Posted on January 13, 2025 by Colleen Lynn

2023 Unreported Dog Bite Fatality: Family Files Federal Lawsuit After Woman Killed by Son's Known Vicious Dogs

Estela Manteca died after being attacked by her son's known vicious dogs.

The Complaint
Pharr, TX - On January 3, 2025, a daughter and a granddaughter of a 91-year old woman killed by her son's pack of vicious dogs in 2023 filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Pharr, Texas seeking $100 million in damages. The plaintiffs brought the action against the city "for the gross failure of its public works division to protect Estela Manteca from a foreseeable and preventable attack by a large pack of vicious dogs owned by her son, Alex Aranda, with whom she resided," states the Complaint.

All four dogs involved -- Ringo, Billy, Casper, and Bonita -- had been declared "vicious" by the city a year earlier for attacking another person. The Complaint alleges the city "exhibited a pattern of deliberate indifference, neglecting to take reasonable measures to mitigate the known and escalating threat, ultimately resulting in the tragic and avoidable injuries on January 10, 2023," and her death on May 6, 2023. The Complaint states the indifference is "so egregious it shocks the conscience."

The federal lawsuit alleges the city's conduct, "rooted in inadequate supervision and training," constituted a violation of her civil rights.

Manteca sustained catastrophic injuries in the violent dog attack, leaving her in a coma and requiring the amputation of both legs -- bilateral leg amputations -- which ultimately led to her death. "Her arms, chewed to the bone, underwent extensive skin graft procedures that failed to heal adequately, and medical experts anticipated that they too might have required amputation had she survived," states the Complaint. The Complaint shows her graphic injuries in Exhibit 1 (which we specifically excluded).

The Complaint states Manteca was a "vulnerable citizen, fearful and intimidated by her son" and that "her elderly and fragile condition created an environment of heightened danger." Both facts were made known to city officials by family members. On January 24, 2022, the city declared the dogs "vicious" requiring "confinement, a leash and muzzle, proper signage, and insurance" but the city "failed to follow up to ensure compliance with these requirements, allowing the danger to persist unchecked."

Four days before the attack, on January 6, 2023, the city issued a Notice of Impoundment for Destruction for Ringo for a separate attack. "Despite this urgent notice, the City failed to act, leaving Ringo and the other dangerous dogs on the property" where they would later fatally maul Manteca, states the Complaint. "The actions and inactions of the Defendants constitute egregious misconduct" and a "pattern of reckless disregard for the safety and welfare of residents under their care."

"33. Defendants exhibited flagrant incompetence in their handling of the repeated reports concerning the dangerous dogs Ringo, Billy, Casper, and Bonita - the appalling neglect demonstrated by failing to enact timely measures to protect Estela Manteca is indicative of a severe breach of duty.

34. Such inexcusable oversight not only heightened the imminent risk faced by Manteca but also ultimately led to her tragic and avoidable death.

35. By consistently disregarding reports of dangerous conditions and ignoring the known threat posed by Ringo, Billy, Casper, and Bonita, the Defendants displayed a blatant failure to act."

Further, the city continues to allow Aranda to be a dog collector on the same property, located in the 600 block of East Sam Houston Boulevard. Since the fatal attack, "reports indicate that he has since accumulated another large number of dogs on the same property, perpetuating the potential for similarly horrific incidents," states the Complaint. "The City of Pharr has been notified again by the family and has yet to remove this new set of dogs which are on the property at this time."

The causes of action include, "deprivation of substantive due process and equal protection" under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Count I: Monell Claim - failure to train and supervise; Count II: Deliberate and indifferent conduct that shocks the conscience; Count III: Age-based discrimination and Count IV: State-created danger. The plaintiffs seek an award of "no less than one hundred million dollars in compensatory and punitive damages," states the Complaint.

Governmental Immunity

Suing a city or county requires piercing governmental immunity. This process is meant to be formidable, or else cities would be mired in endless litigation, where taxpayers would be forced to compensate an endless number of tort victims. Further, no governmental entity -- no city, county, state, or the federal government -- can be sued on grounds that it has not consented to. That is, "The king can do no wrong," which is an age-old legal maxim. In this case, it appears that no Texas statute would authorize this lawsuit, thus, the plaintiffs' attorneys have turned to the Civil Rights Act.

