12-year-old boy killed by family pit bull...

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MK
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12-year-old boy killed by family pit bull...

Postby MK » Mon Jun 13, 2005 5:52 pm

12-year-old boy killed by family pit bull

Mother had shut son in basement to protect him from dog
The Associated Press


Updated: 2:40 p.m. ET June 13, 2005

SAN FRANCISCO - The mother of a 12-year-old boy killed in his own home by one of the family’s two pit bulls said she had been so concerned about one of the dogs that she shut her son in the basement to protect him.

Maureen Faibish said she ordered Nicholas to stay in the basement while she did errands on June 3, the day he was attacked by one or both of the dogs. She said she was worried about the male dog, Rex, who was acting possessive because the female, Ella, was in heat.

“I put him down there, with a shovel on the door,” Faibish told the San Francisco Chronicle. “And I told him: ‘Stay down there until I come back.’ Typical Nicky, he wouldn’t listen to me.”

Nicholas apparently found a way to open the basement door.

Faibish said she felt compelled to call the Chronicle Saturday to defend herself against widespread public outrage directed at families with children who own pit bulls.

“My kids got along great with (the dogs),” she told the newspaper. “We were never seeing any kind of violent tendencies.”

Some neighbors said the dogs were friendly and well-behaved, while others said the animals could also be mean, according to the newspaper.

Faibish found her son’s body in a bedroom. He was covered in blood from several wounds, including a major head injury. No charges have been filed.

“It’s Nicky’s time to go,” she said in the interview. “When you’re born you’re destined to go and this was his time.”

Ella was shot to death by a police officer the day of the attack. Rex was taken to a shelter, but Faibish said she wanted him put down.

“I think of Rex as someone who ... murdered my child,” she said.
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Photo of the mother:

Image
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Re: 12-year-old boy killed by family pit bull...

Postby RDK » Mon Jun 13, 2005 5:59 pm

MK wrote:“It’s Nicky’s time to go,” she said in the interview. “When you’re born you’re destined to go and this was his time.”


:roll: :x

Good grief...

Reminds me of the time, on the radio, the host (Dennis Prager iirc) was talking to some PETA people, asking them if their dog and their child were both drowning in the swimming pool and that they could only save one of them... which would they chose. Believe it or not, but a couple of the people he questioned had a very hard time coming up with an answer...
ray

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Postby lukpac » Mon Jun 13, 2005 7:30 pm

Pit bulls can be great, but not fixing them probably isn't a good idea.
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Postby Dob » Mon Jun 13, 2005 8:48 pm

This woman is in no frame of mind to be talking to the press.
She talked to The Chronicle by telephone and later at her father's home where, sitting on a couch and wrapped in a blanket, Faibish held back tears as she spoke about her son and the day he died.

Deeply remorseful, Faibish says she continues to think of what she might have done differently. For one, she wishes she'd persuaded Nicholas to go to a picnic with his younger sister, Ashley.

But she insists, "I have no regrets about that day," Faibish said.

No regrets???
"My kids got along great with (the dogs). We were never seeing any kind of violent tendencies.''

Faibish declined to say what triggered such concern that she insisted her son stay in the basement, away from the dogs.

"I don't want to go into any of that detail," she said. "That's between me and the detectives."

Hmmm...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... D7G5L1.DTL
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Postby MK » Mon Jun 13, 2005 9:23 pm

Very peculiar, that's for sure. If it was foul play I'm sure the cops would've turned up something. If she's really messed up in the head from everything that's happened, she ought to get help, fast, but this story's getting all too familiar. Remember that high profile case involving a judge who's dog killed a neighbor - after several complaints about how vicious he could be? And how she continued her denial that the dog was really that bad? That got the most press, but every once in awhile you hear a similar case in a local paper. Some times it involves pitbulls that may have been 'trained' for fighting or just plain abused, but occasionally, it's families like these.

I'm not a vet, but I doubt the problem is with the breed - it's not always a pitbull and I don't think every pitbull is going to act vicious.
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Postby lukpac » Tue Jun 14, 2005 8:06 am

MK wrote:I'm not a vet, but I doubt the problem is with the breed - it's not always a pitbull and I don't think every pitbull is going to act vicious.


It is and it isn't (a problem with the breed).

1) A lot of pit bulls are bred/raised in environments that promote a mean temper.

2) Pit bulls are a breed that really needs proper training and socialization. Not a good idea for novice dog owners.

For the record, I've never met a pit bull that wasn't friendly. One even jumped up next to Amy after Freckles was chasing after it.
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Postby MK » Tue Jun 14, 2005 1:01 pm

A lot of pit bulls are bred/raised in environments that promote a mean temper.


I guess there are certain personalities pre-disposed to buying a pit bull than, say, a Golden Retriever or a Pekinese. You don't see many pitbulls pampered like poodles...
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Postby lukpac » Tue Jun 14, 2005 1:24 pm

That's a big part of it too, yes.
"I know because it is impossible for a tape to hold the compression levels of these treble boosted MFSL's like Something/Anything. The metal particulate on the tape would shatter and all you'd hear is distortion if even that." - VD

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Re: 12-year-old boy killed by family pit bull...

Postby czeskleba » Mon Jun 20, 2005 10:10 pm

RDK wrote:Reminds me of the time, on the radio, the host (Dennis Prager iirc) was talking to some PETA people, asking them if their dog and their child were both drowning in the swimming pool and that they could only save one of them... which would they chose. Believe it or not, but a couple of the people he questioned had a very hard time coming up with an answer...


Yeah. She felt the dog was dangerous, so it was her SON she locked in the basement. Kind of backwards, eh? It may sound reactionary and heartless, but I think she should be charged with something. If poor training and maltreatment are what create murderous pit bulls, then people should be held responsible for the actions of their pets in cases like this.

Seems like there should be some restrictions on ownership of this breed overall. If a dog can become a killer simply due to maltreatment or poor training, it shouldn't be available for just anyone to buy. It seems the people who are drawn to buy pit bulls are the ones who are the least mentally equipped to handle them.

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Re: 12-year-old boy killed by family pit bull...

Postby awestra » Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:46 am

czeskleba wrote:Seems like there should be some restrictions on ownership of this breed overall. If a dog can become a killer simply due to maltreatment or poor training, it shouldn't be available for just anyone to buy. It seems the people who are drawn to buy pit bulls are the ones who are the least mentally equipped to handle them.


Well then you would be restricting the sale of all dogs. Any dog can become dangerous in the right/wrong situation. Animals really are products of their enviroment.

This situation was compleatly the mothers fault. She knew that the male pit bull was being possessive over the female yet she left her young son alone in the house with them (locking in basement aside)
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Re: 12-year-old boy killed by family pit bull...

Postby czeskleba » Tue Jun 21, 2005 7:25 pm

awestra wrote:Well then you would be restricting the sale of all dogs.


Not necessarily. Any dog who is mistreated can potentially become antisocial, aggressive, capable of biting humans. But as far as I know (based on the admittedly anecdotal evidence I've seen in the media) most breeds do not become capable of *killing* humans when they are mistreated. That to me is the important distinction. I think it might be worthwhile to restrict sales of breeds that can become killers when they are maltreated.