This is how dog attacks should be handled

SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. - A prosecutor is seeking involuntary manslaughter charges against the owner of three pit bulls that fatally mauled an 82-year-old woman last week.

Commonwealth's Attorney William Neely said Sunday that he will ask grand jurors to indict Deanna Large, 36, in the death of Dorothy Sullivan, who was attacked and killed with her small dog, Buttons.

Large admitted owning one of the pit bulls, but Neely said the ensuing investigation revealed that she owned all three and had been warned to keep them under better control. All three dogs have since been killed.

Neely said there has never been a similar involuntary manslaughter case in the state, though such charges have been brought elsewhere. Involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

"If ever a case merited for a prosecutor to push the envelope, this is the one," Neely told The Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg.

In San Francisco, a couple whose dog mauled a neighbor to death were convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2002. The couple kept dogs for a prison inmate and Aryan Brotherhood member whom they had adopted.

Neely said he also will seek three misdemeanor counts of allowing a dangerous dog to run at large.

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Unfortunately the dogs and victim pay the ultimate price, but at least the irresponsible owner is being held accountable instead of Pit Bulls in general.

so how come owners aren't charged there? last winter there was a dog mauling leading to a death here in columbus. the city prosecutor charged the dogs' owner with negligent homicide. the owner pled to avoid a trial.

I wish stuff like that happened more, when ANY kind of known agressive dog mauls & or kills anybody/pet.

If u've had a dog for many years & the dog was never agressive in its life & all of a sudden went nuts, maybe assault charges could bve used there with no prison time, but the dog needs to go to doggy school/vet to see why it did what it did (could be very ill causing it to go nuts).

But the lady with the pitties above was warned to keep control over her dogs, so she knew they were a danger & should pay big time. A nice fine & jail time too.

I'm sure alot more people will think twice of letting their dogs run wild scaring people

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Originally posted by king2005

If u've had a dog for many years & the dog was never agressive in its life & all of a sudden went nuts, maybe assault charges could bve used there with no prison time, but the dog needs to go to doggy school/vet to see why it did what it did (could be very ill causing it to go nuts).

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I don't believe dogs all of a sudden go nuts. There are always signs of a dog being agressive, like growling when you tuch its food, the dog may not attack you but it could attack others. People with dogs should know the warning signs and do serious time if their dog attacks.

A friends dog had a tumar of some sort in its ear/brain area & one day the dog woke up attacking anyone who tried to touch it.

The dog was super friendly the day before, he was tired, but not a mean bone in his body. They had to put him down a few days later. They couldn't keep him under control anymore (he was bitting everyone too).

There was this girl I met on a camping trip. We both had dogs so we were sharing stories. She told me about her GSD. She said it took a couple days until he was out of control. She said one day he wouldn't let people touch him. then no one could get near him. Then he was bitting & attacking people. The vet said the same kind of thing. a tumar in its ear/brain.


Not dog related, but kinda on topic.

A older mans wife woke up litterly brain dead one day. She could moan, kinda yell & swallow foods. but thats all she could do. She was only in he early 40's when she woke up with it. The Dr.'s said someting happened to her brain. Shes had it a while, but it grew or ate part of the brain that pretty much turned her off.

So an over night sittuation can happen. I don' know how common it is in dogs, but I have seen 1 & heard of another & seen it in a human (without the aggression).


So why should the 2 owners of the all of a sudden killer dogs go to jail. Its not the owner or the dogs failt. Mother Nature can be a Bee with an Itch some times. Assault seems more proper for these cases if not getting off it all together cause no one or things was to blame.

In those cases when the dog was taken into custody the vet would be able to id a tumor as the problem. But mostly dogs dont just snap. There are no mean dogs just bad owners.

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Originally posted by king2005
So why should the 2 owners of the all of a sudden killer dogs go to jail. Its not the owner or the dogs failt. Mother Nature can be a Bee with an Itch some times. Assault seems more proper for these cases if not getting off it all together cause no one or things was to blame.

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It is the owner's fault because she let them run loose. She had already been warned to keep her dogs put up and didn't listen, so she should get the maximum penalty. (guns don't kill people, stupid people with guns kill people) Whether they were mean to begin with, who knows. It's possible because it doesn't sound like they were being responsibly cared for as family members or properly socialized and she didn't care where they were or what they were doing. It's also possible they were all intact making them territorial and running as a pack can make dogs more dangerous. It is people like this braud who are at fault for giving Pit Bulls a bad name.

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Originally posted by Pit Chick
It is the owner's fault because she let them run loose. She had already been warned to keep her dogs put up and didn't listen, so she should get the maximum penalty. (guns don't kill people, stupid people with guns kill people) Whether they were mean to begin with, who knows. It's possible because it doesn't sound like they were being responsibly cared for as family members or properly socialized and she didn't care where they were or what they were doing. It's also possible they were all intact making them territorial and running as a pack can make dogs more dangerous. It is people like this braud who are at fault for giving Pit Bulls a bad name.

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If u read what I was saying, I was talking about diff situations & how not all owners r bad. I agree that, that lady should go to jail. but not the people I'm talking about.

If those dogs were other than Pit Bulls we wouldnt even heard of it .....
Society has focused in on the Pit Bull as a killer breed, only here to kill innocent people. But in reality, all dogs can harm people. People, harm people more than any animal of any kind.
Kevin Farmer

Hippos Kill more people in the whole world, then dogs in north america

If I recall GSD, Labs & Goldens r the TOP bitters in Canada.

It wasn't until all the mumbo jumbo about banning pitts from Ontario, that I even heard of Pitt attacks in Ontario. I heard alot of Labs mauling peoples faces, but not a word about pitt bulls.