Posted on June 16, 2011 by Colleen Lynn

2011 Dog Bite Fatality: 74-Year Old Man Dies After Catastrophic Pit Bull Injury

Roy McSweeney, 74, died after being attacked by pit bulls belonging to Deanna Blitch.

Victim Dies of Injuries
UPDATE 06/15/11: Multiple news groups reported this evening that Roy McSweeney succumbed to the catastrophic injuries inflicted by his neighbor's pit bulls and died Wednesday afternoon. McSweeney's family has retained the Gainesville law firm of Avera & Smith, which is also representing Robert Floyd, who was attacked by the same dogs last year. Meanwhile, Putnam County authorities are working hard to "bring this matter to a logical conclusion."1

06/15/11: Authorities Investigate
The Palatka Daily News reports that the same dogs that nearly killed Roy McSweeney were involved in both previous biting incidents. Major Dwight Parker of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said his office is working closely with the state attorney's office. "We are evaluating this to determine what, if any, charges can be brought," he said. Regrettably, it appears that neither previous incident qualified as "severe," thus hindering a dangerous dog designation.

This is the third time dogs from Blitch's residence have attacked a person, according to reports from the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

On Jan. 13, 2010, two pit bulls ran from Blitch's yard and attacked a caretaker, Robert Floyd, at McSweeney's residence, reports stated.

Floyd was hospitalized with injuries to his mouth, left leg and stomach.

Court records show that Floyd has filed a civil suit against Blitch and Scurrey for negligence and premises liability.

Two dogs bit another man, Edward Cormier, on the arms when he entered the back door of Blitch's home on May 13.

Cormier told detectives that he was a friend of Blitch's son and the family had given him permission to come over and left the door unlocked for him.

According to Blitch, Cormier entered the house uninvited, reports stated.

The same two dogs were involved in all three attacks, Greenwood said.
- Julie Martin, Palatka Daily News

06/12/11: Previous Biting Incidents
Jacksonville.com reports that pit bulls from the Blitch home previously mauled two other men prior to nearly killing a 74-year old man on Friday. In both cases, the dogs were returned to their owners after a 10-day quarantine. It's unclear if these attacks were inflicted by the same pit bulls that left Roy McSweeney on life support. Police reports show that those pit bulls were involved in at least one previous biting incident documented by county police authorities.

After the attack on McSweeny, Blitch initially told deputies she no longer owned the pit bulls after "getting rid of them due to a previous attack." But Blitch's son, William, told deputies that the dogs were in the home and they were brought outside for authorities. William was the first to discover McSweeney after taking a different household dog outside to urinate. He said he found one of the pit bulls near the back door and the other in its kennel with an open door.2

06/12/11: Victim's Survival in Doubt
News4Jax.com reports that family members gathered Sunday at Shands Hospital in Gainesville where Roy McSweeney is struggling to survive. On Friday, two pit bulls owned by Deanna Blitch attacked McSweeney causing catastrophic injury, including the loss of one arm, partial loss of the other and severe facial injuries. Family friends told reporters that McSweeney is on life support. His family has asked for privacy during this difficult time.

Like other victims of savage and fatal pit bull maulings who have survived tours of war, such as Jerry Yates of Mountain Ranch, California and Henry Piotrowski, of Staten Island, New York, McSweeney is a veteran. Though war survivors, each victim in his later years faced an enemy as lethal as an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) while performing everyday tasks on his own property -- neighborhood pit bulls. Our hearts go out to McSweeney and his family.

06/11/11: Victim Faces Critical Hours
In a Saturday update, WTEV Action News spoke to the victim's daughter. She said the next 48 hours are critical. Other details emerged too, such as the dogs' owner, Deanna Blitch, is now claiming that the dogs "belong to a friend." Through Roderick Flynn, Chief of the West Putnam Volunteer Fire Department, we learn that McSweeney was a disabled veteran who often used a scooter and that animal control had been called multiple times about these dogs.

McSweeney's daughter told Action News Saturday night that doctors said his arm looked like a bomb went off next to it. He remains in a coma-like state, according to his daughter in an exclusive interview by phone. McSweeney is getting a large amount of blood. Doctors on Monday will decide if more surgery is necessary. According to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, the dogs belonged to McSweeney's next-door neighbor who surrendered the animals to authorities.

That homeowner told Action News the dogs belong to a friend. She said she was not home at the time of the attack, and was not sure how the dogs escaped the kennel they are kept in.

