Posted on February 17, 2017 by Colleen Lynn

2017 Dog Bite Fatality: Family Mastiffs Kill 5-Year Old Boy in Clarksville, Tennessee

Home where two English mastiffs killed a 5-year old boy in Clarksville.

Mastiffs Kill Boy
Clarksville, TN - A 5-year old boy is dead after being attacked by two family dogs Thursday morning, according to a news release from the Clarksville Police Department. At about 8:20 am, emergency responders were dispatched to a home on Charles Thomas Road. They found the 5-year old boy with "extensive injuries." He was transported to Tennova Medical Center, where he died of his injuries. The two dogs, both English mastiffs, were 6-months old, states the release.

Montgomery County Animal Control took both dogs into custody. Male English mastiffs can grow to over 200 pounds. The last fatal attack involving this specific mastiff type was the death of 7-year old Connor Lourens in 2006. He was visiting a neighbor's home when the owner's 140-pound English mastiff attacked his throat. That dog was about a year old. The combination of all mastiff types, including bullmastiffs, account for 12 deaths since 2005, 3.1% of all dog bite fatalities.

An evening update by NewsChannel 5 states the family "is asking for space at this time." No essential new details were provided, but the news group did capture the boy's home. Clarksville police spokesman Lt. Steve Warren believes the attack happened outside; video footage shows the backyard of the home is fenced off. It remains unknown where the parents or guardians of the little boy were when the animals attacked. Police continue to seek information from the public.

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 February 13, 2017 by Colleen Lynn

Planned to Return Dog Due to Aggression In Coming Days

Louise Hermida, 75-years old, was killed by a dog she adopted six years ago.

Clarifications
UPDATE 02/13/17: New information has been released. The mastiff was not recently adopted as many news groups reported earlier. New York City Animal Care and Control said the dog was adopted from their shelter nearly six years ago. The dog was one year old at that time. Also, the victim's next-door neighbor, Rosa Ortiz, said that Hermida wanted to turn in the dog because it attacked and killed a small terrier 10 days ago. Sadly, she did not return the dog soon enough.

Ortiz was the first to arrive to the scene after the brutal attack. The victim's son, who was also injured by the dog, alerted her to the attack. Ortiz called 911 then entered the victim's home. She found Hermida lying on the basement floor, reports DNA Info. "She had blood all over her. It was really bad," said Ortiz, who said Hermida was still conscious and speaking as they waited for an ambulance. She was pronounced dead at New York Presbyterian Hospital five hours later.

02/13/17: Adopted Dog Kills Owner
Queens, NY - An elderly woman was killed by a mastiff she recently adopted from an unnamed shelter or rescue. The animal also attacked her 39-year old son with special needs. Louise Hermida, 75-years old, had planned to return the dog as soon as Monday due to its aggression, according to multiple news reports. Hermida never had that chance. She was fatally attacked by the animal in her townhouse on 27th Street in Long Island City just after midnight Monday.

Hermida suffered severe trauma to her upper torso, according to police. She was transported to New York Presbyterian Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at around 6 am Monday. Her 39-year old son, Daniel Ferraro, was also attacked by the dog in the lower left leg and was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The animal was sedated by New York Emergency Service Unit officers and is currently in the custody of New York City Animal Care and Control.

The New York Daily News quotes neighbor Jean Vontas, who said that Hermida had "too many dogs" at her home. "I never knew if they were baby sitting the dogs -- they were always walking the dogs up and down," Vontas told the Daily News. While it is unclear what that statement fully means, it seems clear enough that a 75-year old woman is a poor adopter choice for a dog that can grow to over 200 pounds. Also, NBC New York reports the dog is a mixed-breed mastiff.

Recent Shelter Dog Fatal Attacks

Since 2015, dogs "vetted" by passing temperament tests have killed two people. In July 2015, a 6-year old boy in North Carolina was killed by a male, neutered pit bull that was rehomed by the Asheville Humane Society 3-weeks earlier. The pit bull had passed the SAFER temperament test. In April 2016, a male pit bull-mix rehomed by the San Diego Humane Society killed a newborn. That dog also passed an assessment test prior to being adopted to the family 5-months earlier.

