Steeler Harrison's pit bull attacks young son

[Scar]

12 mins ago

PITTSBURGH – A pit bull owned by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison has reportedly attacked the player's young son, but police, hospital and team officials are releasing little information.

"We're aware of the situation, but it's a personal matter for James," Burt Lauten, spokesman for the Super Bowl champions told The Associated Press. "We won't be commenting further."

An unidentified neighbor told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette one of the star player's three dogs got loose Thursday and attacked the boy, James III. His age was not immediately available.

A Franklin Park police officer warned neighbors "to keep our children inside because (Mr. Harrison's) dog had bit somebody," the neighbor told the newspaper.

The dog was removed by an animal control agency.

A Franklin Park police spokeswoman on Friday said police are not commenting because the incident remains under investigation.

Neighbors told the newspaper that a second person also was hurt and that Harrison's son was taken to UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. A hospital spokesman said the family does not want information released.

Harrison lives about 15 miles north of the city.

In 2006, then-Steelers linebacker Joey Porter was cited by police in Pine Township, another suburb north of Pittsburgh, after two of his dogs got loose and killed a miniature horse on a nearby farm. Northern Regional Police said then that Porter's dogs were licensed in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., but not in Allegheny County.

Harrison is the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and scored on a 100-yard interception return in the team's 27-23 victory over Arizona in Super Bowl XLIII. He made headlines for declining to join the Steelers on a White House visit Thursday, though he passed up the same opportunity after the Steelers beat Seattle in Super bowl XL in 2006.


Source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090522/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_steelers_dog_attack)

[DennyCrane]

Other reports I have read indicate the boy is in serious
condition but not life threatening.

also it was said that the dog was always well behaved and never
gave anyone trouble.

I don't care if he licked everyone to death, if you have a pit
bull that's what can happen. It's happened time and time again.

But knowing what kind of idiot Harrison is from his actions
the last week you can't expect him to know any better.

[Jetschris]

I know people have and love all kinds of pets, but Pits are dangerous when handled like other dog breeds or trained to fight.

This is a link to a CDC website with dog attack stats. The facts are obvious.

www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dogbreeds.pdf (http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dogbreeds.pdf)

[mkdave23]

Pits are only dangerous when they're trained poorly, just like anything.
If you raise a child poorly, chances are it's going to be dangerous when it grows up.

As for the stats, obviously there are going to be more reported attacks from bigger dogs because when you get bit by a poodle you're not going to report it.

Pitbulls are like guns. They're not dangerous unless they're owner uses them inappropriately.

[DomUK]

Pitbulls are like guns.

Pibulls don't miss

[Jetschris]

Pitbulls are like guns. They're not dangerous unless they're owner uses them inappropriately.

Guns are dangerous for whomever they are pointed at.

[MaTengFei]

"Pits are only dangerous when they're trained poorly, just like anything.
If you raise a child poorly, chances are it's going to be dangerous when it grows up.

As for the stats, obviously there are going to be more reported attacks from bigger dogs because when you get bit by a poodle you're not going to report it.Pitbulls are like guns. They're not dangerous unless they're owner uses them inappropriately."


Wake up, Man!!!


There are to many documented cases of the "family pet", pittbull,lovingly raised, going berserk & killing & mauling innocent victims . I wonder if you would have the same caviler, misguided argument if a loved one was attacked, by a member of this violent, useless breed! BTW, I don't get the joke.

http://pit-bulls.christianfunfair.org/attacks.htm

[DomUK]

Harrison's agent says James Harrison III is "doing okay", he was only bitten on the thigh so it may not be as serious as suspected.
Apparently Harrison had nothing to do with this, reports say it was his wife that let the dog out of its pen.

[ChrebetBoy]

Anyway speaking of dogs, i have a German Shepherd who is Police Trained. She always protects me.

[mkdave23]

Wake up, Man!!!


There are to many documented cases of the "family pet", pittbull,lovingly raised, going berserk & killing & mauling innocent victims . I wonder if you would have the same caviler, misguided argument if a loved one was attacked, by a member of this violent, useless breed! BTW, I don't get the joke.


Clearly you are misguided on the subject. Firstly because you refer to pitbulls as a breed; they aren't. They're a subgroup of dogs, specifically American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, and Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
In the media, the term can cover anything from Mastiffs to bulldogs to any type of bull-terrier. So we still don't really know what type of dog it was. Virtually any large dog, not including newfoundlands and retriever type dogs, can and are wrongly put into the pitbull category.
Secondly, if a loved one were attacked by a pitbull, I would blame the owner. Because a dog that attacks is a poorly raised dog.
They way to solve the problem is to offer more education to dog owners on how to aptly raise a dog and to everyone else (especially children) on how to treat dogs in a way in which they are comfortable. That would reduce the problem significantly, and we've already seen that bans on these animals does little to alter attack statistics.

[Jetschris]

Harrison's agent says James Harrison III is "doing okay", he was only bitten on the thigh so it may not be as serious as suspected.
Apparently Harrison had nothing to do with this, reports say it was his wife that let the dog out of its pen.

An injury to the thigh can result in death. There is an artery and if it's opened, you bleed out quickly.

[Jetschris]

Anyway speaking of dogs, i have a German Shepherd who is Police Trained. She always protects me.

That's awesome, I would love a dog like that. Too much money for me.

