Nonprofit Captured 75% of Breed Identification Images in 2022
Photographs of six fatally attacking dogs in 2022 obtained from multiple sources.
Jump down to view all 2022 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 54 dog bite fatalities recorded in 2022, 44% (24) had some form of an identification photograph. Our nonprofit was responsible for capturing 75% of them. Pit bulls and their mixes represent 63% of images collected in 2022.
Of the 24 cases with breed identification photographs, 42% (10) comprised images captured or republished by news media; 79% (19) comprised images located on social media pages of the dog's owner or family members; and 75% (18) comprised images that were the result of DogsBite research and otherwise may have gone unpublished. Police and animal control agencies released breed images in 3 cases, yet 65% of all deaths (35 of 54) involved dogs taken into quarantine.1
(Percentages are higher than 100% due to a single death containing multiple dog images, each attributed to a different source, as well as images that fall into overlapping publishing categories.)
Identification Photographs (2013-2022)
From 2013 to 2022, images captured by our nonprofit have risen from 26% to 75%. Images captured by media have fallen from 79% to 42%.
Chart shows 10 years of breed identification photographs collected between 2013 and 2022.
Unreleased Breed Data 2022
The most controversial aspect in 2022 is that authorities did not release breed information in one-third of all cases, 33% (18). We were able to obtain breed photographs in 5 of these cases, but photographs for 2 had to be suppressed from this post. Of the 18 cases where breed data was not released, 56% (10) involved restrictive data, such as, fatal attacks on Indian reservations and unwitnessed attacks. For this reason, the quarantine status in 7 deaths in 2022 is "unknown."
About 22% of the fatally attacking dogs were shot at the scene in 2022, which often diminishes the ability to collect breed identification images.
Additional characteristics of the 18 cases where authorities did not release breed data include: 78% of victims are adults ≥ 25 years old; 67% of victims are classified as marginalized; 61% of attacks occurred in or near a city with a population of less than 10,000; 72% occurred in the Southern United States; 17% occurred on Indian reservations and 3 cases involved pit bulls. In 10 other cases, pit bulls were suspected. Thus, 72% of these cases could have involved pit bulls.
Breed Misidentification Conflicts
Several breed identification conflicts arose in 2022. They began with "Gladys of the Glades," a 125-pound mastiff-type dog that killed a volunteer at a southern Florida rescue facility in February. Authorities identified the dog only as a "mixed-breed," despite the dog's weight, coloring (blue) and physical characteristics. One volunteer at the rescue identified the dog as an American bully (XL), which makes sense, given that the XL can be a mixture of pit bull and Neapolitan mastiff.
XL bully breeders in southern Florida should also be taken into account, especially given the female dog's extreme size. For example, note this "Rockefeller" line and his large offspring at this Miami area breeder, who aims to "create the biggest, widest XL bully puppies with massive bones and heads." The Neapolitan mastiff influence is quite pronounced in some of these dogs. Gladys is certainly a mixed-breed, but it is a disservice to remove "mastiff" or "bully" from her breed-type.
Double Fatal Mauling in Alabama
We may never learn the breeds involved in the back-to-back fatal dog maulings of two women in Franklin County, Alabama, who were killed by the same dog pack 1.5 days apart. The owner of the dogs, Brandy Dowdy, reportedly had upwards of 25 dogs on the property and was a devoted pit bull advocate. Dowdy is currently facing two counts of manslaughter, and a slew of other offenses in connection to the deaths of 58-year old Summer Beard and 44-year old Michele Sheeks.
Further, Beard's estate is now suing Franklin County, two animal control officers, four officers from the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, the Franklin County Emergency Communications District and the Franklin County 911 Center due to their bungled investigation. The attacking dog pack should have been seized after the first attack. According to the lawsuit, Beard went to Dowdy's property the day after Sheeks was attacked under the belief that authorities had already seized the dogs.
Double Fatal Mauling in Tennessee
There was no breed identity controversy after a pair of family pit bulls killed two children, 5-month old Hollace Bennard and 2-year old Lilly Bennard, and left their mother with severe injuries. The father had previously called his two XL pit bulls, "house lions," and both parents advocated for the pit bull breed on their social media pages. What was controversial, and remains so today, is that these XL pit bulls, both likely papered, and their bloodlines were not scrutinized in media reports.
