5 y.o. Katya Todesco dies after pit bull attack

[Jaded]

http://i34.tinypic.com/nqwjep.jpg

SIMI VALLEY -- A 5-year-old girl has died after being mauled by a pit bull in a family friend's back yard in Simi Valley, authorities said.


Katya Todesco, of Simi Valley, was attacked by the dog while she and her mother, Katia Todesco, were visiting a friend last Tuesday night in the 1000 block of Appleton Road, said Lt. Paul Fitzpatrick of the Simi Valley Police Department.


The little girl and the friend's 13-year-old daughter were playing in the back yard when the 5-year-old bumped into the dog and was then mauled, officials said.


The victim's mother heard screams and went outside to find the 35-pound dog latched onto her daughter. "It was a horrible attack," Todesco said Monday. "With my own hands I was pulling the dog's jaw."


Katya, who was bitten on her face and neck, lost a massive amount of blood, but was revived by doctors at Simi Valley Hospital, her mother said.
She died just before 4 p.m. Friday at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles County coroner's investigator Ed Winter.


Katya's mother said the family donated her organs, and several were already scheduled for transplant this week.


The girl's mother said she doesn't blame anyone for the attack. "It was a terrible accident that should never have happened," Todesco said.


Simi Valley Police said they were not pursuing criminal charges in the attack.


The male pit bull mix was being held in quarantine and was almost certain to be euthanized, Ventura County Animal Regulation Director Kathy Jenks said.


Todesco said the dog belongs to someone other than her friend, who was taking care of it.

http://www.ktla.com/content_landing_page/?5-year-old-Dies-After-Being-Mauled-by-Pi=1&blockID=74154&feedID=1080

[brokenandtwisted]

Fucking hate pit bulls. Another reason to kill them all...

[Hippiepoet]

Fucking hate pit bulls. Another reason to kill them all...

My Mia would lick you to death you meanie. Not ALL Pit Bulls are bad. Some are excellent dogs, it is how they are raised. I've had lots of dogs...Mia is THE BEST dog I've ever had. So...:thefinger:

[brokenandtwisted]

My Mia would lick you to death you meanie. Not ALL Pit Bulls are bad. Some are excellent dogs, it is how they are raised. I've had lots of dogs...Mia is THE BEST dog I've ever had. So...:thefinger:

Until it bites someone's ass off. :crazy:

[Just my luck sucks]

when the 5-year-old bumped into the dog and was then mauled, officials said.

So very, very sad.

Flame, all you want --but IMHO, Pitts, Rotts, Akita's, Dobbies, Preas', Chows, most Husky's, Shepherds, Labs-- have no place being in contact with or any where near children without tight supervision. I don't care how well you think you trained or raised them. They are working/defending breeds and should not be left anywhere near children.

I have had the blessing of having the following breeds in my life at one time or another --first, my darling "Kucha" an Akita, then Lena & Nicki--German Shepherds, Rogue a Rott, two chows, two Labs and finally two Pits. Only the Akita and Shepherds were "mine" the rest belonged to family or friends.

All Fine Companions in my opinion--all raised "right" and socialized properly--every one of them. I could reach into their food bowl without fear, hell, I could reach into their mouths and take back food or a toy without fear, without thinking twice!

Yet, not a one of them, in hindsight, should have been left within reach of a child/children. I know there are those of you who will disagree, and you too, have a right to your opinion--but, I will forever be one of those that vote to ban "bad" breeds in my neighborhood/ in my city.

RIP Katya-- I am so sorry you met a violent death at the paws of "man's best friend."

[crickett]

This is so very tragic and my heart goes out to both of these families.
I have never owned a pitbull and probably never will. Statistically speaking, this breed has the highest number of unprovoked attacks on people than ANY other breed. I have a wonderful 110 pound black lab (currently at my sister's). Duke is VERY friendly, exceptionally child friendly. This friendly temperment is why labs have been voted, for the NINETEENTH straight year as the most popular breed by the AKC.
And Duke is appropriately protective. When my ex came to my house and threatened me Duke just walked over by my side and growled at him Prick hauled ASS!
I've had a Husky mix. He was very protective of the family. But I always kept him on a short choker leash when walking and would advise others to not pet him because "he is NOT friendly". We always had to ensure that he could not get out of the yard, etc. He's passed on, I miss him.
Our German Shepherd/Terrier mix was a GREAT dog. She was child friendly but would NOT let ANY strange adult near our children when she was out in the yard. She was over 15 years old when she was killed by that tainted dog food in 2007. We really miss Bear (short for Polar Bear, she was gleaming white)
I used to do animal rescue. I once rescued a beautiful chocolate Doberman that had been abandoned in the country. He was bleeding from his ears and tail where it appeared someone had "bobbed" him with a jagged knife. My guess is they couldn't make him mean enough so they got rid of him. He was so trusting that he just jumped into my car. I called my daughter to open the garage door so I could just go straight in. She took one look at the Doberman beside me and screamed! (scared). But he was SO friendly. He wasn't chipped but obviously pure bred so I did try to locate an owner. I searched online as well. Well, we ended up placing him the morning after I finally listed him online. A family drove 5-1/2 hours to get him. They were looking for a therapy dog for a 3 year old hearing impaired child. The man said that they had been researching for quite awhile and Dobies were recommended. The dog (this is AWESOME) took to the little girl right away. I did follow up on his placement (would have drove and got him back if it didn't work out). They were REALLY pleased with him. He was in training classes as a therapy dog and doing REALLY well. And, they said...he had instinctively attached himself to that little girl like velcro.

