Woman Loses Finger in Pit Bull Attack
March 18th, 2008Kelli’s parents have a friendly Irish Setter named Riley. A couple months ago, while taking a walk with Kelli’s mom, their family pet was attacked by a vicious pit-bull. Despite attempts to separate the attacker from Riley, by hitting the wild dog, she was unable to get him to release his clamped jaws.
Luckily a woman driving by in a van saw the incident and helped to separate the two dogs, finally getting Riley into the safety of her vehicle.
Suddenly a man appeared in a red blue sports car, claimed the dog as his brother’s, and apologized for neglecting to keep him in control.
Long story short, after a vet bill of a few hundred dollars (that Kelli’s folks paid themselves) and some minor cuts to Kelli’s mom’s hand, Riley has healed up and the only lasting damage appeared to be psychological.
Today the Medicine Hat News has reported another attack on the same street by a dog of the same description. This time not only did the dog attack another dog, described as a small Shih Tsu, but in the scuffle the dog bit off a woman’s finger.
See the article after the jump:
Update March 19: The news has another article up… see more below.
From the Medicine Hat News Article:
Woman loses finger in pit bull attack
JESSE OWENS
jowens(at)medicinehatnews.com
Joel and Roseanne McNarland were driving to church last Friday night when they saw what appeared to be a sad sight: a dog had been hit by a car and was injured on the walking path along 21 Avenue SE.
Roseanne told her husband to drive up to the scene. As they approached, they saw a man repeatedly hitting the dog with a snow shovel.
“He must be putting the dog out of his misery,” thought Joel.
But as they neared, it became apparent that the dog, a pitbull, had a smaller dog that looked like a Shih Tsu in his mouth, while a woman with blood covered hands desperately tried to separate the two.
The couple stopped and Roseanne instructed her husband to do something. Joel had no weapons handy and wasn’t sure what to do, but fortunately four people soon showed up with hockey sticks and shovels. Joel grabbed one of the sticks and, along with the four other people, started hammering the pitbull. They beat the dog for what seemed like a lifetime, but to no avail. He wouldn’t budge.
Then a gentleman with a goalie stick came up and delivered a mighty blow that fazed the dog enough for the smaller dog to escape. The pitbull backed away from the crowd and calmed down while two men cared for the injured woman. After administering first aid to her hands, one of the men told the crowd that one of her fingers was bitten clean off.
The group of people began looking for the severed digit, which Roseanne found hidden in the grass. She ran across the street to a house and put the finger in a bag full of ice until paramedics arrived.
Meanwhile, the pitbull was forced into a nearby garage and locked in until police officers arrived. The small dog that was mauled by the pitbull was covered in blood, but was still alive when it was taken to the vet.
As for the woman, the McNarlands say she was in so concerned about her Shih Tsu that she didn’t even notice her finger was bitten off. The News tried to contact the injured woman, but was unable to by press time on Monday.
None of the people at the scene had seen the pitbull before, but one of them stated that another pitbull was roaming around earlier in the evening. Until she is assured that there are no more pitbulls on the loose, Roseanne plans to keep her own dogs away from that area.
We were afraid that dog would strike again and in fact, Riley is no longer taking walks on that route for fear of his safety. This new attack makes me sick thinking about it.
Update March 19: Today The Medicine Hat News has a more detailed description of what happened and mentions the attack on Riley. Link to article.
‘I was in complete shock’
JESSE OWENS
jowens(at)medicinehatnews.com
From one powerful set of jaws, Sheryle Elsasser lost her middle finger and a beloved pet. The 38-year-old mother of two was walking home with her dog of four years, Gizmo, on the path in front of the Cypress Centre Friday night when two pit bulls snuck up behind her.
The black-coloured pit bull immediately attacked Gizmo while Elsasser fended off the brown-coloured one by kicking it in the head. The brown dog strolled away as Elsasser turned her attention to her little Shih Tsu/Bichon Frise dog.
