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Posted on January 12, 2022 by Colleen Lynn

2021 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs

Nonprofit Captured 74% of Breed Identification Images in 2021

Photographs of six fatally attacking dogs in 2021 obtained from multiple sources.

Jump down to view all 2021 breed identification photographs or read our analysis first.

DogsBite.org - In 2013, we began the tradition of publishing breed identification photographs of fatally attacking dogs when available through news reports, animal control agencies, police departments, social media and public information requests. Of the 51 dog bite fatalities recorded in 2021, 53% (27) had some form of an identification photograph. Our nonprofit was responsible for capturing 74% of them. Pit bulls and their mixes represent 63% of images collected in 2021.

Of the 27 cases with breed identification photographs, 48% (13) comprised images captured or republished by news media; 63% (17) comprised images located on social media pages of the dog's owner or family members; and 74% (20) comprised images that were the result of DogsBite research and otherwise may have gone unpublished. Police and animal control agencies only released images in 1 case, yet 80% of all deaths (41 of 51) involved dogs taken into quarantine.

(Percentages are higher than 100% due to a single death containing multiple photographs, each attributed to a different source, as well as images that fall into overlapping publishing categories.)

Identification Photographs (2013-2021)

From 2013 to 2021, images captured by our nonprofit have risen from 26% to 74%. Images captured by media have fallen from 79% to 48%.

Chart shows 9 years of breed identification photograph collection between 2013 and 2021.

Breed Misidentification Conflicts

In 2021, there were several breed misidentification conflicts. After Tiffany Frangione was killed by her own dogs in her backyard, partially sourced media reports identified them as a "cane corso" and an "Alaskan husky-mix." Those claims likely came from Frangione's social media pages where she mislabeled her own dogs. "Rachirius," a male, was also described by Frangione as a "bandog" and "rednose." She described the female, "Masha," as a "husky-golden retriever mix."

We designated Rachirius a pit bull-cane corso mix, predominantly pit bull, and Masha a shepherd-type mix -- not a "working sled dog-type."

After Leann Gratzer was killed by three dogs belonging to her daughter and her daughter's roommate, the canines were identified as two male pit bulls and one female mixed-breed by Franklin County Sheriff Steve Pelton. However, the daughter identified the female dog as "my baby girl" and "a red/brown pit" that took off in September "after a storm scared her" because she was not wearing her invisible fence electric collar. We designated this female dog a pit bull-mix.

In 2021, pit bulls (35), American bulldogs (2) and cane corsos (2), along with 4 deaths inflicted by rottweilers, once again dominated the top killing breeds. Combined, these breeds are responsible for 84% of all deaths in 2021. When breed was known (48 of 51 deaths), only 5 fatal attacks, 10%, involved dogs of other breeds. This same group of powerful molosser breeds also accounts for 84% (477 of 568) of all dog bite-related deaths in the 16-year data set of 2005 through 2020.

Summary

In 2021, 53% of dog bite fatality cases had some form of a breed identification photograph, a fall from the 8-year average of 63% (2013 to 2020). Our nonprofit captured nearly three quarters of them in 2021, 74%, through our research efforts. Breed identification photographs captured by media groups jumped to 48% this year as well, a 92% increase from the first pandemic year of 2020, when media captured breed images fell to 25%, the lowest ever captured by news media.

The decline of identification images released by law enforcement and animal control agencies, however, remained steady. Though providing over a quarter (28%) of the total breed identification photographs between 2013 and 2015, this has shrunk to only 4% over the last two years. To place this into perspective, dogs were seized and taken into quarantine in 41 of the 51 dog bite fatalities in 2021. Authorities only provided a breed identification photograph after 1 of these deaths.

2021 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs

Cameron Hatfield - Brunson, South Carolina

Photos of fatally attacking rescue pit bull (social media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Cameron Hatfield, 6-years old, was killed by an abandoned pit bull that his mother had been trying to rehome in Brunson, South Carolina on January 20, 2021. Five days earlier, his mother posted an update to Facebook, stating, the dog is "great with other dogs, big and small, children, big and small, and my cat."

