Posted on August 25, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

One City's Experience - The City of Denver

DogsBite.org - The history of the Denver pit bull ban, which was enacted in 1989, revoked in 2004 and reinstated in 2005, is best summarized in a 2005 Municipal Lawyer article titled, "One City's Experience," by Kory A. Nelson, the Senior Assistant City Attorney for the City and County of Denver. A deeper review of the pit bull ban's legal history can be found in, "Denver's Pit Bull Ordinance, A Review of Its History and Judicial Rulings," (download PDF) also by Mr. Nelson.

We gathered the vicious maulings and fatalities that played a role in the enactment of the Denver pit bull ban. Due to the closeness of the City of Aurora, which passed a Fighting Breed ban in 2005, we included attacks from Aurora as well. Though distinctly two separate cities, their histories regarding the pit bull problem overlap. Combined, the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area has an estimated population of 2.3 million, both of which cities prohibit new pit bull terriers.

(1986) Fernando Salazar | On October 26, 1986, 3-year old Fernando Salazar of Denver wandered into a neighbor's yard and was killed by a pit bull chained to the neighbor's carport. At the time of the attack, Gil Troncasa, the dog's owner, was watching football on T.V. His wife ultimately discovered the deadly incident.
(1989) Rev. Wilbur Billingsley | On May 8, 1989, 59-year old Rev. Wilbur Billingsley of Denver was attacked by a pit bull in the alley behind his home. The victim suffered serious injuries with over 70 bites and two broken legs. His neighbor, Normal Cable, stopped the assault by firing a shotgun at the dog.1

October 1989, Denver Passes Pit Bull Ban

(2003) Jennifer Brooke | On November 30, 2003, 40-year old Jennifer Brooke of Elbert County2 was killed by loose pit bulls when she went out to feed her horses. At the time, she had been armed with a baseball bat. Two other victims were bitten in this same incident before arriving officers shot and killed the dogs.
(2004) John Doe | On February 1, 2004, a 5-year old boy was bitten in the face by a pit bull during a Super Bowl party. The attack occurred in the Montbello home of Vanessa Stephen, who was believed to be the boy's grandmother. Stephen was cited for the attack and for harboring an unregistered pit bull.3
(2004) On April 14, 2004, Colorado Governor Bill Owens signed House Bill 1279, which prohibited counties and municipalities from regulating dogs through breed-specific laws. Later that same day, the City and County of Denver announced that it would suspend active enforcement of its pit bull ban ordinance.

April 2004, Denver Pit Bull Ban Revoked

(2004) Jane Doe | On July 13, 2004, a 7-year old girl was attacked near the Denver Tech Center by her babysitter's "mastiff-mix." The babysitter, Gretchen Robinson, had recently adopted the dog from the Denver Dumb Friends League. Arriving officers were forced to shoot the dog three times killing it.4
(2004) Vivianna Vigil | On September 13, 2004, 3-year old Vivianna Vigil of Aurora was attacked by a pit bull who had gotten out of its owner's house through a screen door. Neighbor Kristen Brown said the pit bull had a "death grip" on the little girl. In August, the same pit bull had attacked a FedEx deliveryman.
(2004) Gabriel Moody | On October 15, 2004, 6-year old Gabriel Moody was severely bitten in the face by a pit bull in Westminister, which is a northwest suburb of Denver, but lies in a different county. The owner of the dog, Shelley Fernandez of Arvada, had been visiting the boy's family at the time if the attack.
(2005) John Albergotti | On February 24, 2005, Denver Police Officer John Albergotti was attacked by a pit bull while attempting to locate a homicide suspect. He supplied testimony in the April court case that authorized Denver to reinstate its pit bull ban (City and County of Denver v. State of Colorado).

May 2005, Denver Pit Bull Ban Reinstated

(2005) Jose Simental | On September 11, 2005, Jose Simental of Aurora was working outside on his truck when four pit bulls attacked him. A friend of his fought the dogs off with a crowbar. The owner of the pit bulls had been "keeping the dogs for her kids" who couldn't house pit bulls because of Denver's ban.5

October 2005, Aurora Passes Fighting Breed Ban

(2005) Gregg Jones Jr., | On November 2, 2005, 10-year old Gregg Jones Jr. of Aurora was brutally attacked by his mother's three pit bulls in his backyard. One of his arms was so badly injured that doctors had to amputate it. The attack fell one week after Aurora passed its Fighting Breed ban, but prior to its "effect" date.6
(2007) Dorothy Rugg | On July 12, 2007, 63-year old Dorothy Rugg and her granddaughter, 20-year old Bobbi Mitchell of Aurora, were attacked by a family pit bull while visiting the home of Rugg's son. The dog was repeatedly stabbed in the chest with a kitchen knife, but this failed to stop its violent assault.7
(2008) On November 19, 2008, Chief U.S. District Judge Wiley Y. Daniel upheld the Aurora Fighting Breed ban. Daniel rejected arguments brought by the American Canine Foundation, a pit bull lobbying group, and Florence Vianzon Sasek including: Substantive Due Process, Equal Protection and Takings Claims.