The female pit bull, "Mia," came from the King Lion bloodline, a dog that is billed as "the Godfather of the XXL Movement," serving as the foundation stock for many kennels. The owner of King Lion advertises his dogs as "lions on leashes." Thus, the father's reference to "house lions," was descriptive, but also may have been a reference to the bloodline in one or both of his dogs. After two children were killed by these dogs, their bloodlines should have been publicly scrutinized.
Summary
In 2022, 44% of dog bite fatality cases had some form of a breed identification photograph, the lowest percentage recorded by our nonprofit since 2013, and a fall from the 9-year average of 63% (2013 to 2021). Certainly, the 18 cases in which authorities did not release breed information heavily contributed to our lowered collection of breed identification images in 2022. Of the 24 cases that did have breed identity photographs, our nonprofit captured three quarters of them.
The Covid years (2020 to 2022) show a continued decline in capturing breed identity photos, falling from 84% collection in 2019 to 44% in 2022.
Finally, likely due to 10 cases where authorities did not release breed data in 2022, and pit bulls were suspected in each one, based upon information we obtained about the dog's owner or other case details, the pit bull death count fell from 36 deaths in 2021 to 25 deaths in 2022. That is a significant drop and can be seen most easily on the breed identification chart (2013-2022). The green line sharply falls in 2022. There may not ever be a way to capture this breed data either.
2022 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs
Baby Charlotte - Gulf Breeze, Florida
Photo of fatally attacking family French mastiff-mix, "Roxy" (social media & dogsbite)
Saad Al-Anazi - Las Cruces, New Mexico
Photos of two fatally attacking male German shepherds (social media & dogsbite)
Olivia Floyd - Waynesboro, Virginia
Photos of fatally attacking male family rottweiler, "Ranger" (social media & dogsbite)
Olivia Floyd, 7-years old, was killed by a neutered rottweiler while visiting a relative's home on January 29, 2022 in Waynesboro, Virginia. Police charged the dog's owner, Stephen Kachmar, and Penny Lee Bashlor, Olivia's paternal grandmother, with five felony offenses. Olivia's parents were charged with one count of felony child cruelty.
Lola Farr - Columbia, Mississippi
Photo of fatally attacking male family pit bull, "Ace" (social media & dogsbite)
Lola Farr, 1-year old, died on February 6, 2022 at a hospital in Jackson, Mississippi after being mauled by her aunt's pit bull five days earlier. "She got attacked by my sister's pit bull. I'm on the way to the hospital," her mother Wendi Oxner wrote on February 1. "They are about to fly her to Jackson." Lola did not survive her injuries.Pam Robb - Oakland Park, Florida
Photos of fatally attacking mastiff-type rescue dog (news media, social media & dogsbite)
Drué Parker - Baytown, Texas
Photos of one of four fatally attacking family pit bulls belonging to relatives (news media)
Drué Parker, 4-years old, was killed by a pack of pet pit bulls while visiting his aunt's home on February 23, 2022 in Baytown, Texas. Parker had spent the night with her and was supposed to return home the next day. But after waking up that morning, he encountered the pit bulls. Nearby surveillance cameras captured part of the horrific mauling.
Serenity Garnett - Martinez, Georgia
Photos of fatally attacking American bulldog-mix, "Blade" (social media & dogsbite)
Debbie Boyd - Seymour, Tennessee
Photo of family rottweiler used as victim's Facebook profile (social media & dogsbite)
Debbie Boyd, 70-years old, was killed by one or both family rottweilers on June 3, 2022 in Sevier County, Tennessee. Authorities determined that Boyd had been inside the home with the dogs at the time of the attack, as was a small child, who was not injured. Boyd's Facebook profile depicts a rottweiler lying down inside a home.Nicolas Vasquez - Harris County, Texas
Photos of two of three fatally attacking pit bull-mixes (news media & animal control)
Nicolas Vasquez, 51-years old, died on June 19, 2022 in Harris County, Texas, after suffering catastrophic injuries by three dogs on June 9. A neighbor had discovered Vasquez that night lying in a ditch with life-threatening injuries. On June 27, Matthew Leroy Satchell, 32, was charged with felony dog attack in connection to his death.