Infant John Doe - Epsom, New Hampshire

Photos of fatally attacking family American bulldog (social media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Larger image | Infant John Doe, 8-months old, was killed by an intact American bulldog in Epsom, New Hampshire in February 2021. Emergency crews responded to the child's home in the 100 block of Old Town Road Ext. in response to an 8-month old with a dog bite, "delta-level." A GoFundMe for the parents stated the baby boy had passed away.

Aziz Ahmed - Carteret, New Jersey

Photos of two fatally attacking pit bulls (social media, news media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image | Aziz Ahmed, 3-years old, was killed and his mother critically injured by a pair of roaming pit bulls in Carteret, New Jersey on March 16, 2021. The same pit bulls were picked up by police for running at large on October 23, 2020. The "Found Animals of Carteret" Facebook page described the dogs as "2 loveable guys."

A'Myrikal Hull - Springfield, Illinois

Photos of at least one pocket bully living at the home (social media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

A'Myrikal Hull, 1-year old, was fatally bitten on the head by a pocket bully, a designer pit bull hybrid breed, at her home in Springfield, Illinois on March 18, 2021. The baby lived with her grandmother, Bobbie Jo Stengel, who is also her guardian. The family had owned the female pocket bully for at least four years.

Tony Ahrens - Cocke County, Tennessee

Photo of cane corso seized by the sheriff’s office (news media)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image | 52-years old, was found dead on Carnation Way in Cocke County, Tennessee on April 1, 2021. An autopsy cited "multiple animal-induced injuries" as the reason for his death. In mid-July, Amber Miller met a similar fate at the same location. Police seized at least one aggressive cane corso from a nearby property owner.

Jayden Henderson - Garner, North Carolina

Photos of two fatally attacking pit bull-mixes (social media, news media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Jayden Henderson, 7-years old, was killed and her mother critically injured by a pair of pit bulls her family had been caring for in Garner, North Carolina or April 27, 2021. After the attack, the pit bulls' owners, who claimed the dogs were service animals, fought to keep them alive. A judge later ordered their destruction.

Elayah Brown - Fort Worth, Texas

Photos of fatally attacking family pit bull-mix (news media)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Elayah Brown, 4-years old, was killed by a family dog in Fort Worth, Texas on April 30, 2021. An unneutered male pit bull-mix with blood on its mouth was seen being seized from the home. The family also owned a pit bull that was not involved in the attack. A city spokesperson described the attacker as a "mixed-breed."

Elliot Sherwin - Whitehall, Montana

Photos of two fatally attacking family rottweilers (social media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Elliot Sherwin, 4-years old, was killed by his grandparents two rottweilers on May 9, 2021 in Whitehall, Montana. The boy left his grandparents outside to go inside the home. After 45 minutes, the couple went to check on him and found him badly injured. The boy had known the dogs since they were puppies.

Carter Settles - Norwich, Connecticut

Photos of fatally attacking family pit bull-mix (social media, family provided & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Carter Settles, 1-month old, was killed by a family pit bull-mix in Norwich, Connecticut on May 10, 2021. The baby was being held by a family member when "the dog jumped up on the adult family member and began biting Carter," Norwich police Lt. John Perry said. The infant was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dustin Vincent - Sulphur, Louisiana

Photos of fatally attacking pit bulls (social media, news media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Dustin Vincent, 27-years old, died five days after being brutally mauled by up to four pit bulls in Sulphur, Louisiana. Vincent was airlifted from the scene to a Lafayette hospital in critical condition. At the time of the attack, Vincent had gone to the residence to see a family member, but that relative was not home.

Malia Winberry - Willow Spring, North Carolina

Photos of two fatally attacking family rottweilers (social media, news media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Malia Winberry, 10-months old, was killed by a pair of family rottweilers in Johnston County, North Carolina on May 25, 2021. The father had briefly left the baby unattended in the home to go outside and move a sprinkler in the yard and to speak to a neighbor. When he went back inside, the dogs had attacked the girl.

Shamar Jackson - Marion County, South Carolina

Photos of several mixed-breed dogs seized by authorities (news media)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image | Shamar Jackson, 7-years old, was killed by a pack of mixed-breed dogs in Marion County, South Carolina on June 13, 2021. Shamar and his two older brothers had gone outside to search for their pet chihuahua when five dogs confronted them. One of his brothers escaped by jumping a fence. Shamar did not escape.