Left: Rev. Wilbur and Betty Billingsley. Right: Pit bull roundup begins in Denver circa 2005.

In February 2020, there was another attempt to repeal Denver's longstanding pit bull ban. Links in this blog post have been updated to preserve the historical content in this post written in 2009.

2009 Protest Video: Watch Video About 2009 Attempt to Repeal Denver's Pit Bull Ban

Victims Shown in Video
In order of appearance: Jacob Brady, 16-months old (Fairview Beach, VA), Emily Stinnet, 4-years old (Hodgenville, KY), Amaya Hess, 4-years old (Indianapolis, IN), Annette Rojas, 8-years old (Santa Rosa, CA), Charlotte Blevins, 11-months old (Omaha, NE), Ciera Anyaso, 9-years old, (Joliet, IL), Danny Jones, 15-years old (Takoma Park, MD), Delany Williams, 6-years old (Pittsburg, CA), Destiny Campbell, 3-years old (New Castle County, PA), Ellie Lawrenson, 5-years old (Merseyside, UK), Erin Dickinson, 7-years old (Reading, PA), Gregg Jones Jr., 10-years old (Aurora, CO), Hannah Shreves, 3-years old (Fairmont, WV), Isis Krieger, 6-years old (Anchorage, AK), Jai-Quone Nelson, 7-years old (Baltimore, MD), Jayden Garrison, toddler (Baltimore, MD), Joshua Tanner Monk, 7-years old (Breckenridge, TX), Kamar Reynolds, 3-years old (Brooklyn, NY), Kasey Eyring, 7-years old (Baltimore, MD), Kiara Lynn, 19-years old (Waukegan, IL), Mattea Flanigan, child (Dothan, AL), Nicholas Scott Faibish, 12-years old, (San Francisco, CA), Nick Foley, 10-years old (Cary, IL), Rayvin Crawford, 3-years old (Indianapolis, IN), Ronnie Smithell III, 23-months old (Atkinson, PA), Scott Warren, 6-years old (Dallas, TX), Sean Bajwa, 11-years old (Surrey, CA), Seth Lovitt, 11-years old (Killeen, TX), Zachary King Jr., 7-years old (Minneapolis, MN), Zach McPhillips, 13-years old (Anula, AU) and Katie Jarman, 6-years old (Gulfport, MS)

1The pit bull, Tate, had attacked three people prior to Billingsley. One of the victims was hospitalized for 3-weeks. The owner of Tate, David A. Martinez, 25, was sentenced to 400 hours of community service after the Billingsley attack.
2Elbert County is part of the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area.
3The actual owner of the dog was a 17-year old who fled the scene, along with his pit bull, after the attack.
4This incident was included because the adoption occurred after the ban was revoked, whereby making the issue of "breed determination" moot.
5On October 24, 2005 the Aurora City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting the "new" ownership 10 dog breeds with the genetic heritage of dogfighting.
6The boy's mother, Renee Muniz, was subsequently charged with felony child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury and misdemeanor reckless child abuse.
7Police officers shot the dog through the home's security door, shattering the door, while the dog was still inside. Officers shot the dog once more outside killing it.

Posted on August 24, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

2009 U.S. Shelter Data: Pit Bulls Account for 58% of Dogs Euthanized

Animal People July/August 2009
DogsBite.org - The latest issue of Animal People News, which projects 2009 shelter killings based on 2006-2008 data1, reports that a decade of "adoption focus" has failed to reduce these deaths, with the decade's average at 4.5, right where it was in 1999. The data shows that campaigns designed to reduce shelter killing chiefly by increasing adoption, instead of preventing the births of cats and dogs most likely to enter shelters and be killed, have been ineffective.

Among the unadoptables in 2009, based on the 2006-2008 figures, will be about 1.8 million cats, believed to be mostly feral, and as many as 967,300 pit bulls. Of the 1,663,167 shelter dogs projected to be euthanized in 2009, pit bulls account for 58%. The increased pit bull killing rate, it was 50% in 2007, exists despite the fact that pit bulls are not more than 5% of the total U.S. dog population, according to the article, and that serious efforts have been taken to reduce this rate.

Pit Bulls Killed at Similar Rate as Steers

"Of the total U.S. pit bull population of circa 3.5 million, about a third arrive at a shelter in any given year, at an average age of about 18 months. This is the same average age and rate, relative to their number on farms, at which steers go to slaughter.
Two-thirds to 80% of the pit bulls entering shelters are surrendered by their keepers. Most of the rest are impounded, either for behavior or as victims of abuse and neglect." ANIMAL PEOPLE July/August 2009

Cities with Pit Bull Laws (BSL) Kill Fewer

Page 10 of the article shows a regional breakdown of shelter killing during the 3-year period. A side bar chart titled, "The Effect of Breed-Specific ByLaws on City Pit Bull Terrier Killing Rates" is also included. As seen in the chart, the City of Denver, which bans new pit bulls, also euthanizes the fewest pit bulls. While the national average of pit bulls euthanized per 1,000 human residents is 3.15, the rate in Denver is only .14. Of the city's total shelter killing, pit bulls accounted for 3%.

