In a quiet cul-de-sac in Ogden, Utah, an evening that started with routine truck maintenance quickly turned into a scene right out of an action movie for Dane Wise and his neighbor. The unexpected stars of this drama? Two pit bulls with a penchant for aggression.
Dane Wise, a man just trying to tinker with his truck under a covered area, found himself in a sudden showdown with the growling pits.
“(They) started getting aggressive and barking at me and growling and trying to get up on the thing,” Wise recounted to KSL TV, recalling the dogs’ sudden hostility. With only a hammer in hand, Wise did what any resourceful truck enthusiast would do – he threw it. The dogs fled, giving Wise a moment to arm himself properly.
Upon his return, Wise heard the unmistakable sounds of canine menace next door. The pit bulls had cornered his neighbor, who was now in a defensive stance.
“They were after him so he took one (a gun) out and as soon as he shot his gun, the other pit bull came at me and charged me and I shot him at point blank,” Wise said. It was a scene reminiscent of an Old West shootout, but instead of outlaws, the threat was four-legged.
Despite being shot multiple times, the pit bull Wise shot survived and ran off, while the other, shot by the neighbor, did not make it.
Soon after the dust settled, the dogs’ owners appeared, clearly distressed by the turn of events.
“We both apologized and told them we were sorry it had to happen that way and they seemed OK with it — obviously upset and somewhat mad,” Wise explained. He sympathized with their feelings but remained steadfast in his priority: “Hey, we’ve got children here and we’re going to keep them safe.”
An animal control officer arrived on the scene and informed KSL TV that the incident was under investigation. It turns out these dogs were no strangers to trouble; they had bitten another neighbor just weeks before. The Ogden City Police Department confirmed that the owners had been cited for the previous incident. The surviving pit bull was taken to veterinary care, while the other did not survive.
Wise, a self-proclaimed “dog lover,” expressed regret over the situation’s outcome.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I don’t like what happened. I’m not proud of it in any way at all. Certainly, I feel like we’re safer, you know, and it’s a shame it even had to come to that.”
In Utah as in most states, it is legal to defend yourself using deadly force against attacking animals.
Two things are clear in this case: First, don’t mess with suburban Utahns, they appear abundantly armed and ready to defend themselves with a clear conscience and determined action. Secondly, keep your dogs on a leash or fenced up, particularly if you own a breed many people consider aggressive, like a pit bull. Or get a golden retriever. They are pretty passive and if loose and they come upon a stranger, they are more apt to lick them to death than ever bite or growl.
Pro tip: even “friendly” dog breeds can suddenly decide to bite someone. A friend of mine and my neighbor both had yellow labs that were very friendly–until they were not: both labs either bit people or tried to bite people who were NOT strangers, and totally unprovoked at that.
Could but the odds are laughably low with substantially fewer serious injuries and fatalities compared to pit mixes. Not every pitt and all that but only times I have had to draw let alone fire have been pitts
Demographic of pit owners/”trainer” is substantially different from those with lab or ___doodle or collie. Nature/nuture.
Even same demographic owners see a huge jump in aggressive behavior in pitt vs any non-aggressive breed with more potential for violent disobedience than most dangerous breeds but pitts and their mutts are cheap. A certain demographic engaging in dog fighting then releasing them into the woods after they bite the master doesn’t help for what I have seen in person.
SAFEupstateFML,
I don’t have any data as to which breeds bite/maul at what frequencies/percentages. What I can tell you is that a LOT of dogs of all breeds bite. My personal life experience thus far: three different dogs bit me, three more dogs tried to bite me, and two different dogs tried to attack me. None of them were pitbull mixes.
Moral of the story: always be ready to defend yourself from ANY dog in your vicinity, regardless of breed, whether you own the dog, whether the dog knows you, or otherwise.
Bit lighter than what we have observed on mixes but the order is the same https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/dog-attack-statistics-breed/
Interesting data. Thank you for the link.
Trying to find the state level stuff I saw a few years ago but not having much luck. What I remember for NY it was closer to 2/3 pitt/pitt mixes and around 75% of fatal dog attacks. And Philly had issues with dog fighting and those involved dumping the uncontrollable ones out in the woods near parks for hikers and families to run into but that was 15 or so years ago so not sure if it’s still an issue.
