KC DOG BLOG

Catching up....two (fairly) recent dog bite fatalities

Due to a dozen other things going on right now, I'm a little behind, but do need to get caught up on a couple of fatal dog bite incidents that have happened over the past couple of weeks that I've not had a chance to report.

As I always note, I'm not the biggest fan of writing up these stories. Dogs are wonderful animals that bring so much value to our lives. However, unfortunately, sometimes a series of the wrong set of circumstances can lead one to attack. And sometimes, although very rarely compared to the 75 million owned dogs in this country, these attacks can be fatal.  When they do happen, it is essential to look at the entirety of the circumstances in determining why these events took place.

Here are two such incidents over the past couple of weeks:

Beau Rutledge

Beau Rutledge was a two year old boy that lived in southern Fulton County just outside of Atlanta. The boy and his family lived in a townhome together with their pet dog.

However, two weeks ago, the boy's mother went to the bathroom and left the boy and the dog alone together. At some point while the mother was in the bathroom, the dog; described by the media as a "pit bull", mauled the young boy, killing him. The causes of the attack are very unclear....and there were a LOT of missing pieces to the puzzle based on the media reports.

When the mother came out of the bathroom and saw the child and apparently 'knew instantly" that the boy was dead. No more details were given. Meanwhile, it is surprising that the mother was apparently in the other room and didn't hear any type of commotion that would have alerted her to the attack.

Because there were no witnesses to the attack and the mother was in the other room, there is no way to quite know what happened to lead up to the attack. Toddlers can be very unpredictable in their behavior and can, intentionally, or unintentionally injure dogs -- whether by pulling tails, ears, jumping up and down on them, or falling on them and causing a reactionary bite that, depending on the location and size of the child, can be fatal. 

Young children simply do not understand canine behavior and warning signs, and thus, are going to be unable to determine when a dog is uncomfortable or hurt by a situation. Because of this, toddlers should always, ALWAYS be supervised when around a dog. Last year, at least 14 of the 17 fatal dog bites involving children under the age of 6 happened while the toddler or infant was unsupervised (2 of the 3 others where it is unclear if the child was attended or not at the time).

This story made a lot of headlines in the Georgia area. Nice job of CBS Atlanta to call on an area expert to talk about dog behavior and what can lead to horrific tragedies like this one.

My heart goes out to the Rutledge family.

Rachael Honabarger

In Coschocton, OH, thirty five year old Rachael Honabarger was attacked last week outside of her home by her own dog. A neighbor who was driving by right after the initial attack saw that Honabarger was in trouble and rushed to help pull the woman's 3 year old German Shepherd off of her. The victim was flown to Grant Medical Center in Columbus with what were described as "severe" neck injuries.

The victim died from her wounds two days later.

Not much is known about what may have started the attack -- and likely there will never be a clear explanation. A neighbor who lives nearby notes that the dog has "always been very aggressive" and "guarded the yard and the house."

Socialization is an important element for dogs -- and if dogs are not well socialized, they can often become aggressive. When your dog shows signs of aggression, it is essential that you seek the help of an area trainer to help you with the dog. Major attacks like this are seldom a dog's first sign of aggression.

My heart goes out to the friends and family of this young woman.

This story was in a lot of media outlets as well. Cochocton has a poverty rate of 16.2% -- so a bit above the national average, although it's unclear if this played a role at all in the tragedy.

Four year old girl dies from dog attack in Iowa & why you can't talk about dogs without discussing owners

On Monday, four year old Jordyn Arndt was tragically attacked by a dog in Prairie City, IA. The girl was transferred to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines where she later died from her injuries.

According to the reports, Arndt was staying with her 'baby sitter" Jenna Marie Wright, 24. It was Wright's dog, reportedly an "80 lbs" American Staffordshire Terrier (which would be larger than most Am Staffs), that was responsible for the attack. The exact circumstances that led up to the attack remain unknown at this point as it appears as if the victim and Wright's daughter were playing in the yard with the dog unsupervised.  Wright was arrested on Tuesday afternoon for child endangerment and with neglect or abandonment of a dependent person.

