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Two horse attacks spur pit bull debate
Critic says they’re bred to fight; owner argues training the key
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Expect more pit bull attacks, a critic of the breed said Wednesday in the wake of the second Auburn-area incident this month involving a pit bull injuring a horse on a trail ride.
But the Colfax owner of a pit bull is defending a breed that she says has been given a bad rap because of bad owners.
The dog attacks on horses near Auburn in recent weeks have pit bull owner Abbey Colman afraid that people will be making what she says are wrong assumptions about her dog. She said that her big concern now is that someone will injure her 3-year-old pit bull out of fear or distrust.
“She’s not a fighter,” Colman said. “If another dog wants to fight, she rolls over onto her back.”
But a victim of a pit bull attack who has started a Website as a clearing house for dog attack information is saying fears surrounding pit bulls are very much real-world concerns. Her site advocates laws banning pit bull ownership and prescribing mandatory spay and neutering.
“I don’t disagree (that there are pit bulls that are relatively docile),” said Colleen Lynn, president and founder of DogsBite.org. “But there are a whole lot more that aren’t. They’re all about successful breeding over 2,000 years for dog fighting.”
Lynn, a Seattle Web site designer, launched DogsBite.org in October, four months after having her arm broken in the vice-like jaws of a leashed pit bull.
The Auburn-area attacks both took place this month on trails and involved unprovoked assaults on horses by leashless pit bull terriers. Both times, the horses were injured but survived by fleeing.
In the April 3 attack, which Auburn State Recreation Area officials described as a rarity, a horse was bitten in the face and flank before escaping down a trail and eventually losing the dog as it ran down Foresthill Road. The owner fled with the dog and authorities have failed to locate them, despite a $4,000 reward.
This past Sunday, a second attack occurred on the shore of the North Fork of the American River, with a pit bull biting into the side of the horse before the Arabian escaped into the swift-flowing river to prevent further attacks. In that incident, the owner tried to stop the dog and later stayed to identify himself to the rider and authorities.
Colman said that she rides her family horse with her leashless dog. She now fears someone will do something rash when they encounter Lutlee – a female pit bull whose name is shorthand for “absolutely beautiful rose.”
“I really do believe it’s the owner, and not the dog’s fault,” Colman said. “They shouldn’t have the dog out unless she’s is well adjusted and able to react to new situations.”
Colman said she agrees with leash laws, which require dogs to be leashed and under control in public places.
“People should understand that they’re there for a reason,” Colman said. “If a dog is not trained, it should be on a leash or should be taken to a place where it’s not going to get into trouble.”
Lynn said the image of the playful pit bull isn’t true.
“It’s propaganda from pit bull owners, who have a strong voice in preventing laws from being made,” she said. “In reality, they’re animal-aggressive.”
The DogsBite.org Website has compiled information that Lynn said shows that pit bull and rottweiler attacks make up an inordinate percentage of total fatal dog attacks in relation to the percentage of the breed in comparison to the total population of all breeds.
The research showed that between 1979 and 1998, 25 breeds were involved in 238 human dog bite-related fatalities. Pit bulls and rottweilers were involved in 60 percent of the deaths.
Lynn said that with more people out with their dogs as the weather improves, dog attack incidents will continue.
“We’ve entered into the mauling season,” she said.
Colman said that these days, with negative news stories about pit bulls, she’s becoming concerned that someone with a dislike of pit bulls could jeopardize her ownership of her dog.
“If I leave her in the car, what’s to say someone decides to say the dog attacked them and calls the pound,” Colman said.
Colman said Lutlee was initially rescued by her husband from the dog pound and even served as the flower girl at the couple’s marriage last August.
“She’s a big sweetie,” Colman said.
The Journal’s Gus Thomson can be reached at gust@goldcountrymedia.com.
pit bull, horse, attack, gus thomson, abbey colman, colleen lynn, dogsbite.org, april
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A correction to be noted: DogsBite.org states on its website that animal aggression in pit bull dogs goes back 2,000 (the bloodsport of bull baiting). Dogfighting is a much more recent phenomenon and stems back about 200 years.
A correction to be noted: DogsBite.org states on its website that the "combination" of pit bulls and rottweilers account for 60% of fatalities that occurred between 1979-1998. In the past year, 2007, pit bulls alone accounted for 60% of fatalities. Rottweilers being the closest rival at 11%.
Trigger said:
"In the past year, 2007, pit bulls alone accounted for 60% of fatalities. Rottweilers being the closest rival at 11%. "
This is unabsolutely untrue. Colleen Lynn & her DogsBite.org site was created last year after Ms. Lynn was bit by a Pit bull. She has over the past year collected newspaper article related to Pit bulls to fuel her hatred and fear of the type of dog that bit her. This is apparently the sum total of her knowledge about Pit bulls, canine behaivor and dog attacks.
