 | |
| Species | Canis familiaris |
|---|---|
| Breed | Jack Russell Terrier |
| Sex | Male |
| Died | 29 April 2007 Manaia, Taranaki, NZ |
| Cause of death | Dog attack |
| Owner | Alan Gay |
| Residence | Manaia, Taranaki, NZ |
| Height | 30 cm (1 ft 0 in) |
| Awards |
|
George (died 29 April 2007) was a pet dog in Taranaki, New Zealand who was credited with sacrificing his life to save local children from a dog attack. George's heroism was internationally recognised, and he received posthumous awards from New Zealand and British animal charities.
A 30-centimetre (12 in)-tall Jack Russell Terrier [1] with "a heart condition", George lived in Manaia, Taranaki, New Zealand [2] with his owner, widower Alan Gay. [3] [4] The Sydney Morning Herald reported George was born in 1997or1998, while The Stratford Press and Sky News reported it was 1992or1993. [5] [3] George previously lived with Gay's neighbours, but they offered the dog to Gay when they moved away because "the dog spent so much time at his place." [2]
The Sydney Morning Herald and The New Zealand Herald reported that on 29 April 2007, five children in Manaia were walking home when they were attacked by two pit bulls. Nine-year-old (born 1997or1998) George defended the children, but was severely injured by the melee. [1] Gay's veterinarian recommended euthanising George, and while Gay reluctantly agreed with the course of action, he later came to regret the decision. [2] The pit bulls were also euthanised, and their owner "[faced] prosecution for owning dangerous and uncontrolled dogs." [1] Six months later, the Stratford Press reported that it had been one pit bull versus a 14-year-old George protecting three children. [5] In February 2009, Sky News reported that George had been 14 years old when he faced off two pit bulls to defend five children aged 3–12. [3]
In the aftermath, George was praised and memorialised for his bravery and sacrifice. The Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals awarded him a medal for bravery, the first awarded to a dog in 17 years, and the first non-police dog to ever receive it; Gay was to receive George's medal at the children's school. Jerrell Hudman, a United States Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War, was so impressed by George's actions, he told the Taranaki Herald that he would send Gay one of his three Purple Hearts. [1] In spring 2007, a bronze statue of George was unveiled in Manaia, the work of New Plymouth's Fridtjof Hanson. [5] In 2009, the British People's Dispensary for Sick Animals awarded George the PDSA Gold Medal, a decoration Sky News described as "the animal equivalent of the George Cross"; the medal was hung about the neck of George's statue by Anand Satyanand, then-Governor-General of New Zealand. [3]
Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog believed to have descended from bull and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. Within the United States the pit bull is usually considered a diverse grouping that includes the breeds American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bully, Staffordshire Bull Terrier and occasionally the American Bulldog, along with any crossbred dog that shares certain physical characteristics with these breeds. In other countries including Britain, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier is not considered a pit bull. Most pit bull-type dogs descend from the British Bull and terrier, a 19th-century dog-fighting type developed from crosses between the Old English Bulldog and the Old English Terrier.
The Jack Russell Terrier is a British breed of small terrier. It is principally white-bodied and smooth-, rough- or broken-coated, and can be any colour.
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier, also called the Staffy or Stafford, is a purebred dog of small to medium size in the terrier group that originated in the northern parts of Birmingham and in the Black Country of Staffordshire, for which it is named. They descended from 19th-century bull terriers that were developed by crossing bulldogs with various terriers to create a generic type of dog generally known as bull and terriers. Staffords share the same ancestry with the modern Bull Terrier, although the two breeds developed along independent lines, and do not resemble each other. Modern Staffords more closely resemble the old type of bull terrier, and were first recognised as a purebred dog breed by The Kennel Club of Great Britain in 1935.
Dog fighting is a type of blood sport that turns game and fighting dogs against each other in a physical fight, often to the death, for the purposes of gambling or entertainment to the spectators. In rural areas, fights are often staged in barns or outdoor pits; in urban areas, fights are often staged in garages, basements, warehouses, alleyways, abandoned buildings, neighborhood playgrounds, or in the streets. Dog fights usually last until one dog is declared a winner, which occurs when one dog fails to scratch, dies, or jumps out of the pit. Sometimes dog fights end without declaring a winner; for instance, the dog's owner may call the fight.
In law, breed-specific legislation (BSL) is a type of law that prohibits or restricts particular breeds or types of dog. Such laws range from outright bans on the possession of these dogs, to restrictions and conditions on ownership, and often establishes a legal presumption that such dogs are dangerous or vicious to prevent dog attacks. Some jurisdictions have enacted breed-specific legislation in response to a number of fatalities or maulings involving pit bull–type dogs or other dog breeds commonly used in dog fighting, and some government organizations such as the United States Army and Marine Corps have taken administrative action as well. Due to opposition to such laws, anti-BSL laws have been passed in 21 of the 50 state-level governments in the United States, prohibiting or restricting the ability of jurisdictions within those states to enact or enforce breed-specific legislation.
