All hail Baby! Heroic pit bull saves family, 5 dogs from fire

[magical thyme]

http://now.msn.com/baby-the-pit-bull-hailed-as-hero-after-saving-family-from-fire

The pit bull terrier is being called a hero after saving her owners from a fire that ravaged their Wellston, Okla., home. Rhonda Westenberger and her sister, Evelyn, were asleep when Baby rushed to their sides, barking and pouncing on Evelyn until she woke up — in the nick of time. "If Baby hadn't woken Evelyn up, I don't think either one of us would have come out of it," Westenberger said. But Baby wasn't done. She returned to save the family's five other dogs, dragging out one that was hiding underneath a bed. "She is my hero," Westenberger said. "She's the hero for all of us."

[Marrah_G]

1. Good Doggie!

[DrDan]

2. are you sure it was a pit bull . . . all the experts here claim there is really no such thing

usually mistaken identity . . .

that said, good for the dog - sounds like a good one

[OwnedByCats]

65. Well if the owner claims she's a pit bull

I'm more likely to think it could very well have been a pit bull and not just some reporter calling it a pit bull but can't ID a dog for crap. Having said that, it's true some owners don't know what they've really got sometimes.

[newfie11]

3. Hope the pit haters take notice nt

[retired rooster]

13. yeah, like my neighbor who had her 5 y/o son killed by the family "pet" pitt bull.

Yeah, she's got another kid so she'll probably get another pitt bull.

[newfie11]

24. Give it a rest

Any dog breed can be vicious .
Bye bye I am tied of your attitude .

[retired rooster]

25. I'll give it a rest when you quit trying to tell me what wonderful pets pit bulls make.

[Lizzie Poppet]

41. Of course...because all members of the breed are exactly the same.

[roguevalley]

46. retired rooster, people kill people for sport. do we hate all people?

generalization is bad. period.

[retired rooster]

63. you need to take a course in logic, you're mixing apples and automobiles

[Bonobo]

42. Why pretend?

An Irish Setter is not as potentially vicious as a Pit Bull.

Why pretend otherwise? If you have to make shit up, the argument is no good.

[joeglow3]

35. I will let my cousin's neighbor know. Maybe her 4 year old's dick will grow back.

His life is ruined because of this dog.

Of course all dogs can attack. I was attacked by a small dog when I was little and my dick is still intact.

[newfie11]

59. See post 58. Nt

[galileoreloaded]

4. lots of dogs will bark and wake you

but it usually a pit that tears you, your children, or innocent strangers up and takes your life.

time for reason regarding these breeds.

[magical thyme]

6. try reading the article

the 5 other dogs did not bark or wake anybody. Baby saved all 5 of them, actually returning to the burning building to pull one dog out from under a bed.

[Vincardog]

7. You do realize that there are no "bad" dogs only bad owners, right?

[galileoreloaded]

10. no. i believe dogs have inherent traits, oh like water dogs, and herding dogs.

pits are born and bred to hurt and kill things.

breed bans are the only bans i accept as necessary.

[secondvariety]

12. You know nothing

about dogs. On the other hand, my pit would take a chunk out of someone trying to hurt my kids.

[Vincardog]

22. Opinions are like a$$holes, everybody has one

[Honeycombe8]

39. That's not quite true. They have inherent traits, but "born to kill" isn't a trait.

That's a human feeling you're projecting onto an animal. All animals, humans included, are "born to kill" in the sense that we'll kill another creature to survive. Insects are born to kill, too. So are fish.

You are probably referring to an aggression tendency, which is a trait. Some breeds have more natural aggression than others. Some are more docile.

Pits aren't usu. trained to kill, either. They're trained to fight with other dogs, but not to the death. And sometimes they are trained to be the one that the meaner dogs fight with...the sissy, so to speak.

There are some dogs trained to kill. German shepherds, Dobermans, maybe some others. Used by law enforcement, usually.

But I'll grant you that there's something there that makes pits susceptible to people who bring out their natural aggression, which is dangerous because of their ability to do damage and kill.

It's mainly the people, I think. I remember not too many yrs ago it was Doberman's and Rotties who were the dogs being trained to be more aggressive than they were "born" to be. But now pits are in fashion. And there are fewer incidents with Doberman's & Rotties, and people have forgotten how feared those dogs were not long ago.

