Posted on November 24, 2017 by Colleen Lynn

Man Dies in North Philadelphia After Being Attacked by Four Pit Bulls on Thanksgiving Day

Locations of three violent pit bull attacks in North Philadelphia since January.

Man Dies After Attack
Philadelphia, PA - A man is dead after being attacked by four pit bulls on Thanksgiving Day in the Hunting Park section of North Philadelphia. The attack occurred just before 9 pm in the 1300 block of West Pike Street in the backyard of a home. Police shot and killed one of the pit bulls; the others fled back into the owner's home. The unidentified man was transported to Temple University Hospital with critical injuries, reports WPVI-TV. He was pronounced dead at 10:18 pm.

Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told NBC10, "He was covered in dirt and mud. So, they couldn't even tell or estimate his age at this time." Janet Walke, who lives nearby, said that just moments earlier she had given the man a plate of food. "I just fed him. I gave him a plate of food," she said. Though it remains unclear why the victim was in the pit bull owner's backyard, police said the victim knew the dogs' owner. Police suspect a medical condition contributed to the man's death.

This attack mirrors the February 25 attack in the Olney section of Philadelphia just a few miles away. Police responded to a call of a vicious dog in the 5300 block of Rising Sun Avenue. When officers arrived, they found a 21-year old man unresponsive in his apartment with bite injuries to his face. The victim's 8-month old pit bull was found in the room covered in blood. The man was taken to Einstein Medical Center where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

The male victim was never identified. Police suspected he suffered a "medical trauma" as well. The cause of death was never released.

A month earlier, in the Germantown section of North Philadelphia, also just a few miles away, an unidentified 96-year old woman apparently survived a vicious attack by two pit bulls. Police said the woman was found unresponsive with dog bite injuries to her face, head, neck and arms in the 5800 block of Brush Road. She was taken to Einstein Medical Center in "extremely critical condition," news reports state. Witnesses said the side of her face was left "unrecognizable."

Regarding the most recent attack, police shot and killed one of the pit bulls, which indicates the dogs were actively attacking the man. Being found "covered in dirt and mud" is not uncommon after a vicious dog mauling, particularly when it involves multiple dogs. Studies in medical journals consistently report wounds heavily contaminated with dirt, gravel and debris. The dogs pull the victim to the ground and physically drag them through the dirt while biting and tearing off flesh.

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.

Posted on November 13, 2017 by Colleen Lynn

2017 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Dies in Palm Beach County After Being Attacked by Family Dogs

Grace Walks, 41-years old, died after being attacked by family dogs in Lake Worth.

Report Unveils Fatality
Lake Worth, FL - On November 1, Contact 5 published an investigation into dangerous dogs in Palm Beach County. By examining dog bite records, they discovered there were over 1,700 dog bites in the county last year, but less than 100 dogs on the dangerous dog list. They created an interactive Google Map so that county residents can see where each dangerous dog resides. Through their investigative research, they also uncovered a fatal dog attack in Lake Worth.

"While digging through dog bite data for this story, Contact 5 found a fatal dog attack in Lake Worth which happened earlier this year. Authorities believe two family dogs attacked 41-year-old Grace Walks, a woman who knew the animals and loved them. Walks later died and the dogs were euthanized." - Merris Badcock, WPTV.com, November 1, 2017

After filing a public records request, we received the dog bite report from Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control on November 9 pertaining to Walks' death. The attack occurred on August 27 on the 900 block of Pinto Drive. Walks was pronounced dead at the scene. Walks resided at the home where the attack occurred. One or both family dogs were involved, a 6-year old male American bulldog, named Max, and a 9-year old female pit bull, named Holly.

Walks lived at the home with her father and mother-in-law. Neither was home during the attack. Both dogs were registered to her mother-in-law. A neighbor found her body at 8:15 am inside her fenced-in yard. Both dogs were loose in the area; he tied up Max and called police. The pit bull remained hiding beneath a shed on the property, forcing the animal control officer stand watch to ensure it did not come onto the scene where deputies and the medical examiner were working.

"I then met with Dough Jenkins, Forensic Investigator with the Medical Examiner's Office, and he stated all the wounds he observed were from the dogs, and that she died quickly. The deceased did have a dislocated shoulder but he was unsure whether that was from her fall to the ground or from a dog," states the animal control report. After the body was removed from the scene, and with the help of the mother-in-law, law enforcement was able to load the pit bull into the truck.

