Dog works to save his friend

  This is a terrible, and at the same time heartwarming story captured by Fox News this morning.  Two dogs were out on a highway in Colorado and one was hit by a passing car. His friend, braves other traffic and goes back into the road and drags his friend to safety while other cars drive by.

No drivers of cars stop to help the dogs -- although at the end of the video, you can see rescue crews arrive.

Here's the news story.

Here's the video. (Note: this one is a little graphic when the dog gets hit by the car).

No word on the condition of the injured dog.

Comments

[Christopher]

I think it's Chile, not Colorado. But amazing little dog.

[Doug]

This is a great video from Chile.

But since we are on the topic of Dogs saving lives. Here is one which I came across today.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/12/06/nc.santa.soldier.wxii

It looks like a pit bull saved the life of a family from an intruder. (Even though it is not mentioned in the story).

The dog "pit bull" took three shots to the head and was still attacking the intruder. Now the family in question does not look like it was going to shell out $1000's of dollars for animal care. Looks like the dog got better on his own. Tough dog.

Okay...Great Dog....Great Story....but lets take a closer look at this.

The dog (if it is a pit bull) is not scared by an intruder, or by loud noise.... or by gun fire is pretty scarry.....and it is not phased by taking three bullets to the head.

This sounds like a dangerous dog...one might say "bad ass - 50 cent style"

I have never seen a pit bull attack except on TV. And all attacks look unrelenting and viscious.

I came across this video and I think this helps make my case about Pit Bulls being dangerous dogs and the mindset of the dog owners here gravitate to this type of dog.
I love how the little girl just loves her dog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHjao3zsWV0&feature=related

This is an old one but one of my favorites. Again very bad owner with a powerful dog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSwIJcJognc

This is another one of my favorites....this one shows just how tough these dogs are when they are in attack mode. Every other non pit bull dog attack which I have seen has ended with a, Yell, a raised fist, a hit or a kick. In this case it took a prolonged beating, hands, feet, metal objects before the dog had to be shot. The bottom line is the dog would not let go, no matter what. It does not seem in the video that the owner was training his dog to be a fighter. Just one tough SOB.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjZcExKrfVs&feature=related

Again all bad owners, with a dog which is very powerfull.

[Brent]

Doug,

I don't know that any of this would be "unique" to a "pit bull". I think there are a large number of breeds and dogs that can and are protective if they sense that their owners are in danger. I also think many dogs are capable of great things in spite of pain when they stick their minds to it -- stories of Huskies literally running themselves to death pulling sleds, search and rescue dogs enduring great pain, police dogs (malamutes, German Shepherds,etc) have all taken bullets and maintained their "duty".

Yes, 'pit bulls' are tough dogs -- but it's not as if they have super-canine strengths that other dogs don't have.

[jon bozak]

Regarding the video of the dog on the highway: You're spot on with describing it as both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I guess that's what attracts so many of us to dogs in general. The injured dog was DOA and the rescuer dog managed to escape from the security people who came to both dog's aid.

[Doug]

Brent did you see that dog hang from the tree, it was almost for 8 minutes long. Anyway you slice it thats a long time to hang from your teeth supporting your body weight.

They might not have super canine strength...but if you take the population of all the dogs and match each dog up ( of similar or greater size) against a pit bull. I will bet the vegas odds makers would favor the pit bull in almost all of the encounters.

[Selma]

I'd certainly take that bet, were I interested in tormenting animals, which I'm not and of course if there were such a thing as a 'pit bull'.

I used to hang out with the Scottie from next door when I was kid who loved nothing better than to leap up, grab a branch and hang there for awhile.

Lots of dogs like to play tug in all its variations.

Hey Doug, I've never seen a 'pit bull' attack either, even though I hang out with dogs you would call 'pit bulls' a lot and my Toy dogs do, too.

I'll betcha 99%+ of people have never seen one. That's because 99%+ of all so-called 'pit bulls' (huge cross section of the dog population) never bite or attack anybody.

So much for 'breed' characteristics, eh?

[Selma]

Gee, I forgot to post this link:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2387261

Whaddya think? Did Ontario make a serious mistake by banning 'pit bulls'? Seems to me that other types should have been on the hit list, if we're going to blame the dogs and all and focus on a statistically minute risk such as fatalities.

Right? Right?

[Doug]

Selma,

You really need to put down the kool aid.

Who ever said anything about tormenting animals. We are talking about strength not dog fighting...

http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200511/1131155493.html

You see anything in my comment which suggested otherwise.

[Selma]

I admit I didn't follow the link.

My friend owned the world champ two years running, a 34-lb APBT (which is not a 'pit bull' by the way, it's a purebred dog). She is also proudly steroid-free.

Sure if you condition a dog for weight pulling, you'll get results like that, no question. At 76 lbs one of them is pretty big for an APBT - well, the kind I like.

As with any animal, including humans, if you train and condition for a particular activit, you will excel but if you just schlub around (like most dogs and people) you won't.

Just as few sled dogs can run a race and few herding dogs can work livestock, few APBTs can win a weight-pulling contest.

What was your point?

[anon]

Speaking of strength.
Does anyone know if this record below(Toy poodle) still stands?

[quote]1An American bull dog has the record for most weight pulled – 1,000 pounds. The
record for weight pulling, pound-for-pound of body weight, is held by a toy poodle that
pulled 288 pounds in a harness.[/quote]

It`s from Toledo vs Tellings
http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/6/2006/2006-ohio-975.pdf

[Doug]

Anon,

Please if you are going to contribute something at least put a little thought into it.

