A woman and the Director of the Wicoimico Humane Society were injured by 5 pit bulls who were fighting. The woman tried to break it up and the dogs attacked her. David Fitzgerald tried to break the dogs away from the woman and he too was "torn up" according to sources. The incident happened on Marine Road in Salisbury.
The Wicomico Sheriffs Deputies had to shoot three of the dogs. More to come...
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41 comments:
I hope they are ok but I have to wonder who is dumb enough to put 5 pitbulls together.
no. they werent pit bulls. pit bulls are nice creatures with no evil in them whatsoever.
*sarcasm*
I love animals, but I can't stand when people try to say Pit Bulls are good pets. They are bred to fight and kill and it's in their system and can't be changed. How sad.
Another thought, why was David Fitzgerald at the scene? I didn't know he went to the scene and I am sure there will be some of his friends on here making nice comments about him.
Also, I think the animal control division should be a part of the Wicomico County Sheriff's office. They should be trained police officers with weapons that specialize in animal control and that goes for the city of Salisbury. Their animal control officers used to carry guns until Bubba Comagees and Barry Tilmon took them away.
This would put much need officers on the street to assist and back up the patrol officers if needed. It's done that way in some areas around the country. Watch Animal Cops or what ever the name of that show is on the Animal Channel.
Animal control officers are not available in the city or county after hours.
I hope the pit bull monster owners are locked up.
Pit bulls are no more dangerous than any other breed. It is how a dog is treated and trained that produces its temperament.
These two idiots tried to break up 5 dogs that were fighting and wonders why they were attacked?
Then the dogs are killed because of their ignorance. Nice.
Not enough info that shows why they were fighting or where or if anyone else was threatened.
I hope there is a better reason to try to break it up than just happening to walk up on it in progress and decide to end it.
Surely they are not that dumb.
Yesterday I looked at Salisbury News and saw the chochlate lab puppy lost in Delmar. I checked out the Wicomico County humane society website and there was no chochlate lab, but there were 6 pitbulls that were picked up. Today there are only two. People need to realize that this breed is no more dangerous than any other breed, it is the owner who makes them the way they are. I also agree with other comments that 5 pits together are only doing what they have been taught to fight. They are not born this way, it is the human that makes them unstable.
Wishing both a quick and full recovery. That is awful.
I had two attack me as I was running with my other two dogs...I beat the snot out of them with my two dog leashes on each attack launch as I protected my dogs and my legs. A passersby in a truck stopped and was going to shoot them when they broke off from the attack and ran off.
12:52 NAILED IT. I see 5 Pits fighting I'm going the other way.
This was someone on Marine Rd breeding dogs they had no business breeding. Five of the dogs ended up together and started fighting the owner is who is in critical condition.David Fitzgerals never should have been there as he IS NOT animal control but likes to pretend he is. The city officers go to training to be able to do there jobs. There are no trained officers at the HS. Whenever they can't handle something the city officers are called which is what the sheriffs Dept tried to do but HS said they would take care of it. AC at HS is a joke as us Mr Fitzgerald who is spending hand over fist to make the building look like HE wants it while the animals slip through the cracks. Hope you county residents know too that Mr Fitzgerald and the HS are bringing in dogs from many other shelters all the while killing the county dogs. If you call looking for a lost dog they can't even tell you what they have. I know a woman that lost her black cat. At the desk they told her she could go look but they didn't have any black cats. She went to the cat room and the first two cats in there were black. I would really like to know what the residents of this county are paying for. No one is trained they are rude to the public they can't answer questions and oh I forgot the only one trained AT&T all is Fitzgerald who took a whole one week training course. The whole place is a joke.
Amen 12:52, at least one commentor on here has some sense.
I blame the owners of these dogs! IMO, they were likely used for fighting, and that is all they new.
Time to get tough on the culture that promotes this. Stop beating around the bush on this matter.
That being said, I sure hope the woman and David are okay.
The owner underwent emergency surgery this morning no other word yet. NO ONE should try to have 5 Pitties together NOT because they are bad dogs. They play rough and rough housing can easily escalate into a fight. As with ALL breeds once a fight starts everyone jumps in. Anyone that try's to break up a 5 way fight of any breed is very possibly going to get hurt. Pit Bulls are wonderful loyal smart dogs. These dogs were not trying to attack people people walked into the middle of a dog fight. Quit blaming the dogs for stupid people. Considering this was on Marine Rd the dogs have probably lived there whole life on chains in the backyard. People need to get a grip and realize these dogs are not monsters. Humans do much worse to them on a daily basis than they have ever done to us. Pits are the most abused breed of dog in this country. It's the people fighting chaining neglecting and abusing that should be on trial and not a breed of dog.
