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Please Donate to BC attacked by pit bulls! (WA State)


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Greetings all ~

I'm not one to do this sort of thing, but since it involves someone I know, here goes.

A young border collie bred by Caifornia open handler Sandi Anderson, (out of her good Liz) and belonging to Sandi's daughter has been brutally attacked by pit bulls. The daughter's neighbor's dogs broke down a fence to get to this poor dog, and all 3 of them were savaging her when the owner's husband came out and beat them off with a 2x4. Tru is a beloved pet as well as their 14 year old son's agility partner, and she was supposedly safe in her own yard.

"Tru" is in ICU and judging by current reports, she is stabilizing and improving. But the vet bills are going to be huge. Therefore I am appealing to folks here to donate whatever bit you can towards the care of this family's dog.

You can donate through their GoFundMe website, which also has some photos and updates from the owner on the dog's condition:
http://www.gofundme.com/6sqtkc

Or you can send donations to the vet tending Tru, and direct funds to the account of "Tru Olney." They are:

Summit Veterinary
2505 South 80th Street
Tacoma, WA 98409

Phone: (253) 983-1114
Email: info@summitvets.com


Any small bit can help. Please consider it. I can't even express how horrified I am by this event.
Respectfully submitted,

Gloria
P.S.
I do NOT want to turn this into a breed-bashing discussion. Let's stay focused on the matter at hand.

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I wish I knew. :( It was in Washington State and I have no clue what laws are up there, or if there's even any liability to be had in a dog-on-dog attack.

You'd THINK something like this would be a massive community concern, dogs breaking into other people's yards. But who knows if the law actually provides for something like that.

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I would be looking into contacting their home owners insurance ASAP. Give them the police report, DCO report and copies of vet bills and photos. They could retain an attorney and sue the insurance at least for payment. If the bill really is $12,000 then obviously that is worth it. Maybe their insurance company isn't even aware they own 3 pit bulls.

 

How are the owners going to live next door to these people and their dogs now? I would be scared for my own safety even.

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True but if this happens again and you don't have an object/tool (like the 2x4) you're just as likely to get hurt while breaking up a fight at that level with 4 dogs. I certainly would not want to live next door to three dogs that are capable of that type of damage to either dog or human. How could they ever let their dog outside again in their yard? I wonder how the neighbors are handling the situation? I know from watching my mom go through terrible neighbor problems that she eventually sold her house and is much happier now. But no one should have to feel unsafe on their own property and feel forced to move.

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I agee. I don't know what I would do if I had those dogs living next door. Many years ago I put down a dog that was very animal agressive. He was incredibly wonderful with every person he met, the best of any of my dogs by far when it came to humans but wanted to kill any dog or cat he came across. When he started going after my animals, I chose to put him down. My vet gave me a very hard time about euthanizing a (physically) healthy animal. She wanted me to rehome him. I refused because I had visions of him killing a beloved pet in front of its owners or accidentally biting a person who tried to save their pet. He had amazingly strong jaws and it was a disaster waiting to happen. I couldn't in good consience pass him on to even the most loving, dog savvy home if there was anyone willing to take on such a dog.

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I honestly don't know if the pits's owners are home owners or renters. I would suspect renters, but who knows.

On the website, it sounds like Tru's owners doing what they can, have contacted animal control, etc, but they don't have money for an attorney. Without money, one's options can be limited.

People can contact the family through the website above, though, with any advice or suggestions. Thanks, all.

~ Gloria



I would be looking into contacting their home owners insurance ASAP. Give them the police report, DCO report and copies of vet bills and photos. They could retain an attorney and sue the insurance at least for payment. If the bill really is $12,000 then obviously that is worth it. Maybe their insurance company isn't even aware they own 3 pit bulls.

How are the owners going to live next door to these people and their dogs now? I would be scared for my own safety even.

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Little Tru seems to be making some progress, though her injuries were so severe that she's still at the hospital. In recent photos, you can get a sense of what a huge amount of veterinary care she's getting. Poor little dog! It is encouraging to see how many people have pitched in to help.

 

http://www.gofundme.com/6sqtkc

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  • 4 weeks later...

Looks like updates on Tru's condition are still being posted to the fund raising website.

 

Regarding the neighbors... it's really difficult to imagine that there would be no grounds for legal restitution. I hope they have found someone who can give them legal council at the very least, but it doesn't appear they are mentioning any of that on the fund raising website.