[Jetschris]

Clearly you are misguided on the subject. Firstly because you refer to pitbulls as a breed; they aren't. They're a subgroup of dogs, specifically American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, and Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
In the media, the term can cover anything from Mastiffs to bulldogs to any type of bull-terrier. So we still don't really know what type of dog it was. Virtually any large dog, not including newfoundlands and retriever type dogs, can and are wrongly put into the pitbull category.
Secondly, if a loved one were attacked by a pitbull, I would blame the owner. Because a dog that attacks is a poorly raised dog.
They way to solve the problem is to offer more education to dog owners on how to aptly raise a dog and to everyone else (especially children) on how to treat dogs in a way in which they are comfortable. That would reduce the problem significantly, and we've already seen that bans on these animals does little to alter attack statistics.


Many people disagree with that. I think the truth of the matter lies somewhere in between.

[The Green Titan]

I have a Shepard Wolf mix. The dog seems to love kids and is cautious around adults. The dog has never bit anyone, but god help me if it ever does, because it appears that I'll be labeled a bad parent or a guy who doesn't know how to raise a dog. Forget about the fact that this is an animal, and animals are unpredictable at the best of times.

[Jetschris]

I have a Shepard Wolf mix. The dog seems to love kids and is cautious around adults. The dog has never bit anyone, but god help me if it ever does, because it appears that I'll be labeled a bad parent or a guy who doesn't know how to raise a dog. Forget about the fact that this is an animal, and animals are unpredictable at the best of times.

I have a pitbull and he predicted you'd say that.:D

[ChrebetBoy]

That's awesome, I would love a dog like that. Too much money for me.

yea, i know it was very expensive for here.

[piratepeg]

this is a very tragic incident. as an owner of 2 pits, i will tell you all that if you are not a responsible dog owner, the bully breed is not for you. by bully breed i refer to the following:

american pit bull terrier
american-staffordshire terrier
stafforshire terrier
american bulldog
olde english bulldogge
bull terrier
mini bull terrier
alapaha blue blood bulldog

all of these dogs are extremely powerfull. a quick history on them, they were used to take down cattle and bulls for slaughter. and not calves either. i mean bulls like the ones those cowboys ride.

bottom line, harrison might not have been irresponsable as a bully breed owner. these dogs are escape artists. if the dog was startled, it could have bitten the child and if it was say a lab or a retriver. the damage prob wouldn't have been as bad. but when the bully breeds hit, they hit hard.

by the way, these dogs are not evil. they were also used as nannies to watch after small children. and if harrison had had a poddle or smaller dog, do you think it would have even made the news? i dont. this is a sad story cause the dog will be destroyed. even sadder if harrison wasn't a good pit bull owner. thankfully the boy will be fine as well as the other two people. i hope they do an investigation to see how the dog was kept.

just an fyi, if you want a bully breed dog consider this

-do you own small pets? cats, ferrets, rabbits, or small dogs.
-are you away from home often? mr. harrison? are you?
-do you have frequent vistors to your home? these dogs love people and will greet them by jumping up alot. remember how strong they are.
-do you go to dog parks w/other dogs? if you dont go they won't fight other dogs.
-and keep them social. a dog, any dog that is kept in a cage or kennel all the time is way more likley to bite or even attack a person.

[MaTengFei]

Secondly, if a loved one were attacked by a pitbull, I would blame the owner. Because a dog that attacks is a poorly raised dog.
They way to solve the problem is to offer more education to dog owners on how to aptly raise a dog and to everyone else (especially children) on how to treat dogs in a way in which they are comfortable. That would reduce the problem significantly, and we've already seen that bans on these animals does little to alter attack statistics.

Yeah,right! Blame the victims for unprovoked attacks. I am not convinced & will never be convinced that this "breed" is safe around people!!!!!

[DomUK]

No, why don't you relax and take a reality check!!!!!!! Comparing me to a disciple of Hitler....very nice!!!! A very persuasive argument, indeed!!!!!. I'm done with this subject, bye-bye

toodles
Herr MaTengFei

[Jets337]

toodles
Herr MaTengFei

Too all! Keep it civil or keep it to yourselves.

With Great thanks.

[jetstream1066]

I'm reading these posts and shaking my head. It's amazing to me how people can be so passionate and knowledgable about a subject dear to them, yet be so harsh and nasty when their opinion is questioned. This is a Jets forum...yes this topic started out with a football related topic (Harrison & the pit bull)...but look where it has turned. I have my opinion on the entire pitbull topic, but it seems to me that if I posted it, I'd be called a name or told how little knowledge I have on the topic.

I can't wait to see how nasty the forum can get if the Jets have a terrible season

[mkdave23]

I'm reading these posts and shaking my head. It's amazing to me how people can be so passionate and knowledgable about a subject dear to them, yet be so harsh and nasty when their opinion is questioned. This is a Jets forum...yes this topic started out with a football related topic (Harrison & the pit bull)...but look where it has turned. I have my opinion on the entire pitbull topic, but it seems to me that if I posted it, I'd be called a name or told how little knowledge I have on the topic.

I can't wait to see how nasty the forum can get if the Jets have a terrible season

I don't think it'd be too bad. It's just that this is a particularly emotive subject. As someone who owns a Staffordshire Terrier (a type of pit), for someone to say that pits are evil is like saying one of my family members is evil. It's not quite the same, but it's that sort of thing.
And then, on the other side, there's a guy that has had his life affected by one of these dogs and that's his only experience of them, so obviously he's going to be prejudiced against them. And while I sympathize with what happened, I think it's wrong to band every dog together just because of one experience.

[Jets337]

Strayed too far from the fact that a kid was injured.