2022 Double Dog Bite Fatality: Pair of Family XL Pit Bulls Kill Two Children, Seriously Injure Mother in Tennessee – DogsBite Blog

A pair of family pit bulls killed two siblings, a 5-month old boy and a 2-year old girl.
King Lion Bloodline
UPDATE 10/11/22: On October 5, a pair of pit bulls a young family had owned for eight years fatally attacked their two children in the home, 5-month old Hollace Bennard and 2-year old Lilly Bennard. The mother, Kirstie Bennard, 30, was critically injured from trying to save her children. She remains hospitalized. Both pit bulls, a male and female pair, Cheech and Mia respectively, were confiscated by Memphis Animal Services and euthanized a day after killing the children.
We located the breeder of the female pit bull that was acquired by the Bennard family in 2013. Part of her bloodline is RGB’s King Lion.
Less than a day after the attack, the father and mother deactivated their Facebook pages, but we had already taken screenshots of the dogs. We then noticed that one of their friends, Jason Perry, stated on a 2017 photograph of Mia, the female of the pair, “I’d say Chunk did a good job…” indicating that a dog named “Chunk,” which is Perry’s dog, sired Mia. Sure enough, that turned out to be true. Jose Rubio of NextgenBullies is presumably the kennel where Perry obtained Chunk.1
On Perry’s 2013 thread advertising puppies from the breeding of RGB Jefe Son RGB Mulatto AKA Chunk to RGB King Lion Daughter RGB Circe, Perry speaks directly to the father of the children, Colby Bennard. Since Colby deactivated his Facebook page, part of that conversation is missing. Needless to say, Perry tells Colby there were only four girls in the litter, one of which was named “Mia.” Eight years later, Mia, along with the male dog, Cheech, will kill Colby’s two children.
Perry placed the puppies for sale in a photo album called, “Royal Cross Kennels — pups for sale.” Royal Cross (RCK) did the breeding, but the dog’s bloodlines are “King Lion,” which is the foundation stock for Jose Rubio NextgenBullies. RCK, apparently now defunct, billed itself as a “well-established kennel located in Memphis, TN. We are dedicated to producing top quality XXL American Pit Bull Terriers with great temperaments.” They called their dogs “traffic stopping.”
Royal Blue Generation, AKA Saul Cervantes (as seen on Perry’s advertisement for the puppies) may be related to RCK, which promoted the “Royal Cross Bloodline,” or they may be one in the same. Royal Blue Generation (RBG) is the beholder of RBG’s King Lion. That dog was on the cover of the Bully League magazine Issue #6 after it died. A “special tribute to The King, 2002-2010.” RGB also memorialized “El Jefe” on the same webpage, the bloodline of Mia’s sire.
In 2018, Cervantes claimed that King Lion was “the Godfather of the XXL Movement” and that the RGB bloodline became the foundation of “new up and coming kennels.” Another “Godfather” of the XL movement that became the foundation of the XL breeding community is UKC’s Most Wanted Kimbo. That dog had multiple offspring that attacked people, including killing at least one child in 2014. Kimbo was well known to “spit HA (Human Aggression) in his offspring.” XL dogs that have killed people are among the “XL American Bullies you want to see in your pedigree if you’re truly purchasing a top quality dog,” according to the XL fan club.2
RGB Pit Bulls, King of the XL, Home of KingLioN and KingLiger, continues to have an active Instagram and Facebook page. The owner, Saul Cervantes, loves to hashtag the terms #LionsOnLeashes, #LionOnaLeash, #LionKing, #KingLion, #Lioness, #Monster, #FreakOfNature, #FrozenSemen and more. The idea that the parents of Hollace and Lilly, who purchased these XL pit bulls over eight years ago, did not know they were high-risk, “freak show” dogs is doubtful.
What we know about the family’s male dog, Cheech, is that he was brought into the home about a year before Mia. The father of the children, Colby, referred to both of his dogs as “house lions.” Therefore, it is conceivable that both dogs carried the King Lion bloodline, #LionsOnLeashes. At the very least, both dogs were papered. We wonder how Perry feels now? Does he still feel that “Chunk did a good job,” producing the offspring Mia? Gee, what else are motorcycle buddies for?
The horrific tragedy of two innocent children killed by a pair of designer pit bulls, known interchangeably as XL pit bulls or XL bullies, is further marred by their parents who purchased dogs advertised as #LionsOnLeashes, #Monster or worse. NextgenBullies even warns buyers, “If you’re looking for a gorgeous pet or a freak on a leash, this boy is the ticket! PM me if you’re interested. Please speak to your spouse, partner, financial advisor, etc. before contacting me.”
The father called both pit bulls “house lions.” At least one came from the King Lion bloodline.
10/07/22: Mother’s Condition Improving
The pair of family pit bulls that killed two young children and seriously injured their mother on Wednesday had never been aggressive before, according to a family friend who spoke to Fox News. “If there was any inkling of danger, she would have never had those dogs near her kids,” Kelsey Canfield, the mom’s best friend, told the news group. The couple had owned the two pit bulls, Cheech and Mia, for over eight years without a violent incident, according to Canfield.
On Friday, Canfield and the mother’s sister were on their way to Regional One Health in Memphis to visit the mother. Kirstie Bennard suffered critical injuries trying to pull the dogs off her children. Her condition has been upgraded from critical to stable. She’s awake now, and she’s aware [of what happened],” Canfield told Fox News. Both of Bennard’s children, 5-month old Hollace and 2-year old Lilly, were pronounced dead at the scene after being mauled by the family’s pet pit bulls.
The father’s uncle, Jeff Gibson, stated in a Facebook post Thursday, “Kirstey is still in the hospital with an uncountable amount of stitches and bite marks over her entire body including her face. Both arms and legs are bandaged/wrapped up completely. As of now it looks like there isn’t any permanent damage.” He added that the “attack lasted over 10 minutes and she never gave up trying to save these babies.” So far, no funeral arrangements have been made for the children.
10/06/22: Pit Bulls Kill Two Children
Millington, TN – Late Wednesday, WREG reported that a pair of family pit bulls attacked and killed two young children. The multi-victim attack, which also left the mother critically injured, occurred at a home in the 700 block of Sylvan Road near Shelby Forest State Park around 3:30 pm. The pair of pit bulls attacked a 2-year old girl and a 5-month old baby boy. Both children were pronounced dead at the scene. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said both dogs appeared to be pit bulls.
Both dogs were seized by animal control. The mother was transported to Regional One Health in Memphis in critical condition. WREG and Fox13 continue to keep pressing the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office for more information. In the history of this nonprofit, which turns 15 years old on October 15, we have never recorded a double fatal dog mauling perpetrated by family dogs on household members. We have located photographs of both dogs on the father’s Facebook page.
On Thursday, the Daily Mail named the parents and their two dead children. The couple had many photographs of a male and female pit bull on their Facebook pages. The father, Colby Bennard, referred to the two dogs as “house lions” in 2014 and referred to the male dog, “Cheech,” in 2017 as “our little home security system.” The two young children, Hollace and Lilly, seen in the Daily Mail article are absolutely precious. It’s unfathomable that both of these children are now dead.
Shelby County Fire paramedics transported the mother in critical condition to Regional One Health. This remains an active investigation. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/gCYxeqAQSC
— ShelbyTNSheriff (@ShelbyTNSheriff) October 6, 2022

Male pit bull, “Cheech,” on left and female pit bull “Mia” seen on the father’s Facebook page.
The father has spoken out against BSL: “I can assure you, nobody will take Cheech and Mia from myself … Ignorance is no excuse to take so many ‘best friends’ out of this world.”
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From beautiful young Family to 2 funerals and massive hospital bills.
Not to,mention lifelong mental anguish .
Father was into tattoos , Pitbull and Harley Davidsons.
Perhaps he had to maintain that macho image….
Sooo, when are we gonna charge ppl with reckless endangerment and manslaughter !?
Can’t imagine what these two babies had to endure been ripped apart like that.
I think they ran right past reckless endangerment and landed on negligent homicide. Maybe it could be called child neglect resulting in death. Whatever it’s called, the parents caused the deaths of their children by knowingly allowing dangerous pitbulls to have access to them.
They should be charged, but we know that they won’t. This will be mislabeled an “accident,” despite the well-known dangers that pitbulls pose to infants and toddlers. Local law enforcement will close the case, the prosecutors will turn a blind eye, and grass will grow over two tiny graves.
Since there wasn’t a single act of violence during either of the dogs lives how could anyone say the parents are negligent and they should be held accountable?? The attack came out of nowhere and was a tragic accident but simply because of the dogs breed the public wants to make it more then need be.
Indeed. The claim that “the dogs never showed aggression before” is an empirical statement that cannot be proven. Was this “friend” observing the dogs 24/7 from birth?
It would not surprise me if someone came forward stating that the dogs had behaved viciously or dangerously in the past: Aggressing towards other animals, chasing people, destroying property, etc… We may never know, but that is the whole point – we don’t know.
Assuming both of these 8 year old pit bulls were pure as the driven snow is a BIG assumption.
MY (yet unproven) assumption is the dogs DID behave dangerously in the past but such behavior was dismissed as “they were provoked” or “something scared them” or “they’re just dogs being dogs” etc… etc… etc… Thats even assuming the behavior had human witnesses: The dogs could have mauled another animal to death with no one being the wiser.
What DO we know? The murder mutts dismembered 2 small kids, and THAT is a fact.
We don’t know that! These sofa manifest themselves before something like this happens. We lice our pets they are family. We may choose to ignore animal symptoms as warning thinking we can handle ur it gave it under control. Unfortunately, at what cost do we dismiss certain symptoms red flags or whatever… My heart goes out to the mother poor lady. I can feel her pain and blame. a far as the dogs. When do you think it would be a good time for human Accountability? An eight-year friendship. A tragic end. Prayers and Hugs 🤗
Wake up, every dog eventually is in a bad mood, the difference is, pit bulls “can” kill you with ease and strength that an adult mom can do nothing about vs another breed not as powerful she can handle.
Wake up, It’s Negligent having a killing machine around young kids.
Exactly… well said they should have never had this type of dog around little babies…
Exactly. Well said. Startle it, step on it at night on accident, be mistaken for intruder, get excited playing PlayStation and yell too loud, attempt to discipline or stop a behavior. Personally would not own an animal capable of easy yet unstoppable lethal force. IT’S JUST STUPID.
Pitt attacks always come out of nowhere. How can anyone be in such denial of the possibility of this danger with all the documentation on this issue.
Even a 0.00001% chance that my child can be potentially or derivatively hurt by a dog, I will remove that “risk”. Here, the risk was much higher. Kids that age have no business being around dogs, even milder ones that can act unpredictably, let alone Pitbul that is known to be an aggressive breed.
I agree so much with you! I really love dogs But when I had children I got rid of my dog before I had my children & I’d never own a pit bull! I didn’t get another dog until they were older. My ex-husband almost caused me to lose my daughter despite my own precautions. He got a big lovable dog when she was 2 years old but he was ultimately irresponsible. He left her in the yard with the dog & went to the bathroom. The dog drug her down to the railway because he left the leash on it & obviously left her outside alone with the dog in the middle oft the wilderness with thousands of acres of forest for her to be drug off or even wander off into. While everyone was looking for her the train started blowing its whistle and the breaks started squealing and everyone knew that she was on the train tracks. Somehow that train conductor got the train stopped, it was sheer dumb luck! When I came to get her I not only took my daughter but took his dog and returned it to the rescue! The sheriff backed me up and my ex-husband was outnumbered!I eventually got them a nice little cocker spaniel puppy after they were in both over 10 years old and I felt comfortable with them being responsible around her. I still never left them alone and even though I had rescued most of the many many dogs I’ve owned I wouldn’t have ever considered anything except a puppy that was purebred and small to be around any child! Eventually I was able to force my ex-husband into supervised visits because of his irresponsible choices & because unlike these people & him I put the well-being of my children first above anything I may have wanted!
This is a classic PIT BULL trait. The dogs ‘never showed aggression before” until the moment they DID and someone is seriously injured or killed. Just a little real research online will prove the point. The information IS out there if people choose to look for it.
So well said. You are so right.
The breeder was literally bragging about the violence of his line.
One or both parents were turned on my the idea of owning potentially lethal pets.
Parents ought to be sterilized.
What kind of loving parent in this situation would spring to defend whomever or whatever had killed his children?
What kind of love is that?
thats their perception they are complete layman ! if you start asking questions like what do Cheech and Mia do if they see a strange dog? a cat? what do Cheech and mia do if the doorbells rings or you trim their nails? ? i bet they are cat killers etc so ”no aggression ” is a perception bully breeds have a different physiology they can be deceivingly flat when not in drive I’m very curious the
circumstance that triggered it , its so unfathomable
I read the dogs were fighting over a toy in the backyard. The mother tried to break it up. What does it matter, the trigger? It can be anything. I keep hearing never leave your child unsupervised with a dog yet this mother was right there. Once these dogs get in the zone, that’s it until it’s over, usually with the death of a perceived opponent. She should never have had these dogs in the same household as children.
“The circumstance that triggered it” is their genetics. Pit Bulls were bred to fight and kill, just like retrievers were bred to retrieve, and sheep dogs bred to herd, etc…
When will people realize that in dog breed: Genetics matter/Science matters.
???
Oh well, since they hadn’t bitten before then and it was only a tragic accident.
Do you not realize that your own statements actually support a breed ban?
Correct genetics do matter and seeing as the experts whose field of study is canine behavioral genetics have determined the combination of genes controlling dog/animal aggression and the combination controlling human aggression aren’t the same. Meaning a dog who exhibits dog/animal aggressive doesn’t mean they will exhibit aggression towards humans and vice versa. This has been shown by the thousands of dogs belonging to numerous breeds developed and used for hunting and catching large/small game that is then dispatched by the hunter and those who are used to catch and kill the large/small game being hunted themselves that don’t exhibit any aggression towards humans. These are Dogs who will happily chase down and kill a rabbit, cat and even coyotes and then be relaxing on the floor or couch with their owners
Out of the 8 years the dogs were owned, figure in the young age of the children and the dogs may have been stressed out for lack of attention and being pitbulls no doubt contributed to the impossibility of the mothers intervention as another breed would not have awakened the mauling instinct, would’ve just snapped at the children and jump away. I had a shepherd that snapped at a child for pulling its tail but it didn’t activate a mauling instinct.
