KC DOG BLOG

Updated: Dog attack fatality in Arizona

Updated 12/30:

As expected, there is a little more to the story. According to a report from the Las Vegas Review Journal, the fight originally broke out between the family's 40 pound 'shepherd' and a 14 lbs Cocker Spaniel. When the fight began, four other dogs owned by the Vicks -- a Boxer named Dempsy and three "boxer mixes" between 45-60 lbs joined the skirmish culminating into a major dog fight.

Vick was in the middle of trying to break up the dog fight when he suffered a bite that cut through his femoral artery. It is believed that Dempsy is the dog that bit him. Vick died from blood loss due to the major artery being cut. 

I mentioned this in my facebook page earlier today, that often the difference between a major dog bite, and a fatal one, is the 'unlucky' location of the bite. It appears that that is the case here as well.

It also helps us understand how both Vick and his wife Denise were so badly injured with there being 6 dogs involved instead of just the two.

All 5 dogs will be euthanized. The Cocker Spaniel apparently died due to injuries sustaining in the attack.

My heart goes out to the Vick family. This sounds like a really horrible situation to have been a part of.

 

Original Post:

Over the weekend, there was another dog-bite related fatality.

Before I get into the event, and the causal factors for the event, I do want to remind everyone that dogs are incredibly safe. There are around 75 million owned dogs in this country, and every year only around 30 are involved in a fatal incident. These incidents almost always involve a perfect storm of problems that led up to the attack. This case is no different.

In the incident, Thomas Vick Sr., 64, died from wounds caused by his own dog. Vick's wife, Diane, is a former mayor of Bullhead City, AZ.

According to the reports, Vick's dog, described as a Boxer, got into a fight with his other dog, a Cocker Spaniel.  Both Thomas and Diane tried to break up the fight between the two dogs when the Boxer redirected toward the owners -- biting both of them. Thomas died due to his injuries.

Diane is recovering from her injuries at a medical center in Las Vegas.

While this type of occurrance isn't typical of how the majority of fatal dog attacks occur, I see how this happens. Sibling rivalry among dogs isn't terribly uncommon -- particularly in cases where resource guardng may occur (over food, toys, bones). If people are not familiar with how to stop a bite like this (ie, try to never get our body between the dogs, but try to use another oblect like a trash can lid, or something in between them) it can be pretty easy to put oneself in harm's way.

This story has been picked up by the Associated Press and is being fairly widely distributed already. Hopefully more information will be made available once Diane is healthy enough to talk about the incident.

Bullhead City is not a rich community, with more than 25% of its residents living below the poverty line. However, it is probably unlike that the Vick's, who held a prominent place in the community were among the high percentage of the population that was poor.

My heart goes out to the Vick family in this attack.

 

Three dog bite related fatalities from the past couple of weeks

Earlier this month, a new study came out that highlighted some of the many factors that were common themes among dog-bite-related fatalities over a 10 year stretch. As expected, the results included the reality that there were a lot of environment factors that were common themes in these attacks, and that in most cases, it was multiple environmental factors at once that were in play  to help create the circumstances for a fatal dog attack.

It's important to to note that dogs are exceptionally safe -- with only around 30 of the nation's 80 million dogs being involved in a fatal dog bite incident each year. So when tragic events happen, it's important to look at the incidents in a full-circle look to determine what factors were most likely causal factors of such an incident. In the three most recent cases, you'll note many of the common elements from the study come into account -- including very young children who's interactions with dogs were not supervised, a situation involving criminal child neglect, and a situation where dogs were kept in near-isolation from human interacting and left chained and neglected.

Jah'niyah White -- 2 years old, Chicago, IL

Based on the media reports, it certainly sounds like there is a LOT about this incident that we aren't being told that will undoubtedly come out in future reports. But based on what is currently being noted, is that 2 year old Jah'niyah was left wto stay at her grandfather's house while her mother was at work.

However, due to circumstances that have yet to be reported, the young girl was tragically attacked and killed by two dogs (described as 'pit bulls' by the family) that were owned by her grandfather.

While autopsy results confirmed involvement by the dogs, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office offially ruled that the young girl had been neglected and died as a result of injuries suffered during a dog attack. Neglect has officially declared as a "contributing factor". The examiner's office has ruled the girl's death to be a homicide.

