This Is Just Wrong!

I was reading this article tonight:

http://tinyurl.com/ea7mu
a very tragic story about a family's pet who turned on, and caused the death of its owner, even more sadly, in front of the woman's children, silently breathing a sigh of relief, (not to undermine the severity of the situation), but, internally happy it wasn't another "Pit Bull Attack". Then I get to the line that says:

"The dog that attacked Willey was a Presa Canario, akin to a pit bull".

So, I break out the Websters: akin= related by blood, or, having the same properties.

I'm certain Presa's aren't related to "pit bulls" by blood, so, other than having 4 legs, ears, a tail, etc, (same properties as), I'm a little peeved at the author's use of terminology :mad: , at equating the two breeds.

I wonder if humans will ever be satisfied?
Isn't the fact that a woman was killed enough sensationalism? :confused:

...always gutta throw a "pit bull" into the mix.
pathetic...


sorry, hadda vent...:mad:

 

thats just awful for the women and the family,,a horrible way to die,,but come on!,,are they just not happy unless there is a "pitbull" in every dog story?

 

Suki, you lit a flame under my arse, girl. I AM LIVID.

Here is the article from the Miami Herald, followed by my poignant response which I sent to the reporter. I am sick of this, and I will not sit by and allow this libelous reporting to continue without a hellcat fight all the way. This has got me really heated.

Dog turns on owner, kills her

A Coral Springs woman was mauled to death by her dog Friday when she tried to give it a bath.

BY JENNIFER LEBOVICH AND DAVID OVALLE

dovalle@MiamiHerald.com


RC WHITE / FOR THE MIAMI HERALD
BAD NEWS: An unidentified woman escorts the mauling victim's boyfriend, Lazaro Rivero, through a crowd of reporters as he returns from work to find the grisly scene.

• Video | Dog mauls owner

In a ferocious attack never before seen in Broward County, a powerful, pit-bull-like dog mauled its owner to death Friday afternoon as she tried to give him a bath, police said.

The 120-pound, black dog killed Shawna Willey, 30, in front of her young daughter.

Later, two Coral Springs officers shot the dog to death. It fell into a large backyard pool, its leash still snaking from its collar.

''It was quite surreal. A very bloody scene. Just a horrible tragedy,'' said Coral Springs police Capt. Rich Nicorvo.

Willey was attacked at her boyfriend's house in the 9300 block of Northwest 39th Court in Coral Springs.

Her death marked the first time anyone could remember that a dog fatally attacked a human in South Florida.

Willey -- who has been cited in the past for having dangerous dogs -- had decided to give the dog a bath just before going on vacation, police said.

An autopsy on Willey is pending, police said. The dog was of a breed called Presa Canario, akin to a pit bull.

With powerful jaws and thick skin, the Presa Canario is perhaps most well-known for death. In 2001, a pair bred for dog fighting mauled a woman to death in 2001 in San Francisco, leading to the indictment of two neighbors.

The case fueled a media frenzy. The dogs are legal in Broward County.

According to police, the dog turned on Willey as she bathed him in her backyard. Her daughter ran to a neighbor's house for help, police said.

The two officers who arrived at 3:25 p.m. saw the dog standing over her bloodied body. It was ''acting aggressively'' and they shot and killed the animal.

The woman's live-in boyfriend, Lazaro Rivero, came home and helped secure the woman's two other dogs.

''We've had serious attacks but never a fatality,'' said Tarnell Carroll, spokeswoman for Broward County's Animal Care and Regulation.

SIGNS OF DANGER

Neighbors on Friday in this well-heeled neighborhood said warning signs had appeared in the past.

Rafi Horwitz, 19, said a friend of his came over recently and gasped: ``I just got chased by two dogs.''

Willey had been walking a dog the day before and was struggling to maintain control over the canine, said neighbor Clemente Vaslo, 47.

''She had him on a leash but he was clearly having his way,'' he said.

The dog's name was not known.

Willey had logged problems with dogs before.

In 2000, she was charged with having a dog at large, according to Hillsborough County court records. A dog ''threatened [a] witness into the house,'' records show.

In December 2002, she was charged with having a vicious animal, having an animal with no current rabies vaccination and no animal registration. The next year, she was ordered to pay $1,100, records show. It was never paid.

It is unclear whether her current dogs and the ones in Hillsborough are the same.

