Pit Bulls kill 7 year old boy

1. stormcarver

May 20, 2008 @ 9:56 am

I regret, deeply, that this happened to this child. But I have to ask, where were his parents? Who was supervising him? I would also like to know what the child’s history with the dogs might be.

I ask these questions because, as we all know, children tend to take out their frustration upon anything they see as safe or weaker than they. Fenced or chained dogs are a prime target which usually ends in tragedy for the child.

The dogs in question are usually “yard dogs,” especially when it involves them running in a pack. They are not socialized in any way, instead being some twisted status symbol for the owner.

As a society, we tend to blame the dog/s in these situations as a type of knee-jerk reaction. Please, look beyond the immediate tragic circumstances to see what created this situation. Parents absent from the scene (how many times in the past few months?) and irresponsible pet owners are what led to this. It wasn’t a flash decision from the dogs to become a pack of killers.

As for pugs not being capable of killing - wrong answer. Under the right conditions, any dog can do permanent damage or kill a person.

“The most horrifying example of the lack of breed predictability is the October 2000 death of a 6-week-old baby, which was killed by her family’s Pomeranian dog. The average weight of a Pomeranian is about 4 pounds, and they are not thought of as a dangerous breed. Note, however, that they were bred to be watchdogs! The baby’s uncle left the infant and the dog on a bed while the uncle prepared her bottle in the kitchen. Upon his return, the dog was mauling the baby, who died shortly afterwards. (”Baby Girl Killed by Family Dog,” Los Angeles Times, Monday, October 9, 2000, Home Edition, Metro Section, Page B-5.)” (Source: http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/statistics.html)

Mourn for the child. Absolutely. But, beyond that, please think about the underlying issues that created the problem in the first place. Educate your children about proper behaviors around strange animals of every type. Report animal abuse and “yard dogs.”

Killing the dogs that were involved here only stops them specifically from doing more harm. It is only by changing the things that lead to these tragedies that we make them stop in a wider venue.

2. Breckgirl

May 23, 2008 @ 2:03 pm

How dare you?? You do not know what happened in this situation!! How dare you get on here and blame Tanner and his mother!! First of all a child should be able to go outside and play and not have to worry about a dog attacking and killing him!! Second, Tanner had been playing at the neighbors house with the neighbors children. Tanner had gone home and was going back over to play!! His mother watch him out the door and into the neighbor’s yard when she went back to doing house work, (btw she has a newborn she was attending to also)!! Tanner had just come from over there, how was he or she suppose to know this would happen when Tanner has been playing over there all day, yes at the same house with the dogs that had attacked him. He had been around them all day not to mention the fact he lived next door and had been over to play many times before. He is a 7 year old child, and he is dead because of these dogs. And yes the owner was very upset the officers killed his dogs, and tried to hide the other dogs. So unless you know the whole story don’t you dare blame the mother….And how DARE YOU blame tanner…he was an innocent CHILD!!!!

3. Jenny

May 26, 2008 @ 11:35 am

This is a horrible & heartfelt tragedy. But pitbulls are not all mean & aggresive. It’s simply how you raise them. My mother in law has a 7 year old pitbull which my one and half year old son sees very often and considers his best friend. The dog is very protective of him, stands by the steps so he won’t go down them, gently plays tug of war with him, and cuddles up next to him when he sleeps. Its sad that if he was seen on the street, people can take action and shoot him. Someone is responsible for raising those dogs, and should be held accountable.

4. AMY COLLIER

May 30, 2008 @ 11:05 pm

ita a terrible tragedy, but the dogs arnt at fault. i have two pit bull puppies and a child on the way and im in no way concerned for their saftey. punish the deed not the breed. the owner is who is responsible, not the dogs.

5. newsy

May 31, 2008 @ 7:44 am

Actually, it was the dogs fault. LOL. It was totally their fault. What an ignorant thing to say.

Saying, “Punish the deed and not the breed,” do you actually have any brain cells beyond your pit’s drool? That’s like a man beheading a toddler and saying, “Punish the deed, not the man.”