I'm scared of them, though, because I don't know the dog's background or how he's been raised, and he might have been raised by a nut who raised him to be aggressive.

[roguevalley]

47. humans are the worst predators on this planet. I am getting to prefer dogs.

pits are awesome. bad owners, bad dogs.

If you want to ban breeds, then don't sit next to me. spend time around pitties. It might help you decide that some of your ideas about dogs aren't right. IMHO.

[Dorian Gray]

52. Pits are

strong, no doubt. But they can be very sweet and loyal dogs. There are many in my neighborhood. Lots of people rescue them from shelters and provide them with good and happy lives. And train them well. But, they also tend to muzzle them when walking them outside. (There are a LOT of kids in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, too.) It's okay to love pits. But it's good to be aware of what they can potentially do and take precaution, too.

There is middle ground.

[OwnedByCats]

61. You do realize that pits were never bred to

be people killers? Some were bred for DOG fighting. I watched a doc on dog fighting rings and some of the trainers did interviews, with their faces covered of course, saying that they don't want their fighting dogs to be people aggressive, only dog aggressive and if one showed people aggression, they would kill it because they wouldn't want that dog to turn on them.

I used to work for a popular chain kennel that welcomed pit bulls, but we were not allowed to mix them with other dogs because they believed pit bulls were much more likely to be dog aggressive than people aggressive. I have to say while I do not know if these pit bulls that came in would be dog aggressive, they were never aggressive to me or any of my coworkers. Must be a correlation between responsible owners and some of the sweetest dogs you could ever come across.

That's not to say that some thugs don't train them to be aggressive towards people, but they were never bred to specifically target people in this way. Usually that takes other training, abuse and isolation.

[Union Scribe]

43. There are no bad guns only bad owners.

But you get enough bad owners and society has to do something about it. I'm not kidding. There should be background checks and specific licenses for these dogs.

[flvegan]

49. Back it up, poster.

Factually, please.

[longship]

5. Great! Yet another in the Great DU Pit Bull Posting War!!!

Is anybody here keeping score?

Regretfully, I have not been. Surely, with the number of them here there are enough people who care enough to keep track of these things.

So, what's the score now?

Pit bulls are great: ???
Pit bulls are evil incarnate: ???

I'll come back to this thread for a report.

Thanks.

[baldguy]

29. The dog haters usually stay away from "good news" stories, they're too interested in seeing blood.

Sort of like the assholes who abuse Pit Bulls.

[pecwae]

50. Exactly! nt

[LostOne4Ever]

57. I have never owned a pitbull

None of my friends have a pitbull. But i think they are getting a bad rap.

Put me down as one for the Pit Bulls are great.

Honestly, I think this whole thing is an extreme over-reaction. There were around 33 dog bite fatalities in 2011. There are millions and millions of dogs. Cows kill more people annually than that.

[OwnedByCats]

62. And just 20-22 of those were pit bulls, pit bull "type"

or a pack led by a pit bull. The others were either Rottweilers, a German Shepherd, Husky, Mastiff or undetermined mixed breed.

With 28 people dying from a lightening strike in 2012, you had a little bit better chance of dying from that than from a pit bull. The hysteria doesn't match the numbers, still one of the rarest ways to die. It's fear mongering for the most part.

[baldguy]

66. Actually, the number deaths attributed to Pit Bulls is 2. Not 22.

http://www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/uploaded_files/tinymce/2011%20Final%20Investigative%20DBRF%20Report.pdf

BREED ATTRIBUTION IN DOG BITE-RELATED FATALITIES IS UNRELIABLE

The news media regularly describe dogs as members of breeds. However, recent developments in canine genetics, along with extensive surveys conducted by university researchers, show that breed identification of dogs of unknown origin based on visual inspection does not correspond with DNA analysis of the same dogs. Equally important, the professionals surveyed disagreed with each other when they attributed a breed or mix of breeds to the same dog.

Unfounded assumptions about the significance of breed and misplaced confidence in visual breed identification have diverted us from a consideration of factors pertinent to the discussion of community safety and dog ownership.

NCRC investigations of the dog bite-related fatalities in 2011 showed that in only eight of the cases could the breed descriptors assigned to the dogs be documented, or otherwise considered reasonable. We have reliably identified six different breeds of dogs in those eight 2011 incidents.

