Posted on December 29, 2018 by Colleen Lynn

Omaha Police Lieutenant Responds to Acute Family Pit Bull Mauling

Employee Refuses Emotional Support Dog - Photo of the Year

Tulsa Drillers employee refuses entry to emotional support dog. Click photo for the full image.

Watch Full Video
DogsBite.org - Our first Photo of the Year for 2018 is a Tulsa Drillers employee who enforced the stadium's no pets policy -- service dogs are welcome. The employee questions a woman at the gated entrance, who claims her small dog provides "emotional support" and is therefore a service animal.1 "She's a service animal, I have her card," Natalia Duran says, as she starts filming the man. However, the employee has a copy of the ADA in his hands, and he does not back down!

"That is not a service dog by the letter of the law," states the employee. "I am not allowing an emotional support dog." - Hero Tulsa Drillers stadium employee

"A service dog," explains the employee, "is trained to do a specific task." Just "being there" is not a task, he said. Outraged, Duran continues on, claiming over one hundred hours of training and that her dog is registered at USSDR, one of the many websites that sell fake service dog kits. The employee then explains to her, while reading the ADA, that a dog that only provides "emotional support" is not a service animal. Duran is argumentative and continues to interrupt the employee.

Duran refuses to answer the employee's basic question, "What specific tasks does your dog perform?" and continues to insist instead, "What she is trained for is emotional support, because I have PTSD." The conversation gets more heated when Duran claims, "You are breaking the law." Our hero Tulsa Drillers employee answers, "No, I am not." Then he continues to stand his ground in front of the entrance gate. Duran is not allowed inside and she is given a refund for her ticket.

Rising Tide of Public Anger

Over the last two years, there has been a rising tide of public anger over the number of people abusing loopholes in the ADA, particularly in airplane cabins. After an "emotional support" dog viciously attacked a passenger in the face on board a Delta flight in June 2017, Delta tightened the reins on untrained "support" dogs in the cabin. Six months later, Delta tightened the reins even further, banning pit bull-type dogs as service and support animals due to safety concerns.

As you can see in the video, Duran has the common accessories of a Faker (USSDR card, etc), but when she does not get her way, she becomes belligerent and even threatens to sue the Tulsa Drillers employee. Duran is so used to her Faker accessories and bullying approach working -- silencing any questions about her dog -- that she becomes indignant. While we are sympathetic to her past, which she did not need to share, Duran clearly had no understanding of the ADA.2

It seems the whole reason why Duran began filming the stadium employee, and causing a public scene, was for intimidation purposes.

The Tulsa Drillers employee is patient and professional throughout the confrontation. He asks Duran multiple times the legal question that the ADA allows, but is never sufficiently answered. He also endures a berating by Duran, but her tactics do not work. "That is not a service dog by the letter of the law," he states. This video went viral in late August with many commenters giving accolades to the employee, "My hero ❤️ ❤️," because he was objectively enforcing the ADA.

Tulsa Drillers Statement:

A situation occurred Sunday night at the Tulsa Drillers game where a person who was accompanied by a dog was denied entrance into the stadium. In the situation, which was recorded by the person, a team staff member followed proper protocol in determining whether the animal should be admitted to the stadium as a service dog. The protocol that was used comes from the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines for public facilities. Those guidelines provide the ADA definition of what constitutes a service dog. The guidelines are available through the ADA website at:

https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html

Frequently asked Questions 1, 2, 3 and 17 provide information that the staff member used in this instance to allow or deny entry.

We encourage members of the media to review the ADA guidelines prior to reporting on this situation. In addition, we have been given the Justice Department Press Office’s Phone Number of 202-514-2004. The Department has offered to field questions at this number from anyone regarding ADA service dogs.

TULSA DRILLERS MANAGEMENT

Police Lieutenant Can't Hide His Distress After Seeing Child's Injuries

Omaha Police Lieutenant - Photo of the Year

Omaha Police Lieutenant's expression after talking about the child's horrific facial injuries.

