Paul Anthony Striegl Jr., 47, dies while hospitalized after being mauled by a pit bull.
Mauling Victim Dies
San Antonio, TX - A 47-year old man is dead after sustaining severe injuries from a large pit bull on September 5. Paul Anthony Striegl Jr., died at Brooke Army Medical Center on October 1. His attack marks the fifth consecutive dog mauling in San Antonio, which began on February 24, when Ramon Najera Jr., 81, was killed by two pit bulls in the 2800 block of Depla Street. Firefighters "were fighting off these pit bulls with pickaxes and pipe poles to try to get to the patients,” officials said afterward.
SAN ANTONIO (September 5, 2023) — A dog attack happened this afternoon, September 5, at 9511 Heidelberg. Two American Staffordshire Terriers severely attacked a man at a mobile home park. The victim is a man in his 40s.
The man was sitting in his backyard when the dogs, residing at the mobile home next door, were let outside. These dogs appear to have escaped the next door fence, which led to the attack.
The victim was bitten on both arms and the stomach, causing serious injuries. He is in critical condition in the hospital.
Neighbors and nearby persons intervened to rescue the victim from the dogs. The two American Staffordshire Terriers are currently in the custody of Animal Care Services (ACS). The dogs remain under the 10-day state-mandated quarantine at ACS. The dogs are an unsterilized male and an unsterilized female. - City of San Antonio
The attack occurred while Striegl was in the backyard of his home in the 9500 block of Heidelberg Street around 11:30 am. Striegl was sitting in a chair, smoking a cigarette when the neighbors two pit bulls -- a pair of breeding XL pit bulls -- slipped under the chain link fence that separated the two properties. Of the two pit bulls, a male, named "Ghost" and a female named "Venus," only the male inflicted the attack. According to neighbors and friends, Striegl was well acquainted with both dogs.
During the attack, Striegl's roommate, Chuck Sutton, 62, ran outside with a gun to stop the mauling. "It was just a nightmare," Sutton said. "I knew that day that the damage had been too much." According to the police report, both of Striegl's arms were "destroyed" by dog bites, reports the San Antonio-Express News. Firefighters had to apply tourniquets on his arms to control the bleeding. Striegl's condition at the hospital seemingly stabilized, but then he developed multiple fungal infections.
"No flesh. No muscle. Nothing. No arm left but bone," Sutton said describing Striegl's injuries. "Have you ever seen what a bear can do to a human body?" he asked the reporter. "That's about the best I can describe it."
Jonathan Adair, 46, and a life-long friend of Striegl said the infections worsened his condition, and that he suffered heart, kidney and liver failure, and a collapsed lung. He had to be placed onto a breathing machine. The dogs' owner, Gregory Leon Palmer, 54, called the attack "just a terrible thing." Palmer was at work when his dogs attacked. He blamed his girlfriend's elderly mother for letting the dogs outside without his knowledge. He also alleged the victim reached his hand over the fence-line.
In mid-September, a San Antonio Municipal Court judge ordered Ghost to be euthanized. By that point, Striegl's left forearm had been amputated up to the elbow. The other pit bull, Venus, was sterilized before Palmer could reclaim her. At the time of the attack, both dogs were 3.5 years old and unsterilized -- Palmer had been breeding his dogs, as depicted on his Facebook page. Venus was in heat at the time too, reports the Express News. Thankfully, neither of these dogs can be bred again.
During the dangerous dog hearing, investigator Meryem Martinez played an audio recording of an account provided by Striegl from his hospital bed. “I was by the fence playing with the dogs. He got jealous. He got mad. He nipped at her. I told him quit, stop it." That is when Ghost bit him once, Striegl said. "Once a dog bites you one time and you get freaked out, then they freak out even more," he said. Striegl, who is seen with a pit bull on his Facebook page, called the attack a "freak accident."
Brandon Posey, a fire department paramedic, also testified during the hearing. In addition to both of Striegl's arms "destroyed" by dog bites, and the application of tourniquets to them, there were "obvious fractures to his left forearm, with large chunks of muscle and skin missing on both arms," Posey said. Due to his injuries, paramedics could not put intravenous lines into either of Striegl's arms. Instead, they placed IVs in his feet to administer medication and whole blood, Posey said.