As of the most recent media reports, the grandfather has yet to be charged in the girl's death, but it sounds like that may be coming soon -- at which point more evidence about the circumstances of the neglect will be available. Young toddlers left unsupervised with dogs are among the most vulnerable to major dog attacks such as this. 

The news story was widely reported in the media. The incident also happened in the 60617 zip code, where more than 25% of the population (nearly double the national average) lives below the poverty line.

Mia Gibson, 3 months Old - Columbus, OH

According to the media reports, 3 month old Mia Gibson was asleep with her father on the sofa and at some point rolled off of the sofa and fell onto the floor. The infant was then apparently fatally injured by the family's two "Shiba Inus" where were said have been playing roughly with her causing fatal injuries. Authorities definitely made attempts to clarify this as not an "attack". 

The girl's father says that he slept through the incident.

One other point that I think is important here is that I've now read from multiple different sources that the infant was actually born very premature -- and at three months old, was actually at about the point where her mother would have been full term. So while a 3 month old infant is definitely fragile, it appears that young Mia may have been exceptionally fragile for her age.

The incident has been ruled a "tragic accident". While much of the reporting on this one was local, and fairly reasonable, one news station ran a story with the ridiculous headline "How dangerous is a Shibu Inu?" Of course, it's easy to laugh at the headline when a Shibu Inu is involved, but it's equally ridiculous if the headline would have been replaced with any other breed of dog following an incident such as this. 

Michal Nelson - 41 - Jarales, NM

Based on the media reports, 41 year old Michal Nelson was attacked and killed by one of 12 dogs that belonged to the woman.

I'm posting a visual here to help set the scene. But according to reports, Nelson went into this pen where all 12 dogs were chained up and was breaking ice out of the dogs' water bowls. Based on other visuals, this pen seems to be pretty far away from any type of residence.

As Nelson was breaking up the ice from the water bowls, that one of the dogs attacked her, and wounded her fatally. All 12 dogs were described as "pit bulls" that were apparently being used for breeding.

In the study on fatalities launched earlier this month, there is a very detailed part of the report that talks about "resident" dogs vs "family dogs" -- whereas family dogs reside in homes, with families, "resident" dogs are kept separate from the family. According to the researchers, one explanation for the reason why a disproportionate number of "resident dogs" are involved in attacks like this is because they lack the proper human socialization to properly cue off of unusual circumstances.

In this case, the dogs are all clearly kept as resident dogs. All were chained, and the living conditions would definitely be described as poor. 

The keeping of dogs in this type of manner would definitely be a contributing factor to a major dog attack incident.

The community of Belen, NM, where the incident occurred, has 35% of its residents living below the poverty line -- which is more than double the national average -- and it appears that it was definitely a factor in the attack.

My heart goes out to the families in all of these cases as these tragedies are all so often tragically avoidable.

 

Catching up on some dog bite related fatalities

As much as I hate covering these stories, I continue to remain on top of them. I would much prefer to spend time wrting about all of the good things dogs bring into our lives, and about the good a lot of shelters are doing to change the face of sheltering in this country. However, I feel like this is important as it seems that the only other people who report on these cases are doing so with an ignorance as to social and causal factors that lead up to dog attacks, and with an anti-dog agenda.

Dogs are very safe animals. We live in a society with more than 75 million dogs; and each year only around 30 are involved in fatal attacks. And when we look at the circumstances surround the attacks, we start to find the root causes of them that can help us prevent future attacks.

Breed isn't a primary causal factor. And even if it was proven to be a secondary factor, targeting breeds with legislation that is both over inclusive (including dogs that are not aggressive) and under inclusive (by not targeting dogs that have shown aggressive tendencies, has proven repeatedly to be an ineffective and costly 'solution'. 

So with that, here is a rundown of five fatal attacks that have occurred over about the last 6 weeks, and an update on a story from earlier this year that shows how once certain facts come out you start to see the root causes of how human behavior can cause severe incidents -- often without people understanding how or why. The incidents almost always follow a pattern of behavior including unsupervised child interactions with dogs, packs of free-roaming dogs, or dogs with a history of aggressive behavior.

If we want to stop these types of attacks, we need to move away from conversations about "Breeds" and move toward conversations about how dogs are kept, socialized and how toddler interactions with dogs should be supervised -- and how dog attacks such as this are actually more of a symptom of social issues than a stand-alone causal event.

