Posted on December 1, 2014 by Colleen Lynn

2014 Dog Bite Fatality: Grant Parish Woman Dies After Dogs Inflict Catastrophic Injuries

Investigation Complete
UPDATE 01/13/15: The Grant Parish Sheriff's Office has concluded its investigation into the brutal dog mauling death of 85-year old Bobbie Cheveallier. The woman was viciously attacked by up to 15 dogs on November 26. The dogs so severely injured her legs that both were amputated above the knees. She died while hospitalized on December 1. A pathologist who examined the autopsy results determined that Cheveallier was unconscious prior to being attacked by the animals.

The 15 dogs, initially described as strays by the sheriff's office, were seized and DNA tested. Their investigation showed that 14 of the dogs belonged to the same owner, Cheveallier's next-door neighbor. The sheriff's office did not report any specific breed of dog involved in the attack. Just that 14 belonged to a neighbor and one was allegedly a stray. The sheriff's office also did not report any results of the DNA tests done on the animals, just that all 15 dogs were euthanized.

Several comments left at the news article expressed frustration at the handling of the case. "It does not matter if she was unconscious or not … the owners need to be held accountable for their animals actions," wrote one. "If it would have been a person with a gun that committed this crime it would have been taken care of rather promptly. But they are unsure what to do about this case. So they come up with, 'She was not conscious at the time of the attack.' What?" wrote another.

Small jurisdictions often struggle after a horrific fatal dog mauling, not always knowing quite how to proceed legally. The Grant Parish Sheriff's Office seemingly proceeded just fine by sending the autopsy and DNA testing to an out-of-state lab for results. Continuing to be silent about the breed(s) of dogs involved and details about the dog's owner -- who owned a whopping 14 dogs that escaped his property and fatally attacked a person -- is an injustice to the community.

The sheriff's office report was forwarded to the Grant Parish District Attorney's Office for further proceedings. Chances are slim that any actions will be taken against this dog owner despite Louisiana's criminal law -- passed unanimously by legislators in 2009 after the fatal attacks of Luna McDaniel and Michael Landry -- which allows prosecutors to charge dog owners with negligent homicide who fail to properly confine their animal and the result ends in human death.

12/09/14: Dog Owners Identified
In a brief update, the Grant Parish Sheriff's Office issued a press release today regarding the "many questions and concerns surrounding" the brutal dog attack and death of Bobbie Cheveallier. Miss Bobbie was viciously attacked on November 26 by several alleged "stray" dogs when she went outside to burn her trash. She remained hospitalized in critical condition until she died on December 1. The sheriff's office rounded up 15 dogs for DNA testing after the attack.

"We are investigating all avenues related to this incident, including the possibility that Mrs. Cheveallier was unconscious or incapacitated prior to the encounter with the dogs," states the release. "We do not have any other reports before or since this incident that anyone in that area has been bitten or attacked by dogs." Owners of 14 of the so-called "stray" dogs have since been identified by authorities. The investigation is ongoing. No breed information has been released.

A December 4 report from KALB provides more information. Of the 15 dogs seized, 14 belonged to the same owner who lives in the area. Sheriff Steve McCain said his office is waiting on autopsy and DNA results. "There's not a lab in Louisiana that can perform these types of scientific tests that we need in this case and so we’ve been in touch with labs in other states as far as California," McCain said. Officials stated that they expected all test results to come back in three weeks.

12/01/14: Dog Mauling Victim Dies
Pollock, LA - An 85-year old woman who suffered catastrophic injuries by two or more loose dogs in her own yard on Wednesday died Monday at Rapides Regional Medical Center.1 Grant Parish Sheriff Steve McCain confirmed the death of Bobbie Cheveallier Monday evening after news of her death had been posted on social media. After the life-threatening attack, Cheveallier was transported to the hospital where doctors amputated both of Cheveallier's legs above the knees.

Background of the Attack

The vicious attack was first reported on Thanksgiving after the Grant Parish Sheriff's Office issued a press release. On Wednesday afternoon, deputies responded to a report of a person being mauled by two dogs on Highway 8 just west of Pollock. The elderly woman remains in critical condition, Grant Parish Sheriff Steve McCain said. The release also issued a warning, cautioning residents to be aware of any loose dogs in the area when allowing children to play outside.

Cheveallier was taking some trash outside of her home when the dogs attacked. Her son, Randy Cheveallier, told The Town Talk that the boyfriend of a neighbor saw three loose dogs outside as he was preparing to work on an outdoor project. He walked over to investigate and found "Miss Bobbie" unconscious in her yard. He yelled for his girlfriend to call 911. The couple stayed with Cheveallier until the ambulance arrived to transport her to Rapides Regional Medical Center.