This isn't Wright's first run-in with the local authorities.

In April 2011, Wright, along with two other people (her husband and father in-law) were arrested on felony drug charges that included growing marijuana and the presence of methamphetimene. At the time, Wright's 2 year old daughter was removed from the home by authorities. A year ago, Wright entered into a guilty plea for manufacturing marijuana, three counts of failure to affix a drug tax stamp, and neglect and abandoment of a dependent person (her 2 year old daughter).

 It's also worth noting that within the past couple of years, Wright's dog had also been cited for being a "public nuissance". During the same year, animal control served four complaints regarding the dog.

This is (obviously) a tremendous tragedy and my heart goes out to the Arndt family. However, the wisdom of leaving your children with a babysitter who had plead guilty to felony drug charges and neglect and abandoment of her own child a year ago has to be questioned. Now, Wright is looking at a 2nd case of neglect and abandonment in just 2 years time. Meanwhile, it shouldn't be a surprise that the dog appears to have had some behavioral issues prior to this as well.

Canine behavior is very complex -- and the role that nurture plays in its development MUST be considered -- and it's why all attempts to explain dog attacks like this, which are quite rare, without considering the nurture and circumstances surrounding the attacks fail.

 

Two dog attack fatalities week ending 4/14

I'm running a little behind getting these posted --we've had a LOT going on (more to come!) and I just haven't gotten a chance to do a lot of research on these until now. But last week there were two fatal dog attack incidents and I do want to highlight them, as I do all the others. Major dog attack incidents are rare in this country, with the risk of them being miniscule compared to the 75+ million dogs in this country. But when they happen, it is important to look at the entirety of the circumstances surrounding the event in order to build awareness of the circumstances of these attacks so we can prevent them in the future.

 Tyler Jett 

Three weeks ago, in Callaway, FL, 7 year old Tyler Jett was riding his bike home from school when two dogs raced toward him and attacked him while he was on his bicycle.

One of the bites to young Tyler punctured is carotid artery and ultimately to the boy's death.

The dogs were owned by Edward Daniels, Jr -- who will be facing charges that range from culpable negligence to manslaughter. Daniels was arrested for drug charges after authorities investigating the scene found marijuana and other drug paraphernalia at his home, tampering with evidence for allegedly washing blood from the dogs' faces, and later on charges of manslaughter.

In order to prove manslaughter, they would have to prove that Daniels KNEW of the risk his dogs possessed, and didn't take necessary percautions to intervene. In this case, just 10 days prior to the attack on young Tyler, animal control cited Daniels for the dogs running at large and being aggressive toward adults and children and that whatever means he was using to secure them were inadequate.

However, Daniels did not fix the problem, and the dogs were loose again and attacked a young boy; causing his death.

The dogs in the incident have been described as either "pit bulls" or in many cases as an Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog and a Bulldog mix. In pictures of the dogs, they appear to be just mixed breed mongrels.

Callaway is a small community of about 14,000 people -- about 18% of whom live below the poverty level (slightly above the national average). The case seems to be a pretty clear-cut case of owner negligence: including lack of containment, known history of getting loose and aggressive activity, and the presence of illegal drugs at the scene. The dogs also likely had a heightened arrousal due to high prey drive of chasing the boy on his bicycle.

It is a true tragedy, and a completely avoidable one had the owner headed warnings to contain the dogs after the previous report.

Claudia Gallardo

This story has been very odd from the beginning, and as new information comes out, it just seems weird.

In Stockton, CA, 38 year old Claudia Gallardo was attacked and killed by a dog. According to the reports, the woman hopped a fence that contained the dog and was attacked by the dog.

The dog's owner, Brian Hrenko, knew the victim. Hrenko said the victim cleaned houses for a living and likely jumped the fence looking for work. However, the incident appeared to have happened after 8:00 at night -- which would have been after dark in Stockton this time of year -- an odd time to be showing up for house work.

