Posted on November 12, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: San Diego County Woman Killed by Pack of American Bulldog-Mixes

Contributions being taken for Remedios Romero-Solares.

Ongoing Investigation
UPDATE 12/07/12: Yesterday, The Fallbrook Village News released an update about the fatal dog mauling of Remedios Romero-Solares. Authorities have still not released the names of the owners of the dogs, but county records show that Jose Hernandez and Guillermina Hernandez are the owners of the property. Friends of the family, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the couple’s son Edgar Hernandez and his wife, Evelyn Kaiwi-Hernandez reside at the home.

Acquaintances of the couple told the Village News that the pair sold "dozens of puppies online for upwards of $2,500 per dog due to their potential size and power as adults." They added that many of the puppies were "aggressive and difficult to handle." Regarding the marijuana grow operation under investigation by the Sheriff's Dept.'s Narcotics Task Force, one investigator told the Village News that the couple who was living in the home "has not returned since the incident."

11/18/12: Victim Identified
The county medical examiner has identified the woman fatally mauled by one or more American bulldog-mixes in a Fallbrook backyard last Sunday. Remedios Romero-Solares, 30, was hired to clean the home, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner. The woman was a resident of Fallbrook. Lt. Glenn Giannantonio with the Sheriff's Homicide Unit said the woman had spent the previous night at the house, but this was her first time cleaning the residence.

Remedios Romero-Solares, 30, was hired to clean the home in the 1300-block of Calle Tecolotlan, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner. She was a resident of Fallbrook.

A relative who came to pick her up at around 5:15 p.m. Sunday found her dead in the backyard and called police. When authorities responded, they found eight large dogs running loose in the backyard where the woman's body was found. The residents were not home, and the garden hose was still running when they arrived, said Lt. Glenn Giannantonio with the Sheriff's Homicide Unit.

The medical examiner confirmed that Romero-Solares died from the dog bites and other blunt force injuries. Her death was an accident, the examiner stated.

The San Diego County Department of Animal Services took the dogs into custody and said they were a larger breed of dog called Olde English Bulldogge. Authorities did not have to use any force with the dogs.

Giannantonio said the woman had spent the previous night at the house, but this was her first time cleaning the house, and she was not very familiar to the dogs. - NBC San Diego, 11/17/2012

11/14/12: Death by Dog Bites
An autopsy conducted by the San Diego Medical Examiner's Office showed that the 30-year old woman died of "multiple penetrating, mauling, and blunt force injuries" inflicted by multiple dogs. There were no contributing conditions. Sheriff’s Lt. Glenn Giannantonio said the victim had been hired to clean the house while the owners were out of town. Deputies checked the house for possible other victims and discovered 24 marijuana plants being grown in a rear bedroom.

Meanwhile, The Fallbrook Village News is now calling the canines "American bulldogs." Over at San Diego Department of Animal Services, a department that now leads the United States in dog attacks resulting in human death, Lt. Dan DeSousa, who definitively stated the animals were "Olde English Bulldogges" on Friday is now stating that the owner was breeding the dogs for sale, crossing Olde English Bulldogges with American Bulldogs "to make them a little bigger."

11/13/12: Autopsy Pending
Sheriff's Detective Dan Laibach told The Fallbrook Village News Tuesday the victim, a 30-year old Hispanic woman, may have been trying to break up a dogfight when she was fatally injured by the animals. "At the scene, the Medical Examiner thought it looked like she had tried to break up a fight between dogs that were loose on the property when they turned on her," Laibach said. A garden hose left running led officials to believe she may have used it to break up a fight.

On scene investigators believe the victim bled out due to bites to her femoral artery. "After that, it appears that the dogs chewed on her," Laibach said. Autopsy results from the county Medical Examiner's Office are not yet available. The full name of the victim is also unavailable. The woman, who had been house-sitting on the 1300 block of Calle Tecolotan while the dog owners were away, was discovered by her cousin who had gone to "check on her welfare."