Jordan Ryan - 5 years old - Baker City, OR

One morning, in late September, Jordan Ryan's mom dropped him off at a friend's house for the day. While the boy's mom and her friend were inside talking, Jordan wandered outside unattended into the back yard where a dog was kept. Tragically, the dog, described as a "pit bull" attacked and killed the young boy. By media accounts, the dog had been with the family for less that 6 weeks and it doesn't sound like the dog had ever interacted with the child before.

It's definitely a tragic incident, but we talk about this all the time about the importance of adults supervising children around dogs as unsupervised children are most at risk -- particularly because children aren't good at reading canine behavior. 

It's also important to note that Baker City, a community of about 10,000 people, has a poverty rate of over 26% -- which is significantly higher than the national average of about 16%. It is not uncommon for areas with high poverty rates to have myriad social problems -- of which dogs can often become a symptom of the larger social problem.

 Nge Woodhead -- 65 - Spanaway, WA

Sixty five year old Woodhead was out on her daily walk when two dogs that were roaming at large attacked her from behind. Bystanders came to Woodhead's aid and she was taken to the hospital where she seemed to make a recovery. Then, as she was about to be discharged from the hospital, suffered a heart attack related and died at the hospital.

The dogs implicated in the incident were described as "pit bulls". 

Adults who end up as part of fatal dog attacks are usually older (and thus more vulnerable) and are most often a victim of being attacked by multiple dogs at once. Which is the case for Ms. Woodhead.

Terry Douglass - 56 - Baltimore, MD

Douglass was apparently attacked and killed by her own dog. Douglass suffered from cerebral palsy and had been confined to a wheelchair for the past two years. 

The dog, described as a pit bull, had had previous run-ins with animal control -- having had bitten Douglass on four previous occassions. Two years ago, the dog bit Douglass in the face causing a severe bite. In April, the dog was impounded for biting both Douglass and her nephew. The incident seemed to have occurred in some guarding over some dropped food.

After the attack in April, Douglass's daughter Tamithia pleaded with animal control not to return the dog, Bootsie, back to Douglass but Animal Control did in spite of multiple previous dog bites.

Douglass's nephew said that she originally got the dog for protection and that while she thought she could handle the dog, but couldn't. A neighor described the dog as "vicious" and "scary". 

Douglass lived in the 21218 zip code of Baltimore -- a zip code where 24% of residents live below the poverty line (again, significantly higher than the national average and more than double the state average). It's also important to note that Baltimore has one of the highest crime rates in the nation -- so living in a poverty-stricken neighborhood in Baltimore probably game Douglass a legitimate reason to be worried for her safety. Unfortunately, in the process, she got a dog that she apparently wanted to be aggressive, and was, and became a vicitm to the dog's viciousness.

If you have a dog that is showing aggressive signs, please seek professional help from a dog trainer with how to deal with those signs. 

Katherine Atkins - 25 - Kernersville, NC

 There is frustratingly very little information about this incident -- but according to reports, the 25 year old Atkins went outside to feed two dogs owned by her boyfriend. Something obviously went terribly wrong and Atkins was found killed by the two dogs. No one witnessed the attack, so little information about the events leading up to it are available.

The dogs, described as pit bulls, appear to be outside dogs -- kept in a fenced in area in the back of their rural-ish property. The dogs were definitely not kept as indoor family pets....although they didn't seem necessarily neglected either. 

The article notes that the owner had owned the dogs since they were puppies. I'd love to know at what age the dogs were removed from their litter....

Levi Watson - 4 -White County, AR

Young Levi, and his mother were visiting a friend in Bradford, AR and the 4 year old toddler ventured outside unattended, and then entered an enclosed area where the dogs were kept.

The adults in the home heard a commotion outside and ran out to find the toddler inside the pen with the dogs being attacked. The dogs were described as "pit bulls".

Nearly identical to the Jordan Ryan case above, again it appears as an instance of the dogs being kept outside (vs as inside family pets) and again, an unsupervised toddler that wandered outside alone and into the fenced in area to dogs that were not socialized at all with the child.

 In the community of Bradford, 32% of the population lives below the poverty line -- more than double the rate of the national average.

Joan Kappen - 75 - Hot Springs Village, AR

Update:

More details have been released. Based on the report from THV11, the dog responsible for the attack, Patrone, had developed a pretty long history of biting people and would regularly bite out of fear. Bites include having bitten an intoxicated family member at a party, biting a neighbor in the face, and having bitten his owner 2 years ago after she came to work with bandages on her arms from an attack. 