“I was in complete shock, screaming at the top of my lungs, hoping someone would hear and help because I knew I couldn’t get him off,” says Elsasser while sitting at her kitchen table.
As Elsasser frantically tried to pull the dog’s jaws apart, more and more people came to her aid with hockey sticks and shovels. By the time they got the black pit bull off Gizmo, the dog’s teeth had already severed off most of Elsasser’s right middle finger. Elsasser was so concerned with saving her dog, she didn’t even realize she lost the majority of her finger until the melee was over.
Elsasser now sits with her husband by her side in her kitchen, her right hand extensively bandaged and left hand full of cuts. The doctors at the hospital weren’t able to reattach her finger and her puppy died on Sunday night from its injuries. Her husband, Neal, gently comforts Elsasser as she quietly weeps.
“The thing is,” Neal softly says, “our 10-year-old daughter was sick that night. She would have been with her. She goes walking with Sheryle all the time. I don’t even want to think what would have happened if she was there.”
The couple had never seen or heard of pit bulls in the area before the evening of the attack, but on Jan. 10, an eerily similar event occurred on the same walking path.
Wendy Wolcoski was walking her Irish Setter, Riley, when a lone pit bull started circling her. The dog lunged at Riley and latched on to its hind leg. Fortunately, Wolcoski and her pet were able to escape the incident without further damage.
City bylaw manager Fred Crittenden says they confirmed that both attacks were caused either by the same dog or by a dog from the same household.
The Medicine Hat Police Service reported that the two pit bulls involved in the Elsasser attack belong to two men who live in the same house. Ironically, the owner of the pit bull that attacked Wolcoski’s Irish Setter was forced to pay fines of $350 for the incident by March 14, the day of the Elsasser attack.
The black pit bull responsible for the latest attack is currently in custody and Crittenden says they will be in contact with the city solicitor next week to determine the animal’s fate. The dog’s 26-year-old owner is currently being charged with four offences. Each one could result in maximum penalties of $10,000 or a year of jail time.
Elsasser and her husband both agree the dog should be put down, but regardless of the outcome, they are mainly concerned with their family’s safety. They are only letting their 14-year-old son deliver his papers if he carries a sawed-down hockey stick with him.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Crazy.
March 18th, 2008 at 11:15 am
If somebody is too stupid to understand the fundamental immorality of owning vicious dogs you’re never going to be able to explain it to him.
March 18th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
I should mention, photo credit for the first photo goes to Kelli’s dad and the little white things on Riley’s back are drainage tubes.
March 18th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Similar problems here in certain areas, the city councils are trying to impose bans on some breeds etc. However, the owners of these dogs are a bit like the US gun lobby, “Vicious breeds of dogs aren’t the problem, its the owners who are the problem”
I say lets ban them too (yeah, gun owners too).
Disclaimer: I own a poodle
March 18th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
My mom actually got a call from the Calgary Herald regarding this article in the Medicine Hat News, and because of Jeff’s website. I have not heard as to whether she actually talk to them, but I sure hope she did. She said she is seriously considering submitting her picture and story to the Medicine Hat News, too bad she didn’t do it at the time. After hearing this recent story she was extremely thankful her hand was not more injured in her attack, especially because she works as a piano teacher.
March 19th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Unfortunately, once again, man has let down yet another innocent Pit Bull. After all, who’s at fault here? It’s not the dog that’s for sure. How hard is it to train a dog not to attack people? It’s in their nature my eye! Put the dog down and chalk it up as just another huge disappointment. In my mind there is nothing that the Pit Bull owner could say that would warrant a chance to own any kind of dog ever again. My condolences go out to the brave woman who lost her finger and her dog.
March 19th, 2008 at 9:11 am
According to Wikipedia “lack of proper socialization and strong training can result in a dog with aggressive tendencies. Under the care of an overly-permissive or uneducated owner, Pit Bulls (or any other large breed) can become very dangerous dogs.” This is obviously the case. A very sad story indeed.