By the way, I never trusted the shepherd again. He was always on leash and in my presence and I made sure to warn ANY children Not to touch the dog. I should have surrendered it to animal control as I was always stressed knowing that I had to keep an eye on it. I made sure there were no more incidents. He was humanely euthanized by my vet at the ripe old age of 13 years
These are not ordinary down the road kind of pit bulls people. Have you read the breed line and breeder they came from? These dogs were dangerous from the get go and these parents had no business having them around these babies.
It’s a tragedy beyond words!!
The fact that this breed has unexpectedly mauled and killed again and again is reason enough to charge the parents. Pit Bull attacks are not rare and they are not unknown. This couple put their children in harm’s way. The terror and pain these babies went through did not have to happen. My heart breaks for the children, but I am angry at the senselessness of it.
Over on the right side of this website there is a thing that says “16 Year Dog Bite Fatality Chart.” You should go read it.
That’s why the parents were negligent.
Breed is the operative word. There is a reason we use only retrievers in field retriever competition, no other breed if dog is able to do it. Dog does not imply some generic set of physical and psychological conditions
“Since there wasn’t a single act of violence during either of the dogs lives how could anyone say the parents are negligent and they should be held accountable??”
Because the exact problem with pit bulls is that they are prone to sudden, unprovoked violence, even with their owners or others they know and love. This propensity to attack suddenly and for no reason is the entire point that we try to get across; that years of safety does not make a pitbull safe is the entire reason we want them regulated/banned/mandatory spay/neuter.
Every pit owner who says, “But MY pittie has never been violent!” is ignoring and denying the truth about these dogs, which is well known by now. These people didn’t have two safe dogs who suddenly snapped; these people had two dogs with an extreme risk of suddenly snapping after years of safety. They were aware of this risk, because having argued against BSL they had to know what the arguments are for BSL, and the “sudden unprovoked violence” is one of the biggest arguments for it.
In other words, the fact that the parents discounted the risk doesn’t mean they were unaware of the risk.
I’m glad the wife is improving, and I hope she comes out against these dogs, because her story, like so many others, is proof of why these dogs are so dangerous to begin with.
@Carl
I can’t tell you how many times when training dogs some owner said, “I just want basic training.” and then did not tick off “has bitten” on the intake report. When they did report biting, they reported far less damage than what actually occurred.
Then the dog snarled, growled and tried to latch on. Their answer, “He only bites…mailmen, poodles, my husband”
Owners are oblivious as to their dogs’ behavior.
If a dog mauls someone, I’m laying bets the dog has shown signs of serious aggression except in the case of odd pitbull that won’t manifest wholly until maturity when it goes “full pitbull”.
Pitbulls and some mentally ill dogs are the only ones that “attack out of nowhere” and that’s less common than owners want to believe.
With more than one dog, I’d lay odds that at least one of the dogs had previous aggressive incidents.
These parents *chose* to have pitbulls in their house. If they’d chosen tigers that “suddenly” attacked, do you think they wouldn’t be charged with recklessness?
Also, its clear in some of the pictures that the male dog wasn’t neutered…which is just such irresponsible male pitbull ownership, especially if you bring multiple large dogs around any children. Why wouldn’t you take harm reduction measures?
It’s not an accident when something does exactly what it designed to do.
These bully dogs are what dog fighters would call “late starters”.
Many bully dogs begin mauling unprovoked at 18-36 months of age.
These two were much older till they “went bulldog” , attacked for no external reason, and would not stop.
It’s not an accident anymore than if a landmine, planted in the front yard and killed someone, would be an “accident.”
Do you live in Nova Scotia? Good points all, Debbie.
I did read that one of these PB canines had bitten the grandmother. Friend of Kirstie’s sister. I asked her to verify and all she said was she knew the family well.
Go ahead and believe that garbage you just said. Let’s look at this a different way. If I owned a big game cat, like a tiger, and it killed my kids, it would be my fault. Do you know how to use statistics? Google “fatal dog attacks in *any year within 20 years* and Pitbulls will lead the list again and again. I get it. I’ve been around Pits that are gentle as can be. Doesn’t mean IF THEY WANTED TO, they wouldn’t be able to kill me. Why own an unpredictable animal that has the best chance to kill your kids out of any animal you legally could own? Why are you even thinking of any “yeah ok, but”s right now? Think on this.
Can you hysterical pro-pitbull proponents answer me this? If there was a type of airliner which had a 10% rate of critical malfunction resulting in mass casualties would you put your child on that plane for a commercial flight? especially if safe airplanes were available? And if you say “yes”, then WHY?!? are you insane?
Considering how many attacks – both fatal and non-fatal, and on both people and animals – pits have made, it’s simply impossible NOT to know these dogs are dangerous. It used to be, but not anymore. And so many of these attacks come from dogs that had “not a single act of violence.” I believe, however, that many pit owners hide earlier attacks.. Was that the case here? We most likely will never know……
Did you read the whole site, Carl W., or just come on to post this? No one who reads this site would call this an “accident.” Owning a dog breed with a long history of unpredictably violent behavior is a choice these parents made. Tragic, but the much greater tragedy is when non-family members are attacked.
The Grandmother commented in a post prior to 2020, that she’d received a call from her daughter in law about their dogs fighting. She indicated in that comment that the daughter in law was quite upset over the fighting incident.
Gee, maybe it has something to do with the FACT that pit bulls KILL more people than ALL other types of dogs COMBINED, EVERY YEAR! If that’s not a red flag, I don’t know what is. You are seriously trying to make an issue out of people pointing out the obvious, that PIT BULLS ARE INHERENTLY DANGEROUS? Pit bulls were PURPOSE BRED to attack without warning and to cause lethal damage in a manner of seconds! Why do you think they have those HUGE MOUTHS and IMMENSELY MUSCULAR JAWS? People do not “want to make it more than it need be”. Some people ACTUALLY CARE about the DEATHS OF TWO CHILDREN AND WANT TO PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN! This was NOT an ACCIDENT! This horrible tragedy was PREDICTABLE and PREVENTABLE! The pit bull’s pedigree AFFIRMS the FACT that those particular pit bulls were known to have HUMAN AGGRESSION in their background. It’s the kind of ignorance and denial that YOU are promoting that is creating this horrible problem. We need MORE of the public scrutinizing and making a BIG DEAL out of this because it IS A BIG DEAL and that’s what is NEEDED in order to PREVENT this PREDICTABLE ATTACK from happening to other innocent and helpless children! Is it really that hard for pit people to recognize and admit the dangers of pit bulls, especially around children?
Well, obviously because of the sheer numbers of attacks – many of them fatal – among other children whose parents owned pit bulls. By this point, every person who can read knows of these attacks. Colby Bennard knew about them. They do not “come out of nowhere.” This was no “accident.” How it is possible to make the deaths of two young children and an attack on a mother desperately trying to save her children’s lives “more than it need be?” What are people SUPPOSED to say about this?
The article describes how he basically bragged about how tough the dogs were, taking outward pride in calling them “lion on a leash.” He knew what those dogs were bred from and what their potential was. He even argued that pits aren’t a problem. He was prideful. Pride is a dangerous thing. I don’t feel sorry for these parents but I mourn for their children. They should have been safe. They didn’t ask to die that way.
The attack “coming out of nowhere” is on par with the breed.It is insane how deranged some people are to defend a breed that was created to fight. Are you that stupid? Their entire existence is fighting. “Coming out of nowhere” is expected for pit bulls.
You insane people can argue your defense of pits all you want, but the statistics speak for themselves.
Sadly, you are correct. Our animal control person just showed me pictures of TWO local dogs in our area that were attacked by Pit bulls. One dog lost and eye and had his back ripped open. The other lost teeth that were broken.
Yes, because of the sympathy of others who would never really knowingly keep “house lions” known for attacking humans with their little children. Despite these people obviously knowing that they had dangerous dog. It’s not much different from a drug dealer cooking meth with small children in the home. You’ll notice that shit didn’t last long!
IF society ever gets tired of these atrocities and started putting them in prison like they do to any black person who smoked a joint then these vicious attacks would slow down! Put every single owner in prison if we’re going to insist that you penalize the owner then start doing it! As it is now you can just claim ignorance! Did you see that old battle ax in England whose pit bull just killed a little neighbor child? He had killed 2 dogs before and she still kept it and denied her knowledge of it vicious nature! If it were my child I’d be euthanizing her! But she’s not even in jail for murdering a child!
he owns a huge harley dealership that does fundraiser for ”second chance rescue;; etc ‘
People reward them through GoFundMe? Giving money should be for those who genuinely need financial help and/or do great and wonderful things to help humanity, not parents who kill their children via dogs.
I’ve seen two fundraisers for this couple, one that has brought in over $100,000 and the other one over $80,000.
They’ll lawyer-up with that money. What kind of society REWARDS reckless homicide. Crazy.
Yes, people getting paid to have such egregiously bad judgement definitely rankles me. And yes, they will “lawyer up” to try and get out of any legal ramifications. I think in this case, sympathy for the parents will keep them out of legal trouble. However, the day is coming when legal charges may become standard, just as they have when people kill their children while drunk driving. Nobody makes excuses for drunk drivers anymore and someday there will be no excuses accepted for owing pits. The only question: How many more people will have to die?
Kelly, I lost my Google account last night checking factual online data at reputable sites regarding this family. Here is what I found, plus my own experience w motorcycles. Please keep in mind that I am NOT a pitbull advocate and I believe the deaths of the two little ones was a preventable tragedy. Thank you for the fundraiser comment.
The Bennards appear to be a reputable family in their Tennessee community. Per the Daily Mail, both parents have good jobs. The Daily Mail included photos of their beautiful home. It is proof that unlike so many drug-dealing pitbull owners who use their pitbulls to delay the police so they can flush their drugs down the toilet, this family is most likely not part of that unsavory group.
The father of the two deceased children does NOT own a Harley-Davidson dealership. That large successful dealership is family owned, with top management having the same name. It is doubtful the father will rise to the very top in management there because family-owned businesses tend to keep it in the family.
Despite Harleys having a reputation of being the Hell’s Angels type of motorcycles, they have an earned reputation for being top comfortable touring bikes. I was surprised that their top bikes are $20,000-$25,000 now. Several years ago a full-dress Harley cost around $35,000 before H-D was under new management.
My brother has had an illustrious engineering career at Boeing, earning its top honor. He has had a Harley for at least 10 years. My cousin, a professor at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, has owned a motorcycle for years now. If I were ever to embark on the madness of another cross-country motorcycle tour, I would want it to be on a Honda or a Harley. My 8,000+ mile motorcycle trip on Route 66 was on a 350 cc, 2-stroke engine which probably gave my internal organs a massive long-term shaking, despite occasionally donning a black leather kidney belt. I blew way too many spark plugs tooling across America w that 2-stroke engine. I didn’t know any better due to my youth but had a wonderful trip. So you can see that Harleys tend to be a high-end motorcycle owned by those who can afford them, those usually w stable jobs.
Nunzia, in what way did you lose your Google account?
Rebecca, I lost the basic Google news page. It was on a night when I did much searching. So I figured that Google didn’t like my activity since I have had some issues w them occasionally. But I have found it was easily fixable. Fortunately, it only affected my personal account, and I was able to email w my Google accounts. I lost functionality of the Clock w its invaluable timers and alarms too. I am working w that now. Whew! Unnerving to wake up and discover an entire screen was gone from my phone. Thanks if you wanted to help.
He does not own the dealership. He’s the parts manager. Big difference!
Owning a Harley isn’t a problem for a parent.
Owing a pitbull, is.
No, it is a problem for public safety and anyone sensitive to noise. My property value has fallen dramatically with the constant roar of motorcycles, who now play music so loud that it can be heard over the roar. The typical motorcycle owner is interested in power and “look at meeee”, not the community, or they would realize that virtually everyone around them thinks they are a jerk when they “open up”. Honestly. The shoe fits. This is a TERRIBLE way to learn that behaviours that create problems for community and impede the quality of life of others may also pose problems for the people choosing a dangerous life style. I think motorcycles should be the FIRST time we electrify, and pit bulls could be bred to be the size of toy poodles…then we might only be dealing with broken ankles.
“There are no second chances when it comes to pit bulls.”
“To be blunt, parents must decide between their household pet and their children’s safety. By keeping this breed of dog in the home, you are making a choice and choosing your pet over your child.”
No parent should have to endure the horror of their kids being mauled to death by the family pet. So when WILL pit bull owners wake up to the menace of a dog that can rip out throats, asks BETHANY MANDEL
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11291983/No-parent-endure-horror-kids-mauled-death-family-pet-BETHANY-MANDEL
Daily Mail, Oct 7, 2022
I shared this page and article with a very pit-loving friend, and she believes these pits must have come from a rescue and had abuse in their pasts. Sigh.
JenesisX, I understand your frustration. I’m curious what your friend’s view is regarding rescue dogs. Does she believe that only pits raised from puppyhood in a stable loving home are safe dogs? Because if she supports pits being adopted out from shelters, but yet believes that pits with “bad upbringing” can suddenly turn and kill children, she is promoting that it’s worth the risk. I always want to ask pit apologists, “So which is it? Are pits with unknown backgrounds not to be trusted, or are they to be offered for adoption from shelters and rescues? Because you can’t have both.”
Every time I see a pit cultist, they’re promoting adoption as a second chance for an adult dog with an unknown or even a KNOWN bad background. But then when a pit kills, they cry out, “It must have been raised wrong!” It boggles the mind that they can’t see the problem there!
My heart breaks for these beautiful babies but Pitt bulls can’t be trusted, they turn, they are strong and they lock their jaw to kill animals and humans.
The baby was literally ripped apart. Responder courses said he was pulled in half.
Jen, are you able to provide info on where to find that data without putting yourself in jeopardy?
