Pit Bull Attack Prompts National Ad Campaign
WAVE 3 TV, Louisville, KY
May 3rd, 2004, HODGENVILLE, KY -- A LaRue County, Kentucky girl who was
attacked by the family's pet has inspired PETA to launch a new awareness
campaign. The group, which promotes the humane treatment of animals, is
creating a new series of billboards, and the first one will be placed in
LaRue County. WAVE 3's Dina Kaplan reports.
Four-year-old Emily Stinnett was hospitalized in critical condition for
several days last week after being mauled in her own backyard by the family
pet. The LaRue County Sheriff said it was the worst dog attack he had ever
seen.
Dan Paden with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) was upset
when he heard how seriously Emily was injured. "Our heart goes out to Emily
and the Stinnett family and we certainly are grieving for them."
Inspired by Emily's plight, PETA is launching a new campaign that will
include billboards showing a close-up shot of a chained dog and the tagline:
"To keep you family safe, chain your door, not your dog."
According to Paden, keeping dogs inside keeps helps keep family members safe
from attack.
The dog at Emily's house had been chained to a stake, which Paden calls "a
terrible way to keep a dog."
Many animal experts believe chaining dogs makes them more dangerous. Eric
Blow with the Louisville Metro Animal Center says "you put a dog on a chain,
and it takes no time at all for them to figure out they cannot retreat."
Blow says dogs that are chained learn to protect themselves by acting out.
"They act aggressive in order to scare away any perceived threat." That
could be the mailman, kids on the street, even a member of the family. "They
become aggressive, and over the life of that animal, you turn them into a
Frankenstein."
In Louisville, it is illegal to leave a dog chained for more than one hour a
day. PETA hopes its ad campaign will encourage other cities to do the same
so that what happened to Emily won't happen to other children around the
country.
PETA officials hope to have the first billboard up in LaRue County sometime
this week, and plans to pay to place billboards in any city where young
people have been attacked by dogs that were chained.
According to PETA, five children were attacked by chained dogs last month in
the U.S., but Emily's injuries were the worst. She is still recovering.