In an email correspondence with dog bite attorney Kenneth Phillips about this lawsuit, he shared, "When the defendant is a city, as in this case, the grounds must be set forth in a statute. For example, in Alvarado v. City of Los Angeles, the grounds for the thrust of the case were established by a statute that says any city can be sued if it fails to do a mandatory duty." In Alvarado, the city broke the state's statutory mandatory bite disclosure law by not disclosing the bite history of the dog to the adopter.

Regarding filing the case under a civil rights violation, Phillips shared, "Since it is a federal law, it doesn't matter whether Texas gives consent or not. However, what matters is whether there is a civil right to law enforcement in the form of animal control. No court has ever said yes to that." His comments also pertain to the federal lawsuit filed against the city of San Antonio due to the city's "malfeasance" and "gross misconduct" after Ramon Najera was killed by known vicious pit bulls.

The Four Dogs

Exhibits show that Aranda was ordered to appear in court on January 17, 2023 for animal control violations including, "Dog Bite on Human." The sex, breed and coloring are listed for all four dogs -- Ringo, Billy, Casper, and Bonita -- along with a photograph. The dogs are a variety of "shephard" (sic)1 and terrier mixed-breeds. Five other dogs were also seized, including a young pit bull-mix and a stray "shephard mix" (sic) with a brachycephalic skull shape that had been declared vicious in 2022.2

All nine dogs had been declared "vicious" in January 2022, a year before the fatal attack, because each had "recently severely attacked and injured a human being." At that time, Aranda was instructed to turn the dogs into animal control or ordered to comply with the requirements and conditions of owning a vicious dog. The requirements include confinement conditions, leash and muzzle when outside of kennel, signs displaying "vicious animal on premises," and proof of liability insurance.

The Dog Owner

Interestingly, in 2018, five years before Aranda's dogs killed his mother, Aranda appeared twice in local media about a “stolen dog” issue. KRGV reported that Aranda was a veteran suffering from PTSD who was searching for his “stolen” comfort pet, a chihuahua named "Wheezle." Aranda reported his stolen dog to the Pharr Police Department. The property seen in the news footage is the same property where his collection of large dogs attacked his mother in January 2023, ultimately causing her death.

Wheezle, who was not involved in the fatal mauling, was reunited with Aranda a few days later, which prompted more news coverage. "I feel at peace," Aranda said after being reunited with his dog. "I feel at ease. Instead of taking that medication, I worry about taking care of him." By January 2022, four years later, Aranda owned nine dogs declared "vicious" after "severely" attacking a person. At least four of those "vicious" dogs proceed to inflict the deadly attack on his mother in January 2023.

Summary

The Complaint stresses that family members repeatedly filed complaints about Aranda's dogs to the Pharr Police Department, its Public Works Department, and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, warning of the eminent danger these dogs posed to Manteca, but the city "failed to investigate or intervene in any meaningful way, despite the clear and escalating danger." It is unknown if the family had any recourse through court action to remove the dogs from the property.3

The simplest and safest solution would have been for Alex Aranda to surrender his nine dogs declared "vicious" to animal control back in 2022.

The Complaint states "dereliction of duty" 11 times. But what type of duty? Was it a "mandatory" duty like it was in Alvarado, or was it "discretionary?" In Alvarado, because the state had passed a mandatory bite disclosure law, the city had a mandatory duty to disclose the dog's bite history to the adopter. By failing to do so, the city broke the law. 99 days later, the dog "shredded" Alvarado's arms. The city settled the case for $7.5 million because their defense of "discretionary immunity" failed.

It does "shock the conscience" that the city had declared Aranda's nine dogs "vicious" a year before the fatal mauling, and that even after multiple complaints, allegedly, did not follow up to ensure his compliance of owning a vicious dog, such as proper confinement, signage and insurance. On a local or state-level, were such actions mandatory or discretionary by the city? On a federal level, is there is a civil right to law enforcement in the form of animal control? The answers to both may be dispiriting.

federal lawsuit three known vicious dogs

Three dogs identified in the federal lawsuit against the city of Pharr about known vicious dogs.

Two dogs identified in the federal lawsuit against the city of Pharr about known vicious dogs.

federal lawsuit known vicious dogs declarations

Four dogs declared vicious by the city of Pharr a year before the fatal dog mauling.

