Nancy Cherryl Burgess-Dismuke, 52, died of "extremely severe" dog bite injuries.
Clarifications
UPDATE 02/28/19: Katora Strickland, the dog mauling victim's niece, goes by Strickland Linda on Facebook. When Fox Carolina interviewed Strickland after Nancy Burgess-Dismuke's horrific mauling death, they flashed a photo showing two pit bulls and a chihuahua lying on and near a bed. The interview also stated that Burgess-Dismuke had seven dogs in her household. But these particular two pit bulls and a chihuahua belong to Strickland. She states this in comments here.
"This is her bed with my dogs laid up with her daily so keep what u may think happen to yourself," [sic] Strickland states. It's unclear if the two lived in the same household. Strickland also clarifies the previous aggression. "This one boxer had been aggressive towards my aunt and attacked her at least 5 times she still wouldn't put dog down or get rid of him he was jealous of other dogs an only god knows why this happened an if pay more attention the kennels where separated." [sic].
According to Strickland, at least one of the boxers involved in the "horror film" mauling had attacked Burgess-Dismuke five times in the past. She refused to put the dog down and continued to play wrestling games with it. News reports state that after the two neighbors got the dogs off her -- by that time, one arm was totally bitten off and the other was "barely hanging on by a piece of meat" -- Burgess-Dismuke, essentially without arms, "threw her body over the fence" to flee.
Whiteside grabbed a blunt ax while roommate William Long grabbed a drive shaft beside a vehicle. They both began beating the dogs to free Burgess- Dismuke.
When they finally got the dogs off of her, and finally got them to go, she threw her body over the fence," Greer said. "She didn’t jump; she threw her body like you never seen before. They were eating her." - Greenville Online, February 22, 2019
02/24/19: Previous Aggression
Fox Carolina interviewed Katora Strickland, the dog mauling victim's niece. On February 21, Nancy Burgess-Dismuke, 52, died after a wrestling game with her two boxer-mix dogs turned into a violent attack. "This is not the first time a dog had attacked her," Strickland said. "She still loved the dog and did not want it to be put down." It's unclear if the previous attack involved either of the attackers. There were five other dogs in her household, and at one time, at least two pit bulls.
In 2018, four people were brutally killed by their own dog(s), which had attacked them in the past, but the owner did not want the dog put down.
Denzel Whiteside, a neighbor who came to Burgess-Dismuke's aid, states, "The other dogs were just standing there watching the whole thing. They would jump in and help every now and then. But the two dogs, they were doing so much damage -- it was unreal." Whiteside also said the boxer-mixes had been aggressive in the past. "I knew this day was going to come. I've lived out here for a couple of months and every day it was something with those dogs," Whiteside said.
Neighbors Whiteside and Amber Greer also told the Greenville Times, "They never trusted Burgess-Dismuke's boxer-mixes and did not believe they were well trained." They would not allow their own small dog to be outside of their mobile home whenever they saw the two boxer-mixes outside. Authorities euthanized both dogs involved in the attack Friday. It is unknown if either were rescue dogs. It is also unknown if the two boxer-mixes lived predominantly in the outdoor pen.
Dispatch Logs
Noticing the discrepancies in the media reports -- police were called to the scene at 1:00 pm or 3:00 pm -- we reviewed the Greenville County Sheriff audio dispatch logs. The call came in just after 1:00 pm. At this early stage, the attackers are described as pit bulls. "What are the details on that? Are the dogs attacking each other or is the neighbor being attacked their own dog?" Dispatch responds, "The neighbor is being attacked by their own dogs. She says it a pit bull."
02/22/19: Dogs Brutally Kill Owner
Greenville, SC – A Greenville woman is dead after being violently attacked by her own two dogs. Nancy Cherryl Burgess-Dismuke, 52, of Yale Street, died about 10:03 pm Thursday. Nine hours earlier, she suffered multiple "extremely severe" dog bite injuries in the front yard of her home, Senior Deputy Coroner Kent Dill said. The dog bite injuries to her upper extremities resulted in a large volume of blood loss, Dill said. Burgess-Dismuke was the owner of both dogs, Dill said.