Her "numbers" and "claims" about Pit bulls (& Rottweilers) are from her 1-year-old scrapbook of newspaper articles and are not even remotely accurate.
Pit bulls did NOT account for 60% of the fatalities last year- despite what the newly minted "dog-expert" Colleen Lynn (DogsBite.org) claims.
Not using reputable or experienced canine experts for your articles shows once again the "pitfalls" of the media and how the media cannot be trusted to provide accurate information on any subject.
I don't own a Pit Bull. A few years ago my daughter brought home a Pit Bull puppy. My first words were "If this dog as much as growls at anyone, it's gone". The story has a happy ending. This dog was the best dog we ever had, she was very calm, not aggressive in the least bit and a total joy to be around. We had her for 13 years and finally she passed on due to old age. Not once did she show any signs of aggression.
To the lady that wrote the letter and says she likes to ride her horse and take the dog, unleashed, along let me remind her that pretty much whereever she rides it is against the law to do so, and please, do not leave the dog in the truck, in the cab it would be cruel, specially in the summer, in the bed is asking for disaster.
The bottom line appears to be, dog owners PERIOD need to keep their dogs on a leash.
These 2 attacks would probably have been preventable.
Shame on all dog owners who don't abide by California leash law, even if you think your animal is tame. I believe in better safe than sorry. It is the LAW!.
I again urge dog owners ALL dog owners to obey the leash laws at all times. I will repeat myself from another post, even if your dog is well trained and is under control without a leash you give those dog owners that do not have well trained dogs the idea that it is ok to have their dog off leash. I also do not like to say one breed of dog is more likely to be violent than another. I have been around various dogs of different breeds and my conclusion is that the behavior of the dog is directly related to the owner. With that in mind we need to direct our consequences toward the dog owner. Stiffer laws, larger fines. Give them a reason to keep their dogs on leash while in public places. I know that if we do not get on top of this we will have more problems. I know many people do not care what happens to a horse on a trail. However, if you use the trails at all you would know that many families with children also use our trails. Is it going to take a child being attacked before some of you get it? Any dog can attack even a golden retriever. I know one attacked me as I was riding by. No leash and the owner had no control of the dog. I was not so mad at the dog but I could have punched out the owner. I feel sorry for the dogs because they end up eventually paying with their life. Dog owners get a clue. Also we need to keep in mind what breed of dog are used for dog fighting. Interesting when you think about it. I believe that yes some breeds are easier to train for aggressive behavior and if you think otherwise you may be fooling yourself. But the bottom line it is the owner not the breed.
The article states:
"Colman said she agrees with leash laws, which require dogs to be leashed and under control in public places."
and
"Colman said that she rides her family horse with her leashless dog. She now fears someone will do something rash when they encounter Lutlee – a female pit bull whose name is shorthand for 'absolutely beautiful rose.'"
Does she agree with leash laws? Or maybe she feels she is exempt from them because her dog is "a big sweetie". I had a Rottweiler for 12 years. She was a "big sweetie" too, but I would never dream of letting her walk around in public off-leash because you can never know when some unknown cause may set a dog off. That would be careless and dangerous. Same principle applies to my Terrier and my Labrador. Common sense.
Pit bulls are very prey driven. I worked for ten years with a Director of the Humane Society of the United States and there are traits that are bred into a type dog. We know that the pit bull has great strength and the unique ability to hang on. It has also been proven that the pit bull is unpredictable. This trait as the others was bred into the dog for the pit. Like Labradors love water pit bulls are unpredictable. This is one component that makes them so dangerous. Pitbulls can live with people who love them for years then turn and maul a family member. I've looked at DogsBite.org and the material is accurate. Pit bulls are responsible for sixty percent of the deaths in the last twenty years.
These figures have been used in court (Denver) to provide evidence that Pit Bulls as a group are more dangerous. Good luck to Colleen with her site the information is long over due. God bless this poor horse and the owner.
Re: the post yesterday see below. (My response at the end of the post)
TO: LocalGirl1976: Excuse me! German Sheppards are also a breed with a bad reputation. You are the ignorant one. Your dog wants to eat gophers and birds..... How the hell do you know that YOUR dog wouldn't go after any other animal, even a horse. You don't know! Before you start attacking the Pitbull breed, you should consider the reputation of your own dog. Oh wait, you are one of those dog owners that say "not my dog." Any dog can be trained to be mean and attack, even your precious little German Sheppard mix. Your commentary about inbreeding would appear to apply more to you and your family then the pit bull community here in Auburn. It is your simplistic and flawed logic that fails to understand why so many people here and nation wide have loving pitbulls as family pets. Dogs are beasts just like humans. We help them control their instincts and emotional responses. You need to do the same about your own. Everyone in Auburn is not an idiot, does not have a death wish, and are not inbred. This sounds more like a dog/leash problem i.e. human error irresponsibility, not a feral dog problem. Blaming the breed is like blaming a race for deficiencies. Maybe Auburn is too independent for you and your innocent/passive German Shepard mix. I am a proud owner of a Pit Bull. He is the best family dog our 3 young children could ever wish for. When he goes out with us, we take every reasonable precaution to protect him, our family, other families, and their pets. Watch the video below. Knowledge is power. Enlighten yourself with the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBus4GGsyb4
I have great sympathy for the horses that have been attacked. They are truly innocent in all of this. Don't make the breed "Pit Bull" a second victim. We should learn from this, not damn a entire breed of loving, faithful dogs. Be responsible and keep your dogs on a leash!