1It is unbelievable to us that even animal control officials cannot spell the word "shepherd" correctly ("herd" is in the spelling). Be it a German shepherd, Australian shepherd, Anatolian shepherd, Belgian shepherd, Dutch shepherd and more. There is no such thing as a herding breed or any dog breed or type named, "shephard" (sic).
2German shepherds have dolichocephalic skull shape (long-headed), the most elongated. Other shepherd herding breeds, such as the Australian cattle dog and Australian shepherd, have mesocephalic skull shape (medium-headed). Pit bulls and mastiff breeds have brachycephalic skull shape (short-headed) | Image of skull shapes and breeds.
3Property records show that "Estella M Aranda" was the sole name listed on the property, though records did specify "Aranda Lot 1." We could not locate records for "Aranda Lot 2." There is a second dwelling on the property. Animal control records state that Ringo and Casper were "secured in a secondary home on the property" after the fatal attack.

Baseline reporting requirements:
Law enforcement departments across the United States should release consistent "baseline" information to the media and the public after each fatal dog mauling, including these items.

Posted on January 6, 2025 by Colleen Lynn

The Vicious and Dangerous Dog Hearing of Elijah, Attacks Dog Tied in Garage, and the Statement of Decision

Elijah was determined to be "vicious and dangerous" after the dangerous dog hearing.

Statement of Decision
San Francisco, CA - On November 25, 2024, a Vicious and Dangerous Dog Hearing was held to determine if "Elijah," a male, neutered pit bull met the definition of "vicious and dangerous" set forth in the San Francisco Health Code. DogsBite.org obtained the audio recording of the hearing and the surveillance video of the attack. After combining them, we embedded open caption subtitles. We also inserted red "Alert" notifications to highlight the "exhausted cliches" exhibited by vicious dog owners.

The involved parties include Thomas Newbury, the owner of the victim dog, "Ying Yang;" Elizabeth Jimenez, the dog owner's roommate, who was walking Elijah when he attacked Ying Yang; and Ciara Davis, the owner of Elijah, who did not witness the attack. The attack occurred on Friday, July 5 on Anza Street near George Washington High School. Newbury submitted a complaint to the SFPD Vicious and Dangerous Dog Unit on July 10. This hearing did not occur until nearly 5 months later.

Statement of Decision Description

"On July 10, 2024, Thomas Newbury submitted a complaint to SFPD VDDU regarding a dog bite that allegedly occurred on July 5, 2024. Newbury stated that on the date of the incident he was doing work in his garage while his dog, later identified as Ying Yang, was tied up in the garage as depicted in the video footage he submitted. (Ex. 5.) The attacking dog, later identified as Elijah, pulled the dog walker into Newbury’s garage. Elijah then bit Newbury’s dog’s face, locked on, and would not let go. Newbury ran outside and attempted to get Elijah to release by kicking and punching the dog.

Newbury alleged that the person walking Elijah did not try to pull Elijah off Newbury’s dog and just repeatedly said “I’m sorry.” When Elijah let go, Newbury wanted to call the police and obtain the dog walker’s information, but the dog walker insisted on going home. The dog walker left the scene stating she would return after returning Elijah back home. However, she did not return, and Newbury then took his dog to the hospital." - Statement of Decision - Complaint

The attack video is played at 7:00 minutes followed by Newbury's testimony, which calls out many exhausted cliches recycled by owners of vicious dogs after an attack. The video is harrowing. Newbury screams multiple times at the pit bull, "Let go!" The person walking the pit bull, Jimenez, who was not the owner, does little, except to repeat, "I'm sorry." Newbury testifies, the person "had no control" over the dog, and "no ability or strength to restrain" it, which is routine during pit bull attacks.

Not only do many owners of pit bulls deny the genetics of the breed -- the "bite, hold, and shake" attack style -- but when an attack does occur, they typically have no capacity or tool to get their dog to release. Newbury's dog, and every other non-gripper breed, are consistently at the mercy of pit bull owners who have "no ability or strength to restrain" the dog or force it to release, if it chooses to attack. The result is this video, which likely occurs over 10,000 times per year in the United States.1

"The pit bull Elijah had completely latched onto my dog's jaw," Newbury states. "My dog was helpless, like just struggling to survive."

