2007 Dog Bite Fatality: Attack Shows Underbelly of Pit Bull Ownership

Pit Bull Kills Caretaker
Mountain City, GA - Blanche Brodeur, 76-years old, was found face down with severe head and neck injuries on December 17. She was brutally attacked by her son-in-law's pit bull while trying to feed the animal. Brodeur had agreed to take care of five pit bulls belonging to her daughter Joan and husband Thomas Robinson while they were in jail. Both were arrested and jailed 5 days before the fatal attack after a drug raid to their homes on December 12.

When first responders arrived, they could not reach Brodeur's body. The pit bull that killed her was on a rope long enough to reach anyone who tried to help. It took 18 minutes and a phone call to the jailed dog's owner to get permission to shoot the animal so that responders could safely approach the body. Rabun County Sheriff's Investigator Marty Talley noted, however, "I could visually tell there was no sign of life from the damage that was visible."

Before the Fatal Attack

On November 1st, the home of Thomas Robinson on Gates Lane and the home of Joan Robinson on 36 Parker Robinson Lane were raided by drug enforcement officers. Authorities returned on December 12 and arrested both Thomas and Joan. One deputy picked up Thomas at his residence and allowed him to "move his dogs" to Joan's house. Simultaneously, other agents were searching Joan's home where they seized a half-pound of marijuana.

The victim, Blanche Brodeur, had moved into her daughter's home just a few months prior due to an electrical fire that destroyed her trailer on 41 Parker Robinson Lane on September 28. Both Thomas and Joan owned pit bulls, combined equaling five dogs, which all ended up under the care of Brodeur on December 12. Police shot and killed the attacking dog. It is unclear what happened to the other four pit bulls after Brodeur's death.

Enforcement officials should have rules regarding drug raids and pit bulls. Animal control should have seized these animals and taken over ownership at the time of the arrests. Instead, the animals got dumped on Blanche and within a matter of days she was violently killed by one.