Pit Bull owners are as dangerous and ignorant as their dogs.

6. BDL

June 20, 2008 @ 2:24 pm

This is terribly sad. My prayers for the family. I can hardly imagine their grief.

Dogs are living beings, not inanimate objects. A reasoned discussion of the science behind the predictability/unpredictability of breed-specific instinctual behavior might be more productive than is your usual inclination to exploit tragedy, heap guilt and call names.

7. CLB

August 11, 2008 @ 12:13 pm

This truly is a tragic incident. To say that pits are a disgrace to society and the haughty ‘how dare you’ comment… If anyone wants to place blame, there is no one person at fault… the dog owners, the parent, perhaps even the child… each played their role.

I am only going to address the generic, all-conclusive comments about pits. Pits are, by nature, not agressive. They are trained to be that way. Any dog can be trained to be that way. Any dog can, also, be unpredictable if handled and/or treated improperly. I happen to own mastiffs… my daughter in law had the same ideas about them… but she finally saw the truth.

8. freelancechemist

September 6, 2008 @ 6:27 am

All this comes down to is ignorance. Ignorance on the part of the media and the naive people who read the stories. Pit bulls are only involved in 1-3% of all dog attacks reported. plus the fact that 83.9% of pit bulls pass the temperament test as apposed to 77% on average in all other breeds. for god sake, only 53.5% of border collies pass the test. does anyone put them in the vicious dog category? No because people just see Lassie. yet the media always reports pit bull stories with headline priority. pit bulls that i have come across in my life have been some of the most obedient, nicest most loving dogs i have ever met. the fact is that the media plays on the myths surrounding pit bulls just to get shocking headlines. most of the people who call pit bulls harmful and dangerous have most likely never been in the presence of a pit bull and make their judgments from a distance. if the dog is aggressive, its the owner’s fault. the dog was not handled and trained properly. that can happen with any dog. any dog can kill.

9. Jodi

September 19, 2008 @ 6:48 am

This is a trgic story, however just because of a few pitbulls you hear about attacking kids or people, you can not blame all of them. A pitbull will be a pitbull unless they have a good owner. IM so sick of peolple getting a pit. just because they think there badass dogs. If you cant train then you have no right to have one. I have a pit. and he is the sweetest thing i train him every single day and play with him. Any dog can bite a frigging chihuahua can bite and attack someone. Because they were breed for fighting that doesnt mean there going to attack and kill people. So people dont open your mouth of what you dont know, you dont know if the dog was left alone all the time and neglected. And no its not the childs fault its the owners they should have been outside with the dogs i never let my pups out alone and that child should have been watched.A kid is a kid they dont listen to the parents so talking to them about not going near a dog wont help, they dont know any better. The parents should have been with him you do not let a child go walking around outside by himself. An inocent child was killed because of stupid people! Yano it really sucks that these amazing dogs have to get treated badly just because of the owners. I get dirty looks all the time from having a pit. Those of you who are dont have a pit. and hate them and think they are a terrible breed shame on you!

10. Mike Jones

February 11, 2009 @ 3:38 pm

You get dirty looks walking that killing machine just like if you were out walking around with a sawed off shotgun which is all that animal is.

11. Jennifer

April 2, 2009 @ 3:55 pm

I just recently got a pit puppy that is just as sweet as can be!!! Everyone keeps telling me he is not safe to have around my 6 year old son… but I believe if you raise the dog in a sweet loving home and not rough house with it he will be ok. I just truly do not believe they are that mean unless the owner makes them mean. It breaks my heart to hear of a little boy being killed by 2 dogs. My son plays with the neighbors too…we live on a dead end street and he comes and goes from my house to theirs….so I don’t believe the woman is responsible or really anyone….It was just his time to go. I’m sure it could have been prevented somehow but I don’t know the whole story either…
As for my puppy I feel he will be safe around my son. My son knows the dangers of animals and how not to mis-treat or aggravate them…My God be with your family…