This incident happened in my area. There are a number of falsehoods in the above posts. Here is the real story.
The dogs were technically owned by two guys in prison (Pelican Bay, a max security place on the CA coast). A woman who lived in the country raised them from puppies, but did not train them to be vicious; in fact, one of the owner/prisoners berated her about not doing so. Due to a dispute over money, as the bitch had eaten several of her litter after they were whelped, the woman in the country refused to take care of them anymore. She was actually unable to take care of the animals properly, and had the male permanently chained to a stake in the yard. The vet had to give the dogs shots through a fence.
The present caretaker, who lived in the apt. complex and was holding the dogs when they killed the young Lacrosse coach, then took over raising the dogs. The woman is not being charged with any sort of drug violations. There has been no accusations of her training the dogs to be vicious. The male dog has been euthanised, the female's fate is being debated.
The dogs are a half breed of a Canary Island cattle dog and an English Mastiff. The former is very aggressive, and the latter fairly passive. The mixture is known for aggression. The half breed has been described as looking like 'pit bulls on steroids.' The tenents in the apt. complex where the dogs were have nearly all expressed some sort of fear for, and incidents of, frightening behavior on the part of the dogs in the past, although no previous attacks have taken place. The most aggressive incident was when the dogs went after a mail carrier, but as a former letter carrier, I can state that this does not necessarily mean the dogs are aggressive to others.
The young woman who was killed was known to the dogs. She was entering her apt., and did nothing consciously to aggravate them. The dogs are known to be very territorial, however, and the young woman lived near the dogs' apt.
As for a knife to defend yourself with, make mine a Mad Dog Panther. Not that I would expect it to do me much good, as the dogs will use their weight to knock you down and then go for your throat and face, which makes stabbing them somewhat problematical. The ideal weapon would be a Claymore mine.
This is a sad case, and brings up a variety of knotty questions. Should certain breeds or half breeds be banned? Even if the dogs have not displayed agression? If a dog of a suspicious breed attacks someone, no matter how minor the injury, should the dog be euthanised? I am glad I don't have to decide.
Walt
