Please donate to support our work

DogsBite.org is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity organization. Learn more »

15 thoughts on “2023 Dog Bite Fatality: Tomball Woman, 59, Killed by Pet Rottweiler in the Backyard of Her Home in Northwest Harris County

Please review our comment policy.

  1. Power breeds like Rotts, pits and mastiffs should not be considered PET animals but biological weapons. Most people don’t have the knowledge or skill to handle this type of dog well. Too bad she didn’t choose a beagle or schnauzer.

    • Can we stop calling war and terrorist breeds ”power breeds”?

      If its bred to kill people on your property or when you yourself attack people, then its a uncontrollable weapon.

      These animals are not pets. Its like calling handguns ”power toys”.

      • Bob Holmes helped us with our German Sheperd. He explained that dogs are pack animals.The owner must establish and maintain the leadership role…If this is not maintained the dog will lead out….This will lead to misbehavior including aggression as witnessed here…the key is easy once Bob taught it to me and my wife…

        • Maurice, your trainer is correct. The cookie-waving bleeding hearts, are wrong.

          There’s a few things to look at in any guard breed. Who bred it? What are their working lines? Were they just bred for tough looks or were they bred for brains, calm temperment and stamina?

          Pantloads of people aren’t assertive enough to manage a barky poodle, never mind a guard breed. They buy the dog not because they respect its brains and abilities and are intending to work it (even in a limited capacity) but because they want a dog to look tough for them. What they fail to realize is that a protection breed is a partner dog that requires skilled dog handling.

          The difference is; if they mismanage a teacup poodle it might be annoying but it’s not likely to do any major damage except for peeing on their rugs. If they mismanage a guarding breed or buy one with a crappy bloodline, they could wind up housing Ted Bundy in a fur coat.

          When I worked with professionally trained dogs I liked Rotts. A lot. They carried themselves with dignity and calm and courage.

          When I’m walking down the street full of people who aren’t skilled dog handlers I treat them with the same caution I treat pitbulls. Cross the street, go the other way, command my dog not to look, dodge through an alley etc.

          They’re not a great family pet. Like pitbulls, the odd one will pull it off but many are frustrated by that lifestyle. They need to work at something. If they can’t work, or are brainless to train–they’re badly bred.

  2. Quoting the neighbor, who appeared in the KHOU story:

    “Blue has raised her own Rottweilers for years and currently has a pair of 10-month-old puppies.

    “‘With excellent training, they’re phenomenal dogs,’ said Blue. ‘They’re very, very good dogs.'”

    “She couldn’t imagine what may have happened to prompt the death of her neighbor whose dog she never really saw but heard barking on occasion.”

    Ummm, Ms. Blue, get a a clue. Please. Your life depends on it.

  3. Any dog from the mastiff group (including rottweilers, etc.) is no good. When there is more than one, the pack mentality will take over. There are many breeds that need to become extinct, including mastiffs, american bully, pits, etc. If they can be unjustified & easily provoked to attack and are now attacking their owners, these dogs serve no purpose for humanity.

    • Donna:

      Actually molasser breeds (minus pitbulls whose job is to kill other dogs) _do_ provide a valuable human service.

      It’s just not a service that the average urban dweller, needs. Nor does that average cookie-waving owner have the foggiest notion how to treat these dogs with the respect they deserve.

      They’re designed for living in harsh working conditions to guard livestock and drive off or kill other apex predators such as wolves, mountain lions, cougars, or wild dogs that threaten livestock.

      The postman, the kid next door and the neighbourhood cats are not a threat to someone whose idea of livestock is a budgie. But the dog doesn’t *know* that when instinct kicks in.

      On top of that, they’re geared to roam miles every day and sleep on the stoop or in a barn–not be locked up in a house frustrated and run around a handkerchief-sized yard whenever someone remembers to let the dog out.

      Add into that the amount that are bred for looks and not by farmers breeding their own and culling the useless from their working stock plus the amount of their bloodlines that are now infected with pitbull blood making they’re a real problem in urban environments.

  4. Even if the two other dogs didn’t participate, they didn’t try to save her either. For a breed that is supposed to be protective, that is a big problem.

    • Protection dogs are made, not born.

      Guarding breeds are bred to protect livestock, not necessarily, people. Using that instinct to protect people under command takes a great deal of training to be consistent.

      Training a protection dog is taking that guarding instinct and honing to to do use that instinct in a course of specific actions that benefit whatever situations the dog is likely to be faced with in the course of its duties. The dog must learn to operate in high pressure environments and to maintain its courage in the face of distractions and threats.

      Expecting a dog just by virtue of it’s instincts to be successful at protecting it’s owner in a crisis just isn’t a realistic expectation.

      If the dog wasn’t agitated enough to join in the attack is the best one could hope for from a pet dog of any breed.

  5. From what’s been shared, the other two dogs that aren’t being identified could have been involved and or are the main culprits in this fatality. I wouldn’t rule out the number one killer. Why keep that off the from us anyways? If they were killed what’s it going to hurt to let the public know all the details?

  6. I mean, I believe Rottweilers are close to being just as dangerous as a pit but I can’t stand when the people writing the stories or the Law Enforcement doesn’t tell the whole story.

  7. Just a heads up to commenters claiming this woman died due to a “falling injury” and the rottweiler was “only trying to help her” — Send us the actual ME report or your comments are moot.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *