In the 15-year period of 2005 through 2019, canines killed 521 Americans. Pit bulls contributed to 66% (346) of these deaths. Combined, pit bulls and rottweilers contributed to 76% of the total recorded deaths. | More »
A 63-year old man was killed by three pit bulls in Escambia County, Florida.
Dog Owner Arrested UPDATE 05/01/23: Earlier today, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office held a press conference announcing that Kathleen Taylor, 35, the owner of three pit bulls that killed a man in February, has been charged with negligent manslaughter, a second-degree felony in the state of Florida. Taylor faces up to 15 years in jail. The felony charge comes after a lengthy investigation showing that animal control had interacted with and warned Taylor about her dogs on multiple occasions.
Animal control had previously even taken dogs away from her. John Robinson, the manager of Escambia County Animal Services, spoke during the press conference. "We have removed animals from her before. A lot of times, she's just replaced them with new animals." Robinson also said that his office had no bite histories for any of Taylor's dogs. The investigation did uncover previous bites. Had they not been uncovered, this felony charge might not have been pursued.
As Sheriff Chip Simmons states, however, Taylor's reckless disregard for the victim wasn't just apparent before he was attacked and killed, she fled the scene with one of her dogs after the attack too. "It wasn't like a surprise to her," sheriff Simmons said. "They were cited, they were warned, they were fined, and still no action was taken. As if they didn't care." That is "why we are here now and why we ended up charging her with negligent manslaughter," Simmons said.
"We had multiple encounters with the owners of these animals. We have removed animals from her before. A lot of times, she's just replaced them with new animals. We've had multiple citations given to her. There's a lot of challenges for us ... We don't have a bite history that has been reported to animal control. So please, if you're out there, if you get bitten by an animal, we need those bite reports ... so that we can address that situation. We don't have any bite history of any of her animals in our system, which makes it very difficult for us to follow up with situations like that. We had a lot of roaming calls, nuisance calls, where the animals may have been chasing people. But having those bite reports is extremely important to us." - John Robinson, the manager of Escambia County Animal Services
Sheriff Provides Epilogue
To drive home Taylor's negligence, Simmons shared that while they were getting the warrants signed and working on getting it served, Taylor suddenly disappeared. She wasn't in hiding, she was arrested for drug possession on April 17. "So, in the meantime, she takes her dog and leaves the scene. Then, while were are doing the investigation, she's out there running around doing drugs. She went to jail and bonded back out, only to be picked up today," Simmons said.
WKRG reports details from the arrest affidavit, including the gruesome injuries, which are routine when a human being is attacked by three pit bulls. Deputies saw "the man lying on the ground with both ears detached, along with his nose and left eye detached," WKRG reports. A woman had been walking with the male victim at the time. As she screamed at the dogs to get off him, she saw Taylor, who allegedly screamed the dogs were not hers, then got into her car and took off.
Kathleen Taylor has had a few run-ins with the law in Escambia County over the years.
In a subsequent news report by WEAR, a neighbor identified the victim as Nathaniel Posey.
02/25/23: Man Killed by Pit Bulls
Escambia County, FL - Just hours after a pair of pit bulls attacked four people, killing one, in San Antonio, Texas, a trio of pit bulls killed a man in the Florida Panhandle. Emergency units were dispatched to a home in the 400 block of Norris Avenue around 10:15 pm. Personnel attempted to resuscitate the victim, but were unable to. He was pronounced dead at 10:30 pm. A witness who lives at the home saw the end of the attack and was able to scare off the pit bulls and call 911.
One of the dispatchers can be heard on the audio dispatch log files at Broadcastify.com saying, “63-year old male … was attacked by some pit bulls. He’s not breathing .. we’ve notified animal control.” But animal control was unable to capture the dogs that night. Officials returned to the property the next morning and encountered one of the pit bulls, still aggressive, that a deputy shot. A second pit bull was captured in the afternoon. Deputies are working to locate the third pit bull.
The victim’s name has not yet been released by the Escambia County Sheriff's Office. Earlier today, the agency released a media statement about the fatal pit bull attack on Norris Avenue.
Escambia County Sheriff's Office
***UPDATE***Escambia County Sheriff's Office
The second pit bull has been located and captured.
JUST THE FACTS
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a cardiac arrest last night (2/24/2023) at around 10:15pm, in the 400 block of Norris Ave. A witness observed a male being attacked by three pit bulls. The witness managed to scare the dogs away and immediately called 911. Unfortunately, due to the victim’s injuries sustained in the attack, he later died. Escambia County Animal Control arrived at the scene, but the dogs were not located. At the request of Animal Control, deputies responded with them back to the area this morning at 8:00 am, attempting to locate the animals. One pit bull was observed and attempted to avoid capture. The animal was still very aggressive and was shot by a deputy. The animal was captured and is receiving medical treatment. Two of the pit bulls are still missing however, the Sheriff's Office is working with Animal Control to locate the animals.
Dog Owner in Hiding
As of Monday afternoon -- three days after a man in his 60s was killed by a group of dogs -- the Escambia County Sheriff's Office continues to look for the third dog involved in the attack and its owner. Sheriff Chip Simmons told media outlets on Monday that the third dog is likely with its owner. “First of all we gotta find the owner -- the owner is apparently hiding from us," Sheriff Simmons said. "We're still looking for the one dog and we believe the homeowner has that dog."