Because there are so many of you who think the same way, and I seem to be the lone voice of reason, I need to put a little more thought into this stuff. If you see in my post I said of "Same Weight or Larger".

Same reason why they don't let a person with no legs compete in a weight lifting competition.

These dogs seem pretty strong.

http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200511/1131155493.html

My point was simple that in general Pits are stronger than other dogs of dogs similar in size or larger. For this reason when you look at open dog pulling competitions it seems there are more pit bulls entered than other breeds.

I just looked up weight pull for Saint Bernards and they are actually pulling less than smaller pits.

[Mocha's Momma]

Well, I figured that sooner or later, somebody would find some crappy way to use the heroics of a protective, family, outstanding hero dog against it -- because of its breed. Now our dogs can't win for losin'....

I guess all those strong, body building kind of guys out there better beware -- because if they end up having to defend themselves, we may have to deem them dangerous. Maybe guys shouldn't be permitted to work out at all?

[Mocha's Momma]

Important added note: Do please note that this dog did not keep on coming, taking bullets, WHILE IT'S OWNERS WERE TRYING TO CALL IT OFF.

[Brent]

Doug,

You have seemed to spin yourself around in a circle on this one.

On the one hand, you dismiss teacup poodle holding the record for pulling the largest amount per pound of body weight. I can somewhat see that, as teacup poodles are really small, they have an unfair advantage. It's easy for a teacup poodle to pull double its body weight -- because that's only 8 lbs. Meanwhile, a St. Bernard would have to pull 400 lbs to do the same thing. It's 12 and 600 if we triple it. So yes, small dogs have an unfair advantage.

But the same then holds for your model. If you only compare what 'pit bulls' can pull to dogs of their size and larger, well then, the same rules apply -- they have a lb for lb advantage over the larger breeds. It only makes sense.

You also mentioned the holding on this thread, and I've seen dozens of terriers (jack russells, rat terriers) not only be holding on to something, but having their owners spin them around in circles. So not only are they holding their own body weight, they're holding it with centrifical force.

So many times people (like you're doing) try to make 'pit bulls' out to have some type of Frankenstein-esqe strength and power -- but seem to know so little about other dog breeds to realize that they are just dogs. They have traits that vary based on breed, but they are not the strongest dogs out there. They're not the strongest lb for lb dog out there. They don't have this miraculous bite ability that allows them to hold on that no other dogs have. They're just dogs. And if you have to twist stuff up as much as you have here to try to prove otherwise, then it should be pretty obvious to you.

[Doug]

Brent,

I dont want to get into a pissing contest with, strength, bite force or spirit. My only point is that the pit bulls depicted in the videos where a force to deal with.

And there are a lot of pit bulls used in weight pulling competitions for a reason.

I don't know if you watch the UFC at all but years ago they had no rules. If was anything goes fighting. The sport almost died. Then they regulated the hell out of the sport and it is the fasting growing sport in the US.

You and your crew can sit on the sidelines and B. M. and W all you want about BSL. Or you/we can draft something which will satisfy both sides. You can then use this as a blue print for all cities who are considering some form of BSL.

At least you have something to offer besides HELL HELL NO BSL.

Or Lets all write a letter to the mayor and say how bad BSL is...Punish the Deed not the Breed.

Start a new thread with the current BSL law in place either in KC or Denver and have the rational people on this blog put their input in.

I'll just throw this out there right now, in my form of BSL, pit bulls would be aloud in the area and there would be no random killing of dogs.

We can keep on going back in forth to see who can come up with the smarter more effective come back or you can actually do something.

Or I will just do it myself.....however I want it to be fair to all and not be biased in anyway.

[Selma]

Sorry, Brent, I tried, I really did but such low-hanging fruit is irresistible.

Doug, don't tell the people in England their country isn't real, OK? They're a tough bunch over there and you could get hurt.

If I get hit by a Mini Cooper or hit by a Hummer I'm still going to be injured. It's the guy behind the wheel I have to worry about, not the vehicle itself.

There is no 'middle'. While the yappers in the mainstream media, likely because they are afraid of appearing biased, like to pretend that actual facts and evidence presented by an expert can be countered with the bloviations of some ignorant git off the street in order to present 'both sides' of an issue, there is usually only one side. That's the side that's based on facts and evidence.

Such is the case with BSL or any of the other inventions of the animal liberationist movement.

Here's a task for you. Find any credible evidence, by which I mean actual data, peer-reviewed studies, etc, that support any kind of BSL as a) enforceable; b) rational; c) fiscally responsible; d) successful in reducing dog bites/attacks and we'll look it over.

Otherwise, listen and learn.

It's been so long now that I've actually forgotten what your 'research study' was even supposed to be about.

In the paraphrased words of someone who consults on risk vs threat assessment for Homeland Security, based on the numbers, banning breeds of dogs is completely irrational. I'm not at liberty to post the whole thing but that's it in a nutshell.

There is no middle ground between a rational approach and one that borders on insanity.

Face it.

[Doug]

Selma,

I know your limited and biased and have probably spent way too much time focused on dogs for a reason.

If we were to get down to brass tacks I don't think our views would be too far off from each other.

But you are just so blinded and can't see past the dog butt in your face.

There is a reason why there is a saying you can't teach and old dog new tricks.

[anon]

It`s too bad that people who support BSL(or think they do)wouldn`t actually get serious and attempt to do this.

[quote]Here's a task for you. Find any credible evidence, by which I mean actual data, peer-reviewed studies, etc, that support any kind of BSL as a) enforceable; b) rational; c) fiscally responsible; d) successful in reducing dog bites/attacks and we'll look it over.[/quote]