Posted on May 11, 2016 by Colleen Lynn

Coroner: Dog Bite Injuries Inflicted After Death; Woman Found Dead in Brownsburg, Indiana

Lola Endres, an animal rescue advocate, discovered dead with dog bite injuries.

Bitten After Death
UPDATE 05/10/16: The Hendricks County Coroner said an autopsy showed that Lola Endres' heart stopped about 7 pm Sunday night. The coroner's report states that all of the dog bites were inflicted after her death. Thus, the bites did not contribute to her death. Each year in the U.S., via collecting media reports, we see a handful of people who suffer a fatal heart attack while trying to break up a dog fight. Bites inflicted post-mortem occur too, even severe ones, but are very rare.

05/09/16: Woman Found Dead
Brownsburg, IN - A woman was discovered dead in her home with bite injuries from one or both of her two family dogs. The Hendricks County coroner identified the woman as 61-year old Lola Endres. The attack happened at a home on the 3200 block of North County Road 800 East. The coroner described the scene as “horrific.” Her son found her body when he returned home around midnight. First responders said Endres had died “several hours” before her son found the body.

An autopsy was conducted Monday evening to determine the cause of death. The results are expected to be released Tuesday morning. Despite the "horrific" scene, police do not believe the dog attack killed Endres, but might have played a contributing role. Endres had a pre-existing heart condition. Police said she suffered bite injuries to her legs, buttocks and hip areas. Both dogs -- English bulldogs -- are being quarantined at the Hendricks County Animal Shelter.

When dog bites are a contributing cause of death and inflicted severe injury, the death is included in our dog bite fatality statistics. - DogsBite.org

One of the bulldogs had been with Endres for several years, police said. That dog had no history of aggression, according to police. The other bulldog was recently rescued and had only been with Endres for two weeks. That dog had a history of being aggressive, police said. The dog reportedly bit its previous owner. The victim's Facebook album shows more than two dogs, however all of these photographs are dated in 2010. So far there has been no information about additional dogs.

Evening Updates

In a late evening update, the IndyStar added new information along with a photograph of the two English bulldogs provided by the Brownsburg Police Department. As demonstrated on her Facebook page, which shows many dogs and horses, Endres was a longtime animal rescuer. She not only rescued dogs, but possibly also racehorses, according to one of her Facebook posts. When police arrived, they found Endres unresponsive and both dogs engaged in a "vicious fight."

The bulldog rescued 2-weeks earlier, named Bull, is suspected of being the main aggressor in the attack, Brownsburg Police Department Capt. Jennifer Pyatt-Barrett said. That dog had reportedly bitten or attacked its previous owner. The other bulldog, Tomahawk, had lived with Endres for 3-years. Investigators are trying to determine if any of the bite injuries on her body were inflicted by him. If bite marks can be matched to Tomahawk, both dogs will be euthanized, police said.

Police also said that two other dogs were in Endres' home when she was attack, but were caged.

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Colleen Lynn

2016 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Dies After Vicious Dog Mauling in Southern Dallas

South Dallas home with a history of complaints where the suspected dogs resided.

DNA Results Explained
UPDATE 02/02/17: On October 31, 2016 the Dallas Police Department announced that no criminal charges would be filed in connection to the dog mauling death of Antoinette Brown. Police did not explain the DNA results. They simply stated, “the samples submitted did not contain DNA evidence that would link the animals that were suspected of the attack.” Fox 4 News then filed an extensive Open Records Request to obtain the entire case file, including the DNA test results.

The Fox 4 News investigation revealed that no nuclear DNA, which can identify an individual dog, and is a necessity in proving “guilt beyond a reasonable doubt” in a trial, was present in the three hairs tested by the California lab. Mitochondrial DNA, which can only determine maternal lineage or species type, was only present in two of the hairs and both had the same mitochondrial haplotype. The lab concluded that only 2% of the dog population contained this same haplotype.

Of the suspected dogs (“Quarantine Dog”), 5 of 7 tested positive for this haplotype, 71%. Of the unsuspected dogs, 2 of 9 tested positive, 22%.

Police abandoned the criminal charges due to the lack of nuclear DNA present. The mitochondrial DNA results could have been strengthened, according to the lab, if a “representative sampling of dogs from the victim’s neighborhood” had been taken. For instance, if only 2% of the dogs in Brown’s neighborhood matched, it could be assumed that 98% of the dogs could be ruled out. Since a representative sampling was never performed, this percentage will never be known.

The death of Brown is further complicated by a 10-hour delay in processing the scene that had been drenched in rain, during and after the attack. One detective said: “It had poured down rain, so the field was literally a swamp.” From the victim’s clothing found strewn across the muddy field, only three hairs found were “worth testing.” Further, the dogs were not seized by authorities until four days after the attack, whereby reducing the ability to detect human blood on the dogs.

View: University of California, Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory DNA test results

vicious dog mauling in southern Dallas - Antoinette Brown

Six of the seven dogs seized four days after the deadly mauling of Antoinette Brown in May.

Related lawsuits:
Ward v. City of Dallas, Maria Cardoso, et al., No. DC-18-05856, Dallas County (05/03/2018)
Ward v. City of Dallas, Maria Cardoso, et al., No. 3:18-CV-1574-L, (N.D. Tex. Nov. 30, 2020)

10/31/16: No Criminal Charges
The Dallas Police Department announced today there will be no criminal charges filed in the dog mauling death of Antoinette Brown last May. Forensic tests from two separate labs could not establish a DNA link between Brown and the multiple dogs suspected of fatally attacking her. No eyewitnesses could identify which dogs were involved either. The seven suspected dogs had been involved in numerous previous incidents, according to a report issued by city officials in June.