A yellow lab may bite you but it is very unlikely they will ATTACK you repeatedly until you are dead.
Pro Tip: Pitbulls should be exterminated
No just need to recognize they have been bred for aggression and being effective in delivery of violence so actual discipline and control will need to be used and maintained moreso than with a golden retriever. Unfortunately these low expectations are frequently nonexistent with owners of this breed and it’s mutts.
I live in Ogden. My bike riding buddy had a similar experience. A dog got loose from its owner and chased him down. He had a 357 snub nosed revolver and stopped the threat. The owner was none too pleased, but my buddy was cleared by the police. Stories like this are a good reminder to be prepared.
anti-fancy,
“The owner was none too pleased …”
That sort of thing never fails to amaze me. What does the owner (who lost control of his/her dog) expect? Let the dog chew on you and/or maul you?
exactly
People from other places often forget that dogs do not have free-range rights. The bar for shooting an ‘uncontrolled’ dog is shallow. If you let your dog off leash or out of his yard, you should be ready to take action if they decide to run at a kid on a horse or bare their teeth at anything. Dogs always lose.
Plenty of putbulls in my neighborhood. Next door in fact. I’m friends with Jose(real name) & bought a lawnmower from him. His female pit is extremely chill but who knows. My wife & I both carry around the house🙄
Pansies. If you know dogs you won’t have a problem defending yourself from two pit bulls without using a gun. I have done it more times than I can count or even remember.
Bill, did you forget the lol at the end of that comment? I’ve dealt with a few aggressive K-9s myself. I’ve used pepper spray on a Rottweiler while recovering a stolen vehicle. I also let a beautiful pitt hold a Speer 230 Gold Dot that the owner turned out on myself and the animal control officer sent to impound him. He had already mauled three children. One almost lost an eye. I assure you, there was no time for negotiation.
I wasn’t making a joke. Most people can’t read dogs and respond to perceived aggressive incorrectly.
Bill, you sound like a tough guy animal control officer. Good for you. Take on as many as you want empty handed. As for me, defending myself or family, I’m using mechanical advantage. Cheers.
Learn to read a dog’s body language. Almost everyone who thinks that they can can’t and respond in a way that invites an attack. Short of walking into a pack of starving wolves I am not threatened by any domestic 4 legged furballs.
One aggressive dog is a problem. Two or more is worse because they go into pack mode.
If you have aggressive dogs, keep them secured! Otherwise you might find yourself responsible for their actions, if the dogs survive the encounter.
I have had pits, shepherds and othe aggressive breeds approach me, none ever took the aggressive stance. I was bit a a little mutt barely larger than a chihuahua once. The little dogs worry me, larger dogs not so much. Large dogs give you thier intent, if they need space give it to them. I know some large dogs act these in the article, and some owners have failed to properly socialize the animals, I just haven’t been party to that.
My departed cat and I once defended ourselves against a slobbering pitbull with a head the size of a watermelon, we climbed trees. The breed is a liability I do not want.
I’ve owned several Pitts over the years. All but one were lap dogs. All raised the same. The one would lick your hand if I was there. He would eat it ten minutes later if I wasn’t. The worst dog bite I ever had was when I was fourteen. A pekingese. Left ankle. Swollen, bruised, couldn’t walk well for a couple of days. Today there would be lawyers. Then I was just told to move faster.
In the dog park I’ve seen pitties and staffies go from happy and playful dogs to full psycho “must kill everything” in the blink of an eye. If I ever see these dogs I will not go into the dog park unless I know the dog personally.
There is a grey female staffie who will come up to me for a pat and belly rub after sitting on my foot. And she is friendly with my dog too.
Pitbulls are the “13%” of the dog world, if you know what I mean.
Pitbulls are the “thirteen percent” of
the dog world, if you know what I mean.
