Posted on November 18, 2010 by Colleen Lynn

2010 Dog Bite Fatality: Western Iowa Woman's Death Attributed to Dog Bite

Shirley Bird, 79-years old, was attacked and killed by her German shepherd.

Victim: Shirley Bird
Ida Grove, IA - Earlier this week, 79-year old Shirley Lou Bird of Ida Grove was found dead in her home. An autopsy was conducted by the State Medical Examiner on Tuesday in Ankeny. Bird’s body had several bite marks including a deep wound on her arm. Ida County Sheriff's officials believe the victim was bitten by her German shepherd several times and subsequently died from blood loss. Her death has been ruled accidental and the dog has been euthanized.

      Authorities in western Iowa now say an elderly woman’s pet dog was apparently responsible for her death earlier this week. Seventy-nine-year-old Shirley Lou Bird of Ida Grove was found dead in her home.
      The Ida County Sheriff’s Office asked for assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation to determine if a crime had been committed. An autopsy was conducted by the State Medical Examiner on Tuesday in Ankeny. Bird’s body had several bite marks including a deep wound on her arm.
      It is believed that she was bitten by her German Shepherd several times and went to the bathroom to stop the bleeding. She subsequently died from blood loss. The death has been ruled accidental and the dog has been euthanized. - Iowa's Radio News Network, November 18, 2010

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Colleen Lynn

2010 Dog Bite Fatality: Pack of Dogs Kills 5-Year Old East Alabama Boy

Cason Bryant, 5-years old, was killed by a pack of mixed-breed dogs.

Funeral Arrangements Set
UPDATE 11/17/10: Russell County Sheriff-Elect Heath Taylor says his office determined that five of the 12 mixed-breed dogs attacked the child. All of the dogs were euthanized. All but one of the dogs belonged to the victim's neighbor; the other belonged to the victim's family. “We’re not going to charge anybody at this point,” Sheriff-Elect Taylor said, who did not identify the owner of the dog pack. “What I feel like has happened is that the dogs got into a fight and the child was in the middle of it.”

"Taylor said an investigation revealed that 11 dogs “slipped under” a fence behind the house at 84 McElvey Road in rural Russell County and got into a fight next door with a dog owned by Cason’s family. All 12 dogs were euthanized, and Taylor said investigators have since determined that only five of the dogs were involved in the fatal attack." - The Ledger-Enquirer

Sheriff-Elect Taylor said the evidence suggests that Bryant's dog got into a fight with the neighbor's dogs and the child was in the wrong place at the wrong time. "Somehow in that fight the child was either in the middle of them when they started fighting or had tried to get his dog off of them and that's how eventually the dogs turned on the child," Taylor said. The autopsy determined that Bryant died from Hypobolemic Shock due to the severity of injuries including loss of blood and swelling.

11/16/10: Boy Killed by Dog Pack
Phenix City, AL - A 5-year old East Alabama boy was killed by a pack of dogs, authorities said. Russell County Coroner Arthur Sumbry identified the child as Cason Bryant, who may have been killed by as many as 12 mixed-breed dogs. The attack occurred after 1:00 pm in the family's yard on McElvey Road, Russell County Sheriff-Elect Health Taylor said. The boy was pronounced dead at 2:32 pm. Bryant's body will be sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for an autopsy.

"Taylor said investigators still are considering whether to file charges in the case. He said the boy’s family owns an outside dog, but that several of the dogs involved in the attack belong to a neighbor. “Technically, you’re responsible for your dogs, but if they break under your fence, is that your fault?” Taylor said, adding the case will likely be handed over to the district attorney’s office." - The Ledger-Enquirer

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Colleen Lynn

2010 Dog Bite Fatality: Moreno Valley Woman Killed by Neighbor's Two Dogs

woman mauled to death by pit bulls
53-years old, was savagely killed by her neighbor's two pit bull-mixes.

Criminal Charges Sought
UPDATE 11/17/10: Police said today that they are seeking charges against the owners of the two pit bull-mix dogs that killed a woman who had been in the midst of moving out after the dogs repeatedly broke through her fence. Police Sgt. Jaime Briones said investigators intend to present the case to the Riverside County district attorney's office seeking involuntary manslaughter or neglect charges against the dogs' owner.

11/16/10: Police Confirm Dog Mauling Death
SWRNN.com reports that Sgt. Jaime Briones confirmed the victim's death was due to canine bites in a press release issued today. Briones also stated that a forensic dentist confirmed that the two dogs, described as pit bull-weimaraner mixes, owned by neighbors are the culprits. In addition, the specialist concluded that the victim’s small collie did not cause any of the injuries. The owners of the dogs are not being identified at this time.