Dallas police Deputy Chief Rob Sherwin said the criminal case couldn't be proven in a court of law without eyewitnesses or forensic evidence.

There were massive "communication gaps" between police and Dallas Animal Services (DAS) after Brown's attack on May 2. On May 4, police responded to a separate 911 call of a man being attacked by three pit bulls at the same location where Brown was attacked. The arriving officer, who also responded to Brown's attack, relayed to 311 they were the same dogs, setting off seizure proceedings. Six dogs were seized from 3307 Spring Avenue on May 6 and another on May 9.

Brown died while hospitalized May 9. It is an outrage that her horrific death will go unpunished. The owner of the dogs, Maria Cardoso of 3307 Spring Avenue, is a habitual violator of loose and aggressive dogs. From July 2013 through September 2015, Cardoso surrendered 21 dogs to DAS for violations, including attacks. By May 9, 2016, she had surrendered seven more. An incident report from as early as January 16, 2014 states her Spring Avenue home is a "chronic problem."

Failure to establish a DNA link after a fatal dog mauling, which is used by prosecutors when there are no eyewitnesses, has occurred in the past. This might occur in one or both Fresno animal-related death cases this year as well -- information is still pending. The death of Brown is further complicated by rain on the night of her attack and the urgent medical attention and cleaning of her wounds. Back in August, it was reported the Brown DNA case "increasingly looks like a loser."1

06/12/16: City Releases Report
Since the brutal dog mauling of Antoinette Brown in South Dallas on May 2, new developments have occurred. On June 10, the city released a memorandum -- Review and Findings for Animal Attack on May 2, 2016 -- summarizing the 911 and 311 incidents involving the dog owner's home in the years leading up to the deadly attack. The memo also outlines the sequence of events on May 2 and the days following, until all of the owner's suspected dogs are seized.

The memorandum shows that some of the communication breakdowns between the Dallas Police Department and Dallas Animal Services (DAS) are daunting in scope. The memo also identifies where the breakdowns occurred and "opportunities" to correct them (see bold type). Just reading the first half of page 2 is halting. The number of animal violations and surrenders at 3307 Spring Avenue should have been identified as a "chronic pattern" and acted upon forcibly far earlier.

The owner of the dogs that killed Brown, Maria Cardoso of 3307 Spring Avenue, is a habitual loose and aggressive dog violator and appears to be a backyard breeder as well. From July 2013 through September 2015, Cardoso surrendered 21 dogs to DAS (some dogs could have been surrendered more than once, 12 were also listed as "puppies" when surrendered). An incident report from as early as January 16, 2014, notes the Cardoso home as a "chronic problem."

City Releases Incident Reports

The city did not only release the memorandum, but also a 74 page document that includes the related 911 and 311 incident reports involving 3307 Spring Avenue and Cardoso's dogs during the same 3-year period. The bulk of the calls involve reports of loose aggressive pit bulls. By 2015, rottweiler(s) begin appearing in the reports as well. Certainly Cardoso had every intention of continuing to own dangerous dog breeds. Citations show that none were spay or neutered either.

On page 33, the May 2 attack of Brown begins. The initial narrative states that she was "attacked by approximately 4 to 5 dogs including 2 pit bulls. The dogs caused serious bodily injury to the comp's right arm, tearing away the back of her upper arm to the bone, and to her right leg, which was missing a large chunk of her upper thigh/buttocks area." When responders arrived, no dogs were present, states the report. Transcripts of the 911 calls are also included in the document.

Digging into the accounts, it becomes clearer that Cardoso was likely crossing the pit bulls and rottweilers. Recall that no dogs were seized until 4 days after the deadly May 2 attack -- so there is confusion and multiple 911 calls placed by neighbors following Brown's attack, these 911 calls begin on May 4 at 3:46 am (page 50). Some callers identify the three brown and black aggressive dogs as rottweilers, other callers as pit bulls and other callers as a combination of the two.

On May 4, a police officer responded to a 911 call of three pit bulls attacking a man at Rutledge and Trunk Avenue (page 52) -- the same location where Brown was attacked. Officer Sanchez arrived on scene and saw the pit bulls; he notes they are the same dogs that attacked Brown. At 4:06 am, Sanchez calls 311 to relay this information. He also tells dispatch about the earlier attack on Brown as if DAS is unaware of it, and they were unaware of it. DAS is in the dark until May 5.

Officer Sanchez: "Well, these dogs, I don’t know if you heard about this but, about two nights ago, the night that it was raining, they attacked a lady and literally they almost killed her. And the bicep was missing, chunks, and I’m going uh, I’ve seen a lot of dog bites, but these...I’ve never seen anything like this. She looked like she was attacked by a shark. There’s chunks of meat that were off. I mean like her left leg, we had her, she had to be transported to Baylor hospital and she was in a state of shock. I...(unintelligible) I don’t even know if she made it. This, this is the type that’s that bad." - Officer Sanchez, 311 call, May 4, 2016 4:06 a.m.

The Breeds of Dogs Seized

On May 6, when DAS seized six dogs belonging to Cardoso, page 72 shows the involved breeds crammed into a tiny area of a citation for failing to spay or neuter: shepherd-mix, male (black and brown), doberman-mix, female (black and brown), pit bull-mix, male (black), pit bull-mix, male (black and brown), rottweiler-mix, male (black and brown) and pit bull, female (brown and white). On May 7, DAS writes a citation for a seventh dog owned by Cardoso, a brown female pit bull-mix.

