2010 Dog Bite Fatality: 'Ax Men' Jesse Browning's Stepdaughter Killed by Rottweiler

reality TV star's daughter killed by rottweiler
Ashlynn Anderson, 4-years old, was killed by one of her step-father's rottweilers.

Female Rottweiler archived
UPDATE 03/02/10: It has been clarified that the victim, Ashlynn Anderson, was Jesse Browning's stepdaughter. Ashlynn spent half of each week at the home of her father and the other half with her mother, D'Ette Browning, and Jesse. Apparently, the two paired up when Ashlynn was about a year old. Jay Browning, Jesse's father, said the girl's mother went out to check on the child and she was laying there bleeding and the female, spayed rottweiler, named Cornelia, was nearby.1

Ashlyn Anderson, daughter of Brian Anderson and D’ette Browning, was found dead outside her family’s home on Feb. 28. Two of the family’s dogs, Junior, a 17-month-old, 104-pound, neutered male Rottweiler/Newfoundland mix, and Cornelia, a 3-year-old, 80-pound, spayed female Rottweiler, were seen near the child. The investigation concluded that Cornelia was positively involved in the attack. - Lori Tobias, The Oregonian, March 18, 2010

03/01/10: Reality TV Star's Daughter Killed archived
Astoria, OR - 'Ax Men' star Jesse Browning's 4-year old daughter was killed by a family dog near Astoria. The attack occurred outside the family home in the 4200 block of Hillcrest Loop Road. Ashlynn Anderson, was airlifted to Portland's Oregon Health and Science University Hospital, where she died. "Everyone was there in minutes, but she was pretty severely mauled. By the time they got her to OHSU, she had lost too much blood," said Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin.

According to Bergin, "The mom just happened to look out and saw the dog and the child laying there. Apparently, the dog just snapped." The Brownings own two rottweilers, both of which were removed and quarantined at a local animal shelter, where they will be "adopted or euthanized." Four months earlier, an Astoria deputy was forced to remove a third rottweiler from the Browning home "because it had gotten aggressive," reports The Oregonian. That dog was euthanized then.


In 2009, the combination of pit bulls (14) and rottweilers (4) accounted for 56% of all attacks resulting in death. Over the 5-year period from 2005 to 2009, this same combination accounted for 70% (103) of the total recorded dog bite deaths (148) in the United States.


map iconView the DogsBite.org Google Map: U.S. Fatal Rottweiler Attacks By State
1The offending female rottweiler was reportedly two-and-a-half years old.

Related articles:
01/06/10: 2009 U.S. Dog Bite Fatality Statistics - DogsBite.org
12/15/09: 2009 Fatality: Great-Aunt's Rottweiler-Mix Kills 20-Month Old Boy
01/19/09: 2009 Fatality: Brooklynn Grace Milburn Killed by Rottweiler

2010 Dog Bite Fatality: 3-Year Old Mauled to Death by Pit Bull Type Dog in Ocala

Haaker, pit bull attack, dream bulldog
Champion Haaker's Uno of OHK and GC Haaker's Uno of OHK GTT2

Breeding Operation Ends archived
UPDATE 02/24/10: Officials report that the offending male dog named Uno (right photo) was euthanized Wednesday. Today, the three remaining female American pit bulldogs seized at the Haacker's Dream Bulldog Ranch were euthanized as well. "No one witnessed the actual attack on the child, but all of the [dogs] in the pen potentially had access to the little girl during this fatal attack," said Animal Services Director Jill Lancon. "We can't risk another tragedy."

02/21/10: Mother Ran Breeding Operation
Lori Haaker, the mother of the child, is an active breeder of Scott type American bulldogs and hybrids. The two Haaker dogs depicted in the photo clearly illustrate pit bull type dogs (See: Pit bull faq) and once again raises the issue of exactly how to classify the Scott type American bulldog. The Scott type and breed standard is by definition a pit bull-mix, as the breed was directly developed by crossing early Johnson lines with the American pit bull terrier.

Pit bull breeders, owners and kennel clubs of have been disguising the pit bull's name since 1936. The Scott type American bulldog seems to be the latest outcrop. Though Haaker's website, dreambulldogranch.com, appears to be offline, one can browse the site's web archives. We found this page particularly ironic: "We are working toward a personal goal in our breeding program where the emphasis is on a temperament that is above all, people and child friendly."

The Department of Child and Family Services is investigating the parents of the little girl, whose name has still not been released. Details of the attack, such as how did the child wander into the pen, remain unclear. Four American pit bulldogs were chained to different trees inside the pen. Only one dog is believed to be responsible for the deadly attack. The child was dead by the time emergency responders reached the scene. The couple has four other children.

02/20/10: Another Child Dead Due to a Pit Bull
Ocala, FL - Another fatal pit bull attack occurred today -- two in one day. The incident happened in Ocala, Florida. Jenifer Fisher, of the Marion County Sheriff's Office, said a woman was in her yard with her daughter, cleaning out the pen where the family keeps four pit bulls chained to trees. The woman went into the house and she didn't see her daughter when she returned. The woman later realized the girl had entered the pen and was being mauled by one of the dogs.