Newbury testifies that he "repeatedly started hammering the dog" with his fist and "trying to kick it in the jaw to unlatch." As he was doing so, he was also in fear for his own life, asking himself, "What's next?" Was the pit bull going to maul him? "While it's being walked with a harness by a petite individual that was completely outmuscled ... completely incapable of controlling this dog?" he asked. But even for men, successfully "manhandling" a vicious pit bull with only a harness and leash is still difficult.

After the pit bull releases, Jimenez exhibits more exhausted cliches by owners of vicious dogs by refusing to supply her information to Newbury and by promising, she'll "come back" after she returns the dog to its owner. She does neither. "Obviously, they did not come back," Newbury states. After waiting for 10 minutes -- while his dog was "seriously bleeding out in the garage" --- he rushed Ying Yang to a vet on Fillmore Street where he received multiple staples in his chin. The vet bill was $680.

Six hours after the ordeal, Newbury is back home with his dog. He decides to take a spin around the block to see if he can learn more. "Unbelievably," he states, he sees "the same person who was walking the dog, now the owner" stepping outside of their apartment with the dog, which is wearing "the same exact harness, same exact leash, as if nothing had happened to them that day." Newbury just identified another exhausted cliche trait of vicious dog owners after an attack -- nonchalance.

Newbury jumps out of his truck and confronts them. Yet, he is met with another exhausted cliche response by vicious dog owners. Elijah's owner, Davis, who did not witness the attack, blames Newbury's dog. "It was your dog's fault, and your dog that attacked my dog," she said. The victim blaming occurs before Davis is aware that Newbury has footage of the attack. Now, after identifying multiple "exhausted cliche" traits of owners of vicious dogs, Newbury sees the larger picture.

"Then and there, I knew exactly who these people were and what was going on," Newbury states. "I just said, 'You have zero morals, zero anything.'"

After Newbury tells them, "Pit bulls, in my opinion, shouldn't be legal," he's hit with another exhausted cliche hurled by the owner of a vicious pit bull. She states, "That's a stigmatism. Pit bulls aren't bad." Newbury replies, "Well, if the pit bull, if that's a stigmatism, they say, then it's not bad dog, it's bad dog owners. Then you my friend are a horrible dog owner because your dog just mauled my dog." Then he bluntly asks, "So, which one is it? Are pit bulls bad or are you a bad dog owner? Unbelievable!"

Newbury next identifies another exhausted cliche exhibited by vicious dog owners. A few weeks later, he states, "another person is walking the dog -- again, not the owner, and it's not the same one who was walking the dog before." So, everyone walks this dog except for the actual owner, he said. Keen observation -- it's like isolating bites. If 3 dog walkers each have an incident and each walk different routes, it's more difficult for victims to identify the owner and to calculate cumulative bites.

If Newbury had not gotten into his truck and circled the neighborhood that day, it may have taken him weeks, if ever, to identify the dog's owner. (There can't be a legal hearing with an unidentified dog owner either.) It's exceptionally suspicious when multiple non-owners of a biting dog are seen walking the biting dog, but the owner is not. Recall what the dog walker told Newbury: "I'm not the owner of the dog. I didn't come back because I thought the owner of the dog should deal with it."

How convenient. It's the old adage, "Every dog has an identifiable owner -- until it bites someone." Then the owner becomes a game of musical chairs.

When confronted after the attack, Davis told Newbury she would be "more than willing to pay" the vet bill. By the time of the hearing, 4.5 months later, she had not. As Newbury states, "It just goes to show. No accountability. No responsibility. Tried to say it was my dog's fault. It's like, where does this end?" In a nutshell, it doesn't. Elijah will likely be seen in a future hearing after attacking another dog because one of the dog's "multiple walkers" failed to muzzle him. Again, it won't be the owner's fault.

Davis testifies next. She did not witness the attack and can only offer background. Elijah is about 7.5 years old, weighs 65 pounds and is neutered. The dog has been neutered, "since we adopted him," she said. She acquired the dog at the end of her freshman year in high school. Davis testifies that she and Jimenez did walk back to Newbury's home that day, rang his doorbell, but were unable to contact him. Davis did not leave a note. "My dog has never been in any type of fight, at all," Davis states.