Adult Jane Doe - El Paso, Texas

Photo of family pit bull belonging to the victim’s daughter (social media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Adult Jane Doe, 59-years old, was killed by a pair of pit bulls at her El Paso home. "A woman having just arrived home discovered the body of her mother being mauled by the family dogs," police said. According to detectives, the pit bulls -- one being a black, intact male -- appeared to have been well cared for.

Emily Kahl - Toledo, Ohio

Photo of fatally attacking family pit bull seen at left (social media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Emily Kahl, 31-years old, was fatally bitten in the neck by a pit bull inside her home on July 18, 2021 in Toledo, Ohio. Thomas Holloway, her roommate, surrendered his pit bull, "Romeo," to be euthanized. Holloway claimed that someone else was in the home with Holloway and the dogs were only "trying to save her."

Amber Miller - Cocke County, Tennessee

Photo of cane corso seized by the sheriff’s office (news media)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image | Amber Miller, 29-years old, was found dead on Carnation Way in Cocke County, Tennessee on July 18, 2021. Medical staff said that her arms were "barely attached to her body." In July, Tony Ahrens met a similar fate at the same location. Police seized at least one aggressive cane corso from a nearby property owner.

Rhoda Wagner - Perry County, Pennsylvania

Photos of two family pit bulls living in the victim's home (social media & news media)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Rhoda Wagner, 60-years old, was found dead in the front yard of her home after being attacked and partially eaten by three pit bulls. Wagner had been caring for her roommate’s pit bulls when they attacked her. Wagner also owned two pit bulls, one was inside the home at the time and was not involved in the attack.

Sally Rogers - Bloomfield Township, Michigan

Photos of fatally attacking male family rottweiler (family provided & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Sally Rogers, 91-years old, was killed by a pet rottweiler belonging to her daughter on September 2, 2021. When emergency crews responded to her home in Bloomfield Township, they found Rogers suffering from "significant injuries." Rogers was taken to St. Joseph-Mercy Hospital, where she died of her injuries.

Alex Abraha - Newnan, Georgia

Photos of two fatally attacking pit bulls (social media, news media, sheriff's office & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Alex Abraha, 21-years old, was found dead in the front yard of a home in Newnan, Georgia on September 24, 2021. Evidence indicated that Abraha had entered into the home as a "possible intruder," where he encountered the pit bulls, but died outside the home. Abraha's family members disagreed with the police findings.

Amber LaBelle - Myrtle Point, Oregon

Photos of fatally attacking large pit bull-mix (social media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image | Amber LaBelle, 42-years old, was brutally killed by a large pit bull-mix she was dog sitting for Jeremy Robertson on September 25, 2021. In July, the same dog attacked two children in Springfield, over a hundred miles away. The dog was owned by Sara Nicholes of Springfield, who left her dog in the care Robertson.

Bentley Parker - Sevier County, Tennessee

Photos of fatally attacking family Saint Bernard (news media)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image | Bentley Parker, 7-months old, was mauled to death by a Saint Bernard while visiting his grandmother's home in Sevier County, Tennessee on October 17, 2021. When first responders arrived, they found the infant dead and the child's grandmother suffering injuries from trying to protect the baby during the violent attack.

James McNeelis - Creek County, Oklahoma

Photos of fatally attacking family mixed-breed (victims' advocacy network & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image | James McNeelis, 7-years old, was killed by a stray dog his grandmother had taken in three weeks earlier at his home in Creek County, Oklahoma. The boy's family described the dog as a "sheep dog-type breed." The sheriff's office did not release breed information, nor did they confirm the family's description.

Tiffany Frangione - Houston, Texas

Photos of fatally attacking family dogs (social media, news media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image 1 | Larger image 2 |

Tiffany Frangione, 48-years old, was found dead in the backyard of her home on November 19, 2021. Her cause of death was "blunt force trauma of the neck with penetrating injuries and mechanical asphyxia." Both family dogs, a pit bull-cane corso mix and a shepherd-type mix had Instagram pages.

