Vinnie: In Memoriam

Vinnie's doing great today. I swear he tried to hug me when I went in. His temp has been normal all day, which is a great relief since it's been spiking the last couple of days. The doc was very pleased with the way his leg looks and how much he's improved over the last few days. His wounds aren't draining as much, the hole in his leg is a little smaller and the swelling has gone down. One of the girls at the front desk remarked at how well he was walking and how great he looked, she couldn't believe it was the same dog. I'm so grateful for this news, and had to share it with all of you. Your prayers and words of encouragement have helped more than you can know. Even your anger and outrage helps. Everyday I tell Vinny about all the people on his side. He might not know what I'm saying, but I know he feels the love.

I've made an album of a few pics of Vinnie's wounds. If anyone wants to see.

The neighbor has removed the pit bull that was being housed in the pen. I don't know if this is permanent or what, but as I came home yesterday I saw it loaded up in a guy's truck and he took it away. This was not Animal Control or anything like that, but a friend of the neighbor, I've seem him around before. I have to say, it's a relief, even though that one was not involved in the attack.

Here's a pretty pic of Vinnie, this was taken a few days before I got him, he had been abandoned when his owners moved and left him outside. This dog's a survivor!
IMAGE(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/jballinger/PICT0082.jpg)

Vinnie. is. AWESOME.
What an adorable pup! It was really, really hard to look at the damage pictures, but necessary so people will understand what aggressive dogs are capable of. Very glad to hear his recovery is going well.

I hope you were able to get pictures of the pen before they took it away - I'm concerned that they had the friend take it so that it was hidden if they're due an inspection of some kind. If it ever comes back, get pictures to prove its existence.

Oh yeah...that's a vicious killer, right there. Thank goodness your neighbor had her pit bulls to protect her from that four-legged chainsaw of an animal.

But seriously...I'm not generally a "dog person," but knowing the story behind that pic, that's among the saddest things I've ever seen! Good for you for taking him in, and I'm so glad he's improving!

He is an awesome dog. The pics I posted don't show all the wounds, the minor ones are healing great. Everyday there's a little more of him to pet. The wound on his abdomen is hard to photograph, but it was pretty severe too and is still draining. They even found some wounds today that they hadn't seen before on the right side of his face under his ear. Doc said they cleaned them up and they look good. There are so many individual bites/wounds on him, they even commented that they couldn't count them all. I found some small lacerations on top of his head just while rubbing between his ears that I didn't even tell them about because they were pretty much healed over.

I know the risk of infection won't be over until the big wounds heal and that's gonna be a while.

One option to consider is that a baseball bat can be a bit unwieldy in close quarters, especially one handed. Go down to Home Depot and try out a 12" or 18" pry bar (sometimes called wrecking bars). It's got a curved end and a straight end, good weight, and you can manage it with one hand. Less conspicuous than the Louisville Slugger, too. You can hang it off your belt.

It'll give you a quick reaction to aggressive situations, and you can use it on dogs, too.

Robear wrote:

One option to consider is that a baseball bat can be a bit unwieldy in close quarters, especially one handed. Go down to Home Depot and try out a 12" or 18" pry bar (sometimes called wrecking bars). It's got a curved end and a straight end, good weight, and you can manage it with one hand. Less conspicuous than the Louisville Slugger, too. You can hang it off your belt.

It'll give you a quick reaction to aggressive situations, and you can use it on dogs, too. :-)

Good advice. I'd also like to reiterate my earlier point about OC Pepper Spray: it is *not* completely effective against dogs. USAF Security Forces(cops) use the same training that civilian law enforcement does and they heavily advise against using it on non-human targets. It is equally likely to piss them off and make them more aggressive as it is to subdue them.

Our dogs eat and enjoy heavily spiced foods... I don't think dogs react to capsaicin quite as severely as humans do.

Robear wrote:

Our dogs eat and enjoy heavily spiced foods... I don't think dogs react to capsaicin quite as severely as humans do.

We are talking about animals that actively shove their much more sensitive noses into rancid smelling running shoes for fun... Spicy pepper spray is probably their idea of a breath spray

Robear wrote:

One option to consider is that a baseball bat can be a bit unwieldy in close quarters, especially one handed. Go down to Home Depot and try out a 12" or 18" pry bar (sometimes called wrecking bars). It's got a curved end and a straight end, good weight, and you can manage it with one hand. Less conspicuous than the Louisville Slugger, too. You can hang it off your belt.