The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) is a dog breed recognized by the United Kennel Club (UKC) and the American Dog Breeders Association (ADBA), but not the American Kennel Club (AKC). It is a medium-sized, short-haired dog, of a solid build, whose early ancestors came from England. When compared with the English Staffordshire Bull Terrier, the American Pit Bull Terrier is larger by margins of 6–8 inches (15–20 cm) in height and 25–35 pounds (11–16 kg) in weight. The American Pit Bull Terrier varies in size: males are normally about 18–21 inches (45–53 cm) in height and around 35–60 pounds (15–27 kg) in weight, while females are normally around 17–20 inches (43–50 cm) in height and 30–50 pounds (13–22 kg) in weight.
Pete the Pup was a character in Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies during the 1930s, otherwise known as "Pete, the dog with the ring around his eye", or simply "Petey". The original Pete was a UKC registered American Staffordshire Terrier named "Pal, the Wonder Dog", and had a natural ring almost completely around his left eye; dye was used to finish it off. The second Pete was an American Pitbull Terrier named Lucenay’s Peter. He was well known for having a circled eye which was added by Hollywood make-up artist Max Factor and credited as an oddity in Ripley's Believe It or Not.
The Bull Terrier is a breed of dog in the terrier family. There is also a miniature version of this breed which is officially known as the Miniature Bull Terrier.
Bull and terrier was a common name for crossbreeds between bulldogs and terriers in the early 1800s. Other names included half-and-halfs and half-breds. It was a time in history when, for thousands of years, dogs were classified by use or function, unlike the modern pets of today that were bred to be conformation show dogs and family pets. Bull and terrier crosses were originally bred to function as fighting dogs for bull- and bear-baiting, and other popular blood sports during the Victorian era. The sport of bull baiting required a dog with attributes such as tenacity and courage, a wide frame with heavy bone, and a muscular, protruding jaw. By crossing bulldogs with various terriers from Ireland and Great Britain, breeders introduced "gameness and agility" into the hybrid mix.
Badger-baiting is a form of blood sport in which badgers are baited with dogs. A baiting session typically results in the death of the badger, and possibly serious injuries to the dogs.
Manaia is a rural town in South Taranaki District, New Zealand. Ōpunake is 29 km to the northwest, and Hāwera is 13 km to the southeast. Kaponga is 15 km north. State Highway 45 passes through the town. Manaia is named after the former Māori chief of the district, Hukunui Manaia.
Chips (1940–1946) was a trained sentry dog for United States Army, and reputedly the most decorated war dog from World War II. Chips was a German Shepherd-Collie-Malamute mix owned by Edward J. Wren of Pleasantville, New York. He was bred by C.C. Moore, and was the son of Margot Jute, a half collie, half German shepherd, and Husky, a malamute.
The PDSA Gold Medal is an animal bravery award that acknowledges the bravery and devotion to duty of animals. It was created by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) in 2001, and is now recognised as the animal equivalent of the George Cross. The Gold Medal is considered as the civilian equivalent to PDSA's Dickin Medal for military animals. An animal can be awarded the PDSA Gold Medal if it assists in saving human or non-human life when its own life is in danger or through exceptional devotion to duty. The medal can also be awarded to animals in public service, such as police or rescue dogs, if the animal dies or suffers serious injury while carrying out its official duties in the face of armed and violent opposition.
Triennial elections for all 73 cities and districts, twelve regional councils and all district health boards (DHBs) in New Zealand were held on 13 October 2007. Most councils were elected using the first-past-the-post voting method, but eight were elected using single transferable vote.
BAD RAP is an animal welfare and rescue group based in Oakland, California, devoted to caring for and improving the public image of pit bull terriers as pets.
The Bull Arab is a type of dog developed in Australia by Mike Hodgens and Heather Rea for pig hunting. The dog was developed from crossing large, strong dogs of which the most common were Bull Terriers, Pointing breeds, and Greyhounds. The result was a medium to large size, short-haired, muscular dog.
The American Bully is a modern breed of dog that was developed as a companion dog, and originally standardized and recognized as a breed in 2004 by the American Bully Kennel Club (ABKC). Their published breed standard describes the dog as giving the "impression of great strength for its size". In 2008, the American Bully was recognized by the European Bully Kennel Club (EBKC), and on July 15, 2013, by the United Kennel Club (UKC). Neither the International Canine Federation, The Kennel Club, nor American Kennel Club (AKC) have recognized or accepted the American Bully into their registry as a purebred dog.
William Spiers Glenn was a New Zealand rugby union player who played for the All Blacks on their 1905 tour. He later became a Reform Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand.
Rip, a mixed-breed terrier, was a Second World War search and rescue dog who was awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery in 1945. He was found in Poplar, London, in 1940 by an Air Raid warden, and became the service's first search and rescue dog. He is credited with saving the lives of over 100 people. He was the first of twelve Dickin Medal winners to be buried in the PDSA's cemetery in Ilford, Essex.
A hero dog who lost his life trying to save a group of children from a Pit Bull attack has been awarded the top honour for pet bravery.
