Baby and mother attacked by dog.

[Jasper's Mom]

NEWS UPDATE:

Honolulu Advertiser, June 13, 2001. By Hugh Clark, Advertiser Big Island Bureau.

Fatal pit bull attack prompts ban talk. Big Isle official considers study.

A Big Island councilwoman said it may be time to consider a county ban on pit bulls in the wake of the death of an 18-month old Puna boy, attacked along with his mother during the weekend. (On the tv news, they related the mother's comments that they had been outside for several minutes so the boy could play and had not seen the dog. When she told her son it was time to go inside, he turned and ran away from her down the driveway, and that was when the dog attacked him.)

"They are bred for fighting and most people do not know how to handle or maintain them properly," Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd of Hilo said yesterday.

The child's mother, Luana Moniz, remained hospitalized yesterday in stable condition after trying unsuccessfully to get the dog away from her son, Tyran Moniz-Hilderbrand. Moniz, 24, was attacked by the pit bull before the boy's father and a friend wrestled with the dog and killed it with a pick ax. (On tv they mentioned that their 3 yr old daughter arrived with the father and also witnessed the attack.)

Big Island police yesterday said the dog attack is being classified as a home accident, and no criminal charges will be filed. (No info on the owner of the dog.)

Police are closing their investigation into the attack by the 80-pound pit bull at the home in the Hawaiian Acres subdivion last Saturday night.

An autopsy revealed the child bled to death as a result of numerous dog bites. Police said they have found no evidence so far of previous violence by the dog. Opinions in the community following the atttacks were mixed.

"I think we should look at a ban, if it is legal for us to do it," said Leithead-Todd, who personally keeps a part-pit bull family pet.

Fern Miller, a dog breeder since she was 7, maintained that pit bulls are not inherently vicious. "People make them that way," said the retired breeder who judged Pit Bull Terrier Clubs of America shows for 26 years.

"It's the people's fault, it's not the animal. I never had any trouble with my dogs, and I was always very careful who I sold to," said the 60-year Big Island resident. "Too many raise them for dog fighting," she said.

In a separate incident a day after the fatal pit bull attack, a 40-year old man was attacked by an unidentified dog on Sunday. The Fern Acres subdivion resident suffered leg and arm wounds after being bitten. Fern Acres adjoins Hawaiian Acres, where the toddler died.

Mark Markell of Volcano, whose adult daughter suffered a deep bite from a pit bull that injured her knee cap several years ago while she was jogging on Wright Road, predicted at the time that unless authorities stepped in a human life would be lost. Later, a neighbor, who was a Vietnam war veteran, shot a pit bull that attacked him while he was jogging along the same roadway.

"These large dogs are not uncommon in Puna because they are kept for hunting and by marijuana growers protecting their patches," said Markell, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel.

In Kea'au, Alexandria McGhee, 15, said she is "terrified by dogs" after being attacked on her bicycle by a pit bull last October. She was left with eight puncture wounds to the back of her leg, just above the knee. She has seen the dog loose since then, she said. About six months before, her brother, Christian, 8 at the time, was bitten on the buttocks by a pit bull. The animal bit through his jeans and left a deep wound, she said.

Their mother, Caroline McGhee, said, "Something needs to be done before someone died. A child smaller than my 15-year old would have been lunch for this pit bull." Dog fanciers say pit bulls are misunderstood, and that much of the problem is in training.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

On tv they also mentioned that neighbors had put up a memorial for the boy at the entrance to their property.

A tragedy one might never recover from. I did not realize it was as serious a problem as was reported in this article. Regardless of the breed of dog.

[*Simelly_05*]

Dont you see the trend here? Each accident was when the person was running or on a bicycle. Which could mean the dog was trained to fight. Yes, I will admit some Pit Bulls a instinctivly "mean". But not all Pit Bulls are "mean", Its usually a case of abuse by the owner. In the case of the little boy and his mother, the little boy was running and the mother was chaseing him when the little boy got attacked the mother fought to get her son away. Well there was her mistake. Obviously if the dog fought the mother, the dog was trained to fight or mistreated in some way.