Willey also has a son in middle school. One neighbor, who declined to give his name, said the son had cautioned against playing with the dogs because ``they are mean.''

BREEDERS DISMAYED

News of the death was met with dismay by the breeders of Presa Canarios, who say the dogs have been unfairly characterized by the San Francisco incident.

''This is not good. This is not good news for the breed,'' said Randy Green, a board member of the Dogo Canario Club of America, which promotes the breed.

He stressed that most Presa Canarios -- pure breds, not like the ones who killed in San Francisco -- do not pose a threat.

''Ninety-nine-point-nine percent are super great family dogs. Excellent dogs. They are guardian-type breeds,'' said Green, of Georgia. ''Super stable with the family,'' Green said.


My response:

Hello from Georgia. My name is Beth xxxx, I am a mother, horse trainer and dog owner. I am also an aspiring journalist who happens to value the concept of fair and accurate reporting.
I am becoming increasingly discouraged by the media frenzy surrounding the American Pit Bull Terrier which has led to an epidemic of exceptionally poor and libelous reporting. Sadly, your article does nothing to appease my woes in this area.
To report a 120 pound Presa Canario as "akin" to a pit bull is flat untrue, and a misrepresentation of the truth- something I consider a cardinal sin in journalism. Heck, journalism itself considers such truth twisting to be the biggest no-no of all whilst reporting false and misleading information to the public as fact. "Akin" is defined as related by blood or analogous. I strongly suggest you refer to the following links, which describe each breed of dog accurately and in detail. Accuracy, I must add, is a concept your article has lost completely.
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/canarydog.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/americanpitbull.htm

I will be eagerly looking for your follow-up retraction of your inept coupling and comparison of these two breeds. To maintain the integrity of your newspaper, I also suggest you review the 5 criterion of libelous reporting. I would not make this mistake again. Nationwide, the reputations of responsible American Pit Bull Terrier owners are suffering defamation at the hands of shotty reporting such as yours, and I highly doubt you want to hold the libel smoking gun. Get the facts straight. It is your duty, and I will no longer sit by and watch news reporters distort the truth to feed a public hysteria.
When attacks occur, the name "pit bull" shall be replaced by "vicious dog" until a veterinarian properly identifies the breed with an examination. In your story here, you have no excuse. You even knew the correct breed of dog and you made the concientious decision to alter the truth. This is not legal reporting, and you are fully aware of it, which equates to an even further gross misrepresentation of the truth.
Feel free to contact me, I would be happy to give you some much needed advice.

Beth xxxx

Trot To "U" Mobile Horse Care
Owner/operator, Animal Rescuer

 

WTF! A 120 pound pitbull like dog? What the hell consitutes a "pit bull like dog" Christ on a cross.. even those fat ass hippo ghetto dawgs aren't tipping the scales at a buck twenty.. I feel a much needed nasty email being sent to the miami herald!

 

T H I S are the kind of dogs that gave the blue to our beloved breed.

 

No no, must not be nasty...as much as it's deserved. We have to appear articulate and knowledgeable more than ever now. Put on your game face with me though, I'm jumping in this with both feet. This media crap can't continue. It's fabricated and illegal, and Lord I wish I had more pull and authority to fight this with. You are a valuable commodity, though as an enforcement worker. Like Attila and so many others on this board, you are esteemed in the public eye in your title. Use that.

 

I bit my tongue and I sent a nice informative letter to them, a slight scolding buy nothing to harsh. I even used your letter as a base to go by since it was alot more articulate than I would have been. I am rather proud of myself.. I didn't curse him or threathen him.. unlike how I have to treat half of the inmates I work with. lol

 

I also sent a letter to the editor of the article. I explained the differnce betweeen a pit bull and a presa.

I also explained his faults in his article and misconseptions.

I explained to him how rong it was to throw a breed of dog into the pull that had nothing to do with the even to cause mass histaria.

I also explained the sound temperment of these dogs and how I raise these dogs around my 8 month old child and 4 year old child.

I was nice and even asked him to reply back to me.
and tell me his side of the story.

 

I would also sujjest everyone that reads this article to rite a letter to the editor and dont be hateful or rood, but explain your side.

Maby he will post back and change the story. Keep me posted on your replies, I am ancious to see if I get a reply back.

