Melanie Coy has been a pit bull fancier for 29 years. She's also been involved in obedience and other training and showing animals. Coy became involved in animal legislative issues in the mid-80s to dispel myths about the pit bull breed and fight against breed-specific laws. She advocates responsible dog ownership through training and educational programs, and helps shelters make dogs more adoptable.

It Can't Be Un-said

Posted Saturday, August 13, 2011, at 1:05 PM

Johm Douangdara, lost in service to our country.

This has been a week of ongoing tragedy in the dog world. They say bad things come in threes and this rule has certainly proven true.

One of the 30 Navy Seals killed when the helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan was 26 year old Johm Douangdara, a son of Laotian immigrants. He was the lead dog handler for the elite Seal Team Six. This young man had always dreamed of being in the Navy. He was also a very dedicated K9 handler and could be counted on to participate in the training seminars held around the country. Some of our own working dog team members had the pleasure of participating in training sessions where he shared his gift.

The Pit Bull world lost one of its most dedicated champions on August 10. Catherine Hedges, founder and president of Don't Bully My Breed succumbed to cancer after a very long battle. Even through her pain she was tireless in her fight to educate the public to the facts of the dog breed she so loved. Her suffering has now ended and we have another advocate watching over us from Heaven. Catherine will be sorely missed.

A nationally breaking news story on Friday evening hawked the tragic tale of a young pregnant woman that was found dead in the company of her male Pit Bull. Death is tragic in any form but this was compounded by the fact that the media immediately went into a frenzy reporting that she had been mauled to death by a Pit Bull. Too bad it was not true. Now because irresponsible journalists did not bother to find out the truth of what happened, Pit Bulls have had another nail driven into their coffin.

The story goes the husband came home to find his wife lying in the floor dead. The male Pit was nudging her trying to get her to wake up. The husband put the dog in the back yard and immediately called for help. When emergency services and the police came, the dog escaped the back yard and was shot dead despite the fact that he showed no aggression toward the officers.

The media set itself up as coroner, judge and jury and in true yellow journalism style fanned the flames of ignorance. The call for the genocide of this dog breed was once again heard loud and clear.

There will be an autopsy performed but it is presumed that this young woman fell from a ladder and died as a result of the fall. Sadly, this dog was killed because too many people refuse to look at facts. They allow themselves to be blindly led into believing whatever is laid before them. What has been said can never be "un-said" but I have to wonder if people would listen anyway. I sometimes think it is more important for the weak minded to believe in the negative than to face the truth.

Death is a fact of life. It is something we each carry with us from the time of our birth. We have all been touched by it at sometime. We lost a young man with the whole world ahead of him. An amazing rescuer and advocate has crossed the bridge. A young woman and her unborn child have been lost to a freak accident. This should give us all a moment to reflect on what is important to us. Never take for granted the life you have been given. Please take a moment to give thanks for what you have and say a prayer for the family and friends that have lost their loved ones.

SIDE NOTE: A tragedy of a different sort hit the rescue network in the form of a photo showing two kennel workers at a Memphis Tennessee animal "shelter" apparently encouraging two Pit Bulls to fight in the aisle between kennels. Pit Bull rescuers know this is a reality in far too many places that are supposedly designed to harbor dogs in safety. For Memphis this is one more instance in a long running scandal in their animal sheltering system. You have to wonder at what point will this city finally stand up and refuse to allow anymore crimes against animals, perpetrated by the humans charged with their care?

Comments

View 15 comments or respond

Community discussion is important, and we encourage you to participate as a reader and commenter. Click here to see our Guidelines. We also encourage registered users to let us know if they see something inappropriate on our site. You can do that by clicking "Report Comment" below.

Please cite one link to confirm the account you have told regarding the pit bull in San Fran. Where is there one report about the woman falling off the ladder? I would like to believe the dog was not involved but your UNSUPPORTED statements give you no credibility.

Police and medical examiners are performing autopsies today and so far have rules out foul play.

If this is your idea of journalism, you are doing a disservice to those of us who actually document assertions or wait until full facts are uncovered.

-- Posted by The Skeptic on Sat, Aug 13, 2011, at 2:53 PM
http://www.examiner.com/american-pit-bull-in-national/pacifica-dog-mauling-what-...

