Jessica Wauters, 59, was killed by a pet rottweiler in the backyard of her home.
Woman Killed by Rottweiler
Tomball, TX - A 59-year old woman is dead after being attacked by one of her own dogs in her backyard, according to Harris County Precinct 4 deputies. Deputies responded to a residence in the 8200 block of Calico Canyon Drive after receiving a call from the victim's 30-year old son, who found his mother unresponsive. Upon arrival, deputies found the woman surrounded by blood. Multiple dogs were in the backyard, deputies said. One of the dogs, a rottweiler, had blood around its mouth.
The victim was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The rottweiler was euthanized (apparently at the scene), and two other dogs were transported to animal control. The sizes and breeds of those dogs were not released. Investigators are now waiting on autopsy results to see if the other two dogs were involved in the fatal attack. This is the sixth fatal dog mauling in Harris County since November 2021. Most of the attacks occurred in jurisdictions outside of Houston.
“The entire incident is under investigation. We’re still working on a few things but it appears to be consistent with an attack by the rottweiler dog,” Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said. KPRC interviewed Bob Holmes, a dog trainer who operates K-9 Obey LLC. Holmes said that rottweilers are an aggressive breed, due to being bred historically for guarding purposes. He also made the interesting comment of how rottweilers can start treating their owner "like an employee."
“They’ve been bred to be working dogs and they possess a little bit of aggression because they were also trained and bred historically to be guard dogs,” said Holmes.
“Sometimes they will assume the role and guard the house from strangers. Because if they start becoming a little bit aggressive, they will start treating their owner like an employee,” said Holmes. - K9 trainer, Bob Holmes, KPRC interview
KHOU reports the victim has been identified as Jessica Flores Wauters. She was found Sunday at an undisclosed time covered in blood, as was her pet rottweiler. "The victim was still alive," Constable Herman said. She was transported to a trauma center in The Woodlands, where she died of her injuries. KHOU also reports that all three dogs have since been euthanized, indicating the other two dogs in the backyard participated in the fatal mauling or cannot be excluded from participating.
Harris County Fatal Dog Maulings
In November 2021, Tiffany Frangione, 48, was killed by her own two dogs in the backyard of her Houston home. In February 2022, Drué Parker, 4, was killed by four pit bulls while visiting his aunt's home in Baytown. In June 2022, Nicolas Vasquez, 51, died after being brutally attacked by three pit bulls in Huffman. In August 2022, a 43-year old man was killed by dogs in Channelview. In February 2023, a 69-year old man was killed by two pit bulls that got into the backyard of his Houston home.
Just yesterday in Katy, which is part of western Harris County, two pit bulls attacked three people, including a Harris County Sheriff's Office deputy, leaving an 83-year old man with critical injuries. The attack was captured on a neighbor's Ring doorbell camera. The man's step-daughter grabbed an umbrella and started beating the pit bulls. A bystander jumped out of a car to help and was bitten too. A Harris County deputy, who was bitten multiple times, open fired on the dogs, killing them both.
The most recent fatal dog mauling in Harris County, Texas is the sixth since late 2021.
"Max" and "Riena," a male and female rottweiler, on the victim's Facebook page 2014-2015.
Home in the Miramar Lake subdivision where Jessica Wauters was killed by her pet rottweiler.
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View the DogsBite.org Google Map: U.S. Fatal Rottweiler Attacks By StateRelated articles:
02/01/23: 2023 Dog Bite Fatality: Man Killed by Pit Bull-Mixes While Trying to Save Own Dog
01/21/23: Fatal Rottweiler Attacks - The Archival Record - DogsBite.org
03/22/22: 2022 Dog Bite Fatality: 4-Year Old Boy Killed, Relative Injured in Dog Attack in Baytown
06/28/22: 2022 Dog Bite Fatality: Man Dies After Amputations Due to Dog Attack in Harris County
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.
Power breeds like Rotts, pits and mastiffs should not be considered PET animals but biological weapons. Most people don’t have the knowledge or skill to handle this type of dog well. Too bad she didn’t choose a beagle or schnauzer.
Can we stop calling war and terrorist breeds ”power breeds”?
If its bred to kill people on your property or when you yourself attack people, then its a uncontrollable weapon.
These animals are not pets. Its like calling handguns ”power toys”.
