Tag: pit bull

San Diego Cop Kills Pit Bull Therapy Dog ‘For No Reason’

Burberry, a 6-year-old Pit Bull, worked with children with Down syndrome as well as with his dog dad, Ian Anderson of Pacific Beach, Calif., to help them through rough times.

The therapy dog was always there “to put [his head] on your lap and you know everything is going to be okay. There’s just no way to explain the bond,” Anderson told NBC 7.

But Burberry is no longer around to work his magic. When two police officers responding to a domestic disturbance call knocked on Anderson’s door — apparently the wrong address — early Sunday morning, Burberry began barking. Anderson told NBC 7 he let Burberry outside, where he stopped barking.

In a surveillance video, one of the officers can even be seen patting Burberry’s head.

“The other officer yelled and screamed at the dog for no reason to get inside,” Anderson said. “It startled the dog.”

In the video, Burberry can be seen running and jumping at the other officer, who was running backwards. The officer shot Burberry in the head, instantly killing him.

“The preservation of life is our top priority and this includes the lives of animals,” the San Diego Police Department said in a statement. “This incident is currently being investigated as any Officer Involved Shooting would be to assure proper procedures were followed. Any further comments prior to the completion of the investigation would simply be premature.”

NBC 7 reporter Omari Fleming said he talked to several people in the neighborhood who knew Burberry. All of them said he was “such a cool dog.”

“I have known this dog since it was little … This dog would never hurt a fly!!!!” wrote Nicole Jacobs in a comment on the NBC 7 story. “My heart is broken. Burberry was amazing!”

Training Cops Not to Shoot Dogs

San Diego AWOL (Animals Worthy of Life) is a non-profit organization that trains police officers in an effort to reduce the number of dogs killed. “There seems to be no question here that this incident did not have to happen,” it wrote on its Facebook page today.

“Our organization has been in conversation with the San Diego Police Department for over 16 months to get them into our TOTALLY FREE Safe Dog Encounter Training. As yet they have not seen the importance of this training for their agency.”

In response to the shocking, viral 2013 video of a Hawthorne, Calif., police officer shooting a Rottweiler named Max as his owner begged him not to, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA) began offering the class “Dog Behavior for Law Enforcement” to all police departments in California. Hawthorne police officers took the class in January.

“When an officer shoots a pet dog, it is traumatic for the officer, the animal and the community — something we want to mitigate as much as is possible,” spcaLA President Madeline Bernstein said in a press release.

It is also, of course, extremely traumatic for the dog’s owner. Anderson is waiting for the San Diego Police Department to return Burberry’s body to him, so he can give his beloved dog a proper burial.

“He was the best dog in the entire world,” Anderson told NBC 7. “I would do anything to have him back right now. Absolutely anything.”

Anderson has created a “Justice for Burberry” Facebook page, and an online petition has been started that asks for nationwide police training in animal behavior.

Photo via Twitter

Dog Mom May Have to Rehome Hero Pit Bull Due to Hazel Park Breed Ban

MAY 15, 2015 UPDATE: Thanks to Isis, officials in Hazel Park, Mich., have repealed the town’s breed ban.

When Jamie Kraczkowski’s increasingly violent boyfriend began beating her yet again last week, her 2-year old Pit Bull, Isis, came to her rescue.

“When my head got hit against the wall, she just grabbed his pant leg and she was done,” Kraczkowski, of Hazel Park, Mich., told WJBK. “She was done with him abusing me — and abusing her.”

Her now ex-boyfriend, Jamie Dopke, left. But when he turned himself in Thursday and was charged with domestic violence, he complained to police that Isis had attacked him, requiring 30 stitches in his leg.

Because Dopke had been abusing Kraczkowski at the time, Hazel Park police said Isis would not be euthanized.

“If I had a dog and I was being attacked by somebody, I’d hope my dog would intervene,” an unidentified police officer told WJBK.

Unfortunately, however, Hazel Park enforces a Pit Bull ban, so Kraczkowski has been ordered to find a new home for her hero within five days.

“Thank God they’re allowing me to do home quarantine now. But, you know, it’s been pretty traumatizing for me,” she told WJBK, her bruised hands shaking.

Kraczkowski said her home’s lease and utilities are in Dopke’s name. Dopke is currently free on bail.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with my dog,” she said. “I definitely don’t feel safe without her.”

Because it is so unfair — not to mention costly to enforce and proven to be ineffective in increasing public safety — breed-specific legislation (BSL), which includes Pit Bull bans, is opposed by President Obama and virtually all major animal welfare organizations: the ASPCA, AVMA, HSUS, etc., etc. For these reasons, the trend has been to repeal these useless bans.

Holly Bachor, who was born and raised in Hazel Park, wants the city to follow this trend.

“We are looking for residents who want to speak out against the breed discrimination law currently in effect in Hazel Park,” she wrote in a comment on the FOX 2 Detroit Facebook page. “This is an opportunity to repeal the law, but we need Hazel Park residents and animal welfare advocates to join the effort. Please email info@mi-paca.org to add your name to the Hazel Park team.”

In a comment on the WJBK story, the American Pit Bull Terrier Association Inc (NZ) wrote, “Let’s hope this young lady and her dog can get out of Hazel Park. Men who beat women are still dragging their knuckles along the ground. Authorities still banning breeds are also unevolved and dangerous.”

