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McCook Gazette

Police forced to put down three pit bulls

Thursday, June 18, 2009

McCook City Police were forced to put down three pit bulls Wednesday in two separate incidents.

A city police officer responded to the first call at about 8:39 a.m. of three pit bulls running loose in the area of West Fifteenth, according to McCook Police Chief Ike Brown. After finding out who the owner was, the officer brought two of the dogs to the owners' residence on West 15th. Once there, another pit bull came out from the back of the residence and attacked the police officer, knocking him down and biting him twice before the officer was able to shoot the dog.

The officer was treated at Community Hospital and released. The dog is being tested for rabies, Brown said.

In the second incident, officers responded to a call at about 9 p.m. on East Fifth from the owner of two pit bulls who were fighting with each other in the yard. The dogs would not stop fighting and were so badly injured that the owner didn't believe they could be saved. By the request of the owner, officers euthanized the dogs.

Police officers respond to hundreds of animal calls each year but those involving vicious dogs have been increasing steadily, Brown said.

Although the incidents on Wednesday were unusual, Brown said the welfare of citizens is paramount.

"When placed in a situation to protect the safety of citizens or police officers, euthanizing animals is sometimes necessary," he said.

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  • It's always sad when a dog has to be euthanized. But I also believe it is not the breed of the dog, but the owners and way the dogs were raised that cause them to attack. Even small dogs can be mean and bite if raised to be so.

    -- Posted by farmersdaughter on Thu, Jun 18, 2009, at 12:23 PM

  • The situation is unfortunate yes, it's also unfortunate that it took a police officer to be bitten to have something done with these dogs. There have been numerous occassions where children and other adults have been bitten by dogs and yet the police only write citations. Why? I agree also that it's not breed specific. ANY dog can be viscious depending on how they are treated and raised. I'm glad to see a proactive movement towards regulating animals within the City limits thus making pet owners more responsible.

    -- Posted by FNLYHOME on Thu, Jun 18, 2009, at 1:24 PM

  • "...the owner of two pit bulls who were fighting with each other in the yard. The dogs would not stop fighting and were so badly injured that the owner didn't believe they could be saved. By the request of the owner, officers euthanized the dogs." ...

    What a shame. The first rule in responsible Pit Bull ownership is "never trust your Pit Bull not to fight"!! It's an entirely avoidable situation with just a little bit of education and management.

    http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/breedinfo.html

    -- Posted by lolinaz on Thu, Jun 18, 2009, at 4:05 PM

  • I think that ALL pit bulls should either be muzzled when outside or that they should not be aloud in the city limits!!! I personally vote for the second one!!!

    -- Posted by ace1965 on Thu, Jun 18, 2009, at 6:27 PM

  • The city should have an ordinance for agressive breeds. Rotweiler and Staffordshire Terriers (pit bulls). Everyone likes their pets, but somewhere the line needs to be drawn. We have a problem??? Let's do something about it.

    Some homeowners have dogs for protection. I don't blame them for that. Look at all the happenings in the city at night. I sure would like my spouse and children to be protected by a German Shepherd when I am out of town.

    Discretion needs to be used in this topic. It is not funny at all for someone to get bitten and maybe take rabies shots. The officer was just doing his sworn duty and this happened.

    -- Posted by edbru on Thu, Jun 18, 2009, at 10:10 PM

  • Yes I agree that pit bulls depending on how they were rasied can have problems. However my dogs were taken care of just fine.. I had both of them for over 4 years. I had no choice but to have it done. I have no idea why they started fighting I had to do what I had to do. Pit Bulls get a bad name for things like this, but any dog can bit or fight, they only reason people want to get involved and make a comment is becuase they were pits.I did not raise my dogs to fight! There was nothing I could do, nor could anyone else that is why I had to have it done. It hurts knowing my dogs are gone. I had the education on pit bulls. So I believe that everyone should mind their own business, like I said no one would care if it was a different type of dog.

    -- Posted by mccookcitizen on Fri, Jun 19, 2009, at 9:46 AM

  • I don't agree that we should mind our own business. I'm speaking not against Pits, but for the fact that ANY breed can be deemed viscious and harmful. People need to start waking up and paying attention to how ALL breeds are being raised. You don't put 2 males with 1 female and expect not to have trouble WITH ANY BREED. There are several alleys in McCook where you can drive down and see dogs of ALL breeds in kennels barely big enough to move let alone get any exercise. Some of these dogs are kept there 100% of the time without any love, attention or exercise. Dogs (or pets of all kinds) should be treated as though you wanted to be treated and trained properly if you really care. People shouldn't mind their own business because it's becoming a hazard to walk and to run in our own neighborhoods. I'm tired of people just thinking that this will go away. Thank God there was a group of people who are proactive towards getting something done about this problem and have taken it to the Council.

    -- Posted by FNLYHOME on Fri, Jun 19, 2009, at 10:43 AM

  • I understand that. I might have came off wrong with my comment. Right after my dogs had to be put down people all over the neighborhood were talking and starting rumors. I know people were concerned with my dogs. And I guess it is easier to say they really were good dogs because they were mine and yes they did bark at every thing and anything. I know people need to be concerned if it will be safe to walk or run. I guess what I ment with my comment is the rumors, and the fact that they were my dogs and it hurt to have to have that done. And for anyone that does read this I am sorry that my dogs did bother you. I guess right now my mind is going a thousand different ways and I am just trying to do the best I can with this.

    -- Posted by mccookcitizen on Fri, Jun 19, 2009, at 12:53 PM

  • Just move forward and learn from lessons taught. Ignore the rumors and prove them wrong in being a responsible pet owner and being more proactive in other's being responsible also.

    -- Posted by FNLYHOME on Fri, Jun 19, 2009, at 1:09 PM

  • Dear McCook Citizen

    You have my deepest sympathy for the loss of you dogs. I know it was a very hard decision to have them put down. And my heart goes out to you.

    And you are right that every one here is griping just because they were pits. It is the ONLY reason it made the paper. Some of the gentlest dogs I have known were pits or pit mix. I wouldnt heaitate for a moment about bringing one into my family.

    It is truly unfortunate that the people on this forum cannot show you any compassion or respect. Peace

    Karen

    -- Posted by kaygee on Fri, Jun 19, 2009, at 2:39 PM

  • Steffanie, it's not just Pit Bulls that CAN be dangerous. ANY breed can be harmful if not taken cared of or trained properly.

    -- Posted by FNLYHOME on Mon, Jun 22, 2009, at 1:57 PM

  • People should not have more dogs then they can handle. Really why in the world do you need two pit bulls. It's like having kids. When you have more kids than you can handle of course they are going to fight. Hello, people. Wake up and realize you only need one dog per family and one kid per family.

    -- Posted by prairiegal6 on Mon, Jun 22, 2009, at 8:08 PM

  • You're half right, prairiegal6. People shouldn't have more dogs or kids than they can handle. However, that number isn't magically one for everybody. I really hope you aren't referring to population limitation, because that's ridiculous.

    -- Posted by bjo on Tue, Jun 23, 2009, at 3:30 PM
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