11/12/12: Woman Found Dead
Fallbrook, CA - In a developing story, eight large dogs were seized by authorities after a 30-year old woman was found dead on Sunday. In the nonstop fatal dog maulings in San Diego County -- now up to four fatalities in 11 months1 -- Department spokesman Lt. Dan DeSousa says the dogs are "Olde English Bulldogges" and not pit bulls.2 DeSousa, along with Director of San Diego County Department of Animal Services, Dawn Danielson, should face immediate termination.

Both tax-funded employees should have been terminated months ago for their continuous propagation of pro-pit bull propaganda and pit bull "apologia" in the aftermath of these horrific deaths, along with county dog bite data showing the pit bull bite rate is nearly three times higher than the next closest breed. Not to mention October's "Dare to Bull-ieve" free pit bull adoption program launched and promoted by San Diego County Department of Animal Services.

According to their websites, neither the AKC or UKC formally recognize the "Olde English Bulldogge," a re-creation of the original bull baiting dog from 1100 to 1835.3 The blood sport of bull baiting was banned in Britain in 1835 due to public outcry.4,5

The dogs used to create the puppies for sale were EEE Giant's Kong (sire) and Bronya (dam), according to the breeding operation website run by the dogs' owners, Funnybulldogs.com.

1Five fatalities if one includes the San Diego pit bull that was taken across the border and promptly killed a 4-year old Tijuana girl back in August.
2Or American bulldogs.
3It is true the UKC recognizes the breed as some type of foundation stock(?), but this is hardly equivalent to being a recognized UKC dog breed.
4This is the second fatal dog attack this year in which a "compromised" animal control department has attempted to lay the blame of a human death upon a "rare" unrecognized dog breed with significant genetic links to the American pit bull terrier. The question isn't: Have the animal control profession and humane community turned on the American people? The question is: The animal control profession and humane community have turned on the American people and what in the hell are elected officials and the public going to do about it?
5So by all means, let's bring this blood sporting dog breed back into existence and "legitimize" it.

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: Postal Worker Dies Days After Vicious Dog Attack

Letter Carrier Robert Rochester, 55, died after being attacked by a loose dog.

Criminal Charges Pending
UPDATE 11/30/12: Criminal charges against the owner of the dog that attacked Robert Rochester are expected to be filed soon, The News Journal reports. The dog escaped its owner's property and attacked Rochester as he was collecting mail from a postal bin on Main Street. He died six days after the attack. Robert Wilkson, president of Branch 191 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, based in Wilmington, said, "The Postal Service is treating this as an on-the-job death."

Criminal charges are expected to be filed against the dogʼs owner and could be finalized within a week, said Kevin Usilton, executive director of the Kent County SPCA, which investigated the incident.

“The attorney general is still working on the charges,” he said. “We havenʼt had a death from a dog bite in a long time, and the AG wants to be very thorough, which weʼre thankful for.”

The dog owner will be identified in the charges, he said. - The News Journal

Rochester's death certificate listed his cause of death as pulmonary embolism and temporary disability due to work injuries, with the dog attack in parentheses, according to Wilkson. The autopsy did not determine his cause of death, but cited "pending forensic analysis." That analysis, according to Department of Health and Social Services spokeswoman Jill Fredel, concluded the manner of death was accidental, reports The News Journal. The dog tested negative for rabies.

10/19/12: Investigation Continues
On Thursday, Fox 29 expanded upon the vicious dog attack just days before Robert Rochester died. Witness Adreanna Cruz said, "He started running in between the cars, the dog was just trying to attack him." Cruz added, "No cars would open the door for him, no cars, everybody was just beeping." Finally, a woman in a truck opened her door and drove Rochester to the hospital. The other loose dog1 was apparently not an aggressor and was returned to its owner.

