thinncrispy7

Arkansas cyclist mauled by dog but owner says pit bull is NOT vicious | Daily Mail Online

RPK79

Race Horizon Park–2016 will be held in Ukraine on May 27–29

K.Katso

Pretty nasty bite marks there. I feel bad for the guy, that really sucks. I hope they don't kill the dog though. They should probably put it in a home with a better owner.

plodderslusk

Better wait until it attacks a child ?

Inpd

I love the quote "‘We apologize for the lack of confidence in our department that this incident has potentially caused, but we can assure you, we will always strive to do the right thing, to do our best for the citizens of Washington County, and when we err, we will admit it and use it as a tool to make ourselves better,’ Sheriff Helder’s statement reads."

God they look horrific injuries, like a piece of meat. If it was a child it would be dead. Something is fishy here. I bet the owner knows someone or the Sheriff's offices like dog. I'm flabgaasstered the owner wasn't even cited and just given a verbal warning!

That Sheriff is irresponsible not to put the dog down, no one should have to suffer though that sort of pain.

K.Katso

Not saying that, I just don't believe in giving the animal a death sentence because the owner is an idiot.

Inpd

But why would you risk a human life. The animal has been poorly trained and as much as we all love animals, a kids life (or even an adult's pain) is worth more .

patrickgm60

Well, I do, when the owner refuses to take responsibility and the animal remains a threat. That appears to be the case, here.

bikemig 

My favorite line from the article:

Owner Ashyton Slavens blamed Holt for the mauling, accusing him of provoking her pit bull

bronco71

I had a neighbor who 1. refused to contain his dogs 2. refused to acknowledge that said dogs posed a danger to anyone and 3. stood on his property and watched as his dog went after my five year old. Clearly that dog owner is an epic ******bag. Even with that, in five years, dozens of call to both animal control and police, several citations and starting to carry a pistol to protect my family still did not get these dangerous animals removed from the ******bag. I finally moved my family to get away from this sociopathic nutcase. I agree that we shouldn't blame the dog, however, from what research I have done, it is easier to put the offending animal down than it is to remove it permanently from the ******bag owner. Sometimes in the interest of removing an immediate hazard, expediency is the best course.

Maelochs

Thing I see here is that the 18-year-old owner absolutely refuses to take any responsibility. Why was the dog free to ruin into the road in the first place? And exactly what "provocation" could a sane person claim, considering the attack clearly happened in the middle of the road, as the bloodstains show?

Unless the cyclist was on marked, fenced property and attempting harm to the dog or its owner, there is no justifying "provocation' for a dog attack.

And as usual, the dog pays the price for the stupidity of the owner.

had the dog hit an artery and the cyclist bled out while the owner tried to hide the dog, what excuse would then be given?

I say give the owner a choice: either the county puts down the dog or sterilizes the owner. Both would make the streets a lot safer.

EDIT: i don't know why I didn't see this immediately: if the owner is willing to do what it takes to keep the dog alive ... put down the owner. Everybody wins, including the dog.

dcsix

For the (18 year old) owner to basically say 'there's just no way my dog would do that unless provoked' is ridiculous. There's just no way I think she's qualified to make that judgment.
I was thinking last week about how I frequently ride one of just two or three different routes, and rarely just ride randomly in new areas. One benefit of this for me is that I have the opportunity to know where the dogs and other hazards are along the way, and have less chance of a surprise-though it can happen any time. Terrible experience for that rider, really too bad. Put the dog down, imho, once a dog does that it will probably do it again.

bobbyl1966

i had attack from dog in bike trail is was few years ago. One woman is had hunting dog on the lease and walked on the bike trail. The time i pass next to the woman and the dog the dog jump on me and tried to bite me. I was lucky i move the bike to the my right fast and the dog only destroy my bike shorts. i was ready call the police but i see the dog pulled the woman with the lease i deside better i leave before the dog get loose and bite me again.

bronco71

Winner

Seattle Forrest

Of course it's not vicious. It was probably the most polite dog in the world, that's why it attacked the cyclist. Whenever a dog bites someone, the owner always has a story about how friendly and nice it is.