Apollo Duplantis - New Orleans, Louisiana
Photos of family bull breed-mix seen on mother's Facebook page (social media & dogsbite)
Apollo Duplantis, 13-months old, was attacked and killed by a family bull breed-mix dog on July 11, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. When an animal control officer entered the backyard of the home to seize the animal, the dog viciously attacked the officer, who began "screaming for help," at which point a police officer shot the dog, killing it.Freddy Garcia - Fort Bend County, Texas
Photos of two pit bull-mixes involved in the pack attack (news media, social media & dogsbite)
Freddy Garcia, 71-years old, was killed by a pack of up to seven vicious dogs on July 18, 2022 in Fort Bend County, Texas. Garcia had been walking to the store when the dog pack attacked. The attack was captured on a security camera. Samuel Cartwright, 43, was later charged with a second-degree felony in connection to his death.
Marina Verriest - Albertson, New York
Photos of fatally attacking family pit bull, "Zeus" (news media, social media & dogsbite)
Marina Verriest, 70-years old, was mutilated and killed by a family pit bull on July 27, 2022 in Albertson, New York. The victim's husband discovered his wife's body being dragged around the backyard by the dog. The first officer on the scene, a 15-year veteran, was so traumatized by what he witnessed, he was taken to a hospital for treatment.Richard "Hutch" Barry - Selma, California
Photos of two of five fatally attacking English bulldogs (news media, social media & dogsbite)
Joan Caffiel - Las Vegas, Nevada
Photos of fatally attacking male family pit bull, "Buc" (news media, social media & dogsbite)
Joan Caffiel, 89-years old, was attacked and killed by a family pit bull on August 9, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Caffiel's caretaker, Gelena Kelly, who had been in the kitchen at the time, left the kitchen to check on Caffiel and saw the dog, "Buc," attacking her. "He had her by the neck and was dragging her body into the second room," Kelly said.
Mindy Kiepe - Rossie, Iowa
Photos of a female great dane seen on victim's Facebook page (social media & dogsbite)
Pamela Rock - Putnam County, Florida
Photos of fatally attacking American bulldog-mixes and pit bull-mixes (sheriff's office)
Pamela Rock, 61-years old, a rural postal carrier, died after being attacked by a pack of dogs on August 22, 2022 in Putnam County, Florida. Deputies applied three tourniquets until rescue units arrived. She was airlifted to a trauma center in Gainesville in critical condition. She died the next day. Police released a blurry photograph of the dogs.
Rusty Burris - Polk County, Tennessee
Photos of fatally attacking male family pit bull (social media & dogsbite)
Rusty Burris, 32-years old, was killed by a family member's "alligator" pit bull, referring to the dog's bloodline, on September 11, 2022 in Polk County, Tennessee. Deputies found Burris behind the family's home unresponsive. The dog had been on a cable prior to attacking and had a history of aggression. A deputy dispatched the dog at the scene.
Mary Gehring - Golden, Colorado
Photos of one of two fatally attacking family pit bulls, "Knoxy" (social media & dogsbite)
Hollace Bennard - Millington, Tennessee
Photos of two fatally attacking family XL pit bulls (social media & news media)
Hollace Bennard, 5-months old, and his older sister, Lilly, were killed by a pair of XL pit bulls on October 5, 2022 in Millington, Tennessee. The family dogs, who the children's father called "house lions" on social media, also attacked their mother, who suffered critical injuries trying to save her children. Both children died at the scene.Lilly Bennard - Millington, Tennessee
Photos of two fatally attacking family XL pit bulls (social media & news media)
Lilly Bennard, 2-years old, and her younger brother, Hollace, were killed by a pair of XL pit bulls on October 5, 2022 in Millington, Tennessee. The family dogs, who the children's father called "house lions" on social media, also attacked their mother, who suffered critical injuries trying to save her children. Both children died at the scene.Rosetta Gesselman - Troup County, Georgia
Photos of female pit bull and offspring on owner's Facebook page (social media & dogsbite)
Rosetta Gesselman, 80-years old, was killed by her daughter's three dogs, a female pit bull-mix and two pit bull-mastiff mixes, on October 7, 2022 in Troup County, Georgia. Her daughter knew the dogs had killed family pets before and had also bitten a person. She was charged with reckless conduct and felony involuntary manslaughter.
