Posted on March 9, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: Rottweiler Kills 17-Month Old Boy in Jacksonville, Florida

Dylan Andre, 17-months old, was killed by his neighbor's chained rottweiler.

Bitten Repeatedly
Jacksonville, FL - A 17-month old boy died today after being mauled to death by a rottweiler. The attack ending Dylan Andres' life occurred in the 1000 block of Maynard Street just before noon. According to Chief of Detectives Tom Hackney, the boy left his mother when she was unpacking groceries from her car and walked into a neighbor's yard across the street and was attacked by the dog, which was chained to a pole. Hackney said the dog bit the child repeatedly.

Neighbor Jessica Golden said that she had just been to the store with Dylan and his mother, Destiny Kieszler, and was inside her home when she heard Kieszler's screams. She ran outside and saw Dylan's father trying to pull him away from the dog. "The dog had the baby in its mouth," Golden said. Hackney said the owner of the rottweiler was not home at the time of the incident. Family members wept near the horrific scene as they spoke about their nephew to reporters.

      "We were unloading groceries and the next thing we know we hear screams running out of the house and the dog had the baby in its mouth," said neighbor Jessica Golden.
      Neighbors took Dylan to UF and Shands hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Dylan's grandparents told Action News that this canine has been a concern for parents in the past, they've even reported it to police before. But Chief Tom Hackney, with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, says the dogs owner has never been cited by animal control.
      "I know they've had some issues with dogs in the streets within the past couple months. This dog does not appear to be involved in any of the previous incidents," said Hackney. - Action News Jax, March 9, 2012

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: U.S. Fatal Rottweiler Attacks By State

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: Letter Carrier Dies After Pit Bull Attack in Escondido

Postal worker Diane Jansen, 59, died of a stroke after being attacked by a pit bull.

Victim Dies After Dog Attack
Escondido, CA - A postal worker that was attacked by a pit bull on March 1 has died, reports The San Diego Union Tribune. The San Diego County medical examiner's office identified the victim as 59-year old Diane Jansen. She died Sunday at Palomar Medical Center. The cause of death was listed as left basal ganglia hemorrhagic stroke due to hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with dog bites listed as a contributing factor, according to the medical examiner's report.

"The animal, which was not on a leash, was in a residential garage with several children just before it went after the postal worker, according to police Lt. Chris Wynn, who said the dog "just shot out of the ... partially closed garage door."
10News learned three juveniles were in the garage and no adults were present. One juvenile came out to stop the dog..." - ABC 10 News, March 8, 2012

When rescuers reached Jansen, who had sustained multiple dog bite injuries to her legs, "her speech was slurred and she became unresponsive." Jansen was taken to Palomar Medical Center, where she was diagnosed with intracerebrral hemorrhage. Hospital officials removed Jansen from life support Saturday, March 3 and she died the following day. Officers from the police department and human society investigated the incident and found that no crime had occurred.

U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Eva Jackson confirmed the incident to The San Diego Union Tribune on March 7th, but did not discuss further information due to ongoing investigations.

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

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

Attempt to Overturn Miami-Dade Pit Bull Ban Advances: 'Don't They Know?'

Legislation Fails
UPDATE 03/12/12: The Miami Herald released a list Sunday of the 2012 Florida legislative session -- all bills that passed and failed. Rep. Carlos Trujillo's bill to repeal the Miami-Dade pit bull ban (HB 997) failed as did its Senate counterpart (SB 1322). This might in part be due to historic victims Pilar Garcia and her daughter, Melissa Moreira, speaking out, as well as editorials written that clarified the history of the ban and why Miami-Dade County officials adopted it in 1989.

03/01/12: Historic Victim Speaks Out
Miami, FL - Like much of the garbage regurgitated onto the public by pit bull advocates and apologists, opponents of the Miami-Dade pit bull ban would have Florida legislators and the public believe that the 1989 ban was implemented after a 7-year old girl named Melissa Moreira was viciously savaged by a pit bull in February of that year. The dog tore off parts of her face and then attacked her mother and grandmother before a neighbor shot it four times in the head.

In fact, there were years of publicized violent pit maulings in South Florida prior to Miami-Dade enacting its ban, starting as early as 1945, after the brutal killing of Doretta Zinke by a pack of pit bulls owned by Joe Munn. Other stories include the horrible 1979 mauling of 6-year old Michael "Frankie" Scarbrough. Doctors back then predicted it would take 15 years to rebuild his face. The 1980 mauling of Ethel Tiggs, by her own two pet pit bulls, captured headlines as well.