Randy Cheveallier said the attack left the woman without skin on most of her legs, and that most of the tissues and muscles had been mutilated. - The Town Talk, November 29, 2014

It is unclear at this stage if anyone witnessed the attack while it was occurring. According to Randy, one witness told him that one of the dogs appeared to be wolf-like, or possibly a German shepherd or chow. This witness reported seeing three dogs, Randy said, instead of just two as the press releases stated. On Monday, Sheriff Steve McCain said that a total of 15 loose dogs were captured and taken to a veterinarian in Alexandria so that DNA samples could be taken.

Over the weekend, Randy and other family members kept a vigil at the hospital, praying for her recovery. Family members were upset when the surgeon told them that both of Cheveallier's legs would have to be amputated above the knees. But Randy also knew that she would die without the operation, complicated further by internal bleeding and that she was diabetic. Randy believes his mother would have died outside from blood loss if her neighbor had not noticed the loose dogs.

1The Grant Parish Sheriff's Office press release and all subsequent media reports describe the attacking dogs as "stray" dogs. The definition of a stray dog is that it has no owner -- the dog was dumped or abandoned by its owner. If that were truly the case, there would be little point in DNA testing.

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Colleen Lynn

64% Voted in Favor of Keeping the City's Pit Bull Ban

UPDATE: November 24, Final Election Results
Final election results have been posted for all three counties. The final results for Proposition 2D in Adams County shows a 60% to 40% margin in favor of keeping the pit bull ban (total votes 6,744). Arapahoe County, which contains the bulk of the Aurora voters, shows a 65% to 35% margin in favor of keeping the pit bull ban (total votes 92,747). Douglas County, with only a small number of Aurora voters, shows a 72% to 28% margin in favor of keeping the pit bull ban (total votes 275).

Combined, 64% of Aurora citizens voted to keep their pit bull ban. (View: Final Results)

To reiterate once again, the 2012 primary vote in Miami-Dade County pertaining to their pit bull ban had a very similar margin of victory -- 63% to 37% -- along with a similarly "negative" ballot question. The Miami-Dade ballot question was worse than Aurora's, it read: "Shall the ordinance repealing the County's 23 year old law prohibiting the ownership of pit bulls as a dangerous breed of dogs become effective?" 63% of Miami-Dade citizens voted no, upholding the pit bull ban.

Local and out-of-state pit bullies did not take the defeat in Aurora too well. In a recent Aurora Sentinel editorial by Dave Perry, he remarks that the "war against common sense isn't over by a long shot." The Sentinel continues to get "hounded" by pit bullies. "I’m not talking, call-the-editor-and-give-him-a-piece-of-my mind-verbal-wrestling," Perry writes. "I’m talking about vicious, foaming-at-the-mouth attacks from humans who make their scary dogs look like Hello Kitty."

But what these pit bullies can’t seem to grapple with is the fact — not the smudged math, hyperbole or outright lies — that of all of the hundreds of dog breeds living in hundreds of millions of American families, pit bulls are responsible for an overwhelming number of human deaths, despite the fact they are a relatively rare breed of dog. And the one consistent thing that is regularly reported by a pit-bull owner that maims or kills a human or another pet, is that it was totally unexpected. The pit bull that clamped its amazing jaws down on the neck of another dog or a small child and shook it until it was dead, had never done anything like that before. - Dave Perry, editor of the Aurora Sentinel

UPDATE: November 6, 1:50 pm Mountain Time
Difficulties in counting ballots in Adams County has left at least two important candidate races uncalled in Colorado. The county still has about 10,000 ballots to count, according to the Aurora Sentinel. It is unclear what portion of the remaining ballots affects Aurora. Current results for Proposition 2D show a 65% to 35% margin in Arapahoe County, 72% to 28% margin in Douglas County and a 62% to 38% margin in Adams County. Combined, 65% of Aurora citizens voted no.

UPDATE: November 5, 10:55 am Mountain Time
More ballot numbers rolled in over the course of the night. The latest results of the combined counties show that 66% voted no and 33.5% voted yes. The Aurora Sentinel tweeted earlier that Adams County still has 25,000 ballots to count, but only a portion involve Aurora. The current margin is similar to the Miami-Dade pit bull ban vote in 2012, which had a 63% to 37% margin. That vote, however, was a county primary in August, not a general elections vote in November.