In July, we reported on a family pit bull attack in Omaha (Another Beautiful Face Destroyed by a Family Pit Bull), a city that adopted a pit bull ordinance in 2008. This is the subject of our second Photo of the Year. Police Lt. Jake Ritonya told WOWT News, "In 20-years of law enforcement, I've seen lots of stuff. This one was rather difficult to see her in the hospital. I haven't seen anything quite like that in my career." He then looked away from the reporter and gave this expression.

The 9-year old girl suffered severe facial injuries in the attack. As police carried the girl from the home, the family pit bull continued to try to attack her. "There were three pit bulls running around. It was kind of a crazy, chaotic scene," Lt. Jake Ritonya said. Ritonya was at the scene of the violent attack and the emergency room, where he said that doctors and nurses appeared to be shaken by the extent of the girl's bite injuries, "The looks on their faces said it all," Ritonya said.

The look on Ritonya's face says it all too. Consider the first responders who rescue these mangled children from acute family pit bull violence?

Every year in the 11 year history of DogsBite.org we see law enforcement officers like Lt. Jake Ritonya distressed after a devastating pit bull mauling. They often describe the victim's injuries as the "worst thing" they have ever seen in their career, and hope to never see again. These are professionals who investigate violent crimes like homicides and horrific fatal car accidents. This severe family pit bull attack erupted when the child went to "pick up a knocked over trash can."

Summary

Our 2018 Photos of the Year lie in stark contrast to images selected for 2017. This year, we chose two people whose role is enforcement and public safety. They are often not in the spotlight, like the Drillers employee, who enforced the ADA and a veteran police officer, who could not hide his distress after seeing the child's horrific facial injuries. That "in heat" family pit bull was still latched onto the girl's face when firefighters arrived. They had to use a catch pole to separate the dog.

In 2017, our Photos of the Year highlighted young female self-appointed canine "experts," who drew attention to themselves due to their lack of understanding canine behavior. Both cases involved extremely violent fatal pit bull attacks. Instead of the media ignoring these self-appointed "experts," they handed them a bullhorn. Our 2018 photographs celebrate the selfless defenders of laws and public safety, who are often not in the spotlight and do not seek to be either.

1What if the dog had been a pit bull or presa canario? Wouldn't you want this same level of enforcement?
2While writing this post, we noticed the original video Duran posted to her Facebook page, in the hopes of garnering public support, had been removed. ViralHog -- for the purposes of paid licensing -- made a copy. To learn more, you can read the Reddit thread: "She's trained for emotional support, but she's not an emotional support dog!"

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Colleen Lynn

Annual Update: Estimated U.S. Cities, Counties, States and Military Housing with Breed-Specific Laws (2018-2019)

The top three regulated dog breeds: pit bulls, rottweilers and wolf-dog hybrids.

BSL Estimate 2018-2019
DogsBite.org - Since 2011, we have maintained an estimate of breed-specific laws across the United States, including breed-specific policies governing military privatized housing. By 2009, all three major military divisions -- U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force -- banned a small group of dangerous dog breeds because they present an "unreasonable risk to the health and safety of personnel in family housing areas," states the 2009 Marine Corps Order.

Though the banned breeds differ slightly among the major military divisions, all three ban pit bulls, rottweilers and wolf-dog hybrids.

Our estimate is updated each December. Currently, over 1,100 cities, towns and villages regulate specific dog breeds for safety purposes and 38 counties have enacted countywide breed safety laws too. Municipalities in 37 different states have enacted breed-specific ordinances. Our estimate also tracks international breed-specific laws. Currently there are jurisdictions in at least 52 countries with breed-specific laws. In 41 of those countries, the regulation is a nation-level law.

Many U.S. municipalities with breed-specific laws are concentrated in the Midwest. Other states, primarily preemption states, have virtually no breed-specific laws. In the early 1980s, cities began enacting breed safety laws to prevent horrific pit bull maulings. By 1992, dogfighting and dog breeder interests had pushed through preemption laws in ten states, including three of the most populous, California, Florida and Texas, barring local governments from adopting pit bull laws.