What is also known about the attacking dogs to date, thanks to the June 10 update by Dallas Morning News columnist Sharon Grigsby, is that the dogs were quarantined for 10 days, assessed unadoptable and euthanized. The DNA tests are still being analyzed at the Southwest Institute of Forensics Science. Results were anticipated to take about eight weeks, so we expect news in July. When results are complete police will determine if a criminal case can be made against Cardoso.

City of Dallas Documents: Memorandum Summary | Related Incident Reports

05/26/16: Family Demands $5 Million
The family of Antoinette Brown is demanding $5 million dollars from the city of Dallas to avoid a lawsuit, interim City Attorney Chris Bowers said today. Bowers, however, does not believe the city is liable due to government immunity. Antoinette was savagely killed by a pack of loose dogs in South Dallas earlier this month. Dallas Animal Services (DAS) had paid multiple visits to the home where the dogs resided for violations, and since 2014, had confiscated 20 dogs from the home.

"Brown’s death was very tragic, very unfortunate, very regrettable and very sad. [But] we do not believe the city has any liability here." - Chris Bowers

Dallas city officials also recently hatched a plan to hire the Boston Consulting Group to conduct an 11-week study examining how the city can best resolve the longstanding loose dog problem in the southern sector. The study has been funded by a group of private donors. City Council member Tiffinni Young, whose district includes South Dallas, has already sent city leaders eight sensible strategies, but apparently they are being ignored in favor of hiring the private consulting firm.

Also, we recently learned in quite an unusual way that pit bulls were involved in this deadly attack.

05/16/16: Calls for Dismissal
After a woman was mauled to death by a pack of loose dogs in South Dallas, fierce discussions continue to brew about the many protocols that either broke down or did not exist at all. The catastrophic injury attack that caused the death of Antoinette Brown, 52, occurred in the early morning of May 2. Dallas Animal Services was not made aware of the attack until 3 days later; the dogs were seized 4 days after the attack. Dallas police did not confirm the attack for 5 days.

The owners have made 20 dog "surrenders" to DAS since 2014, that includes the 7 dogs surrendered after the fatal attack of Antoinette.

The Dallas Morning News has come down hard on Jody Jones, the chief of Dallas Animal Services (DAS), calling for her dismissal. When interviewed about the brutal dog mauling death, Jones replied, "I hate to say it, but people die in traffic fatalities every day." Her reply shows that she has no compassion for victims of deadly dog attacks, no priority for victims of dog attacks and little priority for public safety. Yet, she runs a department assigned with those very responsibilities.

The News also pointed out how DAS misleadingly responded after City Manager A.C. Gonzalez announced that Deputy Police Chief Rob Sherwin had been assigned to help oversee Jones' troubled department: "So how did Dallas Animal Services respond?," states the editorial. "With a chirpy email blast and social media message that read: 'Exciting news!!! The City Manager, DPD and PAS partner together on a new venture to strengthen services and communication.'"

We agree with The News, but we agree with commenter Mike Lima more. The blame must be spread out to more city departments -- along with The News -- who fail to admit that "animal-welfare psychos" are a huge part of the problem. Lima points out quite succinctly that Antoinette's death is the "result of political expediency due to fear of the animal welfare community, which sure as the sky is blue would be all over the City of Dallas if euthanasia rates start going up."

Lima nails the issue, and why animal control is a zero-sum game in today's "no kill" climate.

Failing Dog Attack Victims

When animal service departments are fixated on the "live release" rate, most commonly seen in No-Kill cities, such as Austin, the priority of public safety takes a nosedive. These results can appear in different areas, including a rise in dog bites, a rise in loose and aggressive dogs and failing dog bite victims. All of which run counter to the priorities of a well-functioning animal control department. The "live release" numbers fixation can also lead to adopting out dangerous dogs.

One Dallas mauling victim, Nancy Lewis, recently shared her story. DAS never contacted her after she was attacked in September 2014. Then 1.5-years later, a few weeks before Antoinette's death, DAS called her because they are now investigating another attack involving the same dogs. During the call, DAS dropped the "bombshell" that one of the dogs had severely bitten a woman in 2012. Lewis never had this information, which is make or break in the one bite state of Texas.

Along with the many other protocol breakdowns, DAS' failure to supply a dog attack victim with a bite report indeed indicates systemic problems.

It's been 20 months since she was attacked and Lewis still has been unable to obtain her bite report from DAS. Under the open records act, she was provided a single page; it is a brief EMS Firefighter report that references the date, location, that the status became "closed" after 18-hours and a few other details. It is not a bite report; it is an EMS Firefighter reference to the attack. How many other victims has DAS failed to provide a bite report to, which is vital for civil a lawsuit?

We are in contact with Lewis and will keep you posted as that protocol violation unfolds.

05/10/16: Cyclical Complaints
The household and dogs involved in the brutal mauling death of Antoinette Brown had a long history of complaints with Dallas Animal Services. In fact, the history is extremely disturbing, but no more disturbing than the "vicious dog owner loop" that plagues most jurisdictions. The dogs' owners are cyclical, repeat offenders. They are the very type of grossly irresponsible dog owners -- about 2% of all dog owners -- that the system is allegedly supposed to catch, but often does not.

The Dallas Police Department issued an update explaining this extensive history. Since 2014, the owners have made 20 dog surrenders after violations and attacks. At least 3 have resulted in euthanasia, another 7 will too after this investigation. What is true about the "vicious dog owner loop" -- after the dog is declared vicious and put down, the owner gets a new one and repeats the whole process -- is usually true with animal neglect offenses too. There are no laws in place to stop it.