The Following Day:

8/28/17 - "I have spoken with Doug Jenkins from the PBC Medical Examiners Office. I advised that both dogs have been euthanized and that we are prepared to assist with anything they need. He stated that he had consulted Dr. Bell, the Chief Medical Examiner, and advised that they do not require anything further from our agency or from the bodies of these dogs. He explained that since both dogs are now deceased and there is no criminal element to this investigation, neither molds of their bite pattern nor additional DNA samples will be necessary. He advised that if the cause of death is determined to be from animal bites, it will be assumed that it was one or both of these dogs who were involved, since there were no other animals and the property was securely fenced. Therefore it is now ok to proceed with rabies testing for both dogs and ok to dispose of the bodies of both dogs." - Capt. David Walesky, Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control

Both dogs tested negative for rabies. As of November 13, the cause of death is pending. We also filed a public records request for this information. What also remains unknown is the time of the dog attack and her death. The mother-in-law told the animal control officer, "she and her husband had been out of town last night." Thus, apparently no one witnessed the attack. We do know that "she died quickly" of the wounds observed by a medical examiner as being inflicted by the dogs.

Why Initially Unreported?

We don't know why local media did not report this case when it occurred. In late August, most southeasterners were focused on Hurricane Harvey, which dropped over 40 inches of rain in parts of Texas and over 50 inches in Houston. Over 400 square miles in Harris County were submerged as the rain poured in from August 25 to 29 and catastrophic flooding occurred. It just so happens, Contact 5 located Walks' death while undertaking their larger investigation into dangerous dogs.

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

Posted on November 13, 2017 by Colleen Lynn

2017 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Found Dead After Suspected Dog Attack in Johnson County, Arkansas

Sharon Lindemann, 75, was discovered dead on her driveway in Hartman, Arkansas.

Dog Attack Suspected
Johnson County, AR - On October 30, the Johnson County Sheriff's Department responded to a call of a deceased woman on Private Road 2227. Sheriff Larry Jones said the victim had deep gashes on her arms and legs. A family member identified her as Sharon Lindemann, 75-years old. Lindemann lived with her sister at the home near Hartman and west of Clarksville. Her sister arrived home from work that day about 4:15 pm and discovered her dead in their driveway.

"My sister's unconscious in the driveway," she screamed. "I don't know what's wrong, but she's got a big gash in her neck." - 911 call, victim's sister

Her sister, Dawn Garland, believes she was attacked by vicious dogs. She said Lindemann often took a walking stick with her outside for protection against roaming dogs. The county does not have a leash law. In fact, according to Sheriff Jones, the county does not have a dog ordinance at all. Her body was transported to the Arkansas Crime Laboratory for an autopsy. Johnson County Coroner Pam Cogan stated that the victim had bites and injuries consistent with a canine attack.

"When I got there, she was laying in the gravel driveway and had obvious wounds and gashes to her limbs -- mostly from what we could see to her arms, her legs," Coroner Cogan told KATV. "Most of it was to the front of her and the gashes and wounds were consistent with what I would consider to be a canine." While no dog was discovered at the scene, Cogan said she saw paw prints around the body. Neighbors also told her they had seen loose dogs roaming the area.

Cogan has been the Johnson County coroner for the last four years. Thus, she also oversaw the mauling death of 63-year old Frederick Crutchfield in nearby Coal Hill. He was killed by three family pit bulls in February 2015. Coroner Cogan told KATV that Lindemann's death was the most horrific she has ever had to investigate. "Just from the perspective of the amount of pain that the person must have gone through, and it was certainly a lot of injuries to the body," Cogan said.

Arkansas State Crime Lab

The Arkansas State Crime Lab said the cause of death was by "multiple blunt force and penetrating injuries" -- standard language used in fatal dog maulings. "There was penetration all the way down to the bone in some areas," Sheriff Jones said. He added that yesterday, a Hartman farmer shot and killed two vicious pit bulls about two miles from where Lindemann was found. The farmer shot the dogs after they killed his horse. Jones does not know if the attacks are related.

"We got a call from an individual that lives there on Main Street in Hartman that reported his horse had been killed by 2 pit bulls." - Jones

Though it is unclear why, the crime lab's report did not list this as an animal attack. This may be because it was a preliminary report. We certainly hope Sheriff Jones examines the two dead pit bulls and collects their DNA. His reluctance to call this a dog attack -- going against the coroner's expertise -- is a bit baffling. We hope we are not looking at another sheriff who mistakenly believes this may be a large cat attack. There really is too much information available to make this error.

