Posted on December 5, 2023 by Colleen Lynn

2023 Dog Bite Fatality: 6-Year Old Boy Killed, Adult Injured by Pair of Dogs in Northeast Portland, Oregon

A 6-year old boy is dead, adult injured, after being mauled by a pair of dogs in northeast Portland.

Child Killed by Dogs
Portland, OR - A 6-year old boy is dead and a woman injured after being attacked by a pair of dogs. Firefighters were dispatched to a home in the 1800 block of Northeast 112th Avenue in the Parkrose Heights neighborhood just after 7:30 am Tuesday for a report of an animal attack. Audio dispatch log files from Portland Area Fire and Rescue on Broadcastify.com indicate the use of a firearm at the scene prior to the arrival of first responders. A police press conference is expected later today.

Portland Police Bureau

On December 5, 2023, at 7:38 a.m., officers were dispatched to reports of a dog attack at a home in the 1800 block of Northeast 112th Avenue in the Parkrose Heights Neighborhood. Officers determined that a pair of dogs mauled a six-year-old boy and an adult female who tried to stop the attack. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. Upon further investigation, officers determined the woman injured is the owner of the dogs and the little boy killed is her friend’s grandson. The dogs, believed to be Great Dane-Mastiff mixes, are in the custody of Multnomah County Animal Services.

PPB’s Child Abuse Team and Homicide Unit are investigating. Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact Det. Jennifer Musser.

Police learned the boy's grandmother dropped him off with her friend who takes him to school. The friend, who owns the dogs, went into the garage where the dogs were when the boy opened the door to the garage and one of the dogs attacked him. The second dog then joined in. Both dogs were described as large and heavy great dane-mastiff mixes. Public Information Officer Mike Benner said the owner tried to save the boy, "at some point even grabbing a gun," but it never got that far.

The Oregonian reports the garage, where the two large dogs are kept, is attached to the home. According to the woman, "the boy knew not to approach the dogs." The woman had gone into the garage to tend to the dogs while the boy was inside her house. The 6-year old boy opened the garage door to follow her and one of the dogs attacked him. The woman grabbed a gun, but did not shoot, Benner said. Her hands were injured while intervening. She was transported to a local hospital.

No information was provided about the boy's mother or father or why his grandmother dropped the boy off at this dog owner's home, who's apparently the boy's caretaker, to take him to school each morning. The Portland Police Bureau Child Abuse Team is leading the investigation, with assistance from the Homicide Division, Benner said. It's too soon to say if the dogs' owner will face criminal charges. Multnomah County Animal Services responded to the scene to take custody of the dogs.

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 December 1, 2023 by Colleen Lynn

2023 Dog Bite Fatality: Infant Killed by Pet Wolf-Dog Hybrid in Shelby County, Alabama

An infant was killed by a pet wolf-dog hybrid in Chelsea, near Birmingham.

Dog Kills Newborn
Chelsea, AL - An infant is dead after being attacked by a pet wolf-dog hybrid, states a press release from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. On Thursday, at about 12:54 pm, Shelby County deputies, animal control officers, and Chelsea firefighters responded to a home in the 1000 block of County Road 440 about an animal attack involving an infant. The newborn was transported to Grandview Medical Center by ambulance, where it was pronounced dead upon arrival due to its injuries.

The canine, described as a wolf-dog hybrid, was being kept as a pet by the family of the infant. A veterinarian euthanized the dog at the scene. Chelsea Mayor Tony Picklesimer issued a statement confirming the exotic breed. "It’s been confirmed that one of our children here in Chelsea was killed by an exotic family pet and succumbed to their injuries yesterday afternoon after being taken to the hospital by Chelsea Fire & Rescue. We are deeply saddened by this unfortunate and tragic event."

Infant Death Investigation

"On Thursday, November 30, 2023, at approximately 12:54 pm Shelby County 911 received an emergency call reporting an animal attack involving an infant at a residence in the area of County Road 440 in Chelsea. Shelby County deputies, Chelsea firefighters, and Shelby County Animal Control Officers responded to the scene. The infant was transported to an area hospital by ambulance, with a law enforcement escort.

Upon arrival at the hospital, the infant was pronounced dead due to injuries suspected to have been caused by the animal. The animal is described as a wolf-hybrid and was reportedly kept as a pet by the family of the infant. The animal was euthanized at the scene by an area Vet, at the request of law enforcement, and has been transported to the Alabama State Diagnostics Laboratory in Auburn for further examination and investigation. There is no threat to the public. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating the circumstances that led to the death of the infant." - Shelby County Sheriff's Office

Common Sense?

A commenter on Picklesimer's post asked, "Who keeps a pet wolf hybrid around a newborn?" Someone who is uninformed about wolf-dogs, or someone who practices willful disbelief about their "obvious" genetic reality. On the Chilton/Shelby Public Safety P25 feed at Broadcastify.com, a dispatcher states: "A 3-month old was being carried around in a dog's mouth. Its nose is bleeding. Patient is breathing. Dog is a shepherd-mix. Unknown location of the dog. Law enforcement is also notified."

