Pit Bull Takes a Bite Out of Vanessa Carlton's Leg

By PopEater Staff Posted May 8th 2010 09:29AM

Singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton is taking antibiotics and recovering nicely after being bitten by a pit bull while jogging in northeastern Pennsylvania, her father said.

Ed Carlton told the Pocono Record that the 'A Thousand Miles' star was running on May 2 when as she passed a neighbor's house, a 9-month-old pit bull named Bella ran through its invisible fence and chomped down on the singer's calf. She hobbled home with a bleeding leg marked with five puncture wounds.

Doctors are monitoring her for any infections, but she is expected to be fine. The dog, however, may not be so lucky. Animal control officials have put Bella under a 10-day home quarantine, as a precaution against rabies or a change in behavior.

Bella's owners, Ben and Jo Anne Teichberg, said Ed and Vanessa Carlton confronted them two days after the attack and said they wanted the dog put down.

"They are branding Bella as a dangerous animal and want her put to death," owner Ben Teichberg told the Record. "They said because Bella is a pit bull, it is known to be bad."

There were no witnesses to the bite, and the head of dog law enforcement at the state Dept. of Agriculture said Carlton has not filed a written complaint yet.

Carlton, 26, is a three-time Grammy nominated singer-pianist, but has not released an album since 2007.

Tags: pitt bull, Vanessa Carlton

Comments

(255)

Saturday 08 May

By christine

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It is extremely important for people to educate themselves on the dog they decide to purchase or adopt. Espeically powerful breeds such as Pitbulls. Exercise,& disapline is a must!! On a daily basis. It is the owners responsibility to provide these things. It is not the breed, its the owners fault & the dog shouldnt be put down,just rehabilitated. Owning a dog is a privalage not a right.

Sunday 09 May

By bren

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Its bad that she got bit,but give me a break its a puppy! Its the owners fault...Fine them real good ,but dont kill the puppy!Make them take it for training!

By Nicci

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I keep hearing PB enthusiasts talk about how it isn't the breed, it's the owner...the breeder... the type of food it's fed, etc. The truth? This breed is dangerous because no one can say with any certainty which PB will act out agressively. Some PB's go their entire lives with absolutely no signs of aggressive behavior. Others act as though some kind of switch gets flipped and they lose touch with all reality. Until someone can explain the WHY behind this type of odd behavior within the breed, this breed is destined to always be considered unstable.

By delrionine9

I'm sorry that this singer was bitten, but please, this dog just needs some traning not death! Pit bulls are very loyal and loving dogs when trained and treated properly.

By Jo B

Of course you do realize that the bite force of German Shepherds, Rotweilers and a APBT were measured and the "pit bull" had the LEAST bite force of the three breeds measured. The dog with the greatest bite force (these were trained bite work dogs) was NOT the "pitbull" it was the Rotweiler... you can watch the test on youtube if you like. You want to pick a breed to be scared of that human aggression WAS bred into.... psst... it's not a "pit bull."

By Brian

That's right, kill kill anything that acts according to it's inherent nature. Dogs descend from carnivores, do you always expect them to be good little doggies? Perfect solution, when a dog bites let's break out the syringe and eliminate another animal simply protecting it's turf.

Matt, you are so right, but if stupid people were banned it would be 3 quarters of our population!

By dand355

here we go again ....the people who talk sh#t about pits are just as ignorent .they never owned one , some dogs are bad and some are not . my jacks will bite anyone they dont know , so i guess i should kill them . get a life

By melissa

Pitbulls were not ORIGINALLY bred to attack people. They were bred for human entertainment. People bred them to fight other dogs. When they originally bred them they were bred to be loyal to humans not attack them. If a dog showed human aggression they were killed. Unfortunately stupid people have bred this breed so much that they are breeding out the people friendly trait. It is a person who owns one of these dogs to be responsible with this breed. They are no more aggressive than many other breeds, but because of their size and their physical traits the have far more damage potential than other breeds. I know people with boston terriers that have attacked and killed cats and other small animals. They have also bit people. Research dogs by likelyhood to bite. You will find many dogs on the list above pitbulls. They also are on the list for family safe pets. A dog doesnt bite because its Pitbull, ALL dogs bite. We only hear about Pitbulls. Dont Blame The Breed Blame The Deed.

By terry

It's a wonder the owner of the pitbull didn't try to convince us that their dog is a normal family pet. When will pitbull owners admit that these dogs are unpredictable. I'm tired of hearing about how people overreact when talking about pitbulls. Every pitbull owner should have insurance on the dog, and sued for their stupidity. If you have no insurance and the dog bites someone, then jail should get their attention.

German Sheperds bite people all the time. I have a family member who breeds them and sells them to police departments all over the US. They bite.And not all are tolerant of people. My kids arent allowed there because they have been snapped at more than once. So it goes to say any dog can bite. It depends on the dog.

By Erin

First of all it's not the breed. It's the human whom is raising the puppy/dog. Unfortunatly this breed gets a bad rap because there used for fighting. What pisses me off is that people believe that these animals are actually born vicious. You are the reason why they have bad rap and why there illigeal in some states.It makes me sick ! Because of people puppies are put to death just because there a pitt bull. I could think of alot better use for that injection than using it on innocent dogs when people are the reason that they are the way they are !

By Zero

the dog most likely thought she was a cat burglar

By ngtdreamin

This is wrong. Yes She got hurt by the dog, but lets put things into perspective. Puppys, ALL Puppys, bite a lot at their age because they are teething. They don't realize how strong they are unless someone, like their owner, puts them inline and trains them out of biting things and people and gives them chew toys. It seems to me that this pit bull was left unattained, and if the dog ran through the invisible fence, then it must have been turned off, unplugged etc. What I see here is not a dog who is dangerous, I see two dog owners who don't know how to raise a puppy. That dog should be fostered to another family that knows how to take care of it. Ive was bitten by a great dane puppy the other day, when it happened his owner was near by to correct it before it got bad. Obviously these owners were no where near their dog when it happened and don't pay attention to it much to teach it right from wrong. Also, if this dog was a poodle, or retriever (and by the way I've met vicious retrievers) then this article would not have been published. I wish people would stop blaming the breed and start blaming the owners.

By Walker

JOE!!! I have a pit and a pure bred German Shepard. My GS is a great dog but I am more fearful of him attacking than my pit. It is not about the bred it is about the owner and their lack of supervision. I'm sure your GS is great but Pits are wonderful dogs and need someone responsible to care for them. Do your research before saying that pits suck!

By fred

A German Sheaperd wont kill you like a pit.When a pit attacks its always bad.Its the only dog that came after me outside its yard that i would kick with a steel toe and stapp lmao its to final and they have killed kids.

Its a good dog to protect a myth lab though lmao maybe the next time she jogs by the house she should bring a gun lmao

By Jim

I hate people who hate pit-bulls...I actualy wish at this point they would bite you and teach you a lesson.

I had one for years a brindal.Even saved him parvo when i was young and poor.The day my son was born he was gone.

By john

listen pits are good dogs but they are aggressive anyone telling you otherwise will get bit one day or watch as it rips one of their kids to shreds then they will say otherwise. they are an awesome dog but dont kid yourself they are time bombs.

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