And why isn't anyone saying....why on earth would a woman try to break up 5 fighting pit bulls! Of course she got attacked. It's said yes, but the woman to to blame for hew own injuries.
I agree pit bulls are not inherently more dangerous than many other dog breeds...the problem is, pit bulls tend to be purchased, raised, "trained" and "cared for" by trashy people who just want a "badass dog" and don't give it proper care and attention. Combine a poorly trained dog with incredibly powerful jaws and you've got a recipe for disaster.
I blame the owners too. However, if a Pit arrives on my property, I will shoot first, ask questions later.
They only shot 3 of `em? Did they miss the other 2?
pit bulls may be capable of love and loyalty however, they were bred for other purposes. in the right (or wrong) circumstances, they can become dangerous and deadly. i had 2 pitbulls that we loved more than anything. after 13 years of loving behavior, they attacked an animal that got into the yard. the way they changed when they were feeling threatened was horrifying. the animal was not aggressive, only passing through but my dogs went on a frenzy that didn't stop until the animal was dead and torn to pieces. our dogs were raised indoors and never had a hand raised to them. they slept in bed with us and stayed by our sides when we were home. my point is that although an owner could abuse the capability of the pitbull and turn it into a death machine,horrible things can happen even when you show them all the love in the world. that being said, when the attack happened on our property we had the sense to stay away from them in order to protect ourselves. as much as i love the breed, owning one is not a risk i will ever take again.
I never heard of a pack of French Poodles attacking and killing
3:20
Thanks for your first hand input, but many will continue to think it is all in the way you raise them. There are so many cases of caring owners of pits being killed (or their children killed) out of the blue after years of loving care. These dogs should only be raised by people who are professionally trained by qualified animal behaviorist. There are certain triggers that can cause any animal to respond aggressively. If you own these dogs you must be trained to be able to observe these triggers, because of their breed traits and bite pressure, your life might depend on it.
No bad dogs, Only bad people." Pit Bulls" are amazing dogs! why the quotes? Because Pit bull is not a breed. American Pit bull terrier, American bull terrier and a number of other breeds fall under the category of "pit Bull".
People have ruined this breed.
4:00 ROTFL!!! But true!!
I agree 4:30, I have a friend who has one of these breeds that was abandoned by his daughter. The dog is very mild mannered and loving. There are certain people among us that are low-lifes themselves and train their pit bulls to be like them. At that point about the only thing that can be done is to shoot them, what a shame. I agree that mostly it's the human owners fault.
Pit bulls are not bad dogs. Its all how they are raised. If any dog was raised to fight they are going to. Nobody should ever try to break up a dog no matter what. It was the smart thing to do. Lol.
Everyone can have their own opinions. Mine is that Pit Bulls, no matter what their AKC official name are dangerous. period. And, when one attacks another animal or person, they should be shot or put to sleep (i.e. killed). For that matter, any dog that attacks should be treated the same way. Poodle or Pit Bull. Hope the people are ok. Hope the owner is held accountable too.
5;29 You should not be a dog owner.
Get a grip people. This would have had the same outcome no matter what large dog breed it was. In a dog fight such as this one pack mentality takes over. It probably started as a two dog fight abmnd then the others jumped in which any large or small breed of dog would do. The person should never have put themselves in danger by walking into the middle of such a fight. Had to laugh at an earlier commenter talking about pittie jaws bet you guys don't know the average Germnan Shepherd has much more jaw pressure and a bigger bite than a pittie at about 1500 lbs of pressure per square in. This isn't about a breed it's about a tragic dog fight. We need to have trained animal control officers that work out of the sheriffs Dept not the HS. Mr Fitzgerald may have been trying to help but he has no training for asituation such as this. The city officers should have been called as they are trained and equipped to deal with these situations
If we all were allowed our second amendment rights, there would be two less people in the hospital.
Nuff said.
yep equipped with 40 caliber Glocks
Please tell me they got rid of those other two dogs. I have elderly parents close to there. I sure don't want them in danger because of someone elses stupidity. I hate pit bulls!!!!
12:52, Every dog breed has inherent traits and it makes no difference on how they are trained because at any time a certain inherent trait can surface with or without a trigger.
