On Friday, September 11th, in New York, 62 year-old Francesco Bove was attacked and mauled by two pit bulls owned by Cynthia Oliver, age 55.
According to the NYPD, Oliver and Bove had a short conversation when Cynthia let loose of the dogs, and they attacked.
However, Anthony Bove, son of the victim, stated that there was no conversation. He said he talked to his father and that Francesco was walking to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church when the first dog attacked, the second diving in right afterwards.
Some good Samaritans tried to stop the attack, and it is said that this might have saved Bove's life. They came in swinging chains, spraying the dogs with water, and just trying to distract the dogs in whatever way they could.
According to Anthony, when he got to the hospital his father was in pieces. There were gashes and holes in his arms, one of his ears was severed, and the other was severed in half, and tons of deep cuts all over his body.
Oliver was arrested on eight counts of assault and two accounts of reckless endangerment.
Francesco Bove has survived and is undergoing surgeries to repair his ears and other injuries.
The pit bulls have been put into custody of animal control authorities, and they will most likely be put to sleep. Bove feels bad because this is probably not even the pit bulls' fault. They were most likely trained to be guard/attack dogs.
What's most terrifying to Francesco is that he remembered watching the pit bulls like up the pool of his blood on the ground. He said it was like they wanted to finish the job.
What would you do if you were a bystander to an incident like this? Would you help the victim out or stand by helplessly?
How do you think Oliver should be punished? Do you think she deserves to be in jail even though her dogs are the ones that attacked?
Which story do you believe? That there was a short discussion or the dogs attacked randomly?
If I was a bystander I think I'd try to help as best as I could. I'd rather try to help than stand by and watch the poor guy get torn apart. I think that Oliver deserves to be in jail for what her dogs did. I think that she is probably the one who trained the dogs to attack and let them loose on purpose. Therefore, I believe the story where there was a short discussion and Oliver let the dogs loose to attack Bove. I doubt these dog would attack randomly without a command from their owner.
If you want to read more, find the full story here.
Replies
Again, great job with both of your story summaries and in replying all week to comments! Good choice of topics as well!
If I was a bystander I think I would try to help. But first let the ambulance know that they can come! I know two sides of Pit Bulls. The one side is that they can be really good and protector dogs. Because I think everybody see them as fight dogs and dangerous dogs. In this case I would say that the person really trained the dog on a wrong way. I think she should go to jail or on the other side pay compensation for the person who got hurt.
I agree! Not all dogs are bad! Some can be very nice, friendly, and playful. I know some people have pit bulls who are very nice. But you're right, some people do see them as fighting dogs. I also think she definitely trained them to be this way. Oliver does need to either go to jail or help pay for the victim's medical bills as well.
If Oliver let the dogs off of their leashes, than I think that she should be arrested or if she didn't have them in a proper fenced in area. I think that I would be scared to help, maybe I would have called 911. I think I believe the son's story, but it is very possible that they have attacked randomly.
I agree! These dogs should have been kept where they were supposed to be in the first place, and shouldn't have been roaming about alone. I think I'd be a little scared as well. I think that if this was happening, anything you could possibly do to help would be good. You're also right that any one of the stories could be right.
If I was a bystander, I would probably try to help as best I could, and then call law enforcement. I know that dogs like this are very dangerous! I think Oliver should be punished by being given a warning and then allowed to take care of her dogs. If her dogs attack someone again, I think that Oliver should be put into jail. I know that dogs like this have a reputation for attacking people, but I think that people should still be allowed to have whatever animal they want!
I agree! It's sad that the dogs have to be taken away from her! She should be given a second chance, and if this happens again, she should definitely be punished. This might have been an accident so she shouldn't be stripped of her dogs just yet.
I would possibly try to help out as much as I could, but it could be dangerous. I think it is mostly the owners fault for this, she should have kept them hooked, or made sure they were trained before just letting them go loose.
I agree! I feel like these dogs shouldn't just be allowed to wander around and run free all the time with no one to watch over them. There needs to be a fence, leash, or something at least to keep them where they belong so they don't harm anyone.
I think that it's the owners fault because she could have called the dogs to come here and I pretty sure that there is no way that the dogs just attacked with out conflict. I don't think that the dogs should be put down because it is not their fault. The poor things down even know whats going on.
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