4 Pitbulls Maul Us Woman To Death

[samoyedman]

http://www.smh.com.au/world/woman-mauled-t...0427-1dw06.html

A US woman has died after being attacked by four pitbulls while taking a walk in her neighbourhood on Easter Sunday in a mauling that ended only after a police officer began spraying the animals with bullets, authorities said.

A police officer found four pitbulls mauling Margaret Salcedo when he arrived in response to an emergency call from a neighbour who heard her screams for help, said Patrick Gallagher, the police chief in the town of Truth or Consequences, in New Mexico.

A young man driving by told police he tried to get out of his vehicle but the dogs threatened him and he stayed put, Gallagher said.

Advertisement: Story continues below Officer James Harrington couldn't drive the animals off, and had to fire several shots at one of the dogs when it threatened him, the chief said. That animal fled, wounded, and the officer was able to scatter the remaining dogs.

Harrington and emergency technicians gave first aid to the 48-year-old Salcedo, but she died at a local hospital several hours after the attack.

"The wounds were very severe, bite wounds and tearing wounds to her extremities, so there was a lot of blood loss," Gallagher said.

The dogs' owners were not home when the attack occurred. The yard is fenced, but officers found several areas where the animals could have gotten out and into the neighbourhood.

Once Salcedo was on her way to the hospital, Harrington tracked the blood from the wounded dog and found the animals at their owners' home, Gallagher said. The dog that was shot was dead under the house, he said.

The surviving dogs were taken to the Sierra Animal Shelter, where they are quarantined pending the end of the investigation, Gallagher said. He said he expects the dogs will be euthanised once the investigation ends.

AP

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/woman-mauled-t...l#ixzz1KgehOCsJ

[Diva]

That poor woman, what a hideous way to die.

[RallyValley]

That poor lady and that poor traumatised man in the car, he will probably never forgive himself.

Waits for anti-BSL people to come in and take thread off track and trivialise the fact a lady died.

[nightgrace6]

That is horrid! And I doubt they will, there's only so many times pitbulls can be defended after doing something without being provoked (shuts mouth now).

[poodlefan]

That is horrid! And I doubt they will, there's only so many times pitbulls can be defended after doing something without being provoked (shuts mouth now).

I doubt anyone will want to defend those dogs.. but not all PBs are like that.

I'd be interested to know more about the background, socialisation and training history and environment those dogs were raised in. I doubt we'll learn anything about that though.

What a horrific attack.

Edited April 27, 2011 by poodlefan

[Lillynix]

Oh gosh, that poor woman

I hope some kind of counselling would be offered to the man in the car, I imagine he'd be quite traumatised by the whole thing

[RottnBullies]

FFS! are you for real! What a really stupid comment to make

This Is a very tragic story, I feel for this woman her family and all who had to witness what would have been pretty horrid and shocking to say the least

That poor lady and that poor traumatised man in the car, he will probably never forgive himself.

Waits for anti-BSL people to come in and take thread off track and trivialise the fact a lady died.

[Sunnyflower]

That is horrid! And I doubt they will, there's only so many times pitbulls can be defended after doing something without being provoked (shuts mouth now).

I doubt anyone will want to defend those dogs.. but not all PBs are like that.

I'd be interested to know more about the background, socialisation and training history and environment those dogs were raised in. I doubt we'll learn anything about that though.

What a horrific attack.

RIP to the poor lady! I was bitten for the first time by a dog last year and that one bite on the hand was scary enough..

I have to agree with you PF. I used to own a pitbull and she WAS the sweetest dog I have ever owned. I however knowing she was a pitbull and this was prior to the BSL laws coming in made a point of socialising her every single day twice a day at the dog park and she had lots of training.

All dogs are pack animals and all dogs are capable of just this and especially if they have owners that don't care!

[Keira&Phoenix]

That poor lady and that poor traumatised man in the car, he will probably never forgive himself.

Waits for anti-BSL people to come in and take thread off track and trivialise the fact a lady died.

This is offensive. I am anti-BSL but I will not defend what these dogs did to this woman. It is horrible and I can only imagine the pain, suffering and terror she felt during the attack. You took this off track by even mentioning that IMO. This could have been any 4 dogs of any medium/large breed, and as others have pointed out not all PB's are horrible dogs, I have one and she is the sweetest thing you will ever meet. We have no idea about their upbringing though (as already mentioned by PF) - Judge the Deed not the Breed.

My deepest sympathies and condolences to the woman's family and the poor people who witnessed the attack. And absolutely these dogs should be euthanised no question about it.

