North Olmsted, OH THIS STORY IS FALSE!!

[cheekymunkee]

Horse, rider hurt in dog attack at park
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
John Horton
Plain Dealer Reporter
North Olmsted- No barking. No growling. No sign of agitation. What looked to be a pit bull simply sat at its owners' feet along a bridle trail in the Rocky River Reservation, watching calmly as horse and rider approached.
Carol Miller remembers looking at the dog from atop Blue, her American paint horse, and being thankful for its demeanor. The animal lover reminded herself to pass along a compliment - a quick "Good dog," perhaps - as she passed by during her Sunday ride.
The words, however, never developed past mere thoughts.



The seemingly docile dog lunged and broke free from its leash, launching an unrelenting attack along the trail. The canine's fangs ripped gashes into Blue's neck, belly and hindquarters that took 26 stitches to close. Miller called the event horrifying.
"I've never seen anything as cold in my life," said Miller, who suffered a bite on her chest while trying to get between the dog and her horse.
The mauling near the park's Maple Grove Picnic Area is under investigation by Cleveland Metroparks rangers, said Dianna Kall, an agency spokeswoman. She would not release the name of the dog's owners, whom she identified as a couple out for a hike. The dog is still with the couple, and authorities are seeking the pet's papers to determine its breed.
A report on the incident should be complete by Wednesday. Afterward, charges may be filed in Rocky River Municipal Court against the dog's owners, Kall said.
Park rules allow visitors to bring along dogs provided the pets are controlled on a leash. Kall said there are no regulations pertaining to specific breeds. (Some municipalities - such as Cleveland - mandate that dogs commonly known as pit bulls be muzzled when away from home.)
Miller said that the dog owners need to be held accountable for what happened and that a clear message needs to be sent. "If you don't have a dog that's civilized, don't bring it out," she said. "Dangerous dogs need to be kept out of public."
Miller said she managed to dismount her horse during the attack by catching onto a branch as Blue whirled to avoid the snapping dog. Blue eventually bolted down the trail to escape, the dog nipping at its hooves as it thundered away looking like "900 pounds of panic."
On Monday, Miller spent much of the day in her Olmsted Township barn tending to her horse's injuries. She said she is more worried about Blue's mental scars and whether he'll go back out onto the trails that they rode together so often over the past few years.
"I don't know whether he'll be able to," she said. "This was very traumatic."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
jhorton@..., 1-800-962-1167

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindeal ... xml&coll=2



Jodi Preis
BSL workshop

[cheekymunkee]

Apparantly, this was a lie!!

PLEASE CONTACT THESE PEOPLE TODAY!


As you all know, the Plain Dealer and Fox 8 News ran stories regarding a pit bull "attack" on a horse in the metro parks. Most of you should know that the owner of the dog contacted me to let me know that her dog did not attack the horse. The dog got off leash and the horse started bucking. The woman got hit by a tree branch and the dog and the horse took off running. The rangers spoke to the owners and determined that this was just animal against animal and that it was not unusual and nothing to be worried about.

After the horse owner saw that the dog was a pit, she started threatening the dog owner. The pit was hurt pretty badly and the horse needed stitches and had cuts from running through the woods. The woman started insisting that the dog bit her. After she was asked to prove it, the doctor reported that she was not bit; it was just an abrasion. Well, as stated above, this woman contacted as many news stations and the plain dealer to get the story out.

Since she was caught in the lie, she has apologized to the dog owner and has retracted her statement. Of course, she hasn't done so publicly. In addition, neither of the sources of the story have retracted the story. This story has been very damaging for pit bull dogs and we need to demand a public retraction.

We want Fox Channel 8 and the Plain Dealer to know they were very irresponsible when the released the unsubstantiated story. We want a public apology and the true story out in public. People need to know that this isn't the first story that has been unsubstantiated and completely based on false information.

By this email, I am asking the dog owner to please contact all of these stations and entities and to get on the news and tell the true story. Please get the rangers to speak out and get that horrible horse owner to apologize on tv. This is horrendous and needs to be corrected.

I am asking that each of you contact the journalist that wrote the story for the Plain Dealer and Fox Channel 8 separately telling them how irresponsible they were and that you desire a public retraction and an accurate story to be released. For each email, please copy the people listed under "copy these people." If we all send emails, it may make a difference.

Plain Dealer journalist - jhorton@plaind.com
Channel 8 - fox8news@myfox8.com

( I don't have email addresses for these people, they did not coem through, they are either plain.com or myfox8.com, but this link will take you to a form to fill out)

http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox/pag ... ageId=5.11

Copy these people
llai@...
dstrzelczyk@...
sobrien@...
regan@...
newsmanagers@...
colleen@...
benedict@...
monicarobins@...
katherineboyd@...
jennifermurphy@...
kristinanderson@...
emcintyr@...
cquinn@...
cseper@...
rbrett@...
zlewis@...
dclifton@...

Here are links to the stories:

http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox/pag ... geId=1.1.1

http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/st ... xml&coll=2
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