Posted on April 15, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

2009 Dog Bite Fatality: Huron County Veteran Killed by Three Dogs

Autopsy Complete archived
UPDATE 04/15/09: An autopsy confirms that David Whitenack, Jr. (previously reported as "Whiteneck") died as a result of an attack by dogs. Dr. Kanu Virani, forensic pathologist and Oakland County deputy chief medical examiner, conducted the autopsy. "It was determined Mr. Whitenack died from multiple puncture wounds, which numbered between 150 and 200," said Sheriff Kelly J. Hanson, adding that the bite wounds covered Whitenack’s entire body.

The preliminary investigation indicates Whitenack was attacked outside the camper by three non-neutered male dogs, which were reported to be blue heeler-Australian shepherd mixes. According to police, Whitenack did not have a vehicle or a cellular phone to call for help. It’s believed the dogs, which also lived on the Leavine property, had Whitenack trapped inside, and he was unable to reach a neighbor’s house to get help following the vicious attack.

It is unknown, however, who had been caring for the dogs since Leavine -- who suffers from a life threatening illness -- no longer lives on the property. While the cause and manner of Whitenack's death has been determined, the time of his death has not. Witnesses have come forward to say that Whitenack was last seen around noon on Saturday in the Port Austin area. The Huron County Sheriff’s Department is asking anyone with more information to come forward.

04/15/09: Property Owner Identified archived
Huron County Sheriff Kelly J. Hanson said the property was owned by Frank Leavine (6028 Carpenter Road). He was also told that Leavin owned the three mixed-breed dogs. Hanson described the animals as extremely vicious and a harm to the community. "It wasn’t because they were hungry -- there was food found on the property," Sheriff Hanson said. The dogs that attacked Ignash, and are believed to have fatally attacked Whitenack, were destroyed at the scene.

According to Hanson, Ignash and Franzel went to the property in search of Whiteneck when they came across three aggressive dogs. Hanson said Ignash was attacked by the dogs, and Franzel was able to beat the dogs off of Ignash. The two continued their search for Whitenack, checking the camper that was strapped to a snowmobile trailer, where Whitenack was living. He was found dead inside the camper. The friends then called 9-1-1 to alert authorities.

Police reports indicate that Whitenack, who was found shirtless, had several deep, wide wounds that appeared to be dog bites. Reports also indicate he was bitten throughout most of his body. A large amount of blood also was found inside the camper. Dr. Richard Lockard arrived on the scene to examine Whitenack’s body and where it was found. Whitenack was then transported to Huron Medical Center in Bad Axe, where Lockard further examined the body.

04/14/09: Mauling Victim Identified
Authorities have identified David B. Whitenack Jr. as the mauling victim. Friends found the mutilated remains of the 41-year old veteran yesterday on the property another friend owns in Dwight Township. Whiteneck lived in a camper propped on a snowmobile trailer on the property. Huron County sheriff's deputies destroyed the three "mixed-breed" dogs investigators believe killed Whitenack and attacked his friends Douglas Ignash of Kinde and Randy Franzel of Filion.

04/14/09: Autopsy for Veteran Planned
Kinde, MI - In a developing story, a 41-year-old veteran may have been mauled to death by vicious dogs in Huron County. The sheriff's department says it was called to the man's property after a neighbor found the longtime Huron County resident's body inside a small camper. Radio station WLEW-AM reports that a neighbor was also severely bitten by three dogs, which had to be beaten off by another neighbor. An autopsy of the 41-year old victim, still unnamed, is planned.

Posted on April 14, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

2009 Dog Bite Fatality: Winterhaven Man Killed by Pack of Dogs

Blames "Wild Dogs"
UPDATE 08/15/09: Photographed above two "Beware of Dog" signs, the owner of the dogs seized by the county, Larry Alvin Stubel, says the dogs that attacked Lykins were not his. The 11 adult dogs and nine puppies Stubel kept in a pen surrounded by chicken wire had nothing to do with Lykins' death, according to Stubel. Though his own dogs were loose at the time of the attack, Stuble claims the culprits were a pack of wild dogs seen roaming the area.