[fuzzy82]

A 7 year old boy was killed by a group of huskies in Norway a few years ago. I don't think it's a breed thing, and pitbulls are bred to be dog aggressive, not human aggressive. Most people have trouble recognising a pitbull though, so I wouldn't trust that the dogs actually were pitbulls unless that have posted a photo of them.

And it's horrible of course, very sad.

[Keira&Phoenix]

A 7 year old boy was killed by a group of huskies in Norway a few years ago. I don't think it's a breed thing, and pitbulls are bred to be dog aggressive, not human aggressive. Most people have trouble recognising a pitbull though, so I wouldn't trust that the dogs actually were pitbulls unless that have posted a photo of them.

And it's horrible of course, very sad.

I wanted to get in somewhere that there is no proof the dogs were Pits that the police officers/witnesses might have identified them as that but they really could be any mix of any breeds that sort of look like Pits but aren't.

Thought I might get told I was trivialising a womens death though so kept my gob shut.

[k9angel]

Poor lady. That would of been absolutely terryfing and a terrible way to die.

Again it comes down to irresponsible owners IMO. I do believe the dogs reponsible should be pts, but I hope they prosecute the owners to the full extent too. If they had of kept their dogs in a secure yard to begin with, and socialised them properly, it probably wouldn't of happened in the first place and this lady would still be alive. Very sad. :D

[Brennan's Mum]

RIP To the lady truly a horrible way to go, and to the witness who saw the attack .

[aussielover]

Who cares what breed they are! What they did was horrific.

[melzawelza]

Horrific attack and that poor poor woman and witness. Completely unacceptable and yes those particular dogs should be put to sleep.

However the person above that made the offensive comment about pit supporters and the breed should apologise for her ridiculous remark. No anti-bsl person would defend these dogs or their actions, but that also doesn't mean we extrapolate what has happened to blaming an entire breed. Educate yourself about the breed and about how successful BSL has been in other countries and our own and maybe you will learn a thing or two and not embarrass yourself again. And it was YOU that made a point about the breed first, NOT us.

Edited April 27, 2011 by melzawelza

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

It's about time that owners that cause the death of another person through their dog(s) escaping and killing them served many, many years in prison. Ultimately their stupidity and negligence has caused another person to lose their life.

What a terrible way to die. Shame the guy in the car couldn't have run them down, I presume it wasn't possible but that would be an option in some scenarios.

[shelby-001]

Horrific attack and that poor poor woman and witness. Completely unacceptable and yes those particular dogs should be put to sleep.

However the person above that made the offensive comment about pit supporters and the breed should apologise for her ridiculous remark. No anti-bsl person would defend these dogs or their actions, but that also doesn't mean we extrapolate what has happened to blaming an entire breed. Educate yourself about the breed and about how successful BSL has been in other countries and our own and maybe you will learn a thing or two and not embarrass yourself again. And it was YOU that made a point about the breed first, NOT us.

well said!

I pass NO judgement on the situation at all, as I trust NO news report to get it correct and have no idea of the circumstances surrounding the attack. It's horrible a lady died obviously and I am saddened for her and her family and the man that witnessed.

[sandgrubber]

Ditto everyone. Poor woman. Awful. Awful. Awful! way to go.

I live in a predominantly Hispanic area of the US. The neighborhood dogs are mostly chihuahua types and pit bull types, but you'd have a hard time finding a pedigree anything. Most people ignore the lack of pedigree and just call the dogs according to their types. The press will do the same. The chi's tend to be ankle biters and the pit bull types tend to be friendly, though many have issues with other dogs, and unlike the chi-types, you don't often see them wandering. I wouldn't say the dogs were 'bred' for anything. By in large they were conceived because, despite compulsory sterilization here, not everyone neuters their dogs and . . . well, puppies happen.

The problem here was owners. It is stupid to allow large/powerful dogs to form a pack and exhibit predatory group behaviour; it is criminal to do so if your fences aren't solid and secure at top and bottom, and if the gate arrangements aren't extremely well controlled. No smarter than leaving a loaded gun in a kindergarten. In this case, I'd hope the owners are charged with manslaughter. It would be accurate.

Someone mentioned a husky mauling in Norway. I remember looking at dog-fatality statistics for Canada at some point, and cases of husky packs killing people, mostly children, mostly in rural areas where dog sledding was a way of life, were a big contributor. Again, packs of large dogs.

Edited April 27, 2011 by sandgrubber

[nightgrace6]

Do you mean me?!

[Dogsrawesome]

Agree with PF you cant blame the breed itself. What these dogs did was horrific poor lady would have been in so much pain.

i also find it disgusting that some people on here are suppose to love dogs and yet they can judge a breed just like that! tisk tisk.