James Harrison's Young Son Attacked by Family Pit Bull

dogs...

it had to be a dog....

You can hear Goodell going "eff this"

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Maybe some of the thugs in the NFL will learn not to have dogs that match their level of cultural development ... an appropriate dog for a boy in the hood.

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mordess...i cannot stand ignorant people like you

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Without knowing all the facts we shouldn't comment or be judgemental

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I find it ridiculous that people always say pitbulls aren't the problem it's the way they are trained by the owner. It could be Harrison trained the dog to be aggressive to protect the family or some other reason. However, if you're going to get a dog, and you have a child, the pit bull is not the best choice. Pitbulls, regardless of what some may say, are dogs that are notoriously aggressive towards both people, and other animals. There have been numerous cases where the dog showed no prior aggression, but then suddenly attacked a child, another person, or another animal.

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My prayers are with the 4 year old, his family and the dog. As someone who works withs hundreds of dogs every week (including a dozen or so pitbulls) it is not the breed. It is the way the dog is raised and trained.
It may also prove that Karma is alive and well in the Universe.

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A lot of people don't know a thing about pit bulls. I have had two, and they were the most loving dogs in the world. They are supremely intelligent and learn very quickly. I have never had a problem with any of them except for my boy who was dog aggressive. I had parties where there were people from 80 to infants. They both got along with them so well. It's not the breed, it's the way you train them and take care of them.

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As someone who has had three dogs in my life (2 pitbulls and a chow chow) I can honestly say that the most aggressive of the dogs I've had was the chow chow. I still have a scar on my face from when the chow bit me. The chow also bit my cousin and bit my brother. All of the times we were bitten had to do with the chow's food. However, with both pitbulls, who I had at different times, I could literally stick my face in their food bowl and they'd look at me as if to say "would you like some?"

All of my 7 nieces and nephews (all under 7 years old) interacted with the pitbulls. I wouldn't dare have them around the chow chow however. So yes, it does depend on how the dog was raised. Harrison may have unfortunately adopted a dog that was raised to be vicious or he may have made the dog vicious himself, I'm not sure. What I'm sure of is that the dog wasn't raised the way it should have been, whoever it was that incorrectly raised the dog is another story.

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The dog is the one that's 4 years old. The child is only 1 year old in this NY Times photo taken four months ago, January, 2009.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/sports/ncaafootball/06steelers.html?_r=2&ref=sports

So Harrison's agent Mr. Parise's claims, as reported in USA Today, that "I've been with that dog personally, he's a wonderful animal," and "There's no reason to believe that this is anything other than something that sometimes happens to children" are not believable. The child is a toddler.

Besides the boy, the dog also bit the woman who fled with the child in her arms, and the other woman as well. So it will be put down.

The really pathetic thing is that this happens one day after this guy makes the national news for slagging off President Obama, thereby gaining his no sympathy and confirming everyone's suspicion that he an irresponsible idiot. This has nothing to do with Vick.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/steelers/2009-05-22-harrison-son_N.htm

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what is up with football players and dogs?

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not just football players,alot of people in general like dogs.I have had dogs all my life.Labs,St Bernards, and now a an English Staffordshire Terrier ( or pit bull as ignorants refer to them).I did not seek him out,but rescued him from the street at a very early age.HE is sweet,smart and loyal to the point my wife swears he doesn't love me,he is IN love with me.That might be a bit much,but that's what she says.I must admit even though he has never shown any aggression to people,I watch him very closely with my little girl. ANY dog can snap at a child.

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And I quote

"I'm guessing this story goes from unfortunate accident to "pit bulls: bred to kill." That portrayal couldn't be more wrong, of course, but that's not the point."

And her is an excerpt from the wikipedia entry on Pit Bulls

"The dogs, known generally as bulldogs, protected the farmer by subduing the bull if it attempted to gore him. Typically a dog would do this by biting the bull on the nose and holding on to the violently struggling bull despite injury. These traits permitted the development and rise of the bloody sports of bull-baiting and bear-baiting."

You IDIOT! Like it or not these dogs were bred to attack plain and simple. This not is not a poodle. Dogs will pretty much turn into wild animals after a few weeks as seen in New Orleans. Give me a break this is not a pet. When is the last chocolate lab attack you have heard about?

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Anyone that would have a child and a pit bull at the same time is a moron! Why not have a pet rattlesnake instead??? I have no problem with either, however, pit bulls, rattlesnakes and the like should only be owned by people that know how to handle them.........

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yeah,all the thugs like pitbulls.It;s too bad the kid had to pay for his dad's ignorance.You see these clowns all the time trotting those dogs out at the dog park.And they seem to get a real thrill out of having to hold them off of other dogs. They're laughing and making remarks about other dogs, and their owners. Thats why I carry my pistol when I take my grandkids and the golden retriever to the park.I've got a carry permit, and the first time their dog gets loose, will be the last time!

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I am a public defender attorney who's represented plenty of clients charged with misdemeanor dog attack. Almost every single one of them says that their dog never bit anyone before, they take good care of their dog (large majority are pit bulls), and they just can't understand why it happened.

Although I don't own a dog, I feel like I can reasonably conclude: With almost any dog, there is a chance that the animal will randomly bite or attack a human. With pit bulls, that probability is significantly higher than for other breeds (I don't know how else to explain most of these cases involving pit bulls). But nothing is guaranteed. Some pit bulls/dogs may never do it, leading their owners to say, "If this breed ever bit a person, it must be because of how that animal was treated and raised." Other owners will experience their dogs bite/attack a person with no prior indication that it might do so, and they end up genuinely puzzled over why it happened (I've seen this too many times). Bottom line: You just can't predict what an animal will do. It may live for years without hurting anyone and then one day bite your child without provocation. If you're going to own an animal, you are undertaking the risk that it will hurt you or a family member, whether you realize it or not. James Harrison is no different. His son has my sympathies, the boy certainly didn't deserve it. Harrison obviously never intended for it to happen, but that's the risk he took, and so he is primarily to blame for the attack.

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Pit Bulls are only loyal to their masters not their master's family. So if you have a Pit, be prepared for everyone around you to be tortured.
I don't understand why people always ask how this could have happened? -This always happens.

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I have ten pitbulls and I totally agree with your mind set. If they are brough up and treated properly they are the most loyal and devoted pet you will ever own. I wouldn't own another breed. What is sad, is the media only reports so called pit bull attacks and they report them as just that. They never tell the entire story and how ofter do you hear of a shitzu attack or a cocker spaniel attack? But yet, cocker spaniels have been listed as the #1 top biting dog. Yet the media doesn't report that. Beleive me, I feel for the Harrison family and certaily the child but let's think about something here people; if that dog "ATTACKED" that child as it was reported, that child would have much more than just a leg wound, he would probably not still be on this earth. And that is to note the damage of any large dog to a child, not just a pitbull. That baby cried and Patron sensed the child was in trouble and he grabbed the baby to pull him from danger, the mother and her friend only caused more confusion for patron and again had very minor wounds for what everyone wants to define as an ATTACK. Patron should have the opportunity to live, but certainly with a responsible pitbull conciensious owner as should be in all cases. I don't blame James for not wanted to put his son in any danger being that we can't ever imagine what Patron was thinking, neither now or then but I certainly don't think that a one time offender should be put down without a chance. I had a Jack Russel years back who bit a 7 year old and at the hospital we were told that all dogs are given one chance before they are taken and euthenized, why do the rules always prove to be untrue for a pitbull. Pitbulls are no different than children, they learn what they live, we don't put our children down do we? Even when our children kill others, they still have the opportunity to rot in jail but they are alive.

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