Even the exact story title would help so we can just copy it. But w any info on the site name or date. Thank you.
This is a horrific, unimaginable event that will have life-long effects on the parents. This should not be a stereotypical blaming because the parent had a Harley or a Tatoo—I thought the focus was on the manifestation of the demeanors of these unpredictable animals.
I was a trauma nurse for years and saw many pit bull attacks—and people always had an excuse if it was a family pet. These dogs were once named as Nannie’s for children in England. What happened???? Probably a lot of in-breeding.
Instead of condemning; hence, the parents will no doubt live a life of mournful contempt as this tragedy will promulgate as a life sentence. My heart goes out to the family.
Education is a key factor—has anyone spoke to their congressman—perhaps a bill could be written banning Pit Bulls—stop breeding.
Your interests need to be focused on the problem at hand
Lisa for the record Pitbulls have NEVER been known as nanny dogs, not here in the UK nor anywhere else on the world.
It is a popular myth used in an effort to obligate us to see Pits that are not in the actual act of dismembering babies, to be seen as protecting them.
The title was first used by (surprise surprise) a Pitbull advocate in the early 1970s and it caught on.
This risks sounding sarcastic but family-raised dogs that maul babies to death like this, clearly have ZERO nannying instinct. It’s a myth. Please don’t propagate it.
Neo, thanks for posting this fact about the lie of pitbulls ever having been called nanny dogs. So I didn’t have to.
I have a childhood memory of reading a classics comic book of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. I remember the ugly dog owned by criminal Bill Sikes, portrayed by the comic book as likely England’s bull terrier. Last week I saw a pair of these bullet-headed bull terrier at a local farmers market. Grotesque. Other shoppers paraded their dogs, including the ubiquitous pitbulls.
Prior to 2 years ago, I never saw a pitbull in public here in America. The recent pandemic appears to have caused bully dog owners to lose their caution of going public. My sighting count is currently #17 within the last year. Like ethical birdwatchers, I only count the ones I know for sure are pitbulls.
Neo, I had another thought about a possible origin of the big lie calling pitbulls “nanny dogs.” This nanny dog false story is constantly repeated even today.
Perhaps the pitbull advocate decided to conflate the
dog in Peter Pan, Nana, with pitbulls. In the old Disney animated film *Peter Pan,* Nana was a loving St. Bernard. The family dog of the Darlings. Perhaps the pitbull advocate thought that no one would exactly remember Nana. But millions of children over the decades do remember that dog. And the distinctive London icon, Big Ben. The Nana dog certainly wasn’t a pitbull. Our thanks to Scottish author J.M. Barrie for that.
Maybe the term ‘nanny’ wasn’t coined in reference to children but for the watching over of something else of value?
Oooh really… Looking forward to that update. Thanks for everything you do, Colleen!
The “nanny” myth—started in the 1970s—has long since been debunked.
These dog were bred to *fight and kill*—key word here is *BRED*
Humans are the ones who created them, it is now up to humans to discontinue the breed. Not worth it!!!
Two more little ones gone.
Seven hours after Fox News first posted the news article at 4:45 am Eastern Time, all the links in the article seem to have been broken. Bewildering.
It doesn’t get much sadder than this. I will never understand why families trust pitbulls with children. I think a normal child’s screaming could activate this breed’s viciousness.
Pitbulls don’t recognize their proposed prey is cowering. They don’t show normal greeting behavior. So how could they behave like normal dogs?
Sadly people created these monsters.
I hope the mother isn’t injured too badly and makes a good recovery.
Does anyone know who called for help? Was the mother still able to lock these dogs up? It doesn’t sound like the dogs were still attacking when help arrived.
I think if I were the mother, I wouldn’t want to survive. I can’t even imagine losing one child, much less two, and in such a gruesome and preventable way. Prayers for this family!
She should go to prison along with her husband.
They are already in the worse prison than a physical prison. They will never escape. Obviously you have never lost anyone close to you tragically. And the world of public opinion will never let them forget it was by choices they made. We have all had something we regret. Difference is no one knows about yours.
A prison sentence might wake up a few other parents and save children in the future.
The only redemption arc available to them is to crusade AGAINST pit bulls. To admit they were wrong for not listening and wrong for pushing these horrible beasts on neighborhoods and families. If there is an inkling of making excuses for these beasts, any shred of sympathy for them is wrong. The choices most normal people make do not get innocent people killed. These things are in our neighborhoods and they are a constant menace.
Anne: 100% agree with you!!
Interesting that in years of following this, I have only known of two families who took responsibility and used their story to educate others. One case is old enough that the parents could truly have not known what we’ve all come to realize. In the other, it was the babysitter’s dogs. (Colleen, you are probably familiar with both these cases. Are there others?)
Given what we already know about this father, I think this couple will erase their online presence and slink away to the safety of a world that will co-sign their behavior with denial, excuses, talk of “incredibly strange” accidents, etc. It’s too bad because theirs COULD be voices other people might be more likely to hear.
I am a survivor of a brutal attack by our family dog, I was 4 years old. More on that later.
I pray those poor babies were rendered unconsciousness within seconds. I pray their fight or flight sympathetic adrenaline surge was stronger than the pain they experienced while still conscious. I pray that these children and their loved ones be happy, peaceful and free from suffering.
That said, I have to agree there is a certain level of negligence upon the parents, no question. It will be up to the laws of the state and county where they reside as to any legal ramifications. I would like to see some federal laws changed as a result of this brutal attack.
I do not agree that actual jail time ought to be compared to avoiding legal responsibility for the violent, preventible deaths of your two small children. Certainly a heartbreaking journey ahead but one they chose nonetheless.
The big red flag here will be what provoked them, whether we ever learn the truth about that remains.
Maybe a little jail time is what the Pitbull community needs. These XL breeds have no place in residential areas, let alone with small children. I definitely think the specialized breeding of XL breeds are slapping the face of mother nature. When that happens mother nature always wins and she is trying to point out the dangers but no one is listening.
It would certainly explain the repetitive evidence of the danger of this breed. I am a huge animal advocate and have rescued countless dogs including pitbull‘s. Real Pitbulls are actually very small dogs. I am also an emergency medical and surgical care provider throughout my career.
My attack. He was our dog, a golden retriever mix, when he attacked my face when I was putting his food down and ripped the left side of my face off. My poor mother was traumatized. I needed a lengthy reconstructive surgery and ended up in the pediatric ICU for a long time. I still remember a lot of it especially the recovery which was a long.
The family dog was surrendered immediately. I really didn’t want anything bad to happen to him so they told us he lived on a farm but he was actually euthanized while I was in the hospital.
When I came home from the hospital my mom took my brother and I to the shelter and let us each pick out a small dog.
I still grew up in a house with dogs, smaller rescue dogs and black labs. Never had another incident.
To this day, I kiss my dogs on the mouth, much to my mothers dismay.
I agree with both Pamela and Anne 100%
Agree. She probably wishes she had died too. Can’t imagine the horror.
I mentioned I had only heard of two cases (one, really) where pit owners publicly disavowed their breed. Here’s another, somewhat graphic, but not overly so…
https://nypost.com/2022/07/19/i-slept-with-my-beloved-pit-bull-until-he-tried-to-eat-me-alive/?dicbo=v2-34110827e6bed6580ce280fc8525fdb8
Pamela, here is the follow-up story where Kya told her riveting story here at Dogsbite:
Victim of Domestic Pit Bull Attack Reemerges After TikTok Suspends Account Over Graphic Content
Why Did My Dog Try to Eat Me Unprovoked?
https://blog.dogsbite.org/2022/08/victim-of-domestic-pit-bull-attack-reemerges-after-tiktok-suspends-account.html#comment-48456
Hey, Im really interested in the information about this. I know about pits not allowing for surrender behavior. Can you tell me what the greeting behavior is? I tried to look it up but I’m not sure what to look for
Dogs sniff rears. They will walk around sniffing each other before engaging in play, aggression, etc. On the other hand, submissive dogs may slump to the ground or roll over and show their bellies. My dog was killed by slumping to the ground with her legs under her. The pitbull killed her with one bite to the back of her neck and slinging her in the air. She was an about 25 pound beagle mix.
Pitbulls don’t exhibit normal greeting behavior, as it was bred out for pit fighting. The dog which attacked first was likely the winner.
That makes me so angry. So sorry your dog was killed, Many people don’t understand that a sweet wonderful little dog gives such comfort and love. Pit bulls are the lions of the community and one MUST beware of them. My dog, a shih-tzu was attacked by a pit bull in our local park when my wife was walking him. A pit bull walked up, my wife picked up the puppy, jumped up and grabbed our dog out of her arms and nearly killed it. I came running over and screamed at it so loud I guess he got confused. He was guarding our puppy like it was her lunch. It finally got up and slowly backed away. It had a collar but no owner around anywhere. My wife got bit on her arm but luckily it was minor. The puppy, just awful. $8,000 later and a year rehab and he is much better. Lost his eye and hearing loss in one ear, holes from the pit bulls canines pierced the top of his head and mouth and neck, and his skin was ripped off like the dog had sliced him with a knife. I hate pit bulls now and have continued to scream at our HOA allowing them in our parks and sudewalks.
My little dog friendly to everyone and every dog was also attacked by a Pit that out weighed her by 60 to 80 pounds. She is half Jack Russell and Australian Shepard. Very smart, lots and lots of energy. $5000 for the emergency surgery and lots of stitches and staples she survived but took a long time to recover. The Pit Bulls owner I made her pay for every penny it cost for what her dog did. Her dog never growled, hair didn’t stand up no warning signs. Her dog came in my yard just like it had done several times before. She shook my little dog like she was a sock. The only thing I do believe that saved my dog was the neighbors 5 Jack Russell’s came running and started attacking the Pit Bull. Of course then her owner came out. Jack Russell’s and brave and tough. She had hunting and herding instincts ,the traits bred into her . A Pit Bull was bred for only one purpose, to attack and not stopping the attack. Only idiots leave small children and babies unsupervised around Pit Bulls or any animal. She and her husband still act as if those dogs lives had more value than their babies. They still defend them.
I have been wondering about the pit bull puppy down the road. I saw him with the kid walking him. When he saw me he put his head down and started growling, not puppy play growling but aggressive scary growling. I asked the kid what kind of dog it was and he said “pit bull”. I asked him to keep the dog out of other’s yards. As I turned to leave, the dog jumped on me. He’s bigger now and the kid still can’t control him.
Start documenting every time you see the kid walking the dog, every time it lunges at you. Check your local laws. Start carrying a weapon when you go out–mace doesn’t work against most pits, you need an actual weapon.
I’m very sorry this is happening in your neighborhood, but you need to be realistic. You and your neighbors are not safe with this animal on your street, and it is very unlikely that Animal Control or the police will be of any help to you at all.
OMG, I am so sorry for you and ANYONE who experiences any trauma from a completely preventable problem. This is one thing that can only be solved by legislation. Government exists to protect the community from the stupidity of individuals. The problem is that election is a popularity contest, and so when you get enough stupid individuals…. This is not political, it is simply fact.
Very well put! Thank you.
That is heartbreaking, I am so sorry for your loss. Your poor precious baby.
That’s awful but if kindness, hesitation and surrender are bred out of a breed they have no business being near families or children or even smaller animals.
How awful to breed out the very qualities that makes dogs so endearing.
Maybe here? https://youtu.be/Mql5jkkSi7A
Very interesting YouTube video that taught me a lot about subtle signs of aggressive indicators. Thanks for sharing!
My condolences to this brave mother and grieving father. This is unbelievably sad. May God watch over and comfort and give this family strength in the days ahead.
Virtually any mother would have done the same, Dale, and not have called it bravery. Hopefully, the family does receive comfort and strength, along with a dose of common sense and the ego-leveling that a terrible tragedy can bring. It’s likely it took this devastation to their lives to make them teachable.
Regarding the father referring to the two pitbulls as their “house lions” and “little security system”….
By Attorney Kenneth M. Phillips, author of Dog Bite Law
Dog or Burglar Alarm: Which Is Better?
Most dramatically, out of 177 people killed by dogs, only 1 was a burglar, but 7 out of 10 were kids.
https://dogbitelaw.com/dog-or-burglar-alarm-which-is-better/dog-or-burglar-alarm-which-is-better
I have a security system that’s monitored by a local alarm company. Unlike the neighborhood dogs, my security system doesn’t:
1. Bark the night away
2. Dash up and down along the fence line, barking at passersby who are minding their own business
3. Escape from my property to attack people, thus exposing me to legal liability
4. Go off over this, that, or the other thing
5. Antagonize my neighbors
I could go on, but you get the point. I’ll take an alarm system over a dog any day.
Most people who want a dog don’t want the WORK of having a dog. They don’t want to get off their behind and properly exercise the dog daily, spend quality time with it daily, and teach the dog how to act – they let the dog act how the DOG wants. This and lack of BREED research is what leads to our neighborhoods sounding like kennels and Serengeti-;like attacks. I’ve come to the conclusion about 2/3 of the people who have dogs, shouldn’t.
You are so right! I’m a puppy raiser of guide dogs and when I have the puppy out in public I always hear “I wish my dog was as well-behaved as your puppy in training”. I tell them that if they spent as much time with their dog as we do training and socializing, it would be as well-behaved.
Every time I’m out with my guide dog puppy I’m terrified of encountering an aggressive dog (especially pit bulls). I carry pepper spray and a taser but am still concerned.
Minor typo, Colleen: you quote the father as writing, “ignorance in no excuse,” when he did say, “ignorance is no excuse.”
I wonder how he would like someone to point out to him that ignorance is no excuse. He failed to protect his children. He ignored the warnings. He heard the warnings, he knew about them, he chose to ignore them. His babies paid the price.
He paid a big price too.
He lost his children. How badly injured is his wife? Did she lose limbs and/or her face?
I recently told a nurse who loved pitbulls to enjoy them but keep them away from her family.
I read on Facebook the family said she had countless stitches over her whole body and face. They thought she was going to lose limbs but so far they are completely stitched together and she’s bandages head to toe.