Neighbors have allegedly complained about the dog in the past having gotten loose and acted aggressively. Hrenko also noted that the dog got in fights with the neighbor's dogs all the time and that he had previously attacked people who entered the yard including chasing them into their trees or into their swimming pool.

The dog in the case is being described as both a blue "pit bull", and as a "pit bull/mastiff mix" .  Based on the images presented it's difficult to tell which would be more accurate.

 The 95215 area code where the attack occurred has a poverty level of over 26% -- nearly double the national average. Nearly 18% of the zip code lives on income below 50% of the poverty line -- which is more than double the national average.

While some of the information is still a bit unknown, it's a tragic situation and one marked with poverty, a dog with a history of aggression, and an individual jumping a fence to get into an area with a contained dog at night while the dog's owner wasn't home.

It was nice that one news station went to a local dog show and asked some of the experts there about 'pit bulls" and what they thought.

 My thoughts go out to the families in both of these tragedies.

Georgia toddler killed by dogs

Late yesterday afternoon, 21 month old Monica Laminack was attacked and killed by 7 of 9 dogs that lived at the family's home in Ellabell, GA.

The child lived in the home with her 18 year old Mother, Summer Laminack, grandmother, great-grandmother and two uncles (aged 14 and 12). 

Apparently, after getting home from the store last night and according to police "they all went to sleep or something" shortly after 5 pm. Around 6:30, the grandmother awoke due to a disturbance in the yard and went outside to find the toddler being attacked by the dogs. Apparently why all three adults slept in the house, the toddler crawled through the doggie door and went into the backyard with at least 7 of the dogs unattended.

There were 9 dogs at the home, one described as an Irish Setter, one as a Beagle and 7 as 'pit bulls or pit mixes'. One of the dogs is older and the mother of the other 6 -- who were all born about 18 months ago. No word on whether one of the other dogs was the father or not.  As of right now, the 7 'pit bulls' are being blamed for the attack (and were euthanized at the scene), the other two are not believed to have been involved.

Emergency responders were called but the child was declared dead at the scene and had reportedly been dead for awhile.

According to the county Sheriff, Clyde Smith, he thought child neglect charges were a minimum of what could be filed in the case. The Bryan County District Attorney Tom Durden said the charges would likely be second-degree felony child cruelty.

I'm sure there will be more that comes out about this story in the coming days and I'lll continue to post updates as they become available.

Attacks like this are very rare in a nation where nearly 40% of us share homes with dogs, and where there are 75 million owned dogs. But like all things in life, there is some risk (even though it's minor). This is the 7th fatal attack of this year, and the 3rd involving a toddler that has wandered into a group of dogs without any adult supervision. There is no shortage of tragedies that can await a young toddler who wanders outside of his home unattended and unsupervised -- and the problems with doggie doors being an escape route for toddlers is well documented. I cannot stress enough how important it is for adults to supervise their youngsters at all times and to definitely supervise all interactions between young children and dogs.

As for other societal factors, clearly there are some issues here that present some red flags, including a very young mother for this victim who is really just still a child herself, and four generations of people living under the same roof.  The zip code in which Ellabell is located isn't necessarily a low-income one, however, according to census data, the zip code lost 55% of its total residents between 2000 and 2010 going from 6,444 population to 2,916. It's a very rural, unincorporated area.

This story has been widely published and picked up by more than 50 news outlets.

My heart goes out to the family in this incident and I will update as more information becomes available.

Last week's fatal dog attack in Wisconsin - Updated

Updated 4-9-13

Finally a bit more information about this case. According to a report in the Janesville Gazettte last week, the babysitter, Susan Ilwicki, owned two 45 lbs "pit bull terriers". On the afternoon of the event, Iwicki went outside and were reportedly playfully nipping at Iwicki as she held the 14 month old boy. Iwicki then reportedly "yelled at them" and "batted" them away. It was upon that striking that the dogs became frenzied and started pulling at her coat and biting at her hand. Iwicki then lost hold of 14 month old Daxton and the boy fell to the ground and the dogs pounced on the boy.