11/16/10: Mauling Victim Identified
Moreno Valley, CA - It was reported Monday that Christina Casey, 53, was found dead November 2 at her house in Riverside County. The victim's brother, Bill Casey, said she had complained in the past of two dogs, a pit bull-mix and the other described as "part akita," repeatedly breaking through two fences into her yard. The victim was in the process of moving partly due to the dogs. "In two more days, she'd have been completely out of there," Bill said.

"The detective told us that apparently, sometime during the night, the (neighbor) dogs dug a hole under the fence and got into her yard ... attacked her and killed her," Casey said. "I got the impression from speaking to the detective that they were going to chalk this up to a tragic accident."
His sister had once reported the dogs to city animal-control authorities because they had broken into her yard, Bill Casey recalled. And she had repeatedly phoned the dogs' owner to retrieve the dogs from her yard and to repair the fence, Casey said. (Richard Brooks, The Press-Enterprise)

Another American dead due to horribly insufficient and inept dangerous dog laws.

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

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Colleen Lynn

2010 Dog Bite Fatality: East Texas Child Killed by Grandfather's Pet Pit Bull

Kaden Muckleroy, 2-years old, was mauled to death by his grandfather's pit bull.

Compounded Pain
UPDATE 11/11/10: TylerPaper.com reports painful news about Kaden Muckleroy's family, including that the boy's father was murdered last year. "Please Lord, we can't take no more. We just can't take it," Rosie Jordan, a cousin of Kaden, shouted out Wednesday night at the home on Rusk County Road 421 where the incident occurred. Family members said the child had been playing on a swing set when the pit bull freed itself from its chain and attacked the boy.

Sheriff Danny Pirtle said nearly 40 dogs were taken from the home. He said he did not know why the Muckleroys had so many dogs. Pirtle said that the dogs do not appear to have been used in dogfighting. There were several pit bulls at the location. The other dogs seemed to be a variety of mixed breeds. When asked about his thoughts on pit bulls, Pirtle grimaced and said, "This is the second attack that ended in death in just two years. I think something needs to be done."

Family members said the dog that attacked Kaden belonged to Muckleroy's son Calvin, who was murdered in Longview last year. Kaden's aunt, Mary Candie, said, "He (Muckleroy) wanted the dog as a living memory to his son. He went to the pound and paid for this dog that did this." Candie said that Muckleroy took in dogs that no one else wanted. Moments later, Muckleroy climbed into his pickup and plowed through the many dog pens in his backyard.

Moments after saying that, Muckleroy climbed into his pickup and rammed into the numerous dog houses and dog pens in his backyard.
The crashing sound of wood being hit mixed with the grating sounds of metal as the truck lurched forward eating the pens that had been holding his beloved animals.

Ms. Candie said the family was set to go to court Monday in relation to her brother's murder and added two weeks before his murder, her niece also was murdered.

"It has been a difficult year, a real difficult year, and it just keeps coming," she said. "If not for the grace of God, I wouldn't be standing, because He is holding me up."

Moments later, the family's faith would be tested again.

"Oh no. Oh no," Ms. Jordan shouted. "It can't be true."

As family members rushed to the crying woman, they learned a cousin hanged herself after hearing about Kaden's death. - Kenneth Dean, Tyler Morning Telegraph, November 11, 2010

11/10/10: Victim: 2-Year Old Kaden Muckleroy
Rusk County, TX - In a developing story, a 2-year old boy was killed by a pit bull today in the same county where Justin Clinton was killed by two pit bulls last year. The dog's owner, Kelvin Muckleroy, was the victim's grandfather. The dog was chained to a tree in the yard of the home where the attack occurred. Authorities removed the offending pit bull as well as 29 additional "kennel kept" dogs at the residence. The breed(s) of these dogs was not stated in the release:

On Wednesday November 10, 2010 at about 11:03 am the Rusk County Sheriff Office received a call from East Texas Medical Center (Henderson) emergency room requesting an officer to respond to the hospital in regard to a two year old child being deceased as the result of a dog attack. Upon arrival deputies learned that Helen Muckleroy B/F 2-10-75 transported her two year old son Kaden Muckleroy to the hospital from her residence (1950 Rusk County road 421 N. Henderson Texas) for treatment of dog bites from a pit bull dog attack. Further investigation indicates that the dog's owner, Kelvin Muckleroy B/M who is the victim's grandfather had the dog chained to a tree in the yard of the residence where the attack occurred. Muckleroy has consented to the release of the animal as well as about twenty nine additional kennel kept dogs to the Rusk County Sheriff Office. At this time the Sheriff Office is currently conducting an investigation and will release information as is appropriate. (Ron Duncan, Rusk County Sheriff's Office)

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

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