A Retriever (Sporting Class) has instincts a Beagle (Hound Class) will not have. Pit Bulls (Terrier Class) were bred to kill pests, mainly rodents. Collies (Herding Class) have an inherent trait to herd.
The problem begins when people lump all dogs together. Pit Bulls are lively and feisty and not given proper stimulas can get stressed as will any dog. When a dog gets stressed and agression is an inherent trait tragedy can occur.
5 Black Labs fighting are likely to stop and retreat when screamed at or some other action is taken. A Terrier bred to kill is less likely to as their instincts tell them to fight to the finish. Guardian dogs within the Working class such as Dobermans are less likely to retreat also.
12:29 PM, gun are made to kill, but should we say all gun owners are out to kill? Alcohol will surely make driving a vehicle dangerous, should we stop selling alcohol, or should we hold the people who violate the law accountable and not the product. Yes, a sad state of affairs, but the dogs were probably breed and rasied by someone want to train the dogs to fight. Any dog could be subsituted for this breed and tained. Lets not condem an entire breed for what people have done. Sorry disagree and yet feel bad for the injured.
4pm. Funny, nor have you seen a pack of Shih Tzu's terrorizing a kindergarten.
Many breeds have INHERENT in the breed tendancies such as burrowing, hunting, herding, protecting etc. Pit bulls are no different. They are extremely protective, territorial animals. Not to be expected to be docile & tame to intruders of any nature. It's just a fact. Live with it and remember you could be placing yourself & others at risk if you have these for pets.
Well folks I am 67 and was holding my bichon in my arms in my drive way A pit knocked us to the asphalt, where i laid holding my puppy while the pit had her throat in his mouth. and I tried to pry the jaws open, and got bit. My dog was lucky to live and we were lucky as the contractors across the street heard me screaming & finally got the pit off. My. Bichon had 3 hours of surgery, the vet said her damage was "horrendous and was on bedrest for 10 days:. This pit was raised by a lawyer as the family pet no one abused nor raised that dog to be mean. YET it happened!
1:32 I think red necks know better about Pit Bulls. Most red necks I know are hunters and know all about inherent traits different dog breeds possess. Like for instance a red neck would never think to get a German Shepard to take duck hunting.
As far as the pack mentality thing someone mentioned that is not true either. Again that is an inherent trait. You will never see a pack of Beagles fighting and if you do fighting is such an unnatural trait with them that chances are a loud shout will break it up immediately.
What gets me is the denial a lot of Pit lovers/owners are in.
Anyone who thinks they can either train or "love" an inherent trait out of any dog is living in a complete fantasy world.
A Pit mixed with a Lab may show it's Lab traits most of the time but the Pit traits are still there and unfortunately can be trigger at any time and can not always be predicted. Children running and shouting while playing or a small animal can be the stimuli. Alot of times the dogs don't mean harm and are only doing what their instincts tell them. This often results in tragedy.
11:55 many packs of Beagles fight as do packs of hounds. I've seen some nasty hound fights and sure wouldn't walk into the middle of one. 10:45. I don't think you have to worry about your elderly mother. All of these dogs belonged to one person. The dogs were in a fight. The dogs were not trying to hurt a human they were fighting each other when a human got In the middle. This is a tragic accident for all involved and isn't about a dog breed at all. It would have happened the same way with any large powerful dog. Most on here complaining about pit bulls know nothing about them and probably couldn't pick one out of a picture of all the bully breeds.
silver backs fight in packs too
Next time I see 5 cars and trucks heading for a high speed collision at one certain point, I'm going to run out and stand at that point and wave for them to stop!
I'm sure they will...
The majority of people that own and defend pit bulls and redneck hill billies and minority thugs. You people are to uneducated to make a rational decision about proper ownership of quality pets.
March 2, 2013 at 1:32 AM
You can't even spell simple words and you tell someone else they are uneducated?
How would you know who owns what and why?
That is just your opinion, and a stereotypical one at that.
Go gather some facts, and some credibility. Right now you don't have either.
Most of you don't know what a dog can be trained to do or not to do.
You see crap on t.v. and the internet and believe every word you hear.
That's atypical in this area. Mob rules. If you get enough people to agree with you, all of you think it must be true.
It's not.
Just a lot of people who are wrong about the same things.
You have to be able to think for yourself to form an honest and factual opinion.
I know that might sting some of you but that's just the way it is.
1:32 You don't know sh%#
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