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2008 Dog Bite Fatality: Boy Killed by Pit Bulls in Breckenridge, Texas

Tanner Joshua Monk
Breckenridge, TX - A female driver saw Tanner Joshua Monk lying beside a road with two dogs nearby. She got out of the car to help him, but the dogs became aggressive so she called 911. Two sheriff's deputies responded and shot the two dogs to death after they continued to show aggression. The deputies then discovered that Tanner was dead.

Stephens County Sheriff Jim Reeves said that Tanner was found alone about 150 yards from his house and 50 to 75 yards from a neighbor's house where he had been playing with friends. The two pit bulls, along with two others seized, belonged to those neighbors. Reeves said evidence will likley be presented to a grand jury following an autopsy on the boy and tests on the dogs that were killed.

No one saw what happened, but Tanner was found off the owner's property, which may signal use of Lillian's Law.

Lillian's Law can put the dog owner away for 20-years in the event of a fatality. Child Protective Services has also been alerted. Spokesman Paul Zimmerman said they are investigating the boy's family for possible neglectful supervision. He added that the family had no prior history with the agency, which is required to investigate all child deaths.

In 2007, Texas led the nation with 7 dog bite fatalities -- 6 of these deaths were caused by pit bull type dogs.

Tanner's death is the second serious pit bull attack on a child in four days in Texas. Last week in Fort Worth, a woman's two pit bulls attacked her 2-year-old niece as she was preparing to give the child a bath. Last month, 3 family pit bulls attacked a 6-year old boy in Tivoli. One of the dogs was so aggressive that animal control had to shoot it full tranquilizers three times to get it to calm down.

Related articles:
10/11/08: Fatal Dog Mauling Trial of Tanner Joshua Monk, 7 Years Old
05/20/08: Pit Bull Owners Arrested in Death of Tanner Joshua Monk

Labels: 2008 Dog Bite Fatality, Fatal Pit Bull Attack, Tanner Monk