March 19th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Louise, a standard poodle killed a Pomeranian in Toronto. Another breed bit off a groomer’s nose. I’ve personally been bitten by several dogs, purebred and mixed breed (the joys of working with rescued dogs). None were “pit bulls”, because “pit bull” is not a breed. It is a label that can be applied to dozens of purebred dogs, never mind crossed and mixed breed dogs.
It’s not the breed, it’s the level of dog socialization, training, care and control exhibited by the dog’s owner.
I’ve seen irresponsible owners of all breeds, and responsible owners of all breeds. It’s the hand on the end of the leash that is the cure and the problem.
Anyone who favours breed-specific legislation should research how it has failed in every jurisdiction, and how bite rates go up after breed-specific legislation has been passed…probably because the public has a false sense of security about dogs.
Breed-specific legislation does nothing but make responsible dog owners into second-class citizens, and kill unoffending dogs.
It’s a political ploy, a knee-jerk and uninformed reaction to a complex problem, usually abetted by media hysteria.
It sounds like Medicine Hat has a problem with roaming dogs, which is a by-product of irresponsible ownership and possibly failure to enforce existing by-laws such as licensing and leashing. Follow the KISS rule, it works - Keep It Simple, Stupid. Enforce licensing and leash laws, roaming dogs are minimized and public safety is increased. Calgary has an astonishingly high licensing rate, 90% or so, and an incredibly low bite rate, because of non-breed specific by-laws that get zero tolerance enforcement, animal control officers who are professionals, and the political will to keep what works in place. Calgary’s animal control department is self-sustaining; it doesn’t cost taxpayers a cent, it’s funded from licensing fees and by-law fines. I wish more municipalities had the backbone to do as Calgary has done, we’d all be much better off.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:40 am
I believe it’s disingenuous to imply that the breed of dog has nothing to do with its aggressiveness or potential to harm the public.
While I agree that proper training can greatly reduce those risks, it is important to consider that just as we would not want people having wolves or lions as pets because of their wild nature, it follows that some breeds of “domesticated” dogs are more dangerous than others.
I think it’s fair that the risks of dogs labeled as “pit-bulls” should be evaluated and if/when they are found to be too dangerous, society has a responsibility to ban them as pets.
March 27th, 2008 at 3:05 am
Social,
I have a ‘toy’ poodle (which is a different breed to a standard) and whilst the breed isn’t the issue it is most certainly a contributing factor to aggressive behaviour.
In Brisbane, the council has addressed the dangerous dog problem by placing an extra registration fee on a dog which has been reported as having bitten someone. I think it is $30 per year normally and $800 for an known aggressive dog (for that fee you get a sign for your gate and a guarantee that if he gets out he will be destroyed).
How does Lethbridge address its taste testing dog population? Calgary sounds like it takes itself pretty seriously.
“I’ve seen irresponsible owners of all breeds, and responsible owners of all breeds. It’s the hand on the end of the leash that is the cure and the problem”
My dog is a roamer, you can’t keep him in although he hasn’t hurt anyone. I feel so irresponsible when I think about it (my hands do anyway).
“It’s not the breed, it’s the level of dog socialization, training, care and control exhibited by the dog’s owner”
I feel like I have failed as an owner now, as I have no control of the little monster at all. He has socialised himself quite well when he goes for his morning and evening wander, does that count? Luckily I have performed better with my children eh? Oh crikey they’ve started to wander in the evenings too!
Pal, my dog is available for weekends if someone would like to borrow him btw. Social can you take him for the weekend and fix him for me?
I think I need Dr Phil now!
April 14th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Well this story has brought back memories for me. I too have lost my middle finger due to a dog attack in October 2005. I am not going to say much on here as I am in a legal battle right now. However, I will say that it is NOT a breed of dog. Regardless of the breed, dogs are animals and should be monitored at all times. Owning a dog is as much of a responsibility as having a child - if you can’t accept those responsibilities, then you should not have a pet.