There is more to the story according to the police report at the link. Essentially it sounds like the dogs were overly excited (either just by being outside, or with the presence of the young toddler). In their over-excitement Iwicki yelled and struck the dogs -- which resulted in an even more heightened level of arrousal. 

We talk a lot her about understanding warning signs and understanding canine behavior -- and understanding that if you have highly arroused dogs there are ways to calm that excitement. Yelling and hitting them isn't it.

Even more bizarre is a neighbor's claim that he heard Iwicki's screams but didn't investigate because he'd been "watching too many horror movies lately" - which may be the more bizarre statements I've ever heard.

Original Story

In a story that I'm sure most of the readers of this blog have heard about already, last week, 14 month old Daxton Borchardt died from injuries sustained in a dog attack. There has been a LOT of media coverage about the incident (50+ news reports), but not a lot of actual causal information that has come out.  I've been holding off posting until more info came out but it now seems that that will be less likely for awhile.

So this is what we know:

The young toddler (who was very mobile) was staying with his babysitter, 30 year old Susan Iwicki in the small community of Walworth, WI (population 1,676) . The two dogs involved in the attack (both described as "pit bulls") were owned by Iwicki. The incident apparently happened outdoors, and not in the apartment where Iwicki lived. The apartment is apparently in a remodeled old barn behind another home.

The boy was tragically bitten, and tranported to the hospital where he later died.

Walworth is a tiny community (population 1,676) that is situated about half way between Milwaukee and Chicago right along the Wisconsin/Illinois border.

The dogs were immediately taken to a local veterinarian and euthanized.

Little else is really known about the incident at this point, and the media coverage has been hit or miss with some trying to create unnecessary hysteria, one outlet that used no common sense in stalking the father's facebook page and publishing his despair (I refuse to provide a link)  and others noting that this is the third fatal dog attack in Wisconsin in the past 11 years (with three different breeds of dogs involved in those incidents).

I've been in communication with several folks up in Wisconsin and there seem to be a fair amount of speculation as to the cause of the attack, but nothing tangible to date to report. I'll definitely update this as more information comes out.

My heart goes out to the Borchardt family and those close to them as they deal with this tragedy and I hope that as time progresses we can find out more about the circumstances that led up to the attack so that other families can avoid similar situations. Tragedies like this are very rare, but having intelligent dialogue about the circumstances that cause them can help others -- and it's a shame that anonymous breed haters and not real animal behavior experts have flooded comment sections of media outlets spewing mis-information and hatred.

 

 

Updated: Seven year old Illinois boy dies from dog attack

Update: 3/10/13 - Well, more news about the dogs involved in this attack, and as expected, the backstory gives a lot of indication of problems here well before this attack occurred as the dogs had been involved in at least 4 incidents involving law enforcement in just the past 8 months.

Based on a new story by the Galesburg Register Mail,  The dogs were owned by Ashiya Ferguson and Jereme J. Carter. In June, 2012, the dogs were found running at large from their home and police came. The dogs were eventually able to make their way back into their home, and no charges were filed. Two months later, Carter was arrested and charged with the shooting death of Terrell Allen. Later, after the murder, Ferguson was parked in front of Carter's house when subjects opened fire and struck the vehicle with 11 bullets.

Following Carter's sentencing in September, Ferguson and the two dogs moved into the mother's home on Whiting Avenenue (where the recent dog attack took place). Since that time, animal control officers have been to the residence twice, once on Dec 20 and once on Feb 8 about the dogs being left outside in the cold.

Following last week's dog attack, Ferguson insisted the Humane Society take the second pit bull (that wasn't involved in the attack. According to the Knox County Humane Society Director Erin Buckmaster, the second dog was "wasn't aggressive, but it was pretty hungry and its ribs were showing."

The follow-up evidence continues to solidify the reality that dog attack tragedies, such as this one, are not caused by the dogs, but are symptomatic of much larger societal problems which in some cases shows itself in poor parenting, and in this case shows itself in poor care of the dogs. In this case, the dogs seem to have been a part of a very violent past, and often neglected. 

