[pyrnet] Newspaper story about the saint biting

[Carol Brescher <carol@pyr.uniflex.net>]

Hi Cindy and Joe,

Just coming out of lurk mode on this. And want to add simply that I think this issue
is laden with more baggage than the SST. We all come to the topic of aggressive
pyrs with lots of issues, and while I believe that an aggressive pyr (or any large dog)
is a danger, a provoked animal is a whole 'nother issue, and should be addressed
as such.

The story of the Saint that I remember had a young boy mauled to death.
If this is the same story you are referring to below, it  occured on Long Island
in the 70s. I was sensitized to this issue because Monica, a puppy bitch I had
recently sold, did a "body block" to the new owner's child's friend. The visitor was
dressed for Holloween, and scared her master into screaming. Monica used enough
force to pin the "visitor" to the wall and hold him there with her body until the owner
came in from another room It took hours to calm the owner down, and I assured her
that I would be happy to take back Monica back in a minute. I found her reaction
perfectly appropriate.

Anyway, at that time I read lots on canine aggression. This places the incident that
I remember in the early 70's. I read the initial report in the NY Times. Page one.
A few days later the results of the autopsy was given. A pencil was found forced
into the Saint's ear, and broken off so that it was not initially visible. The Saint
had mauled and killed the boy. There apparently was blood all over, and the Saint
(I believe) was killed at that time. The autopsy was performed later.

My issue was with the media at that time. The mauling made page one. The
autopsy report was buried way back in the newspaper. The Saint, in my
opinion, was exonerated because of the abuse. I was informed that this kind
of pain could easily drive a dog into a frenzy. I believe (although I can be
wrong on this) that the pencil was driven through the ear and into the dog's brain
and the end broken off in the process.

The newspaper however let the bad news take front and center. And the autopsy
did not make the "late breaking news category," and therefore was not
page one material.

If someone has the research time and talent, I think they will find the information
they want about this Saint in the New York Times,  "Long Island, NY" in the early 70s.

Kind regards,

Carol Brescher Boyle
carol@naturaldogfood.com



> In a message dated 5/23/01 10:28:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> clhenke@juno.com writes:
>
> > . I don't know if you ever read the story about the dog
> > ( I think it was a Saint ) who bit the child.  He was checked over and
> > then put down.  Autopsy ( Necropsy ) later found that the "little
> > darling" had driven a pencil into the dogs head, thus provoking the bite.
> > Some would have you believe that even under those circumstances the dog
> > should never bite a human child?
>
> Very interesting story.  Maybe you could reference it for us all to read and
> especially where we might view the Autopsy information you reference.  I am
> amazed that it took an autopsy to identify the that "a pencil" had been
> driven into the head.  No external evidence of the wound i.e. blood, brain
> tissue, etc.   Is this the story where the child, about 8 or 9 years old, was
> outside the front door of their house and the resultant damage to her face
> was over 40 stitches and permanent scaring?
>
> I look forward to the URL or other reference where we might follow this.
> Thanks so much for keeping us informed.
>
> Joe
>