Avery Jackson-Dunphy - Mesilla Park, New Mexico

Photo of fatally attacking female mixed-breed (news media FOIA)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image | Avery Jackson-Dunphy, 6-years old, was killed by dogs while visiting his grandparents' home in Mesilla Park. Doña Ana County Animal Control euthanized six dogs. Three of those dogs -- a mother and her two off-spring, all mixed-breeds -- were foster dogs from the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley.

Leann Gratzer - Franklin County, Missouri

Photos of fatally attacking female pit bull-mix (social media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image | Leann Gratzer, 61-years old, was killed by three dogs, two male pit bulls and one female pit bull-mix, belonging to a relative in Franklin County, Missouri on December 6, 2021. "She'd been around the dogs numerous times. I don't have an answer as to why the dogs attacked her," Franklin County Sheriff Steve Pelton said.

Lori Martin - Sumter County, South Carolina

Photos of three of four fatally attacking family dogs (social media & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Lori Martin, 60-years old, was mauled to death by a family dog pack while visiting a relative's home in Sumter County, South Carolina on December 9, 2021. The sheriff's office said the dogs were fighting each other at the time of the attack. Four dogs were seized from the residence -- three boxer dogs and one pit bull.

Duke Little Whirlwind - Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana

Photo of fatally attacking female pit bull (victims' advocacy network & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image |

Duke Little Whirlwind, 58-years old, was killed by a pack of dogs on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation on December 12, 2021. Authorities confirmed Duke was killed by dogs. His niece, Avalee Little Whirlwind, said a female pit bull was the instigator in the attack and was shot by its owner the following day.

Heather Pingel - Bowler, Wisconsin

Photo of fatally attacking family pit bull (victims' advocacy network & dogsbite)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Larger image | Heather Pingel, 35-years old, died after a vicious attack by a family pit bull on December 16, 2021. The attack occurred eight days earlier at her home in Bowler, Wisconsin. Pingel suffered injuries so severe that doctors had to amputate both of her arms. The dog also attacked and injured Pingel's son and fiancé.

Post Publication Identification Photographs

Breed identification photographs discovered after the publication of this post on January 12, 2021. These photographs are not included in our overall analysis; they were unavailable at that time.

Karen Rosa-Madrid - Los Angeles County, California

Photos of two of four fatally attacking cane corsos (dogsbite FOIA)

See: Summary | Full blog post | Karen Rosa-Madrid, 26-years old, was brutally killed by her family's four cane corsos while trying to get into a backyard window of her home in the unincorporated East Valinda area of the San Gabriel Valley. Her son suffered minor injuries. Rosa-Madrid, who resided at the home with her sister-in-law, had forgotten her key that day.

How We Track Photograph Sources

We track the identification photograph's original source. There may be multiple images of a dog, thus multiple sources may be attributed to a single death. We also track where the image was published. For instance, after the death of Avery Jackson-Dunphy, local media outlets obtained a shelter intake photograph through a FOIA. No breed identification images were willingly released by the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley, thus it was sourced to a news media FOIA.

What is simpler to measure in our tracking and analysis is the rising number of breed identification photographs located on social media, from only 16% of all collected images in 2013 to 63% in 2021, a 294% rise. It is also easy to see the routinely low number of images provided by law enforcement even though the majority of dogs after a fatal attack are held in a quarantine facility. Police released identification photographs after 1 death this year, 4%, of all cases with images.

Photograph Tracking Categories

U.S. news media supplied original photograph and/or republished photograph
DogsBite.org published only; no news media republished the photograph
Social media website supplied breed identification photograph
Law enforcement or animal control department supplied photograph
Animal control allowed news media to take photographs inside shelter
Canines shot to death at the scene of a fatal dog attack
Canines taken into quarantine after a fatal dog 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 1, 2022 by Colleen Lynn

2021 Dog Bite Fatality: Man Killed by Pit Bulls on Far South Side of Chicago Prior to the New Year

A 34-year man was killed by pit bulls on the Far South Side of Chicago before the New Year.