[OwnedByCats]

81. Well I'm not going to argue with you there

I'm being somewhat generous, for argument's sake. The anti crowd do not believe misidentification ever happens, but I believe it happens more than they would like to think. Whether it's in the media or in statistics, it can be hard to know for certain. I've seen dogs that resemble pits bulls, but are not. Those dogs would be pinned as a pit bull if there was ever an altercation involving those dogs. We have so many mixes of dogs running around, it's easy for those who don't know how to properly identify a pit bull to make a mistake, sadly that is what happens. Then a whole breed is maligned for the actions of a teeny percentage that, quite frankly, some aren't even pit bulls. Thank you for pointing that out.

[flamingdem]

8. And then he ate them

JUST KIDDING

[tblue]

9. Awww. Good Baby! Good doggie!

I love dogs to pieces. This one is a life saver!!! Sweet puppy!

[Auntie Bush]

11. Most Pit Bulls are wonderful, loyal, gental, loving pets.

It's a shame a few plus their owners have ruined their reputation of a great family dog.

[MattBaggins]

14. Pit Bull... Probably started the fire

[redwitch]

16. LOL! nt

[NightWatcher]

23. Or mauled a few firefighters on the scene

You know they wanted too

[Dorian Gray]

53. hah

[Jamastiene]

55. Yeah, so she could get her mouth on each family member, including the other dogs.

She just wanted to see which ones tasted the best, so she would know in what order to serve herself her future family entrees and who would be best to save for dessert.

[Nine]

15. That's great. Meanwhile here are some of the people killed by pit bulls this year.

http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-fatalities-2013.php

But let me guess. Those were probably other dogs misidentified as pit bulls. Those dogs must have all had abusive owners. The victims must have provoked the dogs in some way. Any dog can kill people, even a yorkshire terrier. Did I leave anything out?

[baldguy]

30. You got everything correct, yet you still keep posting anti-dog shit like this.

Any honest person with half a brain would have learned by now that any site that advocates genocide can't be considered a reliable authority on the subject.

[joeglow3]

37. Translation: anyone saying pitbulls are dangerous can't be trusted

Convenient how that works.

[newfie11]

58. It's easy to condemn a whole breed

I do not have a Pit. I have 5 Newfoundlands. They are our pets first, showdogs second. This is a breed known for sweet temperament.
Now let me tell you about the 150 pound Newfie that went through a glass patio door to attack a party guest. Then there was the newf that attacked a woman biting her in the face, the newf that attacked a dog that was walking by at a dog show. I have friends years ago that got a Newfie pup (their second Newfie after their previous one died of old age) and ended up having to have it put to sleep. As it matured it attacked them several times. They tried everything and consulted trainers to no avail. They put the dog down after it tried to bite their tottler.
No,not any of my dogs would ever bite anyone. The UPS guy comes in my home and places packages on the kitchen table when I am not home. He is surounded by 5 Newfies and a Pom. He maybe drooled on and hairy when he walks out but no bites.

My son has a Pit who loves everyone but they have gone out of their way to socialize him. He goes to doggy day care 2x a week and plays with other dogs.
Condemning a whole breed is like saying any Muslim, black, or any nationality is dangerous.

Yes there bad dogs just like people. There are also bad dog owners. Ones that do not socialize their dog and those that go out of their way to make dogs mean for a status symbol.

Dobermans, German Shepherds, Chows, etc have all been condemned as vile evil breeds at some point.

[joeglow3]

67. But, I am talking statistics, not anecdotes

Your argument is the same as the argument made by gun nuts and why we can have ZERO gun laws. Sorry, but it falls flat once you start to look at the stats.

[baldguy]

69. It's easy to lie with statistics. Especially if you ignore the actual facts & fiddle w/ the numbers.

http://www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/uploaded_files/tinymce/2011%20Final%20Investigative%20DBRF%20Report.pdf

[joeglow3]

71. I am not talking about just deaths

Like I said, a family friend has a 4 year old who is alive, so he didn't make this analysis. Of course, he will live the rest of his life with no dick, but that doesn't count.

And I have a hard time believing a group could not determine the breed of 68% of the dogs they "studied."

And these "studies" they did are bull shit. Lets look at the first one: it doesn't really count because she walked in her back yard at night, she was sick with cancer and the dog couldn't see very well.

Looking at how they determined the breed in their studies was also bull shit. Nice try, though.

