Baby and mother attacked by dog.

In the Honolulu Advertiser, June 10, 2001, there is an article by Karen Blakeman, Advertiser Staff Writer:

"Pit bull kills baby in Puna. Mother injured in attack at home.

An 18-month-old boy is dead and his 24-year-old mother seriously injured after a pit bull attacked them yesterday on the Big Island.

Lt James Kelly of the Puna police said the attack occurred at about 6 p.m. at the family's home in the Hawaiian Acres Subdivision in Mountain View, Puna.

The baby's father, Sandy Hilderbrand, returning home for the evening with a friend, found his son, Tyran Moniz-Hilderbrand dead and the dog still attacking the baby's mother, Luana Moniz.

The dog belonged to a friend and the family was keeping it as a favor, Kelly said. It had slipped its collar shortly before the father was due to arrive home.

Hilderbrand and his friend killed the dog with a pickax, likely saving the Monix's life.

She was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where she was undergoing surgery late last night.

Kelly said an investigation into the dog's history will be conducted, and a vet will examine the dog's remains.

No determination has been made as to whether any charges will be filed in the matter, Kelly said."

There is a serious problem in this state, of morans raising and training pit bulls to fight. If the dog had slipped its collar, it must have been tied up for a reason. How sad that an innocent child has to pay for some so-called adult's stupid choices. The pounds here are full of pit bulls and pit bull mixes. And I only see the adoptable ones. I myself rescued and trained a 3 yr. old female pit bull mix, with a very loving and sweet personality She is now in a loving home. But those who create killing machines should be prosecuted and locked up. The lives of these parents and their family will never be the same again. I will add any updates.

Thats horrible for the people... im crying now... errrrr they shouldnt have done anything to the dog STUPID STUPID STUPID people!!! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Oh my god! There has been sooooo many Pit Bull attacks lately! About the Rottweiler attack with the Hairdresser, did the dog actually EAT the baby? It's kinda hard to believe. People should keep thesE vicsious dogs at home and NOT around other people! (And I'm not JUST talking about Pit Bulls).

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***.Sadie May and LabLover.*** .*Labs rule the universe*

http://hometown.aol.com/sarahbcm/myhomepagedog.html

God, this is awful. You hear about this all of the time... therefore bad impressions are given to pit bulls and some rotties. I have only heard about the pit bull attacks though. I find it hard to say that I hate any animal and I want to blame the way that animal is raised but is it always the humans fault if they treat a dog with love? Some people that own pit bulls don't train them to fight so what happens? Is it really inate with the breed? I just wish I knew.

I myself don't trust pit bulls because I don't know what their background is but I can't say I hate them. I just wish I knew the details of how this breed came about so we could understand them better.

KayAnn, you love the breed so can you help fill us in on some details about them?

Thanks - Angel http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif

Strong and determined. Originally bred to fight but now tends to remain calm unless otherwise provoked. Can make a good pet with careful training and socialization. Has retained more of its fighting instinct than its cousin, the American Staffordshire Terrier. Caution should be taken to avoid unethical breeders creating dogs of questionable physiology and temperament. May also be called a Yankee Terrier, Pit Bull Terrier, or American Bull Terrier. Note: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, this dog has a history of biting.


i also wanted to add alot of the dogs you say are angels have the .. Note: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, this dog has a history of biting. at the end


[This message has been edited by *BaSim* (edited June 10, 2001).]

Thanks KayAnn http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif

In response to your last comment, I recall hearing something years ago about the Dalmation. It topped the list for most likely to turn on you or most viscious or something. Does anyone know if that is true?

Angel

What I can't understand is why in the world these people would agree to "watch" this dog for their friend, if he had vicious tendencies. He slipped his collar??? Something is wrong folks, unless this is the very first time anything like this ever occured with this dog.

I am so, so sorry that this happened. It is another slap against the pitbull, and is probably undeserved.

Logan

This is off the topic but I wanted to tell KayAnn that Molly, the Staffordshire terrier, was adopted today! YAY!

http://wsphotofews.excite.com/027/MS/uZ/wA/mi13407.jpg

YAY!!!!!

Hurray for Molly!! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif

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The anwser about Dalmations, I'm not sure if they will turn on you, but they will bite. No one would expect it from a cute little Dalmation, but they are one of the top dogs for biting. My husband has one. I was lucky, he likes me. The werid thing is that my brother-in-law walked in the yard, and petted Blue three different times, but the fourth time, Blue decided he didn't like him, and tried to take his hand off. My brother-in-law now has scars on his hand that looks like bullet wounds. But he was good about it. Said Blue was just doing his job......but he won't let his little girl have one.....

Why is it that the headlines always scream "Dog Attacks" never "child teased dog to dog's breaking point?" i watched a child tease my dog through the car the window and by the time i got back to the car Bug was pretty wound up. When i mentioned the bad habit of the child to the father he got in my face about calling it a bad habit - that it wasn't a bad habit and how dare i say that teasing a dog was a bad habit that his son. (he had been there the whole time and wasn't paying attention to what either of his kids were doing) Hopefully that child will get bit by a small dog in time to learn its lesson.

Yes, sometimes dogs do just "attack" but in most cases its provoked first - heck maybe the mom was teasing the dog without realizing what power the dog had or how it was trained.

all in all its a bad situation turned worse. I do hope the family heals and know that in time they will heal - but never forget. and what a tragic way.

bug's mom

[This message has been edited by bugmom (edited June 11, 2001).]

I'm with bugmom. Very few times will a dog attack or bite without provocation. We have 2 pit mixes and they are great. Serenity is a little agressive sometimes but when reprimanded she always backs off. She has a thing for attacking leashes!! lol She really is a sweetie. I wonder if anyone ever puts in the headlines that pitbulls are rated in the top 10 best breeds to have with children? I doubt it...it seems the media likes stereotypes.

Mugsy -

I just got a mental picture of two dogs meeting on the corner and one "attacking" the leash of the other with the little thought bubble of "don't worry. i'll get this snake off of you in no time!" reminds me of the scene in Lady and the Tramp where they get the beaver to chew off the muzzle. http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bugmom:
[B]Why is it that the headlines always scream "Dog Attacks" never "child teased dog to dog's breaking point?" [QUOTE][B]

I know what your talking about. My dog Hercules was teased as a puppy by neighborhood kids. They would bark at him and throw stuff thorough the fence. now today he hates kids. He sees them and he sees red. He has gotton better through training but I can't really bring him anywhere. It's really sad

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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.

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).]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.