This just prove my point that pitbull are dangerous dogs and not meant as family pets this is why pitbull are ban in most countries.Now two sweet babies are gone forever because their knuckelhead parents chose a pitbull as family pets.
Yes! My daughter’s bf had a pit puppy when she realized she’s pregnant – I forced them to re-home as I would not allow a pit around any of my kids/grandkids
Father wrote in 2016: “I can assure you, nobody will take Cheech and Mia from myself, (#bullybreedforlife)” but now the dogs have been euthanized by Memphis Animal Services (per Tweet comment by Sheriffs Office. I guess the father changed his mind. #BullyBreedsCauseDeaths
The news said the dogs were confiscated by animal control.
I believe one was killed at the scene, and the other, thankfully, put down!
They did not need his consent to euthanize them.
Again depending what the laws are in that area, with one fatality or even great bodily harm, the dogs were ordered by a judge to be put down the next day.
Were there any neighbor or witnesses that saw how this started? I really wonder what provoked them to just go after both kids like that.
This might be a test for their marriage as she was attacked and he loved XL breeding
I would like to add the mom best friend wrote on her Facebook something like why the trashy news have to make it publicize about the deaths of the babies.and the people who blame the pitbull are pitbull hater .and we continue to give the pitbull a bad name for blaming the pitbull.
Insanity.
They were playing with a ball. Must be the balls fault. Blame the ball. I hate balls.
Exactly. Ridiculous and Gives me great concern that their first thoughts are to defend this unnatural and created breed.
I sure hope the legislation in their county forbids them to ever own another pitbull if they have children again. They are both still very young and could potentially have more children but at what cost I wonder
I know. I saw the mom’s friend’s post and was just flabbergasted at the level of denial. She’s STILL a pitbull lover, clearly. These types of people can apparently only learn through horrendous tragedy, and sometimes, not even then. What can be done about them? I was, at least, glad to hear that the deceased children’s parents were the dogs’ owners. SO much worse when it’s strangers who pay.
Ignorance is no excuse to let your kids be torn apart alive by blood sport dogs.
How many no #BSL owners have dogs that go on to kill? It seems like a pretty common thing found on these Facebook accounts.
I hope the organization that promotes pitbull ownership, Best Friends, can now see what cult like beliefs they have wrought upon some people. Will the leaders of that organization ever feel responsible for the pain they have caused?
If I was that mother I wouldn’t want to survive this. Death will be less painful than the life of agony ahead, knowing that she brought those dogs into her home and defended them against warnings about the dangers. Such a terribly sad situation. When will people wake up, Pitbulls are not pets.
Is there any truth to this statistic that pit fanatics keep saying? I’m skeptical.
“In 94% of the attacks involving Pit Bulls, the dogs were male and not neutered. “
And with pit bulls the sterilization rate seems to be a lot lower than other types of dogs. Almost all of seem to be used for breeding to make a quick buck.
It’s almost unbelievable, 2 children killed by 2 pit bulls in the same family attack. Where is this going to end?
Neutering pitbulls is a great idea to reduce the number of pitbulls being born. Unfortunately it does not stop the attacks. If it did, no pitbulls coming out of shelters would ever bite.
Yet shelter pit bulls have mauled and killed people and animals.
Only about 20% of pitbulls are altered. That means one in five is altered so I would expect
80% of the attacking pitbulls to be intact.
Pitbull owners are more likely to be involved in criminal activities than the overall population.
Wouldn’t it be great if neutered pitbulls didn’t bite? The fact is they do.
Although I support neutering pitbulls, I believe the emphasis needs to be on not bringing them home. People need to understand that neutered pitbulls are as dangerous as intact pitbulls. I don’t want people believing neutered pitbulls are safe pitbulls. That idea can get more people and animals mauled/kiilled.
Kirstey is NOT a hero. There is always a CAUSE for an effect. The parents have CAUSED this mauling by bringing dangerous dogs into their home. IGNORANCE is no excuse, the guy said so himself. Both parents belong in prison for child endangerment and child sacrifice.
Agreed!
Agreed. Moms who introduce or ignorantly refuse to mitigate risks to their children are no heroes. You picked the dogs over the safety of your children, you intervening ti save them when they stood no chance is no heroism. There should be a stiff criminal punishment for both.
Let me guess, now the dad will issue some crappy statement about “he doesn’t blame the dogs”. There should be a statutory punishment for dog bites, damage and killings. That’s the only deterrent.
Colleen, as you might have noticed, the Gofundme page makes no reference to dogs, pit bulls or attack. They say something like, the children died from a tragic accident. This story has touched a huge nerve with those who follow your reporting. I think on some deep level, most of us knew this was coming. It could have easily been three fatalities. This story is haunting a lot of us.
Pointless to blame the dogs.
“Pointless to blame the dogs”.
You have a low IQ, so let me explain this very carefully to you: More than one thing can be true at a time. For example, a food item can be low fat AND low carb. You, for example, can be dumb AND ugly. These things are not mutually exclusive.
That said, the mutts ARE at fault for being the defective, mutated shit beasts that they are. AND, the owners are shitheads for bringing such mutated, defective shit beasts into their home with 2 small kids. Let all of that sink into your thick skull.
Also, please like all of my videos on YouTube. Have a great evening.
I agree. The insane mind of a pitbull was caused by people who selectively bred dogs for pit fighting. The dogs don’t understand that killing children is wrong.
If people want to have these dogs, they must be
committed to controlling them at all times.
I heard that the mother wanted to place the dogs, but the father didn’t want to let them go. Of course, now they are gone forever like the children.
The type of dog NEEDS to be talked about first and foremost, if we are EVER going to get through to people that these blood sport dogs are not meant to be pets. They are not safe to have around children or other pets. If the breed of dog who did this isn’t ‘blamed’ and talked about, nothing will change. Especially because this couple were big into pit bull advocacy, so it can’t be “how they raised them” this time. People may want this hushed up so it just goes away and pit bulls live to maul some more children next week, but hopefully the fact that “family friendly” pits did this will be shouted from the rooftops.
Actually, as much as I detest Pit Bulls, Gallstones is right…
Pit Bulls were BRED for this. The were bred to fight and kill *to the end.* Even if they are severely injured/half alive they will get back up and try to ‘finish the kill.’
The PB breed was created by humans, so blame humans. The dogs were just doing what they are genetically inclined to do.
I am NOT apologizing for Pits. I believe the breed should be eradicated/no longer exist!!
They are not family dogs at all. This was a huge tragedy but, unfortunately, one of many as, due to the HUGE pit-lobby, stories like this are in abundance but are very much under reported. Sad.
So nauseating when all their friends come out and say that this family needs prayers 🙄
They don’t need prayers, the kids are done DEAD because of their choice of “ pet “ .
These two individuals need PRISON, not prayers 😡
After every single one of these attacks that gets media attention, I wonder, ‘will this be the tipping point for people in general to finally get a clue about these dogs?’…. Sadly it doesn’t seem there IS a tipping point at all, I just see more and more pit bulls everywhere. I don’t think this horrific attack will change many minds either.
I talked to a friend and a neighbor this morning, neither had heard one thing about family pit bulls killing two children in the same household and the neighbor watches news about 12 hours a day. Word just isn’t getting out there because it is so incorrect now to say anyting bad about pit bulls. I shared the story on my page and not one comment, people just want to ignore it but will share all the poor pits for adoption and the poor lost pit bull. And I don’t have young people on my page but ones that should be concerned about their grandchildren.
This is a major problem. National news outlets do not want to cover these stories. As a retired journalist, I’ve reached out to these outlets and alerted them to no avail. CBS Morning did a big story on the young dog sitter who was mauled within an inch of her life. At the time, there was talk of a face transplant. It took courage for the correspondent to cover it. (One of the dogs was a pit mix.) The Washington Post story about this recent attack did not even mention the breed even though there was no ambiguity. These monsters are full-blooded pits. I wonder if the pet industry with it’s billion dollar advertising budget is a deterrent for news stations to do their job? As always, follow the money! Almost every week, our local news features a poor pibble who needs a home. Fine print: needs fence, not good with children, strangers, energetic, nervous, shy, blah, blah,blah. Code for dangerous and unpredictable!
Teresa, the national news story on one network appeared at 4:03am ET USA the day DBO reported the losses. I do not recall if I read the links then but hours later, all 3 links in the story were inaccessible. The national news story had definitely been squelched.
The local TV news site for the network was a minimal story compared to national. Your point about the pet industry’s significance is most likely the cause.
Teresa, I also blame the “dog experts” on all these shows who refuse to state the obvious.
*Never buy/get a dog you feel sorry for.( It is a decade+ relationship, not a fixer upper prospect. This can’t be said, enough.
Yet what do we see in the media, over and over? Sentimental drivel about the “dog’s needs” and not a word about the needs of the potential owners who will have to live with the animal and are at threat of maulings and lawsuits in case of poor choices.
I love dogs. It’s because I love dogs that this unabashed idiocy can’t be allowed to continue.
This. I understand people feeling anger toward the parents but there is SO much propaganda out there around pitbulls that most people truly don’t know about or understand the danger. I didn’t, and got a pitbull mix from a shelter in 2020. One month later after several displays of aggressive behavior – most significantly toward my then-8 year old daughter – we returned him to the shelter and I found this website. Now I wish I’d euthanized him, especially because he was “repackaged” and adopted out again.
I thank God almost every day I didn’t pay for my ignorance with my children’s lives, my life or the life of a neighbor. If I ever share anything about how dangerous pitbulls are on social media, I get a wave of angry, defensive comments. I really don’t know what it will take to wake people up but I pray it happens soon. This story is so incredibly tragic.
Ashley, bravo for sharing your story. So glad you were wise enough to put an end to your pitbull ownership and help your daughter before it was too late.
Stay the course w those who do not appreciate your input at this time. You never know] what you offer now will end up saving a life down the road. I am guessing you may be posting at the pandering channel of the extinct bird. The combination of bots and syrupy treacle about pwecious pibbles is worth wading thru if someone eventually recognizes that you are offering the benefit of your experience. Both DBO and attorney Kenneth Phillips have winning statistics to back you up.
Ashley, absolutely this.^^^ I’m glad you got lucky. Sadly, many, aren’t.
Shelters and pitbull cultists absolutely con potential owners and the general public about the characteristics of these dogs.
I did not like pitbulls due to my security work because knobs would threaten to sic their pitbulls on our (expensive) trained protection dogs on a fairly regular basis.
At one point, a loose pitbull tried to mangle my 120 lb Bouvier. It paid for that error and fortunately, my working dog was not hurt but it did alert me to the dangers inherent in pitbulls, as dogs.
I then went to train dogs for a shelter. The shelter manager kept trying to sell me on the nonsense that pitbulls were “misunderstood”. She listened to nothing anyone said about the negative characteristics of pitbulls, including the fact that more than half of them are dog aggressive in adulthood–meaning also that anyone breaking up a fight was in danger, as well. Numerous staff at that shelter were severely injured over this obtuse blindness. Eventually a walkout occurred.
Meanwhile, perfectly adoptable dogs were being euthanized at an alarming rate as cages were loaded up with more and more unadoptable, rampaging pitbulls.
So, as much as I might personally think those people that take on pitbulls instead of family-friendly dogs are obtuse, I can certainly see, given all the hype and pressure–why so many families take them home.
In fact, most shelters are now packed with unmanageable dogs. This always was a problem but most aggressive dogs were instantly euthanized.
This practice has stopped, putting the general public at risk.
If pitbull afficianodos refuse to follow and support BSL and continue to breed these dangerous dogs in record numbers then I see no other course of action left open but to ban their ownership, completely.
I’m truly happy your choice in adopting a killing machine didn’t result in anything but a very quick understanding tgat the dog was extremely dangerous. May I respectfully ask you with all this information available about the danger of owning such dangerous animals that you made the choice to adopt a pit mix instead of a far more appropriate, just as deserving, unable to cause harm to your 8 year old daughter. I’m the proud owner of a Chihuahua who i was just going to foster for 10 days back in 2009 and yes i know the public sentiment of Chihuahuas. I acknowledge to everyone that yes, Chihuahuas bite every day but not even a pack of Chihuahuas can kill you. You are so right how returned dangerous dogs get repackaged and adopted by someone else . The pit defenders love to say that pits bite when the have been abused and if you treat your pit with kindness they will never attack anyone. I wonder now if we can assume these two parents neglected and/or abused the dogs? A more appropriate punishment for these two parents would be to have them tell their story and educate potential pit or pit mix adopters what they believed and how now, instead of publicly supporting the poor, picked on, pits are nothing but 90 lbs of love and what happened to change this ignorance and lack of common sense. Like speakers at DUI education panels along with the most gruesome photos showing what their refusal to believe the danger they will soon be exposing their children, the neighbors children, and any other creature this dog can and does kill. Sorry for the length of this comment but your experience and your quick action in returning your pit is a very important lesson and even returning the dog just passed him along to another family. I wish you had euthanized the dog and I believe you would have if you had known the repackaging trick used by shelters. Why do shelters and rescue groups resort to /fraud/forging of documents of returned pits when so many suitable dogs wait for homes.
The Washington Post has pit bull advocates on staff. They write the dog articles. They do their best to obscure mentions of pits being “unloving”
Same with the local radio station WTOP. Thet have a weekly dog shelter segment to get a “guest dog” adopted. Too often it is a pit and they fawn over it.
Now the bordering county next to D.C. in Maryland, Prince George’s County, which has a decades old pit ban is considering dropping it. There have been continual attacks on the ban for a long time.
Well that is just terrible I guess it’s up to the public to educate ourselves.
I recommend everyone with Twitter or Instagram accounts to start sharing this story since we can’t count on our national news outlets to warn or better, to educate the public.
I mean during heat waves we have the news telling us to drink more water 50 times a day but not one mention of ‘hey, not sure if you realize but this breed might kill your kids one day’. There still are people that don’t know what they breed in and out of pitbull‘s. I defended Pitbulls for years until I learned that the good qualities are bred out of them on purpose to make them better fighters.
Prevention is everything and if we can save one little baby‘s life from being ripped apart and I say we should do it.