On May 5, 2016, Dallas Animal Services reviewed the address and found previous 311 calls regarding loose dogs complaints. Seven dogs were found living at the location and Dallas Animal Services was able to take 6 dogs into possession on May 6, 2016. The seventh dog was located on May 9, 2016 and quarantined. Between July 2013 and August 2014, records indicate residents made 10 calls regarding this location. In 2014, the owner surrendered ten dogs after repeated visits and violation notices from Dallas Animal Services. In September 2015, neighbors reported an attack in progress, resulting in five citations being issued and surrendering of three more dogs that were subsequently euthanized. Dallas Animal Services issued an additional 16 citations on May 6, 2016.

The owners gave permission on May 6, 2016 for Dallas Animal Services to take custody of the animals. These dogs were processed for evidence to confirm whether they were involved in the attack on Ms. Brown. Dallas Police have submitted the evidence to Southwest Institute of Forensics Science2 and are awaiting the results of testing. - Dallas Police Department

For readers who are not used to seeing this part of the broken system, it is a pretty common reality. If your next question is: Why can't we sue animal control departments in these cases? Then we direct you to: The Plight of a Mauled Postal Carrier, an Attempt to Sue Animal Control and the Progression of a Criminal. This blog post dives deep into the governmental immunity issue, a legal concept that one needs a grasp of when considering this lawsuit question.

Texas Felony Dog Attack Law

The Dallas Police blog post also indicates that they plan to pursue these owners under the Texas felony dog attack statute, also referred to as Lillian's Law. This may be the first time Dallas County authorities have pursued under the statute. In 2014, we saw Harris County (Houston) prosecutors finally embrace it for the first time. Comal County prosecutors did too after a fatal pit bull mauling. Texas case law continues to build as more and more cases are successfully prosecuted under it.

Given the history of these owners and their aggressive dogs, it seems Dallas County prosecutors can build a solid case against them. The dogs suspected of killing Antoinette are currently being DNA tested to see if it matches DNA found on the victim. Obvious blood evidence was long gone by the time the dogs were seized by authorities 4 days later. That is a serious time gap. Dallas City Manager A.C. Gonzalez addresses this in a letter published by NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.

I’ve been meeting with Dallas Police Department (DPD) and Dallas Animal Services (DAS) leadership to review this situation. We have identified several communication gaps as the events of the last week unfolded. DPD did not immediately notify DAS about the attack, which is why DAS responded over the next few days to subsequent calls for loose dogs as routine calls.

After DPD informed DAS managers about the attack Thursday evening, the two departments coordinated a response for Friday morning, at which time the suspected dogs were taken into custody, where they remain. In addition, we did not properly identify a pattern of behavior that was developing and would have given us an opportunity to bring DPD into the loop sooner to investigate for criminal activity. We are fixing these gaps by changing procedures so that first responders arriving to the scene of a dog attack will immediately notify DAS. Technology changes are also in process to further help with this communication. - Dallas City Manager A.C. Gonzalez

Read the city manager's letter in full | View timeline of "gaps"

05/09/16: Son Confirms Death
A woman savagely attacked by a pack of dogs in southern Dallas last Monday has died. NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth reports the son of 52-year-old Antoinette Brown, Laquan, confirmed her death to them. Earlier today, the son said the family would be ending life support this afternoon. The victim's daughter, Matisha Ward, shared news of her mother's death with Dallas City Council member Tiffinni Young. "She went down fighting ... She is in a better place," Ward told Young.

The city has been struggling with a loose and stray dog problem for years. In October, the city began a new initiative to tackle it. Unfortunately, these efforts were not enough to prevent a savage pack attack that resulted in a woman's death. Dallas city leaders have promised a new approach to the problem. "The priority has not been high enough, ok, obviously," Mayor Mike Rawlings said. "Progress is great, but we were in a deep hole and we have a long way to go."

05/09/16: Mauling Victim Clings to Life
Dallas, TX - On Saturday, The Dallas Morning News reported that 52-year old Antoinette Brown was brutally attacked by a pack of dogs in the 3300 block of Rutledge Street, a southern Dallas neighborhood. She was bitten over 100 times and placed into a medically induced coma. The attack occurred Monday morning. Police did not confirm this until 5 days later. Police Chief David Brown Tweeted the delay was due to capturing the dogs before the owner could get rid of them.

“They ate her like they was eating a steak.” - Barbara Brown, the victim's mother

There was more to the Tweet exchange between Police Chief Brown and The News reporters as well. See the full exchange here. Chief Brown fired back at both reporters, "Question for you...why was it necessary to include the victims criminal history in the article?" By the time DogsBite.org read the article, The News had removed this language. Thank goodness for editors. Antoinette is horrifically injured -- degloving injuries and worse. Her family does not know if she will survive.

"Bandages cover the places where the dogs peeled off her skin, exposing muscle and tendons. A doctor told her family that he stopped counting at 100 bite wounds," states The News. Antoinette is currently hospitalized at Baylor Medical University Center at Dallas. Her mother, Barbara Brown, told The News that her daughter's medical condition is fragile and currently in limbo. “We’re in a box,” Barbara said. “We can’t go forward and we can’t go backwards and we can’t go sideways."

Loose Dog Problem

Since 2014, the loose and stray dog problem in southern Dallas has been a growing concern. In October 2015, the city began increasing patrols in targeted neighborhoods to combat this problem. The initiative was set to run through March 2016, and by that time, Dallas Animal Services (DAS) would have hired an additional 49 officers to help rein in the problem. By April 25, 2016 the program was running at full tilt -- just 3-weeks before Antoinette was nearly mauled to death.

Metrics released on April 25 showed a significant improvement. By adopting community policing and hot-spot policing tactics -- primarily in the southeastern neighborhoods -- citations for loose dogs had risen higher than any previous fiscal year. Also by this time, DAS had started to broaden out from the targeted hot-spot areas to reach more southern neighborhoods affected by the loose and stray dog problem. Despite the city's commitment, a catastrophic injury pack attack occurred.

