Posted on March 7, 2011 by Colleen Lynn

2011 Dog Bite Fatality: Rottweilers Kill 3-Year Old Girl in Delaware County, Iowa

Vanessa Husmann, 3-years old, was killed by her grandfather's two rottweilers.

Family Speaks Out
UPDATE 03/07/11: New information has been released about the attack that killed Vanessa, including the 911 call made by Blake Muller.1 The child's mother, Rhonda Marty, said the girl was "never left unattended with the dogs. Somehow they had gotten out on their own." She said that the dogs might have dug underneath the fence surrounding the kennel. But no one knows for sure. The following day, family members "destroyed the kennel and removed it."

Marty also clarified that Vanessa went into her fenced-in backyard because it was "her yard." Her swing set was outside. "She came and went a lot," she said. The two rottweilers were kept in a separate, locked kennel in the same area, but for undetermined reasons got out that day (In the video, the mother's statement includes that the gate was "still locked" after the attack2). The Des Moines Register offers additional insight into Blake Muller's account that day.

03/07/11: Mauling Victim Identified
The young victim has been identified as Vanessa Husmann. The Des Moines Register reports that by the end of the day Sunday, persons working in the backyard of the family's home had removed all reminders of the little girl and the dogs, including: a swing set, a playhouse and the dog kennel. A painful photo depicts a yellow tractor removing a fence as well. The scene recalls a glimpse into what occurred after the death of Kaden Muckleroy last November.

Delaware County Sheriff John LeClere said the dogs where owned by the child's grandfather and were usually kept in Monticello. It was not known if the animals had a prior history of problems. According to LeClere, Vanessa's father, Vaughn Husmann, and her mother, Rhonda Marty, were not home when the attack occurred. The child had been left in the care of her brother, Brandon Marty. Family members did not comment. No charges have been filed.

The City of Hopkinton currently bans pit bulls. Mayor Cathy Harris said that City Council may add rottweilers to its list of prohibited breeds.

03/06/11: Death Investigation Continues
Information from WCRG-TV reveals that the babysitter was the victim's 18-year old half brother. Somehow the toddler got out of the house while under his care and into the backyard with the dogs. The child's grandparents were not home during the incident. A neighbor witnessed the mauling and called 911. Some neighbors said the family breeds rottweilers, others said they rarely saw the animals. The little girl's name has still not been released.

03/05/11: Toddler Killed by Rottweilers
Hopkinton, IA - In a developing story, two dogs killed a toddler Saturday in the small town of Hopkinton. The Des Moines Register reports that the girl was in a fenced backyard when the rottweilers attacked. Hopkinton is yet another rural town -- population of about 700 -- to be struck by a devastating fatal dog attack this year. KCRG-TV reports that the dogs belonged to the victim's grandparents, but at the time of the incident was being watched by a babysitter.

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

1Blake Muller, an 18-year old student at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, was visiting his mother's house on Saturday who lives across the street from the Husmann family.
2This magical explanation not only refers to the somehow Maul Talk term, but may truly be otherworldly, such as a creature from the X-files re-locked the gate afterward.

Photo: Des Moines Register

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Colleen Lynn

2011 Dog Bite Fatality: Rottweilers Fatally Maul Woman in Dillon County

Sirlinda Hayes, 66-years old, was attacked and killed by two rottweilers.

Victims Blamed
UPDATE 02/21/11: In a disturbing update, the victim's nephew, Billy Odom, blamed the attack on Sirlinda by suggesting the rottweilers attacked her because she was holding a hoe. Sirlinda had been using the hoe while she gardened just before the attack. Odom then blamed the next attack on Shawn Samuel -- the dogs' owner and also his cousin -- for not being "friendly" enough while trying to cage the killers. Samuel's leg was amputated due to the injuries he sustained.

"He was distraught by what he saw and what had happened," Odom said in reference to Samuel, who is also his cousin. Odom said Samuel's reaction was the determining factor in understanding why the dogs then attacked Samuel.

"He snapped, you know. He was trying to get them in and he wasn't as friendly as he normally would be in putting them back in the cage."

Dillon County Coroner Donnie Grimsley said the autopsy results show Hayes died as a result of the injuries she sustained. Samuel's leg was amputated as a result of the injuries he sustained. - Alisha Laventure, Live 5 News, February 21, 2011

01/18/11: Breeding Operation Uncovered
FoxNews.com reports that Sirlinda Jayne Hayes, 66-years old, was tending turnips and collard greens just outside her home when the dogs viciously attacked. In addition to killing the two rottweilers, authorities reportedly removed three other rottweilers from the dog owner's home (another deadly breeding operation). Dillon County Capt. Cliff Arnette hopes to talk to the dogs' owner, who still remains hospitalized with serious injuries to learn how the incident unfolded.

