Posted on October 12, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

'Non Bite' Pit Bull Injury Leads to Death of Plainfield AC Officer

Plainfield Animal Control Officer died after being knocked to the ground by a pit bull.

Officer Theresa Foss
Plainfield, CT - An incident that raises questions regarding what defines a "fatal dog attack" recently occurred in Connecticut. On September 29, Plainfield Animal Control Officer Theresa Foss was hospitalized with a head injury after being knocked to the ground by a pit bull. Foss had responded to a call of an aggressive dog that had trapped a family in their home. A resident of the home, Ron Roberts, shot the dog several times after it attacked Foss, causing the dog to flee.

News articles were quick to point out the loose pit bull, named Buddy, had not bitten Officer Foss. The owner of the dog, David Coombs, told reporters "he had no idea" the trouble Buddy had caused when the dog returned to his home at 180 Moosup Pond Road the following morning. Though news reports emphasized that the dog had not torn Foss' flesh, Coombs took the unusual step of shooting Buddy to death then burying the animal in Canterbury, about 4 miles away.1

Local authorities did not attempt to locate the buried dog, because the incident did not involve a bite.2 A bite would have required a rabies test.

Up until Foss' death on October 8, she remained hospitalized at Yale-New Haven Hospital with a serious head injury. While it could have been an error on his part, Charles Gagne, of Gagne-Piechowski Funeral Home, said that Foss' death was unrelated to the dog. This appears to be impossible, as Foss never left the hospital after the attack. State Animal Control Officer Linda Wenner later told reporters that Foss "died of organ failure," begging the question as to why?

Two Heart Attack Victims in 10-Day Period

Foss' death comes during the same 10-day period when two people suffered a heart attack following a terrifying "pit bull incident," thus highlighting the graveness of "non bite" pit bull injuries.

On October 2, 70-year old Mary Garcia of Adams County, Colorado was attacked by two dogs, a pit bull-mastiff mix and boxer-pit bull mix, when she stepped outside to lock her car doors. Garcia suffered serious bite injuries in the attack, but the immediate threat was a heart attack that struck after the incident.
On October 11, 56-year old Timothy Neimeyer of Indianapolis hopped a fence to stop a fight between his pit bull and a neighbor's dog. The pit bull broke its chain and jumped a fence to attack the dog. While trying to stop the fight, Neimeyer went into cardiac arrest. His condition is listed as "grave" in news reports.

1Combs was ticketed for dog nuisance, allowing a dog to roam and failure to license. He was fined $242.
2For all we know, Buddy could have been shipped across state lines to live with a friend or relative of Coombs.

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

2009 Dog Bite Fatality: 23-Month Old Toddler Killed by Family Pit Bull

Jasmine Deane, 23-months old, was mauled to death by her family's chained pit bull.

Victim Identified
UPDATE 09/29/09: The toddler killed by a family dog in Orange County has been named. Investigators say 23-month old Jasmine Deane died after being bitten several times by a pit bull on Sunday. No charges have been filed in the case, but the Orange County Sheriff's Department continues to investigate. Mike Hicks, the victim's cousin, told reporters, "Friendly dog, I mean, I don't understand it. Just don't understand it. Words can't describe how it happened," Hicks said.

      It happened just o! Mountain Track Road on a short gravel drive known as Beech Tree.
      Mike Hicks, the victim's cousin, was visibly upset and fighting back tears when he said, "It's just heart breaking, shocking you know."
      The toddler, a 23 month old girl, was found in the back yard after being attacked by the family pit bull. - WTVR, September 29, 2009

09/28/09: Pit Bull with Family for 10-Years
Orange County, VA - A family pit bull attacked and killed a 23-month old girl. Authorities say the dog attacked the child Sunday night about 7:00 p.m. Apparently, the girl wandered out of her family's house while her mom was preoccupied. The family's pit bull, which was chained outside, attacked the girl. Orange County Sheriff Mark Amos says a family member found the girl in the backyard. She was pronounced dead at University of Virginia Medical Center at 9:10 p.m.

      A family in Orange County is grieving after their pit bull attacked and killed their toddler, a 23-month-old girl. It happened in the Mountain Track area of Orange County in a house right off Beech Tree Drive.
      The young girl had wandered into the backyard 6:40 pm Sunday night, trying to pet the family dog, when the Sheriff says the pit bull violently attacked her. By the time medics arrived, the child was unresponsive.
      The Orange County Sheriff says the toddler wandered out of the house, while her mother was busy inside. Minutes later, another family member found the girl in the backyard bleeding next to the family pit bull.
      "The dog was chained up. It was a pit bull. It was chained up in the backyard, and the dog had attacked the child," said Sheriff Mark Amos. CBS 19, September 29, 2009

U.S. Marine Corps Bans Pit Bulls and Other Breeds; Policy Affects All Privatized Housing

Marine Corps Pet Policy
Virginia - Following the April action of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, which banned pit bulls, rottweilers, wolf hybrids and their mixes from base housing and prohibited visitors from bringing them onto base, the U.S. Marine Corps recently adopted the same policy for all U.S. and overseas Marine Corps installations. The new uniform pet policy cites similar language as spoken by base commanding officer Col. Richard P. Flatau Jr. following Camp Lejeune's policy shift:

"These specific breeds present an unreasonable risk to the health and safety of our residents and are therefore prohibited."

