Posted on April 28, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: 1-Year Old Henderson Boy Killed by Family Dog

Fatally attacking dog depicted with the victim, Jeremiah Eskew-Shahan.

Saving Killer Dogs?
UPDATE 05/13/12: The Las Vegas Review-Journal published a follow up piece about animal activists who intervene to "save dogs" that have bitten and killed. The article refers to the February death of a 2-day old baby who was killed by his family's adopted Husky, named Nikko.1 On April 27, a Pennsylvania judge allowed Nikko to be sent to an out-of-state "sanctuary" instead of being put down. This is the same day that Onion viciously attacked Jeremiah, notes the article.

Even though a Las Vegas judge frustrated an intervention attempt by the Lexus Project on Friday to save Onion -- offering a similar out-of-state "sanctuary" arrangement -- the group says it will appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court. Henderson officials have remained resolute throughout the Onion Ordeal calling it a public safety issue. Besides killing Jeremiah, officials said the dog attacked its kennel when a veterinarian tried to examine it at the city shelter.

05/11/12: Euthanization to Proceed
Clark County District Judge Joanna Kishner ruled on Friday that a New York-based group has no legal standing to intervene on behalf of a dog that killed a baby boy and stop Henderson animal control officials from putting the animal down. The scheduled euthanasia of Onion was halted earlier this week by a court challenge filed by the Lexus Project headed by attorney Richard Rosenthal, who claimed, among other things, "There is nothing vicious about the attack."2

04/30/12: Death Ruled Accidental
Having not seen the deceased boy's mother in any news stories, DogsBite.org was deeply concerned about yet another deadly "visiting child" scenario. Indeed, the two adults shared custody of the young boy. The particulars of this arrangement are unknown, but certainly the child was only living part-time with his father. In a devastating3 recent statement by the child's grandmother and owner of the dog, she sent "a message to Jeremiah's mother" in a news story:

"I am so sorry. If I had ever known that this would happen I would have gotten rid of Onion, even though I loved him very much," Keller said.

04/30/12: Insights from Behaviorists
Unenthusiastic, if not alarmed, by the imagery of the gentle giant coupled with an infant provided by the father, DogsBite.org reached out to animal behaviorists Gary Wilkes and Alexandra Semyonova about this fatal dog attack. As Semyonova highlights, this fatality is the result of a serious act of aggression. There are appropriate and inappropriate dog breeds to bring into a household with very young children. This child's parent and many others learn this the hard way.

Gary Wilkes
The disparity in size and potential for damage is so great between a toddler and a large dog that it is plainly dangerous and ultimately a questionable decision. It is no different than having haphazardly stacked crates in your house that could fall and crush the child, uncovered electrical outlets or unfenced swimming pools. It is ironic that they show the child in a car seat designed to make the child's life safer. The dog was obviously the more serious threat.

Gary Wilkes is an internationally acclaimed animal behaviorist, trainer, author, columnist and lecturer. View additional posts by Gary.

Alexandra Semyonova
Mastiff / Rhodesian Ridgeback mix kills one year old boy
Before the usual crowd gets into slandering the domestic dog as a species, let's be very clear about the truth on this: The behavior this Power Dog mix showed is completely and utterly abnormal in the domestic dog. Startled in its sleep, a normal dog might lash out. This might include a grab less inhibited than by full wakefulness. This might cause a more serious wound in an infant than it would in an adult – but that's not the same as a dog taking a child's head in its mouth, crushing the infant's face, shaking to kill, and not allowing its owner to make it release the child [see the video here].
What this incident does show is the result of breeding for both impulsive aggression and exaggerated body size. It shows the result of ignoring real information about the breed or type of dog you bring into your home. Some breeds / types of dogs do simply for real have much higher statistical records of mauling or killing than other breeds or types. Some have a statistical record of being particularly dangerous around infants (besides the pit-bull types, this includes the husky types).
Before the usual crowd starts quoting a certain dog hairdresser that appears often on television, let's be clear about the truth on this too: Dominance or some kind of imaginary ‘ranking order' has nothing to do with what happened. Dogs don't live in hierarchies, nor are relations influenced by who gets to sleep higher or share your spot. I often sit reading with three dogs on my lap, sleep with three or four on my bed. It would be sad if we allowed the weapon dog fashion to ruin this pleasure we share with our normal dogs.
What this incident does show is the result of allowing that kind of physical closeness with a dog that has an aggression problem. ‘Dogs with aggression problems' means not only dogs that have overtly shown touchiness, but also any dog of a breed or type that has impulsive aggression in its breed history. This means most of all the pit-bull types and the mastiff types, but also the others in which this trait has surfaced (even if it's a rare anomaly in those breeds).
When we talk about rational safety measures while guarding the interactions of dogs and children, we are – in normal cases – talking about preventing at most minor wounds, a child scared out of its wits but otherwise not damaged. We are also – in normal cases – talking about being on guard that a child doesn't inadvertently corner a dog such that the dog does feel like it needs to defend its very life and limb. But even then, a normal dog will use exactly as much aggression as it needs to open up a flight route, not a bit more, upon which it will flee.
It's a great tragedy that we are breeding dogs for impulsive aggression coupled with huge body mass, and at the same time hearing so much propaganda from pit fans, humane societies and various ‘experts' that love and a good upbringing will cure these. Neither love, dominance nor (thank you Jean Donaldson!) clicker training will cure the defective genes. They also won't reduce the body mass that makes a dog unstoppable when it – suddenly and impulsively – decides it's hell-bent on killing.
This doesn't mean we don't have to take rational safety measures everywhere children interact with dogs. It does mean that one of those safety measures is to reject the idea of bringing one of these ‘Power Breeds' into our homes.

