Posted on September 4, 2010 by Colleen Lynn

2010 Dog Bite Fatality: McMinn County Woman Mauled to Death by Family Pit Bull

Family Blames Noise
UPDATE 09/04/10: An update from WRCB reveals that the owner of the pit bull was actually Mattie's daughter who did not offer her name in the news report. As suspected, the family (and unnamed pit bull owner) is blaming the brutal attack on "noise" from construction work being done on the home. Back in January, Johnny Wilson was killed by his daughter's six pit bulls. That daughter (also unnamed) suggested the attack was due to her father's "loud" voice.

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09/04/10: Sheriff: "No Reason" for Attack
Sheriff Joe Guy said that Daugherty's pit bull "attacked her for no reason." Guy's language is unsurprising; pit bulls were selectively bred for unpredictable explosive aggression. A critical question, however, is the length of the attack -- from the time the dog clamped down on the victim to the time it was shot dead and released the victim. The answer would help readers understand the unique traits a pit bull displays when it attacks. Was the episode 8 minutes, 16 minutes?1

But Saturday morning that changed. Guy says Daugherty, her family, and a neighbor were doing work on Daugherty's house at 151 County Road 492 near Etowah. Daugherty went inside, while her family worked outside. That's when Guy says the pit bull jumped on the woman and wouldn't let go.

Her family found her inside, with the dog standing over her. They couldn't get close, so a neighbor tried to shoot the pet.

"Unfortunately that didn't work," Guy said. "Our officers arrived and they also fired their weapons to try to get the dog to release and it would not."

Officer Randy Gabrel finally got the dog away, and Officer Tim Davis fired additional shots and killed it. They then tried to rescue Daugherty, but it was too late. (Jana Barnello, NewsChannel9.com)

2010 Fatality Update

DogsBite.org has recorded 24 U.S. dog bite fatalities so far this year. Pit bulls are responsible for 67% (16). This is the same percentage recorded at the end of July (See: Mid Year Results: U.S. Dog Bite Fatalities from January 1 to July 22, 2010). In the past 16 days, there have been 5 U.S. fatal dog attacks, 4 involving pit bulls: Tracey Payne, 46-years old (GA), Jerry Yates, 69-years old (CA), Jason Walter, 7-years old (IL), Taylor Becker, 4-years old (WI) and Mattie Daugherty (TN).

09/04/10: Victim: Mattie Daugherty
Etowah, TN - In a developing story, an elderly woman was mauled to death by her pet pit bull. Sheriff Joe Guy said that 85-year old Mattie Daugherty of McMinn County was killed after her 9-year old pit bull attacked her inside her home. Prior to police arriving, a neighbor shot the dog, but the animal continued its brutal assault. Arriving officers fired multiple shots into the pit bull finally killing it. Daugherty died on scene due to the devastating injuries inflicted by her pet.

1How will the pit bull community explain this fatal attack? For starters, the animal suffered from a rare brain or nervous disorder or the "noise" of the remodeling triggered the incident.

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

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Colleen Lynn

2010 Dog Bite Fatality: Dog Kills Visiting 4-Year Old Girl in Dodge County

Taylor Becker, 4, of Hustisford, was mauled to death by a family friend's dog.

Backyard Breeders
UPDATE 08/27/10: In an update that can only be described as "subtle bomb dropping," the Beauprey family had only owned the 5-year old dog, named Rocky, for 3 to 4 months prior to the attack that killed Taylor. Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls then let slip that there were also five puppies inside the home that Rocky sired. There is no mention of an adult female dog. Authorities say charges are unlikely,1 but they are researching the dog's history and where it came from.

"The boxer is currently in custody at the Dodge County Humane Society. The sheriff said it's likely, at the owner's request, that the dog will be euthanized.
"We're in no hurry," [Dodge County Sheriff] Nehls said. "I think eventually euthanasia is going to take place; the dog will be put down. But we want to wait the 10 days, get some tests from the dog to see if the dog did have some rabies so that we can share that with the family. It may be a concern with the other five puppies on the scene."
The boxer is the father of those puppies, but the puppies were not outside at the time of the incident." (Channel3000.com)

Readers, you are witnessing yet another instance -- which there are too many to count -- of the offspring of a dog guilty of killing a person being "preserved" instead of humanely culled.

08/26/10: Photo Released of Offending Dog
The Wisconsin State Journal has released a photo of the dog, which appears to be a boxer. It's unclear when the photograph was taken or why the sudden change of heart by the Dodge County Humane Society. The little girl's parents, Jennifer and Brian Becker of Hustisford, had been visiting the home of Steven and Stefanie Beauprey when the horrible attack occurred. At the time, the child was alone with the dog in the backyard. An autopsy is being conducted today.