The dogs would not let emergency responders near Hayes or their owner. Deputies finally shot both of the animals, which were carted off by animal control.

Animal control officials removed two other adult dogs and one puppy from the owner's home late Thursday. County officials must decide if they will be put up for adoption or euthanized.

Authorities said they had received no formal complaints about the animals, but a woman who lives nearby says she believes the pair killed her dog earlier this week. - Associated Press, February 18, 2011

02/17/11: Woman Killed by Rottweilers
Dillon, SC - In a developing story, at least one dog attacked two people, killing one. Dillon County Captain Cliff Arnette did not know if one or two loose rottweilers attacked the woman who died. The owner of the animals attempted to save the woman, Sirlinda Jane Hayes, but his own rottweilers attacked him too, sending him to the hospital. Both dogs were shot dead on the scene. Last November, a pet pit bull killed Justin Lane, 25-years old, also of Dillon County.

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

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Colleen Lynn

2011 Dog Bite Fatality: Kalamazoo Infant Mauled to Death by Family Pit Bull

Darius Tillman, 15-days old, was mauled to death by a family pit bull.

Victim Identified
UPDATE 06/03/11: In February, baby John Doe was killed by a pet pit bull in Kalamazoo. Several days later, the story fell silent. The Kalamazoo Gazette recently obtained a copy of the police report under the state Freedom of Information Act. A Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety report shows that detectives sought involuntary manslaughter charges against the child's mother, Mallory Wildig, but the county prosecutor's office declined to pursue.

Darius Tillman was 15-days old at the time of his death.

The document mirrors what was previously reported in the media, but offers new details, such as the 1-year old dog, named Buster, was well fed prior to the incident. According to the report, an autopsy performed on the dog that day showed its stomach "was full of food."1 Wildig, though, states in the report that she discovered her baby "mauled and partially consumed by Buster." The report also confirmed that the door to the child's bedroom did not latch.

There was no mention of the household's other pit bull.

02/21/11: Pet Pit Bull Euthanized
Wood TV reports that the "infant-killing" pit bull has been euthanized. This is not the first infant-killing pit bull in the State of Michigan. Leonard Lovejoy Jr. captured headlines in 2009, as did baby John Doe in 2004 and Brian Lillis in 1987. In the latest variance, the mother placed the infant in a bassinet then laid down in another bedroom. While napping, one of the pit bulls pushed open the baby's bedroom door, dragged him from the crib and mauled him to death.

View Related video

02/21/11: Tragic Accident Cited
In yet another instance of an infant killed by a family pit bull, law enforcement officials are wrongly calling this preventable death a "tragic accident." Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley said, "These cases are very difficult, and obviously, it’s a very emotional topic. But sometimes ... it's just a tragic, tragic accident." The loss of this baby's life is indeed tragic, but it was no accident.2 (A single mother with an infant, toddler and two pit bulls in a small home?)

02/19/11: 10-Day Old Baby Killed
Kalamazoo, MI - In a developing story, a 10-day old baby boy was killed by the family pit bull at a house on the 400 block of Garfield Avenue. According to a police press release, the newborn suffered extensive trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene. The name of the victim and his family members are still being withheld pending an investigation. The infant's mother, his 2-year old sibling and two pit bulls were at the residence at the time of fatal incident.

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

1Another "hungry and abused" pit bull story falls on its face.
2As Kerry Dougherty writes: "Same old story, different set of jaws."

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Colleen Lynn

Activist Questions 'Journalistic Integrity' of Article by Sue Manning of the Associated Press

UPDATE 02/11/11: On February 11, the Associated Press published a new article about the AP-Petside.com poll written by Sue Manning. This article did include the founder of DogsBite.org along with a spokesperson from the HSUS. It is unknown if Thomas Mair's letter played a role in its publication or if parts were revised prior to its release and after receiving his letter. The latest piece still utilizes Maul Talk, but is far more balanced than the first.

Journalistic Integrity Questioned

DogsBite.org - On February 3, we received an email from Thomas Mair, a Washington State resident working to gain support for breed-specific laws in his area. Like many others that day, Mair saw the undeniably biased poll, which only interviewed pet owners, designed by the Associated Press and Petside.com. The article was penned by Sue Manning, who has a repertoire of superficial pet stories under her belt,1 and syndicated across U.S. media outlets.

Mair spent the better part of the day tracking down emails and creating a response letter that he sent to persons involved in the article's publication. He later forwarded a copy to us. What Mair did not know is that DogsBite.org had been aware of some aspects of the poll for a few weeks. Manning interviewed the founder, Colleen Lynn, on January 18. A significant portion of this interview focused on her own violent pit bull attack that occurred June 17, 2007.

