Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/12/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]This brings back a memory, from a shoot in the late 1980's. I was in Yucca Valley to do a portrait of a retired Marine Sergeant Major. As we were chatting, he recounts a story of his surviving a recent attack by dogs. He was chopping wood one day, when out of nowhere, two pit bulls attack him. He had one on his arm, and one by his groin, narrowly missing the artery. He was using a piece of wood to try to get them to release to no avail. A nearby police officer on patrol, spotted it and wound up shooting the dogs off him. The old Gunny even made the local paper with that attack. As he was telling me this, I kept looking at the family photos around the room. In them I could see the he fought in WWII, Korea, and multiple tours in 'Nam. To have died from being mauled by dogs would of been an ironic indignity. The owner of the dogs, a neighbor, made an unwise complaint about about the use of deadly force on his dogs. That didn't go far in Yucca Valley, a Marine retiree town. S. Dimitrov On Dec 21, 2004, at 9:44 PM, Peter Klein wrote: > This is a touching story, and I'm sure Midge is a great dog. I too > have known several friendly and affectionate pit bulls. But there is > another side to this. > > My dog Harpo was almost killed by a pit bull several years ago, in a > completely unprovoked attack. We were walking on a trail in a > shoreside state park in northwest Washington (Deception Pass, for > those of you who know the area). We rounded a bend, and a couple of > hundred yards away, we saw a young couple playing "fetch" on the beach > with what appeared from that distance to be a small dog. > > I turned to say a few words to my wife, and when I turned back, the > "small dog" was almost upon us. It turned out to be a male pit bull, > probably about a year old. He chased Harpo around several times, with > us screaming, "no, no." I know better than to directly challenge a > dog under those circumstances, but I began frantically pulling my > jacket off, hoping to throw it over his head to distract him. > > I wasn't quick enough. The pit bull caught Harpo with his paws and > dew claws, pulled him down like a deer, and took Harpo's neck in his > mouth. He was about to bite down hard when the owner reached us. He > literally threw himself on top of the pit bull, pounded on the dog's > chest full force with both fists, and yelled "NO!" The pit bull > stopped, thank God. Another second or two and Harpo would have been > dead. > > The guy was apologetic and a bit scared of what might have happened. > Then his girlfriend started yelling at us that it was *our* fault > because our dog was not on leash. . . (neither was theirs, and mine > stayed by me). It was the closest I've ever seen my wife come to > violence. > > Pit bulls were designed to be killing machines. They are capable of a > jaw pressure much greater than any other dog, their aggression is very > easily aroused, and many (most?) people who breed and own them do so > for "protection" or machismo. It takes extraordinary training and > socialization to make a reliable dog. The people who want pit bulls > are usually the last people that *should* have them, because they tend > to encourage the very thing that makes the dogs so dangerous. All it > takes is one mistake for someone to get killed. Remember the case of > the female athlete in San Francisco, killed by her neighbor's pit > bull? > > I'm sorry if I'm being a doggie racist here. But pit bulls are the > result of artificial selection of a particularly pernicious kind, and > they are more dangerous than other dogs by an order of magnitude. Add > to this the fact that nasty people have nasty dogs, and you have a > recipe for disaster. > > --Peter > > At 09:37 PM 12/21/04 -0800, "Christopher Williams" > <leicachris@worldnet.att.net> >> Great shot Kyle. I've known many pitbulls and I never come across one >> that >> was mean. >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Kyle Cassidy" >> Subject: [Leica] This is a photograph of a dog >> >> >> > Bow wow >> > >> > >> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/temp/brutal-killer-pitt-bull.jpg >> > >> > Because I know you all care -- my neighbor pete found midge, a 2 or >> 3 year >> > old pitt bull in the bad part of town where she's apparantly lost a >> dog >> > fight (organized dog fights are endemic in some parts of >> philadelphia, >> hence >> > our huge stray pitbull population) and been dumped from a car. She >> had >> > multiple bite wounds and was covered in blood. When he approached >> her, she >> > tried to stand up and wag her tail. Pete put her in his car and >> drove >> > quickly to the vet, but thought she'd die before he got there. >> Well, he >> did >> > get there. And midge lived. And there she is. >> > >> > That face is actually not representational. She's actually a nice >> dog, the >> > kind you'd expect to lose a dog fight. >> > >> > >> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/temp/brutal-killer-pitt- >> bull2.jpg >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > Slobodan Dimitrov Photography