It's not the dogs, it's the "owners" of the dogs. The miniature horse did not get loose and enter the dogs' territory. The dogs entered the enclosure housing the miniature horse (which was probably little more than the same size as the dogs).

Horses are flight animals. They are also quiet in their suffering and even when under extreme pain, do little more than groan in their agony. I pray the little, beautiful equine didn't suffer long -- and that another miniature isn't put back into the same situation, a 'sitting duck' for loose dogs.

There is surely a place for such "owners" of dogs, "owners" that think it's okay to let their charges be loose, aggressive, etc.

What do you tell the kid?

How horrible. That poor boy must be devestated. The owner of the pitbulls should have had to pay for a new horse.

It's a sad story all the way around,but it's wonderful how the donations poured in to replace the young boys horse.
Once again,a story that makes Pit Bulls look like the bad guys.I'd be more concerned finding out who owned them,and why they were running loose in the first place,or if they were strays.

Who owned these dogs? Need more information or bystanders begin to question the integrity of the horse's owner.

Bottom line is that this is tragic.

I am just hoping that this thread doesn't become an anti or pro pit bull legislation bitching session because there is no changing anyone's mind, and the arguments are in other threads.

i don't agree with a ban on pit bul but when someyhing like this happens i think that maybe people should only be alowed to own one. it seems these thing happen when ther are at least 2. my friend has a pit and i love her todeath. she is terrific. but more then one of anything running loose brings on the pack mentality and that is asking for trouble. i am so glad this sick child is getting another min horse to love

This is a sad and horrific story, I did not read where the dogs came from or how they got into the pen. I am so sorry this had to happen to this family and the horse.

Someone might have sent the dogs to kill the pony because someone might have been in a competition with the pony and he lost so now he must want revenge.

what a very sad story

I tried to research this story. The family did not own the dogs and their yard was fully enclosed by a 4.5 foot fence. Can pit bulls get over such a high fence? Evidently?

No word on who owned or trained these dogs who also killed a cat.

Who owned the dogs? Had they ever gotten out before? I hope they are going to have to pay some compensation.

I read about this story on line when it happened. What a tragedy for this sick child. Good thing those dogs were put down. They could have injured the boys father as well.

That is so sad. The poor horse..
And I feel so sorry for the boy too...

Very sad story. I am glad that the little boy is getting a new horse. I hope his love of horses and riding is not dampened by this horrilble event.

This is awful all the way around - awful for the horse, the pit bulls and the little boy. Did the family own the pit bulls? Again, pit bulls are getting bad press when they were most likely trained to be aggressive by their owners. It is time to stop punishing this breed and start punishing the owners. I am glad that Christian will be riding again soon.

How sick. The sad thing is that pit bulls are good dogs, by nature. I admit that when I was looking for a dog to adopt, I steered clear of them. But the shame is that people who misuse them are the real culprits.

Another pit bull story. I don't ever hear anything good about pit bulls. They scare the hell out of me. My heart goes out to the child, horse and family! What a terrible thing for them to go through.

this is indeed a terrible tragedy of what happend to the horse! but i stongly eel that the owners of these pit bulls need to rung upside the head a time or too though! dont get me wrong i am very saddend for the kids no doubt! but really pit bulls are not a bad breed of dog! you need to love your pit bull! bad people with pit bulls equals terrible situations like this and it always gets blamed on the dog and it gives people a negative image! the owners are to blame here! this is terrible what happened to the horse but i blame the owners not the dogs

thats really sad i hope the kid didn't see the horse

Any updates on whether they were able to locate the owners of the dogs?

This is just a terrible story and more bad pub. for the pits. Once again I blame the owners of the dogs. People need to control their pets. They are only doing what they were trained to do. Very unfortunate.

thats terrible for the little boy and the horse, i think the owner should be punished also, she should have had them animals fenced up properly.