Learn about the two waves of state preemption laws (1988 to 1992) and 2012 to present day.

A substantial source of breed-specific policies, which our estimate does not track, is the likelihood of a million private rental properties governed by breed-specific leases in all 50 states.1 Despite ongoing efforts since 2012 by Utah-based fighting dog advocates, Best Friends Animal Society, to draft, lobby and pass new state preemption laws that prohibit local governments from enacting breed safety laws, private rental properties and HOAs are unaffected by state preemption laws.

In 2018, legislatures in six states faced this type of state preemption bill (AKA an "Act for Pit Bulls"). All six states rejected the legislation.

When you combine the many types of breed-specific laws -- municipal ordinances, Indian reservation ordinances, military family housing policies, public housing authority policies, the tens of millions of Americans living in private multifamily rental properties and airline breed-specific policies -- one gains a clearer picture of these safety laws. They are designed to prevent serious attacks by dog breeds that have a well-documented history of inflicting severe and fatal injuries.

Our estimated summary of breed-specific laws is just one source of this prevention. When or if another state passes a preemption law peddled by an out-of-state special interest group, a source of this protection will be removed from that state, but other sources will remain, such as rental leases. Finally, the significance of breed-specific laws worldwide shows that the basic genetics of a dog breed remain the same, whether the dog lives in the U.S., Germany, Spain or Australia.

1We could find no estimate for the vast number of rental properties governed by breed-specific leases, but breed restrictions are quite common. Nearly 20 million Americans live in multifamily rental properties, composed of 5 of more units, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council (nmhc.org). A 2013 survey sponsored by HUD and conducted by the Census Bureau states there are at least 2.25 million multifamily rental properties.

Posted on December 19, 2018 by Colleen Lynn

The Vicious Attack Occurred in December in Riverside County

Angela Johnson, 54, died after a violent pit bull mauling in Anza, California.

Mauling Victim Dies
UPDATE 02/18/19: A woman severely mauled by three pit bulls in December has passed away, according to announcements on Facebook by her family members. Angela Johnson, 54-years old, died on February 9, nearly two months after the vicious dog attack. On December 15, as Johnson was hanging laundry in the yard of her rural Anza home, three loose pit bulls violently attacked her. She was airlifted to a trauma center. Shortly thereafter, she was placed on life support.

Riverside County Animal Services confiscated the dogs, described as “pit bulls or pit bull mixes,” and released identification images of them. The agency quickly sought a destruction order for the dogs and all three were euthanized on January 7. The owner of the pit bulls, Jesse Leon Miranda, 61, of Anza, was arrested on an outstanding felony warrant and booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center following the attack. No additional arrests or citations have been announced.

12/19/18: Mauling Victim on Life Support
Anza, CA - A woman is on life support after a vicious attack by three pit bulls. The attack occurred Saturday in Anza, a rural community in Riverside County about 45 miles south of Palm Springs. According to a GoFundMe page created by her son, Tim Platt, Angela (Platt) Johnson remains on life support. "The dogs basically ate my mom alive, ripping out a main artery in her throat, causing a severe stroke to the left side of her brain, leaving her half brain dead," Platt states on the page.1

Platt now has to make the difficult decision of whether or not to leave his severely injured mother on life support or to allow doctors to remove her from the machines, reports Trevor Montgomery of the Riverside County News Source. Photographs on the GoFundMe page show Johnson heavily bandaged and connected to the machines that are keeping her alive. Family members are now in disagreement over how best to proceed and a competing GoFundMe page has been created.

Case Background

On December 15, a woman was savagely attacked by three pit bulls while hanging laundry in her yard in the rural community of Anza. The attack occurred in the 55000 block of Mitchell Road about 9:40 am, Riverside County Fire Department said. She suffered severe bite injuries and was airlifted to a trauma center. "All three [dogs] were pit bulls or pit bull mixes and there is a known owner," John Welsh, a spokesman for Riverside County Department of Animal Services said.