06/10/11: Dogs Described as Pit Bulls
Gainesville.com has released an update. According to Sheriff's Capt. Johnny Greenwood, Roy McSweeney was in his yard doing yard work when the dogs jumped over the fence and attacked. The dogs are owned by Deanna Blitch, of 261 Old Hawthorne Road, and described as pit bulls or their mixes by Greenwood, a neighbor and Blitch's brother, Dan Dickerson. Blitch -- who lawyered up quick -- said she was advised by her attorney not to comment.

06/10/11: Victim: Roy McSweeney
Hawthorn, FL - Earlier today, the Putnam County Florida Sheriff's Office issued a news release about a life-threatening dog attack. The victim, 74-year old Roy McSweeney, is currently undergoing surgery at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Additional information about his condition is not available. News4Jax.com reports that the attacking dogs were pit bulls. Both animals have been euthanized. Deputies are investigating. No further details were released.

2011-06-10 by: Captain Johnny Greenwood

On June 10, 2011, at approximately 11:00 a.m., deputies, rescue personnel, and animal control officers were summoned to 259 Old Hawthorne Road, in Hawthorne, regarding an individual who had been attacked by dogs.

When rescue personnel arrived on scene, they located 74 year-old, Roy McSweeney, who was suffering from severe injuries from the dog attack. The victim's right arm had been amputated; his left arm was partially amputated, and he was suffering from severe facial injuries. The victim was transported by rescue to Shand's Hospital in Gainesville for medical treatment. He is currently in surgery, and his condition is not available.

Due to the severity of the victim's injuries, Sheriff Hardy assigned Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit to the investigation. Investigators determined that the two dogs responsible for the attack belonged to McSweeney's neighbor, who resides at 261 Old Hawthorne Road, Hawthorne.

The owner of the two dogs subsequently relinquished both dogs to authorities. The dogs have been humanely euthanized and delivered to the Putnam County Health Department to be tested for rabies.

Due to the investigation being in its early stages, no further details can be released at this time. Further information will be provided when it becomes available.

1A "logical conclusion" likely means an At Large Dog ticket. Thumbs down to Putnam County authorities!
2With the help of Craven Desires, we were able to better analyze the June 12 Jacksonville.com article. We believe that Edward Cormier II was attacked last month by the same pit bulls as McSweeney.

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Colleen Lynn

2011 Dog Bite Fatality: Spotsylvania County Man Killed by Pet Pit Bull

David Haigler, 38-years old, was killed by one of his pet pit bulls.

Dog Caused Death archived
Spotsylvania County, VA - In an incident we were alerted to yesterday, The Free Lance-Star reports that an autopsy has confirmed that one of David Quyon Haigler’s two pit bulls was responsible for his death. Haigler, 38-years old, was discovered dead in his home Saturday by his 18-year old son. The 6-year old pit bull accused in his death was loose in the home and initially would not allow responding deputies in, according to Sheriff’s Lt. Col. Michael Timm.

Haigler was found dead on the living room floor with wounds to his upper body. Authorities noted that a wooden baseball bat was on a sofa near the body and that the room was in disarray. Court records stated that blood was seen on the floor, walls and several pieces of furniture. Haigler's other pit bull was found chained in different area of the home. Timm said the investigation is nearly over, except for the pending results of a toxicology screening.

Haigler was "already under medical care for a dog bite" that occurred a week earlier, according to yesterday's article. The victim also had a felonious past.

      Sheriff's deputies responded to the call but were met by two "very aggressive" pit bulls, Timm said.
      The deputies waited until animal control removed the dogs before starting their investigation.
      "Currently, the belief is that they could have been involved," Timm said of the dogs. "We're just sideline speculating at this point."
      As of yesterday, Timm could not confirm how Haigler died.
      A medical examiner has ruled the death "unusually suspicious" and said Haigler, 38, suffered "upper-body trauma." The body has been sent to Richmond for an autopsy. Spotsylvania officials hope to know more about the cause of death today.
      Timm could not confirm whether the dogs had a history of violence, but said Haigler "was already under medical care for a dog bite" that happened about a week ago. - Free Lance-Star, Jonas Beals, June 13, 2011

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Colleen Lynn

Part I: The Story of Harry Acklam, Murdered by Two Pit Bulls in 1896

Harry Acklam, 7-years old, was mauled to death by two pit bulls in 1896.

An Awful Death
Racine, MI - While researching historical fatal pit bull attacks in April, we discovered the 1896 death of Harry Acklam. The 7-year old boy had been gathering flowers with a friend when the attack unfolded. The case captivated our attention as it involved Racine manufacturing companies, teamsters and a self-appointed fatal dog attack investigator1 who concluded that the two bloody pit bulls found near the boy's body were not responsible for his death.