Latest Developments

The latest developments include Chief Brown's indication the dogs' owner could face possible criminal charges. Police have not released breed information. The six suspected dogs were captured by DAS on Friday. WFAA reported Sunday that DAS went door-to-door on Mother's Day and set up new traps for "true" stray dogs. As Esteban Rodriguez with Dallas Animal Services states, "the majority of these dogs are owned and people just have to become responsible."

On Monday, Antoinette's son told NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth they will be taking her off life support.

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

1Fox 4 News tried to gain an understanding about what the DNA test results truly meant, but Dallas police officials would not discuss the results. Based on information Fox could gather about a negative DNA match, it is possible the attacking dog(s) were not captured. Recall that directly after Brown's attack, no dogs were seen in the area by police. When police canvassed the area later that day, no one was home at 3307 Spring Avenue and no dogs were present at the location. An owner hiding dogs and/or washing the blood off dogs after a fatal dog attack has certainly happened in the past. The more time that passes after a fatal dog attack and the failure to locate or seize the attacking dogs -- in the case of Brown it was 4 days -- gives an owner that much more time to hide evidence.
2The last time a similar lab was mentioned after a dog mauling death in Texas, which was the Southeast Texas Forensic Center in Conroe, was in 2006 after the horrific pit bull mauling death of 41-year old David "Ted" McCurry in Willis, Texas. Their cause of death findings was, "completely severed carotid artery and jugular vein and fracture to the back of the neck." District Attorney Mike McDougal also noted that McCurry had been bitten on over 90% of his body. That attack was carried out by a single male pit bull; one pit bull inflicted bites to 90% of this man's body. In the case of Antoinette, it was a pack attack (four dogs or more) very likely involving pit bulls or pit bull-mixes. Antoinette's daughter told WFAA news that had her mother survived, doctors would have had to amputate both legs and arms -- all four limbs. This very same pack of killers remained unseized by Dallas authorities for 4 days due to a colossal "gap" in the protocol system. Currently in Dallas (Section 7-4.6), a household can legally have up to 6 dogs! (8 dogs if the premise is located on more than one-half acre of land; a breeding operation basically.)

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Colleen Lynn

Fatal Pit Bull Attack in San Diego, California

The rehomed male, neutered pit bull-mix in quarantine after killing a 3-day old baby.

Passed Assessment Test
UPDATE 04/29/16: On July 7, 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 before being adopted. Now, just 8-months later in San Diego, a male pit bull-mix rehomed by the San Diego Humane Society has fatally attacked. That dog also passed an assessment test prior to being adopted then killed a baby 5-months later.1

Currently, there is no way to reliably test for unpredictable pit bull aggression. State-of-the-art temperament tests like SAFER only provide a benchmark by detecting "obvious" behavioral issues. These tests greatly rely upon who is conducting them as well -- a person with 2-years of behavioral experience or 25? This 2.5-year old pit bull-mix came into the shelter on November 10 and was adopted out just 8-days later. We repeat again what we stated after Joshua's death:

The "state-of-the-art" temperament assessment test, SAFER, cannot measure unpredictable aggression nor can any current test. This is the risk every person accepts, knowingly or not, when adopting a pit bull.

After the death of 3-day old Sebastian Caban, the president and CEO of the San Diego Humane Society, Gary Weitzman, issued a letter to staff members and volunteers. It states, in part, the attack was unforeseeable and "there was not a fragment of aggression seen in this dog before tragedy struck." This statement emphasizes just how unreliable these tests are in assessing unpredictable aggression. "Seen in this dog," is only in the context of seeing the dog for 8-days.

Animal Expert Provides Insights

UPDATE 04/27/16: Sebastian Caban, 3-days old, was fatally bitten on the head by a family pit bull-mix while he laid in bed with his parents and the dog. What followed was a carefully executed breed manipulation plan by Deputy Director Dan DeSousa to confuse the media and public, along with an outpouring of media claiming the deadly attack came in response to the mother coughing. We reached out to Alexandra Semyonova, an animal behaviorist and author, for her observations.

Additionally, as we prepared this update, it was announced what we had suspected all along. The family pit bull-mix is a rescue. The San Diego Humane Society -- a private organization that has a partnership with county animal services -- adopted the dog to the baby's parents 5-months ago. The reason why we suspected this pit bull-mix had been rehomed is because it was neutered. This is a rarity amongst pit bull owners unless the animal was rehomed by a reputable shelter.

Alexandra Semyonova

It’s quite sad that yet another killing of yet another child by a pit bull type is being diverted to a discussion of exactly which category of pit bull type dog is involved, and to a discussion of 911 dispatch response time.
The real problem here is not the 911 dispatch response time. It is not exactly which of the various pit bull type dogs killed this infant. It is not about figuring exactly what triggered the pit bull mix to execute its inherent motor pattern. Neither is this latest infant death about children and ‘any dog’, which will be the next damage control response pit bull advocacy predictably comes up with. The tragedy of this child’s death is about exposing a newborn baby to the type of dog that has been responsible for more child killings than all other breeds and types of dogs combined since the 1980s. A type of dog whose genetically determined, inherent response to startle (no matter what kind), in fact to any strong stimulus, is to attack the head and neck, grip, hold, shake, and not let go.

Yes, many types of dogs have bitten children, but we are not talking about a bite here. We’re talking about an instant killing, not preceded by any warning signals, not triggered by anything that would offend any normal dog, and so vicious that the parents of the child had trouble getting the pit bull mix off their baby.