On the day of the attack, Brande Coy, the owner's mother, sent Patrone and another dog out to go to the bathroom and went back inside. After hearing screams, Brande went out and secured Patrone and then went inside and called 911. Brande then remained in the home washing her own face, hair and changing clothes while the victim Kappan) remained in a ditch outside. Emergency response crewes arrived 16 minutes later.

Also, authorities were able to determine that Patrone was the littermate of the dog involved in fatally killing a 5 year old boy in Jessieville, AR in June of this year.

Both the owner, and Brande Coy have been arrested on charges of owning a vicious dog, misdemeanor offense of unlawful dog attack and felony manslaughter based on the premise that the owners should have known that Patrone was a public safety threat based on his previous behavior and that letting the dog out, unleashed and unsupervised was criminal negligence.

Original Story: The 75 year old Kappan was out on her morning walk and was tragically attacked by her neighbor's Bull Mastiff. The dog's owner was out of town on vacation and the dog was being cared for by a dog sitter.  The reports are generally pretty vague, but based on the reports, it appears the dog sitter may have just put the dog outside, not on a leash, and was inside at the the time of the attack and may have "gone out" to attempt to break up the fight. There has also been some concern by Hot Springs Village residents that the community apparently has no leash law. 

It's interesting to note here that Garland County (of which part of Hot Springs Village resides) recently spent months creating a law that targets "high risk" breeds. Bull Mastiffs were not targeted by the ordinance. It just shows that again, it's not "breeds" that are agressive, and targeting them is not effective legislation. Educating people about canine behavior and how to properly handle their dogs is important.

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And in a quick follow up story; earlier this year there was a story of an attack involving a  14 month old child, Daxton Borchard, in Wisconsin. Alldogsbite.org had an excellent follow up with additional information from the police report that wasn't fully reported by the media.

There is a lot of information there -- but one is an extremely interesting tidbit that notes that the owner of the dogs had actually gotten them when they were THREE WEEKS old -- the dogs were removed from their litter early apparently because the mother wasn't producing enough milk for the puppies. 

Academic research notes that dogs that are removed from their owners early (prior to 8 weeks) show dramatic increases in destructivenesss, fearfulness, noise reactivity, toy possessiveness, food possessiveness, attention seeking, aversion to strangers, stranger aggression, play biting and owner aggression. MOST of these behaviors were described in the police report.

This is why, so often, media reports are just the baseline of information and digging further (certainly beyond "breed") will help us uncover truths of canine behavior and public safety.

My deepest sympathies go out to the victims and the families of all of these cases and I do hope that society will begin asking the right question about circumstances to help eliminate these few cases of dog/human relationships gone wrong.

The common denominators

So, the past week or so has been a particularly hazzardous week when it comes to toddlers, and dogs. In the US, there have been now three young children killed by dogs in just the past 7 days. 

It's awful.

And while there are people out there who seem to want us to be very fearful of dogs and are trying to create hysteria, they seem to miss that there is a major, common denominator in these cases.

So, in order of their happening, here are the cases: 

Jordon Reed

Kotzebue, AK: 5 year old Jordon Reed was out playing in his front yard on Saturday night when his family reported him missing after he wandered off unsupervised. Local fire, police and search and rescue personel searched for the young boy only to find him dead in a field at 4 am on Sunday morning on the outskirts of town. The boy was determined to have been killed by dogs.

Police captured several free roaming dogs in the area -- one of which was believed to be involved in killing the boy. 

Authorities report that packs of loose dogs have been an increasing problem in the small community. The dog involved in the attack was said to be a loose fugitive from a sled dog "musher's lot". The dog believed to be put down was said to be a "Husky mix".

Earlier this year, the city council passed an ordinance that required people who owned "vicious breeds" to carry insurance for their animals and keep them secured in penned yards. I don't have clarification on what breeds were a part of that ordinance, but it sure seemed like some type of leash requirement may have been in order (although leash laws tend to not be popular in rural settings).

Kotzebue is a small community of about 3200 people. The poverty rate of Kotzebue is about 16% -- about 33% higher than the state average. 

"Daniel"

Gilbert, AZ - An unnamed 2 year old boy was tragically killed by multiple dogs in his babysitter's home. The details of the event are still a little scarce, but according to the reports, the child was a specail needs child that was being babysat along with his four sibblings. There were also four dogs in the home.