When we expanded our search outside of news archives, we learned that radio host Louis Rugani had recently created a memorial website for Harry and that his niece, Cindy Bitto, had a left a comment at the page. We spoke with Bitto on the phone about Harry's death. Though over 100 years ago, Bitto is still shaken by the event and the injustice that followed. Two wealthy Racine families allegedly owned the dogs and dishonored promises to help his family.

At one point in our conversation, Bitto relayed a story of calling Oprah in the mid 1980s, who was airing a show about pit bulls (the mid 1980s is when pit bull attacks skyrocketed). Bitto said the call screener told her, "NO ONE IS INTERESTED IN A 100 YEAR OLD DOG ATTACK." Bitto told us that she had called to explain to Oprah that pit bulls had been killing children for far longer than just a few years. Oprah's screeners didn't get it, but we certainly do.

Historical Backdrop

At the turn of the 19th century, Racine was a major manufacturing city, dominated by the J.I. Case Company, a maker of agriculture equipment. The company grew into a global enterprise and still is today. A historical 1883 map shows how the city appeared 15 years before Harry's death. The incident occurred on the south side of town, in a field east of the future Mitchell Motor Car Company and about a block from Harry's home on 1637 Hamilton Avenue.

An Awful Death

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Harry Acklam Killed by Two Ferocious Bull Dogs.

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Ears Bitten Off, Scalp Torn Off and Throat Torn Away.

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The Little Boy Was Gathering Flowers With a Companion When Attacked by the Dogs -- The Companion Ran Away

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A Human Ear First Found and Then the Horribly Mutilated Body -- How the Boy Disappeared and Was Found by the Police -- The Inquest.

[June 4] That a little boy could be literally torn to pieces and killed by two ferocious bull dogs, almost within a stone's throw of a large factory where a hundred or more persons are employed and no person witness or know of the fact, seems incredulous, but such a horrible thing occurred last night and today Harry Acklam, No. 1637 Hamilton avenue, lies upon a [block], a pitiful and terrible sight to gaze upon. Both his ears are torn off and face horribly [bitten] close to the head, the hair and scalp torn from the head, throat partially torn out, arm torn and lacerated, eye torn out and face horribly chewed, besides there are marks of the dogs' fangs upon the body as far down as the waist. ("An Awful Death," The Racine Daily, June 4, 1896)

Harry was a student at the Howell School. On the day of his death, he left the school at 3:30 pm with the rest of his classmates. When dusk came and he still had not arrived home, his parents, William and Katherine, alerted neighbors and the police. Officers soon learned that Harry and a friend had been out in a field near the Beebe & Company's factory, located on the south side of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad tracks, when the dogs attacked.

[Cindy Bitto] Clarence Nelson, the little boy that was with him, ran home and told his parents but no one believed him. After it got dark, my grandparents called the police. The police first had to wake up Harry's schoolteacher, Miss Crane, to find out which classmate he had left school with. Then they woke up Clarence, took up lanterns and went looking for him. It was Harry's father who found his cap lying on the ground. When he picked it up, Harry's ear fell out.

Officers Bassinger and Wood took Clarence into the field where the dogs attacked Harry. They were guided to the scene by the sound of barking dogs. Just after finding Harry's ear, they found his body. It was a gruesome sight and the trampled grass showed that the dogs had drug him around in a large area while killing him. The officers cried when they lifted Harry's mutilated body. It was taken by police patrol wagon to the Porter Furniture Company morgue.2

[Cindy Bitto] Clarence jumped a fence to get away. He could hear Harry crying, "Mama, mama." My grandmother had a bad foot from scarlet fever and used a cane. My grandfather was one of the first teamsters3 and worked for J. I. Case; he drove a team of horses back and forth to Missouri. The day after Harry's death, the police found the bouquet of flowers that he had gathered and took them to his mother. She must have kept them for a long time.

The next day, Coroner S. F. Stripple empaneled a jury to determine who owned the pit bulls. James Pickup initially told police that Belle City Manufacturing owned the dogs, but the company denied this and said that Pickup, who was an employee of the company, owned them personally. Bell City also said the dogs were only 6-8 months old and were not known to be vicious. People living nearby, however, said the dogs were ugly and had attacked before.

[Cindy Bitto] The pit bulls were kept tied up behind the factory and it was believed by everyone that they were used for fighting entertainment for the workers. The killing occurred on Wednesday night; they pitted them on Saturday. There were rumors they hadn't fed the dogs to make them meaner for the fight. Most people in my family are still afraid of dogs in general, and all of us are afraid of pit bulls. They need to stop breeding those dogs; they ought to be eliminated.