On Friday, Kevin Usilton, executive director of the Kent County SPCA, told The News Journal, "Charges ... are still being compiled" against the owner of the dogs. The immediate autopsy did not show how multiple dog bites contributed to Rochester's death. Director of communications for the state Department of Health and Social Services, Jill Fredel, said the case is "pending forensic analysis." Also on Friday, the attacking German shepherd was euthanized for rabies testing.

10/18/12: Postal Worker Dies After Dog Attack
Stanton, DE - Last Friday, a 55-year old postal worker was seriously injured by a German shepherd and "another dog" in a vicious attack. The victim, identified by Kent County SPCA officials as Robert Rochester, died early Thursday. Delaware State Police responded to a report of two people bitten. A trooper arrived and found two dogs attacking a smaller dog. Police say Rochester was attacked by the two dogs before the incident and suffered multiple dog bite injuries.

A 51-year old woman was also injured in the attack suffering minor injuries. She told 6 ABC news on Friday, "[The dogs] had him on the ground and were chewing him up. He kept getting up and trying to get away. He tried to get into a minivan -- and they just drove off.2 This other woman let him get in her truck while we were calling 911." The two dogs then attacked a smaller dog being walked by its owner nearby. The unnamed owner of the two attacking dogs "faces a fine" thus far.

The U.S. Postal Service, citing the ongoing investigation, refused to offer additional details.

1A Black Russian Terrier (scroll). Both dogs belong to the same owner.
2Hopefully, the minivan license plate identification was noted by a witness.

Photo: MyFoxPhilly.com

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: Pit Bull Kills 3-Week Old Girl in Detroit

Tarilyn Bowles, 3-weeks old, was mauled to death by a pit bull on Detroit's west side.

Insights from Behaviorist

The funeral for 3-week old Tarilyn Luciana Bowles, mauled to death by a family pit bull while strapped into a child safety seat, is scheduled for Wednesday. DogsBite.org along with commenters have been repelled by the statement by the owner of the dog blaming the deadly attack on the animal smelling "baby formula on the infant's clothes." The endless denialism by the owners of these dogs after a violent or fatal attack, as in the case of Tarilyn, is reprehensible.

DogsBite.org reaches out to animal behaviorist Alexandra Semyonova to learn more:

Alexandra Semyonova

The idea that a normal domestic dog will attack a human because that human smells of food is utterly ridiculous. If this were the case, shelter workers, dog trainers and dog behavior therapists would be taking their life in their hands every time they interacted with a dog while carrying treats in their pockets. If you have food and a dog wants it, the dog will try various begging behaviors. They won't attack you to take the food. If you have food on your clothing, a dog might lick the spot on your clothes where the food was spilled. A normal dog will not therefore suddenly confuse you with kibble in its bowl and try to eat your face. Even a pit bull doesn't attack a human because it's hungry.

As I pointed out here only a week ago, the pit bull type dog has a highly breed-specific behavior pattern, created by more than four hundred years of intensive human selection. This genetically determined, breed-specific behavior pattern is inherent in the pit bull. It feels good to the pit bull when this pattern is set in motion. Because it feels good to do what it was bred for, the pit bull doesn't need much stimulus to start executing its innate behavior program. In fact, any excuse will do. In this sense, the pit bull is no different from any other working breed. If a pointer had suddenly seen the baby on the floor, it likely would have pointed at the baby (feels good to point to the thing the human should be attending to). If a border collie had come into the room, it likely would have circled and stared at the baby, trying to 'eye' it back close to the mother where babies belong (feels good to keep the herd together by circling and eyeing). The pit bull is different from other working breeds only in that it's inbred behavior pattern isn't harmless.