The Five Maulings
On February 24, Ramon Najera Jr., 81-years old, was killed by a pair pit bulls in the 2800 block of Depla Street. Part of the attack was captured on video that leaked to social media. Three other victims were also injured by the dogs. The pair of pit bulls had a history escaping their property, biting people and aggressive acts. San Antonio police arrested and charged Christian Alexander Moreno, 31, and his wife, Abilene Schnieder, 31, with two felony counts each under the Texas dog attack statute.
On July 16, a 13-year old boy was bitten over 50 times by a pack of pit bulls -- XL pit bulls/XL bullies. The attack occurred inside a home in the 22200 block of Escalante Run at approximately 1:30 pm in the afternoon. The boy was life-flighted to University Hospital due to his injuries. The boy's parents were not home at the time; he had been left under the care of a grandparent. At least three of the six dogs involved were euthanized. All of the dogs, apparently, "were raised for retail," reports KSAT.
On August 16, Max de Los Santos, 76-years old, was severely attacked by a pit bull and German shepherd in his own front yard. The attack occurred about 2:30 am in the 7400 block of Fieldgate Drive. "I could see blood gushing out, from the knee to the ankle the whole bone was exposed. Two minutes later and they would have killed him. He was in bad shape," said neighbor Rodolfo Pantoja. Doctors had to amputate his right leg. The criminal investigation of the dogs' owner is ongoing.
On September 3, a 68-year old man was attacked by a dog in the 5000 block of Blossom Canyon at about 8:30 am. "The victim suffered multiple puncture wounds to both of his legs and his groin area, as well as to his head. The victim also reported that this is not the first time the dog has been aggressive towards them," the Bexar County Sheriff's Office said. Police arrested the dog's owner, Kelly Max Oshaughnessy, 33, for Injury to an Elderly/Serious Bodily Injury and Dangerous Dog Attack.
Summary
Since Najera' death in February, city officials, the animal control division, and local and state legislators from San Antonio have been focusing on the dangerous dog/biting dog problems in the city. Media outlets have been scrutinizing these aspects as well. The degree of injury seen in these five maulings is a strong indicator of just how bad the problems are. These are death and amputation injuries inflicted by powerful, high-risk dogs, chiefly pit bulls and their XL pit bull counterparts.
No felony charges are expected after Striegl's death, but prosecutors should charge Palmer under the felony dog attack law because his dogs escaped his fencing and inflicted horrific injuries to a man who was on his own property. His injuries were so gruesome that the only way paramedics could get an intravenous line into him to administer medication was through his feet. He also sustained an arm amputation, chunks of flesh torn off his body, the misery of organ failure and death by infection.
"Bitten, sick, dying, dead. This tragic end didn’t have to be. Dogs brought about this end. It’s not enough that you’re in your own backyard minding your own business, when you are viciously, gruesomely attacked by a pit bull, in San Antonio, Texas." - Paul Striegl Memorial - Pit Bull Attack San Antonio, GoFundMe.com
Male pit bull, "Ghost," seen on the dog owner's Facebook page on March 21, 2023.
Five consecutive severe dog maulings have occurred in San Antonio since February.
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View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: Texas Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.Related articles:
03/10/23: 2023 Dog Bite Fatality: Horrific Pit Bull Mauling in San Antonio Kills One, Hospitalizes Two
12/27/19: 2019 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Dies After Vicious Dog Attack that Occurred in September
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.
The pitbull strike again.poor anthony just chilling outside his house and these ugly beast of a dog killed him. I seriously wanted to if you give the pro pitbull these dog killing statistics what are they going to say probably these are lies those aren’t real pitbull there no such thing as a pitbull breed and the list goes on.
Look at that hideous, rampaging beast. It is something out of a horror movie.
The people killed and injured by these things is just the tip of the iceberg (and, no, I am not trying to minimize those outcomes). People are living in fear, and living diminished lives due to these monsters roaming our streets and neighborhoods.
Enough. Human beings can’t live like this.
Well the texas legislature passed a good law that was a good start but then tx governor abbott vetoed that bi partisan bill
Greg abbott obviously is taking money and bribes from the pitbull propaganda machine
Good to know
If you have pit bull owning neighbors it almost guarantees an attack at some point. He should not have gone out without the gun. I keep a weapon on me, even in my OWN yard.
