Pit bull attack victim, Makayla Woodard.
Grand Jury Indicts Pit Bull Owner
UPDATE 03/16/11: A Union County grand jury has indicted the owner of the pit bulls that killed Makayla. The indictment formally charges 23-year old Michael Gordon of Waxhaw with felony manslaughter in connection with her death. Deputies arrested Gordon Thursday inside the Union County courthouse while he was to appear on the felony and misdemeanor charges. In the weeks leading up to the attack, Waxhaw police officers had warned Gordon about restraining his dogs.
Makayla's family has set up a petition website to help prevent future pit bull maulings.
01/19/11: Commissioners Set Up Panel
In the wake of Makayla's death, the Waxhaw board of commissioners set up a panel to study how to deal with stray and potentially dangerous dogs. The City of Waxhaw had an animal control officer in training before the fatal incident who is expected to go on duty in the next two months. Mayor Daune Gardner said that the entire community is "torn up" by what happened. The swift actions by the commissioners are not uncommon following a deadly attack.
Last year, San Bernardino County, California, Hinds County, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee enacted stricter dog control laws following a fatal pit bull mauling. DogsBite.org encourages cities not to wait until there is a death prior to adopting proactive dangerous dog laws. The Charlotte Observer article also notes that the owner of the dogs that killed Makayla remains uncharged, but the case has been turned over to the Union County district attorney.
01/13/11: Charges Expected in Deadly Attack
News agencies have been steadily updating details about the pit bull mauling that killed Makayla and left her grandmother hospitalized. WCNC reported that neighbors had complained many times about the two dogs who often ran loose and that police officials had a hard time discussing the case because the injuries were so "gruesome." 9 News reported that Police Chief Michael Eiss said that charges against the dogs' owner may come soon.1
Like in the 2010 the death of Anastasia Bingham, Makayla was only home that day due to school closures for snow and ice conditions. Exactly where Makayla was when she was attacked, either in her yard or the dog owner's yard (the homes are next door or across the street from one another -- reports vary), does not matter given that the dogs had escaped their restraints, and the expected charges against the dogs' owner, 23-year old Michael Gordon.2
01/12/11: Pit Bulls Kill Child, Injures Grandmother
Waxhaw, NC - In a developing story, two pit bulls killed a 5-year old girl and severely injured her grandmother. Makayla Woodard and her grandmother were attacked by the dogs just after 11 am on Rehobeth Road behind the Captain's Galley seafood restaurant. Both pit bulls, owned by Michael Gordon, were fatally shot by law enforcement after the incident. The victims were rushed to Carolinas Medical Center-Union, where Makayla later died from her injuries.
According to police, the grandmother, 67-year old Nancy Presson, was injured trying to get the dogs off Makayla. As of 4 pm Wednesday, Presson was under sedation and listed in stable condition in the hospital's emergency department. Makayla's mother (and Presson's daughter) told WBTV that her mother's injuries were severe, but that she would survive them. Police had visited Gordon's home around Christmas and warned him about restraining his pit bulls.
2Craven Desires left a link showing that Gordon is a convicted felon, released from prison in 2010.
Related articles:
11/11/10: 2010 Fatality: East Texas Child Killed by a Pet Pit Bull
10/25/10: 2010 Fatality: "Very Loving" Pit Bull Kills Baby in Jacksonville Home
06/25/10: 2010 Fatality: Terry Child, 5-years old, Killed by Neighbor's Pit Bull
this is the pit nutter:
http://webapps6.doc.state.nc.us/opi/viewoffender.do?method=view&offenderID=1076460&searchLastName=Gordon&searchFirstName=Michael&listurl=pagelistoffendersearchresults&listpage=1
Horrific. Especially in light of the fact that an eerily similar incident took place 12/23 in Charlotte:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/12/24/1931965/6-year-old-boy-critically-injured.html
Here is a better photo of McKayla.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41042245/ns/local_news-local_news/
In this link, the owner admits that the dogs CLIMBED out of the fence on a regular basis.
http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/wxhaw-dog-attack-113364229.html
This makes me sick to think of the police handing out verbal warnings to FELONS about their loose pit bulls!
"Makayla was at home because the Union County Schools were closed due to icy roads."
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8196354/us-girl-5-mauled-to-death-by-pit-bulls
Yes, this case summons Anastasia. Let's hope this one ends in criminal charges.
https://blog.dogsbite.org/2010/02/2010-fatality-terry-child-7-years-old.html
Makayla's family owned at least one pit bull (you can see it penned in the video). Quite a horrible spot for Makayla's mother to be in, her child dead and mother hospitalized after a pit bull attack. Her mother is still quite a defender of the breed:
"Makayla's mother also said that she was upset that the media had called the dogs vicious, even though the dogs killed her daughter. She said they had always been friendly up until Wednesday's attack."
It seems the neighbors heard and did not go to the aid of the screaming woman or call 911 immediately.
Animal People editor Merritt Clifton…."Pit bulls..are accordingly dogs who not only must be handled with special precautions, but also must be regulated with special requirements appropriate to teh risk they mya pose to the public and other animals, IF THEY ARE TO BE KEPT AT ALL. (emphasis mine)
The grandmother will be haunted by this for the rest of her life. How horrible to watch your beloved granddaughter being eaten alive by savage dogs and there is absolutely nothing you can do. You can't shoo them away. You can't yell at them (if you do, the nutters will blame you for making it worse), you can't kick them, or punch them, you can't spray water on them, or anything of the things you can do to get other breeds to stop an attack.
And the mother must be in shock — I want to think that anyway — for her to come out and defend the dogs that ripped her daughter apart and landed her own mother in the hospital.
I just feel so awful for the grandmother — the description of her screams — primeval.
Dear God, I pray for this family.
A Vick dog has been adopted to a home with a baby: http://pitsinthenews.blogspot.com/2011/01/vick-dog-adopted-to-family-with-baby.html
Another pit bull attack:
http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=117450
And other breed attacks:
http://whosthepooch.blogspot.com/
This incident occurred the next day about 100 miles away:
""I came around their pool," Michael went on, "She's just laying on the ground, and I could see her arms being ripped apart. I lost it. I charged the biggest pit I saw first pulling on her arm. They backed away a little bit. I tackled it and threw it as hard as I could when it came at me. I hit it with a 2 x 4 with nails upside the head. When I turned around for the other dog and it tried to move away, I noticed it's chain was wrapped around her neck. It was choking her, and I was trying to figure out how to get the dog off of her."
—
http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13844822
The neighbourhood fear,pet killings,unprovoked attacks on owners and the deaths of children will continue until these doggs are banned.This is the only thing that will work…….As long as these dogs are in our communities… the Killing will continue.
Owner please guilty and was convicted to 20 – 24 months in jail. Not enough for the loss of a child.
This world is really messed up.
http://myfox8.com/2012/05/30/owner-sentenced-in-pit-bull-attack-that-killed-5-year-old-girl/
The owner pled guilty and was convicted to 20 – 24 months jail. Not enough for the loss of a child.
http://myfox8.com/2012/05/30/owner-sentenced-in-pit-bull-attack-that-killed-5-year-old-girl/