Alexandra Semyonova is an internationally acclaimed animal behaviorist, behavioral biologist, anthropologist and author. View additional posts by Alexandra.

04/29/12: Baby's Father Speaks Out
Holding back tears, the boy's father describes the horrific scene. "He used the dog's fur to pull himself up on his feet because he wanted to walk," he said. "The dog turned around and grabbed his head ... it took me about 20 seconds to run downstairs and I got the dog off of the baby," he said. "The baby's face was torn off." The father added, "Now I don't have a baby and now I don't have a dog." The 120lb mastiff-Rhodesian mix, named Onion, is scheduled to be euthanized.

Red Flag Photos

The boy's family continues to provide disturbing red flag photos to the media to apparently show how gentle the dog was prior to killing the child. It seems the family is clueless to the fact that the images instead show: "What to never do with a baby and a dog." To make this very clear to our readers, we've marked the images as "100% unsafe." The person taking the boy's death the worst is the grandmother, seen in the photograph with the 120lb dog lying on top of her.

04/28/12: Birthday Ends in Tragedy
Henderson, NV - In a developing story, a 1-year old boy died early Saturday morning after being attacked by his family's dog while celebrating his first birthday. The boy was at his grandmother's home when he crawled over to pet the dog. The animal, described as a 120lb mastiff-Rhodesian mix, latched onto the boy's head and began shaking him, according to police. Henderson rescue workers rushed the boy to a local hospital where he was airlifted to UMC's Trauma Unit.

The young boy died from his injuries about 1:45 am. The boy's family, which owned the 6-year old dog since it was a puppy, voluntarily relinquished ownership to animal control officials. According to police, the boy had been around the dog since he was born. There were no signs of neglect and no previous calls reported about the dog in the past. Police continue to investigate why the dog attacked the boy. 8newsnow.com reports that the victim's name is Jeremiah Eskew-Shahan.

1Nikko's name was changed to Helo just days after being confiscated then inappropriately adopted out to William Uhring. This is exactly what happens when rescue groups "save" dangerous dogs. The dog's name is changed, shipped across county or state lines, and all records of previous biting incidents are erased. There is very little, if any, oversight of these groups.
2During the contentious hearing, where Clark County District Court Judge Joanna Kishner sided with Henderson city attorneys who argued the attack proved Onion is vicious, there were protestors outside, primarily in favor of "saving" Onion. But one man held a sign stating, "Let's Make Dog Tacos!" Brad Keith, an electrician said, "I think most of the people feel the same as me. That, I mean, if this dog killed a one year old baby, he's a human being. He should be put down." Photo/KTNV.com.
3As in devastatingly inappropriate.

Photos: Fox5 Vegas, KTNV.com

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: 2-Month Old Child Killed by Family Dog

Aiden McGrew was killed by his family's recently adopted golden retriever-mix.

Father Charged
UPDATE 05/02/12: The infant's father, Quintin H. McGrew, has been charged with unlawful neglect of a child. An affidavit accompanying his arrest warrant stated that McGrew "placed a 2-month-old infant at unreasonable risk by placing the infant in the living room by himself while the defendant slept in the bedroom. The infant was left in the separate room with a dog that was new to the residence for over an hour resulting in the disembowelment and death of the minor child."