In 1984, Daniel Lloyd Smith, 9-weeks old, died at Miami Children's Hospital after a pit bull jumped into his crib, piling up more headlines. The savage pit bull attacks on Letter Carriers Jean Zambory in 1983 and Louise Johnson in 1985 built upon the growing number of violent pit bull attacks in the area. There were enough vivid attacks in the region by 1980 (alone) that the City of Hollywood, located in a county adjacent to Miami-Dade, enacted the first modern pit bull law.

Today's Legislative Battle in Florida

Currently, the Florida legislature, spearheaded by Rep. Carlos Trujillo of Miami, is pushing a bill through that will repeal Miami-Dade's pit bull ban. Columnist Fred Grimm of The Miami Herald has responded to Trujillo's efforts by telling the real story behind the ban. Earlier in February, Grimm wrote about the history of the Miami-Dade ban. "The ban was born out of real public revulsion, after one terrible attack after another had been attributed to the breed," writes Grimm.

Grimm adds, "It might be worth remembering that the county politicians, who enacted the ban 23 years ago, reacted to public pressure and gut-wrenching testimony." One of the persons who testified to county officials back then was Pilar Moreira, Melissa's mother. Yesterday, Grimm released a new editorial, "Wounds still fresh for mom of pit bull attack victim," that revisits her daughter's 1989 attack. Pilar (now Pilar Garcia) still gasps 23-years later as she tells her story.

She knows when she sees the animal that one of his fighting dogs1 escaped its backyard pen. Without warning, it attacks Melissa.
"It goes right for her face," she says. The dog knocks the girl over and rips at her head. Pilar screams and tries, futilely to pull it away. The pit bull momentarily turns on Pilar, slashing her left arm. Amada Pozo, her mother-in-law, rushes out of the house and tries to help. The dog goes after Pozo’s face, severing her nose...
Nothing deters the dog until Pilar throws a canvas car cover over the frenzied animal. Then a neighbor, running up with a pistol, shoots the dog four times before killing it.

When Pilar learned of Trujillo's "meddling in local government," she tells Grimm, "When I heard this I was very, very angry. Don’t they know how dangerous these dogs are? What kind of damage they can do?" Grimm then repeats portions of the Miami-Dade pit bull ordinance that spells out exactly how dangerous pit bulls are, the same ordinance that Trujillo is now working to overturn with legislators in Tallahassee, nearly 500 miles away from Miami-Dade County.

"Whereas, to increase its effectiveness as a fighter, certain pit bull traits have been selected and maximized by controlled breeding, including 1) a set of powerful jaws with an exceptional ability to grip, lock and tear when the dog bites; 2) a unique insensitivity to pain that causes pit bulls to be exceedingly tenacious in the attack; 3) an unusually aggressive temperament towards human beings and animals; and 4) an extraordinary directness in their method of attack that does not include the common warning signs such as barking or growling displayed by other breeds." (Miami-Dade pit bull ordinance)

Melissa required 8 surgeries to reconstruct her face. Her scars remain today. Pilar and her mother-in-law had to undergo surgical procedures as well. In 1989, the hospital bills exceeded $50,000. Similar procedures today would elevate those costs to at least $300,000 (one pit bull producing three victims, requiring 10+ surgeries). Pilar tells Grimm that her daughter is now a hospital administrator in Miami and that, at least psychologically, has recovered better than she.

Lastly, Grimm hammers in on another type of garbage regurgitated by pit bull owners and advocates onto the public, who claim that pit bulls are not a breed and cannot be identified, despite numerous appellate court decisions that state otherwise.

Pit bulls are not a mystery designation. Nor are their dangers attributes a fictional invention. And when they attack children or pets after Tallahassee lifts the ban, Rep. Trujillo should get all the credit.
"Before we had this ban, people had to pay so much, financially, emotionally, psychologically, because of these dogs," said Pilar Garcia. "Don't they know?"

Florida Citizens Killed by Pit Bulls

According to the Fatal Pit Bull Attacks website, 17 Florida citizens have been mauled to death by pit bulls since the 1989 Miami-Dade pit bull ban was enacted. None of these deaths occurred in Miami-Dade County. The website only tracks pit bull attacks that end in human death, not the thousands of annual pit bull maulings that leave children and adults with lifelong disfigurement, nor does the website track the obscene number of pets that pit bulls maim and kill annually.

