Sunday, June 28, 2015

Tragic Story of a Dog Attack & Info on Animal Control

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A neighbor recently contacted me with a very disturbing story about a fatal dog on dog attack. His story appears below. Beneath that you will find information on animal control in the District of Columbia and what to do if you witness animal abuse/neglect or encounter a dangerous animal situation.
We live on Owen Place in Trinidad.  Our neighbor got a pit bull a few years back.  We just found out that it was trained over the years to fight.  About a year ago it jumped another neighbor’s fence and ripped apart a little white dog in just a few seconds while several neighbors watched in horror, unable to do much.  The dog was taken by Animal Control but somehow it ended up back at the neighbor’s house.

Last Tuesday evening, two men exited the next-door neighbor’s house with the dog.  The dog was not leashed.  We were outside on the front porch and our two dogs.  The pit-bull started aggressively barking at our dog, climbed over the 42” picket fence and chomped my little rat terrier around the neck.

We both rushed out to help but couldn’t do much.  I was bitten four times and my mother-in-law was bitten once.  She was also violently thrown down and hurt her wrist and back.  After I realized that I could not overpower the dog I went in and got a baseball bat.  I tried to hit the dog but its two handlers blocked my swings and told me to stop hitting their dog.  I got a couple of good hits in and the dog released.

At this point there was blood everywhere.  I called 911 and in about 10 minutes the police and EMS arrived.  Animal control showed up about 10 minutes later.  The two men brought the dog back into the house and fled out the back door into the alley.  The police and animal control entered the house and took the pit bull into custody.

We took my dog to Friendship Animal Hospital where he was extensively treated.  By the next morning we realized his internal bleeding and damage to throat and brain stem were too severe and we had to put him to sleep.

I was told later that this same dog attacked an elderly woman and had killed another dog but that the police weren’t involved in either case.

Dogs can be trained to be dangerous.  And they can attack, unprovoked and without warning, even over a fence. I think it’s very important to report aggressive dogs and get them taken off the streets so this kind of horrible tragedy doesn’t happen to another dog or person.
You can find information on the definition of a dangerous dog, how a dog is determined to be dangerous, and the result of such a determination in the DC CODE § 8-1801 - 1813; § 8-1821.01- .02; § 8-1831.01; 8-1841.01 - .09; 8-1901 - 1908. The Washington Humane Society maintains a page with links pertaining to animal cruelty and how to identify and report it. If you or your dog are bitten by another dog you should call Animal Control at (202) 576-6664. This DOH website explains what might happen next.

9 comments:

curmudgeon said...


God. The scumbags who owned this violent dog, and the worthless fucks who reacted in the fashion described in this story, have no souls left. There's nothing left in them worth saving.

Fuck them all the way to hell.

curmudgeon said...

And to the author of the story: I am so, so sorry for your loss.

Anonymous said...

that really sucks. what pieces of trash those two men are. the dog jumped your fence and attacked you and your mother in law, and the two shit faces physically stopped you. what injustice! and it looks like DC allows dangerous dogs to be returned to the owner if conditions are met.

i hope those 2 get justice done onto them criminally and civilly. your neighbor doesn't sound like a responsible person. i hope he/she leaves the neighborhood.

lets us know of any developments. sorry.

Anonymous said...

I would have hit the owners with the bat

-Sword

Anonymous said...

I do not understand how the owners of this particular pit bull (known to be "dangerous" in the legal sense, who violated the stated policy of keeping a dog on a leash and under "control") are not facing criminal and cival penalties. Wouldn't this at least be reckless endangerment? Prosecute them and sue them out of the house.

Anonymous said...

Is the dog permanently off the streets? If not please provide us with the address where the dog lives as I often go on walks in Trinidad with my toddler in a stroller and this gives me complete chills.

pat said...

It strikes me that one or both of those men are liable for criminal assault or reckless assault on you, and your motherin law.

That they brought a known dangerous animal outside without proper measures is reckless conduct, that their animal
began attacking your pet, your mother in law and yourself and they assisted, makes them accessories
to an assault, and conspirators within. Now wether the animal can conspire to lead the assault or they
had formed common purpose is a bit hard to tell, but, they should be in jail for assaulting you.

I'd say with a good lawyer, you just acquired a house in trinidad.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, both police and animal control take a very short-sighted view of dog-on-dog attacks. Police regard them as the domain of Animal Control, disregarding the obvious potential for human injuries. Meanwhile, animal control has seemingly forgotten it's meant to be a governmental department dedicated to public health and safety; the employees would much rather be animal advocates. This means never euthanizing an animal if you can avoid it, hence, returning violent dogs to their owners. Even if the violent dogs kill other dogs.

Also unfortunately, pit bulls do not have to be trained to 'fight,' ie, attack without provocation and with the intention of killing. They were bred to do this, and just as a beagle will trail a rabbit without any training, a pit bull will exhibit extreme aggression without being trained.

I Like Facts said...

11:11,
They euthanized the attacking dog. Not sure how you repeating myths you read about dog breeds on the Internet is helpful.