Updates: Two dog attack fatalities in one day in separate incidents

For as rare as dog bite fatalities are, this has been a particularly horrible week.

Today, two children were attacked and killed by dogs -- each in its own way completely preventable and each tragic.

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Update: The girl has been identified as Taylor Becker. The dog has been identified as a 5 year old, AKC registered Boxer. The girl apparently received help pretty quickly after the attack but due to the severity of the injuries died fairly quickly from blood loss.  The story has now been picked up by 79 news outlets.

In Iron Ridge, Wisconsin, a 4 year old girl was attacked and killed by a dog that is being described as a Boxer. The girl and her family went to visit some friends and the girl went outside into the yard unattended and up to the dog who was chained in the back yard. It is unclear if the girl and the dog were familiar with each other - but it is very clear that both the girl's parents, and the dog's owner were inside at the time of the attack and the girl and the dog were unsupervised together.

Authorities found the dog running free when they arrived, but authorities think the dog got free after the attack.

Neighbors have noted that they were fearful of the dog and that the dog had show signs of aggression before.

Many of the warning signs were there that could have prevented this attack -- a dog with a history of aggression, chained to a pole in the back yard and an unsupervised four year old girl left alone with that dog.

My heart goes out to the family.

This story has been picked up by 25 news outlets to this point -- and I'll update any new information that is released on the story.

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In the other attack,7 year old Jason Walker was attacked and killed early this morning by up to four free-roaming dogs. The dogs, currently being described as 3 'pit bulls' and a "mixed breed" were running at large in a rural area in central Illinois near the community of Varna. There is no leash law in the area. 

No one witnessed the attack, so it is unclear how many dogs, and which dogs participated in the attack. One of the dogs is reported to have been aggressive on previous occassions.

Dogs with a history of aggression, allowed to run as a pack at large with no supervision (legally) is a pretty bad recipe -- especially when children may be around.

The story has been picked up by 39 news sources at this time.

My heart also goes out to the Walker family as they deal with this tragedy.

It is my hope that through incidents like this people will learn the underlying causes of dog attacks. In each of these cases, the warning signs were there with previous signs of aggression. In one case, the dogs were still let to roam at-large as a pack, and in the other, the dog was left chained to a post and an unsupervised young girl was allowed to just walk up to the dog.

Both were incidents were preventable with owners taking the care to work with their dogs that have known aggression issues and with the owners properly containing their dogs.

Comments

[MichelleD]

Leash laws are completely unfeasable in rural area - dogs need to run loose to do their farm jobs and have done so for hundreds of years and most fatalities are not in the country. And some places (one city in France in particular) have no leash laws even in the city. Calgary has over 100 off-leash parks. In both places the ability to run free are credited for having more socialized dogs with fewer bites.

Point proven by the "leashed" and unsocialized Boxer.

Well socialized/cared for off leash dogs are not a threat. Unsocialized, poorly cared for dogs ARE - leashed or otherwise.

I HIGHLY doubt that it is legal for aggressive dogs to run loose terrorizing people just because their is no leash law. If dogs are running loose and aggressive, people can take care of the situation themselves legally - you have every right to defend yourself.

I think we need to diferentiate between "at large" and "unleashed". At large meaning unsupervised and unleashed meaning supervised but without confinment. Something like that...this sounds like a push for more leash laws which will just created a bunch of chained dogs in poor rural areas.

[J.M.]

I think this clearly demonstrates why the previous message left on this blog about "safer breeds" by Mr or Ms "Wakeup" is so dangerous.

My condolences to both these families.

[Roberta Beach]

I lost my favorite personal dog to a rescue English Coonhound whom I brought in. He had had to be "alpha" rolled in a former foster home: red flag one. He became attached to a visitor and when I asked him to leave or pulled him away, turned on me w/bared teeth: red flags!!! I didn't take him to the vet soon enough. He incited my lovely rescue Pit Bull and between them, they tore out the neck of my hound mix of 7 years. I will always be watchful and weary of aggressive tendencies - they get no lee way here anymore. I learned a hard lesson at the cost of 3 dog lives - as well as a broken heart.