However, the issue raised here with the 'formula' theory isn't only the issue of a working breed doing what it was bred for. It's also the issue of how even highly educated dog 'experts' acknowledge that working behavior is inherent in every working breed dog, but deny that this is also true of the pit bull. It's the issue of these dog 'experts' trying to redefine the domestic dog in such a way that the genetically engineered attack behavior of the pit bull becomes a normal trait in the domestic dog. It's the issue of various dog 'experts' now even starting to mouth some of the myths and lies that were originally thought up by uneducated pit-bull fans: when a pit bull suddenly kills, it’s predatory behavior; the pit bull is, of all breeds, especially good with children; if a pit bull kills a child, it’s due to egregious parental incompetence and negligence; since parents also kill children, we needn’t be alarmed that pit bulls do; socialization and training can get rid of genetically determined pit bull behavior.[1]

In the face of this in fact egregious 'expert' behavior, I'd like to repeat the biological and ethological facts here. The domestic dog is not a hunting species. Even if it were a hunter, it would only kill when hungry and it wouldn't confuse social partners with food. (Please note that the pit bull that killed this baby had just been fed.) The domestic dog prefers to avoid conflict and danger. Pit bulls had to be specially selected and bred, because a normal dog will flee if it sees a threat (such as a bull or a bear), and because a normal dog won't attack unless it is cornered and fearing for its life. Even then, the normal dog will use exactly as much aggression as it needs to open up a flight route (not a bit more). A full-fledged attack is extremely rare in the normal domestic dog. This normal behavior is what has always kept us safe with dogs. Children and dogs wandered villages and neighborhoods together for thousands of years without children being routinely killed by the dogs. The types of dogs that routinely kill children do this not because they are dogs, but because they have been highly bred to be different from all other dogs.

The 'formula' theory is only one in a long series of inane fictions people are inventing to excuse a pit bull when it does what it was bred to do. The inanity becomes clear if you look at the list of excuses: stormy weather, calm hot weather, calm icy weather, not being neutered, being neutered, being fed, not being fed, and now the very smell of food. You have to admit, the 'formula' theory does open up great possibilities for also excusing pit bull attacks on adults. 'I got some spaghetti sauce on my shirt at dinner, so the pit bull must've thought it was attacking a plate of spaghetti.'

The only valid explanation for the attack on this child is: the dog was a pit bull. If your pit bull kills your child, it's not because it confused your child with a bottle of formula. It's because it's a pit bull, because the pit bull is a working breed, and because killing is what the pit bull has been genetically engineered to do.

[1]This is just one example of a highly educated dog guru letting the pit fans instruct him rather than the other way round.1

Alexandra Semyonova is an internationally acclaimed animal behaviorist and author of The 100 Silliest Things People Say About Dogs. Academically educated in behavioral science and specialized in animal behavior, she provided a major breakthrough for the field in her paper, The Social Organization of the Domestic Dog. She has worked with dogs and their owners on a daily basis for more than 30 years. Visit her website at Nonlinear Dogs. View additional DogsBite.org posts that Semyonova has provided commentary for in the past.

10/04/12: Pit Bull Kills Child
Detroit, MI - In an unmatched fatal dog attack streak since 2005 -- and possibly in all modern times -- a dog has killed a human being again in the past 4.5 weeks. Detroit police say a 3-week old girl was mauled to death by a pit bull Thursday afternoon. Sgt. Eren Stephens said the child's mother took her inside a home on Staheilin Avenue in a car seat. Not knowing there was a dog in the home, the mother placed the infant on the floor still strapped in and briefly stepped away.

That was the last time this mother saw her baby "unmauled to death."

The Detroit News adds that a "phalanx of officers" removed the pit bull from the home as neighbors stood by. Some neighbors were angry and shouted that they would have stabbed the dog if they had witnessed the attack. Predictably the dog's owner, who has allegedly owned the animal for several years, quickly shut the door after police removed the dog. Neighbors also said the 24-year old mother of the baby had been living temporarily with a friend at the home.

View Related video 1 | Related video 22

National Killing Streak

Nine U.S. citizens have been killed by canines in the past 34 days.3 Given that on average since 2005 there are 30.4 fatal dog attacks annually, this 34-day period (essentially the month of September) has racked up nearly a third of this annual amount and there are still three months to go before the end of the year. Traditionally, November and December are often high fatal dog attack months. The U.S. is on track to surpass 40 fatal dog attacks for the year of 2012.