I’m so sick of people acting like their dog is more important than people. Dogs everywhere and no respect for others who don’t want to be around dogs. Yesterday am at the grocery store a woman had her dog in the shopping cart and then on the conveyer belt. And the cashier thought it was cute—health code violation. Then you see people like this who are so stupid that they have children and still keep these violent animals. Just plain dumb. And now they want others to pay. Hmmm
That’s for sure! I’ve been a dog owner for a long time and have liked all my dogs, but they’re dogs, not people. I do not let my dogs impose on other people’s property or person. As to the mantra that dogs give “unconditional love”, that’s a great big LOL. Dogs are pack animals. They depend on their owners for survival and well being, and they cooperate to be accepted by what they perceive as their pack, to meet THEIR needs. My dog greets me at the door every day when I come home, eager to get the acceptance of the Big Dog of the house whom he perceives is the Alpha of the pack. When you let your dog assume superiority over family members and friends, you are treating your fellow humans worse than you treat a dog, and that is insane.
Ha, when I got my GSD, someone told me, “You know, your dog just wants to please you.” I laugh about this all the time; my dog wants to please HIMSELF, first and foremost. He loves me and is very loyal, he gets upset if I have a headache, but “considerate and thoughtful of others” is not in a dog’s code. That’s why WE have to be the ones always thinking of others (wrt to keeping our dog from bothering them). Dogs are just themselves.
I think what this comes down to people want to think of their dogs more like people and that they can have a relationship built on trust. They want to think they can control and keep the dog in line. I see it all the time at parks. People unleash their dogs at kids parks and I’ve heard plenty of stories of owners telling people their dog doesn’t bite and then it does.
Agreed. They forget that breed instinct/canine instinct can overcome even the strictest training.
The only human comparison that I think fits (for the most part/comparison purposes) for dogs is a toddler. You could have a smart and very well-behaved toddler who obeys 99% of the time, but that 1% of the time they might still throw a tantrum in a store, put nasty things in their mouths, or run into the street if unsupervised. Because that’s what toddlers do. Same with dogs. They will listen and obey 99% of the time, but you can’t trust them to do that 100% of the time.
IMO being a good dog owner means accepting and acknowledging that 1% of the time, and being prepared for it/preventing it. I trust my GSD, but I don’t fool myself that he’s something he’s not; he is a powerful dog, so he requires responsible management and an owner who is aware of his capabilities.
About fifteen years ago, I watched in horror as two “friendly” and “raised right” pitbulls suddenly get free of their owner (they were leashed), chase, attack, bring down and kill a large horse in it’s pasture. Words cannot describe it. I will never understand how people can think of them as pets.
But I thought these animals were nanny dogs…why are they trying to eat the children?
In one of the Facebook postings about this attack a pit supporter had the gall to regurgitate the nanny dog myth… on the very story about two children being killed by their “nannies.” She repeatedly quoted the myth and added that for this to have occurred, “something must have happened to those dogs to make them snap.” It’s impossible for me to understand this level of willful blindness.
My husband pointed out that if the attacking animals had been pet snakes, ferrets, or ANY OTHER ANIMAL than a fighting dog breed there would be a call for immediate action.
There would have been a trigger of course, but we will never know what it was or if this had been building for some time. And a trigger could be nothing out of the ordinary or anything predictable, or even avoidable.
Any death by dog is tragic, but this one is beyond all comprehension and profoundly sad. This site has covered the horrific deaths of so many children; these are the innocents. We as adults are tasked with protecting our children. The worst part is this was no accident. This was completely preventable. Why would you have an animal in your home that could potentially kill you? Would you have a bear, a cougar or a chimpanzee as a pet? Most dog breeds can send you to the doctor, but pit bulls can send you to the morgue. How will this mother and father ever go on after this? She, in particular, witnessed the carnage of her babies, helpless to stop it. You would hope, someday they would go on to advocate against this breed and maybe save even one life. I doubt it, though. This is a tragedy they will take to their graves as they bury their children.
We have a GSD. I’d always wanted a GSD. I love GSDs in general, and especially my GSD.
We waited until our girls were teens to get him, because as much as I love them, I was not going to risk having one–or any powerful breed–around little children. And GSDs do NOT generally attack unprovoked, they do NOT generally maul, they do NOT generally kill.
I really do hope these parents come out against these dogs, but unfortunately I think you’re right; they will never say a word (or, worse, will come out with the “tragic accident,” “don’t blame the breed,” nonsense). Given that the husband’s workplace has done fundraisers for the pit lobby, I imagine he at least is going to have a powerful financial reason to pretend that “any breed” could have literally ripped his family apart on a whim.
Yes, I doubt it as well. I’ve been around long enough to know that people can deny and diminish even the most profound tragedies before they will take a look at themselves, invent crazy stories to explain things…this couple may forbid themselves and the people around them from ever speaking of this again.
This family is irreversibly changed and broken forever, all because of choosing the wrong breed of dog. I have seen a couple of this family’s relatives defend the dogs already on social media, saying that any dog could do this. If it were true that even the tiniest Pomeranian could do this, nobody would own dogs at all.
My empathy and sympathy are everlasting towards victims, however flawed or misguided they may be. Nobody should have to go through a tragedy like this. The Pit Bull propaganda machine has obscured the truth for so many people, I don’t entirely place blame on families that experience these horrific events if they’ve been told all this time that these dogs are perfectly safe family pets.
Yeah, the “any breed could do this” line is so ridiculous. I tried to picture my 2 male Frenchies managing to maul and kill two babies while their mother tried to fight them off, and just couldn’t. It’s not possible. I guess they could lose their minds somehow and land a couple bites, but there’d be no massive mauling and fatality.
I left a snarky comment earlier about ignorance not being an excuse. I don’t feel great about attacking the parents and want to say this: I want dangerous dog breeds banned because we all make mistakes. If the dangerous breeds were banned then a mistake in choosing a pet wouldn’t have deadly consequences. These people shouldn’t be going through this.
@Rebecca
Exactly that.
Regular people shouldn’t require a degree in animal psychology to take home a family pet.
It used to be you could even take in a stray and while you took on the risk it might bite–it wouldn’t eat your babies.
Rebecca, I hear you. I wish to God the public could be better educated and informed. For example, the NYT will cover endless “feel good” stories about dogs. However, when a young boy in NYC was mauled to death by his father’s Rottweiler, there was zero coverage. Colleen has dug into the pit propaganda, the shelter lies, the subterfuge behind the rescue organizations, the money behind the pet industry juggernaut. The general public is fed so much misinformation about these dangerous breeds. We, who follow Colleen’s excellent reporting are aware of this travesty. Most people are not. When I bring this up, suddenly there’s radio silence or flat out denial. Even though I’ve owned lots of wonderful dogs, I’m labeled a “dog hater” if I bring this topic up.
Exactly! I get the same attitude and hostility from my family and others if I bring up anything about a recent pitbull attack -its like ppl are preprogrammed by the pitbull propaganda machine they r totally brainwashed-i guess that’s what the phrase “don’t kill the messenger” means because how dare u speak the truth! (Because the truth does not support their agenda)
Thoughts to ponder:
*The father’s statement on social media some years earlier sounds defensive. It makes me wonder if the dogs already had attacked or bitten someone in the 8+ years of his ownership or previously.
*The family lived next to a state park. A likely spot for walking their pitbulls. Dangerous for other area residents though.
More and more dog walkers are bringing their dogs on hiking trails and into state parks. The parks used to be for the people only. It’s bad enough that leashed dogs are crowding hikers on narrow paths. Some dog owners are unleashing their dogs in these larger parks, further ruining the recreational experience for the majority.
*The dogs were owned by the father at least 3 years before this couple’s marriage. The mother fell in love w the father and accepted the dogs as part of the commitment. Then Facebook shows she embraced the dogs fully as that marriage commitment. Even to the point of allowing her babies to be in close contact w the pitbulls.
Anyone wanting to commit to a relationship should discover SOONER rather than later what it does or could entail regarding animal ownership. My personal feeling is why lavish an animal w loving strokes when your spouse is the one who should have that close contact.
Nunzia, you make a good point. The mother fell in love with a handsome, tattooed, motorcycling, tough guy who owned “tough guy” dogs. She was only in her 20’s. If my older, college educated neighbors STILL think it’s “how you raise them,” then how could Kristie have known the danger. This is the conundrum with pit bulls. Many of them never attack or kill anyone. But, as we know here, it just takes one rampage, and victims are left with life-limiting injuries or dead. I believe the mother’s sister. If the mother had seen any sign of aggression toward her babies, she would have banished the dogs. But again, pit bulls attack without provocation or warning. It just takes one time. If anyone is at fault, it’s the father. He rolled the dice and lost his family. He said they were “house lions” and he was absolutely right.
Teresa, thanks for your response. On commitment, my heart breaks for the children of divorced parents. Fathers sometimes do not have the same commitment to their children’s safety.
I have read a number of articles now where children are bitten by dangerous dogs when visiting their dads. One boy visited his grandmother’s where it sounds like his father lived now A pitbull breeder, she wasn’t there when he poked his arm thru a fence and had his arm bitten off.
The story that troubled me the most is the young boy visiting his dad for the weekend who was attacked by his dad’s pitbull. His father has been trying to “toughen up” his son, making the boy tend to the pitbulls, giving them food and water. I think he has to walk them too. His mom is trying to change the visitation. The last I read about it, he still had to go visit his cruel father. Can you imagine the fear of that boy?!
Divorced mothers are stuck, unable to fully protect their children. The situation may be sometimes reversed w negligent moms who w their relatives place their child in dangerous situations during visitation.
We’ve heard that a lot on this site; divorced parents in conflict about one of them owning a dangerous dog or a relative who does. It would be nearly impossible to adjust a parenting plan unless and until said dog(s) has acted out. I live in a place where most people are highly educated and financially secure. They can’t be categorized as ignorant or in any other demeaning way, and yet, and YET I see many of them with rescue pits/mixes. I believe compassion for this mother is the only way to open a thoughtful and productive dialogue. That doesn’t mean I don’t have opinions about pit-nutters, however, this mother will relive this nightmare the rest of her life. I can’t even begin to imagine the suffering she’s enduring. As a mother, I don’t think I could go on living.
Does anyone know the sex of these dogs? The name Mia sounds like a female name to me. I cannot guess what Cheech was. I don’t believe the family bred dogs so I’m guessing that at least one of the dogs was neutered. I know that this information is not available
on many attacking pitbulls.
Story says a male and a female.
Thank you. I missed that. That means the female was spayed. The male might or might have been neutered.
I have absolutely zero sympathy for these stupid parents who need to be charged with reckless homicide. Just like they left a loaded gun laying around, well 98% of the time it might not go off……
These are trashy people with their tramp stamps all over themselves, with their status symbol ghetto dogs. They deserve all the emotional pain for the rest of their pathetic fake trashy lives. They killed their children. But just watch, they’ll breed some more kids and get a couple more nanny dogs!!
Mike… I agree. Even negligent homicide but definitely child endangerment and child neglect. It will be very interesting to see how the law in that area handles this. I don’t get a good feeling though. My thinking is this marriage might not make it through this
Please do not raise children with these dangerous animals as pets.
So many sad stats are out there.
Pit Bulls are dangerous (there’s an unknown trigger in their brains that unleashes a demon in them).
Now two precious angels are gone for no good reason.
I haven’t read all the comments, yet, but I will later. My thoughts, the mother is no hero. They can claim she did everything to protect and save her children but we know they would not be dead if she did not have pits. They can keep saying that to themselves to feel better. It doesn’t change a think. That piece of BSL “art” work is pathetic. It reminds me of the loving photos of Niko and Mia.
She did everything BUT the one thing that could have saved them- actual BREED research.
I wonder if the epic serving of karma will force them to admit they were wrong…or will they double down and pretend it was just a random event and that poor pitties are just “misunderstood”?
It appears as if they’re going to be very, very quiet and hope that criminal charges aren’t filed.
If a pack of wolves did this in, say, Idaho, every single wolf in a 100+ mile radius would be killed within a few months – legally or illegally.
I’m not saying that would be right, I’m saying we as a society have totally lost our minds when it comes to da pibbles.
As disgusting as this is, the only silver lining is *someone elses kids* were not ripped to shreds by this mans dogs. Only his own.
People who run ‘rescues for troubled dogs’ should be shot. Those ‘rescue dogs’ that are rescued from Tijuana traumatized my niece and nephew for life. The owners make a killing running a ‘charity’ bringing in dangerous street animals, or ‘bully dogs’ for the willful ignorant and cause mayhem around all of us.
People need to realize that pitbull are different from other breeds.They have been selectively breed not to quit. No animal in nature or other breeds possess this quality. When other animals engage in combat, when one is.defeated, it bellies up, the submission is recognized, the victor walks.off and the other survives. With pitbulls, submissions are not granted, just an earlier kill. Many things can set off a dog. But, if its a pitbull, the first time will be tragic. Two, then pack mentality becomes an increased probability.
In spite of what what purportedly happened to them, Cheech and Mia are probably spooning with apologists right now. .
Pitbulls are different in that they never quit when they attack. They are bred that way. Any dog can be set off. But not stopping is the killer.
I was wondering if anyone knows how the attack was stopped. Was the father in the house? If so, did he call the dogs off? They might have respected him but not her. It didn’t sound like any first responders were involved in stopping the attack.
I was wondering also, because they don’t just stop.
Rachel, I am guessing it was probably the children’s grandfather. It appears that the grandparents may live in the home also.
Nunzia, you’re right. The father was not present. if he were, I’m sure he owned a gun. News is blurry with facts sometimes. One report said it took place in the house. Another said it was outside. I’m not seeing anything about grandparents living there, unless there’s an update? Maybe in the mayhem, the mother was able to dial 911? Not confident much information will come out unless Colleen gets the police report. As you know, at least one family member/friend (?) is angry “pit bulls” are identified and questioning why this tragedy is newsworthy? Interesting, that it would be even a concern with two dead children. My hope is there are families right now getting rid of their family pits. If this doesn’t shake parents up, I don’t know what will. BTW, the person who setup Gofundme makes no mention of a dog attack, simply a “tragic accident.”