Inpd

I know way too much about this because it was once part of my professional life, but each year there are over 1 million (1,000,000) dog bites and in the vast majority of them (including the fatalities) the owners don't, can't or won't believe their dog was at fault.

"Each year, more than 350,000 dog bite victims are seen in emergency rooms, and approximately 850,000 victims receive medical attention. Data that the CDC collected in the USA between 2001 and 2003 indicated there were 4.5 million dog bite victims per year, but that figure appears to be rising."

I had one case where there was video of the dog mauling a kid from start to finish and the owner refused to admit the dog was at fault.

aubiecat

I don't know how many times I've heard dog owners claim their dog doesn't bite. Even when they are running at me snapping the jaws at my ankles.

TenSpeedV2

It is an aggressive breed. They may be the biggest and most gentle dogs as the owners usually say. They are viscous animals however. As a dog owner and lover, I wish that the breed were wiped off the face of the earth. There are stupid owners, and then there is an aggressive breed, and you combine the two and you have a recipe for disaster, like what happened to this guy.

I have had my share of run ins with the breed and with stupid owners. Next door neighbors had a male and female, and they bred them and sold the puppies. It would charge the fence every time I was in the back yard. Snarling and growling and pretty much scaring the hell out of me. Over the next 2 years we had several incidents where the dogs would show severe aggression towards us. One day I pull in the driveway and go to get out, and here comes the female. She got out of the backyard. She was more aggressive than the male. I am now trapped in my car, like in Cujo. This dog is just sitting in the driveway next to us, just watching us. Call the Police and Animal Control and it became more of a mess than I wanted.

Today I was riding home from work, and there is a house with a fenced in yard that I pass. They have a German Shepard and a Pit Bull. I am riding in the street, and the Pit starts growling and barking and charges the fence and runs along side just snarling and carrying on. Little does that dog know that if it jumped the fence which it is more than capable of doing, it would have me. And no, I am not messing with it or even acknowledging it. Just trying to ride away so that if it does get loose, I am not a target of interest.

WhyFi

For being a "dog owner and lover," you obviously don't know much that the 6 o'clock news doesn't tell you.

TenSpeedV2

I know what my own personal experience with the breed has been. The news has nothing to do with that.

bigdo13

that was a vicious ass attack and that dog was likely trained to do **** like that....

dog needs to be taken from that owner immediately...

WhyFi

Yeah, and confirmation bias isn't a thing, either.

TenSpeedV2

It isn't a preconception when it happens every time. If I hit myself in the head with a hammer 100 times in a row, and my head hurts every time, the next time I hit myself in the head with the hammer, I can expect it to hurt. So far, in my life, I have had no good interactions with that specific breed. From the neighbors to being bit by one on a bike ride, there hasn't been a single good experience. What do you want me to say?

banerjek

We would just have another breed to attract the idiots. Pitties have only been fashionable for the past few decades. Before that, Rotts, Dobies, Sheps, huskies, and bloodhounds, struck fear into everyone's hearts.

The danger that dogs present is real, but it also gets a lot more attention than it deserves. There are millions of dogs out there and every year, 2-3 dozen people are killed in the US and it makes the news every time. Compare that with over 30K automobile deaths per year and a comparable number of firearm deaths per year, and it's pretty clear there are greater threats if we're worried about a violent death. If we put a cycling context on these things, over 700 cyclists are killed by motorists (including some members of this forum). In contrast, a normal dog year yields zero cyclist deaths.

I totally get why people are concerned about dogs -- I've been carrying scars for over 35 years given by dogs that supposedly didn't bite and I have plenty of experience with loose poorly socialized dogs in rural areas owned by even more poorly socialized people. But we seem to react to dogs and the injuries they cause in a totally different category than those sustained by any other source. Irresponsible owners need to be dealt with, but the threat needs to be dealt with in the context of all the threats we face.

WhyFi

Yeah, and red Priuses are out to kill me - I've never had a good interaction with one in my life.