UPDATE: Pit Bulls Bite Huntington Postal Workers
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Posted: 12:02 AM Jul 24, 2010
UPDATE: Pit Bulls Bite Huntington Postal Workers
Huntington Animal Control is looking to quarantine two pit bulls they say bit postal workers.
Reporter: Hanna Francis; Andrew Colegrove
Email Address: hanna.francis@wsaz.com; andrew.colegrove@wsaz.com
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UPDATE 7/23/10 @ 11pm
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- It's a cliché because it happens so frequently.

Postal workers are forced to face off against dogs during a day on the job.

This week a couple mail carriers found themselves in compromising positions in the on-going struggle of mail carrier versus canine.

James Johnson says his mailman normally hands mail over his fence to keep his distance from Tookie the pit bull, but Monday, the postal worker tried unsuccessfully to come through the gate of the Guyandotte home.

"It's his (the dog's) yard,” Johnson said. “What would you expect? You ain’t gonna just walk in my yard and he not do nothing. It's his territory."

Another postal worker was bitten by a pit bull Friday on 17th Street.

Postal worker Harold Smith has never been bitten, but he says it's a threat he and other postal workers have to be constantly aware of.

"If everybody would keep them locked up in a fence or chained up or something it would be good,” Smith said. “It would be very helpful."

Johnson says he's regretful but doesn't think his dog should be vilified.

"I truly apologize,” he said. “It was an accident."

Officials say the postal worker bitten Friday was able to go right back to work, but the one bitten Monday had a pretty serious arm injury and is still on sick leave.

Huntington Animal Control is looking to quarantine both dogs for up to ten days.


ORIGINAL STORY
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Huntington Animal Control is looking to quarantine two pit bulls they say bit postal workers.

One postal worker was bit in Guyandotte Monday. Animal Control workers say they contacted the dog owner. The pit bull will be quarantined for 10 days.

Another postal worker was bit Friday on 17th Street in Huntington. Animal Control has not tracked down that pit bull.

Names and conditions of the postal workers have not been released at this time.

Latest Comments

Posted by: Pit Bull Owner on Jul 27, 2010 at 11:01 PM

I am a pit bull owner and I have raised my pit since she was a pup. She is very spoiled and friendly to people she knows, but she does what she is suppose to do which is to protect my house. Now that doesn't mean that she is trained to immediately bite someone. She will try to scare you off with her barking but if you even attempt to do anything out of the way she will bite. I am very responsible with my pit and I keep her fenced in and I make sure I walk her with a harness, but I have had to warn many mailmen not to reach over my fence to try and pet her. And the thing with that is my mailbox is in the front of the house on the street, yet they still come through the back and attempt to pet her. Our house and yard is her territory. So when I hear these stories about mailmen getting bit by pit bulls, it makes me wonder what exactly the mailman were doing to get bit. I think that they have a right to protect their territory.
Posted by: MailLady on Jul 27, 2010 at 10:46 PM

@Heather: Wrong. Some dogs *ARE* naturally evil, insofar as vicious propensity is concerned. I had to have my pound/beagle mix put to sleep several months ago due to disease. She developed a brain lesion that changed her personality; she'd attack every German Shepherd she saw, then it was long-haired and dark-haired dogs, then border collies, then Corgis. We had her to the vet and tried to control her, but eventually she attacked my boxer and me. We tried to hold out for my son to come home for college, but we had to have her euthanized because physically she deteriorated too fast. She was NATURALLY evil/vicious. There are also dogs whose breeding/inbreeding/breed gives them inherited viciousness. Dogs whose skulls are too small for the brain are in constant pain, dogs who are bred to stupidity by bad breeders don't understand anything beyond personal interest, dogs whose parents passed on certain genetic issues will behave accordingly. It's the whole nature/nurture crap--it's BOTH!
Posted by: MailLady on Jul 27, 2010 at 10:38 PM

@Leslie: I know there are dangerous dogs in every breed; my one bite was a Jack Russell, and I don't enter yards of a beagle, another Jack Russell, and a maltese[?] because it stresses them and they may bite. I DO enter yards with dozens of dogs every day, including pits. I know them, and my subs have been told that if a dog worries them bring back the mail. This is summer; we're borrowing part-time carriers from other offices and have new-hire temp workers who're routinely pressured to deliver EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF MAIL or face the risk of firing. If those folks didn't want the carrier in the yard THE BOX SHOULD HAVE BEEN OUTSIDE THE FENCE. Leaving it inside IMPLIES that it's okay for the carrier to be in there because if was ACTUALLY dangerous the box WOULD BE OUTSIDE. We are under a great deal of pressure every day; mistakes happen and this was on BOTH sides. The dog shouldn't have been adjacent to a public thorofare if it's so dangerous, it is to be properly confined BY LAW.
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