[PSM] Personal Safety Mindset…[Live Safely]

Pit bulls.

My heart breaks whenever I happen to see the picture of a person, or of persons bearing the ghastly scars, evidence of an unintended confrontation with a (loose untrained) pit bull.

In cases where the attacking animal happens to be a family pet, conversations surrounding such unfortunate incidents (inevitably) become somewhat more complicated.

Questions like: Why would a “pet” attack its owner, or any member of the household?  Was the pet properly trained?

Was the attack a one-off incident? Was the animal in pain? Ill-treated or otherwise subjected to any treatment that caused it to react instinctively? (the way dogs do).

If and When a (pet) dog shows aggressiveness toward children and or other household members, should the family get rid of it?

(Give it up for adoption etc.)

 

In unfortunate cases where the victim(s) dies, or suffers serious dis-figuring or life–threatening injuries, the fate of the animal usually no longer rests with the owner of the pet, but with the relevant investigating law enforcement agenc(y)ies.

 

Whatever the circumstance, as I stated in the opening paragraph, I feel deeply for victims of dog attacks.  “Gruesome” often comes short of conveying the true picture of victims.

Pit bulls, untrained and loose, pose a very clear, serious threat to the life and well being of anyone unfortunate enough to have a run-in with one.

Unless you have some training in protecting yourself /loved ones in the event of an attack, the result could be devastating.

 

Thugs.

I experience the same angry (?) concerned response, whenever surveillance cameras [on the news] or in print show innocent pedestrians; women, men, and school children try courageously to stem the flow of their own life-blood, after getting their neck or face slashed by some knife /razor wielding thug…

Vicious, heartless, violent strangers, who (for no apparent reason) would emerge from the shadows at dusk, or in broad daylight, walk up to unsuspecting targets and attack them.

 

November 8, 2015    New Jersey

I sat at my laptop and was going over a few unfinished chapters in the manuscript of my book: Right Foot First… (A practical guide personal safety, wellness, awareness)

My grand daughter Tamara took her adopted position over my shoulder, and watched as I worked.   She really seemed to get an enjoyable kick from reading over each page I completed.

[Now my publishers know the truth behind my delayed manuscript uploadsJ.

“Pappy, what is a pit bull?” before I could reply, she added: “Thug”?

Why not get the dictionary and look up both words, I replied, smiling at the opportunity to get her away from me even for a few minutes.   Wrong!  Quicker than I could say the word Webster’s, Tamara reached over, minimized the page that I was on, brought up a search engine and typed in “thug” in the search box.

 

Definitions in a nutshell:

1. Thug: (in context) a common criminal, who treats others violently and roughly…

 

2. Pit bull: (NOT the rapper/record producer/mogul)

                   A very muscular, stocky, yet agile dog, originally developed for dogfighting…

 

My grand daughter wanted to know why I paired up Thugs and Pit bulls in the section of my book that was under scrutiny.

I told her about the large number of cases, of children and adults alike who suffer serious injuries and even death.

All victims of attacks by loose untrained pit bulls.

 

I told her about the recent case where a cowardly thug, for no apparent reason, sneaked up behind a schoolgirl and slashed her neck with a sharp blade.

 

November 9, 2015     Long Island

I returned from my local supermarket, opened my door just in time to hear that all-too-familiar “Breaking News’ jingle on the television set.  Tamara was with me.

There on the screen was the picture of a beautiful girl…

“Nine years old, from Uniondale, Long Island” the news anchor was saying….”Killed earlier today…”

(Not by a stray bullet, not in an accident, not by a fast-acting killer virus)…

A full screen picture of a pit bull replaced the victim’s face and remains frozen in frame as the announcer continued with the grisly details…a young child, with a beautiful smile, met a most gruesome death.  She was attacked and mauled to death by a pit bull.

 

In summary, let me make it clear: I truly believe that majority of pit bull owners, like pet owners everywhere on the planet, are caring, responsible human beings.

 

A run-in with an untrained loose pit bull, like an encounter with a heartless thug usually ends in disaster.

 

PS: On purpose, I left out the latest reported stats on dog bites in the USA over the past decade.

 

A quick Google search will show a much more scary picture than I present here.

 

Until next time, be safe.