Not only had Manning interviewed a pit bull mauling victim that suffered serious injury, she opted to cut it from the piece along with any mention of DogsBite.org.2

Mair's Response Letter

From: Thomas Mair
Date: Thu, Feb 3, 2011 at 1:00 PM
Subject: Your story of Feb 3, 2011
To: Sue Manning, The Associated Press

Cc: Jennifer Agiesta, Gfk Roper, Deputy Director of Polling
GfK Roper Public Affairs
Shirley Carswell, Washington Post Deputy Mng Editor
Ombudsman, Washington Post
Readers' Representative, Kansas City Star
Editor, Forbes.com
Public Editor, Shawn McIntosh, Atlanta Journal Constitution
Laura Wingard, SD Union Tribune
William Osborne, SD Union Tribune
Readers' Representative, SD Union Tribune
and others

Dear Ms Manning,

This letter is in reference to your article on Pit Bulls (AP-Petside poll: Training, not nature, makes bully; Feb 3, 2011), which was carried in the newspapers listed above, and was reported on many TV outlets as well. The article appears to cover both sides of a contentious issue.

Your article makes extensive use of statistics from the poll referenced in the title, which was conducted by AP-Gfk in October of 2010. The poll was apparently commissioned by Petside.com (a corporation which many would view as a Pit Bull advocacy group) and conducted by a company owned by your employer. Your failure to disclose the relationship between the interest group, your employer, and yourself raises serious questions about the journalistic integrity of this story.

Apart from this, there are other reasons to doubt the accuracy of this article. The poll queried only pet owners (rather than a general sampling of the population). You are clear on this matter, but what isn't clear is that the general public may have different views about the safety of Pit Bulls than pet owners do.

I will mention that I have spent the week reading news stories about Pit Bulls, many of which share several features in common. Most featured pictures of Pit Bulls playing, or in affectionate poses with infants and children. All of them repeat the core phrases of the Pit Bull advocates, and many of them use one in the title (as your article did). The similarities grow even more eerie when the reader realizes that the authors interview only those who are favorably disposed toward Pit Bulls (or are neutral), and never interview people who have been mauled. I would be pleased to send you (or any other recipient of this email) a list of such recent articles.

I mentioned the core phrases of the Pit Bull advocates. Among them are:

There's No Such Thing as a Bad Dog
It's not the dog, it's the owner
Punish the deed, not the breed,
Any dog will bite
Etc, etc, etc

This is not the place to dispute those opinions. I will simply note that your article employs one or another of these phrases on at least four occasions.

The most egregious distortion in your story consists of your interview with Janice Dudley. You devote five paragraphs (nearly 20% of the word count) to a woman who was almost bit by a Pit Bull, and I struggle to make sense of this passage. I would like to bring to your attention the three (and possibly four) human deaths which occurred in January (in the US) from Pit Bulls. In addition there have been numerous non-fatal attacks on humans and uncounted attacks on animals including horses. Pit Bull advocates ignore these attacks and can point to no such horrors from other breeds. You mention none of this.

The internet is flooded with Pit Bull advocacy sites. These well-funded and well-organized advocates go to great lengths to influence journalists, often misrepresenting the facts. Many organizations presenting themselves as impartial "research" organizations are themselves Pit Bull advocacy groups, as are many of the "Canine Experts." The resulting media presents an unrealistic view of reality, and dishonors the victims of these horrific attacks.

Your article, while attempting to demonstrate impartiality, interviews several Pit Bull advocates but apparently you failed to talk with anyone who has had their own pet dismembered before their eyes, or have themselves been attacked. If you are curious enough you can simply check the impartial Google News Alerts occasionally. And I would gladly direct you to other sources on Pit Bull deaths and attacks.

Thomas Mair
Friday Harbor, WA

DogsBite.org greatly thanks Mair for writing this thoughtful letter. Mair's letter provides proof and inspiration for all persons who are working to pass pit bull laws and for those who would like to, but do not know how. It's easy: Start writing emails to critical persons.

1According to one Manning article, pit bull drool cures sick kittens. In another, blogger Carrie Gravenson slams Manning and categorizes her anthropomorphic "pets listen better than husbands" poll piece under "WTF"?
2The first 5-10 minutes of the interview were spent talking off the record. Lynn wanted to know if the poll was scientific and why Manning wanted to talk about her 2007 attack. Had Manning stated that the poll "only included pet owners" or that it was not the AP acting alone, but in fact an "AP-Petside.com" combination, Lynn would have stopped the interview. In addition to being misleading, Manning exploited the founder by having her "relive" her attack experience only to cut it from the piece, intentionally or otherwise.

DogsBite blog ::

Journalistic Integrity Questioned

Mair's Response Letter