Please donate to support our work

DogsBite.org is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity organization. Learn more »

18 thoughts on “2017 Dog Bite Fatality: South African Boerboel Breeder Killed by One of Her Gladiator Dogs in Asheville, North Carolina

Please review our comment policy.

  1. Whew! After reading all this, I'm amazed this breeder lived to be as old as she was!

  2. You can see from her online posts that this lady was living in the same fantasy world that most of the people that own tigers and other dangerous exotics do. They imagine that they have a "special" connection with the spirits of these dangerous animals, when in reality they haven't got a clue. If only there was an island somewhere where they could go live their ego-building fantasies and leave the rest of us alone.

  3. "Looking like the giant puppy he is" -Sorry, that beast doesn't say 'giant puppy' to me, more like oversized killing machine. Another day, another imbecile coddling dangerous breeds and dressing them up as if lipstick on a pig made it a teddy bear. Next.

  4. Such sick thinking about dogs some people have. I've mentioned this before. I really think there's a mental illness connected to these lion tamer mentalities and the obsession with dangerous dogs. I see a lot of online comments reflecting this, as well as a negativity toward small dogs that includes an attitude that smaller or less-dangerous dogs are worthless. Yet at the same time they insist that these giant killer dogs are big teddy bears. It's so messed-up. I'll bet this lady would have said her dogs would lick you to death. I wonder how true that Instagram post was about them charming the neighborhood. Hmm.

  5. These breeds are bred for only one reason- to be aggressive and violent. Breeders will never admit they know they are breeding violent dogs. Never.

    They will make up fantasy stories about packs of fighting breeds loving up the neighbors, but they don't want to admit they are fueling a market for violent dogs.

    Unfortunately they have some political shielding because of the link up of the breeding industry to the agriculture industry. And other breeders will always circle the wagons to hide the truth about one of their own, unfortunately. So the public will often never get to hear the truth.

  6. And never make a mistake about it- it is all about the money. They will make up any palatable fantasy story about anything they think they can use to distract people away from that fact, and the danger. Some of these people are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year (often outside the radar of the tax man, too) by peddling violent dogs.

  7. I thought you might want to see the outright dishonest propaganda being spread by breeders of these violent dogs trying to clean up after this mess. The breeders are nervous about public attention to their questionable activities, and they have worries about losing their "cash cows."

    You'll have a hard time finding one word of the truth in this.

    http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/international-boerboel-federation-press-release-re-ashville-nc-300457225.html+&cd=19&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

  8. EyesOpened: It's like 'bad boy syndrome', only for dogs not humans. Pick the most reprehensible person/dog you can find, and if you just looooooove them enough you can 'save' them, and 'reform' them, and make them into they 'good guy/dog'. Only it seldom works that way in REAL life, and even less with dogs who do not have the mental capacity to overcome their genetics.

  9. Good point about the tax evasion, joelande. If cities, counties, states, and the feds really cracked down, a lot of these breeding operations​ would disappear.

  10. Where do you even start with this one? This breed has the most disgusting, reprehensible, sickening history. Would you be proud to breed or own a dog that was created to keep slaves in line? How do you even spin that? "Farmer's dog" is BS.
    The other terrifying aspect of this story is the complete and utter lack of confidence she has in the disposition of her beasts. The relief she expresses in her post about the dogs getting loose is disturbing. The word "fortunately" is not really appropriate when your dogs get loose and don't hurt or kill a neighbor. I personally would not be "charmed" by 700lbs of genetic mutation overrunning my neighborhood.
    Her website is full of contradictions. She talks about them being big puppies and silly, then she talks about them being intimidating and "120lbs of fearsome." They were sweet and gentle with neighborhood kids, yet there are goats "begging to be chased". WTF? It sounds like she was trying to convince herself, as much as anyone else, that these dogs are gentle giants.
    Lastly, this whole story blows the "it's all in how you raise them" theory out of the water. Half a dozen dogs of one breed are so aggressive and violent they have to be euthanized, and yet the one Pyrenees is totally fine. Did she beat and starve the Boerboels, but love and coddle the Pyr? I highly doubt that.
    This whole situation is sad and disturbing. These types of dogs need to be highly regulated, if not outright banned. They are weaponized animals and they have no business being pumped into our neighborhoods. I certainly hope she kept meticulous records (doubt it) so anyone who bought a puppy from her can be tracked down.

  11. When there are incidents like this involving breeders, other breeders are often very quick to collect records and any incriminating evidence precisely to hamper investigations. If they don't do it directly, then they impose on a family member.

    Some of them have smuggled dogs out of state too.

    If you remember the breeders who killed a home aide with their rottweilers in CT, other breeders fabricated stories about "co owning" the dogs so they could get their hands on them, and perpetuate breeding them. These dogs represent a lot of money to them.

  12. The tone of her instagram post makes me think she was pleasantly surprised that they returned when she called them (not expecting obedience) and that she was unsure what kind of reaction they would have to kids (or perhaps worried they might be aggressive to kids).

    It doesn't come off as the post of someone who was 100% sure their dogs would never hurt anyone or cause a nuisance if they escaped. She even added a "whew!" of relief that they were friendly while out.

    And yet I bet she was touting the line these were "gentle giants" and that they "wouldn't harm a fly" to her prospective clients.

  13. So why did the authorities LIE? Do they have some of the puppies? Are they breeders themselves or just more idiots with the dangerous dog fetish? Isn't that a CRIME to lie on a report like that?

  14. Ka D, you just put in words what I was wondering as well. What was the point in covering that info up?

  15. I am always glad when it is the owner rather than the neighbor's child but the breeder herself is even better than the owner still. This is the only justice you will ever see when it comes to breeding frankenMauler dogs. Hoisted on her own petard.

Comments are closed.