04/23/12: 911 Call Released
A description of the 911 call made Friday morning offers new details about the tragic death of 2-month old Aiden McGrew. In the call, the baby's mother, Chantel McGrew, told the operator, "I believe my 2 and 1/2 year old got the baby out of the swing. I believe the dog went after my son, because the dog has blood all over him." She added about the attacking dog: "He's put in the bedroom away from the baby because he tried to go after the baby again when I got home."1

04/23/12: Death Ruled Homicide
Dorchester County Coroner Chris Nisbet ruled the death of 2-month old Aiden McGrew a homicide. He announced Monday that the child died from blood loss after being severely mauled by the family's dog. Nisbet said parental neglect contributed to the boy's death. Aiden was discovered Friday morning after being badly bitten and dismembered by his family's newly adopted dog. At the time of the incident, his father was sleeping in an adjoining room.

04/21/12: Killed While Father Slept
News agencies report that the family had two dogs. One was apparently asleep with the father at the time of the attack. The offending golden retriever-mix, named Lucky, had recently been adopted by the family. The dog's previous owner was not named. The deceased boy's parents, Quintin and Chantel McGrew were questioned Friday. The couple's other children, ages 7 and 3, were taken into protective custody by the state Department of Social Services.

Knight said Quintin McGrew was sleeping in a bed with the 3-year-old child and the family's other dog, and Chantel McGrew was taking the 7-year-old to a doctor's visit, when Aiden was attacked.
"The child was in a small swing and was asleep,” Knight said. "I'm not sure who put the child in the swing."
Knight said the family adopted Lucky a few weeks ago, but their other dog has been with them for years. He said the McGrews "dog sat" for Lucky previously and decided to keep the dog when its previous owners wanted to give it up.

The Death of Zane Alen Earles

In 2008, the mauling death of 2-month old Zane Alen Earles by the family's Labrador puppy horrified the American public. The boy's mother found him dead in an infant swing about 10:30 am that morning. Up until that point, she had been sleeping. The nature of the baby's injuries were "so sensitive" that Tulsa police did not release any details other than that the infant had been bitten to death. Months later, a police affidavit stated that the dog "ate the two-month-old victim."

Authorities charged the baby's mother with second-degree manslaughter.

04/20/12: Infant Killed by Family Dog
Ridgeville, SC - In a developing story, Dorchester County Coroner Chris Nesbit stated in a news release that a 2-month old child was bitten numerous times and dismembered by a dog in his family's home about 11 am Friday. Aiden McGrew's father was asleep at the time of the attack and his mother was not home. Two other children in the home were unharmed. An autopsy is scheduled for Saturday to determine if the boy was dead prior to the dog dismembering him.

The Daily Mail reports that the dog was a recently rescued retriever.

1Apparently, "Lucky" is the name of the family's other dog, not the offending animal.

Related articles:
11/04/08: 2008 Dog Bite Fatality: Tulsa Infant Killed by Labrador Puppy

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

Malden Councillor Clarifies Pit Bull Ordinance and Confirms 'Rational Fear'

Answers Critics
Malden, MA - Last week we reported on a pit bull ordinance passed by Malden City Council. Part of the blog post addressed Dr. Amy Marder who claimed that "a leash will prevent dog bites as well as a muzzle" when being quizzed by Councillor Neil C. Kinnon. The post also noted that the "hollering pit bull owners" attending the meeting failed to grasp the language of the ordinance, which grandfathered in existing pit bull owners if they registered their dog prior to May 1.

On Wednesday, Councillor Kinnon answered critics of the pit bull ordinance in a letter to the editor of the Malden Advocate. It is a fantastic letter that clarifies the pit bull ordinance, offers city dog bite statistical data, zings the "good Doctor" further by stating that her "evidence lacked credibility, as no scientist would ever claim a sample size of ten" and concludes with a statistical comparison that powerfully confirms the rational fear persons maintain about the pit bull breed.

Dear Editor, Malden Advocate, and Malden’s Citizens:
This past week the City Council passed a Pit Bull Ordinance which will take effect on May 1, 2012 (provided the Mayor signs it). It will exempt current pit bulls which are licensed by that time with some reasonable stipulations. Hopefully this letter might clarify what is in the Pit Bull Ordinance, the reasons for it and why some of the information opponents are spinning is simply misinformation or untrue.

Snippets taken by DogsBite.org:

"According to Animal Control fifty-seven dog bites were recorded from 2009-2011. Eighteen of the bites were committed by pit bulls. The next closest breeds that bit were German Shepherds, Bull Mastiffs and Dobermans, which recorded only two bites each. The data broken down in its simplest terms means pit bulls account for approximately 6.7% of our registered dogs and committed 31.6% of the dog bites."

"The ordinance requires pit bulls to be spayed or neutered in order to get an exemption from the muzzling law. The advocates who spoke to the Council also advocate spaying and neutering of pit bulls as part of any plan."

