Tag Archives: Maryland

Yorkshire terrier

Innocent happy walk on sunny day proves fatal to Yorkie because of a pit bull

Name: JAS
Victim: Pet
Location: neighborhood street, Maryland
Year of attack: 2022

Tell us about the attack

I have a 17-year-old paraplegic Bichon and a 6-pound Yorkie, Ava. At the start of October 2022, rain had kept us indoors for at least 4 days. It finally stopped on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, so I decided to get the dog stroller for the Bichon out and take us for a walk. The neighborhood loop is a little under a mile. Both dogs were happy to be out in the fresh air and little Ava was keeping up with me on her leash.

We reached a point where two alleys meet across the street we were walking on. I spotted a white year-old American Staffordshire Terrier pit bull on a leash with a middle school girl and her friend. They had been running in the alley and the dog was worked up in play. In four seconds it pulled its leash out of the girl’s hand, raced to us, grabbed and shook Ava, crushed her, and dropped her. The girls were horrified, grabbed the leash and did a pit-and-run with the pit bull. We have not been able to locate the owners.

Ava died immediately.

How has your life changed as a result of the attack?
On the positive side, I have been supported by my neighborhood, made new friends and feel very loved. Ava died on a happy day, but the shock is still with me. The news was posted on the Community Facebook page and on a “Nextdoor” news app. Ava’s death has raised awareness on responsible dog ownership. One person wrote that a lose Yorkie is a nuisance, but a lose pit bull is a tragedy waiting to happen. I have been advised to carry mace. Today an adult male walked his pit bull past my yard and could barely restrain it. Yesterday a couple with a baby walked their pit bull past my house.

Legal Consequences
If I had picked my Yorkie up and been bitten I would have a criminal case against the owner. If Ava had lived, the vet said she would have needed $30,000 worth of surgery only to live the rest of her life in pain and with PTSD.

The dog loving owners in my neighborhood are looking for the pit bull that killed Ava. The police and Animal Control cannot do anything without an address. The owners never should have allowed these girls to be put in the position of losing control of their young pit bull. The girls are also victims. Can they trust this pit when it fully develops into its muscle? Will it kill again, attack even them maybe?

What would you like people to know as a result of your attack?
If you own a pit bull, please be a responsible owner and muzzle your animal when off your property.  Genetics are difficult to train out of an animal.

People should not have to be afraid to walk their dogs. But thanks to pit bulls, we now live in a world where some dog owners are arming themselves.

Pit bulls gave me a pit bull education, and now I advocate against them

Pit bulls gave me a pit bull education, and now I advocate against them

Name: Steve
Victim: Pet
Location: Courtyard of apartment building, Maryland
Year of attack: 2019

Tell us about the attack

A month or so after I got my Newfie puppy, Floyd, a pit bull mix attacked him in the shared courtyard of our apartment building. I had to yank him into the air and kick the other dog away. As he was only 4 months old and around 30-40 lbs, I was able to lift him quickly. Turns out the attacking pit bull was owned by the boyfriend of a girl living in the building and the pit bull should never have been in the building to begin with. 18 months later, Floyd is around 150 lbs and is attacked again by another pit mix. This time, I can’t lift him so he runs towards door with the pit latched onto the hair on his neck trying to dig for skin. I was able to grab the pit, yank him off and throw him away far enough that Floyd and I could get inside and shut the door. This time it was an “emotional support” pit bull

How has your life changed as a result of the attack?
I no longer take my Floyd to dog parks and won’t walk him in areas I don’t know. I’m now scared to allow him near any other dogs. He loved other dogs when he was younger and now aggressively barks at all others. He’s still a Newfie so barking is the most he’ll do but he is still not the same dog.

When I was 18, I heard girls screaming outside my family’s house and went outside with my father to find a dog that was on fire. We were able to get help and save the dog. It was a pit bull mix. We adopted the pit mix, named it Kaybee, and gave it a great home. Still, I was never comfortable having other people around it, but didn’t think anything negative about pits until the attacks on my current dog. As a result of the attacks, my opinion about pits has completely evolved and I now support strong BSL (Breed Safety Laws.)

Legal Consequences
The first pit bull that attacked mine was not allowed there anyway so it was banned and the apartment tenant’s lease ended soon after. The 2nd one was a battle. The pit bull owner was apologetic but refused to remove her pit bull from the premises. As there was only one shared area for dogs to use for the entire apartment building, this was not acceptable so I told them it had to go. When I said I would contact animal control, I was informed that it already had a bite on its record so that would mean it would be euthanized. The owner decided to move out and probably let her pit bull attack other pets in her new apartment rather than have her vicious killer put down.

What would you like people to know as a result of your attack?
Pit bulls are responsible for the vast majority of fatal dog attacks on humans and especially children. But that is not the only concern: they are also bred to fight dogs and they have an extremely aggressive prey drive. They are vicious killers that do not belong around children, other pets or any decent person. If you want to guard your junkyard, then maybe a pit is the dog for you. Otherwise, let these mutant killers die out by eliminating the breeding population.