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Bearlee -> Dogs kill man... (8/4/2007 3:23:34 PM)
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Dogs belonging to Mission: Impossible star Ving Rhames attacked and killed a live-in caretaker at the actor's Los Angeles home yesterday, police said. The caretaker, whose name was not released by authorities, was found dead on the front lawn of Rhames' gated home in an expensive Brentwood neighbourhood, covered in dog bites, an LA police spokesman said.
Several large dogs were running loose on the property when police responded to the scene shortly after 7.15am (2.15am NZT) and animal control officers took three huge bull mastiffs and an English bulldog into custody.
"It appeared that the person suffered a number of injuries as a result of the dog mauling," Sergeant Lee Sands said. "There were numerous dog bites all over his body, but the exact cause of death is pending the coroner's ruling." Sands said four dogs, the largest weighing nearly 90 kg; [almost 200#] were being quarantined as part of an investigation into the attack.
He said it was not yet clear how many of the dogs had taken part in the mauling or why they had turned on the caretaker. The victim, who worked for Rhames for two years and lived on the property, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Television pictures showed the body being removed from the scene, covered in a blanket. Neighbours said that they had never seen signs of aggression from the dogs.
Representatives for Rhames, who is out of the country shooting a film, had no immediate comment. The 46-year-old actor is best-known for starring alongside Tom Cruise in all three Mission: Impossible films. Rhames has a long list of film and television credits, winning a Golden Globe and Emmy nomination for starring as Don King in a 1997 TV movie about the flamboyant boxing promoter.
The actor discussed dogs during a 1999 interview with the Los Angeles Times, describing a 1-year-old Fila Brasileiro (Brazilian Mastiff) he owned at the time as having been bred to guard slaves. "It was the only dog they found that had the temperament to guard a slave," Rhames said in the interview. "It could be around you every day, but if you tried to run away ... "
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10455873
My question is WHY do people keep dogs like this? I would say it doesn’t make a weenie any bigger or a person taller or badder……….but I’d come off like a bigot.
Oh, and that last paragraph that I made bold... interesting, huh?
Fila Brasileiro Mastiffs: Here is what on breeder says about the breed:
At anywhere from 2 - 5 months of age you will notice that your Fila does not like strangers. You do not teach him this it is bred into him. He will only make up to people that he feels you trust.
Some breeders breed the Fila to have a temperament in which they say is more like the original Fila Brasileiro temperament. One breeder who claims to breed to the original Fila type states, "You cannot socialize a Fila to like people. You can obedience train them so that you are in control, but you cannot socialize them to like people. A Fila WILL attack a stranger. Period. If they have the proper temperament, they WILL. "Ojeriza" translates to "Hatred and loathing of strangers". You do not make them mean and vicious... they ARE... and there is no doubt about it. They are not a dog for a person who has an active social life."
(http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/filabrasileiro.htm)
These dogs are about four times bigger than pit bulls (a few of whom I know and find can be really sweet) and have repeatedly been in the news for killing people. As an ex-breeder of German Shepherd Dogs, I distain the practice of labeling particular breeds as vicious…but gee. I think I'd be way more careful with some breeds (including pit bull terriers and these big mastiffs...and treat them like loaded guns.
I understand people want to protect what they consider valuable...and dogs make great guards; but such dogs should be handled with care, never left alone with children, not allowed to pack-up and certainly never trusted as a good-ol'-boy.
B
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