is convicted of dog fighting. The American Dog Breeders Association was formed in 1909 because of certain fanciers' opinions that the UKC was not doing it's job protecting and preserving the Pit Bull breed as they felt it should be preserved. The ADBA's goal is the same now is at was then: to register, promote and preserve the original American Pit Bull Terrier fighting-type dog.
The AKC eventually closed it's studbooks to American Pit Bull Terriers. They allowed registration only to those dogs with parents registered as Staffordshire Terriers. For a short period in the 1970's, the AKC reopened its studbooks to American Pit Bull Terriers. In 1973 the AKC added the prefix "American" to the breed's name in an effort to distinguish it from the newly recognized Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Today, only those dogs with AmStaff parents are eligible for registration. Both the UKC and the ADBA allow registration of AmStaffs, but in these organizations the dogs carry the original name, "American Pit Bull Terrier."
Today the Pit Bull has evolved into a marvelous working and companion dog, used for purposes as varied as those it originally performed. Pit Bulls are employed as police/armed services dogs, search and rescuers, therapy animals, and livestock workers. They compete in all manner of organized dog sports, from herding to agility to conformation to obedience and the bite sports like Schutzhund and French Ring. They make loving pets for children and seniors, and everyone in between. The are indeed one of the most versatile breeds on the planet. Much of this is owed to the activities it once performed. The harshness and physical demands of the activities molded a strong, healthy, stable animal, one anyone should be proud to own.

[RebelOne]

32. Well, I will give you my experience regarding my dog.

I have a Rottwieler. When we are playing with her squeak toys, it seems that the more the toy squeaks, the harder she bits it. I think this is the case with these dogs. They only think of the child as a squeak toy. And the more he screamed, the harder they bit.

[mcar]

34. I had the same thought

I know of a well-trained Great Dane, part of a large family with kids always around. The dog bit an 8 year old girl and one son's girlfriend. The family was shocked and appalled since the dog had never shown any tendency before.

The only thing they could come up with was that the teenager and little girl were playing by the pool and shrieking with laughter. Both have high pitched voices. They think the dog was responding to the high pitch.

If this little boy was jumping on a trampoline, he was probably hooting and hollering. What a tragedy.

[TX-RAT]

35. Are you insinuating it wasn't the dogs fault?

[DrWeird]

37. How do you know it wasn't?

Maybe the kid was jumping on the trampoline, jumped over the fence, and landed on one of the dogs, which was surprised, hurt and mauled the boy in self defense. I'm not saying that happened, I'm just saying you shouldn't automatically blame the dogs.

It reminds me of the Darwin award winner. This guy got really fucking drunk, jumped the fence of the city aquarium, went swimming with the killer whale, and ended up next morning floating face down in the water with the killer whale pushing him around like a styrofoam toy.

So his mother sued the aquarium for wrongful death and caring for a dangerous animal.

[Spirochete]

39. That's so sad

this happened a mile or two from where I live. I don't know any of the people involved, though.