Boy Killed by dog(s) in Weslaco, TX

I'm going to update this thread as more information becomes available so feel free to come back.  Reports out of Texas are that a 5 year old boy was killed by a 'pit bull' near Weslaco, TX.  The reported facts so far are these:

1) The boy was pronounced dead on the scene around 9 PM last night. It sounds as if the dog bit the child in the neck and killed him.

2) Neighbors report that the dog was"always" chained up in the back yard -- however, the dog may not have been chained just before the time of the attack. 

3) The boy was reportedly living with his aunt and uncle -- Child Protective Services had placed the boy in the home. The boy's mother reportedly lives in Washington state and his father in Mexico.

4) There were apparently two dogs at the scene and it is unclear which dog attacked the boy.

5) Apparently stray and loose dogs have been a problem in this neighborhood for awhile, as one neighborhood activist has said that they hae called the sheriff and the county health department several times (8-10) but that they never come to deal with the problems.

6) The attack occurred in a rural area outside of Weslaco.  Weslaco is in Hidalgo County, which is on the Texas/Mexico border. Hidalgo county's population is about 88% Hispanic (most of the people in these articles appear based on appearance or surname to be Hispanic). 36% of the population lives below the poverty line. The Per Capita income of $9,899, makes the county the 22nd poorest county in the country.

I'll post more details here as they become available.

Update 6/19/7:00 PM

Boy, the initial story that was reported of a dog running loose, a dog being inside freaking out, and the boy running outside doesn't sound anything like the new story. According to the new report, Greco, the 'pit bull' that killed the boy, was chained up outside.  A man walking a different 'pit bull' walked by and walked up to Greco -- getting both of the dogs worked up. The man left with his dog, but Greco was still very excited in the back yard.  At that time, Pablo (the boy) went outside to put up his school materials when the dog grabbed him. The uncle said that the neighborhood they live in wasn't the safest and there had been many robberies in the neighborhood yet the police had done nothing. So the uncle bought two pit bulls because he wanted them to protect his home. He would only let the dogs off their chains late at night when everyone went to bed.

The man says he never trained his dog to be aggressive....yet his actions certainly seem to say otherwise (he bought the dogs to be aggressive and treated them in a manner that would no doubt make them aggressive).  I've noted this before, but there is definitely a correlation between poor neighborhoods with high crime rates, people buying the dogs for protection purposes because the police aren't doing enough to protect them, and dog bites and fatalities. Dog attacks are merely a symptom of a much larger societal problem...and if we keep focusing on "the dogs" the problem will never be solved.

Comments

[AnnaC]

Annoyingly, in my goggle alerts that story has been picked up by 10 different newspapers (mostly outside of TX) and nothing yet on the infant attacked by a Rottie: http://www.krgv.com/News/Other/993139/Infant-attacked-by-rottweiler

[Brent]

It was instantly picked up by the AP, and is now pretty much everywhere, USA Today, MSNBC, salon.com, and numberous TV, Newspaper and radio outlets. Yip, big news.

[KC KS Kills Dogs]

Take a look at how USA Today is reporting this story!! They totally leave out the quote from the neighbor about the dog being chained 24/7.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-06-19-pitbull-mauling_N.htm

[Tony]

Oh here we go, now we're going to hear all the, "when will pit bull owners learn? When are we going to wipe this dog out?" It reminds me of that guy here that bought the chow/pit bull mix and blamed the breed instead of the fact that it had a history of aggression and was always chained up, the blood of his nieces was from his own hands. When are people just going to start getting it? When are they going to take responsibility instead of making everyone else pay? I see pit bulls all the time in the Plaza area that are owned by affluent whites in the 30s and older. I as a minority have to know this "belief" that a dog is just an animal and belongs out doors and you can treat it however. And then just forget that fact because its usually that "belief" in all lower-income people. How do they expect a dog they get to protect and intimidate to have any loyalty to them when its neglected, and then to any other family, let alone humans?

[Tony]

I left out a sentence somewhere and a few words in the middle of my post. I have come to know that "others" is what I meant, sorry, I think you get what I'm trying to say though.

[Monica Schreiber]

Thanks, as always, for your interesting comments on a tragic story. It is always the same: people start yelling about the pit bulls, not stopping to think for a moment that pit bulls just so happen to be the types of dogs favored by people who believe it is appropriate to chain a dog 24/7. Is it the dog or the method of confinement? I can't answer the question, but one thing is for sure, my fellow volunteers with Dogs Deserve Better have seen freakin' Yorkies turn vicious after being kept chained by the neck, to the same disgusting piece of mud, for 5 or 10 years.