08/26/10: Victim Identified, Taylor Becker
Authorities on Thursday morning identified the victim as Taylor Becker of Hustisford. Neighbors said the home belongs to Steven and Stefanie Beauprey. Troy Erickson, also a neighbor, witnessed the attack. He was on his way to work when he passed what he thought was the dog playing with a piece of carpet or a doll. "I saw the dog chewing on her and dragging her around," Erickson said. "I thought 'Oh my God, I can’t believe I'm seeing this, this can’t be happening.'"

Patricia McConnell, a certified applied animal behaviorist and adjunct zoology professor at UW-Madison, makes the following distorted statement in the article: "There are about 15 dog-related fatalities per year in the United States." (The actual tally is double this amount.) She added that, "A lot of the problems that dogs run into are related to an inability to deal with emotional arousal. As a result, dogs can become aggressive in situations even if they don't start out that way."

The last statement seemingly concerns the split second arousal period of a pit bull to reach explosive aggression, uncommon in other breeds.

08/26/10: Humane Group Disallows Photos
The victim's name will be released following the conclusion of a death investigation being conducted by the Sheriff's Department and the Dodge County Medical Examiner's Office. The Dodge County Humane Society, who took the dog, will not allow photos to be taken of the animal. This may be due to the fact that the dog is not a "boxer," but is a pit bull or pit bull-mix. This would hardly be the first time a publicly funded county humane group has covered up a U.S. pit bull fatality.

08/25/10: Dog Kills Visiting Child in Backyard
Hubbard Township, WI - In a developing story, a 4-year old girl was killed by a dog Wednesday in Hubbard Township, according to the Dodge County sheriff. The victim was "visiting the home" where the attack happened. Both families knew each other, and the girl had been to the home before. The dog, described as a boxer, was on a "leash and chain" in the backyard, but slipped out of it's collar before or during the attack. The leash was long enough to access the location of the attack.

1It is EXTREMELY dangerous to leave a child alone with a chained, unaltered male dog that has recently sired puppies. How does one "get to know" an animal in 3 to 4 months that is left chained outside the family home? DogsBite.org continues to be alarmed by the horrendous "State of Illinois system" regarding child welfare and protection laws. Several recent examples include: Alex Angulo and Gabrial Mandrell-Sauerhage.

Photo: Wisconsin State Journal

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Colleen Lynn

2010 Dog Bite Fatality: La Salle Student, 7, Mauled to Death by Four Dogs

Jason Walters, 7-years old, was killed by a pack of dogs while visiting the Eric Shanklin farm.

Death Due to Dog Bites
UPDATE 08/26/10: An autopsy conducted showed the boy suffered multiple puncture wounds from dog bites. "One of the puncture wounds was in his carotid artery, and one was in his femoral artery," Coroner David Lenz Jr. said. "Death would have resulted in a few seconds from either one of those." The owner of the three pit bulls was a rental tenant of a mobile home on Shanklin's property who had moved in just a few months ago. Shanklin owns the mixed-breed dog.

      Four dogs, including three described as pit bulls and one of mixed breeds, were captured at the scene and taken to the Marshall County Veterinary clinic. All four were euthanized Wednesday morning by county veterinarian Allan McCully and then taken to a state lab in Galesburg for rabies testing, Russell said.
      An initial news release said the dogs were owned by “other residents of the property,” but Russell later clarified that to say that Shanklin owned the mixed-breed dog. The other three were owned by a rental tenant of a mobile home on the property, whom Russell would not immediately identify.
      The woman and her dogs had moved in there just a few months ago, said Billie Lindstrom, one of the closest neighbors of the site. Lindstrom and her husband, Dick, and their son and his family live in homes just east of the Shanklin property along a county blacktop called Wenona Road. Gary Smith, Peoria Journal Star, August 25, 2010

08/26/10: Student Killed by Four Dogs
La Salle, IL - Four dogs killed a 7-year old boy Wednesday morning at the Eric Shanklin Farm between Varna and Wenona. According to a report issued by the Marshall County Sheriff's Department, "Jason T. Walter, 7, was outside the rural residence when he was attacked by a number of dogs. Family members found him lying in the driveway outside the residence and called 911." Marshall County Coroner Dave Lenz pronounced Walter dead a short time later.

The initial Sheriff's report stated, "Four dogs, three pit bulls and a mixed breed, owned by other residents on the property were captured and taken to the Marshall County veterinary clinic to be euthanized and taken to Galesburg for further investigation." Sheriff Rob Russell initially said that Shanklin personally owned the mixed breed, but he did not provide any other information on the ownership of the dogs. Walter was a student in the second grade at Northwest School, La Salle.

Photo: PJstar.com

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Colleen Lynn

2010 Dog Bite Fatality: Mountain Ranch Man Mauled to Death by Two Pit Bulls

Jerry Yates' seen in his Celebration of Life photograph.