"The ordinance the Council passed requires a fence if one wishes to let their dog out in the yard without a muzzle. PittBullLovers.com states for those looking to own a pit bull "you should have a six foot privacy fence"

"The ordinance passed by the City Council will guarantee high license compliance for pit bulls, which all advocates say is needed, as it exempts, from the muzzle ordinance, all current pit bull owners who reside in Malden as long as they come in to register for a license and provide the proper spay and neutering documentation."

"The pit bull advocates continue to claim that BSL (breed specific legislation) does not work and yet over 600 communities in America have adopted it. The Marine Corps and the Army have gone so far as to adopt total bans of pit bulls and their close relatives on all their bases in the last few years."1

"When the Doctor was asked how many dogs were in her study and how many had some American Staffordshire, her answer was her study included ten dogs and she didn’t know how many included some American Staffordshire. Her evidence lacked credibility, as no scientist would ever claim a sample size of ten was a real study and after stating that DNA didn’t contain Staffordshire in many instances, she didn’t know how many contained some Staffordshire in the sample."2

"The pit bull advocates continue to state it will be impossible to enforce a muzzle law and that we should instead focus on licensing and strong leash law enforcement of all dogs. One can only conclude from all actual evidence that it would be just as easy for an animal control officer or other law enforcement officer to enforce a muzzle law as it is to enforce a leash law. Is it harder for a dog officer to see if a dog is on a four foot leash or muzzle?"

Councillor Kinnon saved the whopper comparison for his conclusion that illustrates just how dangerous pit bulls are and that fears about the breed are rational:

If there were as many pit bulls in Malden as people, and bite incidents were classified as aggravated assaults, the average rate of aggravated assault by pit bulls in the last three years would have been over 1,500 per year. If one calculated the same math on all other dogs, during that span, the average aggravated assault level each year would have been approximately 220. In the last three years the actual average number of aggravated assaults in Malden, by humans, has been 169. Therefore pit bulls per capita commit almost 10 times the aggravated assaults as do humans. The person who discriminates when seeing a pit bull walking down the street does not do so out of an irrational fear but does so because they are 10 times as likely to be attacked by the pit bull. (Neil Kinnon, Ward Six City Councillor, Malden Advocate, April 11, 2012)

Kudos Councillor Neil Kinnon!

1Underline and bold emphasis by Councilor Kinnon.
2Kinnon is presumably referring to a study by Dr. Amy Marder. Initially, we had thought Dr. Voith's study (Comparison of Adoption Agency Breed Identification and DNA Breed Identification of Dogs) to be the culprit, but it uses a sample pool of 20. We then found a short piece by Marder and Voith that references an "unnamed" study by Marder, "In a separate study, Amy Marder and colleagues analyzed DNA samples from dogs visually identified as "pit bull mixes." (The American Shelter Dog: Identification of Dogs By Personality). Marder's "unnamed" study is also referenced in a March 2009 blog post.

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: Elderly Oklahoma Man Killed by Two Pit Bulls

James Hurst, 92-years old, was brutally killed by his neighbor's two pit bulls.

DNA Confirmation
UPDATE 08/17/12: DNA results show that blood found on two pit bulls captured at the mauling scene matched the victim, according to Sheriff's Investigator Nathan Calloway.1 James Hurst died shortly after arriving at the hospital due to his grievous injuries. The two pit bulls had a history of escaping their yard a few houses down from the Hurst home. District Attorney Emily Redman was informed of the DNA results Thursday. The owners of the dogs have since left the jurisdiction.

04/10/12: Killed in His Front yard
Mead, OK - In a developing story, a Bryan County man was mauled to death by two pit bulls in his front yard. James Hurst, 92-years old, was discovered badly mauled and bleeding on his property Monday afternoon. Neighbors say the same dogs had been aggressive in the past. Bryan County Undersheriff Kenneth Golden said Hurst was working in his yard when he was attacked by the dogs. Golden says of all the dog attacks he has seen, he has never witnessed one this bad.

"Both feet, his face, his ears. His lips were gone. He didn't even look like the same person ... They eat him up real bad." - Neighbor Levi Duncan

Hurst also suffered "extensive injuries to his feet" -- both may have been torn off -- and was taken to a Durant hospital where he later died. Neighbor Judy Boone told reporters, "It's terrifying to know that you can't come out on your own front porch or stand in your own yard without being mauled and attacked." Neighbor Ryan Matlock, 11-years old, said that he had an encounter with one of these pit bulls -- "It crawled through a hole in the fence and got a hold of my leg."2

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

1It is great to see that small jurisdictions, such as Bryan County, OK and Person County, NC, are reaching out to DNA labs to prove culpability in the instances of fatal dog attacks.
2A subsequent news article indicates that Ryan's bite was not reported.

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