 

Thanks. I don't think that I am esteemed. But I feel honored that you feel that way. 14Rock said something like that the other day and it caught me off guard. I don't know how to reply to it yet. I better be a better example I reckon. I do write allot of letters however I am more serious in them and try not to be sarcastic, I have to type them clearly as political minds don't allways get when your serious and not. In other words they don't know sarcasm from literal. Like Leutenants in the Army. A bit dumb on the common sense scale of life. Once again thanks for the kind words. I am honored and hope that I am worthy of such complements.

WB

 

This is off topic Attila, but you are Loved and Esteemed...and , Hey, you deserve it too...
Big goopy, tree-hugging hugs from California...LOL...

 

i sent the author a message explaining the difference so he could understand.

 

That's horrible that they would keep using the pit bull as an example. I imagine in the first article it mentioned it because it is not a well known breed and using an APBT as a visual for people to get a hint of what the breed looks like. When I describe them, I tell people they look like a pit bull/mastiff type dog.

Presa Canarios were bred to be human aggressive and were not initially bred for ring sports ( which to me, shows a lot of disipline and control ). A stable minded protection dog will not maul a human without a real threat and will not continue until death... that's for sure! It urks me the way these dogs are being bred and marketed. As time goes on these dogs are sought after by more and more thugs. I think that the fad of APBT's might turn to these dogs in the future, which obviously, is far more dangerous to the public. This breed is more powerful to take humans down and as far as lethal maulings go... they are way up there. Thugs find this to be a desirable trait, yet they don't know what they are getting into. This is a breed for advanced dog handlers ONLY. I believe that if the presa wasen't so much more costly to purchase, it would already be far more popular and more of these maulings would be in the news. Either way this breed is growing in popularity and for all the wrong reasons.

 

I saw this on the news the other day. It is a sad deal. It's crazy though because I was watching a helicopter shot of the dog lying at the bottom of the pool and that's when I said " At least it's not a pit." My friend asked me what it was, and I told them it looked like a Presa Canario. I guess these news people are'nt as educated in dogs as some of us. Especially in Miami where they are just phenin for a bad pit story.

 

" With powerful jaws and thick skin, the Presa Canario is perhaps most well-known for death. In 2001, a pair bred for dog fighting mauled a woman to death in 2001 in San Francisco, leading to the indictment of two neighbors."

That is COMPLETELY untrue. There is an entire book written on this case and plenty of articles that follow. There was NEVER any evidence these dogs were intended to fight! There was, however, evidence of the caretakers trying to train the dogs to be Personal Protection Dogs ( another reason NOT to try and do this on your own ) as well as evidence of the caretakers having sexual relations with the male dog. I guess they thought to leave out those juicy details... this author is writing out of their a$$!

" He stressed that most Presa Canarios -- pure breds, not like the ones who killed in San Francisco -- do not pose a threat. "


The two dogs who killed a woman in San Fransisco were most definately 100% pure bred. There was plenty of documentation on their bloodlines. One of the dogs was imported from the Canary Islands and the male dog Bane, who was most responsible for the death of the woman, still has his blood running through the US.

 

Can we get a link for that? I'de like to send this idiot some facts too.

 

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2006/08/19/s1a_maul_0819.html
antigone_barton@pbpost.com <antigone_barton@pbpost.com>

 

Sad....

Im not one to advocate for laws and legistlation....I oppose all AR issues.

However this is clearly a handling issue, these folks most likely shouldnt of even owned this breed let alone kept it as a pet. I have some experience with this particular breed, as most "working" breeds these giant animals are not for the novice or hobbiest breeder. This breed is not a F%CKING JOKE to have around.

At what point should a breeder be held responsible?

Who should be held accountable for these maulings and fatal attacks ?

The confusion stems from "type dogs", ppl not breeding to standard. Ppl placing and selling to the public.....with the "Emphisis" of the animal being bred to be a pet.

Should there be a concern for public safety? Why, HELL YES!

 

I agree 100%. With everything you said. It's really scary. And let's not think it won't take long for the Presa hype to reach the degenerates. It doesn't take long to sling some dope to raise the cash for an expensive dog. Then BYB with a pit or whatever else, and really get serious scary stuff happening.
I also wonder with you- when should the breeders be looked to for responsibility sharing? I don't know.

 

Thank you to all of you who took the time to "inform" the journalist. Tx, especially, Luvinbullies for getting the ball rolling here. Yes, it's easy to get peeved, like I was last night. :mad: (too heated to write, tho I will today).

As always, it always comes back to responsible ownership, (or irresponsible, as is many the case...).