(no subject)
Family's pit bulls fatally maul infant in Nevada home; grandmother hurt protecting her
LAS VEGAS (AP) _ A family's two pit bulls burst into the house from the backyard to attack a 4-month girl, mauling her to death even as her grandmother tried to escape with the baby into another room, police said.
The grandmother, who was baby-sitting at the time of the attack Friday, was hospitalized Saturday with non-life-threatening injuries.
The dogs apparently entered the house in North Las Vegas by bursting through a screen door and starting attacking the baby in her stroller, police said.
"They just went right for the little girl," North Las Vegas police Chief Joseph Forti told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The grandmother told authorities she tried to take the girl into another room, but the dogs forced their way in before she could close the door.
Police said the dogs were still acting aggressively when officers arrived. They shot and killed the pit bulls.
The names of the baby and her grandmother were not immediately released.
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I've met several pits which seemed very well-behaved, and whose owners told me were absolute sweethearts. Unfortunately, it's a breed that will flip on you in a damn heartbeat and rip your throat out for very little reason. As a working breed of terrier, pit bulls may be useful, but as pets, they are walking time bombs. Anyone who keeps pits as family pets should be well aware of the risk. They should be banned from being owned as family pets; owners should be required to certify that they are running either a security company or a cattle farm (the latter being their historical use as a breed). Breeding them should be regulated and shipping them should be banned as well.
LAS VEGAS (AP) _ A family's two pit bulls burst into the house from the backyard to attack a 4-month girl, mauling her to death even as her grandmother tried to escape with the baby into another room, police said.
The grandmother, who was baby-sitting at the time of the attack Friday, was hospitalized Saturday with non-life-threatening injuries.
The dogs apparently entered the house in North Las Vegas by bursting through a screen door and starting attacking the baby in her stroller, police said.
"They just went right for the little girl," North Las Vegas police Chief Joseph Forti told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The grandmother told authorities she tried to take the girl into another room, but the dogs forced their way in before she could close the door.
Police said the dogs were still acting aggressively when officers arrived. They shot and killed the pit bulls.
The names of the baby and her grandmother were not immediately released.
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I've met several pits which seemed very well-behaved, and whose owners told me were absolute sweethearts. Unfortunately, it's a breed that will flip on you in a damn heartbeat and rip your throat out for very little reason. As a working breed of terrier, pit bulls may be useful, but as pets, they are walking time bombs. Anyone who keeps pits as family pets should be well aware of the risk. They should be banned from being owned as family pets; owners should be required to certify that they are running either a security company or a cattle farm (the latter being their historical use as a breed). Breeding them should be regulated and shipping them should be banned as well.