It's a shame, and a tragedy, but as usual, as more evidence comes out it becomes clear that the dogs involved in these cases are most often the victims of human negligence and poor care and the circumstances leading up to the attack are far more telling than the types of dogs involved.

Thanks to the Galesburg Register Mail for following up on this story and bringing the incremental details to light.

Original Story

Over the weekend, 7 year old Ryan Maxwell was killed by a dog in Galesburg, IL.

Information surrounding the event has been slowing being released through the media, but the series of events are still a little unclear.

The boy went out roller skating with a friend Friday night, and stayed the night at the friend's house. On Saturday, the boys were in the backyard playing when Ryan was attacked by one of what sounds like multiple dogs that were kept chained in the back yard. The attacking dog is being called a "pit bull". The boy's mother says the dogs were "starving" in the back yard and that she suspects the boy was trying to feed one of the dogs when the attack occurred. The adults were at home at the time, but not supervising the kids.

Neighbors who were interviewed anonymously, said they feared the dog and had called animal control in the past about the dog but could never prove the dog was dangerous.

Galesburg city officials have been interviewing a lot of people in the community, and have noted that the "common thread" that keeps coming out is about the need for more responsible pet ownership.

It is definitely a tragedy, and a preventable one. It sounds like the dogs were very poorly cared for -- maybe underfed, definitely tethered (which can dramatically impact the behavior of a dog), that neighbors had reported being aggressive in the past -- and then were approached by an unfamiliar young boy.

It's tragic. And preventable. And focusing on responsible pet ownership, and behavior-based dangerous dog laws can help officers identify dangerous-behaving dogs prior to a tragic incident.

Galesburg is a small community of about 36,000 people -- with more than 22% of the population living below the poverty line (about 50% higher than the national average) and 70% higher than the state average.

Dog attacks like this are exceedingly rare. In the United States there are more than 70 million owned dogs, and most never bite and certainly don't attack. When these incidents occur they are always because of a series of circumstances (usually related to irresponsible ownership practices) that lead to the dog being aggressive and acting aggressively. These attacks are the exception, not the norm.

My heart goes out to Ryan's family and friends as they deal with the tragedy and I will update this post if more information becomes available.

The story has been picked up by 30+ media outlets.

Tragic dog bite related fatality in Sabinal, TX

Over the weekend, 2 year old Isaiah Aguilar was tragically killed by his neighbor's dog.

Accoring to the reports, the 2 year old toddler was playing in the yard with a balloon when the wind blew the balloon away from him and into the neighbor's yard. The boy went through a "hole" in the fence to get the balloon and approached one of two dogs (reported by the media as "pit bulls") that was chained in the yard of the home (based on the images in this news report, there is every reason to believe the dogs lived their lives on these chains) The boy got within the range of the chain and was bitten multiple times by the dog.

According to the boy's sister, the owner of the dog's saw the incident and came to the door, but when they saw what was happening, just shook their head and walked back inside. The dog's owners were apparently relatives of the victim and according to the victim's parents, knew the dogs were vicious because they had "raised them to be that way".

The boy's parents came back outside when they heard the commotion and called for help, but the boy died at the hospital (which was 20 miles away).

The story has been picked up in about a dozen media outlets. The small community of Sabinal, with a population of 1500 people, has a poverty rate of more than 30% -- more than double the national average.

This is yet another example of why people/places/news sources that focus on the breed of dog involved are completely misplaced in their interpretation of these very rare, tragic events. First of all, it's absolutely NOT ok for people to own incredibly aggressive dogs. And chaining dogs has a known impact on the psyche of a dog and will help cause it to aggress. It is also not ok for parents to leave their toddlers out unsupervised. There are a host of things that young toddlers can get into if left unattended. And it's impossible to ignore that tragedies like this one seem to be a symptom of much large social issues than being actual dog issues. We must continue to focus on all of the circumstances surrounding these events if we hope to prevent them. This event was caused by a series of human-created circumstances -- and should be treated as such.