Two male neighbors heard her cries for help and came to her aid. They found one dog latched onto each of her arms and dragging her body back into her home. "It went from looking like they were really playing to them really eating her alive," said Amber Greer, who first called 911. Neighbor Denzel Whiteside said Burgess-Dismuke would often play wrestle with her dogs. This time, however, the wrestling turned into violent aggression with both dogs mauling her arms.
"She was screaming bloody murder," Greer said. She repeatedly screamed, "Help! Somebody help me. They're attacking me."
The preliminary investigation shows Burgess-Dismuke was wresting with her dogs outside, Greenville County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Ryan Flood said. A neighbor saw the attack and called 911 about 1:00 pm. Both dogs, described as "boxer-mixes," were confiscated by Greenville County Animal Control and are being held in quarantine. WYFF states in their video report, "We are told we will get a look at the dogs that latched onto their owner, eventually killing her."
Images of a blunt axe and a makeshift dog pen conjure up scenes from a horror film as neighbors William Long and Whiteside describe the attack to Greenville News. "Seeing a person's bones as the dog attacks -- it really gets into your head," Long said. Whiteside, who is a very well-built male, said that not even he could handle the dogs by myself. By the time the dogs let her go, "she was already missing a whole arm," Whiteside said. "Her other hand was already missing" too, he said.
"I heard her screaming. They were already splitting her in half. One dog was on one arm. The other dog was on the other arm." - Denzel Whiteside
Despite being beaten with a blunt axe and a drive shaft, Long and Whiteside said the dogs "never let go," until the police arrived. "I hit him with it a couple of times, he didn't move," Whiteside said. "He never felt it." He finally got one good swing and that dog let go. Whiteside described the attack as "the longest 10 minutes of my life." Arriving deputies applied tourniquets to Burgess-Dismuke's remaining arm. She was transported to Greenville Memorial Hospital where she later died.
FoxCarolina also has two interviews with Burgess-Dismuke's shaken neighbors huddling under umbrellas. Long described her as a very nice neighbor. "If she could give you help, she would."
The outdoor dog pen in victim's front yard, where the attacking dogs were reportedly kept.
A blunt axe used by a male neighbor in an attempt to beat the dogs off Burgess-Dismuke.
Greenvillle County deputies say these two boxer-mixes attacked and killed Burgess-Dismuke.
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09/27/18: 2018 Dog Bite Fatality: Pit Bull Adopted Two Weeks Earlier Kills Woman in Maryland
09/20/18: 2018 Dog Bite Fatality: Pit Bull Kills Owner in Baker City Who Tried to Stop a Fight...
08/27/18: 2018 Dog Bite Fatality: West Price Hill Woman Killed by Her Pit Bull; Police Call...
It’s not just the victims (in this case the owner) who are victimized. Those poor neighbors. There are some things that you can never un-see.
I’d bet they are boxer/ pit mix. A boxer would likely let go when being beaten.
See, Pitt owners, its not just pitts to blame. They are animals and have to be watched!
The brown and white one looks like the pitbull boxer mix across the street from my home. I call these dogs mixed with pit. I think any inherent tendencies were amplified by dog pack behavior.
The habit of play wrestling encouraged her dogs to violence. Especially because the dogs are part pit.
And she’s not the only one. I used to be friends with a surgeon who play wrestled with his family pit bull.
Yes, you read that right. A surgeon with a pit bull.
The psychopaths who monger these born to maul dogs are incredibly selfish and cruel. One from Detroit Dog Rescue, when asked about a prolonged videotaped attack in a postal worker, gave the “don’t scream or fight back”advice.
While that advice worked before bully dogs infested our communities, .neither the neighbors of this victim nor of the postal worker would have been aware of the assault if the victims were silent
The current bully pollution advice,when attacked by a bully dog or Malinois, is to try to remain upright, hold on your a fence or vehicle, scream for help loudly, don’t stop, pray that someone brave will come and shoot, strangle or fire extinguisher- suffocate the attacking dog.