Identifying the Dogs

The pit bulls were captured and locked in a tramp house.4 Clarence identified the dogs as the attackers. Officers Bassinger and Wood said they had evidence too, including that both animals had blood on their breasts and jaws when they were found. Yet, the dispute over the ownership of the dogs continued. If determined, the owner faced charges of murder in the third degree, according to state law. The ownership question was to be settled the following day.

Boy Killed and Eaten by Dogs

[June 4] The dogs were afterwards found in their owner's barn with their jaws and breasts covered with blood. An inquest will be held tomorrow and the question of who is the owner of the dogs will be settled.

James Pickup, an employee of the Belle City Manufacturing company, claims that he owns the dogs, but the Coroner and officers claim that Emery Jones, a wealthy manufacturer, owns them. Pickup works for Jones, and has told conflicting stories. According to the State law the owner of the dogs is liable to be convicted of murder in the third degree. ("Boy Killed and Eaten by Dogs," Chicago Daily Tribune, June 4, 1896)

Killed by By Bull Dogs

[June 4] At 11 o'clock last night Peter Acklam, 1637 Hamilton Avenue, reported that his son Harry, [7] years old, was missing. The Police began an investigation and an hour later found the remains of the lad in a field east of the Beebe Manufacturing company's plant. A further search revealed that it was the work of two bulldogs, owned by Frank Bull and Emery Jones.

The lad's head and arms were virtually torn into threads. The scalp was torn from the frontal bone clean back to the neck, both ears off, and the arms bitten through and through. [Clarence] Nelson, a schoolmate of the unfortunate lad was the only eye-witness to the boy's terrible death. The two were gathering wild flowers in the field when the dogs approached and attacked young Acklam. ("Killed by By Bull Dogs: Harry Acklam, A Racine Boy, Literally Torn to Pieces," The Milwaukee Journal, June 4, 1896)

Part II will cover the inquest and the wealthy manufactures.

Harry Acklam was born April 22, 1889 in Racine County and was the oldest of 11 children. Cindy Bitto's mother was Harry's sister who was the second youngest. Bitto is also the youngest and was born 23 years after her previous sibling. Bitto did not know either of her grandparents, both died prior to reaching their mid 50s. The small Acklam home at 1637 Hamilton Avenue (now Memorial Drive) still stands.

1Initially we thought that the self-appointed fatal dog attack investigator wrote a memoir and that James Crosby read it. But a member of the DogsBite community suggested that the two might even be ancestors.
2The Porter Furniture Company is now closed.
3Labor unions began forming in the U.S. in the mid-19th century. The Teamster Union was formed in 1903. Harry's father was a teamster in the original sense, driving a team of horses to deliver parts and goods.
4The tramp house may have looked something like this.

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Colleen Lynn

2011 Dog Bite Fatality: 'Monster Dog' Kills 4-Year Old Brooklyn Boy

Jayelin Graham, 4, was killed by a "monster dog" belonging to his mother's boyfriend.

Missing Bodies
UPDATE 05/29/11: Parts of this story continue to raise questions, such as: Where is the third dog, and where is Dread? Might the two be in the same place? On Friday, after one of Dread's dogs ripped the throat out of Jayelin killing him, news media outlets reported that there were three dogs at the family's home: a cane corso, pit bull and shepherd-mix. By Saturday night, news reports merged the cane corso and pit bull into one dog, the latter having vanished.

The alleged killer dog, which appears to be a cane corso-pit bull mix, is depicted on Dread's Facebook page, as well as in many news articles.

Today, the New York Post reported that the dog shown on the Facebook page is not the attacker. What we know is true, is that of the 200 fatal dog attacks DogsBite.org has reviewed, it is not unheard of for a dog -- especially a fighting dog or one of high breeding value -- to vanish after a fatal attack. Such dogs are capital goods and too valuable to be euthanized. So where is that third dog? And, if the Facebook dog is not the attacker than which dog is?1

According to the same Post article, the last anyone heard from Dread was Friday night: "Neighbors said Jones, who belongs to the motorcycle club Ruff Ryders, rode up to the scene at one point Friday, but peeled away at 11 p.m., and has not been seen since." So after Dread trained his dogs to kill, as he allegedly told a neighbor, and one of those dogs killed his step-son, Dread flees Dodge while the boy's mother undergoes hours of questioning by police?

Another area that raises questions is Dread's breeding activities and the time frame of the dogs being in the home. Robin Parkinson, 56, told The Daily News that the first time she saw Dread with "three of the scariest dogs in Brooklyn" was four years ago. At this time, Dread told her, "I breed monster dogs." This does not negate statements made by the mother who said the dogs had only been living in the home for three months, but where were the dogs before?