The 11 adult dogs and nine puppies Stubel kept in a makeshift pen surrounded by chicken wire had nothing to do with Lykins’ brutal death, Stubel said. The attack occurred a distance from his Airstream trailer on the remote 12-acre Ross Road property on which Stubel lives.

County authorities euthanized Stubel’s adult dogs and some of the puppies on the grounds they were considered “dangerous” by animal control officials who concluded the dogs ran loose at the time they attacked Lykins, according to an April 3 letter the county’s Public Health Department sent Stubel. - Silvo Panta, Imperial Valley Press Online, August 15, 2009

04/22/09: Three Amputations Prior Death
The Imperial Valley Press provides many more details regarding this savage attack than the previous YumaSun articles. Writer Silvio J. Panta reports that Gordon Lykins suffered three amputations; both his legs and an arm were amputated, according to Sgt. Scott Sheppeard. The victim was found by the owner of the seized dogs after he heard sounds of barking. The man's name continues to be withheld while the investigation unfolds.

According to Sheppeard, Lykins was a handyman by trade and lived in a recreational vehicle near the All-American Canal. He was found in a drainage ditch in the 1700 block of Ross Road. The ditch lies between Imperial County and the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation, from where the dogs were initially believed to have come (thus complicating the investigation). It was not known if Lykins had any immediate family. Lykins was the only apparent witness to the attack.

Winterhaven fire authorities initially received a 6:30 p.m. call of a traffic accident at the location, but found Lykins instead, said Winterhaven Fire Chief Steve Taylor. Two separate calls were received but it was not immediately known if they were made by the same caller, according to Sheppeard. Moments after Lykins was loaded up into an ambulance, the dogs charged five firefighters who climbed atop a fire engine to avoid getting bitten, Taylor said.

Persons with information can call the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office at 572-0229.

04/14/09: Sparse Details About Attack
Winterhaven, CA - In a terrible "pack attack" that we have been watching for two weeks now, it was reported yesterday that the victim, Gordon Lykins, 48, died Friday in a Phoenix hospital. On March 28, Lykins was violently attacked by a pack of dogs. In addition to one of his legs being nearly chewed off, Lykins sustained numerous dog bites to his whole body. Shortly after arriving to the hospital, Lykins had to have one of his legs amputated from below the knee.

Since the first report of this attack, there has been little information provided. For instance, authorities quickly seized 11 suspected dogs from a neighbor. Yet 15 days after the attack, the dog owner remains unnamed and none of the dog breeds have been identified either. Sgt. Scott Sheppeard said in the first report: "We just don't have confirmation right now that these are the right dogs. Until he regains consciousness, we won't know whether we have the right dogs."

Of the three articles that have been published by the YumaSun about this attack, none have mentioned if blood was found on the dogs or the possibility of DNA tests. Each, however, has mentioned that the dogs continue to be held at the animal shelter until authorities determine whether or not they have the right dogs. As long as the dogs go unidentified, authorities cannot press charges (assuming there are any charges to press other than having loose dogs.)

Each article also reminds readers that due to the extent of Lykins' injuries he was kept under sedation after the attack and unable to identify the dogs. This constant reminder shows the horrific disparity between victim rights and the rights of the dog owner: the former has zip. Not only was the man terribly mauled, incurred a leg amputation and is now dead, he also pays the price of being too injured to identify the dogs, which may eliminate recourse for his family.

Posted on April 14, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

2009 Dog Bite Fatality: Michael Blaise Landry, 4, Killed in Own Yard

Michael Blaise Landry, 4-years old, was attacked and killed by three boxers.

Deputy Released Dogs
UPDATE 04/14/09: Authorities say it was an off-duty Pointe Coupee Parish sheriff's deputy who released three boxers out of their cages just moments before the dogs attacked and killed Michael Landry. 18th Judicial District Attorney Ricky Ward said his only option as a prosecutor would be to file a negligent homicide charge, which would require establishing that the child’s death was the result of gross negligence -- defined as a "gross deviation of normal standards of care."