Teresa, I lost my G**gl* account last night trying to discern facts at reputable websites regarding the pitbulls murder of the two babies. See my post close to the top of the comments about that.
My best guess is probably the grandfather shot or knifed the dogs. Then Animal Control seized the dogs and finished them. I think they have been reported as put down in the news but a quick scan here does not show that. If you know differently, please let me know.
I did post a number of times here. You may want to do a search for my name to bring up the posts. Although there are new postings thruout the entire comments which may be of interest to you. It’s so helpful to have your long-term news experience in the comments.
I seem to recall reading in the Daily Mail article that one of the dogs had to be put down at the scene because it had been shot or stabbed to stop the attack.
I could be misremembering, but I think you’re right–somebody shot or knifed at least one of them.
The news reported the dogs were ordered to be euthanized the day after the attack and they have been. I have no doubt the county prosecutor went to a judge to get that order or it’s already a standing order in their county or state.
Whatever the local laws are is what will be looked at as far as the parents legal responsibility
Has the police report been made public yet?
The attack happened at Colby’s family home.
Colby purchased the home from his parent’s. Not sure when Colby and his family moved into the home.
According to a Facebook post Colby’s parents moved out on Oct. 2, 2022.
I’m disgusted that these people have a gofundme that reached the goal to the point that a new goal was set (100K). They have already profited 47K on a tragedy that is their fault.
I bet they spend the money first on some questionable “rescue” nanny pitties. You know, give the breed a second chance. Then, I think the husband will be looking for a new Harley.
That’s disgusting. I mean, I get this is tragic for them and they lost two children, but it’s a tragedy of their own creation, and now they’re going to benefit financially.
I’m curious about the circumstances that lead to the attack. Both children were mauled and murdered at the same time apparently, with the mother close by, and by both mutts. I’m willing to bet Kirstie was doing some Instagram or tiktok crap involving the dogs and the kids. Maybe putting some stupid bonnets on the pits and putting the children’s faces right next to them. Probably handling the girl and boy similarly like handling prey. This just provoked the ghetto mutts hence the immediate attack and deaths. She probably just started screaming and flailing, not knowing how to handle animals 3/4 her weight. I wonder how she got help at that point? Her arms were half chewed off. Then I wonder how “Precious” and “Baby” (you know, the typical pit bull names she probably nicknamed, forget Cheech and Chong or whatever the lowlife husband called them) stopped their mass murdering rampage?
This is all alleged but from extensive reading everything I can find, the mom and kids were outside the kids’ grandparents’ home. Mom was holding baby and throwing a ball for the dogs. The 2 year old went for the ball and the attack began. Mom ran to help the child and even covered her with her body, but the Pitts ripped the baby from her arms and tore that baby to pieces. A coworker of one of the parents said the mom had started having concerns about the dogs and wanted to rehome them but dad said absolutely not.
Jane, this is really interesting. There’s been so much speculation about what actually happened. Is there a source we can go to? There was another notorious case: a Mom who was dog-sitting had her seven-year-old in the owner’s backyard. The girl was running and playing with the two pits. The dogs killed her and seriously injured the mom. Running excites them and they go into prey-power- drive, and in for the kill.
Teresa, that source was probably reddit, which I just saw. An interesting theory…and one which is called something like “resource guarding,” as in food, toys and the like.
Unlikely it was at the grandparents’ home. What young mom wants to pack up her children, then her pitbulls, to take them elsewhere? More likely that the grandparents were living there and the grandfather shot the 2 pitbulls or maybe knifed them. Then Animal Control hauled them away and finished off the killers.
That’s my best guess today, Oct 9.
This is the first actual scenario of the attack I’ve read. Makes sense, too. I’ve read countless stories of pits being ‘set off’ by something so innocent and mundane. Which is why they are NOT meant to be pets and should in fact be made to go extinct. There is no more dog fighting and bull baiting, and these dogs clearly fail at transitioning into safe companion animals.
That’s really interesting that a supposed domesticated family pet can be set off and go psycho by something so common and mundane as a child running?? To not only chase and maybe bite, but to go berserk ripping and killing a human, 2 actually, and maiming a third, and not give up. My God, this is worse than having a bear or alligator for a pet. Those things are generally illegal to own for that very reason and these pit trash dogs are fine?
Yes, that’s insane, and not normal. My GSD gets excited when we run around and play with him–all dogs do–but excitement doesn’t and shouldn’t translate into berserk violence.
Even in the middle of the wildest play, when I’m throwing balls for him and running and he’s jumping around, if we go for the ball at the same time, he stops and pulls back the second his teeth touch my skin. He’s accidentally hurt us once or twice with his claws or bumping into us harder than we were prepared for, but *never* with his teeth.
(And when he does hurt us like that, the second we yelp or say “Ouch!” he stops, gets worried, licks and sniffs, etc., all play forgotten–you know, like a normal dog.)
Omg… Jane, fantastic info.
Where did you find?
If that is the case I am thinking there will be a divorce and if anything the sole survivor of the attack should get the money for medical bills, not this Mr. macho father dude. The dogs were his before so she can sue him for wrongful death as well, in a Civil Law suit for money on top of whatever criminal charges the county or state may file
What is laughable is when they say the dogs had “no history of violence”.
Pit Bull history is nothing but violence.
Same story over they didnt know what set off the pitbull to attacked he own the pitbull for over 8 years without the dogs showing no sign of aggression. The dad was there but he was unharmed the mom tried to saved her babies for 10 minutes.And they set a go fund me for Kristy and Colby they should used all the money they gotten and pay for the babies funeral without spending a dime on themselves..
Madeleine, the dad was not there in the home during the 3:30pm weekday attack. He was most likely working. An important fact with which we don’t want to mislead others.
Let’s say it all together now: Blood sport dogs are not safe pets. Blood sport dogs are not safe around children. When will people finally get the message?
RE: What set Cheech and Mia off?
That’s a stones throw away from victim blaming. Sounds like they’re implying the 5-month-old or the 2-year-old are at fault for this crime.
This lady was a pit advocate from hell, that harassed people about these dogs. She knew the risks, her husband knew the risks, (he called them house lions). Charge both of them, this was completely 100% preventable.
With a dad like that… who needs enemies?
It’s all based on his ignorance. Allowing monsters like that into his home… thinking “It’ll never happen to me.”
Ultimate failure in protecting his flock.
Like a lot of people, I was always reluctant to blame the dogs, especially considering the criminal or at least irresponsible elements they’re so often associated with. An acquaintance has always hated pit bulls, but her views are so often based on emotion that it was easy for me to take a more agnostic position and blame the owners. That all changed when I read this site. All I really needed to hear was that these dogs overreact to things normal dogs don’t even notice, and that whereas a German shepherd might fear-bite or even aggression-bite, it won’t bore in for the kill like bully breeds do when they detonate. The rest of the evidence laid out here was just icing on the cake.
Then this Tennessee story popped up on an Instagram account I follow, and armed with new facts I left a comment: “Hey, maybe the dogs were once abused by someone who looked like a toddler. Cue the ‘It’s not the breed,’ it’s the owner’ apologists. It’s the breed. Bully breeds are bred to give no warning before an attack and to continue the attack even if it kills them. They’ll go through closed windows to attack another dog in the street. No normal dog reacts to a standard household situation with slaughter. Any dog can bite but normal dogs don’t *want* to bite. When forced into a situation they feel they can’t escape any other way they bite and release and try to retreat. Not bully breeds. But no amount of evidence will convince the idiots and sociopaths who own them.”
In *very* short order the pit apologists did in fact trot out every single cliche, myth, and trope about the dogs: the MSM unfairly focuses on them to the exclusion of other breeds; they’re the original nanny dog; it’s the owner, not the breed; it’s not really a pit bull (or there’s no such thing as a “pit bull”); it’s racist to discriminate against dogs; people kill people, too; lawnmowers kill more people than dogs; terriers don’t kill; tell it to the cops that use pit bulls as K-9s; Chihuahuas are more aggressive; my comment is “statistically and factually incorrect so please cite sources.” (I provided the link to and stats from your 2005-2016 pie chart; no reply.) The common foundation for all their rationalizations seems to be not a love for the animals but a fundamental animosity toward people.
Anyway, thank you for this site and your dedication to this cause. It’s been a real education.
Paula, well done! Pitbulls are indeed high strung, surprising since they are so bulky.
You kept an open mind and now you have found this invaluable site, Dogsbite. Plus you stood up in public for what you have learned is right.
Bravo!
BTW, when you see that “They use pits as K-9s,” BS, ask for their source. No police department uses pits as actual K-9 units in the field; some are given “stunt pits” and put a uniform on them for publicity, and I think maybe one of those dogs is used as a sniffer dog, but when a pit group tried a few years ago to train some pits as K-9s, they all flunked out of training fairly quickly. They are totally unsuitable for that work, which requires intelligence and an ability to bite/hold/release on command, all of which are qualities pits sorely lack. There’s a reason most police dogs are GSDs or Malinois.
Thanks, Nunzio. Anion, I figured the K-9 thing was rubbish; everything else those lunatics trotted out sure was. Just last month I read the excerpts from service dog groups who unanimously recommend against using pits in that role. I think the same material included information on PDs that tried using them and abandoned the project. The pitch of hysteria I stirred up on line was bizarre, but I didn’t engage with most of them. Plenty of others picked up that slack, though.
The mom has the potential to save a lot of American kids a lot of serious injuries, if she were to become a spokesperson for banning dangerous breeds. If she is interested in doing so and has a talent for communication, people would listen to her. Congress and the public should be hearing the stories of people like her.
Once you see a pic of one of these dogs right next to their owners, you don’t realize how HUGE they really were. The head of one of these dogs was bigger than than the mom’s.
These weren’t your average pit bulls. They were the XL version, bred to grow up to 120lbs.
Much of it jaw muscle.
Mr Harley you’re not too macho now are you your decision to keep those two vicious dogs in your home while you have a new baby and a toddler is completely outrageous you both need to be held accountable for this they should still be alive if it wasn’t for your decisions to keep those damn dogs
Don’t worry, Mr Tough Guy Millennial will do something to honor the 2 deceased loves of his life. He will never forget their memory. He’ll get some tramp stamp portraits permanently placed onto his body (if he can find any room) of……….
Cheech and Mia.
Interesting hashtag now in retrospect.
Seems #BulyBreedsForDeath would have been more accurate.
He wasn’t worried about his kids, just that someone might take his furry penis extenders from him.
Not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer but most people who get lung cancer were smokers.
Not every pit mauls its owner or a family member but most people who are mauled to death or seriously injured by a dog are attacked by pits.
I don’t understand how the pit bull industrial complex has been so successful. I have a friend, she is smart, a business owner and a mother. She doesn’t own dogs, she has cats.
Me and her got into it the last time we were together. I said shelters do adopters a disservice by lying about dog breeds. She proceeded to tell me “no one can ID a pit without DNA and even if you could it doesn’t matter becase Dobermans have a stronger bite.”
These same shelters that say pits need special cages and equipment, including panic alarms becase it is not safe to ever leave a worker alone with a pit, turn around and say “they are just dogs, actually they are the best dogs, but no one can ID them so who knows if we have any”.
This argument should not fool a child yet intelligent people parrot it and other insane lies becase they want to be “good people” and avoid the “sin” of “dog racism”.
Sadly I think our only hope is to give them what they are asking for good and hard. You wand pits to be treated like any other dog? Fine, from now on we have to assume all dogs no matter the breed or size are one mental misfire away from murder and regulate them as such.
I don’t see anyway around that as long as advocates are going to play the name game and claim things like “it isn’t a pit bull, it is an “American Bulldog” or a “Staffordshire Terrier”. In English that means “It isn’t a pit bull, it is a large pit bull or a specific breeder’s name for a pit bull”.
On top of that there are meat heads rushing to invent the next power fighting breed for people who want somthing fancier than a pit. Dogo Argentinos, Fila Brasileiros, Dogo Cubanos, and a multi colored assortment of Slave Eaters, Bear Fighters and every other sort of war dog, Bully, Bullie, Bouledogue, Ban Douge and what ever other made up name and back story can be used to sell a blocky headed, inbred train wreck of a meat grinder to a sucker.
I am waiting for someone to claim “Actually my dog is not a Pit Bull, he is an Indentation Male Bovine. Educate Yourself, dog racist.”
How can some of you be so cruel. These folks just lost two children, are probably traumatized and grieving and heartbroken that their beloved pets did this. They are probably blaming themselves. She is badly injured. The average pet owner is not an animal behavior expert and may not realize the signs are signs, and some dogs give no warning before aggression. More education is needed in general about dog behavior and safety, but don’t stoop to attacking the victims and profiling them bc of tattoos. Shame on you.
No, shame on YOU!
U want some educatin’ on canine and pitbull behavior do u? Well ill do it -pay attention
Border collies-I’m sure ur familiar-the usually black and white dogs that herd sheep and goats mostly…
Well those were bred specifically to do that job-infact they don’t even have to be taught to herd- they just do it-because that’s what the breed was developed for INFACT -they can’t be taught NOT to herd
Pitbulls were bred to kill not to be nanny dogs
Some of the traits that were used when developing the breed:
1-to attack without warning or signs
2-to attack without any provocation or triggers
3-to sense weakness (which is dangerous when u put them in a society of humans because very young and very old are automatically targets)
4- to latch on and not let go
5-to fight till the death of it or its victim
Any individual not possessing these traits or characteristics were hulled (killed)
Now go back and read my border collie example again and apply it to these traits
You’re welcome
First line of my moment was supposed to be “shame on u kate” I thought I could edit it but not
Kate,
The victims are the deceased 5-month-old and the 2-year-old, not the parents.
Yes the mother is badly injured. Think of her like the drunk-driver-mother who crashes into a tree and kills her two toddler passengers. They were in her care, and now they are dead.
If she’s truly going to heal she needs to lobby influential people about the danger she put her children in. She needs to use her sad story to debunk the lies that helped killed her children.
That defense doesn’t fly. The male owner specifically ridiculed people who gave warnings about pit bulls, calling them ignorant. If he was ignorant to the dangers, it was willful and defiant ignorance. He published the statement that nothing would take those two dogs from him. It’s seems nothing but the sacrifice of his two children.