As an expert on the domestic dog, I’m appalled at Deputy Director Dan DeSousa’s immediate response. He is apparently as aware of the statistics as I am, and is above all concerned about keeping yet another pit bull type out of those statistics.1 He is willing to slander any and all other types of dogs in order to do this. If he really cared about dogs -- or even about pit bulls -- he would react differently. We don’t help dogs by playing name-games that will lead to ever more children being killed by a particular type, then saying any dog would do it. We don’t help pit bull types by denying the danger they present, thus cooperating in setting them up again and again to fail in family homes. This aside from the loss of human life that results from this game, since DeSousa apparently doesn’t care much about that either.

I am also appalled at the focus on the 911 dispatch response time. These parents took a loaded Kalashnikov to bed with them because it’s the Internet fashion of the moment. The Kalashnikov shot their baby in the head when the mother coughed with her finger on the trigger. Just as with a machine gun shot to the head, a neonate is lost the instant any pit bull type dog has gripped its head, even if police were in the room at the moment the trigger went off. It’s misplaced -- and an attempt to avoid responsibility for their own terrible choice -- for these parents (and everyone else) to be trying to blame the overworked and understaffed 911 dispatch response center.

The normal domestic dog is a conflict avoider. At startle or threat, it will try first of all to increase distance and assess the situation. It will seek to compose an appropriate response, preferring a response that does not involve violence. If startled by a child (or anything else) in a position where it can’t instantly increase distance, a normal dog might lash out with an open-jawed bat to an approaching body part. A normal dog might do a pressureless grab at that body part. A puncture wound, some torn skin, a bruising could result -- but not a death. The normal dog will flee the situation as soon as a flight route opens up. It will not respond to startle by jumping up and gripping the head of anything that happens to be close by, applying full jaw pressure, and refusing to let go.

This response is unique to the pit bull types, including the various pit bull mixes. A normal dog would have jumped off the bed and, if jealous, slunk off to pout. Jealous normal dogs don’t go into a sudden, gripping death-hold attack. Yet again we see that the pit bull types are not like other dogs. ‘Any dog’ education will not help these pit bull killings of children to stop, and we need to quit pretending it will. People like DeSousa, who are charged not only with animal welfare but also with public safety, need to stop the games they’re playing.

As for the ‘any dog’ thing, it’s true that any dog that inflicts serious wounds in a startle situation shows it isn’t safe to keep among us. Where a dog -- any dog -- shows lack of preference for conflict avoidance, lack of acquired bite inhibition or willingness to abandon bite inhibition in ANY conflict, and lack of willingness to quit until the other is dead, it is my opinion that it is neither safe for us nor good for dogs in general to keep that dog alive. And so here is the final appalling part of this story: the law should not be such that a man like DeSousa has any choice but to humanely euthanize any dog that has killed, even if that dog was one of the pit bull types he seems above all enamored with. - Alexandra Semyonova, animal behaviorist and author

Semyonova has graciously allowed us to post an excerpt from her book, The 100 Silliest Things People Say About Dogs, pertaining to the myth of whether a dog can or can't be jealous -- Myth 44. Purchase your copy of the book today. Also visit Semyonova's website: Nonlinear Dogs.

UPDATE 04/25/16: Death Due to Bite Injuries
The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the 3-day old baby boy that was attacked and killed by the family pit bull-mix last Thursday. Sebastian Caban of San Diego died due to dog bite injuries to his head, states the medical examiner's news release. The manner of death was ruled an accident. The "decedent was mauled by the family dog after the dog was startled awake when sleeping on the bed with the mother and decedent," states the news release.

Other developments include the baby's parents calling 911 twice before giving up and taking the injured baby to the hospital themselves. Over the weekend, NBC 7 reported that between 7:15 pm and 7:45 pm on Thursday, April 21, Sebastian's parents made two unsuccessful 911 calls, one 28 seconds long, the other 34 seconds long. Neither call was answered by dispatch. During this same period, a total of 73 calls came into dispatch seeking assistance, San Diego police said.

Special Update: Fire Dan DeSousa

UPDATE 04/22/16: We would like to point out to readers that what this post should be primarily about is a 3-day old baby lying in bed with the family pit bull and his parents. This is inexcusably unsafe with most dogs, but especially with pit bulls and other powerful breeds. That is a kind way of stating it. The criminal way of stating it is endangerment, which is likely why the Child Abuse Unit was called out. This aspect had to be investigated for a child this young -- just 3-days old.

San Diego County Animal Services

Instead of focusing on this important safety aspect, we must discuss the deliberate manipulation by Dan DeSousa, Deputy Director of Animal Services, to protect the pit bull breed by mislabeling this dog. There are only a few AC departments in the U.S. that consistently demand to be called out like this, DeSousa of San Diego County Animal Services is one of them. By deliberately manipulating this dog's breed, reports began stating that this dog is a "great dane-terrier mix."

Deputy Director Dan DeSousa should be fired for deliberately manipulating this dog's breed to confuse the media and public after a 3-day old baby was killed by a family pit bull. -DogsBite.org

Let's start from the earliest report at 11:30 am (PST), where the dog is a "2-year-old American Staffordshire terrier," according to DeSousa." In the next report, at 1:56 pm, the dog is a mix. The dog is a "2-year-old, neutered male American Staffordshire terrier-mix, DeSousa said." By 2:31 pm, the dog became a "great dane-American Staffordshire terrier mix," according to DeSousa. Then near that time, "a two-year-old mixed breed American Staffordshire terrier named Polo."2

There are two parts to DeSousa's manipulation. Part one is calling the dog an American Staffordshire terrier, which is exactly the same breed as the American pit bull terrier -- many people in the public do not know this. DeSousa, from the get-go, purposefully tried to confuse the media and public. Part two of the manipulation is more sinister. The first part of a "mixed breed" label indicates the predominant breed, for instance a pit bull-boxer is predominantly a pit bull.