UPDATE: Tuesday, 10:32 pm Mountain Time
The Aurora Sentinel election blog now reports that, "By a 2-to-1 margin, Aurora voters say they don’t want pit bulls to return to the city, based on early returns. With more than 70,000 votes counted across Adams and Arapahoe counties so far, voters have overwhelmingly said no to Aurora ballot question 2D, which would lift the city’s 9-year-old ban on the dogs. In Arapahoe County, 68 percent of voters said no. In Adams County, 63 percent voted against lifting the ban."

UPDATE: Tuesday, 8:08 pm Mountain Time
First results in from two counties now -- Aurora is part of three counties. So far, Aurora voters are showing OVERWHELMING support of the city's pit bull ban. It is over a 2 to 1 margin. Douglas County is a growing area of Aurora, but still only contains small voting numbers. The founder of DogsBite.org told Colorado Public Radio on Oct. 28, "We’d like to see more city councils putting it on the ballot. Our theory is that the majority of Americans don’t want to live next door to a pit bull."

UPDATE: Tuesday, 7:47 pm Mountain Time
First returns are in -- first returns consist mainly of mail-in ballots. Second returns are expected at about 8:00 pm Mountain Time and will include ballots cast today. First returns for Proposition 2D show that Aurora's 9-year old pit bull ban is so far being upheld by voters by a large margin. The language specifically is: Shall the people of Aurora adopt an ordinance allowing pit bulls back into their city? So far into the evening, 46,449 have voted No and 21,158 have voted Yes.

UPDATE: Tuesday, 5:45 pm Mountain Time
A hot tipper from the Aurora, Colorado area writes into DogsBite.org that CBS News is reporting a whopping 55% turnout in Colorado for the 2014 midterms -- 1.6 million ballots. First returns are expected to be reported shortly after 7:00 pm Mountain Time -- immediately after the polls close -- and will consist mainly of the mail-in ballots. The second report will be around 8:00 pm Mountain Time. This latter report should be the most telling, as it will be updated with ballots cast today.

UPDATE: Tuesday, 2:15 pm Mountain Time
The Arapahoe County Elections website (ArapahoeVotes.com) went offline for over 5 hours today. Arapahoe County is one of three counties that is part of Aurora. Local county officials blamed the Florida vendor that manages the website. The site came back online at about 2:15 pm. In other Aurora news, as of yesterday, Aurora police have still not located the alleged "aerial attacking" pit bull that leapt from a second story balcony and attacked and killed a small shih tzu last week.

Aurora, CO - Welcome to Election Day 2014 readers. Today marks an historic day for our cause as citizens of Aurora vote on their pit bull ban. This is the first general election to determine this issue. In 2012, during a primary election, the citizens of Miami-Dade County voted to keep their pit bull ban by a 63% margin. Today and after the polls close in Aurora, we will be live tweeting election news for Proposition 2D and following the Aurora Sentinel election blog and Twitter feed.

Follow the DogsBite.org Twitter feed and related conversations on our Facebook page.

Many parts of the country are watching the Colorado midterm election this year because this is the first major election since the state shifted to all mail-in ballots in 2013. There are also several key congressional races in the state; one is Aurora-centered as well. The City of Aurora is part of three counties, Arapahoe County, Adams County and Douglas County, so election results will be compiled from three areas. When the results become available, they will also be published here.

Rules and Sample Ballots

The county clerk must receive all ballots by 7:00 pm on November 4. This means received, not postmarked (military and overseas voters have eight more days to get their ballots in). There are also designated ballot drop-off locations in each county. To see a sample ballot for each county -- Proposition 2D is the fourth Aurora initiative -- please click one of the following: Arapahoe County Sample Ballot, Adams County Sample Ballot and Douglas County Sample Ballot.

Past Aurora Sentinel Coverage

The Aurora Sentinel has been covering the city's pit bull ban for a number of years. Most recently they published an editorial about Proposition 2D, covered the October advertising "drama" instigated by pit bull devotees after Daxton's Friends placed an advertisement in "YourHub" and picked up the AP article, Aurora pit bull vote could spur a national trend. In May, the PerryBlog responded to the Aurora City Council's decision to place the measure on the November ballot.

Colorado Cities with Pit Bull Laws

View Colorado Breed-Specific Laws in a larger map

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Colleen Lynn

2014 Dog Bite Fatality: Pack of Dogs Kills 8-Year Old Girl on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

Jayla Rodriguez was killed by two or more dogs on the Pine River Indian Reservation.

Mother Pleads for Enforcement
UPDATE 11/22/14: After the tragic mauling death of 8-year old Jayla Rodriguez, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation residents are reeling in grief. Jayla had been sledding near the Crazy Horse housing complex when she was attacked by the dogs. Law enforcement officials still have not located the attacking dogs and continue to investigate the circumstances around the girl's death. One mother, however, is calling on Oglala Sioux Tribe officials to enforce the existing animal control ordinances.