At some point, it's being reported that a dog fight broke out among 3 of the dogs, and somehow, the young toddler ended up getting in the middle of the attack.  The 28 year old babysitter was injuried trying to break up the fight between the dogs and the young toddler ended up suffering life-threatening injuries.

While authorites say that they may press charges on the sitter, it may also have been a case of the toddler being in "the wrong place at the wrong time."

Neighbors report that the dogs were usually kept outside.  

The dogs are being described as 'mixed breed pit bulls" although from the visuals, they look more "mixed" than "Breed".

 It's unclear at this point how closely the child and dogs were being supervised, however, I'd contend that no one person can fully supervise 5 children and four dogs by themselves....especially considering that all five of the children were apparently special needs. 

Samuel Zamudio

Colton, CA  - Two year old Samuel "went missing" at around 5:00 on Monday afternoon. After about a 30 minute search, the family found the toddler dead in the back yard of the home apparently killed by one or more of the five dogs that were in the back yard. 

The dogs are being described as "pit bull mixes" -- although the dog in this picture is a mixed breed at most. Neighbors had often complained that the dogs were often kept in a stench an that they seemed "restless and starved for attention".

The boy was visiting some family members. The boy's uncle and grandmother have been arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment for not properly supervising the 2 year old toddler.

Colton, CA has a poverty rate of 28% -- nearly double the national average -- and poverty does seem to be an influencing factor in this case.

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As you read through the the stories, common denominators arrise. In three of the cases, the toddlers were out in their yard unsupervised. In one case the amount of supervision is undetermined, but 5 special needs children and 4 dogs is a LOT for any one person to adequately supervise.

In all 3 cases there were multiple dogs involved. In all three cases the children were not well-socialized with the dogs. And in all three cases it appears the dogs were not terribly well socialized in the first place. 

Two of the three cases happened in low socio-economic settings, where often dog issues are a symptom of larger social issues that exist in the area.

In all three of the cases the dogs were described as mixed breed dogs. One involved a "husky mix" the other two involved "pit bull mixes" -- although the dogs are very different in appearances and it is highly unlikely that they shared much, if any, genetic lineage.

As much as some sources might like to make this about different breeds of dogs, or dangerous dogs, or whatever, it's not. If we want to solve dog bite issues in this country we should focus on the circumstances, not the "breed" of dog. 

For one, it is most likely that the attacks occurred by mixed breed dogs (which quickly dilute breed traits).  

For another, there clearly other factors involved -- including, most importantly - -the need to adequately supervise children. When young children and toddlers are allowed to roam outside, they quickly become potential victims to a whole host of dangerous things in the world that they are not equipped to understand how to avoid. Meanwhile, it's also important that dogs get socialization -- and not be abandoned in back yard, or allowed to roam freely in packs. 

My heart goes out to all of these families. These are true, tragedies, and all were avoidable.

Catching up: Two Fatal Dog attacks from 2 weeks ago

I'm still catching up from some personal and professional stuff going on, but there are a couple of fatal dog attacks that I need to get logged. 

I will start this as I start most of these discussions by noting that fatal dog attacks are VERY rare. With 75 million owned dogs in the US, and 300 million people, there are extremely few dog attacks in this country. However, like almost everything in our lives, there is some risk with dogs, and when these rare incidents occur it's always important to look at the social and human circumstances that led up to the attacks so we can better learn how to prevent them.  

Arianna Merrbach

In Effingham, SC, 5-year old Arianna Merrbach was tragically killed in late June outside a relative's home. The young girl wandered outside unattended and walked up to the dog (described as a "pit bull mix") that was chained up in the back yard of the relative's home where a neighbor said the dogs were "usually" tied up. According to reports, the young girl was familiar with the dogs (there were 3 on the property).

It has been reported often that tethering, as a primary form of containment is not an ideal situation for a dog -- particularly if the dog is exposed to predators or where the containment can lead to frustration and poor socialization. It is also well-documented that children generally lack the ability to recognize warning signals that are given by dogs and thus, their interactions with dogs should always be supervised.

 The poverty rate in Florence (where the Effingham zip code falls) is 26.6% -- which is significantly higher than the national rate of about 15%. While poverty is not an indicator of irresponsible dog ownership, major dog attacks do tend to happen in areas of high poverty where other social problems exist.