Bob Holmes helped us with our German Sheperd. He explained that dogs are pack animals.The owner must establish and maintain the leadership role…If this is not maintained the dog will lead out….This will lead to misbehavior including aggression as witnessed here…the key is easy once Bob taught it to me and my wife…
Maurice, your trainer is correct. The cookie-waving bleeding hearts, are wrong.
There’s a few things to look at in any guard breed. Who bred it? What are their working lines? Were they just bred for tough looks or were they bred for brains, calm temperment and stamina?
Pantloads of people aren’t assertive enough to manage a barky poodle, never mind a guard breed. They buy the dog not because they respect its brains and abilities and are intending to work it (even in a limited capacity) but because they want a dog to look tough for them. What they fail to realize is that a protection breed is a partner dog that requires skilled dog handling.
The difference is; if they mismanage a teacup poodle it might be annoying but it’s not likely to do any major damage except for peeing on their rugs. If they mismanage a guarding breed or buy one with a crappy bloodline, they could wind up housing Ted Bundy in a fur coat.
When I worked with professionally trained dogs I liked Rotts. A lot. They carried themselves with dignity and calm and courage.
When I’m walking down the street full of people who aren’t skilled dog handlers I treat them with the same caution I treat pitbulls. Cross the street, go the other way, command my dog not to look, dodge through an alley etc.
They’re not a great family pet. Like pitbulls, the odd one will pull it off but many are frustrated by that lifestyle. They need to work at something. If they can’t work, or are brainless to train–they’re badly bred.
Quoting the neighbor, who appeared in the KHOU story:
“Blue has raised her own Rottweilers for years and currently has a pair of 10-month-old puppies.
“‘With excellent training, they’re phenomenal dogs,’ said Blue. ‘They’re very, very good dogs.'”
“She couldn’t imagine what may have happened to prompt the death of her neighbor whose dog she never really saw but heard barking on occasion.”
Ummm, Ms. Blue, get a a clue. Please. Your life depends on it.
“With the right training, they are great dogs” says the owner of every breed of murder mutt.
Yup. They’re great dogs with a bit of a murdering problem. Just a bit. Nothing major.
Any dog from the mastiff group (including rottweilers, etc.) is no good. When there is more than one, the pack mentality will take over. There are many breeds that need to become extinct, including mastiffs, american bully, pits, etc. If they can be unjustified & easily provoked to attack and are now attacking their owners, these dogs serve no purpose for humanity.
Donna:
Actually molasser breeds (minus pitbulls whose job is to kill other dogs) _do_ provide a valuable human service.
It’s just not a service that the average urban dweller, needs. Nor does that average cookie-waving owner have the foggiest notion how to treat these dogs with the respect they deserve.
They’re designed for living in harsh working conditions to guard livestock and drive off or kill other apex predators such as wolves, mountain lions, cougars, or wild dogs that threaten livestock.
The postman, the kid next door and the neighbourhood cats are not a threat to someone whose idea of livestock is a budgie. But the dog doesn’t *know* that when instinct kicks in.
On top of that, they’re geared to roam miles every day and sleep on the stoop or in a barn–not be locked up in a house frustrated and run around a handkerchief-sized yard whenever someone remembers to let the dog out.
Add into that the amount that are bred for looks and not by farmers breeding their own and culling the useless from their working stock plus the amount of their bloodlines that are now infected with pitbull blood making they’re a real problem in urban environments.
Even if the two other dogs didn’t participate, they didn’t try to save her either. For a breed that is supposed to be protective, that is a big problem.
Protection dogs are made, not born.
Guarding breeds are bred to protect livestock, not necessarily, people. Using that instinct to protect people under command takes a great deal of training to be consistent.
Training a protection dog is taking that guarding instinct and honing to to do use that instinct in a course of specific actions that benefit whatever situations the dog is likely to be faced with in the course of its duties. The dog must learn to operate in high pressure environments and to maintain its courage in the face of distractions and threats.
Expecting a dog just by virtue of it’s instincts to be successful at protecting it’s owner in a crisis just isn’t a realistic expectation.
If the dog wasn’t agitated enough to join in the attack is the best one could hope for from a pet dog of any breed.
From what’s been shared, the other two dogs that aren’t being identified could have been involved and or are the main culprits in this fatality. I wouldn’t rule out the number one killer. Why keep that off the from us anyways? If they were killed what’s it going to hurt to let the public know all the details?
I mean, I believe Rottweilers are close to being just as dangerous as a pit but I can’t stand when the people writing the stories or the Law Enforcement doesn’t tell the whole story.