Please kill all attacking bully dogs. It’s kinder to the dogs as well. That way they die happy, endorphins and adrenaline flooding their tiny reptilian brains. Better than Spindletop or Lindsey Morrow’s pit bull rescue.
How sad for this lady’s family and the neighbors who tried to save her. It is true that these neighbors are also victims in that they will replay the images from that horrific day over and over again. I noticed that although the neighbors spoke very well of the deceased, one article did mention that they were leery of these two particular dogs:
“Whiteside and Greer said they never trusted Burgess-Dismuke’s boxer mixes and did not believe they were well-trained. They said they would not let their own small dog out of their mobile home whenever they knew the boxer mixes were outside.”
I noticed also that in one of the video reports, the lighter colored of the two dogs (with less white on chest) is briefly shown in profile and has some definite pit bull characteristics, especially when compared to the other dog which almost appears to be a full boxer. During the interview with the grieving niece (which was so sad to watch), a snapshot is shown which depicts two full pit bulls and a Chihuahua. This is shown while the niece describes how much the victim loved her dogs, and it is kind of telling to see that at least at one time this lady had a multi pit bull household. It would not be shocking if one of those “boxer mixes” is half pit bull. Not saying that boxers could not inflict such damage, but that the sustained nature of the attack even when hit by grown men with an axe and a metal implement is not as characteristic of that breed. To imagine that petite woman being literally ripped to pieces while still alive… it is enough to make one shudder.
I wonder if the light tan boxer mix is the offspring of the similarly colored light tan and white pit in the photo.
I want to not feel sympathy for these nutters who willingly risked their lives and the lives of others, but my god, they *ripped her arm off.*
I cannot imagine the pain and fear this woman suffered, at the mouths of her “pets.”
I can only hope that this is a warning to other nutters–but we all know that it won’t be. They literally refuse to accept that they, and their maulers, are not “special” and this could happen to them at any time.
I was walking my nine-month-old GSD at the park yesterday and two men walked in with their mauler. They stopped right by the entrance to the park–the path leads in and then splits in a large 1/8 mile circle, and they were right at the split. They saw me stop about forty feet away and put my little man into a sit, waiting for them to either start walking in my direction or (I was hoping) in the other, and they started waving me toward them, like, “We’re stopping here, come on.” UGH. Like I was going to take my precious boy anywhere near their creature. But of course, since they were right by the entrance/exit, I didn’t have much choice. I led my boy out into the grassy center, putting distance between us, and gave them a wide berth as I left the park–I’d wanted to make at least one more circuit, or maybe take the path through the woods to the other end of my street and walk up that way, but I didn’t want to stay in the park with that beast there. I heard them say something to me as I left, but I had my headphones on so don’t know what it was and don’t/didn’t care anyway. All I care(d) about is I had to cut my walk short thanks to their stupid mauler.
Typical entitled pit bull owners, working/training/whatever-ing their dog in a spot where everyone had to walk right past them (the rest of us do that stuff on the woods paths or at the other end of the path, which is better anyway because there are fewer distractions). The better to make us all feel unsafe, I guess. That park is always full of kids and adults playing soccer or on the playground equipment, and there are lots of other dogs, too. There’s already been one attack (thankfully not serious) from a “Catahoula.” I shudder to think what will happen the day somebody’s pit turns on there.
I feel your pain, Anion. Except imagine your human children being put in that situation as I was about 6 months ago. I took my girls to a playground made for CHILDREN at a public park nearby. Imagine my horror as I chose whether to grab my 4 year old or 1 year old first as a man unleashed his 100lb pibble/death machine on the playground. You know, the one made for children, not killer beasts. I grabbed my kids and belongings and hauled butt to my minivan. Once I got the girls buckled in (from inside the safety of my car) and climbed back into the front seat, I watched in horror and disgust as this inconsiderate, sorry excuse for a human being used the playground to “train” his dog. I also watched multiple other moms pull up to the playground, stare this man down, and drive away. Talk about disrespect for human life.