Three years after Ellen Fills Pipe's son was attacked by pit bulls in 2003, Oglala Sioux Tribal Council passed Braedon's Law banning pit bulls, rottweilers, doberman pinschers and other vicious dogs from the reservation. The ordinance also allows law enforcement to confiscate and euthanize these dogs. Fills Pipe's son Braedon was 5-years old when he was viciously attacked by the dogs. He underwent 15 facial surgeries and still has nightmares of the attack today.

Fills Pipe is deeply saddened that the little girl's death could have been prevented. "Losing any life is so traumatizing," she said, "and to know it could have been prevented if we enforced Braedon's Law and enforced our animal code period." She said it was especially tragic because her son had been a mentor to the young girl who was killed by the dogs. "He talked about how angry he was that Braedon's Law wasn't being enforced and now his little best friend is gone," Fills Pipe said.

"If all it takes is to sit down and rewrite some laws and make sure they're being enforced ... We need to do it immediately." - Ellen Fills Pipe

In other painful news, tribal authorities are being pounded on by the media for rounding up non-compliant dogs and putting them down. The tribe is carrying out the tribal law that reads: "Any and all stray unlicensed animals not displaying a current rabies tag that pose a threat to the health and safety of persons residing on the Pine Ridge Reservation will be destroyed immediately." Authorities are being this aggressive because they have not located the dogs that killed the child.

The situation is extreme readers, not just because of the death of a child, but an extreme lack of resources. Not only is Pine Ridge (Shannon County) in the lowest bracket of income in America, it is the second poorest place in all of America, according to Census data (See: YouTube video of reservation). Slate published a short version of Aaron Huey's photo essay in 2011, whose effort to photograph poverty in America led him to Pine Ridge. The long version was shown at TEDxDU.

"The life-expectancy rate for men is between 46 and 48 years old. Roughly the same as Afghanistan and Somalia." - Aaron Huey

The investigation into the little girl's death is continuing. No one argues that the problem of loose unchecked dogs, in addition to abandoned and feral dogs, on the reservation is out of control. One man who lives in the Pine Ridge housing development said he locked up his dogs when he heard about the round up of stray dogs. Adrian Trueblood said he does not walk down the street without a stick in a nearby neighborhood that is filled with "more and meaner" dogs than his own area.1

There Are No Easy Answers

It appears that no one witnessed the attack. An earlier report stated that a supervising adult briefly left her alone. When that woman returned, she found the girl suffering fatal injuries from a dog attack. Another report said that authorities believed the dogs were mixed-breed, but it was unknown how many dogs were involved. What is true is that they may never find the culprit dogs or their owners. Yet another haunting reality for a people who have already suffered so much.

DogsBite.org grieves for the family and friends of Jayla Rodriguez, grieves for the Red Cloud school system and all of its staff and students, grieves for the Oglala Sioux Tribe leaders and local law enforcement officers and grieves for all of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation community. It is with terrible sadness that we must add Jayla Rodriguez to our website. The difficult problem of owned, abandonded and feral roaming dogs must be solved. Pine Ridge, we pray, can do this.

11/19/14: Dogs Kill Child on Reservation
Pine Ridge, SD - On the heels of a pack of dogs killing a 40-year old woman last week on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, another fatal pack attack occurred on Tuesday evening on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Police Chief Ron Duke said the little girl was attacked and killed about 5 pm while she was sledding near the Crazy Horse housing complex. Packs of dogs run uncontrolled in every district of the reservation, according to Duke.

KEVN reports that police are still trying to locate the pack of dogs. Acting Police Chief John Mousseau said his department is devoting every available resource to locate the pack so that the animals do not pose any further danger to the community. Mousseau said the FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs are investigating. The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is home to the Oglala Sioux Tribe and consists of 3.4 million square miles. It is the eighth largest reservation in the US.

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, like the Wind River Indian Reservation, is plagued with crime, violence, poverty, unemployment, dilapidated structures, drug and alcohol abuse and also packs of roaming dogs. As if life were not already brutal and relentless enough for residents on these reservations, they are getting torn to pieces by dogs too. Mousseau summed up the disparaging situation in Pine Ridge back in March and amazingly mustered up a small hint of hope too.2

It kind of feels like we’re not making a dent, like we’re just running uphill. But we are still running and trying our best.”- Police Chief John Mousseau

Later in the evening, the Argus Leader updated their post. Though police are still not releasing details of the fatal dog attack or the child's name, the article did note that Pine Ridge enacted legislation several years ago that banned several dangerous dog breeds from the reservation. The legislation, named Braeden's Law, was passed after a young boy was mauled by pit bulls. The tribe's new law bans pit bulls, rottweilers and doberman pinschers from the entire reservation.

