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Thursday, January 24, 2008


2008 Dog Bite Fatality: Kelli Chapman Killed by Two Pit Bulls

Police Shot Dog at Home in Past
UPDATE 1/23/08: Police reports show this wasn't the first time officers were forced to shoot a dog at the Chapman's home. In October 2006, the narcotics task force and SWAT team raided the house, where they found methamphetamine and other drug items. Both Kelli and Jason were arrested. During the raid, one of the couple's pit bulls bit an officer and tried to attack a second officer. The dog was shot and killed.

1/23/08: Authorities Reveal Defensive Wounds
Preliminary autopsy results show Kelli Chapman, 24, died of bite trauma and blood loss. According to Chief Deputy Robert McCullough, she had injuries to her forearms as well, indicating possible defensive wounds. He said, "There was other damage to furniture and stuff in the bedroom, where the attack occurred, so it is possible that she was defending herself."

1/22/08: Dogs Maul, Kill Owner
Longville, LA - 24 year old Kelli Chapman was killed by her two pit bulls while sleeping in her home. Relatives of the woman say they think they know why the dogs mauled her. Apparently, Kelli suffered from seizures. They think she may have had a seizure while sleeping and the dogs reacted to it by killing her. Dr. Ted Hoerner, a local veterinarian talks about pit bulls:
"There's a certain small percentage of aggressiveness in any breed, whether it's a Chihuahua, a Rottweiler or a Pit Bull. The difference is the degree of damage that a certain animal can inflict. Pit bulls are huge, they're strong, their musculature is such they can inflict deadly damage. Unfortunately, that's what we've seen happen."
Prior to the attack, Kelli and her husband Jason let the pit bulls stay in their home and sometimes sleep in their bed. One has to wonder if a spaniel or other breed would have reacted similarly in these circumstances. Furthermore, many dog breeds help seizure victims; they do not kill them. As one commenter points out, "Did the seizure cause the attack or did the attack cause the seizure?"

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10 comments:

Anonymous Anonymous  |  1/22/2008 1:45 PM  |  Flag  
Postmortem Pit Bull advocacy...

There are actual service dogs trained to detect seizures before they occur. Obviously these Pit Bulls aren't cut out for that kind of work.

Anonymous schultz  |  1/22/2008 2:03 PM  |  Flag  
hmm.... did the seizure cause the attack or did the attack cause the seizure?

Anonymous Anonymous  |  1/22/2008 5:19 PM  |  Flag  
My best guess is that the siezure triggered the dogs high "prey drive", and they reacted by attacking.

What is so sad is, many of the dogs that become "seizure alert" dogs do so without training; there are many, many stories of dogs instinctively alerting owners to an impending seizure, and laying protectively near them until the siezure subsides. Dogs bred to work closely and cooperatively with humans, like sporting dogs, are often naturals at this.

Pit bulls were bred for blood sport, not to be companions and protectors of humans.

Anonymous I'm no dumbass  |  1/23/2008 3:34 AM  |  Flag  
"hmm.... did the seizure cause the attack or did the attack cause the seizure?"

WHAT AN EXCELLENT QUESTION!

Anonymous Anonymous  |  1/23/2008 5:44 AM  |  Flag  
Looks like the dogs pulled her down and killed her in normal Pit Bull manner.


"Kelli Chapman had injuries to her forearms, indicating possible defensive wounds, McCullough said".

"It is possible, and there was other damage to furniture and stuff in the bedroom, where the attack occurred, so it is possible that she was defending herself," he said.


http://www.nola.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-36/1200965959215780.xml&storylist=louisiana

Anonymous Anonymous  |  1/24/2008 6:16 PM  |  Flag  
I gotta ask....How were they legally able to own Pit Bulls after such an incident? In a home with children much less!!!!

Anonymous Anonymous  |  1/25/2008 1:55 PM  |  Flag  
The last American killed by "Piticide" was on December 25th, 2007...Almost made it a full month between deaths.

Anonymous Anonymous  |  1/28/2008 8:12 AM  |  Flag  
Oops...Predictably another "Piticide" happened yesterday in Springfield IL:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/762461,pitbulls012708.article

OpenID yotie  |  2/12/2008 1:33 PM  |  Flag  
A pit bull kills it's owner!? Is that really even news any more? Come on, it happens all the time.

Anonymous Danny  |  6/03/2008 7:34 AM  |  Flag  
I have a Seizure Alert Dog. He is a Chihuahua and my best friend in the world. 'Nuff said...

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