Related articles:
02/18/10: 2010 Fatality: Terry Child, 5-years old, Killed by Neighbor's Pit Bull
01/12/10: 2010 Fatality: Pet Pit Bull Kills 3-Year Old Boy in Apple Valley
09/05/09: 2009 Fatality: 2 Pit Bulls Kill 10-Year Old Boy in Rusk County, Texas

2010 Dog Bite Fatality: 5-Day Old Infant Killed by Family Pit Bull

baby killed by family pit bull in conyers
A 5-day old baby girl was killed by a family pit bull in Conyers, Georgia.

Death by Pit Bull Bite
Conyers, GA - Another newborn infant was killed by a family dog. According to a Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office press release, the mother of the 5-day old baby girl heard the infant crying last Thursday and found the pet pit bull on top of the baby’s bassinet. The bitten infant was taken to Rockdale Medical Center then airlifted to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston for surgery. The infant was listed in critical condition and died Tuesday, February 23, from the injuries.

      A newborn infant died Tuesday after being bitten by the family pet last week.
      According to a Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office press release, the mother of the 5-day-old baby girl heard the infant crying Thursday and found the family dog on top of the baby’s bassinet.
      “As she approached the bassinet, she realized that the dog had bitten her daughter,” read the release.
      The infant was taken to Rockdale Medical Center and later airlifted to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston for surgery. Doctors performed the surgery, but the infant was listed in critical condition and died Tuesday from the injuries.
      No charges are expected to be filed, according the release. - Rockdale/Newton Citizen, February 23, 2010

Danny Lowery, owner of Conyers K-9 Academy, incorrectly tells reporters that "a dog will tell you before it bites" in the article. It is well documented by humane groups that fighting dogs (pit bulls) frequently fail to communicate intention prior to an attack. Pit bulls may not offer a direct stare, a growl or bark before an attack. Due to selective breeding for the purposes of dogfighting, pit bulls also ignore traditional signs of submission and appeasement amongst other dogs.

Zupf video buttonRelated ZUPF video

Additional archives:
11/15/10: County mulls tougher leash laws, fee hike
02/25/10: Surgeon: No place for pit bulls, rottweilers around children
02/24/10: Pit bull blamed for death of Ga. infant

2010 Dog Bite Fatality: 37-Year Old Philadelphia Woman Killed by Mother's Pit Bulls

Chistine Staab's myspace page, pit bull attack
Christine Staab, 37-years old, was mauled to death by one of her mother's six pit bulls.

Staab's Mother Speaks
UPDATE 02/21/10: The mother of Christine Staab (See: Video), Barbara Erb, told the local paper that the two had been arguing when Christine fell backward (See: Pit bull triggers) causing her pet pit bull to attack and kill her. Erb said she tried frantically to pull off the dog, Jade, but could not get the pit bull to release its grip on Staab's throat. The four surviving pit bulls were taken to an SPCA shelter. Like her husband, Thomas Fowler, Erb would like the dogs returned to her.

Erb described the six pit bulls as "house dogs" that were well cared for and even micro-chipped for identification. "They were spoiled rotten," Erb said. "They were not neglected in any way." The door of the house had one sign that read "Beware of dog," and another saying that in the case of fire, rescuers should save the six dogs inside. It listed their names: Paige, Peaches, Maggie, Satan, Bear, and Jade, as clearly the lives of Erb's dogs outweigh the lives of human beings.

Zupf video buttonRelated ZUPF video

02/20/10: Victim's Step-Father Defends Dogs
In an incident described as a pit bull "brutally attacking" and killing Christine Staab, and police officers being forced to shoot the animal so that it would release its grip on the victim's neck, Staab's step-father Thomas Fowler denounced Staab on local TV and said that two of the family's six pit bulls were doing "what comes naturally to a dog." Fowler said the pit bull, Jade, was only protecting his wife who was trying to take back a set of keys from Christine.

It is not natural for a dog to kill a person during a family argument.

Troubled and allegedly drug addicted 37-year old Christine Staab was mauled to death by her mother and step-father's pit bulls right in front of their very eyes. The scene must have been horrific: A pit bull locked onto Staab's throat shaking it vigorously back and forth, blood spewing everywhere. At his first chance, however, Fowler defended his pit bulls "all of whom he says were friendly, nonaggressive pets" and hopes to have the four dogs returned to him.

02/20/10: Police Shoot Dogs; Can't Save Victim
Philadelphia, PA - In a developing story, Philadelphia police and animal control officers are investigating an incident in which a dog brutally attacked and killed a 37-year old woman. According to police, the attack took place Saturday morning at a home on the 1400 block of East Oxford Avenue in North Philadelphia. Philadelphia police responding to the scene were forced to shoot and kill two pit bulls on the scene. The identity of the victim has not yet been released.

map iconView the DogsBite.org Google State Map: Pennsylvania Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Images of the mother's pit bulls, she refers to as "The six pack" on her MySpace page. The primary attacker, Jade, is seen top left. (Click for full PDF of MySpace page).


mother's pit bulls that killed Christine Staab
Related articles:
02/06/10: Pet Pit Bull Unleashes Explosive Attack on Owner and Two Others...
01/18/10: 2010 Fatality: 56-Year Old Man Killed by Daughter's Six Pit Bulls
08/12/09: 2009 Fatality: Leesburg Man, 20, Killed by His Two Pit Bulls Trying to...
05/11/09: Animal Agency, PSPCA, Distorts History of 25-Year Old Pit Bull Problem