Man Looses Hand In Pit Bull Attack
Posted by
IB ContributorFebruary 15, 2007 4:29 PMPair of dogs viciously attack 59 year old man.
Two pit bull dogs ripped apart a man's left hand and badly mauled his right arm before bystanders were able to beat the dogs away in Memphis, Tennessee this week, according to an Associated Press report. Doctors had to amputate the man's left hand. They saved his right.
"I couldn't believe I wasn't dead," James Chapple said from his hospital bed. "I was kicking and screaming at them to let me go, but they kept dragging me -- they had my hand and wouldn't let go."
Chapple, 59, was walking home from the bus last week when the dogs ran out from an auto repair business and attacked him. The dogs were captured by Memphis Animal Services who will euthanize them, authorities said.
What should we, as a society, be doing about the growing number of deaths and catastrophic injuries that this one breed of dog is causing? Simply holding the negligent dogs' owner legally responsible isn't enough. Mr. Chapple will not get his hand back. We need preventative measures rather than compensation.
A Google search for "dog attack prevention" yields a long list of websites devoted to preventing attacks by dogs. There are a number of dog attack prevention publications for sale such as Melvin MeKenzie's, Fear No Dog: Simple Self-Defense Techniques, which apparently employee simple marshal arts techniques and whatever objects are available to deter a dog attack. Had he known, I am sure Mr. Chapple would have put such techniques to good work.
How about if we outlaw the breeding and importing of pit bulls? We allow pit bull owners to keep their dogs as long as they are spaded or neuter. Should Pit bull owners be held strictly liable for all damages the dogs do with very few exceptions. they be required to carry liability insurance or post a sizeable bond to ensure their ability to respond to damages, much like our auto insurance requirements.