[baldguy]

75. If you're bitten by a dog & don't want it to happen again,

"What breed is it?" is the wrong question to ask. And if you're trying to ID the breed just by looking at it, you'll fail. DNA testing is THE ONLY RELIABLE WAY to determine the actual breed makeup of any dog. If the genetic tests were not done, or the genetic material is not available, then the breed cannot be accurately determined. The fact that you dismiss the science out of hand is a good indication of where you're head is. [font color="white"]Meaning that your head is full of shit.[/font]

http://www.understand-a-bull.com/Findthebull/findpitbull_v3.html

It's the same error the lazy local media makes when they try to sensationalize any story. Every animal with four legs and a tail that bites a person is described as a "Pit Bull".



http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2012/03/18/Many-shelter-dogs-mislabeled-pit-bulls.html

The correct questions you should be asking are:
"How has this dog treated by its owner?"
"Has this dog been spayed/neutered?"
"Is this dog a Family Dog (where the owners interact with the dog on a regular basis in positive and humane ways), or a Resident Dog (where the owners isolate the dog from regular, positive human interactions)?"
and "What did I do to provoke this behavior?"

Of course, your crusade won't be diverted by simple things like facts or the truth, will it? It's easier to be stupid & lazy.

[joeglow3]

76. Yep. We are all stupid and lazy.

You sound very much like the gun nuts when discussing their need for more powerful weapons.

[baldguy]

77. Only dog haters who blame every dog bite that happens on Pit Bulls.

Especially when there's a mountain range of evidence proving that the breed doesn't matter.

Of course, there's a whole lot of people who like being stupid & lazy. You seem to be one of them.

[joeglow3]

79. I am not questioning the propensity to bite

I am questioning the damage when the bite takes place.

[Orrex]

78. DNA testing

DNA testing is THE ONLY RELIABLE WAY to determine the actual breed makeup of any dog. If the genetic tests were not done, or the genetic material is not available, then the breed cannot be accurately determined.

So you're saying, in short, that this heroic dog can't be accurately identified as a pit bull.

I'm cool with that.

[newfie11]

70. Many times the gun nuts type

Is the same type wanting an aggressive dog.
If the statics could tell the owners personality and what training was done with the dog then I would be inclined to believe it.
Statics can be deceiving depending on questions.

Yes this breed and others can be aggressive and some idiots breed for that.
This is not a breed for a novice dog owner.
Neither are Cane Corsos, Malinois, dobys (although breeders have done a great job improving temperament), Chows, etc.

You hear more about " pit bulls" because many times is is a cross but has a short muzzle. Boxers ( breed I grew up with) bull dogs, American Boxer are just a few that could also produce that head in cross breeding.

Sorry I cannot blame a breed but I can blame irresponsible owners and breeders.

[joeglow3]

72. And do you have the same views regarding guns?

[newfie11]

74. Huh?

We own a working farm. I grew up with guns and my Dad gave me a 22 for
my 11th birthday. My Dad and my brother ( marine) both gave me a very good education. I used it once to shoot a stray dog that was attacking my daughters small pony( it was not a Pit).
I have also shot prairie dogs.
That 22 is now 55 years old.
I also own a muzzle loader.

My husband has his Granddads shotgun.

So I am not against guns but I am against people wandering around with assault rifles strapped on their back while shopping.
That is the type person I am talking about.
One that wants to draw attention, look at me attitude.

So what is your view regarding guns?

[Honeycombe8]

40. I think many dogs ARE misidentified as pits. Most people don't know what a pit looks like.

And they are not as easily identified as, say, a Doberman.

Pits are fairly ordinary looking, except for the head. Most people who see a dog that might be dangerous, and it's medium sized, with short hair, kinda stocky, esp if it's one color, would probably think it's a pit bull, when it could be a mix or just about anything.

I've seen a few pit bulls in the neighborhood close up, and there's no mistaking the face and head. They have a unique look and eyes. A shortish muzzle. A big head. Proportioned body and straight legs. Shortish skinny tail.

I know this because I have a dog that a few people have asked if she's a pit bull. She's not. She's a mix of Jack Russell/rat Terrier, probably lab...she's smallish (30 lbs), short legs with longish body, feet that turn out, "hare" feet, rough waterproof coat, webbed feet, long muzzle, huge ears that stand up, long tail, and a really long neck (like a JRT). I think they think she's a pit because she's white with hazel eyes and brown nose and short hair. But people don't know what a pit looks like, or they'd know she's not one, not even close. She looks like a somewhat large JRT with a few weird characteristics like webbed feet.