Oh, I imagine it, believe me! I have a fourteen-year-old and a seventeen-year-old, both girls, and both of them go to the park only when there are people there; luckily they both know very well that if someone ever shows up with a mauler they are to leave immediately.
As for that prick training his beast on the playground, I would have called police. Yes, odds are low that they would do anything, but I figure it’s always worth calling. (Not that you were wrong not to do so, I’m not criticizing you!) It’s infuriating that we can’t use resources our taxes pay for because these dipshits seem to think they and their creatures are the only ones who matter. I bet he was well aware of those other moms coming up and driving away, and enjoyed it.
I also was told by two women at a public park with a pit on leash that we could safely get close to their pit (who to me as an animal trainer with years of exp. thought and accepted his position of leader. The ladies clearly were not in control.). I told her to get her animal away from me and she told me that was my right. I told her I’m aware of that and didn’t need her permission to exercise it.
Some may say rude but I’ve seen my grandsons rescue pet killed on our property by two and I’ve witnessed the mutant behavior bred into them up close and too personal.
My advice is call 911. Always and
every time after you get pets and children to safety. We’re rural so they send us to animal control. But bug the hell out of them. You may be saving a life.
We are also rural. Our animal control is useless. Most of the time they don’t pick up the phone. We’ve had 3 rogue pitbulls running for 2 whole years now. They’ve terrorized our neighborhood, mauled 3 pet dogs to death, and on occasion, have charged out of the woods unexpectedly at myself and my girls. I believe they are owned by the same woman whose dog was responsible for the death of a child in 2006. We are forced to carry guns just to check the mail or take out the garbage. Instead of playing with our children, we must stand guard and keep our eyes on the tree line while they play. Animal control has been to our house, picked the dogs up, and told us that the woman will be fined next time it happens. When I went to the courthouse to find out who owns them, they conveniently had no record of any of it. Per my research, I’ve also found out that this county’s animal control has been involved in several lawsuits for their inaction in cases similar to mine. So to respond to your suggestion, calling animal control would be futile.
Sounds like the old time solution is the only real solution- shoot, shovel, shut up.
I don’t say you’re rude at all, I say you’re safe. They’re the rude ones, trying to expose people to their animal.
Anyone stupid enough to wrestle with two large dogs regularly, will eventually get what’s coming to them. I call this Darwin’s theory in action. Thankfully no one innocent was hurt. People that keep these types of dogs live in a delusional world.
Yep. As I said above, I have a 9-month-old male GSD, currently unaltered (for large breeds it’s better for their health to alter later). He is the sweetest boy in the world–lets me take toys and treats right out of his mouth without even blinking, and if by some chance, like we’re both grabbing for a toy, his mouth falls on my hand he yanks himself away immediately–but our play all takes place with me standing, and he knows that if he tries to jump on me he gets a sharp “No!” and a turned back, and play stops until he calms down. I would never in a million years wrestle with him.
He is a wonderful dog (I am convinced GSDs are the best dogs in the world, lol), but I am constantly aware of the amount of damage he could do if he chooses to, and in public he is on a short leash at all times. I hate having to say no when children ask to pet him–which happens often, because he’s such a handsome boy–but until I am 100% sure of his training, I’m unwilling to take even the slightest chance. I don’t understand these pit owners who think that just because their dog has never bitten it never will–especially pit owners! (But then, you have to be either a fool or a sociopath to own a pit in the first place, so…)
She must have been a glutton for punishment.
Look at the photos of the murderous dogs – they look quite innocent, once captured and put in cages. I mean, who doesn’t like a boxer’s face?
It’s a good reminder – a dog can have a cute face, big naive eyes and be very likable, and seem nice and friendly for years, but it’s still an animal, it’s behavior is unpredictable, it has way faster reaction than people do, it has strong jaws, and it’s a predator after all.