It'll give you a quick reaction to aggressive situations, and you can use it on dogs, too. :-)

People, people. If we're going the one-handed route, something wrong with a machete? Cheap, lightweight, effective against pit bulls, zombies, and zombie pit bulls.

Mytch wrote:
Robear wrote:

One option to consider is that a baseball bat can be a bit unwieldy in close quarters, especially one handed. Go down to Home Depot and try out a 12" or 18" pry bar (sometimes called wrecking bars). It's got a curved end and a straight end, good weight, and you can manage it with one hand. Less conspicuous than the Louisville Slugger, too. You can hang it off your belt.

It'll give you a quick reaction to aggressive situations, and you can use it on dogs, too. :-)

People, people. If we're going the one-handed route, something wrong with a machete? Cheap, lightweight, effective against pit bulls, zombies, and zombie pit bulls.

The machete is not a bad choice, but it sort of labels you a slasher. You may be okay with that (as I am), but it is a little hard to argue that it was just something you had lying around the house.

The prybar isn't terrible either, but there are much better choices. Among my favorites is the lowly drywall hammer. It has a positive grip, is designed to lessen the impact transfer to your hand, is very well balanced, and imparts a redonkulous amount of force with an insanely tiny amount of effort. It is in all ways a modern tomahawk.

IMAGE(https://www.warehousebay.com/catalog/images/Eswing%20Drywall%20Hammer2.jpg)

Use the patterned end and you'll most likely put a 1" diameter hole in a dog's skull. Use the bladed end and you'll likely bury it 2" deep.

edit: Now might be a good time to check for black mold. You can never be too sure.

Vinnie is an adorable dog! I'm glad to hear that he's able to get up and give you loves. I've been sending many warm thoughts yours and his way this week. Keep getting better sweet doggy!

Paleocon wrote:
Mytch wrote:
Robear wrote:

One option to consider is that a baseball bat can be a bit unwieldy in close quarters, especially one handed. Go down to Home Depot and try out a 12" or 18" pry bar (sometimes called wrecking bars). It's got a curved end and a straight end, good weight, and you can manage it with one hand. Less conspicuous than the Louisville Slugger, too. You can hang it off your belt.

It'll give you a quick reaction to aggressive situations, and you can use it on dogs, too. :-)

People, people. If we're going the one-handed route, something wrong with a machete? Cheap, lightweight, effective against pit bulls, zombies, and zombie pit bulls.

The machete is not a bad choice, but it sort of labels you a slasher. You may be okay with that (as I am), but it is a little hard to argue that it was just something you had lying around the house.

The prybar isn't terrible either, but there are much better choices. Among my favorites is the lowly drywall hammer. It has a positive grip, is designed to lessen the impact transfer to your hand, is very well balanced, and imparts a redonkulous amount of force with an insanely tiny amount of effort. It is in all ways a modern tomahawk.

IMAGE(https://www.warehousebay.com/catalog/images/Eswing%20Drywall%20Hammer2.jpg)

Use the patterned end and you'll most likely put a 1" diameter hole in a dog's skull. Use the bladed end and you'll likely bury it 2" deep.

Heh, reminds me of the movie Witchboard. "I lost my hammer..."

...but I'm not ready to give up on the stalwart machete. I don't think it's that hard to justify having one around the house...it's a perfectly legitimate landscaping tool.

SillyRabbit...in my opinion, you should buy a machete, find some vegetation in your backyard--any vegetation--and commence trimming it very enthusiastically with the blade. After about five minutes, or however long it takes to attain a good, sweaty, disheveled look, start slowly and emphatically wiping the blade on your pants every few minutes, while glaring meaningfully into the closest window of your neighbors' house that faces your property.

I want to take a moment to say that most threads Paleocon posts in seem to have a similar idea: "There's a weapon for that."

Don't ever change, Paleo

(Glad Vinnie is on the mend!)

I hope for the best for you and your dogs.

I also hope you don't take all the enthusiastic sociopathy in this thread too seriously.

gbuchold wrote:

I hope for the best for you and your dogs.

I also hope you don't take all the enthusiastic sociopathy in this thread too seriously.

He he... No one here does, really. We're not that insane.

...Are we? Suddenly, I'm afraid of Slap & Tickles...

