The whole thing was tragic. George was such a brave little guy. They did a follow up on the story. They think the pit bulls were give meth to make them aggressive. I cant say what I would like to about those guys here.



Dogs 'given P' to make them fiercer
By RICHARD WOODD and LYN HUMPHREYS - Taranaki Daily News | Thursday, 3 May 2007



FAITHFUL FRIEND: George, the Jack Russell, who died after being mauled by pitbulls.
The pitbulls that terrified a group of children will be destroyed today, amid claims that some owners feed their dogs P to make them more aggressive.
OWNER OF HERO JACK RUSSELL WANTS DOGS CONTROLLED IN TOWN
Yesterday, acting on a tip off, animal control officers and police took the rogue dogs from a Manaia property.
The story made international headlines because a tiny Jack Russell terrier called George was badly mauled as he defended the children from the attack as they walked to a Manaia dairy on Sunday.
George was later put down because of his injuries.
But investigations yesterday by the Taranaki Daily News have revealed a horrifying new dimension to the menace of fierce dogs.
Stratford animal control officer Kieran Best says he's heard of methamphetamine (P) being fed to pitbulls, making them more aggressive and very unpredictable.
"I understand it commonly happens in Rotorua.
"I haven't seen a dog on P, but I've heard about it from drug squad police at conferences."
While he had not heard of P being given to dogs in Taranaki, "if it's happening elsewhere it's quite possible it could be happening here".
"The pitbulls I've had dealings with are naturally aggressive because of the type of people they are with. They keep pitbulls around because they don't like visitors, and one can only presume they have something to hide, that they are into crime and drugs.
"They are paranoid about officials visiting and the dog emulates the owner," Mr Best said.
While there is no suggestion the Manaia dogs were on P, an armed policewoman was on hand as they were cornered and loaded into a dog van.
Neither dogs nor owner resisted, South Taranaki District Council animal control manager Graham Young said. "We're 99% certain these dogs were responsible for Sunday's attack."
The owner signed over the dogs to the council, but may still face prosecution for the dogs' menacing behaviour.
George was so badly ripped apart in Sunday's attack as he protected his young charges that he had to be put down.
Since then, the STDC has been informed of four more pitbull-type unregistered dogs in Manaia.
Mr Young said the reported addresses would be visited and any unregistered dogs seized. "If they are pitbulls we will be seeking de-sexing and they won't be released until all our requirements have been met, including microchipping."
There have been four reported attacks by pitbulls in Manaia in two months.
Last night, the Sydney Morning Herald had George on its website, and the international news agency Associated Press had picked up the story.
George's owner, Alan Gay (69), said he had been receiving phone calls non-stop from relatives and media organisations since word got out of George's heroics. "The phone has been going since about half past seven this morning. Everytime I hang up it rings again. It's worn out, I might have to get a new one."
And, in another dog incident yesterday, residents called for help yesterday when two dogs, one of which was a pitbull, were left loose on an unfenced property in Banks St, New Plymouth.
Dog control officer Jim Aitken said the dogs were extremely aggressive towards him and he believed others would have been "gravely at risk" should anyone have approached the fiercely territorial dogs.
Armed police also attended the incident.
Mr Aitken was able to lock the dogs up on a fenced area on the property.
In Auckland, police have arrested a man over the attack by two pitbull dogs on two people on Saturday.
The pitbulls were destroyed after attacking eight-year-old boy Jackson Williams and 15-year-old girl Te Aro Pakuivi in Papakura.
A 36-year-old man is expected to appear in the Papakura District Court this morning. If found guilty, the penalty is a maximum of three years in prison or a $20,000 fine.