Hearing Officer Janelle Caywood has an excellent response. "Generally, what this incident tells me. Often times people come in here and say it's an isolated incident, it's out of character for my dog. The reality is, all that says is that your dog is unpredictable. I'm very concerned. This was a prolonged attack." When Caywood asks what steps Davis put in place to prevent a future attack, her response is negligible. She alleges she would walk Elijah with "multiple people" and that she "ordered" a muzzle.

When Caywood asks, "When?" Davis replies, "The other day." So, for 4.5 months, dog-aggressive Elijah was being walked without a muzzle.

Jimenez, the dog walker, is last to testify. She claims that Ying Yang, who was tethered at the time, initiated the attack by running toward Elijah. "It was my visual understanding that [Ying Yang] was latched onto the top of Eli's face." And, "I had no idea how to separate that other dog clinging onto Eli's mouth." Caywood, however, disagrees with her assessment. "I've watched the video ... It's clear to me that Elijah was the initial aggressor and that any response of biting was done in self-defense."

Statement of Decision Findings

"Jimenez’s testimony differed from Newbury’s testimony regarding the July 5, 2024, incident. After reviewing the evidence and observing the demeanor of both people at the hearing, the undersigned determined that Newbury was the more credible witness because his account was corroborated by the video footage he presented as evidence which Jiminez had not observed at the time Jiminez submitted a written statement. In the written statement, Jimenez’s erroneously stated that Newbury’s dog, Ying Yang, was off-leash and the initial aggressor, neither of which were true. To that end, the undersigned makes the below factual finding in #1.

1. On July 5, 2024, Elizabeth Jimenez walked Ciara Davis’s leashed Pit Bull dog, Elijah, past Thomas Newbury’s residence on Anza Street. As Jimenez and Elijah walked past Newbury’s garage, Elijah lunged and dragged Jimenez toward the garage where Ying Yang, Newbury’s Australian Shepherd/Poodle mix dog was tied up. Elijah bit Ying Yang in the face in a prolonged attack leaving puncture wounds and requiring emergency medical treatment.

2. The dog, Elijah’s attack on Ying Yang, was unprovoked...
Based on the testimony at the hearing, the documents presented, and the above Findings, evidence presented is sufficient to prove, by a preponderance of evidence, that Elijah qualifies as vicious and dangerous under subdivision 1, of Section 42 because the attack (bites) to Ying Yang on July 5, 2024, was unprovoked. Notably, the footage that Newbury presented (Ex. 5) shows that this was a prolonged attack that only ended after Newbury struck the dog, Elijah, numerous times to save his own dog." - Statement of Decision - Findings

Summary & Discussion

During closing comments, Newbury has a chance to speak again. He rejects Davis' testimony that the pair returned to his house that day. He also states, "If there was no video, I would have no idea who these people were, where they went, if I didn't run into them later that day. It would have literally been my word against theirs. And the fact that just that day, they went back out like nothing had happened." It wasn't in their thought process to "buy a muzzle today." They still don't even have one, he said.

Interestingly, the dog walker/roommate, Jimenez, is as bad or worse than the actual dog owner in terms of exhibiting the "exhausted cliches" of owners of vicious dogs, as well as by making erroneous assessments in her written statement and hearing testimony. Officer Caywood writes in the Statement of Decision that when Jimenez submitted her written statement, alleging that "Ying Yang was off leash and the initial aggressor, neither of which were true," she had not observed the video evidence.

Davis, who testified that "nothing like this has ever happened before," lacks credibility since she's apparently never the person walking her own dog. Her solution to prevent a future attack is to walk her dog "with multiple people." How would she organize "team walking" events, since she's already unable to organize time to walk the dog herself? Davis admitted that she only ordered the muzzle from Amazon "the other day," nearly 5 months after the attack. As Newbury would say, "Unbelievable!"

Thankfully, Newbury's wife and his one-in-a-half year old daughter were out of town that weekend. "My daughter rides her bike right there on that sidewalk," where the attack occurred. "That easily could have been my daughter," he said. The stresses of "what if" scenarios, compounded by the pair's nonchalance, denial of accountability and blame shifting, increased the trauma Newbury sustained. The repeated -- and unnecessary -- exhausted cliche responses by the two exacerbated his suffering.