Samuel Sullivan - West Memphis, Arkansas
Photos of two of 14 dogs seized from the dog owner's property (news media)
Post Publication Identification Photographs
Breed identification photographs discovered after the publication of this post on January 20, 2023. These photographs are not included in our overall analysis; they were unavailable at that time.
Melanie Catley - Hampstead, North Carolina
Photos of both fatally attacking chained dogs (dogsbite.org FOIA)
Melanie Catley, 70-years old, was attacked by her neighbor’s two chained dogs in Hampstead, North Carolina on December 8, 2022 and died three days later. The dogs, an 8-year old Labrador-pit bull mix and a 5-year old pit bull, both male, were surrendered by their owner, confiscated by Pender County Animal Control and euthanized.Adult John Doe - Austin, Texas
Photos of two of six fatally attacking pit bulls (dogsbite.org FOIA)
John Doe, 41-years old, was killed by multiple unrestrained pit bulls. The dogs' owner lived in an "encampment in the woods with his six pit bulls," states a report from Austin Animal Services. The owner had left the camp with his dogs "tied up." When he returned, he found his dogs had "broke loose from their makeshift leash." The victim died at the scene.
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 Richard Barry's attack, local media outlets obtained video footage of the dogs being captured. We obtained an image of one of those dogs, "Chelsea," on the breeder's Instagram page. Thus, the images were sourced to news media, social media and DogsBite.org.
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 79% in 2022, a 394% 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 3 deaths this year, 13%, of cases with images.
Photograph Tracking Categories
- DogsBite.org published only; no news media republished the photograph
- U.S. news media supplied original photograph and/or republished photograph
- Social media website supplied breed identification photograph
- Law enforcement or animal control department supplied photograph
- Canines shot to death at the scene of a fatal dog attack
- Canines held in a quarantine facility after a fatal dog attack
Related articles:
01/12/22: 2021 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs - DogsBite.org
01/12/21: 2020 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs - DogsBite.org
01/07/20: 2019 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs - DogsBite.org
01/08/19: 2018 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs - DogsBite.org
08/31/15: Who Can Identify a Pit Bull? A Dog Owner of 'Ordinary Intelligence'...
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.
I think the most killing of all the pit bull breed .it’s the pitbull terrier or whatever that ugly dog called I never knew there was so many types of pitbull.
Totally agree. No one cannot train instinctive aggressive behaviour. The delusions of grander these people have of these dangerous dogs is a genocide of innocent people everywhere that will never walk this earth again.
Thank you for continuing to diligently provide images of these killers since the media often won’t. And as usual, most of the victims were children or the elderly. I can’t imagine the pain they endured.
Anytime one of these beasts kills someone the owners should be given manslaughter charges or higher.
Speaking of charges, the two family members who owned two pit bulls that killed an elderly family member are being arraigned February 2, 2023 in a Jefferson County, CO court. Colorado has the unusual “strict liability” felony statute when your dog kills someone (no proof of previous viciousness required).
https://blog.dogsbite.org/2022/09/woman-dies-child-injured-pair-pit-bulls-attack-golden-co.html
Negligent homicide! These useless killing machines( Pitbulls) Must be eradicated. So many innocent victims are subjected to loss of life Due to the lack of accountability and responsibility of owing a pitifull
Nothing is more powerful than a picture. When you put a face on a story, the tragedy is all too real. God, all those precious babies, their lives cut short. For what? I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but I’ll say it again, this needs to be on national media. I continue to see these monster mutts walking the streets of where I live. I’ve grown to hate the sight of them.
Thanks for the excellent report, Colleen. Your diligent work is always awe-inspiring.
As regards the lawsuit by Summer Beard’s estate against local authorities for not doing their job to protect her, one has to wonder how many such lawsuits would be filed if people were actually well informed about how authorities have handled dog attacks in their communities.
In San Francisco recently, San Francisco Animal Care and Control — not for the first time — failed to protect the public from a known threat. After biting one person in August 2021 and coming out of the resulting vicious and dangerous dog hearing with no consequences, a pit bull called Bravo, aka Bullwinkle, aka Brutus, was scheduled for another hearing after biting three people in the period from October 15 to November 10, 2022. Following standard practice, the dog was being held in custody by SFACC pending that hearing, but SFACC then released the dog to its homeless owner on December 5, 2022. Three days after the scheduled hearing on January 3, 2023 — which the owner failed to attend — the dog struck again on January 6, 2023. The dog “bit someone and dragged that person six feet by the hand,” according to the hearing officer’s description based on the bite report.