There's your one!

You want links to the hundreds of headlines from around the world the went out falsly heralding the lies too?

You attack me yet find it acceptable to promote the false notion that Pit Bulls are anything other than dogs.

You say you don't believe the dog was involved. Then ask those same "journalists" to back up their UNSUPPORTED statements also.

-- Posted by Melanie Coy on Sat, Aug 13, 2011, at 3:41 PM
Ms. Coy, I find that Examiner story no more credible. Why are there no other articles about this being yellow journalism? Why is the family not speaking out? Why is it not a breaking story about the autopsy results? Why is there nothing about falling off a ladder? You are asking me to believe everyone else in the media went with this angle without digging, and that you and this blog alone hold the truth. A 'Canine advocate', with a very likely slant, especially when you offer no proof. That's rather shameful. Offer something credible or look like a fool. You clearly have a chip on your shoulder.

-- Posted by George K on Sun, Aug 14, 2011, at 7:06 AM
I do have a chip on my shoulder. I find it incredible that anyone daring to go against the grain of the mob mentality relating to Pit Bulls is called on the carpet.

Have you asked any of the big networks and major news organizations to prove what they so quickly rushed to press with or is that okay because it follows your neat little pattern of thinking?

I tell you what, how about we wait and see if they bother to publish the results of the autopsy? How about we see how much press coverage they give themselves then?

Sadly, you have missed the whole point of this week's entry. We lost three very different individuals that meant something to someone. Have you bothered to stop and consider the families and friends of these people? Have you spent one moment appreciating what you yourself have in your life?

Frankly, if I'm wrong, I'll own it but I'm willing to bet there will be no apologies or big news stories if I'm not. I'm not the only one with a chip on my shoulder!

-- Posted by Melanie Coy on Sun, Aug 14, 2011, at 8:37 AM
Oh c'mon. The husband has been quoted as saying he doesn't blame the dog and he wants its ashes buried with his wife, but he said nothing about falling off a ladder or the possibility that the dog did not attack her. He has said he didn't know why the dog attacked her.

A named neighbor is quoted as seeing the husband covered in blood - not consistent with a fall or "nudging."

A named police official is quoted as saying that the victim had massive trauma to the upper body but they won't know if she actually died of blood loss until the results of the autopsy are received - ie, there was A LOT of blood. Again, not consistent with a fall or "nudging."

No source but that examiner opinion piece has mentioned anything about a ladder or the possibility that she died from a fall or that the dog did not inflict dozens of wounds to her upper body. The neighbors who were the supposed source of this rumor have spoken to no news outlets about a ladder even though several were named and quoted in other sources.

The author of the examiner piece is not unbiased, but a pit bull advocate and has nothing to lose by putting her name to any wild speculation that suits her fancy. And neither do you.

You say, "Frankly, if I'm wrong, I'll own it." Well isn't that nice. Go read your own blog title again.

-- Posted by DorothyM on Sun, Aug 14, 2011, at 2:28 PM
As for the comment: "For Memphis this is one more instance in a long running scandal in their animal sheltering system. You have to wonder at what point will this city finally stand up and refuse to allow anymore crimes against animals, perpetrated by the humans charged with their care? " Tell me, exactly how you want me, as a part of this city, to stand up and refuse to allow this? The harder the animal advocates fight, the harder the mayor and his cronies dig their heels in and fight back. I could list all that's being done but there isn't enough room on this page. It's easy to sit back and tell people what to do, try coming down here and helping.

-- Posted by lubelew on Sun, Aug 14, 2011, at 2:36 PM
lubelew,

Are you offering me a job? If you've read my archives, you know I don't have a problem digging in my heels and fighting back. I'm more aware of what's going on in your city than you may know.I have been trying to do my part for you for some time now. I'd love to see a major metropolitan city like Memphis stand up and say NO MORE. Let me know what you need or what you think I can do.

-- Posted by Melanie Coy on Sun, Aug 14, 2011, at 8:39 PM
Your proof? That's what all this debate has been about. Just because you don't like a thing doesn't mean it's not true.

I was asked for one link. I provided it. I've also stated that I'm willing to wait for the final verdict.If I shared information that was incorrect, I will be the first to apologise but experience with this "witch hunt" has given me many reasons to believe the original reporting of this incident was grossly misreprepresented.