RESPONSE:
To the ignorant individual YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO READ! Please see yesterday for the whole post.
Yes, I have German Sheppard’s and I AM DAMN PROUD OF THEM. LETS KEEP IN MIND GERMAN SHEPPARDS ARE USED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT, ONE THE PREFERRED BREEDS FOR K-9 TRAINING. THEIR INTELLIGENCE LEVEL IS THROUGH THE ROOF.I DON’T SEE TO MANY PITS BEING USED FOR K-9’S
I ALWAYS HAVE THEM LEASHED, ALL SHOTS, SPAYED / NUERTURED& REGISTERED IN PLACER COUNTY. WHAT DO YOU GOT NOW! I do not know too many people that even bother to register their animals with Placer County. To go as far stating insults about my family only further solidifies your intelligence level. For the record a direct quote
“This sounds more like a dog/leash problem i.e. human error irresponsibility, not a feral dog problem. Blaming the breed is like blaming a race for deficiencies.”
1.Nobody claimed of a feral dog situation
2.Can we get any more ignorant than that folks? Now people of certain ethnicities have deficiencies?
I am the first one to say "Maybe my dog” & that is why I take precautions for their own safety.
PLEASE TAKE A LITERACY COURSE
Pat001- You worked with a Director of the HSUS, which director would that be?
Pat001 said: "t has also been proven that the pit bull is unpredictable."
Pray tell, how on earth can it be proven that an animal is "unpredictable" - animals react to stimuli, because a person cannot figure out what stimuli individual dogs may react to, does not make an entire breed of dog unpredictable -
Pat001 as said: " I've looked at DogsBite.org and the material is accurate."
And you know it is "accurate" how? You have to compare and analyze data in order to be able to determine its accuracy. How have you been able to determine the accuracy of DogsBite.org's data?
"Pit bulls are responsible for sixty percent of the deaths in the last twenty years. "
Again, this is absolutely NOT true. And please do not cite the CDC, as they realized the errors they
made in attempting to identify breed and no longer record fatal attacks by breed because they've acknowledged it is NOT reliable data. Look it up if you don't believe me.
Pat001, please provide expert opinion (from canine experts, not some judge sitting on a bench who wouldn't know a Pit bull from a Presa), on your statements of unpredictability and fatal attacks.
I'm surprised that pit bulls only account for 60%, and just as surprised this could even be in dispute. While I'm not aware of any local tracking for particular breeds, my recent memory of calls for medical aid involving dogs is always because of a pit bull. And the same holds true for police/sheriff responses, either through 911 or because of assist outside agency requests originating through animal control. I'm sure this varies from area to area, but I would have easily assumed a number well above 90%.
Good dog vs. bad owner, nature vs. nurture, paper or plastic, puhleeze! Look, someone's got to be accountable, when one domesticated animal attacks anothe, so let's get off this merry-go-around and start with the assumption that the owners of the animals involved share accountability for the behavior of their animals. I really don't care if Rosebud is a sweetie who wouldn't hurt a flea - that is no predictor of whether he/she will or not, when presented with an opportunity or perceived threat. This week, a trainer was killed by a grizzly bear, raised and trained in captivity and the co-star of many movies. Something went awry in the animal's mind, causing him to use lethal force in the absence of a real threat. The law already allows a rancher to shoot an animal if it is observed threatening, harassing or worrying livestock. Before trail user's to start arming themselves in the face of attacking animals, domesticated or wild, I suggest we stop making excuses and start taking responsibility.
To RichE!More:
Amen. Good post.
Animals and people can both be unpredictable at times.
People own animals. Therefore people are responsible for their animal's behaviors.
You are so right, time to stop blaming entire populations (human or canine) for a specific
incident and time for people to start taking responsibility for their animals.
It really is that simple.
Hello fellow Americans.
I just came back from running my 3 pure bread American Pit Bull Terriers on the beach. We ran by 2 horses (one we went by him on the up the beach as well as on the way back from the beach. There was no problem.
Love. What is love.
