Settlement Reached in Dog Mauling Death; Lawsuit Against Former Dog Warden and Montgomery County to Close

$3.5 Million Settlement Expected to be Approved On February 7, 2014 Klonda Richey was killed by her neighbor's two dogs in Dayton. Settlement Reached Dayton, OH - Six years after 57-year old Klonda Richey was mauled to death by her neighbor's two mastiff-mixes, and five years after her estate sued Montgomery County and Mark Kumpf, the former Dog Warden, a $3.5 million settlement is expected to be approved by the county. A commission vote Tuesday will avoid a jury trial. We wer… [Read full blog post]

Dramatic Decline in Attacks by Pit Bulls Since Pawtucket Adopted Pit Bull Ban in 2004

Bites Drop Dramatically Pawtucket, RI - The Valley Breeze recently published over 13-years of pit bull bite data showing the long-term success of Pawtucket's 2004 pit bull ban. The Breeze gained the data through an open records request to the Pawtucket Police Department and Pawtucket Animal Control. After enforcement of the ban began in 2004, attacks inflicted by pit bulls on people and pets in the city quickly plunged into scarcity. Citizens and their pets enjoy this same… [Read full blog post]

Washington State Court of Appeals Upholds Jury Verdict in Vicious Dog Mauling Case

UPDATE 01/16/14: On January 9, 2014, the Supreme Court of Washington rejected Pierce County's request for review of Gorman v. Pierce County. The jury verdict stands and cannot be appealed higher. The case was tried before a jury in July 2011 by Mike McKasy and Shelly Speir of the Tacoma-based law firm, Troup, Christnacht, Ladenburg, McKasy, Durkin & Speir. The jury agreed that Pierce County and the dog owners were at fault, awarding Gorman $2.2 million. After the jury tr… [Read full blog post]

Georgia Pit Bull Owner is Convicted After 8-Year Old Girl Suffers Amputation

Erin Ingram suffered severe injuries after being brutally mauled by two pit bulls Judge Limits Ruling UPDATE 01/13/15: Several hours after the $72 million dollar jury award was announced publicly, Judge Mathew Robins, pursuant to state law, limited the amount of punitive damages to $250,000 in the case of Erin Ingram. The judge ordered Twyann Vaughn, the owner of the dogs -- who did not appear at the civil trial held on January 12, 2015 -- to pay the plaintiff $36,691,278 in co… [Read full blog post]