Within three hours of media reports, DeSousa tried to make the confusing Staffordshire label the least predominant breed by placing it second. (This is after the media released photographs of the dog.) By 2:39 pm, the breed label became the ultimate goal of DeSousa, 100% denial of any pit bull heritage. The dog became a "great dane-terrier mix," according to DeSousa. This was all deliberately orchestrated to hide the truth after a neutered family pit bull killed a newborn baby.

DeSousa's Plan Did Not Prevail

The upshot is that you cannot fool all the people all the time. By 5:30 pm (all California times listed), the Associated Press, which is syndicated nationally, picked up the story along with the photograph of the dog and correctly labeled it an American Staffordshire terrier-mix. This label is 100% interchangeable with a pit bull terrier-mix. After looking at the dog's photo, the Associated Press -- at least this particular writer -- could not call this animal a "great dane-terrier mix."

Editorial note: We posted this update at 10:05 pm (CST). By 10:30 pm, some of the links above had already removed the "great dane-terrier mix" descriptor, as news reports began updating across the country due to the syndicated AP article, which correctly listed the breed. We changed some of these links to screenshots. As the evening wore on in California, the term "pit bull-mix" started being used by the media too. DeSousa successfully derailed, at least initially, what this blog post should have been about: Basic safety with a newborn and the impact of thousands of photographs posted on social media with pit bulls sleeping next to a baby. "Protecting the breed" at all costs, including deliberately misleading the media and public after a baby's death, was the primary concern for Dan DeSousa and San Diego County Animal Services. Basic safety practices with a newborn was never mentioned once by DeSousa or anyone at Animal Services. Not once.

04/22/16: Family Pit Bull Kills Newborn
San Diego, CA - A 3-day old baby was fatally attacked by a family pit bull, San Diego Police said Friday. The deadly attack occurred Thursday night on Flanders Drive in the Mira Mesa area. The dog is now in the custody of San Diego County Animal Services, police said. Dan DeSousa, Deputy Director of Animal Services and longtime pit bull sympathizer, said the dog is a 2-year old male, neutered pit bull, but insisted on calling the animal an "American Staffordshire Terrier."3

The baby's mother and father were watching television in bed with their newborn and the dog, reports Sgt. Tuu Nguyen with the Child Abuse Unit of the San Diego Police Department. You read that statement correctly -- the 3-day old baby was in bed with the pit bull and the baby's parents. When the mother suddenly coughed, Nguyen said, "the dog made contact with the baby leading to traumatic injuries." The parents rushed the baby to the hospital, where it was declared dead.

“At this time it appears to be a tragic accident. It’s such a horrific, tragic case.” - Sgt. Tuu Nguyen, San Diego Police Department

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that child abuse detectives were called to the couple's home on Flanders Drive off Camino Ruiz about 8 pm Thursday to investigate. Nguyen said no other children were taken from the home or placed under other care. The investigation will be completed after an autopsy confirms the cause of death, Nguyen said. Police called county animal control officers half-past midnight to impound the pit bull. The dog will be held in quarantine for 10-days.

San Diego County Fatal Pit Bull Attacks

During the 11-month period from December 24, 2011 to November 11, 2012, pit bulls from San Diego County killed four people. In one of these cases, the dog was found in Balboa Park in San Diego then taken across the border to Tijuana. Within a week the dog killed its owner's 4-year old granddaughter, América Viridiana. This same period also includes a fifth death, the fatal mauling of Remedios Romero-Solares and was attributed to "American bulldog-mixes" by DeSousa.

How did DeSousa and San Diego County Animal Services respond to this disaster? By giving away pit bulls for free in a special promotion titled, "Dare to BULL-ieve." The taxpayer-funded promotion began in mid October of 2012, after three fatal pit bull attacks in the previous 10-months and just days after the serious mauling of a child in the county. By a wide margin, 69% to 31%, polltakers voted that the county government should not promote "free pit bull" adoptions.4

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

1It is unclear which temperament test the San Diego Humane Society (SDHS) conducts; it does not appear to be SAFER. The SAFER test was developed by Dr. Emily Weiss then later became the ASPCA branded temperament test. One news group described the SDHS behavioral test as assessing if the dog is "good with children or cats."
2In an ABC 10 News interview, DeSousa makes his bias clear: "It's a tragic incident for everybody involved. What I don't want is for people to stereotype a dog and say, 'This dog did this because it looks like a pit bull." DeSousa also stated, "It is up to the family to decide if they want this animal back." As of April 27, the baby's parents have not yet decided this. The decision to euthanize "should" have been immediate, but it rarely is with pit bull owners.
3DeSousa also quickly "humanized" the pit bull by ensuring that its name was included in media reports. In this case, the media and public knew the pit bull's name before the baby's name. It seems that after the "Year of Hell" in San Diego County, 2011-2012, when pit bull-type dogs took the lives of four people, DeSousa developed a new "disaster response" PR plan. 1.) Deliberately mislabel the breed to confuse the media and public, 2.) Invent a "mix" and place it first as the predominant breed, and 3.) Humanize the attacker by releasing the dog's name. But DeSousa did make an error by releasing the dog was neutered. It stands in direct contrast to the false claim often trumpeted by pit bull owners that "only male unaltered pit bulls kill." Learn more about owning a dangerous breed.
4DeSousa is now calling the dog an "American Staffordshire terrier-mix." As readers of this website know, pit bulls and American Staffordshire terriers are the exact same breed. DeSousa is just trying to "protect the breed" by deliberately confusing the media and the public after a neutered pet pit bull fatally attacked a newborn baby. To further our point, in yet another article, DeSousa calls the dog, a "Great Dane-American Staffordshire Terrier mix," again to diminish the pit bull's role in this fatal attack, to confuse the media and the public AND this is all while we are looking at two extremely clear photographs of the dog. DeSousa deliberately used "Great Dane" as the first mix too, which indicates that is the "primary" breed. Pit bull is without a doubt the primary breed in this instance.
5Yes, San Diego County taxpayers. You helped pay for that 10-minute "Remark-a-BULL" and "Adorable-a-BULL" promotional video and all other "Dare to BULL-ieve" program costs, along with giving away pit bulls for free.