Jasper's Mom- Thanks for all the news!


For everyone- If a Pit Bull attacked you, Would you want the dog killed?

I know I wouldn't, no dog deserves to die unless it is in suffering pain and then you could end its suffering.



[This message has been edited by *Simelly_05* (edited June 14, 2001).]

[AdoreMyDogs]

KayAnn,

I am afraid the dog should be put to death if it attacked a human being for absolutely no reason, other then it was trained to do so. Dogs are so wonderful, but when human life is at danger because some jerk trained the dog to fight and kill, it's not the dogs fault that it ended up that way, but regardless there are human lives at danger. Yes, if a dog attacked me out of the blue for absolutely no reason (I was not doing anything to hurt it, I was not provoking it in any way) I would want that dog to be put to sleep humanely because if not it could end a human life... dogs are my passion, I would never do anything to hurt them, but if they end up "ruined" because some macho creep trained them to kill then they do more harm then good...and death is often a blessing compared to the life they were forced to live.

[bugmom]

It sounds like they have a bigger problem than the dogs! DRUGS and dealers who are training these dogs. By banning pits all you've done is taken an option away from the growers and they'll come up with a different way to protect their crops.

the attack on the drugs - growers and dealers will help the problem but it also sounds as though these dogs are all loose so maybe if they started simple - enforcing leash and fence laws just may be a better start than a total ban.

hmmmm.

[mkgwolf]

If i was walking down a street and a dog came up and just ran up and bit me I think it should be put to sleep. Maybe if I was doing something to provoke the dog or I was trespasing and was even "beware of dog signs" all over then it would be different.

My friend had a female husky, which are very friendly dogs, and one day it got out and went nextdoor. The people next door had tons of gerbils in their garage so the dog was playing "mom" and was putting the gerbiles in a pile. Then a little kid came in and thought that the dog was hurting the gerbils or something and started yanking on the dog's tail, yelling, screaming and all that. Of course the dog bite the kid but it was nothing serious, just a little fear bite.
This dog was very nice and none of the gerbils were even harmed but she was still put to sleep because the parents made a big deal about it and made it seem more serious than it really was.

The real problem are dogs that are being BREED to bite and attack. Any dog will bite if provoked far enough but some more than others. Some are more protective or agressive by nature while others do not have a shy bone is their body.

[mugsy]

I don't believe any dog breed is inherintly mean. People make them that way by the way they train them. In Fort Wayne, they automatically put down any Pit or Pit mix that comes through the shelter after the mandatory 3 day holding period. I am appalled that people who are supposedly trained to work with dogs would be that ignorant. I find any ban on an entire breed of anything to be reprehensible. People need to open their minds and do research on a problem before they make any rash decisions. Personally, I think the owner of the dog is the animal that should be dealt with, not the dog...it was just doing what it was trained to do.

[Genia]

I'm late as usual, but are caretakers of these dogs supposed to put up a list of instructions such as "no running" or "no loud noises, dog may attack"? Any dog that has been trained to attack should not be allowed in populated areas. If a dog has been breed to be aggressive, the caretakers should take steps to prevent contact with unsuspecting persons: high fences, strong chains, along with warning signs, etc. The child in the attack running from his mother is no excuse. "Beware of Dog" signs are not enough. I personnaly do not trust certain breed, pitbulls, chows, dalmatians being examples. In a nearby town a few years ago a 3 year old child was killed by a chow. This baby grew up with this dog. The family reportedly said there had never been any problems. I don't know if the child provoked the dog, but it doesn't matter. The dog turned on the child. Years ago, around the release of the film 101 Dalmations, neighbors bought two Dalmatians. My daughter and I used to walk by the house to visit a nearby park. The dogs would practically chew at the fence when we walked by. The caretakers admitted they didn't allow their children in the yard with the dogs. I know this lies in with the breed of the dog and the way the dog was trained but I don't think I could ever trust these particular breeds. Especially around my child. Bless those of you that have had success with these breeds. I hate to see any animal put down and I hope all dogs could have caring KNOWLEGABLE caretakers such as you. Unfortunatly when hearing about incidents such as the one posted, you seem to be the exception.