Similar behavior occurs when a pet husky kills a newborn. Often the infant is sleeping at the time, on a bed or in a crib, and the husky picks the infant up by its head. Last year, after a pet husky killed a 4-day old infant in Cave Springs, Arkansas, the attack language stated, the dog “put its mouth on the baby’s head” and “the husky's tooth penetrated the baby's head.” In 2019, deputies in Hall County, Georgia said the pet husky bit the newborn on the head an "undetermined number of times."

A follow-up report in the Cave Springs death said that police investigators characterized the baby’s bite injuries as “severe injuries to her head.”

In 2018, an 8-day old baby was lying in a bassinet when the family's pet wolf-dog hybrid killed her. She suffered "very serious injuries to the upper body and the head," Sheriff Gary Parsons said. At the time of the attack, the family was fostering two young children that had been approved by the Wise County Department of Social Services to live in the wolf-dog household. The infant's family had acquired the dog a little over 3-years earlier from a Florida-based wolf-dog hybrid breeder, AE Kennel.

Our nonprofit maintains archives for three dog breeds: Fatal Pit Bull Attacks (1833 to present), Fatal Rottweiler Attacks (1978 to present), and Fatal Wolf-Dog Hybrid Attacks (1980 to present). Animal behaviorist and author Alexandra Semyonova wrote the introduction for our wolf-dog hybrid archive and provided a special report. At the time of publication, April 2018, Game of Thrones (2011-2019), which popularized "dire wolves," the surge in the populations of hybrids and huskies had peaked.

Investigation Underway

According to the Shelby County Reporter, the owners of the wolf-dog hybrid knew about the dog's lineage, but no breeder or kennel has been identified so far. At the time of the deadly attack, there were other children in the home, but none of them were harmed. The Alabama Department of Human Resources and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office continue to investigate circumstances behind the infant's death, and if previous instances of child endangerment occurred in the family's home.

Picklesimer states the dog is part wolf and part shepherd. The most common breeds to create hybrids are Alaskan malamutes, huskies and German shepherds. A report by WTVM states the dog will be tested at an Alabama lab to determine if it is part wolf. However, it's the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory in California that generally carries out the wolf-dog hybrid test. The test can detect wolf-dog hybrids within three generations, but it cannot provide the percentage of wolf ancestry.

The UC Davis test also has critics, which is why identifying the breeder is important. A quick search of Alabama wolf-dog hybrid breeders shows one that advertises "Mid/High Content" puppies that are Embark DNA tested. Embark states its DNA test can detect 350+ breeds and wolves, thus the test can allegedly determine the amount of wolf content in a hybrid. The example of "Luna" shows a high content of gray wolf, followed by Alaskan malamute, German shepherd, husky and samoyed.

Fourth Alabama Death

The infant's death marks the fourth fatal dog mauling in Alabama this year; three occurred in the Birmingham area. In March, a dog pack killed a 74-year old man in McDonald Chapel, just west of Birmingham. In November, one or more dogs killed a 63-year old woman in Birmingham's Ensley neighborhood. In late July, a 27-year old man was killed by a dog pack in Skipperville, south of Montgomery. The infant's death is a departure from pack attacks that typically afflict this state.

A pet wolf-dog hybrid killed a newborn in Chelsea, Alabama on November 30, 2023.

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Colleen Lynn

DogsBite's Giving Tuesday Challenge 2023 - Help Us Complete Our Victims' Database Through 20-Year Period

Only 1 Year Remaining to Reach 20 Years of Data Collection (2005-2024)

Join us on Facebook for DogsBite.org's Giving Tuesday Challenge 2023.

Giving Tuesday Challenge 2023
DogsBite.org - On November 28, Giving Tuesday, we are asking supporters to help us complete our victims' database. There is only 1 more year of data collection to go! Last year, we thought the Covid years would force us to stop at 18 years of data collection. But we were wrong -- and with your help, we prevailed during 2023! Our comprehensive and authoritative database of dog bite fatalities now contains 19 years of evidence-based data. But a full 20-year data set is ideal for research purposes!

This year's campaign emphasis our 2021 Covid Impact Report that we published in April.1 The report compared our own data to CDC Wonder data, which showed a 131% increase in dog bite fatality deaths from 2018 to 2021. In August, an article published by The Hill brought national attention to this issue.2 By September, CDC published their own report with similar findings. CDC states, "From 2018 to 2021, deaths more than doubled for both males (from 15 to 37) and females (from 20 to 44)."3

We believe the last time CDC published dog bite fatality statistics or analysis in a report was 23 years ago, on September 15, 2000.4

This year's campaign emphasizes the veracity of our data collection. We have over 100,000 pages of documentation in the 19-year data set for 722 victims. During the Covid years, we expanded the data collection for each victim from 38 parameters to 50. This requires thousands of added hours of research and coding time. On Tuesday, help us complete the definitive victims' database of dog bite fatalities so that we can preserve a full 20-year study period of data for a third-party researcher!