Ward said he has prepared Michael's family for the possibility that neither the off-duty deputy, Rob Roy of New Roads, or the dogs' owner and Roy's fiancée, Candace Wells, will be arrested in their son's death. "I don't see there being a criminal prosecution at this time," Ward said. Debra Patin, a cousin of Michael's mother, Tammy Landry, said that Michael's parents aren’t thinking of a criminal prosecution at this time. "All we're worried about is a little boy we have to put in a grave," she said.

Sheriff Beauregard “Bud” Torres said Roy, a three-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office and a member of the office’s K-9 division, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the completion of the State Police investigation.

Torres described Roy as “a very caring, good guy” who is distraught over Michael’s death.

Roy let the dogs loose Friday at the Morganza home of Todd Wells, who is Candace Wells’ father, as Roy helped his fiancée clean the dogs’ kennels, Torres said. - Koran Addo, The Advocate, April 14, 2009

100th U.S. Fatal Dog Attack (3.25 Year Period)

The death of Michael Landry is the 12th fatal attack DogsBite.org has recorded in 2009 and the 100th death since January 1, 2006. In the 3-year period of 2006 through 2008, canines inflicted 88 fatal attacks in the United States. Boxers accounted for just 2 of these deaths (3 if one includes the conflicting media reports of "bulldog-boxer mixes" involved in the death of John Matthew Davis). Boxers and their mixes account for 2.5% of the 100 fatal attacks in the 3.25 year period.

04/11/09: "Care Taker" Cleaning Kennel
New information about the death of Michael Landry has been released. Captain Steve Juge told reporters that a man "acting as caretaker" for one or more of the dogs was cleaning out the kennel at the time of the fatal mauling. The man tried to rescue the boy, and was also taken to a hospital because his blood pressure spiked. He was not bitten by the dogs. Authorities will not release his name until the investigation is complete. Three dogs were reportedly involved in the attack.

He said the caretaker was cleaning out the kennel next door, and went into a shed to fill the dogs' food bowls when the animals came into the yard where Michael was playing and his mother gardening nearby, Juge said.

A chain-link fence runs between the two houses but not behind either, Juge said, and barbed-wire fencing ran behind the kennel.

The child's father told deputies that the dogs had never gone into his yard before, Juge said. - Associated Press, April 11, 2009

04/11/09: Child Mauled to Death by Dogs
Morganza, LA - In a developing story, a 4-year old boy was killed by at least one dog as he played in his family's own yard in Morganza, Louisiana. "Somehow the dogs got out of a pen and the four-year-old was playing in the yard next door and the dogs attacked the child," said Captain Steve Juge of the Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff's Department. Michael Blaise Landry was airlifted to Point Coupee General Hospital in New Roads. Authorities said he did not survive his injuries.

Captain Steve Juge added that the owners of the dogs -- who live in a home very close to the child's home -- are friends with Michael's family. The sheriff's department does not have a record of complaints on the dogs, described as boxers, or their owners. Further, Juge points out that it is clear these animals were family pets. "These dogs are pets. They were on concrete, very well-maintained animals." The dogs were loaded into vans and taken into away by animal control.

Posted on April 3, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

Anti-BSL Group, American Canine Foundation, Testified for Seller of Dogfighting Videos

Robert Stevens, Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin and Glen Bui of the American Canine Foundation.

Robert J. Stevens
Washington D.C. - On March 20, 2009, the defense team of Robert J. Stevens filed a Brief in Opposition for the pending United States Supreme Court's hearing of his case. In January 2005, Stevens was the first person found guilty of selling depictions of animal cruelty (dogfighting videos) under the 1999 federal animal cruelty law. He was sentenced to 37 months in prison. He appealed the case, which was subsequently overturned by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The U.S. government appealed the Circuit Court ruling and the case currently lies before the United States Supreme Court.1

The Brief in Opposition filed by the defense reveals information about Stevens' original trial. Two of the three people mentioned in the Brief were members of the American Canine Foundation (ACF): Expert Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin and acting ACF Vice President, Glen Bui. The document describes the ACF as an organization working to "end animal cruelty," when in fact, the organization is a pit bull special interest group that sues municipalities that enact pit bull laws.