This is a horrible incident and my thoughts and prayers go out to the Aguilar family. 

91 year old woman dead from apparent dog attack

According to media reports, 91 year old Elsie Grace was found dead last Friday in a room at the Motel 6 in Hemet, CA. Officers say that Grace had been staying with her son, and their two 'pit bulls' in the motel. They were moving to Hemet and staying in the motel until they could find permanent residence.

Officers say the injuries are consistent with those sustained in a dog attack.

There were no witnesses to the incident, so little is known at this point about what circumstances may have led up to the incident. A representative from the local humane society notes that the dogs seem friendly and as if they were family pets.

The motel where they were staying was a Motel 6 (known for being a low-price provider) in a very tough part of town. The 92543 area code has a poverty rate of 41% -- with nearly 30% of the population living at at income of less than 50% of the poverty rate. These are VERY high numbers. So the living condition of two adults, and 2 dogs, in a small motel room in a tough neighborhood may have well played a role.

There are certainly a lot of things that could have led up to this incident, but at this point, they'd all be somewhat speculation. If more information comes out following the autopsy then I will most definitely put the information out there.

My heart goes out to the family -- this sounds like a really horrible, and likely preventable, tragedy.

Four year old Texas boy dies from dog attack

Four year old Christian Gormanous, of Conroe, TX, died tragically over the weekend after being attacked by  a neighbor's dog. The boy was outside playing in his backyard with his 9 year old sister and climbed over his neighbor's fence and approached the neighbor's dog that was chained up in the fenced in back yard. The boy apparently got within reach of the chained dog, described as a "pit bulls, and was severely bitten. The boy's sister pulled him from the dog, and went to get help. The boy later died of the injuries.

The incident is very similar to three other incidents that occurred in 2012 in which toddlers under the age of 4 wandered off their own property unsupervised and up to dogs that were otherwise confined -- 2 via chain and 2 others (one incident) behind an electronic fence.

My heart goes out to both families in this tragic case as they not only have to deal with their loss, but also with the emotions of the 9 year old sister who witnessed the tragedy, and further underscores the need for strong supervision of youngsters as they tend to not understand canine behavior and thus, when to leave a dog alone.

This story has been picked up by about a dozen media outlets thus far.

First fatal incident in 2013

Last week, 65 year old Betty Ann Chapman Todd died from dog bite injuries in Hodges, SC. There are few details in the cause of the attack.

Chapman Todd was babysitting a 17 month old child while the parents went out to dinner. According to reports, she regularly baby sat the children, so she was familiar with the dog.  Another child at the home called the parents to inform them of the attack, and the parents called 911. When the officers arrived, they found the victim on the living room floor with fatal injuries to her neck.

According to officers at the scene, the dog involved "appeared to be a pit bull".

The incident happened in the 29692 area code -- which has a poverty rate more than 50% higher than the national average.

My heart goes out to the family of the victim, and in particular the children who may have witnessed the attack. I do hope they are able to find the resolution to what circumstances may have led up to the attack.

I'll post more details if they become available. The story has been picked up by about a dozen media outlets.

Update: Even though the owner of the dog initially reported that the dog in this story had never shown any aggression before, according to a more recent media report, the dog had previously killed a Husky that lived with the family. The owners then took the dog in to be neutered in hopes of that curing his aggression.

I think this highlights two things that are very important.

#1) As we know, dogs show signs of aggression. And a fatal dog attack is almost never a dog's first sign of aggression, it is their last. If we teach people to recognize aggressive signals they will be better prepared to handle the aggression and get training for it. "My dog has never been aggressive before" is a line to deflect blame, generally not a fact.

#2) We also need to quit telling people that neutering will stop aggression. It won't. While it can be helpful for stemming some unwanted behaviors, the science does not support that it will stop aggressive behavior. Training is the best way to curb aggressive behaviors and we need to be better at informing people that have dogs that show aggression the need for training -- not surgery -- as a response.