Due to the severity of the attack, Welsh said that Riverside County Animal Services will seek a destruction order. "This is another preventable attack on an innocent person and one we find very upsetting," Director Robert Miller said in a statement. "It's imperative that owners of these types of dogs do everything in their power to prevent such horrific attacks." Miller urged owners of dogs with "high prey drives" to secure their yards to protect neighboring people and their pets.

Deputies arrested the dogs' owner on an outstanding felony warrant for vehicle theft and possession of stolen property, reports Riverside County News Source. "Jail records indicate Jesse Leon Miranda, 61, of Anza, was subsequently booked into Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta for his warrant. He remains in custody in lieu of $20,000 bail, and is scheduled to be seen at Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, Dec. 19," News Source reported on December 15.

Angela Johnson, 54-years old, remained hospitalized until she passed away on February 9.

Three pit bulls were confiscated after the vicious attack in Southwest Riverside County.

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: California Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.

1Since we originally posted, the language on the GoFundMe has changed -- written by someone other than Platt. This is extremely tragic and heartbreaking. Both versions of the fund (pre today and the recent update) mention a secondary GoFundMe by a relative that we are not linking to. Our hearts go out to Angela and her family.

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Colleen Lynn

The Pack of Rottweilers Belonged to the Grandmother's Brother

Esta Currier, 73-years old, was brutally killed by four rottweilers in Robeson County,

Involuntary Manslaughter
UPDATE 12/31/19: Just over a year after a pack of rottweilers killed a grandmother and severely injured two of her grandchildren, criminal charges have been filed. Brenda and Carey Walters are charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the death of 73-year old Esta Currier, according to police. The attack occurred on December 10 at 2258 Olivet Church Road. Currier was at the location to escort her grandchildren when the school bus dropped them off.

When deputies arrived, they found Currier dead near the roadway and the two injured children. Both children, 7 and 9, were airlifted to McLeod Regional Medical Center in stable condition. Deputies shot and killed all four rottweilers after the dogs approached them in "an aggressive manner." A bullet fragment or flying debris injured Brenda Carey when police opened fired on the dogs. Currier was the sister of Brenda's husband, Carey, and lived close to the bus stop.

Brenda and Carey Walters face manslaughter chargers after their rottweilers killed a woman.

12/18/18: Child Undergoes Amputation
A GoFundMe page created for the Currier family provides updates on the two children who were attacked by four rottweilers earlier this month. On December 10, as their grandmother, 73-year-old Esta Currier, escorted the two children home from the bus stop, four rottweilers belonging to Currier's brother attacked the group. Currier died at the scene due to her severe injuries and both children, ages 7 and 9, were airlifted to a trauma center in Florence, South Carolina for treatment.

"Grandma Currier fought hard to save her grandkids and ultimately lost her life while saving her Grandkids … Grandma Currier died a hero."

"Both children have been in PICU receiving treatment for their injuries," states the fundraising page. Zach, 7, had "lacerations to his head, ears, neck, arms, and legs." Leah, 9, suffered more severe injuries with lacerations all over her body. "She's had 5 surgeries just in a couple of days with one of them to amputate her leg from below her knee," states the page. Their parents have been by their side in the hospital since the dog attack, leaving only to attend Currier's funeral.

12/11/18: Sheriff's Office Press Release
A press release from the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office posted on Sheriff Wilkins' Facebook page identified the fatal dog attack victim as 73-year-old Esta Currier of Olivet Church Road. Currier was already dead when deputies arrived. The two children in the mauling, ages 7 and 9-years old, were the grandchildren of Currier. Both children were airlifted to McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence for treatment and are currently listed in stable condition.

"When the two responding deputies arrived they observed four rottweiler dogs in the roadway. As the deputies exited their vehicles, they were approached by the dogs in an aggressive manner. The officers discharged their weapons to stop the threat of injuries. The dogs died and were taken into custody of the Robeson County Animal Control.