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At the Sonoma trial this past weekend, I was tempted to ask Sandi how things were going, but I didn't have the heart, given that she was running dogs and doing a heck of a lot of volunteering. And on that subject, Gloria, thank you for all your hard and good work at set-out!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just read another report in the news this morning or an attack almost like this one. The neighbor's pitbulls tore down the fence and went into the house thru the doggie door. They killed 3 dogs in the house. The owners were not home at the time. Can you imagine? The dogs were going to be euthanized. Surely there were some indications that these dogs were very dog aggressive before this happened.

 

So what kind of fence do you need to have?

 

I keep hearing that it's all due to bad owners. Good owners don't have bad dogs.

 

Does anyone know if that is really true? Or how much of this very dangerous dog aggression is genetics? I know that they have the same problem with some mastiffs. Good with people but can be very dog aggressive.

 

This sort of behavior always seems to happen when there are two or three pitbulls together.

 

Looks like little Tru above is continuing to do better. Good for her and good for all the people that helped.

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Tommy, that attack happened in my neck of the woods, up in Reno. I can't imagine anything more terrible. The woman was quoted as saying she never expected her dogs to be eaten in her own house. And they came home to find those pit bulls STILL over the bodies! :wacko:

I think there are some genetic problems in the breed. I think there are so many backyard breeders who are breeding for bad@$$ dogs that they are breeding their own behavioral/aggression problems. It's just not normal for dogs to tear down fences and break into houses to attack other dogs! I knew of two people who each got an Aussie pup out of some tightly-bred working lines, and both of those pups developed aggression problems that required them to be put down. The dogs would simply "snap" in moments of excitement and attacked their owners, sending one in for stitches. Both owners were firmly convinced it was due to the close breeding and that the dogs' minds were simply wired wrong. I think the same undoubtedly holds true for some pit bulls.

So, yes, I believe there are aggression problems in the bully breeds, and if one does not know the bloodlines and what is behind them, there is danger. I think it's becoming more prevalent simply because there are so very many backyard pit bull breeders and none of them are giving any consideration to what they are really breeding, other than cash on four legs.

I'm glad little Tru is continuing to heal. I wish the poor lady in Reno could have had the same bitter luck. :(

~ Gloria

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10 ft tall reinforced concrete maybe???? I've heard of dogs getting through wood fences and chain link. Of course, I've also heard of dogs jumping/scaling a 10 ft concrete wall.

 

Not true. I've seen plenty of sweet, friendly, gentle Pitties raised by horrid owners and aggressive Pitties raised by amazing owners. There is a genetic component to aggression and temperament.

 

When you have multiple dogs together you have an increased likelihood of aggression (pack mentality). Happens with people too.

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Having never owned a pit but after seeing all the bad new on them I never wanted one.

My daughter had a pit rescue when she was in Ok. for a while. They all had different personalities and temperaments just like any other breed.

When she moved home she brought one back with her, that she had found running the streets. Figured she had been used as a bait dog due to all the scares on her and a few missing teeth.

Yes she moved in with me. That little R/W female changed my view in a hurry.

She got along with all my dogs. Protective but not aggressive. When my granddaughter was born I was very worried what Ruby would do. She was the best baby sitter. She was supervised but that little girl could do anything with her an when she got tired she just got up and moved to some place else, Just like my BC does now.

We lost her a few years ago to cancer but you couldn't ask for a better pit.

She has a male now and he is the same way.

I agree with Liz. You hate to see it in any dog, but seems like most breeds have been through it at one time or another.

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This stuff is just so disturbing to me. It's like my worst nightmare. Poor little Tru was bad enough.

 

My dogs aren't perfect. There was the time they were playing tug of war with a yorkie. But the yorkie came into my yard under my locked gate so it came onto their territory.And it was a yorkie and they can come on very aggressively. They dropped him when I threatened them with their lives. But to tear down a fence and go into someone's house and start killing? I just can't imagine that ever happening in a million years. That just seems so far out from any kind of normal canine behavior.

 

There are a lot of pitbulls in my neighborhood. Makes me nervous. Fortunately none of them are loose. I just hate to feel that way about a breed of dog but I can't help it. I'm just plain afraid of them. And rotties, too. Can't help it. It's just the way I feel.

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