I DID rescue one Pitbull. She was so starved that you could not tell her breed, quite literally fur and bones. She looked as if she had been kicked in the ribcage and her whole ribcage was displaced to the left giving her a lopsided look. She had a constant twitch, probably related to a back injury and she could not place one paw down so it was permanently held up in front of her. It was sub-zero outside and I knew that she would freeze to death before morning. I expected her to die that night anyway. But I took her home so at least she would be more comfortable. I gave her soymilk (dogs are lactose intolerant) and, amazingly, she kept it down. By morning we had her on eggwhites and she was up hobbling around the room. She soon took to sleeping with her head in the dog food bowl. The twitch was there even in her sleep but less so than during the day. We named her Angel.
I came out west to live so Angel stayed with my sister. We visited last year and my sister had a surprise for me. Angel is now sleek and fat and quite healthy and, SURPRISE!!! She's a Pitbull!!! She's VERY friendly still. My best guess is that, despite torture and starvation, they just couldn't make her mean.

o.k......Long assed story. But I DO have a point. It is more in the dog than the type of dog. And it is still more in the upbringing and care of the dog. BUT some breeds are more naturally agressive than others. The Pitbull is most certainly at the top of the list of high strung and agressive dogs. So leaving one alone with a child or children is simply a recipe for disaster.

[Jaded]

Personally, I think leaving any young child unsupervised with a dog is a bad idea. And this goes for a few cats as well. ;) Any breed can attack in a moments notice. Hell, I had a Jack Russell terrier that scared the shit outta me, and he could only reach my ankles.

[Hippiepoet]

I know there are those of you who will disagree, and you too, have a right to your opinion--but, I will forever be one of those that vote to ban "bad" breeds in my neighborhood/ in my city.



No I agree, a little child should NOT be left alone with any kind of a dog.
The one and only time I've been dog bit was by a friend's wiener dog. (Those little bastards have sharp teeth). But banning a dog because of it's breed, I cannot agree with. IMO Really, I feel you'll miss out on meeting some great dogs like that. I admit, never in my life would I ever have imagined owning a Pit Bull. We got her as a pup and she just took to my children. She'd never bite the kids, but yeah, if someone tried to hurt them, she'd maul their asses for sure. She is very protective of her family. That is one thing about Pit Bulls that can be risky, they'll do about anything to protect their family. She is that way with all of our cats as well....very protective. She thinks she is the mother. One kitten she let nurse her. But again, many dogs are like that. Great with their families, bitey with others. I've seen all kinds of breeds of dogs get shitty once in awhile. My grandfather had a poodle that was fucking vicious, when that dog snarled it's teeth it looked scarier than my Pit Bull. LOL

[silvahalo68]

I have a love hate relationship with most dogs..I commented once on being attacked 3X as a child, twice bitten.. I had 2 amazing dogs as pets growing up as a child...never, never once did either one nip or bite any of us... 7 children in all.
My Sugar was a mixed Shepard/greyhound breed and Mitzy was a Beagle, both remarkable.

It was a dobbie that attacked me but managed to run and hide in bathroom. A separate incident my neighbors German Shepard just attacked me as I was passing the home for no reason what so ever...I had to get shots for that bite. He had a long history of attacking people and had was never put down until after my attack. As a very small child of 5, I was chased and scared beyond belief as a German Shepard ran after me. I got to the front of my house just in time wedged myself between the storm door and the front door the only thing keeping me from the jaws and teeth from the crazed dog. I had dropped my doll during the run and found it later tattered and bitten...just mangled. I kept thinking that could have been me.

I do not understand why some dogs attack without provocation. And I do strongly believe that young children should NEVER be left unattended with most animals in general. They are animals and children are children...the mix don't jive well when left alone.

My deepest sympathies to the family and the mother who's heart will never mend.

Rest in peace beautiful Katya.