The new policy (MCO P11000.22 Ch 6) was signed by Maj. Gen. Edward Usher III, deputy commandant of installations and logistics, on August 11, 2009. The policy pertains to all government-owned family housing and Public Private Venture (PPV) privatized housing areas located or accessed by the Marine Corps installation. Current owners of these breeds have 60 days to receive approval of a waiver and to pass a nationally recognized temperament test.

The "grandfather" waiver of the new uniform pet policy is viable until 30 September 2012 only. Specifically, after this date, pit bulls, rottweilers, wolf hybrids and their mixes will be wholly restricted from Marine Corps privatized housing areas, as well as Marine Corps installations. After this date, owners of "grandfathered" dogs must either find off base arrangements for their pets, or move from government-owned family housing or PPV privatized housing facilities.

Chapter 5: Domestic Animal Control

5002. BACKGROUND INFORMATION. Pet ownership for those service members and their families residing in government-owned or PPV family housing provides a real and tangible benefit, and contributes to the Quality of Life for resident families. However, the rise in ownership of large dog breeds with a predisposition toward aggressive or dangerous behavior, coupled with the increased risk of tragic incidents involving these dogs, necessitates a uniform policy to provide for the health, safety and tranquility of all residents of family areas.

5003. PROHIBITED DOG BREEDS. Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, canid/wolf hybrids, or any canine breed with dominant traits of aggression present an unreasonable risk to the health and safety of personnel in family housing areas. Consequently, full or mixed breeds of Pit Bulls, Rottweilers and canid/wolf hybrids are prohibited aboard Marine Corps installations. In the absence of formal breed identification (e.g., certification by a civilian organization such as the American Kennel Club) a Corps Officer (VCO) or a civilian veterinarian.

5004. REQUESTS FOR WAIVER AND GRANDFATHER CLAUSE

1. Grandfather Waiver Requests. Residents of government-owned or PPV-owned family housing currently in possession of properly registered dogs meeting the prohibited breed or mixed breeds noted in paragraph 5003 above, may keep their pet dog in family housing through 30 September 2012 provided the following "grandfather" provisions are met:
a.) Pet owner residents must submit for waiver to this policy within 60 calendar days from the date of the signature of Change 6 to this Order, and receive approval of waiver from the local installation commander.
b.) Dogs to be waived under this policy must pass a nationally recognized temperament test, administered and interpreted by individual(s) who have been certified in the technique and evaluation of the test results, at the service member resident's expense. Such tests include Canine Good Citizen (AKC) and the Delta Test (Delta Society). Questionable animals may be referred to a boar certified veterinary behaviorist. At no time will waiver authority for purposes of "grandfathering" be delegated below the 0-6 level.

The bold, underlined emphasis was done by the Marine Corps.

The U.S. Marine Corps now joins the U.S. Army and the New York Housing Authority in adopting a uniform pet policy that bans dangerous dog breeds from resident housing.

Posted on August 30, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

2009 Dog Bite Fatality: Elderly Phoenix Woman Dies After Complications of Dog Bite injuries

Jeanette Doyle, 90-years old, died due to complications suffered after a dog bite.

Woman Dies After Dog Bite
Phoenix, AZ - It was reported on Tuesday that 90-year old Kathleen Jeanette Doyle of Phoenix died July 26, 2009 due to complications suffered after a dog bite. On July 20, a loose American Bulldog1 bit her leg as she was walking home from her friend's house near 41st and Medlock drive. According to the dog's owners, it got out of their backyard because "windy weather" blew their fence down. Police have now opened a homicide investigation into Doyle's death2.

Gerald Doyle, Kathleen's son, said the bite injury required surgery, and his mother's health declined shortly thereafter. Aprille Hollis, a spokeswoman for Maricopa County Animal Care & Control, said the offending dog has since been put to sleep. Hollis also said the dog's owners had been cited in early July after a different dog bite incident involving the same animal. According to Hollis, the dog was quarantined for 10 days at that time before releasing it back to its owners.

The dog was "quick" to bite again, this time leading a person's death.

The owners of the dog, who would not appear on camera nor were they identified in the article, said they were "sorry" for the family's loss. They also said that they are "currently being sued" (presumably by the first July bite victim or by the Doyle family). Meanwhile Gerald and friends of Doyle's, such as Mary Maloney, are devastated at the loss of Kathleen. Maloney told reporters, "I hope that when I get as old as she is, if I make it that far, I can be as strong as she was."

1The dog appears to be a Johnson type. It also appears that there is no "safe" subdivision of a pit bull. See the History Channel blog post to learn more.
2Doyle's death was coupled with cardio pulmonary disease. With police opening a homicide investigation, final autopsy information will likely be released.

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