Kraczkowski has started an online fund to help her move with Isis to a dog-friendly city. As of this morning, $525 of her $2,500 goal has been raised.

Photo via GoFundMe.com

Pit Bulls Rescued from Dog-Fighting Ring Save Family from House Fire

Last summer the Pruchnicki family of Farnham, N.Y., adopted Shrek and Fiona, two Pit Bulls that had been rescued as puppies from a dog-fighting operation. Early this morning, the two dogs, along with Ivan, the Pruchnickis’ other rescued Pit Bull, paid it forward by alerting the family to a house fire.

“It was about 3:30 in the morning. I heard the dogs going crazy.” Dave Pruchnicki told WIVB.

The house had smoke alarms, but the dogs started barking before they went off.

Shrek was the most vocal. “He was halfway up the stairs, and he usually doesn’t come up the stairs at all. You know he was telling us to get out,” Dave said.

“We went downstairs to look and see what’s up with the dogs. The whole front porch was basically engulfed.”

His wife, Dusty, grabbed their 5-year-old son and they all ran out of the house.

“As soon as we hit the side door, the front windows blew in and the whole house went up in flames,” Dave said.

The house was destroyed. “Our memories, our pictures,” Dusty told WIVB. “I’m just glad that I have my son, and my dogs and my husband, and we’re healthy and we’re happy and we can replace everything in our house.”

The fire started on the front porch when embers that had been discarded in a steel bin were rekindled, Chief Peter Chiavetta of the Farnham Volunteer Fire Department told the Buffalo News.

Dave and Dusty said that if the dogs had not been there, they probably would not have survived the fire.

“Like I say, we rescued them and they rescued us, so I think we’re even now,” Dave told WIVB.

Photo via Facebook

Hero Pit Bull Quarantined after Saving Girl from Rabid Raccoon

Eleven-year-old Savannah Vanase was cleaning the chicken coop in her family’s Norwich, Conn., backyard earlier this month when she was approached by a raccoon.

The family’s Pit Bull, 21-month-old Tank, saw the raccoon, which was just inches away from Vanase.

“All of a sudden my dog comes barking and sprinting under [the coop], and I look under, and there’s this huge raccoon,” Vanase told WTIC-TV. “I just didn’t know what to do. I just stood right here.”

She said she was surprised to see her mild-mannered snuggle buddy turn into “Super Puppy.”

“They were just tussling, and the raccoon went on his back and scratched him on his face, and Tank kept trying to pounce on him,” Vanase said.

Tank killed the raccoon, which later tested positive for rabies.

Unfortunately, Tank’s heroic act has the possibility of ending in an “Old Yeller” type tragedy for the pup. His rabies booster shot was a few days overdue. If he was infected, he will have to be euthanized.

Tank must be quarantined at a local animal shelter for six months to see if he develops symptoms of rabies. Animal control officer Donna Gremminger told KTRK that if Tank’s vaccinations had been up to date, he would have required a 45-day home quarantine.

“We’re trying to avoid [euthanization] and give him his fair chance,” Savannah’s dad, Chris Vanase, told WTIC-TV. “It’s the least I could do for saving my daughter.”

Gremminger said Tank has so far shown no signs of rabies, and said that none of the dogs she has seen quarantined in the shelter have turned out to be infected.

The six members of the Vanase family must also undergo a series of treatments for rabies.

“When he comes home, (I’m going to) make him a big, nice, peanut-butter-bone-treat cake and hug him as hard as I can,” Samantha told KTRK.

Hopefully Tank’s story will have a happier ending than “Old Yeller.” And hopefully Tank’s family will make sure his vaccinations are up to date for the rest of this hero’s life.

Photo via Facebook

NYPD Officers Rescue Injured Pit Bull on Grand Central Parkway

When NYPD officers Melissa Mezzoiuso and George Morina-Blocker responded to a 911 call Monday morning about a “vicious” dog on Grand Central Parkway during rush hour, what they found was a brindle Pit Bull sitting in the middle of a westbound lane on the busy thoroughfare.

Morina-Blocker blocked traffic with their patrol car, and Mezzoiuso got out and approached the dog.

She realized he “was not ‘vicious’ but rather frightened and injured,” the NYPD News reports.

Mezzoiuso gently lifted the dog and carried him to the side of the busy parkway, then she and her partner decided to drive the 6-month-old pup, who they named “Rocky,” to a local ASPCA office.

Rocky was then transferred to the ASPCA hospital in Manhattan, where veterinarians determined his left front leg had been broken.

Morina-Blocker and Mezzoiuso stopped by for a visit yesterday, before the lucky pooch had surgery on his leg. Rocky “will continue to receive around-the-clock care as he recovers from his injury,” an ASPCA spokeswoman told the Queens Courier.

According to the New York Daily News today, Rocky has been renamed Huxley to avoid confusion with another dog in the hospital who has the same name. He is recovering from his surgery.

The ASPCA is trying to locate his owner, and asking anyone with information about Rocky to call 212-876-7700. In the meantime, adoption offers are flowing in.

“We urge anyone with information about Rocky to please come forward,” the ASPCA spokeswoman said. “Thank you to the officers of the 110th Precinct who rescued a dog in need and brought him to safety at the ASPCA.”

Photos via Twitter, Twitter

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