Posted on November 27, 2008 by Colleen Lynn

2008 Dog Bite Fatality: 2-Year Old Boy Killed by Family Pit Bull in Clark County, Nevada

Alexander Adams, 2-years old, was killed by his family's pit bull-mix.

Case Concludes
UPDATE 12/03/08: Police spokesman Bill Cassell could offer no theory as to why the family pit bull killed Alexander Adams. The boy's grandmother was walking with the dog's food bowl into a room where the dog was normally fed. The toddler followed and was attacked, he said. "While it's possible that the presence of food, combined with the young victim in the area where the dog was normally fed, triggered the attack, there is nothing definitive that can be determined," Cassell said.

11/28/08: Dogs Described as Pit Bulls
In an updated report, the Review-Journal reiterated again that police spokesman Bill Cassell described the dogs as part pit bull and that possibly both were involved in the deadly attack. The dogs "were at least pit bull mixes," he told the Journal. It is important to point out that pit bull owners and animal control departments will intentionally mislabel pit bulls as boxer-mixes, lab-mixes and other mixes in order to "protect" the breed after serious and fatal maulings.

A police spokesman, Officer Bill Cassell, says investigators might never know what triggered the Nov. 26 attack at a house in northwest Las Vegas.

But he says it happened after the boy followed his grandmother into a room where the pit bull or pit bull mixed breed dog was being fed.

The boy was fatally mauled and the grandmother suffered minor injuries. - Associated Press, December 3, 2008

11/27/08: Second Death in Clark County
Las Vegas, NV - In a developing story, a 2-year-old boy was fatally attacked by at least one dog at his home on the 6200 block of Warm River Road near Washington Avenue. Las Vegas police spokesman Bill Cassell said the boy and his younger brother were being taken care of by their grandmother when the child was fatally bitten. Cassell described the dogs as "mix-breed terriers" and that the dogs also might be a "type of pit bull pit bull" weighing between 40-45 pounds.

On September 12, 4-month-old Cenedi Kia Carey was fatally mauled by her family's two pit bulls in North Las Vegas. In that deadly attack, the child was also under the care of her grandmother.

View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: Nevada Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Posted on November 20, 2008 by Colleen Lynn

Aurora, Colorado Fighting Breed Ban Prevails in Federal Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado on 19th Street in Denver.

Fighting Breed Ban Upheld
UPDATE 11/20/08: Chief U.S. District Judge Wiley Y. Daniel has ruled in favor of the City of Aurora. Once again, the American Canine Foundation loses, making their "track record" undeniably horrific. The United States Supreme Court has also spoken on breed-specific law. The court rejected all grounds that a dog lobbying group brought forth: Procedural due process, Substantive due process, Equal protection of the laws and Void for vagueness.

Lobbying groups like the American Canine Foundation can intimidate cities with lawsuits. But in virtually all cases, their lawsuits are weak.

11/17/08: Doesn't Like the Muzzle
Aurora, CO - To avoid placing a "muzzle" on her pit bull-mix, Florence Vianzon Sasek is going to U.S. District Court to challenge Aurora's Fighting Breed ban. Aurora currently bans: Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Bulldog, Canary Dog, Cane Corso, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Presa Mall orquin and Tosa. Dogs that existed prior to the ban, such as Sasek's, must adhere to special restrictions.

Chief Judge Wiley Y. Daniel will hear the case. The case was filed on Sasek's behalf by the American Canine Foundation, a Washington state-based pit bull special interest group. Though Colorado State courts and U.S. District Courts have consistently ruled in favor of breed-specific law, Sasek's lawsuit says that Aurora's ban on the breeds is "unconstitutional," that the ordinance is "vague" and that the law was passed unnecessarily.

Aurora's ordinance already has been challenged in state court and was upheld. In January, a U.S. District Court in Colorado rejected a similar case brought against the Denver pit bull ban. The Denver case is currently pending before the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Courts in eleven states have upheld well-written breed-specific laws including: Ohio, Washington, Colorado, New Mexico, Florida, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Kentucky.

Good luck Aurora City Attorney Charlie Richardson. It is our understanding that Judge Daniel rejected 3 of the 5 claims of this suit back in May. Today he will hear 2 claims, both of which may prove difficult: the issue of precedence and property seizure.

Posted on November 13, 2008 by Colleen Lynn

2007 Dog Bite Fatality: Kylie Cox, 4-Months Old, Killed by a Rottweiler

Jail Time for Owner
UPDATE 11/12/08: Christopher Fura -- the 21-year-old Warren man whose rottweiler, Chopper, killed an infant last year -- pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and began a six-month jail sentence today. Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Kaplan said Fura pleaded just before a jury was to be selected for his trial today. Fura previously had entered the same plea, but withdrew it six weeks ago when prosecutors insisted he serve at least 6-months jail time.