The City of Cincinnati, which also bans new pit bulls, shows a pit bull euthanization rate that is less than half of the national average 1.34. As noted in the article, pit bulls made up a much smaller part of total shelter killing in Cincinnati (10%) than in Milwaukee (18%) or Indianapolis (17%), two cities of similar demographic profile. Lastly, the chart includes San Francisco data pre-BSL (43%) and post-BSL (29%), a 14% drop after the 2006 enactment of a pit bull sterilization law.

1The ANIMAL PEOPLE projection of regional and national shelter killing tolls each year is based on compiling the tolls from every open admission shelter handling significant numbers of animals in specific cities, counties, or states. The sample base each year is proportionately weighted to ensure regional balance. Only data from the three most recent fiscal years is used.

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

2009 Double Dog Bite Fatality: Senior Couple Killed by Pack of Dogs in Oglethorpe County

Dogs Euthanized archived
UPDATE 08/18/09: Authorities have rounded up 16 dogs (11 dogs and 5 puppies) suspected in the attack that killed two people. The court-ordered euthanasia of the mongrel dogs1 began Tuesday. Authorities are still seeking two other dogs seen in the area. It was also reported that the Schweders owned 20 cats and seven dogs (eight if Sherry's missing dog is included). There were no witnesses to the attack, and their bodies were found a few hundred feet from their home.

Sheriff's deputies, code enforcement officers and other officials spent most of Monday and Tuesday rounding up 11 adult dogs and five puppies, Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Capt. Shalon Huff said. One more was trapped Wednesday morning, leaving one still to be captured, she said.

"We're just lucky this hasn't happened before," said Susan Fornash, director of the Madison Oglethorpe Animal Shelter in Danielsville, where the captured dogs were held before being euthanized Tuesday under orders from a local judge ...

It took about 90 minutes to euthanize all 16 dogs, several of which were maggot-infested, Fornash said. No one asked that they be checked for rabies, and the sheriff directed that the carcasses be cremated immediately, she said. - CNN, August 20, 2009

08/17/09: Dogs Kill Two People archived
Lexington, GA - A retired college professor and his wife were found dead Saturday along a rural northeast Georgia road after being mauled by a dozen dogs the night before. Oglethorpe County Corner James Matthews said it was impossible to determine "what kind" of dogs killed Lothar Karl Schweder, 77, and his wife, Sherry Schweder, 65, (also known as Sherry Allen) a longtime UGA librarian. Matthews said the suspected dogs were not aggressive when he arrived on scene.

The owner of the dogs, Howard Thaxton, had moved away from his home about a month ago. Neighbor Lanier Bridges said the dogs remained on the property after medical problems forced him to leave. A friend would bring him over to feed the dogs, Bridges said. He added that the dogs had never been a problem in the past. According to Matthews, Thaxton's dogs were rounded up Monday by animal control officers and showed no signs of malnourishment or rabies.

A report from Fox 5 News shows some of the dogs in a video clip, which appear to be mixed combinations of German Shepherds, Labs, Chows, and Dobermans and bred among each other as well. Investigators believe Sherry went for a walk Friday night when she was attacked by the animals. When she didn't come home, her husband went to look for her. He drove down the road in his car and when he discovered her body, he got out. The same dogs then attacked him.

As the investigation into the double fatal attack continues to unfold, open questions remain. First and foremost, are Thaxton's dogs actually to blame? The Schweder's reportedly owned 6 dogs, but no further information was provided about them. Matthews, who lives just two miles down the road from the attack, said: "There are a lot of weird circumstances with this one," he said. "I've been a coroner for 28 years, and this is one of the weirdest cases I've investigated."

deadly pack attack, Oglethorpe County, Sherry and Lothar Schweder

1The term "mongrel dog" refers to a lack of breed distinction amongst dogs born in the wild, or born into homes due to their owners allowing free roaming. We've gathered some of the dog images into a viewable PDF file. It must be noted that the first image appears to show a full-blooded Doberman Pinscher.

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

2009 Dog Bite Fatality: Newborn Killed by Pet Pit Bull in Hardy County

Justin Kummer, just a few days old, was killed by a family pit bull, in Rio, WV.

3 Months or 3 Years?
UPDATE 08/18/09: The original article from the MetroNews has been updated to reflect new information, as well as a new time frame for owning the pit bull. Authorities now say the pit bull was purchased "three years" ago from a relative who lives in Maryland. To determine if charges apply, authorities are checking on the dog's history. Deputy Burrows told reporters, "I need to wait and speak with the agency where the dog is from to see if they had any complaints."

The Cumberland Times-News, however, continues to report that the offending pit bull is "1-year old," making a purchase three years ago, of the dog that killed a 3-day old baby, impossible.

DogsBite blog ::

The History of the Denver Pit Bull Ban and the Victims that Prompted New Law

One City's Experience - The City of Denver

2009 U.S. Shelter Data: Pit Bulls Account for 58% of Dogs Euthanized

2009 Double Dog Bite Fatality: Senior Couple Killed by Pack of Dogs in Oglethorpe County

2009 Dog Bite Fatality: Newborn Killed by Pet Pit Bull in Hardy County