The dogs are not to blame, neither is the breed of dogs, it always goes back to owner irresponsiblity. People are to blame for how they take care of an animal, train it, love it, care for it, contain it, Oh yeah headlines love to put Pitt this or Pitts that but all dogs whatever breed are able to and have bitten, attacked or mauled. This isn't just Pitts or Rotties or ......you can put All dogs on the list

i wish people would learn to take care of their dogs....its not that difficult

the owen should get the boy a new horse and send time with both and pay a fine

Pit Bulls ????? Gosh Not these dogs?? MAn they are bad bad dogs

This is such a sad story. I hope the owners of those pitbulls are found and held responsible. I'm glad that the little boy is going to get another horse.

I don't want to pick on bull type dogs, but maybe it is time to require special licensing for currently tagged "dangerous breed" dogs so that the breeding can be monitored. Unfortunately there are breeders out there that will breed for aggression and fighting (hard to catch except through breaking up dog fighting rings) and then there are those that just throw two dogs together without regard for temperament, genetic closeness etc. that can also lead to genetic problems and disposition problems.

It is not the breed but it can be in the breeding. Maybe we need concentrate on temperament breeding for our bull type dogs like we did for the doberman breed. Remember when thin long skulls and heads were the trend? It also made for angry aggressive dogs. Once they concentrated on breeding for temperament the problems decreased drastically. We still hear of some problems occasionally, but not nearly like we used to because of the change in breeding practices.

We can do the same with bull type dogs also.

This is just terrible. I feel so sorry for this little horse. I hope they will be able to locate the owners of the pit bulls.

the owners of the bitt bulls should have to pay for that poor boy to have a new horse

Terrible, but who do the dogs belong to & are they going to be held responsible.

i think the owner of the pitbulls made them aggressive towards other pets, and people cause they used them for probably fighting! its bad owners that give pitbulls a bad name it depends on how you raise, treat, and train you dog! a pitbull can be a loving dog just like your beagle, lab, chihuahua and ect it bad owner that give them a bad name!

How terrible. I'm glad the youngster is too young to understand what happened.

This poor little boy-this breaks my heart but so glad that people have stepped up to the plate with donations to buy a new one-not that that replaces the other little horse. Once again-unprovoked attacks by pitt bullls-AND PEOPLE WONDER WHY NO ONE WANTS THEM?

This is so sad. I think if you're going to get a pitbull, you need to be able to raise it the right way. This just gives them even more of a bad reputation and it's so sad to see. I'm glad they're giving the boy another horse. Hopefully nothing happens to it. <3

What a terrible story. It breaks my heart when animals are the victims of senseless violence (in this case, from other animals!)...

This whole situation is very sad. Sad that dog owners feel the need to have aggressive animals. Sad that those dogs were pit bulls and this only increases their bad rap. Sad that the little horse suffered a horrible death. I also have problems with giving a 3-year old kid a horse, no matter his condition. Obviously, the parents are going to have to be responsible for its care, and then what happens are the little boy dies (sorry to sound negative, but it's a malignant tumor in his brain-his odds are not very good)? Would the parents have wanted to keep the horse? Or just pass it along and have it end up at a rescue. If a horse was really what the boy wanted, why not take him to one of the therapeutic riding centers or some other kind of thing where he could experience horses but not have the repercussions of being an owner? Just my long rambling thought...

Very sad. Pit Bulls on the lose can be a real problem and give the breed a bad reputation.

I hate pitbulls that are violent. People should really stop training them this way. It only results in horrible events like this one.

oh how sad. thanks to caring people the young man will have another horse. Why did the dogs attack? I'm sorry but pits scary me.

So sad, where were the dogs owner??

I hope the little boy is healthy and riding his new horse. It is a shame the dogs killed the other one.

this is just TERRIBLE!!!

so sad!

That's awful! And all it does is gives pit bulls and awful name! People need to be more responsible for their pets. The poor horse!!! Hopefully, the child will be given a new horse who will be loved just as much as the first one.

That's just horible. I hope the kid didn't see it.

I hope the owners don't get more dogs. They clearly aren't responsible pet owners.

What a sad outcome. I hope the kid never saw the maulled horse. that would be devistating.

I'm glad he got another horse. So sad for this to happen to him.

Why do these stories almost always involve Pit Bulls yet a lot of owners say theirs are babies?