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| Diesel, muddy, torn and bloody, before his death |
Diesel was one of these innocent victims, brutalized in the "safety" of his own yard, where by all rights he should have been safe - as is very often the case in pit bull attacks.
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| His injuries were too severe for him to survive |
Diesel's owner shared how the attack affected their family:
"It has been a very traumatic and life altering tragedy for my family. My daughter and Diesel were the best of friends. They competed all over the central and southwest states in AKC Junior Showmanship and Conformation. He was a once in a lifetime dog."
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| First time showing together |
"My daughter has never been the same emotionally since his death. She carried him home from the vet's office and insisted on being the one to lay him in his grave. She buried one of their big ribbons with him. We had to take her to the hospital the day after it happened to be treated for extreme panic attacks. I would find her sleeping on his grave for months after the attack ( even in freezing temps). She has tried to recover and move on with her new dog but I know a huge part of her childhood died that day with him. He was so much more than just a dog to us."
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| Much more than 'just a dog' |
"I have spent most of my life involved in purebred dogs so I knew what they were bred for. The ones a had been around personally were all AKC show dogs so their temperament ( breeding for generations ) was closely watched for aggression issues.
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| Last time in the ring together |
Still I knew what they were capable of. I have a Facebook friend who would post news reports of attacks and I remember thinking " oh my dogs and family will be safe because I don't own pits and neither do my neighbors". I was horribly wrong. I made indoor outdoor runs in my garage complete with AC and Heating so that my dogs did not have to stay crated in the house while we were at work/school. Spent a heck of a lot of time and money building them. They have now all been torn down. My dogs are only allowed in the back yard when we are home and out with them. No walks, no going to parks, I don't even like taking them in the vet's office without checking for pits first."
"My small town is infested with loose running bully breeds. 3 weeks ago while driving home ( two blocks from my house) I came across two female pits attacking a neighbor's dog in the road. It took 3 women and two grown men to break up the attack. The poor dog ran to his front door when we got them off of him but one of the pits broke loose from the owner and ran after him. When the elderly lady opened the door to let her dog in the pit damn near went in the house after the lady's dog. She was able to slam the door on the pits head which probably saved her from being attacked. The owner of the pits threw his dogs in his truck and sped away before anyone could get his tag info. The poor dog died two days later at the vets."
"Just last week I noticed a pit bull had moved in across the street from us. Within a week it had broke through the fence and killed a dog next door. All of this within 3 blocks of my house in a month's time. I am now completely paranoid! We live very close to two schools and I pray everyday that no child is injured. Our local Facebook groups are full of posts for lost pits or rehoming pits ( of course they all say how friendly they are or how good they are with children). I feel like my dogs and family are living on a life raft surrounded by sharks!"
There is a very real problem in our communities.