Hard for me to pity someone who ignored information that is out there before getting and keeping a pet capable of mauling and demolishing her children. Which they eventually did so well, what they were born and bred to do. If people don’t know the risks of keeping pit bulls by now, they don’t WANT to know. My sympathy is with those little kids. I just hope they had as quick and painless as death as possible.
We’re cruel??? You know who’s cruel? Macho signaling fanatical pitbull owners who value their mutts over their own families. With all the lifestyle accessories to go with the tough guy image.. badass Harleys, tats galore,, etc etc., bad actors of their genre who cannot be reasoned with. The pitbull is just another accessory for them, like the fake gold chains, overdone makeup on the female, trying to be hip clothing, etc..They own animals as dangerous and unpredictable as a tiger. And worst of all, keep them around little children.
These people are ignorant, arrogant and judgemental of anyone who disagrees with them. More fanatical than the psycho animals they own.
Do anything you want, but just keep them secured 24/7 and always away from children. No exceptions!
Compassion for the guilty is treason to the innocent.
Kate, they should be ashamed of themselves. Especially how they are profiting over 100K for getting their kids killed.
Christy, their two
GoFundMe accounts now total over a quarter million dollars, at $232,000.
Nov 5, 2022. One month today after the mauling deaths of the toddler and her baby brother.
Oops…looks like I am financially challenged at this late/early hour.
Almost a quarter million dollars.
These folks lost their 2 children because of their own, complete negligence. Unlikely they will be charged legally, but ethically, they are 100% responsible for their children’s deaths. Pit bulls should never be considered household pets, they are extremely unpredictable killing machines. Anyone owning a pitbull is deliberately choosing to put their family (and themselves and their neighbors) in harm’s way. Pitbulls do not give signs, they are just dangerous. Most other dog breeds *never* kill or maul children.
The father doesn’t give a rip about those children. His Facebook page proves that. Go look at it. It is all pit bulls and motorcycles; his true loves. He is a heartless, brainless monster.
No one is being cruel, Kate. These people are heartbroken because they refused to learn and insisted on owning and defending a breed of dog with a long history of doing JUST what these dogs did. These people refused to be educated. Perhaps this type of education is the only one that would have worked for them.
Colleen, I wrote to the paper that did this report and asked them to contact you regarding the two studies they referenced. https://wreg.com/news/local/deadly-pit-bull-attack-reignites-debate-about-the-breed/
I don’t want anything around me or my kids that I can’t totally control. Like a small kitten example. It’s not gonna kill my kid. It takes a huge vicious dog about 2 seconds flat to kill a small child and you cannot pull it off if it decides to. Therefore it’s negligence period. They are fools, now they know it. I sense divorce and suicide / drug abuse in their futures.
I have a lot of empathy for the mom even though I cringe any time I see parents allow pitbulls or really any dogs near their kids but especially dogs that can kill. I think this story just feels close to home for me because when my sheltie and I were attacked by pitbulls I laid on top of her and felt her getting ripped apart under me and it’s all I could feel so I didn’t even feel my own arms and hands being torn apart… and even now, 8 years later, I always think why did I walk down that road, if I had just not walked her on that road.. and I didn’t even know anyone around us had pitbulls… but I just know she will blame herself for the rest of her life and people just trust their dogs no matter how obviously potentially dangerous they are… I don’t even let kids pet my dog, and they always want to bc she is really cute, but even when I babysit I put her in the kitchen with a baby gate just in case bc kids literally do all the things that can set a dog off… grab, randomly scream etc and shelties aren’t known to bite but they can snap and nip and even a snap or nip from a small dog with a weak jaw can critically injure a baby and hurt a small child… I hate the arguement when pitbull owners say chihuahuas bite more people.. I feel like no.1 also don’t let chihuahuas around kids and no.2 house cats also bite more people than tigers do but I don’t really worry about being killed by a house cat. This story is just so heartbreaking.. my one hope is that maybe it will make parents stop the reckless behavior I see so often on tiktok and stuff where they think it’s cute to have a baby sleep with a pitbull… terror runs through me when I see that.
Christine, that is a powerful testimony. I know you aren’ t keen on prayer but I will pray that you are comforted now into the weeks ahead. Thanks for sharing your story at this time.
Dogsbite, thanks for tracking this blood line of the designer pitbulls XL that mauled to death the two Bennard babies.
The “second chance” fundraiser held at the Harley dealership was most likely orchestrated by employee and influencer Colby himself, given his deliberate pursuit and selection of pedigreed pitbulls he calls LionsOnLeashes.
Lions on a leash…gross. I think I will stick to my lazy, comical Frenchies, who were bred to sit in laps and cuddle with you.
100%. I have shih tzus, the sweetest little lap dogs and could never understand why people would want to own animals that can rip their face off if it’s having a bad day. I feel like there’s a certain sociopathy in these people that they feel comfortable exposing their friends, family, and community to this extreme risk I prefer not to interact with pitbulls or their sketchy owners if at all possible.
I grew up with pit bulls. I always felt a bit scared around them, was too afraid to go into the back yard alone. Our last one was quite loving, but still…. really can’t trust them.
And I can’t agree with you more Mia. Narc/sociopathic father, which one only truly realize once you get out of there. I’m just grateful that me, my sister and mother never got hurt. My dad did at least have the savvy to get rid of the second one in the lineage of five. He was 2 years old, always growling when we tried to move in our OWN back yard.
The last one my dad shot (that’s how he got rid of all our dogs, FYI), because he had a brain tumour. I loved that dog, was so sweet. And yet…
These dogs do remind me of sociopaths. No empathy. Little emotion. Cruelty in their gaze, cold. And only a person like that could feel comfortable around this breed, and comfortable knowing there is a potential assassin in the back yard, with family and little children visiting. I shiver at the thought….
Now I have two Italian Greyhounds who are basically scared of their own shadows, freaking adorable, and 1500km from family. Family is family, but clearly seen from this whole disaster – can be toxic. World is so sick. 🙁
I agree with you, Mia, re the sociopathy. It’s often present in the pit bull apologizers I know. Others seem to be victims to their own inability to process information, learn and think for themselves – just not very bright, perhaps?
At this point, I’d like to say I’m not surprised by this latest pitbull attack but I’m shocked! I’m also very saddened by the knowledge that it won’t make any difference to the pit/bully cultists, the pitbull lobby and the propaganda rubbish they regularly spout.. it’s enraging and infuriating that many people believe the lies… those poor, helpless little children, unfortunately they won’t be the last to be mauled to death by the ‘family’ pitbull
This post literally ruined my weekend as I couldn’t stop imaging the bloodbath and what the poor children had to experience being ripped apart. No sympathy for the husband or the wife. The husband is pathetic and his pseudomasculinity could be seen from the pictures. The guy is a straight up nerd and tries to cover it up with the harleys and the tattoos and the Pitts. You’re not fooling anymore and now you have two dead kids and a disfigured wife that will soon divorce you. Not sure if the wife felt the same about the dogs or went along with it because that’s what her “tough” husband was into and didn’t want to say no. These two make me SICK.
King Lion was a 120lb pit bull. As if your standard 60lb pit bull weren’t dangerous enough already, there really are irresponsible breeders out there trying to double the breed’s size. The Youtube video where the breeders were letting their XL pit bulls face off and lunge at each other to demonstrate their “alpha-male”-ness was horrifying.
Also, what’s with the names these pit bull breeders pick? The dogs you mentioned and their descendants are named, no joke: Killer, Assassin, Miss Demeanor, Criminal, Psychopath, Most Wanted.
As for the buyers of these large, dangerous animals, I heard a theory that some of them are drawn to danger and trying to tame it because of unresolved traumas.
“The dogs you mentioned and their descendants are named, no joke: Killer, Assassin, Miss Demeanor, Criminal, Psychopath, Most Wanted.”
This is always a tell that Pit Heads know for a fact their dogs are dangerous. Ever have a casual conversation with a pitiot?
Pitiot: My 2 pit bulls are a pair of harmless bunny rabbits! They would not hurt a fly!
Me: What are your dog’s names?
Pitiot: Um, Murder and Slaughter!
Sometimes it totally the other way and name these hideous, ugly, square headed things “Precious” and “Sweetie”.
I had a thought about these 2 murder mutts today. I found it odd (but not impossible I guess) that they took a full 8 years to “pit out”. Has anyone offered evidence, or even a plausible theory, that Fido and Rover were on meds? Anti Anxiety or even narcotics? Maybe the “pit parents” forgot to pill them that morning.
Reminds me of that lady years ago who had that chimp that went psycho and ripped her best friend’s face off. I think she was feeding it Xanax and the meds wore off.
As I’ve read on other sites, it’s uncommon to have EMT’s/paramedics pronounce a death immediately where it’s happened. The killing scene must of been the stuff of nightmares. Many of us are deeply affected just reading about it. The trauma to the medical personnel is especially difficult when it comes to deceased children. I know many of these real heroes where I live. Their sole purpose is to save lives. I believe these unethical, brainless breeders should be forced to look at pictures of the crime scene, the bodies. Let them see the hell they have wrought. In Colleen’s excellent reporting, we see these dogs are bred for violence and are known to be HA “human aggressive.” And yet, they’re encouraging people to add one to their family. I really don’t care if one of them kills their hapless owners, but the children, OMG, the children!
Hard to say. I knew of one pitbull that never harmed a soul in 13 years.
The woman who owned it was driving him to the beach when it “went pitbull” smashed out of the car window after a poodle, ripped it to shreds and mauled the child walking it who tried to save her pet.
So yeah, “going pitbull” is a thing.
Your thoughts are worth considering. However, why don’t other breeds “go pit”? There are certainly cases when dogs are ten years of age and older before “going pit”.
I have seen a couple of Golden retrievers that became extremely aggressive while on corticosteroids. In those cases, I’ve told the owner to discontinue meds, and put the dog in a safe place. Then wait for the dog to become sane again.
An elderly woman bought a GSD puppy from me. A few days later I heard the puppy was boarding in a vet clinic. Why? One of the woman’s two thirteen year old cockapoos (blind/deaf) put her in the hospital for a week.
I think that attack was for medical reasons.
My thought is this: Will “sedating” a pit bull prevent it from going full pit? If so, with what? I had the theory that they’d either been drugging the dogs all along, and forgot a dose, or started drugging them in response to onset aggression. I only bring it up because doing so would make the parents additionally culpable.
But… if you have to drug a dog to keep it around… that should alarm you that it isn’t okay to keep such a breed around. Or am I not understanding you correctly?
Yes, that is the point I am making. If you have to drug a dog to make it safe to be around, then the dog is simply not safe to be around.
I bring it up for this reason – if the parents were drugging the dogs to prevent them from aggressing, then they had prior knowledge that the dogs were aggressive (dangerous).
From reading the stories of pitbull attacks, it seems there are 2 especially dangerous stages in a pitbull’s life. The first the 18 – 24 months when they reach adult hood, the 2nd the 8 – 9 years when they reach geriatric age. Just my thoughts, I’m no expert. But there are a lot of stories of pitbulls reaching geriatric age and then killing.
Thinker, excellent post!
The death attack I remember the most in the geriatric category is:
Boy, 5, attacked, killed by family’s pit bull. Family members told CBS that they “have had the 12-year-old pit bull since it was a puppy and trusted him around children.” Feb 2020. Oro Grande, CA. USA.
If you ever need a family murdering ticking bomb, Better Call Saul (Cervantes, not Goodman)!
Thank you for this well researched (as always!) post. This one hit me hard – sometimes there’s a certain fatality that does that…and I think it’s because of the culpability of the parents. It’s obvious the father knew exactly the type of dogs he had, and just exactly what they were capable of. He touted it like a status symbol to go with the macho image I assume he was parading. Who wants a “lion” lounging around with their babies? They were not kept out in a pen, they obviously were “fur babies” to these people by the looks of the dogs on their sofa in the picture you posted. Regardless, these parents did not live under a rock – and even if they never heard of a bully harming a fly, ignorance is not a defense.
It’s sad that in the midst of such senseless tragedy (I refuse to call it an “accident”) there are still defenders of these dogs, as well as the scum of the earth victim blamers. It’s all just too much – these children never had a chance.
Colleen, how weird that I said this on 10/8/2022 before you did the update “That piece of BSL “art” work is pathetic. It reminds me of the loving photos of Niko and Mia.” Then, you mention these two due to the killing of Mia by Niko (Kimbo bloodlines).
https://pedigree.gamedogs.cz/dog.php?id=391438 Collen I found this pedigree and its just as i suspected inbred all over the place they have zero problem doing that in this breed look how many times the dog ”Winin Tradition appears ITS STARTLING
There certainly is inbreeding in the pedigree, but I’ve seen inbreeding far more extensive than this produce nice dogs.
Inbreeding doubles on both good traits and bad traits. It doesn’t create monsters.
These dogs were bred for traits I don’t like. Selective breeding created them.
I have GSDs. In Germany if the dog won’t do basic bitework, it cannot be used for breeding. So breeders there have to breed for some aggression. In the USA GSDs are destroyed for aggression.
This is probably one of the most tragic pit attacks I’ve heard. Not one, but two young children killed by these mutants. Those babies didn’t stand a chance against those double xxl lion whatever they’re called beasts! Shame on that man for caring more about promoting the breed than the safety of his family. Now his children are dead and his wife injured and traumatized for life.
I will NEVER understand how someone can look at a dog as huge and repulsive as those pits and think to keep them in a home with children, let alone TWO of them.
Interesting about the bloodlines. I had noticed a FB page about “real” pit bulls (aka, APBTs) ranting hysterically about how all these mutts are besmirching the good name of the pit bulls. About 60% faux concern, with a side of real, acute worry about their own hides. I think they could have made that case 15 years ago but too little, too late. Way too many of the fatal attacks are coming from all over the pit bull spectrum.
*Not* saying that these particular bloodlines and this particular mishmash breed isn’t a singular issue, just that I don’t think it’s going to be possible for the wider bull community to isolate them and wash their hands. As they so, so clearly would like to do.
