Update On 4 Pit Bulls Story

[sandgrubber]

3 pit bull mix dogs euthanized after fatal mauling in Truth or Consequences, NM

• THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
• First Posted: May 06, 2011 - 4:23 pm
  Last Updated: May 06, 2011 - 4:24 pmTRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. — Three dogs that fatally mauled a Truth or Consequences woman last month have been destroyed.
  Veterinarian Dr. Bill Cardwell of the Hot Springs Animal Clinic says the dogs were euthanized Thursday after being quarantined for 10 days. Cardwell says the dogs' owner relinquished them.
  A 48-year-old woman, Margaret Salcedo, was mauled by four pit bulls and pit bull mix dogs as she took a walk in her neighborhood April 24. She died at a hospital a few hours later.
  An officer who responded to a 911 call about the attack shot one of the dogs. It was later found dead, and the other three dogs were taken to an animal shelter.
  State police have been investigating the mauling. The district attorney will decide whether to charge the dogs' owner.

see: http://www.therepubl...al-Dog-Mauling/

With respect to the breed specific thing . . . in some neighborhoods in the US there are lots of pit bull looking dogs. Most are of unknown pedigree and weren't deliberately bred for anything . . . except, perhaps, to be pets. The BSL question makes it hard for the press to know what to call such dogs . . . most people just call them pit bulls. They are so common, and breed is so difficult to establish, that BSL would be politically impossible, despite parts of the public who think it's the way to go. Some argue that the family dog is the main function of pit bulls, historically. Eg, see http://www.dontbullymybreed.org/

In my opinion, it's more critical that that four powerful dogs who were not socialized for human interaction escaped from a back yard and acted as a predatory pack. I don't think it's breed irrelevant. Four gun dogs would be unlikely to turn predatory, but you never know. I hope the DA throws the book at the owner.

Edited May 8, 2011 by sandgrubber