Most Powerful Images Came from Social Media
Photographs of six fatally attacking dogs in 2015 obtained from multiple sources.
Jump down to view all 2015 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, law enforcement or social media websites. Of the 35 total recorded deaths last year, 16 fatalities, 46%, had breed identification photographs, down from 57% last year.1 Predictably, the majority of the images depict pit bulls, pit bull-mixes and their close relatives, along with the second top killing dog breed, rottweilers.
Of all dog bite fatalities with identification photographs, 44% (7) were captured by news media, 38% (6) were supplied by animal control or sheriff's departments and 44% (7) were located on social media pages of the dog's owner or family members. Four attacks also had images in two categories. The most powerful images came from social media and included a mother calling her pit bull a "Big Baby," a victim and her pit bull and a pit bull dubbed "The beast" doing bite work.
Photographs Are Supplemental
The identification photographs are a supplement to the extreme number of multi-sourced news reports that we collect for each fatal dog attack victim and are listed on our Dog Bite Fatality Citations pages. Though we are still collecting news reports for 2015 -- there will be criminal trials, autopsy report information and more -- so far we have collected over 615 citations for 35 victims. We invite you to glance over the 2015 Dog Bite Fatality Citations page to review its length.
News reports pertaining to fatal dog attacks -- with or without identification photographs -- are nearly always multi-sourced. This means that multiple parties have identified the dog's breed including, but not limited to: animal control officers, police officers or sheriff's deputies, other public safety officials, the dog's owner or family members, witnesses and even veterinarians. The images are often greatly helpful, but are also just one component of the overall information available.
Growing Impact of Social Media
Though images obtained from social media in 2015 did not increase from last year, several of them carried significant impact on social media. The image of 25-year old Nicole Cartee sitting with her family pit bull of 10-years, which later killed her, captured the public's attention. This past week, after 9-year old Tyler Trammell-Huston was killed by his older sister's three pet pit bulls, the Facebook images of his sister snuggling with her pit bulls went viral on Facebook as well.
The viral images usually share the element of a family pit bull that unpredictably turns violent, attacking and killing a family member.2
In 2015, three cases would have had the wrong breed identification or no breed attribution had it not been for social media and our investigative research: the deaths of Malaki Mildward, Lamarkus Hicks and Barbara McCormick. In two of these cases, both children, we were also able to track the lineage of the fatally attacking dogs to their sire and dam. We first accomplished this in 2014, after the death of Mia DeRouen, using the dog owner's Instagram account and a pedigree website.
More photos of varying sizes are often available at the indicated full blog post link for each victim.
2015 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs
Declan Moss, 18-months old, was killed by two family pit bull-mixes while under the care of his grandfather in Brooksville, Florida on January 19, 2015. His grandfather, who owned the animals, witnessed the attack, but was unable to stop it.
De'Trick Johnson, 36-years old, was horrifically killed by a pack of pit bulls owned by John Chester Smith in Jefferson County, Arkansas on March 21, 2015. Smith was later charged with felony manslaughter in connection to Johnson's death.
Brayden Wilson, 10-weeks old, was savagely attacked and killed by his family's pit bull of 8-years in the Red Bird area of Dallas, Texas on April 19, 2015. Afterward, a local columnist shined a light on the deceptive propaganda about the breed.
Nicole Cartee, 25-years old, was brutally killed by her family pit bull of 10-years in Spartanburg, South Carolina on August 22, 2015. The dog, named Spike, "just snapped" on that day, attacking three family members and killing Nicole.
Barbara McCormick, 65-years old, was killed by up to three family dogs at her home in Autauga County, Alabama on September 4, 2015. After her death, her son posted images of the dogs to Facebook saying, "I just don't understand."
Emilio Rios Sr., 65-years old, was savagely killed by two stray pit bull-mixes in North Shore, California on September 8, 2015. The dogs also viciously attacked a woman who came to his aid. The attacks reignited the pit bull legislation debate.
Amiyah Dunston, 9-years old, was savagely killed by a pit bull while playing in the backyard of a home in Elmont, New York on November 8, 2015. Police could not charge its owner, spawning the term: “Defeated Prosecutor Syndrome.”
Anthony Riggs, 57-years old, was killed by a rottweiler he adopted three hours earlier from Jackson-Madison County Rabies Control on November 12, 2015. The county agency has no evaluation or temperament testing policy or procedure.
Xavier Strickland, 4-years old, was murdered by four pit bulls while walking with his mother on a sidewalk in Detroit on December 2, 2015. The attack was captured on the dog owner's surveillance cameras and dubbed, "16 minutes of horror."
Rebecca Hardy, 22-years old, was killed by a pit bull and husky on December 3, 2015 in Port Huron. Her death was ruled "suicide" by Oakland County Medical Examiner Ljubisa Dragovic. A video shows the pit bull being taken by animal control.
Post Publication Identification Photographs
Breed identification photographs discovered after the publication of this post on January 14, 2016. These photographs are not included in our overall analysis; they were unavailable at that time.
James Nevils III, 5-years old, was brutally attacked and killed by his cousin's pit bull on March 25 in Chicago, Illinois. Two teenagers beat the dog with bricks, another man stabbed the dog with a knife until the knife broke, but it was too late.
Anthony Wind, 26-years old, was found dead at his home on May 24, 2015. Rochester police removed a rottweiler from the home. Dog bite attorney Kenneth Philips states that a rottweiler killed Wind. This same dog was allegedly Wind's "service dog."
Carter Hartle, 11-months old, was attacked and killed by a family pit bull-mix at his home in Oneida County, New York on November 15, 2015. The male dog, named Diesel, had never shown aggression before, according to the baby's mother.2After a pet pit bull of 8-years killed its owner on Christmas Day in 2014 in Portage, Indiana, the image of 40-year old Edward Cahill posing with his pit bull also went viral on social media. Cahill's mauling death by his family pit bull was "so clear cut," the coroner declined to do an autopsy. "There’s no reason for me to spend $2,500 of the taxpayers’ money on something so obvious," Porter County Coroner Chuck Harris told reporters.
Related articles:
08/31/15: Who Can Identify a Pit Bull? A Dog Owner of 'Ordinary Intelligence'...
01/07/15: 2014 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs - DogsBite.org
01/03/14: 2013 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs - DogsBite.org
This is why I prefer the collective term "bully breeds". The second you try to call someone's "pit-type dog" a pit, they just start playing the name game and saying "My dog isn't a pit bull, he's an American Bulldog" or "She's an American Bully"(Even though we all know the former example is literally another name for pit bull while the latter is just a bigger pit bull).
If you say bully breed, they can't play the name game because it doesn't work. Bully breed encompass the entire group of those monsters. People can say "No one can identify a pit bull" (which is a lie in itself), but no one can say "No one can identity a bully breed" because that's even less true and more ridiculous.
Good point, Bailey. Maybe it's time for a 'name change' on this side. 🙂
Someone closer to the event should file a FOIA request for the information on the dogs that killed Gaege Ramirez in Canyon Lake, Texas
The most accurate term is molosser dogs.