The mother is out of the hospital.
Is it unusual that there’s still been no statement about exactly what happened? Or is it something where they aren’t obligated to say, and we just may never know? I just can’t imagine what made those dogs do that.. aside from the fact that they are pit bulls, of course.
It was printed that the mom was outside with the children and the dogs. She had the baby in some kind of a sling in front of her. She was throwing a ball for the dogs to retrieve. The two year old
went over and tried to get the ball. The dogs attacked her. The mom tried to save her daughter. In so doing she sacrificed her son and herself.
From the update, quote, “We are dedicated to producing top quality XXL American Pit Bull Terriers with great temperaments”.
Yea right. Anyone can say as they market their freak dogs that the have “great Temperaments”. But, it looks like the dogs themselves had the final word on that, now didn’t they?
I hope Kirstie doesn’t blame herself for what the dogs did- they fundamentally are unsafe. I hope she only blames herself and her husband for having the dogs in the first place. I hope Colby only blames himself and his wife for the massive misjudgment they made- sanctifying this breed and bringing them into their home only to let them destroy it from within. The only way they can right this is to speak out publicly to families and advocate that dog who were bred to kill have no place around children.
Hello everyone,
I am so deeply effected by this tragedy. Heartbreaking doesn’t even begin to describe it. I am new to all of these debates and statistics and truly have an open mind, and also a question I would appreciate anyones opinion on.
The love of my life has an “American bully” who was DNA typed through Embark and appears to have “American bully” lineage back two generations. We’re moving in together and I have two children ages 6 and 8.
I’ve read on the site here that these are masked names for essentially the same breed with the same issues. Yet the UKC states that it’s “first and foremost, a companion, exhibiting confidence with a zest and exuberance for life. Despite its powerful appearance, their demeanor is gentle and friendly. This breed makes an excellent family dog.”
Truly don’t know what to think. This story chills me to my core and I am in research mode. Curious to hear any and all thoughts, and also any reputable trainer who I could do a Zoom meet with to go over the facts and this dogs history.
Thank you for any insight 🙏🏼
Ana,
First off, you should have the love of your life go over the facts on this website. If he’s truly worthy he will want to put you and your family first. People who move in with each other get rid of pets for all sorts of reasons. Allergies for example.
Secondly, ask yourself if you’re willing to put your children’s lives on the line? Do you love your life as you know it? The mother in this story did. Now her kids are gone and so is the life she once knew.
Thanks for your comment. My heart breaks for her. I’m trying to discern whether the statistics on this site for “pit bulls” do indeed apply to American bullies or whether there is any merit to the idea that they were “bred out” of this particular, related breed.
Ana, I’m glad you’re looking for information. There are 4 dog breeds that are classified as pit bulls: American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bulldog (American Bully), and Staffordshire Bull Terrier (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_bull).
It’s confusing because many are mislabeled and/or crossbred. There is also a popular movement to create “designer” breeds.
When reading about these dogs, please pay attention to who is sponsoring or paying for the article or research. There are people who purposefully misrepresent the characteristics of these breeds and downplay their dangerousness. Pit bulls were originally bred to fight bulls in a pit. They are not dogs that should be around children. Part of the danger is that these dogs can seem like very loving, goofy pets, until they’re not. Then they are the stuff of nightmares. I have seen a small pit bull take down a full grown cow. The attack lasted for at least 15 minutes, despite people trying to intervene. The dog stopped only because it got tired. The cow suffered extensive wounds (as well as pain and fear) and had to be euthanized. When Animal Control arrived, the officer allowed the bloodied animal to lick his face, while trying to tell me what a sweet dog it was. The dog was wagging its tail (it was wagging it throughout the entire attack) and acting like a good girl who had just had the best time of her life. Please put your children’s safety first.
Farmer Jayne,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I’m seeing how the types are named now, and can definitely appreciate how information is skewed given the interest of the funding source. I’m so sorry to hear of what was perhaps your cow, or one you knew. Horrific. In many other cases I’ve made choices for my children based on small but relevant risk. Again, thank you for your perspective.
Ana,
The “American Bully” is a variation of the pit bull; it falls under the pit umbrella and has the same ancestry. The AmBully was *supposedly* created in part to form a “safe pet” pit bull, but AmBullys have still killed both people and other animals.
Remember, what makes these dogs dangerous is NOT that they are generally aggressive or mean! They can be lovely, sweet dogs…until the moment they aren’t, and there is NO WAY of knowing when or if that will happen. Saying a dog like this has “always been a sweetheart,” or “never shown any aggression before,” means nothing with pit-bull-type dogs. They can be playing with a child one minute and killing or severely mauling that same child the next; it’s happened countless times, and more often than not it’s a much-loved, trusted family pet that was raised with love and kindness.
If the love of your life pooh-poohs your concerns, consider whether or not you are actually the love of HIS life, and if he is really ready and willing to be a parent to your children. I’m sorry to put it like that, but please do think about it. Are the odds against a serious or fatal attack low? Yes. They are. Are they much higher than other dog breeds, both in frequency and seriousness? Absolutely yes. (And the odds of that dog killing another animal are quite high; that happens a lot.)
Please read the archives and articles on this site to learn more.
I wish you the best of luck!
Thank you for that clarification on the AmBully breed! I’m nodding as I read your post. I once considered getting a VW minivan but upon research, *some* of the models were known to have brake failure, well-documented enough to pull the line. There was no way to know which ones had the issue till it happened. That’s the principle case for rehoming: children can’t be the experiment zone to find out. Thanks for your perspective. Helpful 🙏🏼
Ana, if this man really loves you, he will put you and your children above his desire to keep the bully dog, whatever it’s labeled. You are now armed with information. Stand your ground or end the relationship. Just think for a minute, if anything, ANY thing happened that harmed one of your children, how would you feel? It’s not worth the risk. Like most moms, I’d take a bullet for my children. There is zero room for error. At best, one of them could be disfigured at worst…well you know from this website…what that means.
Thanks for your comment Teresa. Thanks to this site, I have a lot of information now. After reading, it wouldn’t be “we never thought this could happen,” it would be “we hoped it wouldn’t happen.” That’s not acceptable. Appreciate your insight.
The breed description was written by the American bully’s parent club. All UKC did was accept the description and print it. The parent club is made up of American bully lovers.
This tragic incident is a blood stain on the tip of the iceberg. It is an extreme example of millions of people owning dogs that violate their fellow citizen’s right to be and feel safe. While having our right to be and feel safe is dwarfed by the horror of this mauling and double murder, we should not forget to remember the common right we have violated in our communities allowing people to own pets that are a threat to everyone’s health and safety.
Long before this dupe’s delusions caused the murder of his children and mauling of his wife, he violated the rights of hundreds of people to be and feel safe in his community. Not something that should be tolerated in a rights respecting society. We need to stop dog owners from blame shifting that has authorities consider these abuses as a right for deluded people to abuse others’ right to be and feel safe.
cit:
“The pair of family pit bulls that killed two young children and seriously injured their mother on Wednesday had never been aggressive before, according to a family friend who spoke to Fox News. “If there was any inkling of danger, she would have never had those dogs near her kids,. ”
THAT IS NOT TRUE! People are simply lying . There were a lot of inkling of danger, probably not the only once , described below.
I was hypnotized by this story, because I was attacked by dogs, several times, and not bitten, but it was a horrible experiences anyway…
And I did scroll Facebook accounts to find out more about this family , and I saw this post that obviously is telling a different story about deadly dogs in Bernard’s home.
Unfortunately Colby Bernard lost his brother in 2014 y, and I came across fb memory page dedicated to him. Their mother has been posting about the phone call she received with the terrible news, and she was guessing what kind of a bad news she could get… So that woman (grandmother of killed children) has suffered a lot in life, and I can not imagine what is she going through, after this tragedy..
But never the less she was writing about dog fight in her sons home, and the distress her daughter in law was in, about that.
This are words about that – copied : and you can see for yourself on this link.
She was guessing what is the call about , that evening :
copy from fb post:
” I told him I knew why he was calling. His response “NO you Don’t! Yes I do, there was a dog fight at our other sons house, I had been talking to his wife. She was extremely upset about it. Then, out came his words…..listen to me….”
and then she found out about her son’s death.
Too much for one heart , just too much ! Even then, she has never forget that pain, and now , she is totally broken I believe , even I can not imagine that kind and amount of pain.
ps, I hate when people lie, and this lines about dogs never showing aggression, ever, is a huge lie.
link :
https://www.facebook.com/brian.biggers.14/posts/10160225375182588
Wow.
Ana, I would look at it this way: Do you want ANY animal in the house that is physically capable of mauling or even killing your children? If your partner insists on dog ownership, I would strongly urge him to consider a breed which lowers the risk of critical injury/death to the kids to ZERO. Why risk your children’s safety? Bully-types would be an absolute deal breaker for me (the stats speak for themselves), but considering that any breed can be unpredictable, I’d seriously hesitate to bring home ANY dog capable of overpowering either me OR my kids.
I feel awful for the Bennard family but it’s extremely frustrating that they refused to see the dangerous situation they created.
Don’t let what happened to them happen to you.
Thanks for your reply KS. The size and strength issue is definitely on my mind when thinking about other breeds as well. I’m seeing the unique concerns with Bully breeds thanks to this site and all of the helpful commenters. It’s truly so tragic that they took this gamble… they likely thought because they were from a breeder and raised with love that they were safe. This example truly shows how that’s not the case. A bite from trying to break up a fight could be expected in the adrenaline and instincts of the moment for any dog. Going fully murderous on the children needs another explanation. It’s the breed. 💔
Matrona, good research. You have found there were pitbull problems early on.
It appears that Colby’s mother is an Emergency Medical Responder at Shelby County Sheriffs Office.
The LARGEST pitbull I have ever seen. Must be an XXXXXL. Looks like a 200 pounder. Larger than the man he owns. This is a giant Frankenmauler from a Breeder gone mad. I pity his neighbors.
Watch “That A #big #boy #pitbull #youtubeshorts” on YouTube
https://youtube.com/shorts/4da6x47lNyc?feature=share
This humongous pitbull mastiff has reappeared without the audio.
https://youtube.com/shorts/ZKquTHpmHOE?feature=share
Watch “Gentle giant! #americanbully #bossykennels #doglover #bullywebtv #dog #englishbulldog” on YouTube
I am so grateful for all the information and thoughts provided about Pit Bulls.
I have a nephew who owns a pit who growled at my husband and actually stalked him. We were terrified and left his house immediately.
We were asked, “What did you do to make him growl and stalk?” Blaming us! I said we walked into the room (literally all we did). My husband has a very deep voice and that’s what we think made this pit growl…?
My nephew actually asked us to come over again to “see what would happen.” Unreal.
It’s only a matter of time…there are soon to be babies crawling and running around.
I did warn them after I called numerous trainers who said this pit needed training.
But, sadly, I don’t think it really matters based on what I have read.
My husband and I will no longer go to my nephew’s house and he doesn’t care; chooses his dog over us. Won’t even secure him elsewhere….
I met a seventy year old woman at doggy school who wanted to bring her grandson’s pitbull to class. She said she always crated her miniature schnauzer before the pitbull could walk through her house. She said the dog was not socialized or leash broke. I told her it was simply too dangerous for her to attempt training this dog. I told her the dog would knock her down and drag her on the floor.. She never came back.
Now showing up online, a Vanderbilt University (Tennessee) professor has written a pro-pitbull article. He has tried to conflate facts about pitbulls w racial hatred. Looks like this professor hasn’t done much research since he appears to have totally overlooked the carefully researched facts and statistics at Dogsbite and at attorney Kenneth Phillips’ website.
This misguided professor writes: “I see such action as canine profiling, which recalls another legal fiction: the taint or stain of blood that ordained human degradation and race hatred in the United States.”
Anyone surprised he owns a pitbull?
Misguided Vanderbilt University professor latest article:
Pit bulls went from America’s best friend to public enemy – now they’re slowly coming full circle
https://www.yahoo.com/video/pit-bulls-went-americas-best-123730383.html
Folks can spitball and speculate and theorize and hypothesize and ruminate and blame and project and deflect til the cows come home. WHEN DO WE START SAVING LIVES? HOW BOUT NOW? The answer is simple: national ban on pit bulls and mutant mutt mixtures containing their DNA!!!
Saving lives, especially children, is where I want to put my energy. Children are the most vulnerable. (Although, these mutants enjoy killing the elderly and the disabled.) Parents must be educated before they adopt one of these monsters. The question is: Are you willing to bring something into your home that could potentially kill your child? Is it likely? No. Can it happen? Yes. There may be only one bullet in the barrel of the gun, do you want to take that chance with your precious child? The Bennard tragedy blows up every pit propaganda talking point. These dogs were not raised or trained to kill this couple’s children. They were genetically locked and loaded to “go pit.” This story has gone global. If a single adult or couple wants to bring one of these serial killers home, that’s their prerogative. If they are mauled to death, that was their choice. But children need to be protected. If this latest tragedy saves one child’s life, something good will be gained. I have a feeling, the shelters have had an uptick in returned “nanny dogs.”
I am just so upset about this latest example of what pitbulls and their apologists can do. How does one ask “why” when a dog that was bred purposefully for unprovoked, explosive aggression does what is in its very nature to do? Do we ask why a Beagle tracks? Or why the Border Collie herds? Or why the Dachshund digs? Of course not. So asking why the Pit Bull kills is not the real question. The real question is this: “Why was a dog bred specifically for killing allowed access to a helpless human?” Pit advocates need to admit that parental supervision is not the answer… the answer is that people stop bringing these dogs into their homes, for their children’s sake, their neighbor’s – our whole community. I do believe the tide is turning….but how many more will need to die? Thank you, Colleen, for the wonderful site.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/803733674034962
The parents are at fault here. They failed to protect their children by letting pitbulls near and around these 2 innocent children. Just an awful tragedy.
I completely agree, but sadly some would not…
Any further updates on this story?
I hope there is some fruition from this tragedy and the once ‘pro pit’ parents share their story on mass media to serve as a warning to other parents.
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