Changes to Meta Fundraising

This year, there is no "Meta Match" on Giving Tuesday. As of October 31, 2023, Meta no longer processes donations. Meta now partners with PayPal Giving Fund, the same entity that processes GoFundMe donations. Like GoFundMe, Meta is now just a platform that helps nonprofits share fundraising campaigns. 2023 also marked the end of AmazonSmile. Big Tech, apparently, has exited the nonprofit fundraising sector! Learn more about changes to Meta's fundraising tools.

Other Ways to Help

Many of our blog readers are already monthly or annual donors. Thank you so much to all of you! Giving Tuesday is always a fundraising day to attract new people to our cause and to invite new readers of the blog to support our cause on this global giving day. There are other ways to help DogsBite.org too. You can give a one-time gift or a monthly gift through PayPal, you can give to our PayPal Giving Fund page, which has no transaction fees. You can also snail mail a donation!

Help us reach our goal of $8,000 for DogsBite's Giving Tuesday Challenge 2023!

DogsBite.org's Giving Tuesday Challenge 2023 - November 28, 2023 - On Facebook.

1Macro-Level Forces Report: Covid Impacts of 2021 U.S. Dog Bite Fatality Capture Rate of Nonprofit, DogsBite.org, April 18, 2023 (www.dogsbite.org)
2Daniel De Vise, "Blame the pandemic: Dog bites are on the rise," The Hill, August 8, 2023 (thehill.com)
3Number of Deaths Resulting from Being Bitten or Struck by a Dog,* by Sex — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2011–2021, MMWR, September 8, 2023 (cdc.gov)
4Breeds of Dogs Involved in Fatal Human Attacks in the United States Between 1979 and 1998, by Sacks JJ, Sinclair L, Gilchrist J, Golab GC, Lockwood R, J Am Vet Med Assoc, 2000 Sep 15;217(6):836-40

Posted on November 20, 2023 by Colleen Lynn

2023 Dog Bite Fatality: Male Teenager, 15, Killed by a Pair of American Bully-Mixes in Raytown, Missouri

Makai Williams, 15, was killed by a pair of American bully-mixes in Raytown, Missouri.

Dogs Kill Teenager
Raytown, MO - A teenager is dead after being attacked by two American bully-mixes. On November 14, at approximately 3:30 pm, officers were dispatched to a front yard of a home in the 9300 block of East 77th Street for a report of an unresponsive person. Upon arrival, they found 15-year old Makai Williams suffering from severe injuries. The teenager was transported to a local hospital, where he died three days later. Authorities confiscated both dogs from the home. No arrests have been made.

Since the American bully -- which comes in four different sizes (Pocket, Standard, Classic and XL) -- is a "natural extension of the American pit bull terrier," and is comprised of "multiple" bull breeds, it seems redundant to call these dogs "American bully-mixes." Police did not release the size or coloring of these dogs. The United Kingdom recently banned the XL bully due to a growing number of fatal attacks inflicted by the XL bully since 2021. The investigation into the boy's death is ongoing.

Released by: Captain Dyon Harper
Release Date: 11-20-2023
Dog Attack Victim Identified

Raytown, MO – The Raytown Police have identified the teen who was killed from an apparent dog attack on Tuesday, November 14th as Makai Williams, a 15-year-old Raytown resident.

On the afternoon of November 14th, 2023, at 3:36 p.m., Raytown Police responded to a residence in the 9300 block of East 77 Street regarding an unresponsive male. Upon their arrival, they located a 15-year-old male suffering from several severe injuries. The victim was transported to an area hospital but succumbed to his injuries on November 17th. It was determined that the victim’s injuries were caused by dog mauling.

Two apparent American Bully mixed breed dogs have been impounded from the residence. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing.

Report Number: 23-3057

In October of 2022, a pair of American XL bullies -- a name interchangeable with XL pit bulls -- killed both children in their Tennessee home, 5-month old Hollace Bennard and 2-year old Lilly Bennard, and severely injured their young mother who intervened. Both children were pronounced deceased at the scene. The father called the dogs "house lions" on social media. The couple had owned the male and female pair of XL pit bulls for at least eight years before the dogs killed their two children.

Discovered Inside Home

KCTV reports that Williams was discovered inside the home -- not in the front yard -- and that family members were on scene. "Raytown police found a 15-year-old male lying on the kitchen floor with apparent head trauma. He was identified as Makai Williams. There were several people on scene who police presumed to be family members. According to the incident report, they told police Williams was located in the back of the home and were unsure of the cause of his injuries," reports KCTV.

teenager killed by pair of american bully-mixes

A male teenager, 15, was killed by a pair of American bully-mixes in Raytown, Missouri.

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Only 1 Year Remaining to Reach 20 Years of Data Collection (2005-2024)