Suggested Hypothetical

Initially, we were concerned that the ASPCA -- a Manhattan-based pro-pit bull group -- would try to pull a fast one by mislabeling the breed. Our concern now is Dread, who has no "cane corso" friends on Facebook, but plenty of pit bull friends, primarily bully breeders. Craven Desires' aptly theorizes that Dread's corso-cross was used in bully kennel breeding operations. So where is that third dog? Where is Dread? Will any local news group investigate this further?

(It must also be noted that DogsBite is not used to the "flair and drama" of the mentioned New York daily newspapers. Operating in the Northwest and South, this style is new to us.)

05/29/11: Mother Speaks Out After Attack
In a new video, the mother of the dead child, Saquina Jubeark, said the family only had the 7-year old dog for 3-months (She did not say who sold her the mutant dog and told her, "It was good with kids" and "not aggressive.") She also said that there were only two dogs in the household. She said her husband was a "trainer" and that he wouldn't have taken the dog, named Machete, had he known it would have harmed someone in the home.

Clearly her husband to be, Damien "Dread" Jones, idolized the mutant; he used it for his Facebook profile image. In contrast, Saquina used one of her children for her profile image.

View Related video

05/28/11: The Breed Mislabeling Game
The ASPCA (or another pro-pit bull group) appears hard at work defending the pit bull breed. The attacking dog, once labeled as a pit bull, has transformed into a cane corso in a matter of hours. The old title, "Brooklyn boy mauled to death inside his apartment by 'violent' pit bull..." has shifted to "Brooklyn boy mauled to death inside his apartment by 'violent' mastiff..." The profile features of this dog appear strongly pit bull; its visual variances due to a mix.2

We expect the debate about this dog's breed to heat up. Given that the family also owned a pit bull, one cannot exclude the possibility that the wrong dog was photographed or that the family was sold a pit bull under the cane corso name. What is true is that both of these dogs, along with a shepherd-mix and a large snake in a home with three toddlers is like playing Russian Roulette. Molosserdogs.com offers more information on the Italian cane corso:3

Italian Cane Corso

The present-day Cane Corso exists in decent numbers, but because of reckless breeding and crosses with some bull-breeds, it is getting difficult to find a true representative of the breed. Although the initial efforts were focused on preserving the original farm dogs from Puglia and surrounding areas, a fair amount of English Bullmastiff and German Boxer blood was introduced in the early years of the revival programme to help expand the Cane Corso gene pool, but the use of these breeds unfortunately resulted in the appearance of certain physical traits which weren't associated with the Cane Corso Italiano in the past, creating some controversy concerning the proper breed type.
--snip--

The unrelated breed known as the American Corso Dog is a modern creation, developed in the United States by crossing the Neapolitan Mastiff with the Rottweiler and various Bandogges. Even though this American breed is often times presented as the Cane Corso, it has no real ties with the Italian breed. Most American and Canadian fanciers of the Cane Corso Mastiff regularly import dogs from Italy and are committed to the preservation and promotion of the true type and purity of the breed, but some western lines have been enriched with the blood of other working dogs, namely the Presa Canario, American Pit Bull Terrier, Neapolitan Mastiff, Bullmastiff, Rottweiler, Boxer and the aforementioned American Corso Dog, resulting in a great variety within the breed in the United States, bluring the lines between the American-bred Cane Corso Italiano and the American Corso Dog breeds even more. (Molosserdogs.com)

05/28/11: Mother Says Dog "Ate My Baby"
Brooklyn, NY - In a developing story, NBC New York reports that Jayelin Graham, 4-years old, was mauled to death by a pit bull inside his home Friday night. The Daily News reported that the boy's mother screamed, "Help! He ate my baby! He ate my baby!" Neighbors attempted to storm the home, but police held them back. Kenny Rishar, a superintendent at the building, said, "People were scared of those dogs." This was a tragedy waiting to happen, he said.4

1Hopefully one local news group will go to NYC Animal Care and Control where this dog is being held under quarantine and photograph the animal.
2The reported 100 lb weight of this dog does not remove it from being a pit bull. The class of 100 lb pit bulls is indeed 100% American pit bull terrier.
3The alleged cane corso appears too tight skinned beneath its neck to be a full corso. But as Molosserdogs.com states, the variances and out-crosses of the American corso run the gamut. The ear cropping style is more distinct to corsos.
4Expect the ASPCA, a New York-based pro-pit bull group, to run extreme damage control. Recently, they were accused of unfair and deceptive fundraising practices.

Photos: NYDaily.com

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