Pit Bull Makes Headlines for Tripping Woman

Earlier this week, The News Courier had the opportunity to print the words "pit bull" and "bite" in the same sentence ... although no one was actually bitten.

Here's the story: Donna Wheat was walking her two small dogs who began a Napolean-esque barking fit when they spotted a loose pit bull. In their frenzy, the little dogs managed to get their leashes wrapped around a tree. As their distraught owner was trying to untangle them, the pit bull ran over. And then:

Letter carrier Roy Neutze saw the pit bull topple Wheat, so he picked up a stick and came after it. A neighbor joined in the standoff against the dog, and the pit bull backed off. The police were called and the owner found. Apparently, the pit bull had gotten out of its fenced yard.

Once the damsel in distress and her two tiny hounds were safe, she wondered "if she did anything to provoke the pit bull." Really?

Other than two barking dogs and a woman who was presumably leaning over to untangle the leashes while "keeping her eyes on the pit bull," what could have possibly incited the other dog to approach her? The real question is whether the pit bull was "provoked" to play or simply to see what all the racket was about. At least three opportunities to behave aggressively: declined.

But here's how the article describes the incident. The pit bull "charged" the woman; the postman and a neighbor were in a "standoff" with the dog, who eventually (ahem!) "backed off." The anticlimactic story is closed with this commentary: "Although many people believe pit bull breeds are more likely than others to bite, the American Veterinary Medical Association says there is little scientific evidence to support the claim." It's pretty clear what the The News Courier thinks.

The woman obviously had her hands full when a large dog ran toward her. Let's say the dog jumped on her; it's not unusual behavior for an excited dog. But I have a hard time believing that the pit bull was showing the slightest sign of aggression. There were no bites on the woman, her dogs were unharmed, her clothes intact (because you can be sure if there had been any damage, it would have been reported.) Not to mention that it sounds like the "charging" dog was fended off pretty neatly by the stick-wielding postman.

So, what we're really talking about here is an encounter with an unruly dog that escaped his yard. Was it a slow news day?

This happens just about every time I take a walk in my neighborhood. My pit bulls and I encounter other pits, labs, hounds, terriers, and all sorts of mixed breeds all the time — some that have followed us home, some that tried to play with my leashed dogs, some that have growled, some that have had to be chased off. It's really not an experience worth writing about.

If Ms. Wheat had been approached by any other breed, it wouldn't have been newsworthy. If she had been knocked over by a Golden Retriever, she might have been annoyed with the owner, but worrying about what she did to "provoke" the dog? Unlikely.

This is the perfect example of why people with pit bulls have the burden of being better dog owners than everyone else. One innocuous mistake and your dog becomes the next headline.

Photo credit: coral11