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

1Highlights and links added by DogsBite.org.
2Testicals do not appear to be present on this dog.
3Dates represent the date of death, not the date of the published post.

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: Pembroke 'Dog Rescuer' Killed by Rescued Pit Bulls

Mary Jo Hunt was mauled to death by a pack of her own rescue dogs in Pembroke.

Claws and Paws Rescue
UPDATE 10/04/12: Several issues are clarified in the FayObserver.com article today. Mary Jo Hunt of 17 Sharon Lane in Pembroke lived with her sister Deborah Jacobs, according to a neighbor who would not provide his name. Both women worked for the Robeson County Claws and Paws Rescue. Glenna Hicks, the chairwoman of the rescue's board, said all of the seized dogs had been up for adoption through the rescue. Hicks expects the dogs to be put down.

A neighbor, who would not give his name, said Hunt lived at the home with her sister, Deborah Jacobs.

Both were animal lovers and worked for the Robeson County Claws and Paws Rescue, said Glenna Hicks, chairwoman of the rescue's board.

Hicks said she did not know Hunt well, but "she was a good person."
Hicks said about nine dogs, mostly pit bulls, were taken from the home.
The dogs were seized by Robeson County Animal Control, whose officers were assisted by Maxton,

Pembroke and Lumberton animal control officers, Sealey said.
The dogs had been up for adoption through the rescue, Hicks said. - Fay Observer, October 4, 2012

10/03/12: Rescue Pit Bulls Killed
Nine dogs were seized from the victim's home on Sharon Lane, according to Robeson County Sheriff Kenneth Sealey. He identified the victim as Mary Jo Hunt, a mother of three who worked with a rescue group called Claws and Paws Rescue. Hunt had about 10-15 dogs in the fenced-in backyard of her home, all of which were rescued, Sheriff Sealey said. "Some of the dogs were ones she rescued off the street," he said. "She had been rescuing dogs for a number of years."

Sealey said a neighbor called 911 at about 12:30 p.m. concerning the attack. When deputies arrived, Hunt was still being attacked. The deputies were able to remove the dogs from the woman, but she was already dead, according to Sealey.

“The deputies were the first ones on the scene,” he said.
Hunt lived with a sister, but she was at work at the time, Sealey said. Hunt had worked with attorney Hugh Rogers at his law firm on and off for about 15 years.

“She was a good-hearted person and a hardworking employee,” Rogers said. “I think it’s a terrible, tragic thing.”

Hunt was a widow and had two sons and a daughter.

Sealey said that Hunt was trying to protect a small dog from the larger dogs by using a rake. She was then attacked and knocked down by the larger dogs and mauled. - The Robesonian

Bill Smith, Director of the Robeson County Health Department, said the seven pit bulls that attacked Hunt are being held at the Robeson County Animal Shelter. Two terriers believed to have been attacked by the pit bulls are at the shelter as well. Another pit bull, also attacked, was taken to a veterinarian. Smith does not believe any of the dogs that were part of the fatal pack attack came from the county shelter. The shelter is holding the dogs until the investigation is complete.

10/02/12: Woman Killed by Own Dogs
Pembroke, NC - In a developing story, another woman who "rescues" dogs1 has been attacked and killed by her own dogs. Robeson County Sheriff Ken Sealey said they responded to a home on Sharon Lane after they received a 911 call about a woman being attacked. Sealey said the victim was "mangled and her clothes torn off" after attempting to stop a fight between her dogs. Police found the victim lying dead on the ground near the gate of her fenced-in backyard.

Sealey said it appeared the dogs were in the yard when "several large dogs attacked a smaller one." The woman apparently tried to stop the fight using a rake, but the animals overpowered her. Sealey did not provide information about the number of dogs involved or the breed-types. It is also unclear who called 911 and who witnessed the attack. Animal control officials from four jurisdictions responded, including: Robeson County, Maxton, Lumberton and Pembroke.

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