The mauling occurred after Alexis Cox brought her daughter, Kylie, to the home on Toepfer Avenue on Sept. 12, 2007. The 17-year-old mother went to the kitchen to prepare a bottle of baby formula, and the Rottweiler, named "Chopper," grabbed Kylie from an unbuckled child seat on the living room floor and flung her. Winters and Fura, who were playing a video game approximately 8 feet away, then pounced on Chopper. - Macomb Daily

Christopher Fura also will be on probation for 3 years, during which time he can’t own any animals. Kaplan said the prosecution’s best evidence came from an incident three days before the fatal mauling on September 12, when Chopper growled at a child, got into a dogfight and bit Fura on the hand. “That shows he knew the dog had violent tendencies,” Kaplan said. Jason Winters, 23, Fura’s stepbrother, already pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to probation.

02/26/08: Negligence Claim Filed
Warren, MI - The grandmother of 4-month-old Kylie Cox, who was mauled to death September 17, 2007 by a rottweiler is suing the owner of the home where the fatal mauling took place. The lawsuit seeks more than $1 million in damages and is expected to be filed today in Macomb County Court. It charges Margaret Elderson, the owner of the home with negligence. Also named in the suit are Craig Winters, who owned the dog, his son, Jason Winters and Christopher Fura.

The defendants "owed a duty of care ... to exercise reasonable care and precautions in the supervision, training and securing of the dog so as to prevent foreseeable harm to (Kylie) and others like her," said the suit, which was to be filed by attorney Daniel Padilla today.

Padilla represents Kylie's grandmother, Lisa Livingston, who was appointed representative of Kylie's estate. - Detroit News

Last September, Alexis Cox brought her baby daughter, Kylie, to a party at Elderson's home on Toepfer Avenue. Two of her acquaintances, Christopher Fura, 19, and his stepbrother Jason Winters, 22, brought a 120-pound rottweiler named "Chopper" to the party as well. The animal attacked and killed the baby after Alexis placed the infant -- still strapped in her car seat -- on the floor in the living room. She had set her down briefly to make her a bottle in the kitchen.

Posted on November 2, 2008 by Colleen Lynn

2008 Dog Bite Fatality: 62-Year Old Muncie Man Killed by Pit Bulls

Autopsy: Death by Attack
UPDATE 11/02/08: An autopsy conducted on 62-year old Chester Jordan shows that he was alive when he was brutally mauled and killed by three family pit bulls at his Muncie home. Jordan died from the dog bite injuries and blood loss. The dogs attacked his facial area, chest, arms, stomach and legs. The majority of the bite injuries and the most severe were on his arms and legs. The findings are contingent upon toxicology reports, which may take days or weeks to complete.

The basement where Jordan stayed was described as damp and bare, furnished only with a bed, chair and television, said by Lt. Al Williams of the Muncie Police Department. The basement also contained a fenced-in area for the dogs. The puppies were in a cage in the garage.
"We're going to make sure he wasn't neglected," Williams said. "The concern we have are the living conditions." - Kelly Day, The Star Press, November 2, 2008

11/01/08: Neglect of Elderly Suspected
DeWayne Benning, the boyfriend of Jordan's daughter, found 62-year old Chester Jordan dead. Jordan, his daughter Aretha, and Benning all lived at the home on Tilmore Drive. Jordan apparently lived with the dogs in the open basement. Delaware County Coroner James Clevenger Jr. said the victim suffered major tissue damage and was repeatedly bitten by the dogs. He added that the victim had a history of dementia and also had older bite mark injuries on his body.

Aretha Jordan came to the scene, and broke down crying as she and Benning were taken to city hall for questioning by detectives. Police Lt. Al Williams said the victim suffered serious injuries from the mauling and there were plenty signs of a struggle, reports The Star Press. Neighbors reported that Jordan was rarely seen outside and police talked with family members about his living conditions. Williams said there might be an issue of neglect as the investigation continues.

Animal control officers came to the scene and took the dogs and the puppies to the local shelter.
Ron White, animal shelter director, said the dogs were aggressive when they were collared and put in the trucks. The puppies from the one female dog were found in the garage.
White said the dogs did not appear to be trained to fight and there was no evidence the Jordans were professionally breeding the dogs, saying the animals were pets. - Rick Yencer, The Star Press, November 1, 2008

10/31/08: Father Killed by Family Pit Bulls
Muncie, IN - In a developing story, Muncie police are investing the death of a 62-year-old man reportedly killed by three pit bulls. Police officers were called to a home on the 1100 block of Tilmore Drive, where the victim, Chester Jordan, had been living in the basement. His daughter owns the house and her boyfriend, DeWayne Benning, found Jordan when he returned home from work. Neighbor Markus Jackma told WTHR News, "My understanding was, he had been killed."

Authorities confiscated three adult pit bulls from the home, two males and a female. Muncie Animal Control also confiscated six pit bull puppies from the property. Neighbors seemed surprised by the dogs' vicious attack. "I have never seen the dogs acting violently," Jackman said. But police had been contacted a number of times about the dogs being at large. Even after calls to police, the dogs still got loose and roamed the area. The dogs are expected to be euthanized.

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