I have been involved in purebred dogs, dog shows, field trials and other canine events for thirty years. Numerous champions in the show and performance venues. I have always had hounds. The term pitbull is simply thrown around way too much. It’s a generic term and can pretty much be applied to a half dozen breeds or more. Some breeds are more trustworthy than others. Some just not worth the chance. Then there are the Tosas, Presas, Dogos, Cane Corsos. They are just a dog fight and $10,000 in vet bills just waiting to happen. Just avoid them altogether. I just don’t understand why one would want something like that.
There’s beginner dogs and then there’s advanced user dogs.
Waaaay too many people don’t know the difference. The number of people who have no business getting a lab but instead get a Belgian Malinois is pretty crazy.
Especially when you deal with serious breeders of serious dogs. I drove halfway across the country after an hour long interview on the phone and a background check still knowing that if the breeder of my dogs saw or heard anything amiss he was going to tell us to kick rocks because these dogs are not toys.
There are some who think “you have to be a REAL MAN” to tame such a dog. And the same people who will let their dogs roam the neighborhood unsupervised attacking anything and anyone they encounter.
There seems to be an amazing overlap in the Venn Diagram between people who can’t be trusted to fetch a black cup of coffee and pitbull ownership.
I’ve known a lot of pits, none were like this. Of course, the owners weren’t morons who let them run around unsupervised. Which isn’t the cure-all, it’s just a symptom of why they were perfectly friendly and well adjusted dogs. Because they didn’t have a ‘tard for an owner.
It’s almost like abject idiocy and an utter lack of responsibility go hand in hand with bad outcomes.
Kinfolk had a 3/4 wolf hybrid, female, near 100 lbs, +/-. He was bragging about how timid she was, would always hide in the shrubbery when the town cousin came by. Then one day cuz let her Chow mix out of the car.
The wolf broke cover, grabbed the furry mutt and headed for the woods. She was about 100 yds away when she somewhat miraculously obeyed the repeated command to “Drop It!”.
Not timid at all, just really sneaky.
Then kinfolk started bragging about how “contrite” the wolf was; I told him that she was just trying to say there was no need to get upset, she would have been happy to give him a piece…
Get a pug. No worries.
I’ve only ever been bit twice. Both time by little, high strung dogs. And I never knew they were there until they bit.
1. The most vicious dog that ever lived never bit anyone … until the first time that it did.
2. One thing dogs have in common with children, both tend to behave completely differently when they know they’re not being supervised.
3. Most dog owners are criminally neglectful. They treat a dog as if it were an ornament, neglecting its need for exercise, stimulation, socialization, order and discipline. Sometimes an owner might get away with this neglect indefinitely and sometimes the dog snaps and some innocent bystander pays for the owner’s neglect. And the rest of us have to live in the world created by idiots who have the besotted notion that it somehow is their right to raise a dog as a four-legged ticking bomb.
We have a rottweiler. Absolute sweetheart. She does have teeth though, and a nasty smirk to go with it when she wants to show em. Im always well aware of their reputation though, and realize if she goes off half cocked running at someone that she may be “dealt with”. So i try to keep her close at all times outside.
Shes fairly solidly trained and smart as a whip, you just never really know how they’ll react to every situation though
If dog owners of dangerous breeds had this attitude in the overwhelming majority the term dangerous breeds would be largely unknown if it existed outside of breeder circles at all.
I’ve encountered Pits that will lick you to death, so I think it is more about what humans do to them and how they are raised over anything else. You just know the dog owner will get another one and the scenario will repeat. Hopefully it will not be a child the next time.
I think 49 outa 50 times its how they’re raised
Same goes for most humans.
My sister’s dog is a blue nose pit…wonderful dog. Caring and protective of the kids and is a better judge of character than most humans I know.
There are good dogs and bad dogs…just ask Ms Noem.
“Mytoka Petry was attacked by at least eight dogs in North Portland on July 15. Petry is now in an intensive care unit and may remain there for months after suffering serious, life-altering injuries.”
All dogs and cats are nothing but pooping machines.
Can tell every time when I walk into a house if the owners have pets regardless if the house is worth millions. Crazy that people let animals crap inside their homes.
Laugh like hell inside when I hear stories about how much pet owners spend on ridiculous surgeries.
Oh well, rant over for the day.
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