June 2011, Putnam County - Roy McSweeney, 74-years old
October 2010, Duval County - Justin Valentin, less than 1-years old
April 2010, Pasco County - Thomas James Carter Jr., less than 1-years old
October 2007, Clay County - Tina Marie Canterbury, 42-years old
June 2007, Volusia County - Mary Bernal, 63-years old
May 2007, Collier County - Carshena Benjamin, 71-years old
July 2006, Osceola County - John Brannaman, 81-years old
December 2004, Orange County - Myles Leakes, 4-years old
October 2004, Hillsborough County - Anton Brown, 8-years old
December 2003, Marion County - Alice Broom, 82-years old
February 2003, Hernando County - Alfred Makuc, 72-years old
May 2000, Alachua County - Quentin Wright, less than 2-years old
March 2000, Clay County - Dallas Isham, less than 2-years old
July 1999, Citrus County - Melissa Hunt, 5-years old
August 1997, Washington County - Jonathan Langford, 7-years old
May 1992, Orange County - Randall Ayers, 2-years old
October 1989, Duval County - Frances Fletcher, 73-years old

It's hard to know what, if anything, can stop Trujillo's onslaught. It is also important to point out that after the Miami-Dade pit bull ban, the AKC successfully pushed through a statewide anti-BSL law to stop other Florida municipalities from adopting a similar law. In short order, the only remaining Florida municipality with a pit bull law, Miami-Dade County, will be out of luck. Pit bull attacks in the region will spike, human deaths will occur and the breeding of new pit bulls will explode.

"Freshman" Carlos Trujillo2 will leave a deplorable legacy in his county and state.

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

1Yet another fighting dog that attacks a human being, in contrast to the garbage perpetuated by pit bull advocates that fighting dogs never attack humans and biters were always "culled." It's unclear when that piece of garbage was born. In 1984, the Humane Society of the United States blamed the serious and fatal maulings inflicted by pit bulls in the area on Florida fighting dog breeder Pete Sparks.
2In 1991, then "newbie" Senator Rodney Ellis (Harris County, TX), sponsored the successful Texas state anti-BSL law and more recently, "newbie" Rep. Barbara Sears (Lucas County, OH) sponsored the legislation that overturned the Ohio state pit bull law. In later years, after recognizing the volume of new pit bull victims in Harris County, Ellis attempts to pass a law repealing the statewide measure; his attempt fails.

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: Newborn Dies After Severe Dog Bites in McKeesport

Nikko, a recently adopted husky, fatally attacked 2-day old Howard Nicholson.

Baby Killer Gets Reprieve
UPDATE 03/08/12: In a not so unsurprising update, the husky named Nikko that mauled a 2-day old baby to death has been granted a temporary reprieve by Judge Borkowski. The dog will remain in custody in its current holding facility and be evaluated again after a magical 21-day period. Prior to killing the newborn, the dog killed the family cat and jumped a fence (or out of a window, depending upon news reports) in order to attack other animals in the neighborhood.1

02/29/12: Judge's Life Threatened
Shortly after Common Pleas Judge Edward Borkowski ordered the dog's seizure, a person inflicted with Nikko-Nutter Syndrome threatened Borkowski's life in a letter.2 Allegheny County authorities are taking the threat seriously. District Attorney Stephen Zappala tactfully addressed the threat in recent statements. Meanwhile, the dog's new owner, William Uhring, has filed an appeal. A date and time for the dangerous dog hearing has not been determined.

"You know that people are passionate about these issues. I just don’t think they understand all the facts.

"They don’t understand how horrific the crime scene was, but if anybody has something they want to say, they want to communicate with the judge, I’m sure Judge Borkowski will be glad to hear what they have to say." (District Attorney Stephen Zappala)

02/23/12: Authorities Seize Husky
Days after a husky that killed a McKeesport infant was adopted to a new family, Allegheny County authorities seized the dog. Common Pleas Judge Edward Borkowski ordered police officials to confiscate the animal and to quarantine it, according to the latest Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article. The husky was released to the new family before the end of its 10-day rabies quarantine period by Ken Ferree, who contracts to provide animal control services for McKeesport.

Earlier today, the same newspaper released an article covering the story about the husky's new owner, William Uhring of Churchill, who paid $650 in kennel and veterinary fees for the dog's release. Uhring's neighbors were not too happy to learn that a dog responsible for a fatal human attack was living close by. "This is shocking to me," said Alan Hernandez, who lives across the street. "I can't believe someone adopted that dog. That dog should have been euthanized."