During Stevens' trial, the ACF was actively engaged in litigation against Denver and Aurora regarding their pit bull bans, as well as the State of Ohio (Toledo v. Tellings) regarding their pit bull law. Glen Bui testified in the Stevens' trial that, "Mr. Stevens' films were 'extremely educational' and had serious historical value documenting the history of dogfighting and its cultural role in Japan." The jury rejected the defense's testimony and convicted Stevens in 45 minutes.

Why would a pro-pit bull group (working to "end animal cruelty") testify on behalf of a person that sold depictions of dogfighting?

Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin, an expert witness for the ACF, also testified that the videos had serious "educational value." Brisbin is often quoted by pit bull advocates to dispel the "locking jaw" reputation pit bulls have gained, as well as the "pounds per square inch" bite power equation. Brisbin is a hog hunter (see: hog hunting video), and in 2007, testified on behalf of Ivan Ruiz, an alleged dog and cock fighter. After reviewing injury photos of Rivera's pit bull, Brisbin said:

"Those marks were more likely caused during a fence fight in which dogs will chew their way through a wood fence for better access. Fence fights are just a curse of owning a dog." Brisbin also said a treadmill, sticks used to separate dogs, wire muzzles, chains, harness and animal fighting publications found in Rivera's home are typical for dog breeders and kennel owners."

The American Canine Foundation now joins: Stop-BSL.com (Allie Renar), Responsible Dog Owners of the Eastern States (Sandra, Sandi Coy), Georgia American Pit Bull Terrier Club (Jere Alexander), Appalachian Pit Bull Club (Ed Faron), and the All American Dog Registry (Terry T. L. Williams) as anti-BSL organizations that DogsBite.org can tie to persons charged with (or convicted of) dogfighting related or animal cruelty crimes. These links, however, are just a snapshot of the larger picture.

United States of American v. Robert J. Stevens
Brief in Opposition
March 20, 2009

"At trial, Mr. Stevens presented expert testimony that each of the documentaries has substantial educational or historical value. Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Senior Ecologist and Adjunct Professor at the University of Georgia, testified that each of the documentaries has serious educational value. C.A. App. 563, 579, 580, 582. Dr. Brisbin stated that he would use "Japan Pit Fights" and "Pick-A-Winna: A Pit Bull Documentary" in his teaching and testimony before governmental bodies to demonstrate that Pit Bulls can be trained to relate to humans even after they have participated in hunting or fighting. Id. at 582. Dr. Brisbin also testified that "Catch Dogs and Country Living" teaches Pit Bull owners the "responsibility to do things right" if they choose to train their dogs for hunting. Id. at 582.

Michael Riddle, a recognized expert in large-game hunting, C.A. App. 599-600, stated that he thought "Catch Dogs and Country Living" was "very educational" because it informs hunters how to train their dogs for hunting and prepares them for the errors that dogs can make. C.A. App. 604-605.

Glen Bui, acting Vice-President of the American Canine Foundation, an organization working to "end[] animal cruelty," Bui Dep. at 13:19-20, testified that Mr. Stevens' films were "extremely educational" and had serious historical value documenting the history of dog fighting and its cultural role in Japan. Id. at 13:32-34.1 He also explained that images from Mr. Stevens' films had been extracted and used by animal rights organizations to campaign against dog fighting. Id. at 14:12-13.

After hearing that testimony, the jury was instructed, over Mr. Stevens' objection, that the statutory exception for images with "serious" religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, historical or artistic value applies only to images that are "significant and of great import." C.A. App. 641, 647.

The jury then convicted Mr. Stevens on three counts of violating 18 U.S.C. § 48. Pet. App. 4a. Mr. Stevens was sentenced to 37 months of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. Ibid.

4. a. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit sua sponte heard the case en banc. The court then ruled that Section 48 is a facially unconstitutional content-based prohibition on speech that violApp. 1a-63a."

1On April 20, 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal law aimed at banning videos depicting graphic violence against animals. Justices said banning videos that depict dogfighting is an unconstitutional violation of free speech.

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