NSMike wrote:
gbuchold wrote:

I hope for the best for you and your dogs.

I also hope you don't take all the enthusiastic sociopathy in this thread too seriously.

He he... No one here does, really. We're not that insane.

...Are we? Suddenly, I'm afraid of Slap & Tickles...

It certainly does bring new meaning to the phrase.

Vinnie is adorable! If my wife and kids weren't allergic to dogs I'd love to have a dog like him. Good luck with his recovery and with your neighbor problems.

Robear wrote:

Our dogs eat and enjoy heavily spiced foods... I don't think dogs react to capsaicin quite as severely as humans do.

This is precisely the point I am espousing.

Mytch wrote:

But seriously...I'm not generally a "dog person," but knowing the story behind that pic, that's among the saddest things I've ever seen! Good for you for taking him in, and I'm so glad he's improving!

Yeah same, I'm not overly fond of dogs, but I've managed to get attached to Vinnie through this thread. He's totally adorable.

Glad he's getting better SR, and he's going to have cool scars to show the b*tches.

Vinnie is precisely the kind of dog I've always wanted. A tan colored Third World mutt. Everywhere you go in the Third World, dogs all look exactly like that and yes, they are by nature survivors.

Give him a pat for me and let him know we're all pulling for him.

I'm thinking that drywall hammer looks like a good option for me. All joking aside, I really need to have something to defend myself and my dogs with. I have zero confidence that the fence will contain them, and I have this sinking feeling that if they catch site of Vinnie they're gonna want to get him. The neighbor is hammering in some 2ft stakes on his side of the fence. I assume he's going to use ties to try to tighten the fence to those stakes so there's no slack to let the dogs run through. I don't have a lot of confidence in that plan, I think they'll still be able to push through, it's guesswork on his part. Plus, I believe they'll come over if they can't get under. By the way, the big dog is back in the pen. I guess he was just gone for a ride or something.

Vinnie's doing great today. I spent some time with him this morning. I'm ready for him to be home. I've prepared a good spot for him in the den beside my computer. I put the crate on the exact spot he lays when I'm at the PC gaming or whatever. I think he'll be comfortable there, and I have plenty of room to get him in and out for exercise and plenty of floor space around the crate for Josie and Mei Mei to lay near him. I know he'll have to stay crated until his wounds are closed up. I have a hard enough time keeping the other 2 dogs from licking my wounds, they'd be all over his.

I'm feeling a whole lot better. My confidence is up a bit, I'm still full of worry, but I'm optimistic. You guys are really helping.

Paleo, I didn't realize 3rd World dogs looked like Vinnie, but it fits that they're survivors too. When my mom first met him she said he looked like a dingo.

I'd maybe consider looking into an electric fence, and installing it on your side. I'd not trust the fence craft of some rube with the safety of my pets after what you've been through.

I'm really glad to hear that Vinnie is improving. What a nightmare.

So glad to hear Vinnie's doing better! A pup that cute can't be held down for long.

Good to hear that he didn't have to pay the price for somebody else's stupidity.

It will be a lot of hassle, I can imagine, but dogs as dangerous as those Pitbulls without proper training need to be taken care of, one way or another. I've seen what this kind of dog can do to little children and don't understand why they (and a dozen other races) are even allowed to be kept without a special permit. Especially if the owners aren't remotely up for the task.

So I've been following this thread and reading all sorts of pit bull horror stories, and then today I watched the Vancouver Pride parade which just happened to include representatives from the local pit bull rescue society. They look a lot less intimidating when they're wearing tiaras and rainbows and fairy wings.

I think this is your best shot at protection. Just make sure to wear red.

IMAGE(http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f373/sd08972/Sentry.jpg)

Psych wrote:

Just make sure to wear red.

Or, at least, a paper mask.

What a gorgeous dog. So glad to hear he's doing well. Hope he's home soon.

Yellow5 wrote:

I'd maybe consider looking into an electric fence, and installing it on your side. I'd not trust the fence craft of some rube with the safety of my pets after what you've been through.

It'd have to be a MUCH more powerful electric fence than the ones marketed for dogs. Those are designed to scare the pet with a tingle to encourage them to stay away from the area...three pit bulls on the charge, I don't think they'd notice. And if you got one powerful enough that they would notice, I don't know that you'd want your dogs around it.