The Reliability of Temperament Tests

Aggressive Behavior in Adopted Dogs that Passed a Temperament Test by E'Lise Christensen, Janet Scarletta, Michael Campagnaa and Katherine Albro Houpt, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 106, Issues 1-3, August 2007.
Reliability, validity and feasibility of existing tests of canine behaviour, by Mornement et al., Anthrozoology Research Group, Animal Welfare Science Centre and Monash University, AIAM Annual Conference on urban animal management, 2009.

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Colleen Lynn

2016 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Mauled to Death by Her Pit Bull-Mix in Leesburg, Florida

Home on South Street where Sonda Tyson, 66, was mauled to death by her dog.

Conflicting Reports
UPDATE 04/03/16: On Friday, the Daily Commercial provided details about previous incidents with dogs from the same home. In 2008, a reddish brown pit bull bit a child on the leg as she rode a bicycle. Her boots prevented any injury. In 2012, a 3-year old child tried to kiss the same dog and was bitten in the face. In 2014, a child at the home was bitten or scratched by a dog named "Hercules" after getting in the middle of two dogs playing, according to an animal services report.

The Commercial also added the detail that paramedics initially tried to block the attacking pit bull-mix by pushing a refrigerator into its path.

A report from News 13 on the same day states that family members said Sonda Tyson lived alone with her four dogs, including the attacker, a pit bull-bullmastiff mix named "Hercules." Tyson's son -- who lives next door -- found the dog when it was a puppy and gave the dog to his mother "for protection." Family members said the dog was never aggressive before. It is unclear if the "reddish brown" pit bull is the same dog as "Hercules," but certainly there were biters in the household.

Grandparents and Senior Citizens

To our readers who are grandparents or senior citizens, please do not ever accept a recognized dangerous breed from one of your children who makes a similar claim, "for protection." You see how it worked in this case? There have been other cases like this too, including senior citizens killed by their own "trained" attack dog. Tyson already had three dogs in her household, each capable of barking and scaring away potential intruders who already dislike homes with dogs.

This 66-year old woman suffered a horrific death at the jaws of a 100 pound pit bull-bullmastiff mix. This is an animal that Tyson never could have controlled. She never could have stopped it from attacking a postal carrier or a person walking down the street or from a child or friend visiting her home. She obviously could not stop the dog from attacking herself either. There was absolutely no reason for Tyson to ever have a dangerous animal like this and she paid the highest price of all.

04/01/16: Pit Bull-Mix Kills Owner
Leesburg, FL - Yesterday evening it was reported that Leesburg police shot and killed a large "vicious" dog covered in blood that was blocking access to a home, preventing first responders from entering to provide emergency medical assistance to a female victim inside. By the time paramedics reached the woman, she was dead. Today, Leesburg police Lt. Joe Iozzi identified the victim as Sonda Tyson, 66, and confirmed that her own dog viciously attacked and killed her.

"It was a pretty vicious attack and it was a pretty gruesome scene for everybody that was there." - Leesburg police Lt. Joe Iozzi

Due to the threat the aggressive dog posed, "it was immediately necessary to incapacitate the animal in order to provide for public safety and to allow medical personnel inside the location. An officer assigned with a patrol rifle positioned himself to stop the existing threat and to mitigate the possibility of collateral damage to anyone else," states a release issued by police. "A second shot was then necessary to render the scene safe, and to allow the medical personnel to enter."

"Preliminary results from the medical examiner indicate the death was caused by massive blood loss, resulting from the mauling," states the release. After next of kin were notified, investigators determined the dog belonged to the victim and she had acquired the animal as a puppy, according to the release. News agencies report the dog is described as a large brindle pit bull-mix dog in the police report. The deadly attack occurred at a residence on the 1200 block of South Street.

The Daily Commercial reports that police Lt. Joe Iozzi said that Tyson was found in a large pool of blood with significant flesh tears on the rear porch of the home. “It was a gruesome scene,” Iozzi said. A relative reportedly discovered Tyson on the floor and called 911. Lake County Animal Control was called out to the home at least once in the past, but it was not clear if the call was related to the same animal, Iozzi said. Residents of the home refused talk to reporters last night.

Portion of the 911 Call

The Orlando Sentinel reports it was the victim's granddaughter and daughter-in-law who found Tyson critically injured lying in a pool of blood on the back porch. Amber Fletcher, her daughter-in-law, called 911. "She's bleeding everywhere, I don't know. Her bones are showing…" Fletcher told dispatchers. When asked where she was bleeding from, Fletcher said, "Her arms. You can actually see the bones in her arms. She has a bigger dog, so I don't know if her dog bit her."

The Sentinel reports it was the 13-year old granddaughter who made the grisly discovery. Fletcher told police that she had left the home earlier in the day to pick up her daughter from school. When the two arrived back at Tyson's home on South Street, the 13-year old rushed out to see her grandmother on the back porch and began screaming at the horrible sight. The article also states that the police officer who shot the dog with a rifle, did so positioned from the top of a fire truck.

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

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