Posted on November 9, 2017 by Colleen Lynn

2017 Dog Bite Fatality: Senior Citizen Attacked and Killed by Own Dogs in Hamlet, North Carolina

On Saturday, two dogs attacked and killed their owner in Hamlet, North Carolina.

Victim Identitifed
UPDATE 11/09/17: Hamlet Police have identified the dog mauling victim as David Robert Baber, 65-years old. On November 4, two of Baber's dogs, a male pit bull and mixed-breed dog, brutally attacked him in the backyard of his own home on West Hamlet Avenue. A 9-year old boy tried to stop the attack by throwing bricks at the dogs to no avail. He later told the Richmond County Daily Journal the dogs would not stop attacking him. "They bit his neck. He’s got a hole in it," he said.

Baber owned five dogs that he walked each morning. He could only walk them in pairs of two and could only walk his "energetic" male pit bull alone. According to the little boy's mother, April Parnell, prior to attacking Baber the same two dogs had been fighting earlier that day. Parnell said that Baber broke up the dog fight by inserting himself between the animals and throwing punches at the dogs. Hamlet Police continue to search for relatives of Baber to inform them of his death.

In 2015, two pit bulls belonging to Ricky Davidson viciously attacked 79-year old Kenneth Ford in Pahrump, Nevada. He died just over a month later while still hospitalized at University Medical Center in Las Vegas. Just before his death, Nye County was granted temporary guardianship of Ford and his estate because no family members could be located to oversee his medical care. It is presumed that Nye County ultimately took permanent guardianship after Ford's death as well.

11/06/17: Can't Locate Relatives
On Monday, Hamlet Police Chief Scott Waters said they still have not located any relatives of a man who was mauled and killed by his own dogs Saturday. The attack occurred in front of a 9-year child who tried to stop the dogs by throwing bricks at them. So far, investigators have checked with the Adult Services division of the Richmond County Department of Social Services, the Veterans Administration and Walmart, where the man had been employed before retiring.

"We’re running into a lot of obstacles" and may have to release the man’s name in order to find his relatives. - Police Chief Scott Waters

The little boy, named Kanorie, and his family live next door to the mauling victim. His mother, April Parnell, said her family and the man were close. He often walked her children to the bus stop in the morning and escorted them home after school. April said the man had a daughter who lived elsewhere, reports the Richmond County Daily Journal. Waters called Kanorie a "hero" for his brave actions Saturday. "I just thank God above that the dogs didn’t turn on him," Waters said.

11/04/17: Man Killed by Own Dogs
Hamlet, NC - A man is dead after being mauled to death by his two dogs, a black-and-white pit bull and another dog. The fatal attack occurred early Saturday afternoon in the owner's fenced-in backyard at 308 West Hamlet Avenue. A 9-year old child witnessed the attack and threw bricks at the animals, trying to get them to stop. “I threw bricks at the dogs to try and get them off of him,” Kanorie Parnell said. “Only they wouldn’t get off of him. They bit his neck. He’s got a hole in it."

The 69-year old owner had five dogs. He could only walk them in pairs of two and could only walk his "energetic" male pit bull alone.

By 1 pm, about 10 vehicles from first responders lined West Hamlet Avenue, reports the Richmond County Daily Journal. By 1:15 pm, officers captured the pit bull; it took longer to capture the second dog. At 2 pm, officer's removed the man's body. By 3:30 pm, Hamlet Police Chief Scott Waters said all of the dogs had been taken to the Richmond County Animal Shelter, reports the Daily Journal. Hamlet police are notifying next of kin and have not yet identified the victim.

Kanorie and his mother, April Parnell, live next door to the man. April said Kanorie was visiting the neighbor when the two dogs attacked and killed their owner. April also provided the names of the two dogs involved -- Little J and RJ. She said both dogs had been fighting earlier that day. April said her 69-year old neighbor broke up the dog fight by throwing punches at them, separating them. Later in the day, the same two dogs attacked their neighbor, she told the Daily Journal.

Although information is limited at this time, this case could involve rescue dogs or dog "collecting." The man had five dogs. He could only walk them in pairs of two and the pit bull alone. This could be an indicator of dog aggression by more than one of his dogs, though it could be strength-based too. The man is described as "small," possibly he could only handle two dogs at a time. Also, Little J and RJ, by their names alone, appear to be related (intentional or unintentional breeding).

View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: North Carolina Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

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