Police: Elderly woman attacked by neighbor’s pit bull

^{By Marshall Norton – 4/16/15}

Prince George police say an elderly woman was injured Thursday when a neighbor’s pit bull attacked her.

Police said the attack happened Thursday afternoon in the 3600 block of Heritage Road. When the woman went to her mailbox near the roadway, police said the dog attacked and bit her hands and head before she was able to escape.

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Elderly woman attacked by neighbor’s pit bull while getting mail

^{POSTED 7:17 PM, APRIL 16, 2015, BY JON BURKETT}

PRINCE GEORGE, Va. — A 92-year-old woman was walking out to get her mail when a pit bull attacked her, according to police on scene.

The neighbor’s female pit bull ran at the woman, according to police, and first bit her on the hand. The woman fell down, and the dog then bit her on her head.

She was able to fight off the dog and get back inside, where she contacted 911.

The victim has been transported to John Randolph Medical Center in Hopewell. Her condition is unknown.

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Elderly woman attacked by pit bull

The attack took place in the 3600 block of Heritage Road when the woman was bitten on her hands and head while at her mailbox near the roadway. She was eventually able to escape to her home and call 911and was transported to John Randolph Medical Center for treatment. Her condition is unknown as of Thursday evening.

^{By From Staff Reports – Posted Apr. 17, 2015 at 2:01 AM}

The dog was identified as a female pit bull belonging to Lydia Gordon of the 3600 block of Heritage Road. Gordon has been charged with having a dog run at large, having no county license and failure to obtain a rabies shot for the animal. Currently, the dog is being held by the Prince George County Animal Services Unit for the required 10 days for biting. The investigation is ongoing and further charges are possible.

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American Pit Bull Terrier

The ‘bull and terrier’ type was originally developed in England in the early 19^thcentury. The lineage goes back to the mastiff / molosser types, including what we now call the Olde English Bulldogge, that were used for bear-, bull- and horse-baiting from the 12^th through the 18^th century. This isn’t the bear-baiting we think of today, when hunters feed bears in order to bring them out in the open to shoot them. Rather, the bear, bull or horse was confined in a public arena where the mastiff ‘bulldogs’ would slowly tear them apart alive for the public’s amusement^1,2,3,4,5.

The popularity of this ‘sport’ declined as education became more emphasized in urban society of the Industrial Revolution and literacy among the population grew (from about 30% in the 17^th century to 62% by 1800)⁶. The ‘sport’ was banned altogether by Act of Parliament in 1835.

The lovers of blood ‘sports’ turned to dogfighting to satisfy their fancy, breeding the large, mastiff-type bulldogs to smaller working terriers to get dogs both smaller and more agile, easier to keep and to hide, but just as willing to attack and fight to the death. With the rise of the kennel clubs and the desire to distinguish dogs by looks and pedigree as well as by performance, this ‘bull and terrier’ type eventually divided into many official breeds. They all share the same ancestry and function, distinguishing themselves mostly by slight differences in appearance.

The American Pit Bull Terrier is, like all the ‘bully’ breeds, one of this group of descendants of the British ‘bull and terrier’ type fighting bulldogs. Once imported into the United States, it was bred up to be bigger again, and again used in baiting animals and in dogfighting. The American Kennel Club (founded 1884) was unwilling to register these fighting dogs, so in 1898 the United Kennel Club was founded specifically to register working pit-fighting dogs and to promote dogfighting. In order to be registered, a dog had to first win three pit fights^7,8,9. The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) became a ‘breed’. As dogfighting declined in popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, Colby (the most famous and prolific breeder of these dogs) began to search for a new market and began promoting the APBT as family pets^10,11. This despite the fact that his breeding lines included child killers¹².

In North America, from 1982-2014, Pit Bull breeds and mixes have seriously attacked 3,595 humans that resulted in 2,233 maimings and 307 deaths

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POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG BREEDS

This is a list of dog breeds that have a history of being potentially dangerous to people, especially children. Daxton’s Friends for Canine Education and Awareness understands that any dog has the ability to bite or inflict serious harm to humans. This list consists of several dog breeds that have a higher than average number of recorded human fatalities. Please use extreme caution if you choose to bring one of these breeds into your home. Rental communities and homeowners insurance may restrict many of the dog breeds on this list due to the likelihood of a serious incident.

Pit Bulls, Mastiff, and Rottweiler lead in fatalities and are listed first. The rest of the breeds are listed in alphabetical order:

Pit Bull Terrier Family