Pleads Not Guilty
UPDATE 09/17/10: Sheryl Sellers pleaded not guilty in a crowded courtroom on Tuesday, despite her dogs involvement in previous acts of aggression. Sellers lawyer, Ken Foley, also filed a motion to dismiss Judge Douglas Mewhinney declaring that he was prejudiced against the defendant. Yates' daughter, Jami Southard, had hoped Sellers would plead guilty and put the incident to rest. "She’s not going to take any responsibility for this. I don’t know how else to take it," she said.

Foley told the deputy manning the courtroom entrance that he did not want his clients hassled, and Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Tyson McMahon asked Yates’ family members to leave the entryway.

“This was supposed to be over,” Southard said. “Now she’s got a shyster lawyer.”

A man who identified himself only as Sellers’ stepfather tried to placate Yates’ family members. “She just feels awful,” he said.

“You know what?” Southard said. “Nobody is as sorry as my family. We have been financially ruined. That dog tore my dad to death and now she’s going to plead not guilty?” - Joel Metzger, Calaveras Enterprise

09/14/10: Sellers Dogs Had History
The Calaveras Enterprise reports that Sheryl Sellers is being arraigned in court today on felony charges in connection to the mauling death of Jerry Yates. His daughter, Jami Southard, now believes that Sellers pit bulls were "an accident waiting to happen." She described the failure of Sellers to confine her dogs as "criminal." Southard added, "She knew how aggressive those dogs were. You could ask anybody. Nobody could go near her truck when those dogs were in it."

Problems with Sellers dogs began in 2005 when she was living with Michael Richard off Swiss Ranch Road. The couple had about 10 dogs, seven or eight being pit bulls. After their dogs threatened neighbors and killed one dog, both were cited for multiple violations; fined over $1,000 and ordered to reduce their number of dogs to three, each being neutered. Sellers left Richard in March and began living on Yate's property with her pit bulls. Five months later, her dogs killed him.

What happened in Calaveras County is a perfect example of who commonly owns dangerous dogs -- grossly irresponsible types that should be subject to Depraved Indifference charges -- and how the county's current policy failed to prevent the death of Yates. Richard's neighbors continue to live in fear of his pit bulls. Arlene Azzarello, who suffers from cancer and congestive heart failure, said that a pair of pit bulls recently terrified her. Between the pit bulls marauding on her property and gunfire coming from Richard’s residence in the middle of the night, she's afraid.

08/26/10: Autopsy: Victim Bled to Death
Autopsy results confirm that Jerry Yates bled to death after being mauled by two pit bulls owned by Sheryl Sellers. According to sheriff's Capt. Jim Macedo, the official cause of death was the severing of a brachial artery, the main blood vessel of the upper arm. Macedo said the autopsy also showed that the pit bulls continued biting Yates even after he had died. There were no underlying medical conditions that contributed to his death, according to Macedo.

Calaveras County sheriff's Capt. Jim Macedo said that although Jerry Yates suffered dog bites all over his body, the autopsy determined the official cause of death was the severing of a brachial artery, the main blood vessel of the upper arm.

Macedo said Yates also suffered defensive wounds in his struggle with the dogs. "He was trying to protect himself," Macedo said.

Macedo said the autopsy also showed the dogs continued biting Yates even after he had died, and that there were no underlying medical conditions that contributed to his death. - News 10, August 26, 2010

08/24/10: Family and Friends Grieving
Sheryl Sellers was a friend, employee and tenant of Jerry Yates, a businessman, philanthropist and Vietnam Vet. Yates was killed by Sellers' two pit bulls on Sunday after the dogs escaped their pens. When Yates' son Jered went to look for his missing father, he came face-to-face with the vicious dogs, their muzzles were still bloody. Police said there was a lot of blood on the vehicles the victim was found lying between indicating obvious signs of a physical struggle.

Yates' daughter, Jami Southard, told Recordnet.com, "It was a horrible, horrible freak accident," repeating a distortion voiced by pit bull owners after their animal inflicts serious injury or death. A glance at the California Fatal Pit Bull Mauling map shows how frequent these attacks are. But the 27-year history of dog attacks, compiled by Animal People, is far more damning: Between 1982 and 2009, pit bulls inflicted grave bodily harm to 1,451 persons, maimed 777 and killed 153.

Sellers is now charged with a felony for having an animal that caused human death.

08/23/10: Pit Bulls Kill Mountain Ranch Man
Mountain Ranch, CA - In a developing story, a man was mauled to death by at least one pit bull Sunday afternoon in Calaveras County. Sheriff's Capt. Jim Macedo said Jerry Yates, 69, was found by his son Jered a little after 5 pm after he went looking for him. Macedo said about a half hour earlier, Yates had gone outside to check on a woman who rented a trailer on his Doster Road property. The woman, Sheryl Sellers, 49, kept two pit bulls in a fenced area of the yard.

Sellers was arrested and booked into jail for allowing vicious animals to be at large.

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

sheryl sellers and her pit bull that killed jerry yates

1Sellers feeling "awful" doesn't pass a simple smell test.

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