I read a few weeks ago about that Denver News Anchor that was bitten in the face while interviewing a dog, and the owner. So I watched the clips.
The dog had fallen through ice, and a firefighter saved it. They interviewed the owner and rescuer.
I am just curious. Doesnt anyone tell these anchors, NOT to place their face's in a dogs face when its next to its owner? Let alone the breed of dog this is. Dogo Aregentio.. protective, Mastiffs. There is nothing wrong with this dog or breed, if you know how to handle them. However, during the interview, I watched as the dog became progressively agitated. She not only was petting the dog on top of its head very vigorously, she got down on her knees in front of the animal, then bent in towards him as if she was going to kiss it. It just SCREAMED, stupidity to me.
In all my years of working with large, aggressive breeds in the field, and at a shelter. I was only once bitten by a dog. It was a poodle. the thing tried to eat my leg, for kicks. I have been charged, and snapped at, and one thing I know not to do is stick my face in the face of any strange dog.
What really peeves me, is now I am seeing her "Recovery story" how she went through surgeries, stitches, trauma, and is on the road to recovery. How she doesnt hold it against the dog, and blah blah. She has destroyed this dog's reputation, and also put another ding in the name of this breed yet again. The animal had to be held at a facility for a week, away from his owners and life and now will probably be deemed a dangerous dog, and all for publicity.
So do you feel sympathy and compassion for this News Anchor? Would you have been one to send her a card of get well and we love you?
or would you have given her a letter of "I really am sorry you lost part of your lip but it was very avoidable" kind?
heart attacks are not avoidable, putting your face in a strange animals face, is. I am not that heartless, BUT I am not sympathetic to what she has done. Accident yes, but when you make it into a spectacle, I am not so accepting of that. I would never say, sorry you had a heart attack.. it was avoidable. I really dont know who would do that. I don't see the comparison here. heart attacks require too many variables to say they are avoidable. Genetics, heart valve shapes, food choices, stress levels, age, exercise and activity levels. strange dogs + faces = probable bite.
Jill - I agree she is rational! I am thankful for that, but that there was this big interview, where the violins are playing, and she cracks out the cases of cards and love... and that she is sure she can prevail after this tragedy. Whats the tragedy? She paid for it... she might be a little less pretty but now she has a story to tell when people ask her why her lip is all goofy
Dog was agitated several seconds before bite, lips were moving, ears laying back, dogs eyes were fearful, tension in the face and jaw. Maybe it takes a trained eye, but really its just merely the fact that you just dont do that.
I will leave the heart attack thing alone for now... but studies do say about the other factors. If you think I want her to suffer? I dont, I just dont think that she needs to parade her suffering around as a story for sympathy and condolence. I think the follow up story is what I am stuck on
Exellently put DVMMOM... agreed to all points you have. I for one will not get into any cats face, for the same points you touched on. Cats I love em, but they are by far more un-predictable than any dog.
I feel sympathy for her, but it was her own lack of dog sense that caused the accident.
The animal was not at fault and should not have been punished.
It's right up there with a child being mauled by a zoo animal when a parent put them up on a wall and the kid falls into the enclosure - and then they shoot the animal for protecting it's own home territory when the idiot parent should be charged with child endangerment.
Welllllll, I guess her mama never told her not to put her face in a dog's face ... but no, to answer your question I wouldn't actually say that to her after the fact because it's kind of obvious now. That would be kind of cruel. Kinda like that young lady that walked into the helicopter blades and lost an eye and her hand, you know?? What are you going to say, 'Boy, don't you know any better than to walk into a helicopter blade??'
Believe me, they know now!
Accidents happen and animals are unpredictable, especially under stress. I've had normally nice docile pets "turn" on me because they are stressed out, scared, hurt, etc. A good friend of mine that happens to also be a veterinarian and was a classmate of mine in vet school got part of his nose and lip torn off by a Chow Chow he was examining. Chows are known to be aggressive but this one had never acted aggressive before so it's file was not "flagged". The dog just decided it didn't like what my friend was doing and gave no warning whatsoever. He had to go through some intensive reconstructive plastic surgery and decided after that to leave private practice and now works for a well-known pet food company instead.