Sudden, explosive pit bull violence is traumatic enough. The video clearly shows this. Newbury's words expressed during the hearing illustrate the even more long-lasting effects. "I was just completely mind blown," he states, when he saw the pair out with the dog hours after the attack. "How are you guys outside with this dog right now with the same exact restraints, the same exact leash, and the same exact harness going for a stroll, down the same exact street, like nothing happened?"

Exhausted Cliches Exhibited by Vicious Dog Owners

Owner of vicious pit bull denies the breed's genetic traits
Owner of vicious dog fails to have any capacity or tool to stop the attack
Owner of vicious dog refuses to give the victim contact information
Owner of vicious dog promises to "come back," never does
Owner of vicious dog acts like nothing happened -- total nonchalance
Owner of vicious dog takes no action to protect against a future attack
Owner of vicious dog blames the victim dog for starting the attack
Owner of vicious pit bull cries "stigmatism" after damaging attack
Everyone walks the vicious dog except for the actual owner
Owner of vicious dog claims he/she will pay the vet bill, never does

Epilogue "Discrimination" and "Wheelbarrow"

At about 37:13, Officer Caywood addresses the issue of "breed discrimination." Apparently, this was in some of the letters attesting to the glowing temperament of Elijah. "We are not here because the city discriminates against a breed. We are here to protect the public, and we have a video of your dog attacking another dog. That's why we are here." When dog owner's make this claim during hearings, Caywood states, "What that tells me is that there's an inability to take accountability as a deflection."

Thus, it makes Caywood wonder if that person can be trusted with a potentially dangerous animal, to do the right thing and wear a muzzle. "If they're always blaming someone else instead of taking accountability, then I have concerns," she said. Several moments later, Caywood asks Captain Fenson of San Francisco Animal Care and Control if she has any recommendations for how to get a pit bull to release during a dog-on-dog attack, because "oftentimes, they lock and hold, as you know."

One of the methods she recommends that she characterizes as "pretty safe," is the "wheelbarrow" -- we disagree. The technique involves picking up the hind legs of a biting (and holding) pit bull. Thus, the victim dog owner is dependent on the pit bull owner undertaking this or a willing bystander. Worse, it may not stop the biting pit bull, as seen in the gruesome Berkeley, California dog-on-dog attack video. A male construction worker bystander performs the wheelbarrow and gets no results.

We recommend viewers watch dog trainer Robert Cabral's video, "Dog Fight Mistakes Breakdown" to see why this technique can be ineffective (it is outdated) and has more risks than what an "average" dog owner may assume. Cabral breaks down the Berkeley video and offers a more effective solution for a dog owner who is willing to accept some risks (6:15 to 28:30). Professionals like Cabral and Fenson can often quickly stop one of these attacks. But that doesn't help an "average" dog owner.

Chapters & Commentary Points

00:00: Introduction
07:00: Dog-on-dog attack video is played
07:55: Complainant testifies
11:49: Alert - Person walking attacking dog claims "I'll come back."
13:27: Alert - Vicious dog owner acts "as if nothing had happened that day"
14:24: Alert - Owner of vicious dog blames the victim dog's owner
15:00: Alert - Complainant contests the alleged "pit bull stigmatism"
15:44: Alert - Complainant: "Everyone walks the dog except for the actual owner?"
16:23: Alert - Vicious dog owner claims she will "pay the vet bill" but never does
19:28: Alert - Complainant states his dog is "scarred from pit bulls now"
20:08: Owner of vicious dog testifies, who was not present during attack
27:01: Dog walker of vicious dog testifies (the roommate of the dog owner)
28:35: Dog walker claims the victim dog latched onto to the pit bull's face
30:33: Alert - Hearing officer disagrees with dog walker's assessment
31:52: Closing commentary begins
32:27: Alert - Complainant reiterates the owner acted like "nothing had happened"
36:17: Alert - Vicious dog owner, again, claims she would pay his vet bill but did not!
37:14: Alert - Hearing officer addresses "issue of breed discrimination" in hearings
39:58: Alert - SFACC officer claims "wheelbarrow" method is "pretty safe"
43:18: Epilogue - DogsBite.org shows the ineffectiveness of the "wheelbarrow" technique

dangerous dog hearing Elijah san francisco

Newbury seen racing across his garage to save his dog Ying Yang from the jaws of a pit bull.

