|
Coral Springs FL, August 18, 2006:
A woman died Friday afternoon after she was
attacked by her dog while giving it a bath in
the backyard of her home.
At
around 3:25 p.m. Coral Springs police received a
call that a woman was being bitten by a dog at
her residence in the 9300 block of NW 39 Ct.
The woman’s young daughter ran to a
neighbor’s house saying her mother was being
bitten by the family dog.
The neighbor called police and two officers were
sent to the house. The
officers were confronted by the dog, a breed
known as a Presa Canario, who was standing near
the woman’s body in the backyard.
When the dog became aggressive towards
the officers they shot at the dog killing it. Neither
of the officers were injured. A typical picture
of the bread is shown on the right. The woman,
Shawna L. Willey, 30, of Coral Springs, was
pronounced dead at the scene.
It is unknown at this time why the dog
attacked Willey.
In Coral Springs, there are no city ordinances
which prohibit the ownership of any specific
bread of dog. Instead, there are laws governing
vicious dogs in so far as they have been
trained in a certain way to be vicious. As
well, anyone owning a guard dog or dogs trained
specifically for protection must have a sign on
their property warning people of the danger.
The rules and regulations governing animals in
Coral Springs is found in
Chapter 4 Animal Control of the City of Coral
Springs Ordinances. ( Click Here for the
law)
|
Miami Pit Bull Law |
|
It is
illegal in Miami-Dade County to own
any dog which substantially conforms
to a pit bull breed dog, unless it
was specially registered with
Miami-Dade County prior to 1989.
Acquisition or keeping of a
pit bull dog: $500.00 fine
and County Court action to force the
removal of the animal from
Miami-Dade County. ONLY an Animal
Services Investigator trained in pit
bull identification will determine
if the dog conforms to pit bull
breed standards. |
In Miami, there is a Pit Bull Law that prohibits
the ownership of any of this type of breed. As
well, several cities around the country have
similar laws, including Denver, where in 1989 a
child was killed by 3 of them. These laws
are under constant attack by dog owners
challenging the constitutionality of them.
Each year more than 4.7 million Americans are
bitten by dogs, and 800,000 require some sort of
medical treatment. However, fatalities are
quite low, at around 20 last year.
Facts about the Presa Canario,
 The
Presa Canario, or Canary Dog, are a fierce
smooth coated dog that was developed on the
Canary Islands in the 19th Century. They were
bread for one purpose : Fighting, since at that
time the popularity of having dogs fight was one
in which the population had enjoyed as a betting
sport. They were near extinction in the last 100
years but became popular once more as people
wanted a more aggressive bread for protection.
They became popular in San
Francisco in 2001
when a Presa Canario mauled and killed a women.
Sales rocketed in that area as police became
concerned that this animal would be used by
criminals as a killer canine dog. People even
refer to this bread as a Pit Bull on Steroids.
Arrested for the killings were the owners of the
dog and were convicted
However, according to the Humane Society of
America, the bread of the dog is really not the
factor. In fact, they believe that it is the way
in which the dog is trained that is the main
root cause of a vicious attack. This theory was
reinforced when the owners and trainers of the
Presa Canario that killed the San Francisco
woman in 2001 where arrested and convicted for
her death. At that time the HSUS vice
President, Dr. Lockwood, who worked closely with
the prosecutors made the following comments of
the verdict:
“This verdict sends a powerful message that
the kind of violent dog aggression that ended
Diane Whipple’s life is ultimately the end
result of grossly irresponsible human
behavior—and that people will be held
accountable for the kind of violence they
encourage or allow in animals that should be our
trusted friends and companions,”
“Although fatal dog attacks are rare, they
tragically highlight the failure to properly
raise, train, socialize, or supervise dogs,
which contributes to the millions of less severs
bites that occur each year,” Lockwood said. “Dog
bites hurt everyone, not just the victim. They
create an atmosphere of fear and distrust of
dogs that impacts even the most responsible
owners of the most well behaved animals. It is
important to continue to demonstrate that people
must take responsibility for the animals that
share our lives.”
It will be interesting to
follow the developments of the city of Coral
Springs detectives, and if anyone will be
charged in this tragic killing.
comments?:
|