Since 2015, at least two dogs rehomed by shelters or rescues with an unknown or non-existent vetting process have killed as well. Anthony Riggs, 57, was killed by a rottweiler in November 2015 just hours after adopting the dog from a county pound in Tennessee. Eugene Smith, 87, was fatally attacked by his rescue pit bull while taking down his Christmas tree in January 2015. His family had adopted the dog 7-months earlier from an unnamed person or rescue in Maryland.

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Colleen Lynn

2016 Dog Bite Fatality: Staten Island Woman's Death Attributed to Dog Bite Injuries ME's Office Confirms

Daisie Bradshaw, 68, was killed by two dogs in her home on Staten Island.

Previous Report
Staten Island, NY - On October 25, multiple news groups in New York City reported that a woman was likely killed by two dogs in the basement of her Simonson Avenue home in Mariners Harbor. Today, the NYC Medical Examiner's Office confirmed through a public records request by our nonprofit that Daisie Bradshaw, 68, died due to dog bite injuries. The cause of death is "multiple blunt force and penetrating injuries of torso and extremities." The manner of death is accidental.

The two dogs, pit bull-shepherd mixes, belong to Daisie's daughter and apparently are still "on legal hold" at the city's shelter facility in Brooklyn.

The dogs were described as various mixed breeds in media reports, but the NYC Animal Care Center lists them as pit bull-mixes ("MALE, BLACK / WHITE, AM PIT BULL TER MIX" and "MALE, BROWN / WHITE, AM PIT BULL TER MIX")1. A commenter where the dogs are listed claims to be the daughter. On December 24, Dawnschoentube wrote, "They r my dogs n I wAnt them back. I've been trying since they were taken. It's been 2 months to the day n I want them back." (sic).2

On October 25, Daisie's daughter discovered her body in the basement of her mother's home along with her two dogs. She called 911. Police said the victim was covered in bite marks and bruises and some of the injuries were defensive wounds. Daisie was pronounced dead at the scene. The last news report about her death was October 27, when SiLive.com reported the medical examiner's office needed to perform additional testing to determine the cause of death.

The two dogs, both male and neutered, came into the city's shelter facility on October 25 and continue to be on hold "for legal reasons," according to the website's listing. Panda came in with a "moderate amount of dried blood around neck." Radiographs were done on both dogs, but "no foreign material (bone fragments)" were found in their digestive systems. It is unclear what will become of the dogs now that the medical examiner's office has determined the cause of death.

1Related archived links: PANDA – A1094711, Urgent Pets on Death Row in NYC URL:http://nycdogs.urgentpodr.org/panda-a1094711/. Accessed: 2017-03-26. (Archived by WebCite® at https://www.webcitation.org/6pFFVPYcM)
JACOB – A1094712, Urgent Pets on Death Row in NYC URL:http://nycdogs.urgentpodr.org/jacob-a1094712/. Accessed: 2017-03-26. (Archived by WebCite® at https://www.webcitation.org/6pFFYxHXl)
2Commenters on the NYC Urgent Dog website are completely in the dark about the gruesome fatal attack. Dawnschoentube told them: "They were brought in with blood on them because of a horrible accodent" (sic).

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Colleen Lynn

Pit Bull Owner Charged with Felony Involuntary Manslaughter

Pit bulls killed Logan Braatz, 6, and gravely injured Syrai Sanders, 5, in Atlanta.

City Leaders Respond
UPDATE 01/19/17: On Tuesday morning in southwest Atlanta, a group of children walked along Cerro Street on their way to the school bus stop when two loose pit bulls launched a horrifying attack. The dogs eviscerated 6-year old Logan Braatz, who did not survive his injuries, and critically injured 5-year old Syrai Sanders -- the pit bulls ripped off her scalp. Both children were students at F.L. Stanton Elementary. The aftermath of this attack was captured by aerial footage.

The owner of the pit bulls, Cameron Tucker, was taken into custody and charged with several misdemeanors. The charges were upgraded the next day to include involuntary manslaughter, a felony. Tucker's next court appearance is scheduled for February 1, according to news reports. Two witnesses on scene, Angie Smith and Shamonta Clayton, provided chilling accounts about what happened that morning. A formal community vigil is planned for Saturday on Stafford Street.