Pit Bulls Kill Man
Chicago, IL - A 34-year old man was discovered dead with dog bites in a home in the 300 block of West 108th Place in the Roseland neighborhood around 11:30 pm Thursday. The man, who remains unidentified, was found in a living room with "visible dog bites" on his body, according to police. An autopsy Saturday determined the man died of multiple injuries from a dog mauling, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His death was ruled an accident.

Three pit bulls -- two pit bulls and one American Bully, which is an extension of the American pit bull terrier -- were found inside the home.

Between 2010 and December 30, 2021, seven people have been killed by pit bulls in an 8.3 mile radius of the 300 block of West 108th Place on Chicago's Far South Side, including 56-year old Johnny Wilson (2010), 44-year old Charles Hagerman (2012), 2-year old Jah'Niyah White (2013), 5-year old James Nevils III (2015), 77-year old Dorothy Ford (2017) and 57-year old Karen Brown (2018). In 2020, Katie Amos, 70, was killed by pit bull-cane corso mixes only 11.5 miles away.

Deaths by American Bullies

Because "American bullies," which is a pit bull designer breed, are often pit bull-bull breed-mastiff mixes (extra-large pit bulls), police often classify them as pit bull-mixes. That is the correct classification and also how DogsBite classifies them. Due to this, however, tracking occurrences of "American bully" mentions in media reports is difficult. We just know that deaths inflicted by these extra-large pit bulls have sky rocketed in the US and the UK over the past 6 or so years.

Consider that the only thing that "bully" means in the creation of the four American bully classes is a "thicker" pit bull, where heights vary from pocket size to XL and XXL sizes. Yet, bully breeders are all over the map too, including the hulking pit bull/bully that killed Amber LaBelle in front of her two daughters in September, the "champaign" pit bull designer breed that killed Morgan Crayton in 2019 and the XL pit bull/bully from ManMade Kennels that devastated a child's face in 2018.

far south side of chicago pit bull fatalities

A number of pit bull inflicted deaths have occurred in or near the Far South Side of Chicago.

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

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Colleen Lynn

2021 Dog Bite Fatality: 26-Year Old Woman Mauled to Death by Four Dogs in Her East Valinda Home's Backyard

Karen Rosa-Madrid, 26-years old, was killed by four dogs in her East Valinda home's backyard.

Dogs Kill Woman
Valinda, CA - On December 28, Karen Rosa-Madrid, 26, was fatally attacked by her family's four dogs while trying to get into a backyard window of her East Valinda home, according to police. Her 6-year old son suffered minor bite injuries. Rosa-Madrid, who resided at the home with her sister-in-law, had forgotten her key that day. No one was at the home in the 18000 block of Elizondo Street when she attempted to access the backyard window, sheriff’s Lt. David Petrocelli said.

“The dogs were familiar with the child, but not with the mother,” Petrocelli said. The breeds of dogs involved were not disclosed. The attack occurred around 5:30 pm Tuesday. Audio dispatch log files from Los Angeles County Fire stated, "We gotta patient with multiple dogs standing around her. She's in bad shape, and the dogs are still loose." Fire also indicated they "had no access" to the victim, apparently due to the loose dogs, according to the audio feed on Broadcastify.com.

Firefighters eventually used their hoses to get the dogs away from Rosa-Madrid. She suffered major injuries to her head and arm. She was transported to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, where she died. Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control seized the dogs. “The dogs are under quarantine at one of our animal-care centers,” spokesperson Don Belton said. “This is an ongoing investigation and we are not able to provide additional information at this time.”

Young Adult Victims

Of the 568 Americans killed by canines in the 16-year period of 2005 through 2020, only 20 victims, 4%, were ages 20 to 29. Pit bulls were involved in 18 of these deaths, 90%. At least one rottweiler, one Dogo argentino and two presa canarios were involved in 3 of these deaths. Thus, the age of Rosa-Madrid, 26, heavily indicates that pit bulls or mastiff-type dogs or both were involved in her mauling death, despite this being a pack attack involving at least 4 dogs.

In July, a 66-year old man was killed by a family pit bull when he climbed through a window to enter a relative's home. In June, a 3-year old boy was killed by his family's pit bulls after he fell out of a rear second-story window of his home in New Jersey. In the Valinda case, authorities found Rosa-Madrid's 6-year old son at a neighbor's house after the attack. It's unclear why Petrocelli would say the dogs were only familiar with the boy, given that his mother also lived at the home.