The tribe passed legislation several years ago called Braeden's Law after a young boy was attacked by pit bulls, Mousseau said. The law banned Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers and pit bulls completely from the reservation, he said, "and any time we come across a dog like that, law enforcement will take and destroy the dog." - Argus Leader, November 19, 2014

Witnesses interviewed Tuesday were unsure of the breeds involved in the deadly attack or even how many dogs were involved, according to Mousseau. The little girl was a third grader at Red Cloud Elementary. "It's been definitely difficult," said Chris Ives, interim director of communications for the Red Cloud system. Counselors from multiple school systems and Catholic Social Services all came to Red Cloud Elementary Wednesday to help grieving students and staff, Ives said.

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Fatal Dog Attacks on American Indian Reservations.

Learn about breed-specific laws on Indian reservations in our Breed Safety Laws section.

1After doing more web searches, researching this case further, we came upon Adrian Trueblood's dogs -- he locked them up in a car during the round up (see slide #2).
2There was much more hopeful news about the Wind River Reservation recently.

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Colleen Lynn

2014 Dog Bite Fatality: 91-Year Old Woman Dies After Vicious Attack by Own Dog

Victim Seldom Seen
UPDATE 11/19/14: According to the most recent CTPost.com news report, neighbors rarely saw Stella Antanaitis or her dog outside of her home. "I've been here 27 years, and I never saw her walk that dog," said Olga Figel, who lives two houses away. "I never saw anybody walk that dog," she said. Also, notably, "reports in the Stratford Star that the woman tried to intervene during a fight between her dog and her cat could not be confirmed by police Tuesday," states the article.

Two purebred keeshond breeders are interviewed in the news report. One of them, Heather Myers of Killingworth, was shocked to learn the dog turned on its owner of 8-years. Myers also wondered whether it was a rescue dog or whether it is a true Keeshound. "A lot of times our dogs get confused with elkhounds, Siberian huskies and chows," she explained. Myers will likely be speechless to see a photo of the dog taken by News 12 Connecticut at Stratford Animal Control.1

11/18/14: Elderly Woman Killed By Dog
Stamford, CT - Late last night it was reported that a 91-year woman, who was attacked by her own dog on Friday, was fighting for her life. Stella Antanaitis of Stratford was taken to Bridgeport Hospital after her dog of 8-years, a black-and-white keeshond-mix, viciously attacked her, inflicting horrific bite injuries on her arms. Police described the scene as very violent.2 NBC Connecticut and others are now reporting that the woman has died, according to Bridgeport Hospital officials.

The attacked occurred in the victim's kitchen, according to police. Her daughter said her mother had owned the dog since it was a puppy and never had any problems with it. Her daughter feared she was dying while in critical condition and dealing with skin grafts and kidney failure. Neighbors were shocked by the attack. "To think a dog could just turn on you and attack you like that," said Amy Garrison, of Stratford. "I really have no idea, because you think you know your own dog."

"Both arms, badly mutilated, that is crazy. It seems unreal to happen around here." - Amy Garrison

The Stratford Star provided several more details. Stratford Police Capt. Paul DosSantos said that when Antanaitis intervened in a fight between her keeshond-mix and her cat, the dog starting attacking her. Emergency personnel arrived to a 91-year old woman with severe injuries to her upper extremities. She was transported to Bridgeport Hospital. The dog is currently impounded at Stratford Animal Control. It will be tested for rabies and likely euthanized, according to DosSantos.

1Parts of the 911 call are played in this video. We are forced to link to it because it also has a photograph of the dog. We caution readers that listening to a 91-year woman essentially utter her last words is terribly disturbing and painful. Usually, 911 calls of serious and fatal dog attacks (that are posted to the web) are not made by the victim.
2The 911 call from the victim is available online, we greatly hesitate posting it to this website.

Photo: NBC Connecticut

DogsBite blog ::

2014 Dog Bite Fatality: Grant Parish Woman Dies After Dogs Inflict Catastrophic Injuries

Aurora Voters Favor Keeping Pit Bull Ban by Wide Margin in First General Election Vote

64% Voted in Favor of Keeping the City's Pit Bull Ban

2014 Dog Bite Fatality: Pack of Dogs Kills 8-Year Old Girl on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

2014 Dog Bite Fatality: 91-Year Old Woman Dies After Vicious Attack by Own Dog