Response from City Officials

In the wake of this savage attack, the Atlanta Public School system (APS) announced that it would add a new bus stop. "APS Transportation immediately conducted a safety assessment and plans to add a new bus stop within the one-mile walk zone to ensure the safety of our students," states the release provided to WSB-TV. The children in the neighborhood previously had to walk past an abandoned house and through some woods to reach the bus stop, according to Logan's uncle.

Just hours after the deadly attack, Atlanta City leaders began discussing legislation to prevent future maulings. Councilwoman Keisha Bottoms introduced legislation that recognizes local governments can enact stricter dog regulations than the minimum standards of state law. These new regulations have not yet been determined, but ideas include restricting owners of dangerous breeds from living near a school or school bus stop, or requiring these owners to have a fence.

"These children are living in fear, rightfully so. These dogs are predators." - Atlanta City Councilwoman Keisha Bottoms, Fox 5 Atlanta, January 18, 2017

Bottoms promised that over the next week, councilmembers would discuss the dangerous dog issue on many levels. "We are going to delve into state law, county law, city law and see what, if anything, we can do and it is absolutely of no solace to this family, but I do hope that it will at least stop this from ever happening again," said Bottoms. Two days after the deadly attack, Bottoms met with nervous neighbors close to where the attack happened and promised to contact APS.

"Border Collie" and "Unidentified Breed"

Six or seven hours after the horrific attack on Tuesday -- after many news articles were already published, along with photographs and video of the two pit bulls -- Fulton County Animal Control relayed information via phone to reporters that the dogs involved in the attack were a pit bull-mix, "border collie" and "unidentified breed." The police report stated the two dogs involved are a pit bull and pit bull-mix. Fulton County Animal Control alone is culpable for this grave obfuscation.

In high profile fatal dog attacks, we understand that information can initially be relayed poorly or even incorrectly, but in this case it is a sham. The police report states the correct breeds of dogs, a pit bull -- the bloody black dog -- and a pit bull-mix, the white and black dog. Images of both dogs were captured before, during and after being loaded into the animal control truck. A third dog was also seized by animal control, apparently a poor border collie, but no media images captured it.

CBS46 spoke with Tucker's attorney, who said that Tucker lives with his fiance, mother, mother-in-law, and six-month-old daughter. "The two other family members that are a part of the family are the two dogs that are in custody," attorney Cinque Axam said. The family does not own three dogs -- just the two the media captured being taken into custody. Also, though the white and black pit bull-mix is not pictured in Tucker's 2012 Facebook post, the coloring indicates close lineage.

01/18/17: Involuntary Manslaughter
The owner of two dogs that killed a boy and severely injured a girl is now facing a felony charge. On Wednesday, Cameron Tucker was charged with felony involuntary manslaughter in connection to the death of 6-year old Logan Braatz. A judge set his bond to $70,000. The surviving child, 5-year old Syrai Sanders, remains hospitalized. Officials said the dogs severed her scalp from her skull. A witness who saw the child after the attack said, "Her face was totally dismembered."

Another witness, Shamonta Clayton, who carried Logan's body to the ambulance, also described Syrai's injuries. "I run up on the little girl and she had been mauled very badly -- the dog just had ripped into her," he said. Then he saw Logan, his unconscious body lying in the grass. "I picked the child's body up, because his mom couldn't do nothing except to sit there and cry. I carried his bloody body to the ambulance," he said. Clayton also said the dogs commonly roamed the area.

"If a prosecutor is aggressive, they could charge him with cruelty to children in the second degree. And for any child that dies, bring it up to murder." - Attorney Page Pate, 11alive.com (WXIA), January 18, 2017

Also, despite numerous images of the dogs taken by the media yesterday, Fulton County Animal Control claims that of the three dogs, one is a "border collie" and the other is an "unidentified breed." Tucker is not a border collie type, but he is a pit bull type, according to his own Facebook page. We do not know which dog animal control is claiming to be a border collie or unidentified breed. If it is the white and black pit bull-mix that would be an outrageous and deliberate distortion.

01/17/17: Children Identified
On Tuesday, as a group of children walked along Cerro Street in southwest Atlanta to their school bus stop, up to three loose pit bulls brutally attacked them. Logan Braatz, 6-years old, died of his injuries. Syrai Sanders, 5-years old, suffered horrific facial damage. Angie Smith, who witnessed part of the attack said the little girl's "face was totally dismembered." Syrai is being treated at Egleston Hospital. A third child sustained minor injuries in the attack, according to police.