1Merritt Clifton, "Yes, there is data on how many dogs, especially pit bulls, kill other animals," Animals 24-7, January 5, 2024 (animals24-7.org)

Posted on December 30, 2024 by Colleen Lynn

2024 Dog Bite Fatality: Dog 'Busted Out of a Kennel,' Attacked and Killed 2-Year Old Girl in Wichita Falls, Texas

Anaya Davis was killed by a pit bull after it busted out of a kennel and attacked her on Sunday.

Child Killed by Dog
Wichita Falls, TX - A 2-year old child is dead after being viciously attacked by a dog. Police were dispatched to a residence in the 1000 block of Wesley Drive at 5:08 pm on Sunday, December 29 in reference to a dog attack. Sgt. Brett Keith, Public Information Officer with the Wichita Falls Police Department, said information collected from the scene indicated that a dog "busted out of a kennel" and attacked a two-year old child, resulting in critical injuries. The toddler died at the hospital.

Animal control took possession of the dog Sunday and euthanized it, Keith said. Few other details have been released. Family members, however, are openly grieving on their social media pages. The baby's aunt identified the child as Anaya. The child's father, known as Pops BottomBoy on Facebook, is beyond devastated. "I want justice for my baby. I'm hurt. The story doesn't add up," he wrote. He stated in another post, "Why God, why my first born?" The baby's mother is also grieving online.

Police have not identified the owner of the dog, or the breed of dog involved. But commenters on the Texomas Facebook post know the routine all too well, "Pitty's gona pit," said one. "Here come the Pit Bull Experts," said another. "Busted out of the kennel and attacked? Well, that narrows the playing field," said a third. Commenter Vicki offered prayers to the "officers and EMTs that had to deal with this. It was hard on them." She also stated, "I heard from a reliable source it was a pit bull."

News Confirms Pit Bull

A video update from Texomas states, "The WFPD has confirmed that the tragic incident took place Sunday evening at a home on Wesley Drive. According to authorities, a pit bull broke out of its kennel and attacked a two-year old child. Despite the efforts of first responders, the child succumbed to her injuries at United Regional." Neighbors said the dog has been aggressive before, allegedly biting another child and attacking a dog. News footage shows the residence where the attack occurred.

A relative started a GoFundMe page to help the family pay funeral expenses. The organizer states in part, "I am starting this page to help my niece be able to pay for her 2-year-old little girl's funeral expenses. She was taken from her in a brutal dog attack over the weekend." The fund has raised just over $1,000. Apparently, the child was visiting the home on Wesley Drive in Wichita Falls when the dog attacked. Both of the baby's parents are listed as living in different cities on their Facebook pages.

Busted Out of a Kennel killed child Wichita

Home on Wesley Drive where a pit bull busted out of a kennel and killed a 2-year old child.

Busted Out of Kennel killed child Wichita

Anaya Davis, 2-years old, was killed by a pit bull that busted out of a kennel to attack her.

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View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: Texas Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Posted on December 29, 2024 by Colleen Lynn

2024 Dog Bite Fatality: 3-Year Old Girl Killed by Dogs While Visiting Family in Cincinnati's Roselawn Neighborhood

Kingsley Wright, 3-years old, was killed by two dogs while visiting family in Roselawn.

Killed by Large Dogs
Cincinnati, OH - Late Friday, WLWT reported that a Cincinnati mother told them her 3-year old daughter was mauled to death by two dogs at a family member's house. Kingsley Wright died Friday morning, her mother said. Cincinnati police spokesperson Lt. Jonathan Cunningham confirmed her death Saturday to the Cincinnati Enquirer. The dog attack occurred just after 8:00 am at a residence in the 7000 block of Stillwell Road, Cunningham said. No other information was released by police.

In a Saturday update by WLWT, Wright's mother, Gina Smith, said her daughter was staying with a family member for the "first time ever" when the dogs attacked her. The mother had no idea these dogs were dangerous. She woke up to a horrifying call from the coroner stating that her daughter died at 9:30 am. Smith said the coroner would not let her see her daughter -- her injuries were so bad, it would not be appropriate. Smith awaits news from police about where the investigation stands.