The story was picked up in only about 10 local news sources. 

My heart goes out to the Merrbach family.

Linda Oliver

In Liberty County, TX, 63 year old Linda Oliver was found dead after being attacked by a dog. According to the reports, the dog wandered onto the family's property 2 weeks ago and Oliver, and her husband, began feeding the stray dog. 

However, one morning Linda went out to feed the stray dog, and the stray began to attack the couple's small Dachsund. Oliver tried to rescue her own dog from the attack, and the stray dog turned on her and began attacking her -- biting her many times. 

Oliver was able to get away and called her husband to tell her she'd been bitten but she sounded weak at the time and then the phone went dead. By the time authorities arrived, Oliver died from blood loss due to her injuries. When authorities arrived, the dog was very aggressive and charged at the officers and they shot the dog. 

The stray dog was described as a large, long-haired black and white dog and has been called both a "Labrador Retriever Mix"  and a "mastiff-Rottweiler mix". The reality is that as a stray, it was likely just a large, mixed-breed mongrel. 

The story is tragic and shows why it is important to be cautious around stray, unknown dogs that likely lack proper socialization and let authorities take percautions about with the dog's temperament. My heart goes out to the Oliver family -- who were just looking to do what they thought was the right thing.

The storywas picked up by 30 news sources. The area where this attack happened has a poverty rate of 38% -- 2 1/2 times that national average. 

San Francisco area dog bite fatality

Update:

From the Republic: the victim's mother has confirmed that the boy, indeed, was riding the dog like a horse just before the bite occurred. She also confirmed that the boy was conscious and talking after the incident and the family thought he would need only minor medical attention.  The incident was so minor that according to this report, the family waited 2 1/2 hours before even taking the boy to the hospital.

Seems like one of the questions that needs to be answered is, how did such a minor bite apparently become fatal?

 

Original Story

Major dog bite fatalities are extremely rare. There are nearly 75 million owned dogs in this country, and yet, each year, only 30 are involved in incidents that are fatal.

It's not common. And that's why when fatal bites happen, they are big news. While society barely notices commonplace events these days (such as car crash fatalities, which claim 65,000 people each year), it thrives on the obscure.  And dog bite fatalities are just that.

Such is the case of of the tragic in San Francisco.

As I get into the details of this, please note that all of the information at this point comes from media reports -- and per usual, piecing together the story is often challenging with misisng pieces and mis-information being commonplace.

However, to the best of what I can discern, 6 year old Nephi Selu was at the home of some relatives in Union City (where the boy is said to be living) on Monday. According to reports, the boy was outside playing with the dog and engaging in some type of "horseplay". While that's a general term, officials seem to speculate that the boy was actually trying to climb onto the dog's back and "ride it like a little horse". 

The dog, being described as a "pit bull mix", then spun around and issued what is described as a singular bite on the young child.  "It looks like it was a single bite of a large and strong animal and a young child, and that's not a good combination," said police commander Ben Horner. 

The boy was taken to the hospital where it was reported that the boy was concious and talking for hours. The boy's uncle, Keala Keanaaina, thought the boy would be fine "after a couple of stitches" and went to work. And later found out the boy died. 

It is also worth mentioning that while the area where this happened is not a poverty-stricken area, and Keanaaina has a good job as a police officer in San Mateo, the living arrangement isn't one that is necessarily normal. Based on the media report, the house is shared with Keanaaina and his wife and 7 children, the victim, his parents, and his grandparents -- so 14 people were reportedly living in this home. While the family seems to be from the Pacific Isles, and this may be a cultural difference, it's still a LOT of people living in one home and worth noting.

It's a bizaare story in that the injuries didn't appear to be life-threatening and yet the boy died later at the hospital (which make one wonder).  It's also worth noting that the boy did suffer from a mild case of autism. While I've long mentioned that children, as a whole, generally lack good knowledge of canine behavior and the ability to read warning signals, a child with autism (which impairs social and non-verbal communication) would further inhibit the child from being able to read warning signals. This, combined with the possibility of the child physically hurting the animal while trying to climb on its back (where have we seen this before?), and not being able to judge obvious warning signals, may have led the dog to defend itself in the only way it had left. 

I'm truly saddened for the victim and his family -- but become increasingly angry when the pit bull hater crowd comes out of the woodwork and hijacks the conversation on these issues.