The owner of the pit bulls, Cameron Tucker, was arrested on two misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct. Police shot and hit one pit bull that tried to flee the scene, the black dog. The animal was later captured. A white and black pit bull was also taken into custody. Investigators are trying to determine if a third pit bull (belonging to someone else) was also involved in the deadly mauling. The children attended F.L. Stanton Elementary. Earlier the school released this statement:

"Atlanta Public Schools can confirm that two F.L. Stanton Elementary students walking to the bus stop were attacked by pitbulls. Both students were transported to Egleston Hospital. One student was transported back to Grady Hospital’s trauma unit and later passed away. The female student at Egleston is in stable condition. Atlanta Public Schools sent a crisis team to F.L. Stanton this morning to provide grief counseling for students and staff. Our deepest condolences go out to the family." - F.L. Stanton Elementary School

SIDEBAR: We were shocked earlier to see that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution had named the breed in their report, much less in their headline -- that is how pit bull sympathetic they are, and have been for years. In their latest update, at the bottom of the article is a large video of a shelter pit bull with a message on the front: "A majority of pit bulls in shelters have no history of violence, their owners voluntarily surrender them." Pimping for pit bulls after these brutal child maulings!

A major regional newspaper in Georgia is perpetuating the Nanny Dog myth and pleading, "Dear public, please adopt our unwanted shelter pit bulls," after two pit bulls savagely attacked and killed a little boy and "dismembered" a little girl's face. The most recent medical study highlighting the severity of pit bull injuries was a retrospective review of 1616 consecutive child dog bite injuries at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston (CHOA) where both injured children were sent.

01/17/17: Pit Bulls Kill Child
Atlanta, GA - Pit bulls killed one child and critically injured another as they walked to school Tuesday morning. A third child was also injured, but his condition is unclear. The children were ages 5 to 6 years old. The deadly attack occurred in the 1200 block of Gideons Drive in southwest Atlanta at about 7:20 am. Three pit bulls killed a little boy and critically injured a girl. Neighbors flew outside after awaking to screams. Aerial footage captured the horrific aftermath of the attack.

"I looked down at her to see what I could do for her. And when I looked at her, I knew that there was nothing I could do." - Witness Angie Smith

Police officers shot and killed one pit bull and the two others were taken into custody by animal control. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that authorities have arrested the dogs' owner. Sgt. Warren Pickard said the children were walking with a group of children to school when the pit bulls attacked. "We had some brave kids. Some kids ran back to the scene to try to pull the dogs off the children that were injured," Pickard said. Neighbors also intervened to rescue the children.

WGCL-TV reports the children attend F.L. Stanton Elementary School, and were walking to their school bus stop when they were attacked. Aerial footage from a chopper shows a white and black pit bull sitting in a nearby driveway. A black pit bull, photographed on a nearby porch, was also involved, according to police. The dogs lived about a block away from the attack, police said. Fox 5 reports neighbors rushed to the scene with a baseball bat and knives to stop the mauling.

Angie Smith speaks to reporters near the scene (@johnspink):

Smith: "I ran to the baby and I said, I looked down at her to see what I could do for her. And when I looked at her, I knew that there was nothing I could do."

Reporter: "Was she gone at that point?"

Smith: "I couldn’t tell if she was gone. I just knew, she had on a jacket and a book bag so I couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. I think that kind of saved her skin. I knew that her face was totally dismembered.

Reporter: "Have you ever seen the dogs before?"

Smith: "I actually saw the dogs Saturday. They were running around. I told myself, 'I should call the humane society because dogs are just roaming. But by the time they get here, the dogs will probably be gone and they don't usually look for them.' And so, I did not call. This is just so unfortunate.

Reporter: "Did you hear anything beforehand?"

Smith: "Yes. I heard the kids screaming. The kids were screaming very loudly, but they usually in the morning -- because they walk to the bus stop -- they are sometimes loud and they are playing, they are chasing each other. So, I sat there for a couple of seconds, because I was like, maybe the kids are playing. But after a few minutes, maybe two minutes or so, I realized that the kids weren't playing. It was a different kind of cry. It was a different kind of screaming. Then I heard adults screaming as well, so that prompted me to come outside."