Information from a commenter, partially confirmed, states that Wright was visiting her father's home. "Her Dad had those dogs in the cage, in a separate room from her, while she was sleep," Calisa H. wrote on the WLWT Facebook post. "They all were asleep, he woke up and found her, he is devastated and understands all of her mom and mom's family feelings, and is very sorry. This is a nightmare as he just learned that Kingsley was his daughter, he was so excited for her to spend time with him..."

Her death recalls the death of baby Barrett Hagans in Knox County, Ohio in 2017, who was spending the night alone with his father "for the first time," when his father's pit bull killed him as he slept in his bassinet. Teddy Hagans came under suspicion by police after they found dozens of empty beer cans, drug paraphernalia and a back room littered with "so much urine and feces in it that I could not breathe due to the odor," an investigator noted in a report. Hagans was never criminally charged.

The obituary for Kingsley Wright states she passed away Friday, December 27, 2024, in Cincinnati." She is described as "a happy girl with a beautiful laugh and smile." The biological father of Wright isn't named in her obituary. Also, no one with knowledge about her death on the WLWT Facebook post denies the dogs involved were pit bulls. Given the going trends of pit bulls, the dogs her father kept in a cage "in a separate room from her," stand a good chance of being of the XL bully variety.

Smith's boyfriend states in the WLWT piece the dogs are over 100 pounds. "Those kind of dogs are over 100 pounds," Josh said. "So did they just sit on her and kill her, and then start mauling on her?" He also states that Wright had been sleeping on the couch. "Why? What made them want to do that to just a little baby sleeping on the couch?" Smith is devastated that she never got to say goodbye to her daughter. Smith hopes law enforcement will keep her in the loop as the investigation continues.

911 Call & Dog Breed

On Monday, WLWT published part of the 911 call and information about the dog breed. "I just woke up and my daughter is dead. There's blood everywhere, I don't know what happened," the caller said, who described himself as Wright's father. When the 911 dispatcher told him to secure his dogs, he responded, "they're in the cage. That's why I'm like 'Did any of my pets attack her or something?' I would've heard it." The dispatcher asked if the dogs were loose, to which the caller responded, "no."

According to the 911 call, the dogs were "terriers," which indicates they were not a mastiff breed, such as a cane corso. They were, apparently, over 100 pound "terriers," which indicates an XL pit bull or American Staffordshire "terrier" breed. "Terrier" is also a term used to camouflage pit bull breeds. Numerous public shelters across the country label pit bulls "terrier-mix" in shelter adoption listings, most notoriously by Miami-Dade Animal Services to evade the county's former pit bull terrier ban.

Located Dog Owner

After the attack, Cincinnati Animal CARE removed three dogs from the home. Director Meaghan Colville stated that two of dogs are 50 pounds and identified the pair as "terrier mixes, mixed breed." Colville next falsely stated that only a DNA test could determine breed. "Cincy CARE," as it is known, is the sole taxpayer-funded provider for the county's dog warden and animal control services. But that does not stop the agency from lying to the public after a child is horrifically killed by dogs.

Due to Marlana calling the dogs' owner "My dad," Calisa H. being one of his Facebook friends, and the address of the fatal attack, we were able to identify the dogs' owner. The most recent images of one of his pit bulls is from August 2024, followed by September 2022, according to Reels on his Facebook page. These are American pit bull terriers -- not the XL bully or cane corso. It's unclear where the child's mother and boyfriend received the information about the dogs being "over 100 pounds."

The child's mother, Gina Smith, told WKRC that a security camera captured the attack. "All I know is what the detective has told us is that they had a home security camera; he had it in his living room where she had been sleeping on the couch," Smith said. "They told us what happened, stuff with the dogs attacking..." The time of the attack has not been released. It is only known that the father awoke about 7:50 am, walked into the living room, found blood all over and his daughter dead on the floor.

killed by dogs while visiting family in roselawn during holiday

Three adult pit bulls seen on the dog owner's Facebook pages, one as recently as August.

Commenter Calisa H. on the WLWT Facebook post provided unconfirmed information.

A person who calls the father "Dad," posted on Facebook, "They went after my baby face what noises can she make if she was attacked in her face while she was sleep." She also said, "We still don’t know how the dogs got out or what even provoked them to attack my little sister."

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Ohio Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.

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