Let me be clear: unless the media starts letting animal welfare experts and people who understand dog behavior control these conversations, we will not be able to better educate people on the actual causes of these attacks. In this case, it seems fairly clear that in some way, shape or form the child, who was unsupervised and most likely unable to read the dog's body language, hurt the dog, causing it to lash out. We MUST let experts control the conversation and allow people to realize that while attacks like this are rare, this is how they happen. 

More from Donna at Bad Rap.

Oklahoma tornado survivor dies weeks later in Arkansas dog attack

Tragedy has struck one Oklahoma family twice.

On Sunday, a 5 year old boy was attacked by the dog owned by a family friend.

The boy, and his two year old sister, were staying with some friends in Jessieville, AR as their family worked to repair their home in Moore, OK -- which was destroyed in the May 20th tornado that struck that area.

Then, the boy suffered another, this time fatal, tragedy.

Piecing the story together from the media reports (of which there have been more than 300) is quite a challenge as most are lacking a lot of critical information. However, it appears as if the boy was putting on some shoes and began throwing a tantrum, and even "acted out" at 50 year old Lynn Geiling who was watching the boy at the time. 

Authorities say they suspect that the dog, described as a 150 lbs Bull Mastiff, then came in from another room and attacked the boy in an effort to protect Geiling. The boy was taken to the hospital but died of head and neck injuries at the hospital.

The dog then was at large for several hours before a neighbor and friend of the Geilings shot and killed the dog.  

The story has been pretty strange and the information in the media has been spotty -- but this does seem to be how the story has come together (so far) and does make some sense.

It's important to note that there are a lot of factors in play here -- including a child misbehaving and "acting out" toward an adult, and a dog that was not well-socialized with the child (he had only been there a couple of weeks). While I would never say that a dog attacking a child is a normal, acceptable behavior, I think many dogs would show guarding tendencies if they felt their owners were in danger. Unfortunately, this was a gross, over-reaction to a situation by the dog. 

I also want to make a note on how the media portrays attacks.

Take this report by NBC News as an example. 

While the story is about a 5 year old being attacked by a Bull Mastiff, the photo caption of a Bull Mastiff notes: "The Bullmastiff isn't bred to attack, unlike the pit bull, but is considered an assertive guarding breed that shouldn't be left alone with children."

Really?  

First of all, pit bulls have no involvement in this story.

Second, they're not bred to attack.

And third, what exactly would you assume the function of an "assertive guarding breed" is? 

And this is not to imply that Bull Mastiffs are bad dogs. They're not. I've met a great many of them and they've nearly all been great dogs. But I just think it's interesting that some in the media have gone out of their way to excuse the dog's behavior while at the same time implicating a breed of dog that wasn't involved. 

The story then includes a quote from the American Bullmastiff Association which notes that the dogs don't need special training to "react appropriately if his family is threatened.".

Ok. So let me say this. While protecting your family is an appropriate, and common reaction for a large number of dogs to have, attacking a child is not in any way "appropriate". However, this is one reason why I think teaching dogs to be "guard dogs" (there is no evidence that that is the case here) is setting your dog up for failure because they just are not cognitively able to truly identify threats vs strangers. 

Anyway, dog behavior is generally pretty predictable. In this case, if you were familiar with the dog, you probably would have known it was protective in these types of situations. I will note that the behavior of a 5 year old is hardly predictable. 

This really is a tragic situation, that really does seem like a tragic accident. My heart goes out to both families in this case, especially as they were already going through a difficult time.

I'll update this story with any new news that comes out...

Updated: Two dog attack fatalities from the week ending 5/19

Once again I'm a bit behind and am going to group a couple of attacks together. Actually, it makes sense in this case because the circumstances surrounding these attacks are strikingly similar. 

Before getting into the individual cases, I again note that fatal incidents are extremely rare given the 75 million+ owned dogs in the United States. And while the circumstances behind the attacks are very consistent, the type of dog involved is not. This is why all analysis of such attacks should involve looking at all the human-created circumstances leading up to the attack -- this is how such incidents will be eliminated in the future.

Pamela Maria Devitt

Updated: 

Turns out that police were able to determine that the dogs that fatally attacked Pamela Devitt were indeed owned by 29 year old Alex Jackson.

Jackson was originally arrested on drug charges for having a marijuana growing operation at his home, but now is also facing charges of second degree murder. If convincted, he could face life in prison.