You can not touch it.
Or can you.
A loving wife can be touched.
My 2 dogs Pandora and Cypress can be touched.
My past girl friends who I was in love with could be touched (one of them by my friend with out me knowing, but thats another story).
Love. Can you hold it in your hand?
I can hold my dogs in my hand.
They are pure bread American Pit Bull Terrier.
The breed is very smart, strong and loving.
No other breed has been temperament tested (by way of 2 dogs in battle with
2 dog handlers with in inches of the fight knowing that the dog would never
bite them) the way the APBT has.
Love.
I would never, ever, ever even think about fighting my dogs.
I have never seen, wanted to see, or been to a dog fight (or a cock fight for that matter).
Does that mean I can not respect how someones grandpa can win The Ultimate Strong Man competition,
or be boxings' Heavy Weight Champion of the World?
Love.
Does that mean that you love unconditionally.
Can I say "I love the way I see your grandpa Swartz in your eyes to your Jewish grandson
wile being in front of Nazi guards looking for Jews to exterminate and throw in jail?
I love my Jew.
I love my American Pit Bull Terrier.
Hear me scream.
Here me Thomas Jefferson!
Here me god!
Here me you people on the "left" trying to take away my rights.
Here me people on the "right" trying to take away my rights.
Here me fellow amputees who are in pain!
Here me single people who have no family but there pet!
Here me!
Here me!
Here me! The humane society openly hired ALF members and claim to want to help the APBT -
by putting them to sleep.
The rights that are the most important are the ones you don't believe in.
America here me!
America I cry for you.
I am 34 years old.
What has happed to our freedom loving ways?
Is it just the "headline mentality", or are we as a country judging people way to much?
Punish the deed, not the breed.
Any one remember Our Gang.
The Little Rascals?
The dog Pete was a match dog.
He was an APBT.
Did you ever see him act mean toward the kids?
Were they scared, or did they love the dog Pete with his big black circle around one eye?
My dogs have been on TV to promote kids to be good people.
It was a 3 minute Character Education Program that ran on many cable channels.
We should have made one for the "adults",
I think they needed it more.
They wanted to pay me for the use of them, but I said no.
Its my duty to help make the APBT more respected and loved.
It helped!
My photo of my dog Cypress was chosen to be displayed at a local museum in a photo contest.
She did not win, but the breed did!
Among various photos was mine.
"Cypress at the Salmon".
A older lady asked me at the opening night show "where is the Cypress tree".
I told her the dog was named Cypress.
Cypress and her puppies were the only photo used in the American Dog Breeders Association magnet
handed out at the Las Vegas Dog Convention in 2003.
They were used for the cover of the ADBA Spring 2003 gazette.
Our girl Addy is helping mentally disabled children at a school in San Francisco.
The parents and kids love their Addy.
Come and kill her.
Come and take Addy away from the children in the Bay Area.
She is Vicious!
She is a pure bread American Pit Bull Terrier.
Thousand of family members killed off in Denver!
I will die for her.
I will die for America.
We fought (along with our dogs, some of which were APBTs') to long for our rights to loose them in
my life time.
Cypress is love.
Pandora is love.
A strong marriage, thats love.
The bond between myself any my family who live 720 miles away, thats love.
Willing to die for your family, that is love.
Good luck America.
I still love you.
a guy trying to keep the SS away
I must agree with 'Daniele' regarding Colleen Lyn and Dogsbite.org and question why the reporter even chose to use her name in this article, apart from the obvious reasons of adding to the pitbull panic that the media seem to value. All Lynn knows about pitbulls is that one bit her - provoked or unprovoked - no one will ever know. If you are going to use expert testimony please use someone who actually knows about canine aggression, rather than an ill informed member of the general public.
Now with all the hype that this article has caused surrounding pitbulls, it is interesting to learn in a later article that the breed of dog that attacked the horse may not even have been a pitbull, but may in fact be a 100 lb boxer. Ooh, let's go and ban boxer's now. Maybe Colleen Lyn needs to start another hate organization that seeks to ban Boxers. Now rather than targeting a breed, why don't we pose a novel idea and punish the bad owners (God knows there are enough of them) who allow any breed of dog to be off leash in public places as this seems to be the underlying problem with these recent attacks.
As a proud owner of two well behaved and well socialized pitbulls, I am tired of being aggressively confronted by owners and their friendly (?) dogs who are off-leash in on-leash areas. Obey the leash laws, people, and we would not hear about random dog attacks! I propose that tougher penalties need to be in place for those bad owners who fail to restrain their dogs. And, believe me It is not a pitbull problem, as I have met numerous breeds on our daily walks; labradors, weirmaraners, retrievers, spaniels, blue heelers, border collies, maltese terriers, shiba inu's, etc, etc - the list could go on.