Yes, people do dumb things, but I don't think anyone "asks" for it or expects it to happen. This is why I often do not allow owners to restrain their own pets in the exam room or for procedures. Sometimes they take offense to this and get really insistent that "he trusts me and would never do anything." And sometimes that is true, but I don't want anyone to find out the hard way that they were wrong. Not only do I not want anyone hurt, it's also a liability issue for the practice - we can be sued by an owner who gets injured by their own pet while being treated at the hospital. There's also a big difference between someone who just gets nipped at or barely hurt by a dog bite and learns their lesson, and someone who gets half their face ripped off. One can express their sympathy and support if they feel it is appropriate, rather than just making things worse with "Hey, serves you right!" Sure it is the anchor's fault, and not the dog's fault, and I hate to see another breed get saddled with bad rap (just like Pits, Rotties, etc.), but severe dog bite injuries are not something I would wish on anyone (except Michael Vick).
What I really hate is when people get right into their scared CAT'S face. Kitty is on the table, growling and hissing, I have a tech safely holding Kitty for me to give vaccines to, and owner insists on getting their face an inch from Kitty's face, petting it and cooing at it. And I have to be the bad guy that says, "I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Because while my tech might have a good grip on Kitty, it doesn't take much for Kitty to spaz out and get out of that grip...and then your face and eyes are going to get scratched and bit to pieces. As bad as dog bites can be, cats can also really mess you up.
Remember too, how biased local news reporting really is...they are after ratings and a "big story", not always about presenting a story that is fair and balanced.
What really angered me what that the breed Dogo would get a bad rap for this woman's stupidity!! My cousin raises these dogs. They are the the best dogs! They are smart, they are gentle, they ADORE childrent and their families. They are IMO one of the best breeds out there.
If I had a bigger yard I would have some myself.
When I first saw your post I thought you were going to be on the reporters side. I am so glad you weren't!!
Blessings!
D.
I agree with B. And add in the fact it sounds like the dog had been through a huge ordeal so likely was a bit shaken and it was even stupider. I've done stupid things too of course so I don't condemn her but yeah - should she be acting like she was the hero and suffered bc of it? Nope.
I was curious so just watched an interview with her and she actually seems very rationale and fair. She said she's glad the dog is back home, she obviously was too close, she's learned a lot... So I don't get the impression she's acting like it's a bad dog and she did nothing wrong.
Can I vent too.... I watched this story. It was a HUGE mistake on her part. I think she has learned her lesson. What irks me the most is a couple of years ago a vet tech in Denver has her lips ripped of by a dog, and eaten. It became a huge story because the owners of the dog went to the media. The way the news portrayed it was that this girl was the biggest idiot on the face of this earth. How dare she have a dog taken away from its owner (any time there is a dog bite it is quarantined for rabies purposes, the news anchor nor the tech have no say in the matter once the report of a dog bite is made) It just angers me that they made this girl out to be such a b%^ch, but this news anchor is made to be such the victim. This girl had death threats etc. Accidents happen. It is sad that this happened to both of them. The news anchors face looks painful. Of course, she will have the best people working on her because she is in the media. It might be a long road, but the things they do with plastic surgery these days are amazing.
It just makes me sad the way the media works. What a contradiction from one story to the next.
It was a tragic accident. Nobody is at fault, really, anybody could have made that mistake. Why are we always looking for the at-fault party? I think you're being a bit hard on the woman, she suffered a terrible attack. Just because it was avoidable doesn't make it less tragic. Most heart-attacks are avoidable too, if people would just go to the darn cardiologist, but do we look at our friend who just lost their father long before his time and say, "Well, sorry for your luck, but this was all avoidable, really!" That's pretty insensitive.
ETA: I just watched the clip. That dog did not appear to be agitated AT ALL to me until a half-second before he attacked. You seem to be stuck on the heart attack analogy. Remove the analogy and you're still being insensitive. This woman had her face bitten into by a dog. That's terrible no matter the circumstances. (And if you do the research, heart disease, sudden cardiac death, and heart attacks are 80-95% preventable.)
Sure I feel sorry for her. Her stupidity doesn't make me want to hear she recovered any less. Maybe you should send her a card and some dog handling tips. Not everyone knows how to handle animals.
she was/is an idiot plain and simple. you would think people would know better and I too watched the video if the owner had not been holding the dog by the collar she would have been worse. We have mastiffs and everyone who comes to our house ignores our dogs till they come to them for attention you dont go and approach ANY animal that you dont know. There was no reason for her to even be at face level with the dog. Give it a treat and ignor it. I really hope that the owner does not lose the dog to her stupidity.