In order for murder charges to stick, authorities will have to prove that Jackson should have reasonably known the dogs were a threat.  So far, they have found three or four other people coming forward to testify against Jackson that they too had been attacked by the dogs, or that their livestock had been attacked by the dogs. Turns out that the horse and rider that was attacked just two weeks prior to this ALSO involved Jackson's dogs. In that case, Jackson is being charged with assault with a deadly weapon for having thrown a rock at the rider of the horse. 

These recent cases aren't Jackson's first run in with the law either. In 2006, Jackson had four dogs that were destroyed by authorities after attacking some emus in Littlerock. Jackson would have been 22 at the time.

So it appears that much of the "stray and loose dog problem" in Littlerock has been because of Jackson -- who has a long history of dogs being allowed to roam at large attacking people and livestock. He'd also had a depth of recent history of having dogs that were problems, and yet, authorities allowed the dogs to remain with him until the incidents escalated into tragedy.

When people talk about problems with dangerous dogs, smart ones continue to highlight the impact owners/caregivers have on these attacks. In this case, we have a very clear case of owner negligence, dogs with a history of problems, an owner with a history of problems, and a little illegal drug action on top of it. 

Original story:

Two weeks ago, 63 year old Pamela Devitt was out jogging as she ususally did near her home in Littlerock, CA. During the walk, Devitt was attacked by a pack of dogs. A woman in her car tried to stop the attack, and called police. An officer arrived at the scene and shot at one of the dogs, and it reportedly ran off into the dessert.

The victim died in route to the hospital.

Hours later, the sheriff and animal control officers served a warrant on the home near the site of the attack. The home was owned by 29 year old Alex Jackson. When police served the warrant, they found 8 dogs (not four as reportedly attacked the woman), all contained in the house. The dogs were described as 6 'pit bulls' and 2 mixed breed dogs, including a Lab mix and an Australian Shepherd mix. Also in Jackson's home was a marijuana growing operation.

Police were investigating the dogs to see if the DNA from the dogs matched DNA found on the victim's body. And while dozens of media outlets reported that the 'pit bulls' confiscated from Jackson's home were responsible, spokespeople from the police department have noted that the dogs responsible MAY VERY WELL HAVE BEEN STRAY DOGs -- an that residents of the area note that stray dogs constantly roam the area and have attacked people before -- including a woman riding a horse just two weeks prior to this. At this point, even two weeks later, police have not confirmed the involvement of Jackson's dogs so the type of dogs involved in the attack is completely unknown. 

Littlerock is a community of about 1400 people of which more than 20% live below the poverty line -- well above the national average without taking into account the higher cost of living in California. Media reports and others familiar with the area note that packs of stray dogs roaming at large are often a problem and are not addressed. While one legislator has used this attack to grandstand against the state's prohibition against breed bans, it should be noted and well documented that the dogs were roaming at large, likely strays or even ferals, and should have been captured by animal control long before an attack occurred.

It's a tragic story, and my heart goes out to the victim's family. But all of the discussion about "breeds' in this case are completely misguided, in part because the dogs involved are unknown at this point, but mostly because the dogs were roaming at large, and could have been seized with a well-enforced leash law (which is something it sounds like the area needs).  

 Carlton Freeman

In Harleyville, SC, 80 year old Carlton Freeman was attacked by four dogs roaming at large. Freeman, who had preveiously had both legs amputated at the knees and was paralyzed, was riding his scooter down the road as he regularly did. 

However, on this day, four dogs ran out and attacked him and pulled him from his scooter. He later died from injuries sustained in the attack.  Neighbors reported that the dogs had been roaming the neighborhood for months prior to the incident. 

While there have been a handful of "citizen journalism" sites that have reported the dogs to be 'pit bulls', there has never been any type of official word from a legitimate news sources or from a local official. In fact, it turns out that local officials, who originally seized 3 dogs they believed to be involved in the attack, are now saying the dogs were feral dogs that were without an owner.

Harleyville is anothers small, rural community (popluation 683), in which 35% of the population lives below the poverty line, and nearly 20% live on income less than 50% of the poverty line. 

So, in both of these cases, you have rural, impoverished areas which have had known groups of feral dogs roaming that then attacked an elderly person as a pack. In none of the cases are the types of dogs known, but it is clear what where the problems lie and how to easily solve the problem (by solving the problem of stray, feral dogs). 

As always, I'll update these cases if any additional information becomes available. 

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.