Some people are so desperate to compensate for their inadequacies that they seek out intimidating dogs like this one and put everyone in their neighborhood at risk. These dogs are not even very smart, in my opinion, or even loyal. Just mean and ugly, a four legged weapon, exceedingly dangerous, and should, in the very least, require a background check and permit to own.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/paul-a-striegl-jr
The fundraiser is very well written. I donated.
Quoting from the GoFundMe page:
“Please spay and neuter your pets. Treat them with kindness and respect.”
Sorry to say, but none of these actions will prevent what happened to this poor man. None whatsoever.
Neighbor…you’re absolutely right. This man was on his deathbed still defending pits, and the photo of him cuddling one is telling. Ironically, this is National Pitbull Awareness month; a celebration of this poor misunderstood mutant. It’s also one year ago on October 5th that two children were mauled to death as their mother fought to save them. She nearly lost her life. As a mother, I bet she would have rather died with them than bear a lifetime of regret and loss. I really thought that might be a tipping point for Tennessee. I was wrong. Whether it’s Tennessee or Texas, nothing changes if nothing changes. In fact, we’re seeing bans rolled back. Take note of Florida and Colorado. In my state, one county rolled back their ban on pits. Since then, three people have been attacked by pit “service” animals. Talk about a contradiction in terms! The hope is that places like the UK will shine a light on the insidious nature of these beasts. If even one life is saved, it’s worth it.
“ He blamed his girlfriend’s elderly mother for letting the dogs outside without his knowledge. He also alleged the victim reached his hand over the fence-line.”
Of course, it’s always everyone else’s fault when pits do exactly what they were bred to do.
Yes, pit bull apologists never take responsibility, its always someone else’s fault. And if this guy was telling the truth and his girlfriend’s elderly mother let them out, it was probably because she saw them sizing her up and didn’t want them to attack her. People should not be owning these dangerous dog breeds, and double that if they live in a small apartment or trailer.
I cannot imagine the horror this man felt while being eaten by a
pitbull. It’s surprising the female pit didn’t bite.. Obviously the pits’ owner didn’t properly confine them. His male was euthanized. Did he take his female home even though she was spayed? Did he like these dogs or was it all about the money from puppies? Was spaying the female sort of accidental? If the owner didn’t surrender the dogs, did anyone have a legal
right to spay her? I’m glad she was spayed.
A friend some years ago had some of her animals seized. (She was found not guilty by a jury, but some of her animals were spayed/neutered.) It was not legal.
Something needs to happen. The shit paul went through this past month was unreal. Venus went back to the owner after being sterilized.
Enough already.
Even if areas aren’t willing to outright ban all pitbulls, for the love of everything that’s holy, at LEAST ban the XLs since they seem to be the #1 headliners due to their inbreeding.
It would least be a start into making some inroads to lessening the death toll by these mutants.
Arrest anyone who owns them the second it steps outside without a muzzle. Confiscate it and euthanize it.
That should at least force SOME compliance from these dangerous nutters.
XL bullies or whatever you want to call them may be more lethal simply because they are bigger and stronger. Inbreeding doubles on both good and bad traits.
By itself, inbreeding does not result in aggressive dogs. However, if inbreeding on nasty tempered dogs, progeny might be more aggressive.
I don’t understand how you can choose to own a known mauler and when it goes off property and kills someone then shrug your shoulders and ask “Wha happened?”
If a neighbors tiger or bear had mauled someone they would go to jail.
Sad it is different if a dog does it.
So many people can not accept that dogs can do wrong.
I’ve stopped seeing pitbulls as dogs. They’re genetically manipulated apex predators.
The yapping Maltese down the street is a dog. The sniffy yodelling neighbour’s beagle is a dog. The ball obsessed mutt the elderly fellow brought home from the streets of Greece is a dog. My friendly but occasionally aloof husky is a dog. The GSD that thinks it needs to protect its stupid owner walking down the sidewalk, is a dog. The offlead Malinois that clings to its owner’s leg like its nose is glued there, is a dog.
None of them are trying to kill me or my dog. They might bark, stare, or behave but they aren’t lunging like maniacs with a murder obsession.
Once again we see that familiarity with the dogs provided no protection from the dogs. We again see the imbecile who chose to breed thug fashion accessory dogs refuse responsibility when all this could have been avoided has he chose to breed normal, biddable PET dogs. I hope he goes to jail.