Records Show Breeds

On January 24, we received a response to our breed identification records request from Los Angeles County Animal Care & Control. The dogs involved in the fatal mauling of Rosa-Madrid were two male and two female cane corsos between the ages of 6 and 2-years old. Though offspring information was not released, the older male and female pair were 6 and 5-years old and the younger pair were 3 and 2-years old. Sterilization status information also was not released.

Due to the victim's age of 26-years old, we had predicted that pit bulls or mastiff-type dogs were involved. Our prediction was correct. One media outlet, American Post, reportedly talked to Rosa-Madrid's mother, Gloria Madrid, but the article contains many language errors that are indicative of a poor language translation. Indeed, the source article is from La Opinión on January 18. There was also a follow up by the same author at La Opinión, Araceli Martinez Ortega, on January 20.

Karen Julisa Rosa Madrid was attacked and killed by four cane corso dogs in East Valinda.

Posted on December 17, 2021 by Colleen Lynn

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2021 Dog Bite Fatality: Wisconsin Mother Dies After Saving Son's Life During a Family Pit Bull Rampage Attack

A mother is dead and two others were injured after a family pit bull rampage attack.

Pit Bull Kills Mother
Bowler, WI - On December 9, a GoFundMe was started for a woman by her sister. The original text stated in part: "My sister was not so lucky this dog mauled her arms. She lost so much blood on the way to the hospital her heart stopped. She was in surgery over 6 hours and they had to amputate her left arm and are hoping the right will heal." The next day, the fund posted an update, "Unfortunately they were not able to save her right arm and had to take it above the elbow."

Today, multiple news outlets are reporting this multi-victim attack. 35-year old Heather Pingel, a stay-at-home mother of two, was rushed by paramedics to Aspirus Wausau Hospital following the December 8 rampage attack at the family's home in Bowler. Her injuries were extensive, including suffering two arm amputations. She died about noon on December 16. Her son, Damion Bernarde, received about 70 stitches to his leg following the attack, but is back home from the hospital.

The Wausau Daily Herald spoke to Heather's sister, Shannon Pingel. “She is the bravest, strongest mother I know to do that for her child; she risked her life to save him," she said. "She is a hero." At the time of the attack, only Heather and Damion were at the home with the dog. Her 5-year old daughter was at school and the children's father, Shane Bernarde, was at his brother's home. When Shane returned that afternoon, he found the dog attacking Heather in the bathroom.

When Shane returned home that afternoon, he said Heather was in the bathroom with the door closed and she told him that Damion had fallen down the steps and she didn't know where he was, according to a police report from the Shawano County Sheriff's Office. After he located the boy in the living room, Shane returned to the bathroom and found the family's pit bull attacking Heather.

“We don't know how long she was in there fighting him off," Shannon said. "Shane got home to find her lying on the bathroom floor. She said, ‘I have no arms and I'm dying.'" - Wausau Daily Herald, December 17, 2021

Shane told police he grabbed the dog, dragged it outside then shot and killed it. Shane was bitten by the dog as well. When officers arrived at the scene just before 3:00 pm, they found Heather on the bathroom floor barely able to breath. Damion was sitting in a chair in the living room with a severe injury to his leg. The dog was dead. Heather, Damion and Shane were all transported to a hospital for treatment. A single family pit bull rampage attack resulted in three human victims.

Last year, there were three family pit bull rampage attacks that resulted in death. The death of 86-year old Coco in Florida, involved a pair of family pit bulls attacking three family members, requiring three ambulances. The death of 1-year old Scarlett Pereira involved a single family pit bull attacking the baby and two adults who tried to intervene. The death of 25-year old Devon White involved a single family pit bull attacking four family members, requiring four ambulances.

Since the majority of the attack occurred in the bathroom, the family believes that Heather found the dog attacking her son and struggled to pull the dog away from him and into the bathroom. According to the police report, the December 8 attack was not the first time the dog displayed aggression, but Heather couldn't give the dog up. "My sister has the biggest heart for animals and just couldn't get rid of it...her heart was too big and they thought they could fix him," Shannon said.