When asked at the recalled January 17, 2023 hearing on the dog (which the owner also failed to turn up for) why the dog had been released on December 5, 2022, the SFACC representative, Acting Lieutenant Rebecca Fenson, said it was because “the dog was doing so terribly at the shelter” and conceded that the decision “did not work out well.” A search continues for the dog and its owner.
If the dog is ever found and properly identified, it almost certainly faces a euthanasia order.
At the very least, I would think that the victim on January 6, 2023 has some kind of case against the San Francisco authorities.
When I’m in the city, I often see homeless people with pit bulls. (As if they could handle one of these beasts!) Well-intentioned people will give money and then try to pet the dog. I’m not surprised the victim you mentioned was dragged by the hand. A young girl in NYC was attacked last year the same way. I think these shelters are giving these dogs to anyone who has a pulse. Or, maybe they’re strays. Either way, these maulers are a public menace
When I see one of those homeless people with a pit bull, I stay good and far away. As in, I will cross the street if I have to.
Excellent work. This is a really informative channel. I was mauled on the leg by a dog when I was 12 (26 stitches in 3 spots) it didn’t make me excessively scared of dogs because we had a much larger GSD as our pet. I’m more worried now with the explosion of bully breeds. Some of those breeds can go nuts and actively try to kill you. You just don’t know which ones and nor can the owners tell you.
Thank you for your excellent investigative work in securing photos of the actual dogs in many of your reports. So often the offending dog’s breed is not given in news reports. And a photo included may be a stock photo w no relation to the offending dog. How many times have we read of the attacking dog(s) identified as a mix when it’s soon evident they are a pitbull mix?
Dogsbite brings facts to nebulous news coverage obviously covering up for the pitbull lobbying community.
I donate $75.00 a month through Facebook. Facebook doubles my tax deductible donation. Pleas donate everyone!
Over the years I’ve seen more and more of these
“bully” breeds and also seen the number of fatal attacks on humans and other animals rise exponentially…whenever I hear someone say “it’s the way they’re raised” I want to cringe…these dogs are innately attack breeds
Photographs like these don’t lie. But sadly the pit apologists will cry out, “There’s no such thing as a pit bull!” even as the evidence is before their very eyes.
If you used the exact same photos of any of these killer pits in a fake feel-good story (think The Dodo style propaganda), the pit folks would happily claim them as their own. “Look at the sweet pibble, noblest of dogs and friend to all! Pit bulls are just misunderstood.”
But when paired with the photo of a victim they have killed, they’re suddenly “not a pit bull because there’s no such thing as a pit bull.”
To solve dog health and safety risks to people we need to explore the psychological reasons why people want to own dogs, and impose them on others when there is so much evidence people have valid reasons for wanting to enjoy freedom from dogs.
One example that provides insight is Putin bringing his dog to a meeting with Angela Merkel. The following quotes are from news reports http://www.businessinsider.com “That time Putin brought his dog to a meeting to scare Angela Merkel”
“As the dog approached and sniffed her, Merkel froze, visibly frightened….and her fear couldn’t have escaped Putin, who sat back and enjoyed the moment….
Later, Merkel interpreted Putin’s behavior. “I understand why he has to do this-to prove he’s a man,’ she told a group of reporters.”He’s afraid of his own weakness. Russia has nothing, no successful politics or economy. All they have is this.”
The worst cases of denial I found was on VETzInsight under the heading “Euthanizing aggressive Dogs: Sometimes It’s the Best Choice.” 181 pages of comments like”Chester is a good boy with a diseased mind.” but not one comment acknowledging dogs are predators with instinctive triggers that cause them to attack people or animals acting like prey.
Dog health and safety issues are human psychological issues. To solve these issues we must first deal with the psychological issues why people feel a desire to intimidate and abuse others. Once we deal with this issue, not many people will want to own a dog.
Three weeks ago my twin sister was attacked by my Pittie, Bella. She lost 3 pints of blood and almost died. Horrible injuries which will require future surgery.
People need to know that pittbulls are the most inbred dog in the USA and that makes them very unstable and prone to attact and they will not stop .If people want a pet dog get something else