[newfie11]

73. Very very true nt

[LostOne4Ever]

56. That site's own statistics dont support its conclusion

They admit they are not dividing the number of attacks by breed and when you take population into consideration pit bulls don't come close to being the most dangerous dog on their list.

Now my obligatory posting on this subject:



Further:

http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/uploaded_files/tinymce/2011%20Final%20Investigative%20DBRF%20Report.pdf

Note that your site LIED about the number of pit-bull attacks that year.

[randome]

17. Cool! Great! Now be so kind as to have those dogs neutered so their progeny don't kill anyone.

Thank you!

[hr]
[font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font]
[hr]

[xchrom]

18. Wonderful! Nt

[justanidea]

19. The pitbull only saved them so that she could later eat them.

[flamingdem]

31. we think alike

I posted the same

[justanidea]

44. Another person who thinks like me?

Thats a scary thought.

[Egalitarian Thug]

20. Impossible! All Pit Bulls are monsters that while away their lives just waiting for an opportunity

to escape their owners and kill babies and geezers.

[Nine]

26. Geezers?

You're correct that the very young and very old are overrepresented in pit bull fatality statistics (ages of those killed so far this year: 1, 1, 2, 2, 4, 4, 7, 7, 35, 38, 65, 91). However the term "geezer" seems like an especially cold-hearted and hateful term to use to describe these victims. I wish you had as much compassion for these human victims as you do for the reputation of pit bulls and the rights of people to breed them without restriction or regulation.

[Egalitarian Thug]

32. I am a geezer myself and so reserve the right to utilize the term. If it bothers you,

I suggest that you move on as pretty much everything I write will provide you with something to be offended by.

I have been around both humans and dogs longer than you've probably been alive, and I'll take my chances with the dogs every time. Dogs are dogs, they have no capacity to be anything else. It is people that can choose, and all-to-frequently they chose to be the problem.

If you want to rid the world of a dangerous breed, start killing rich people. The world will be better far more quickly with the elimination of these parasites than with that of any canine breed.

[Nine]

34. Are you saying that dogs act on instinct and not free will?

"Dogs are dogs, they have no capacity to be anything else. It is people that can choose..."

That's sure what it sounds like to me. And I agree with you. Dogs act according to their instincts and their breeding. Those dogs that have been bred for pit fighting now have an instinct for attacking without warning or provocation and for sustaining that attack as long as possible. Does this make pit bulls and similar fighting dogs "evil"? No. But it makes them dangerous and it makes them unsuitable for continued breeding. Good and evil are constructs I will save for humans.

[jberryhill]

51. That's why it saved them from the fire

It is only biding its time.

[Egalitarian Thug]

68. Waiting for them to tenderize...

MWAAHAAHAA... !

[Douglas Carpenter]

21. "If dogs don't go to heaven. Then I when I die, I want to go to wherever it is that they do go." -

- Will Rogers

[Egalitarian Thug]

33. It can't be heaven if there are no dogs. n/t

[Orrex]

27. Later, this hero dog journeyed to the underworld to save the children previously mauled by pit bulls

Nice story.

Of course, since we're invariably told that this or that murderous pit bull isn't really a pit bull, and that this or that murderous non-pit bull is an outlier that doesn't represent the behavior of the noble and much-maligned breed, I don't see how another extreme outlier can be taken as an example of the breed's behavior either.

[richmwill]

28. My friend has a pit bull

One of the most gentle, loving dogs I've ever known. Lives with a cat and loves the cat as if it were one of its own puppies. As the old saying goes, "Don't believe the hype".

[baldguy]

38. Baby deserves to have people see her picture:

[roguevalley]

48. god bless dogs. they save my life everyday. i pity people who carp on them.

[flvegan]

45. Good news on DU trumped by ignorant posters. Film at 11.

*looking at you, pit bull bigots*

[newfie11]

60. +1. nt

[Jamastiene]

54. The hardened pit bull hating execution squad will be here any minute to call it a fluke...

and demand she be put down immediately before she turns around and kills everyone in the entire world in an uncontrollable, demonic, pit bull rampage.

Donning virtual rubber suit now and expecting hateful replies to start bouncing off in 5...4...3...2...

[Iggo]

64. Well gosh! That makes up for all of it!