Pit Bull Attacks CT Mail Carrier

[MineralMan]

http://www.registercitizen.com/articles/2010/08/07/news...

TORRINGTON — A U.S. Postal Service employee was attacked on Thursday while delivering mail on Clearview Avenue in Torrington.

According to a police press release, the Torrington Animal Control Officer responded to 90 Clearview Ave. to investigate a dog attack involving a female pit bull named “Naja.”

The victim of the attack, Teri Hall, reported that as she was delivering mail at the residence near the front porch area when the dog jumped on the front door, pushing open the latch on the screen door and came onto the porch.

...more at link

Just a short time ago, a pair of pit bulls attacked a Minnesota mail carrier, causing very severe injuries and almost killing him. Police officers had to shoot both dogs when they lunged at them. In that case, too, the dogs came through the screen door as the carrier was delivering mail to the residence.

Many people have bad things to say about the USPS, but the carriers really have a tough job in many areas. Dog attacks are quite common injuries for mail carriers.

As a side note, Naja is the genus name for the Cobra family of venomous snakes. In India and elsewhere, cobra bites are the cause of many deaths. That the owners of this pit bull named their dog after a deadly poisonous snake seems to me to be an indication that they wanted a name to suit the temperament of their dog.

[Jennicut]

1. In Torrington? That is about 20 minutes from me. There are a lot of pit bulls

around here, especially in Waterbury. My husband was a meter reader and now collects late payments and shuts off gas meters for Yankee Gas. He is very, very wary and cautious in Waterbury because of the amount of unleashed dogs.

[MineralMan]

6. Yes...meter readers get attacked, too. I wish people would

control their vicious animals.

[Jennicut]

9. Me too. He was attacked so bad one day that his jeans were completely ripped and

totally ruined and he used his handheld computer (to punch the meter readings into) to fend himself off. He made a run for his car and was very lucky to get a small minor bite on his leg. That is when he started carrying mace, which was allowed by CT Light and Power.

[LostinVA]

2. It was an American Staffordshire Terrier

[JonLP24]

4. Those are commonly identified

as "pit bulls" by the media as well as many Molassar family breeds.

[LostinVA]

11. Yes, but they aren't technically pit bulls

The media calls Boxers, Mastiffs, and Lab mixes Pits.

[JonLP24]

13. Trust me I know

[LostinVA]

15. No worries

Not snarking, I promise.

[guitar man]

25. I'm the last one in the world to defend the media

on this issue. Their constant distortions, omissions, outright lies and manufactured hysteria over the monster they have created and named "pitbull" has created an atmosphere where rational debate is not even possible.

But as far as the breeds go, are the AmStaff and the APBT the same breed? Yes and no.AKC AmStaffs may be dual registered as APBTs with the UKC but not the other way around. In 1936, the APBT was recognized by the AKC as the Staffordshire Terrier, later amended to American Staffordshire Terrier in 1972.

While 70+ years of seperate breeding for different purposes has widened the gap between the bloodlines, well bred APBTs within the breed standards and guidlines are still very similar to the AmStaff variety. a lot of people in the bully breed game that I know like to think of as two strains of the same breed, working and show, while others argue that they are two totally seperate breeds. Either way, most of the so called "experts" I've run across cannot tell the difference between a APBT and an AmStaff by looking at them unless the dog has a red nose, which is highly discouraged in the AmStaff breed standard.

Anyway, as much as I dislike inaccurate reporting, it doesn't bother me as much if a reporter identifies as AmStaff as a "pitbull" as it does when they slap that label on a boxer-lab mix or something like that because it bit somebody. Either way, the APBT is going to take the rap, but assuming the reporter actually saw the dog, one is an honest mistake...the other is not.

[MineralMan]

5. Small comfort to the person who was attacked, I imagine.

[LostinVA]

12. It makes a huge difference to accuracy in reporting

Connecticut doesn't have Breed Specific insurance laws because the stats don't back up what the media says. I personally think that's important.

[joeybee12]

3. Linda McMahon? n/t

[activa8tr]

7. ROFL n/t

[MineralMan]

8. Lipstick?

[Sheepshank]

10. My sisters dog attacked the lawn mowing guy

but her silky terrier hanging onto the guy's pant leg while he was trying to mow didn't even damage he guy's levis.

I know there is a lot of negative info out there regarding pit bulls, and there are those that are completely sold on the family loyalty these breeds tend to exhibit, but they tend to make me very nervous. Mail delivery people must go through angst every day as they approach certain houses!

[LostinVA]

14. They make me very nervous, too, and I would never have one for that reason

I have educated myself about the breed, and no longer believe in breed-specific laws, but you also can't have a dog that makes you nervous. I feel the same way around other breeds, including some little yippy dogs.

[uncommon]

16. Owners are almost always to blame in these cases for training their dogs

to be violent - or not training them at all.

I know many, many pit bull owners who have sweet, loving dogs who are not at all violent.

[MineralMan]

20. You're correct. I know some sweet pits.

It seems to me that someone who would name their dog "Naja" after a cobra probably didn't have a sweet disposition in mind, though.

Now, maybe the name doesn't have any meaning, but I doubt it.

Anyhow, my neighbors across the street just got a tiny pit bull puppy. I'm already making friends with it and have permission to give it an occasional treat. It'll be my good buddy...just in case.

[Arkansas Granny]

22. Yes, and I know a couple who had to find a new home for their sweet, loving

dog who started growling at their 5 yo son. This is a dog I've met and I know that she was well socialized and not abused (by the adults or the child). She lived in the house and was a pampered pet. They don't know what set her off, but they could not take the risk of keeping her. She was what is commonly referred to as a pit bull and had always seemed like a lovely dog to me.

[guitar man]

24. all they want is to be loved

and they will return that love in kind.

We said goodbye to ours yesterday, spent 11 wonderful years with her and she never bit anyone or anything that didn't have it coming

[elias7]

30. I get you on that, but their instinct is to kill when fighting

Most dogs will stop the fight once the victor is clear, but pits, even well behaved ones, have the "killer" instinct which I don't trust

[cbdo2007]

17. mail carriers should carry stun guns

[Bigmack]

18. Can postal workers carry pepper spray...

or Mace or clubs or bats or swords or hanguns or RPGs or whatever it takes to protect themselves?

[LostinVA]

19. Pepper spray is a great idea

[MineralMan]

21. If I remember correctly, they can carry pepper spray.

I'd want that heavy-duty stuff designed for bears.

[Bigmack]

28. I carry that stuff on my bicycle...

my only problem is that it doesn't burst into flame on contact!

Seriously, I don't think it would stop a bear... or dog... who was really determined.

[treestar]

23. Being a U.S. mail carrier

is not a very peaceful, arcadian existence.

[flvegan]

26. Naja is also a common dog name.

From the Arabic, meaning "having trust"

But do keep spinning that tired old wheel.

I suspect you'll be posting about ALL 3 or 4 thousand dog bites that mail carriers unfortunately suffer each year, or will it just be the ones from the scary pit bulls?

Jumping through a screen door to do its job is common in many breeds. Shame the dog's owners didn't know that.

[REP]

27. Could even be a misspelling of "Nadja"

I felt the joints separating from that stretch myself.

[guitar man]

29. +1000 nt