"During the incident Brenda Walters, 56, of the 2200 block of Olivet Church Rd. Fairmont, NC was injured. Walters was treated and released from Southwestern Medical Center. Walters is the owner of the rottweilers involved in the incident and is also related to Currier." - Robeson County Sheriff's Office, December 11, 2018

RCSO Maj. Damien McLean said the school bus that the dropped the children off had already left the area before the deadly attack occurred. McLean said that everyone involved in the attack is related. Last night, Sheriff Wilkins' posted to his Facebook page, "This is a very sad day and it was heart wrenching to watch the family in such sadness. It was also difficult for 1st responders to observe this event." He also asked all of his followers to say a prayer for all who were involved.

As far as Sheriff Wilkins' confusing a pack of rottweilers for pit bulls last night, it's unclear if the dogs are cross-breeds, tri-colored types, or if it was just bad information. No other descriptive factors, such as their age, weight or photographs were provided. The last time there was a similar multi-victim fatal rottweiler attack was in Dillon, South Carolina in 2011. Two family rottweilers attacked and killed a relative then viciously attacked their owner, causing his leg to be amputated.

Finally, WRAL reports that Currier's brother owned the dogs, who is the spouse of Brenda Walters. The couple owned the rottweilers together. Walters was not attacked by the dogs, but was hurt by a "bullet fragment or flying debris" when the deputies opened fired, according to authorities. The multi-victim attack occurred at 2258 Olivet Church Road, a few houses away from where Currier lived. Currier was escorting the children home from school when the dogs attacked the group.

12/10/18: Dogs Viciously Attack Three
Marietta, NC - An elderly woman is dead and two children are seriously injured after being attacked by four dogs, according to Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins. The dogs are being described as pit bulls and rottweilers; they may be cross-breeds of this pairing too. Deputies responded to a home in the 2200 block of Olivet Church Road about 4:30 pm. The woman was already dead. Both children were airlifted to McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, SC.

The multi-victim attack occurred just after the children were dropped off at the home by a school bus, reports The Robesonian. Wilkins said some passers-by saw the injured children, but did not witness the dog attack. When deputies arrived, the dogs returned and attacked again. Deputies shot all four dogs, killing three. Animal Control Officer Jason Allison retrieved the bodies of the three dead dogs, the fourth dog apparently "ran off," even after being hit with a "body shot."

Fourth Fatal Dog Attack Since 2012

This is the fourth fatal dog attack in Robeson County since 2012. In October 2012, Mary Jo Hunt, 53-years old, was killed by her seven rescue pit bulls in Pembroke. Hunt worked for Robeson County Claws and Paws Rescue at the time. In November 2014, Alemeaner Dial, 83-years old, was killed by her granddaughter's four pit bulls in Rowland. In 2016, Talan West, 7-years old, was brutally killed by a neighbor's pit bull, while two other dogs attacked his 8-year old brother.

Five months after Talan's death, the city of Lumberton passed a breed-specific ordinance. The ordinance is based upon the pit bull ordinance in Edenton. Talan's mother, Jamie West, was a powerful force behind the passage of the law, which declared pit bulls, rottweilers and chows "potentially vicious." The ordinance bans the tethering of these breeds, requires a secure pen with a concrete floor, mandatory sterilization and for owners to carry $100,000 in liability insurance.

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: U.S. Fatal Rottweiler Attacks By State

Baseline reporting requirements:
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.

DogsBite blog ::

Photographs of the Year: Stadium Employee Refuses 'Emotional Support' Dog at Minor League Baseball Game

Omaha Police Lieutenant Responds to Acute Family Pit Bull Mauling

Police Lieutenant Can't Hide His Distress After Seeing Child's Injuries

Annual Update: Estimated U.S. Cities, Counties, States and Military Housing with Breed-Specific Laws (2018-2019)

2019 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman in Anza Pit Bull Attack Dies of Injuries After Weeks of Being on Life Support

The Vicious Attack Occurred in December in Riverside County

2018 Dog Bite Fatality: Rottweilers Kill Grandmother, Injure Two Grandchildren, One Critically, in Robeson County

The Pack of Rottweilers Belonged to the Grandmother's Brother