Nearby school officials were also concerned about the dog's adoption. Uhring's home is located on a street where schools and several bus stops are located. Assistant superintendent of the Woodland Hills School District, Alan Johnson, told the Tribune-Review that he plans to contact the district's solicitor to explore legal options. "This is an animal that we'd like to not have anywhere near any of our students, and now we're very concerned for their safety," Johnson said.

02/22/12: Officials Drop Citations
In another ethereal update, authorities dropped all summary offenses against the McKeesport mother pertaining to the death of her newborn -- including harboring a vicious dog and failure to vaccinate it against rabies. The cast-legged Nico was also adopted out to a new family today without even fulfilling a "standard protocol" 10-day quarantine, notably after an attack that resulted in a human death and after the mother was initially cited for failure to vaccinate.

02/22/12: Dog Killed Family Cat
WPXI reports that the husky blamed in the death of a 2-day McKeesport old boy had recently killed the family's cat and tried to jump out a window to get to other animals in the neighborhood. Also, a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article offers new information about the two dogs that had been locked in the basement at the time of the fatal mauling: two pit bulls. Authorities are citing the 21-year old mother with summary offenses, including harboring a dangerous dog.

02/17/12: Images of Dog Released
In an "otherworldly" update, images of the dog involved in the fatal mauling of a 2-day old boy in McKeesport have been released. The images clearly show the "homemade" contraption created to support the dog's broken right foreleg. According to Dog Law Enforcement Officer Ken Ferree, "Apparently they rescued this dog from the Craigslist website from Murrysville about two-and-a-half weeks ago." Ferree correctly describes this adoption as a "ticking time bomb."

A separate article from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review also interviewed Ferree, who is responsible for holding the confiscated husky and pit bull at White Oak Animal Safe Haven. He clarified the husky's broken leg -- the dog had been trying to jump a fence -- and said that the couple of the deceased child has already called and "demanded" to have the husky and pit bull returned to them.3 The article goes onto describe the couple as "animal collectors" who rescue dogs.

02/17/12: No Charges Expected
The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office said Friday its initial investigation has found that no crimes were committed in the dog mauling death of Howard Nicholson. Police removed the suspected culprit, an 18-month old husky named Niko, as well as a pit bull from the home on Thursday. Niko had only been living with the family for about a month, according to a neighbor. At the time of the attack, Niko was wearing a type of "homemade" cast due to a broken leg.

Animal Control in McKeesport said the baby's mother, Brandy Furlong, has been cited in the past for having an excessive number of dogs in her house -- the local ordinance limits each household to two dogs -- and was also cited for the condition of the dogs. At the time of the fatal mauling, Niko and the pit bull were loose in the house and the other two dogs were locked in the basement. Furlong's other two children, ages 6 and 3, were not home at the time of the incident.

02/16/12: Dog Kills 2-Day Old Baby
McKeesport, PA - In a developing story, a newborn died today after being bitten in the head by a family dog. Howard Nicholson, 2-days old, was airlifted to UPMC Children's Hospital in Lawrenceville, but did not survive his injuries. According to Police Chief Bryan Washowich, the boy's mother said that she was in another room when she heard the baby screaming. She returned to find the family's husky, which had a cast on one leg, standing over the injured baby.4

Animal Control officers removed the husky and a pit bull from the family's home. There was apparently another dog in the household as well. Authorities do not know what happened to that dog or if any other dogs in addition to the husky were involved in the attack. The 21-year old mother also has children ages 6 and 3. The father of the infant was not home at the time of the fatal incident. The medical examiner's office said that an autopsy is scheduled for Friday.

View Related video

1Meanwhile, in other parts of lopsided Pennsylvania, dog bite victims are being asked to "verify" that the dog is "in good health" and free of rabies after a bite. Even if this involves a victim having to peer through the unknown dog owner's "dirty garage window."
2Threats by pit bull advocates upon the lives of city council members and activists who support pit bull laws are not uncommon. Fanatical "No-Kill" (Nikko-Nutters) are guilty of harnessing similar illegal tactics.
3Crossing over into the Twilight Zone.
4The WPXI video indicates that the family adopted the husky as recently as one month ago. In one month's time, that dog broke a leg and killed an infant; hardly a specimen for adoption into this home.

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