Last Updated: August 31. 2010 1:42PM
Westland attack revives pit bull debate
Christine Ferretti and Valerie Olander / The Detroit News
Westland -- William Dickey scrambled into action late Sunday after hearing screams and seeing a pregnant woman "tossed like a rag doll" by a large pit bull.
Dickey, 60, said the dog dragged the woman into the middle of Dorsey Road, near Venoy and Palmer, while a second, smaller pit bull joined the attack.
Dickey said he grabbed a wicker basket from a neighbor's trash heap and put it over the larger dog's head. He began punching the animal to free its hold on the woman's arm. She was also bitten in the face, leg and chest.
"It was like fighting a brick, the dog had so much muscle," Dickey said, noting the dog quickly broke free of the basket; both pit bulls took off when police arrived.
"She was afraid the dogs were going to come back. I assured her I wouldn't let them."
Westland Police say one of the dogs was shot to death by an officer, and the other is quarantined at the Michigan Humane Society's Berman Center for Animal Care in Westland.
Neighbors say the owner of the two dogs had been warned repeatedly to keep them locked up.
Police say the investigation continues. It is unclear if the dog owner will face charges. The condition of the woman, who is five months pregnant, is not known.
The mauling is the latest of several recently in Metro Detroit. For some communities, the attacks heighten the stigma associated with "bully breeds" and revive the debate over pit bulls and laws limiting dogs considered dangerous.
In 2009, Westland officials amended a breed-specific ordinance that required pit bulls to be kept on a leash or other restraint. The rewritten law applies only to dogs that have attacked a person or another animal.
Attacks have occurred this summer from Jackson County to Warren and Sterling Heights.
In Warren, 8-year-old Khalil Rocks was mauled Aug. 11 by a pit bull that escaped from a yard. He suffered injuries to both legs, his shoulder and an eye, and is unable to walk. The dog owner, Jenny Lin Angel, is facing up to four years in prison on felony charges of harboring a dangerous animal.
Another Warren woman shot her neighbor's pit bull Aug. 14 after it attacked her shih tzu. The woman was not charged.
In other cases, Tyah Norris, 6, of Jackson County was severely mauled by three pit bulls Aug. 24.
A 59-year-old Sterling Heights bicyclist was bitten on his ankles and wrist by four pit bulls in June. Days later, two pit bulls attacked a female resident who was attempting to protect her two cocker spaniels.
The city will hold a "pit bull workshop" next month to get input on possibly strengthening its animal control ordinances.
Last year, Macomb County communities including Warren and Eastpointe revisited their dog laws after an Eastpointe toddler, Leonard Lovejoy Jr., was mauled by the family pit bull. Eastpointe City Council tightened rules for owners of dangerous dogs. Members decided not to ban pit bulls. Warren City Council members last summer considered prohibiting pit bulls from parks and business and commercial properties. No action has been taken.
Center Line changed its ordinance last year after a pit bull attacked a young girl.
Public Safety Director John Riley said the law addresses dangerous animals and some breeds, including pit bulls. Owners are required to microchip the dogs, obtain liability insurance and submit a photo of the dog to police, he said.
Advocates for pit bulls and other breeds targeted for restrictions say the dogs are unfairly singled out.
"They are loyal, obedient family dogs," said Mike Davis, co-founder of the Great Lakes American Pit Bull Terrier Club in Macomb Township.
Davis says irresponsible owners, not dog breeds, should be accountable: "It keeps coming back to responsible dog ownership. "It doesn't matter if it's a Lab or a poodle."
John Russell of Westland, who heard the screams from Monday's pit bull attack, agrees. "If you can't control your animals, you shouldn't have 'em," he said.
http://detnews.com/article/20100831/...#ixzz0yHIijcHa