There is a real danger in any reporting of a story when emotion is the reasoning over facts. That has historically been the cause of far too many knee jerk reactions resulting in very bad legislation being enacted. In this case, if we don't demand to know the truth, dogs will die all over this country.

The fact that so many people have spoken out regarding the subject matter of this entry is actually proof that at least someone out there is interested. I don't really care which side of this debate you stand on. I do care that you are willing to take a stand. I hope you are just as willing to educate yourself and passionate enough to follow through!

-- Posted by Melanie Coy on Mon, Aug 15, 2011, at 5:58 AM
Melanie,

My apologies. I keep reading comments from people saying "why don't they do something" and I get really frustrated. You have to be here and know the local political system and how corrupt it is to realize how much it takes to accomplish anything. They will take some crackhead internet comment and get the media to run with it, like the ones they call threats against the MAS workers. When in reality, there are many, many advocates working hard to change things. At the last open advisory board meeting, the mayor's chief of staff, Bobby White, told us that he wouldn't want most of us down there, when we offered to come down and do whatever was needed.

So you see, my frustration is towards all of this plus comments. I see now that you aren't one of those.

Please keep writing about this terrible situation and urging your readers to send emails to the mayor, governor, and anyone who will listen.

Thanks.

-- Posted by lubelew on Mon, Aug 15, 2011, at 8:02 AM
Not a problem my friend....and the offer is still on the table!

-- Posted by Melanie Coy on Mon, Aug 15, 2011, at 4:59 PM
Melanie, it was on you to provide proof. All you provided was an unsubstantiated hoax. I wonder if your reasons to believe the original story was grossly misrepresented by irresponsible journalists were some of those factually baseless emotions you were talking about. Remember Melanie, "just because you don't like a thing doesn't mean it's not true."

My reasons for believing your story was a hoax made of whole cloth were fact based. And here are some more facts that provide the proof you demanded. The facts are provided by the San Mateo County coroner's office. They said one pit bull and zero ladders were involved in the attack and that that the pit bull's attack caused its owner to bleed out.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/15/BAO81KNJEK.DTL

It is you who were highly irresponsible, Melanie, hoping you could convince the weak minded to blindly be led into believing whatever you laid before them. Twice you promised you'd "be the first to apologize" for saying those things that can't be unsaid. Waiting.

And while you're at it, you might also apologize for spreading that rumor that Memphis shelter workers were fighting pit bulls in the same blog post about irresponsible reporting. It had already been revealed, by the time you wrote your blog, that the shelter workers were merely incompetent and the pit bulls were just doing what pit bulls do all by themselves, with no prompting.

-- Posted by DorothyM on Mon, Aug 15, 2011, at 8:52 PM
Dorothy,

You are providing a link to a newspaper story regarding the necropsy of the dog, not the actual coroner's report. No where does this account say anything about the coroner's findings. Again, I will wait for an official report from a source other than the San Francisco Chronicle.

As far as Memphis, I've had some dealings with what they are facing down there in their sheltering system. This is not the first instance of them having some serious issues and as long as no one is willing to speak up for the dogs, nothing will change.

Read what I write for what it is, not what you would have it be. I merely share what is shared with me in the hopes that someone somewhere will do something other than "cluck" their tongue and turn the other way.

It would be wonderful if we could all live in a world where life is easy and everything is warm and fuzzy. Sadly, we do not. Reality and responsiblity are two things sorely lacking in our society and it doesn't change if no one speaks up.

-- Posted by Melanie Coy on Tue, Aug 16, 2011, at 1:53 AM
I have just posted my apology. I have also posted a comment on the facebook site for the reporter in the Examiner piece.

To all who took the time to respond to this post, I thank you for the interaction and the willingness to get involved. You are to be commended for taking action.

-- Posted by Melanie Coy on Tue, Aug 16, 2011, at 6:48 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/pregnant-woman-killed-pit-bull-died-blood-loss-003343025.h... You got it wrong, Ms. Coy.

-- Posted by George K on Wed, Aug 17, 2011, at 10:03 AM
Read my next post George...

-- Posted by Melanie Coy on Thu, Aug 18, 2011, at 5:30 PM

Respond to this blog

Posting a comment requires a subscription.