Footage from WEAR shows a large dog kennel on the property, as animal control and deputies search the grounds. Authorities believe the dogs’ owner, who lives at the property on Norris Avenue, came to the scene long after police had gone in order to retrieve the dog and hide from deputies. “As the next couple of days unfold, hopefully we will be able to talk to the homeowner and determine whether the dogs had been found to be dangerous in the past,” Simmons said.
The felony dog attack statute in Florida requires the dog to be previously classified as "dangerous.” Thus, the dog needs a documented “first offense” that caused serious injuries, as well as a legal declaration. We’ve never seen a dog owner in Florida charged under this statute. However, we have seen a Florida dog owner hide a pair of pit bulls after a fatal attack and charged with lying to deputies and/or providing false information, a misdemeanor (Deanna Blitch, 2011).
WKRG reports that the sheriff’s office believes the victim was visiting a friend who lives on the property when the dogs attacked at about 10:15 pm Friday night. The dogs’ owner lives on the same property but was not home when the dogs attacked, according to deputies. The identity of the male victim still has not been released. Sheriff Chip Simmons described the man’s injuries as “dog bites to his head and neck area.” He was deceased when deputies arrived at the scene.
Dog Owner Located
On Tuesday, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office announced that the owner of the attacking dogs, Kathleen Ann Taylor, has been located. Taylor is wanted for questioning only. Taylor has a history in Escambia County, according to media reports from 2020. The third dog involved in the attack was also taken into custody. The sheriff’s office continues to work with animal control and the state attorney’s office to determine whether criminal charges will be filed against Taylor.
A 63-year old man was killed by three pit bulls in Escambia County, Florida late Friday.
Baseline reporting requirements:
Law enforcement departments across the United States should release consistent "baseline" information to the media and the public after each fatal dog mauling, including these items.
San Antonio Dog Owners Face Multiple Felony Charges After Dogs Kill Veteran
Pit bulls killed one person, hospitalized three others, in horrific pit bull mauling in San Antonio.
Judge Sentences Owners UPDATE 09/20/24: On Friday, Judge Velia Meza sentenced the owners of two pit bulls that brutally killed a man and critically injured his wife in February of 2023. Christian Moreno and Abilene Schnieder, both 32, were each sentenced to lengthy prison terms in connection to the death of Ramon Najera, 81. Meza sentenced Moreno to 18 years of confinement and Schnieder to 15 years, calling the attack "an unspeakable horror that is going to resonate in our community for a very long time."
Leading up to the ruling, we published videos of the prosecution closing arguments, the testimony of a police officer at the scene, and the testimony of Ramon's widow, Janie Rajera, which occurred during the punishment phase. Moreno and Schnieder pleaded guilty in August, avoiding a trial. The defense argued the city of San Antonio was to blame for failing to process the dogs as "dangerous dogs" due to their repeated bite history, which would have led to them being euthanized before the fatal attack.
After the sentencing, Janie delivered a powerful victim impact statement. "You both took a big part of my life away," she said to the defendants while sobbing. "You took my better half away." She also addressed the role of the city. "Right now, there is somebody that should be sitting right there next to you guys," she said pointing at the defendants. "It should be the city. The city should be there sitting next to you guys, because they are guilty too." Janie has filed a federal lawsuit against San Antonio.
Bexar County prosecutor Raul Jordan and Janie Najera during the punishment phase.
09/09/24: Family Sues City in Federal Court
The family of Ramon Najera, who was killed by two vicious pit bulls on February 24, 2023 on Depla Street, is suing the city of San Antonio in federal court for damages arising from this "grievous and preventable tragedy." The lawsuit comes as the defendants, Christian Moreno and Abilene Schnieder, who each pleaded guilty to one felony count in August, are undergoing their punishment phase. We anticipate at least a 10-year sentence for each of these reckless, remorseless dog owners.
The federal lawsuit was filed on September 6, 2024 and demands a jury trial. "Despite repeated warnings, prior incidents of aggression, and clear evidence of the dogs’ dangerous propensities, the City of San Antonio deliberately decided to release the animals back into the community," states the lawsuit. The Complaint also alleges the city, in an unwritten policy, chose to "not invest resources in certain low-income, minority communities, such as where the dogs attacked" in each instance.
"This Complaint seeks redress for the negligence, constitutional misfeasance, and gross misconduct of the City of San Antonio, whose failure to act upon known threats and to protect its citizens directly resulted in the untimely and wrongful death of Mr. Najera. This Complaint alleges that the City of San Antonio’s actions, or lack thereof, constituted a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause ... Shockingly, this wasn't the only incident involving the dogs. Prior to the February 24, 2023, attack, the dogs were involved in at least three other attacks on people, with two of the three resulting in bite wounds ... The City did this in spite of their written regulations and in accordance with their unwritten policy to not invest resources in certain low-income, minority communities, such as where the dogs attacked in the prior incidents and in the current incident."
The punishment phase is expected to last a week with 226th Judge Velia Meza presiding. Meza will announce sentencing on September 20. Thus far, multiple first responders, neighbors and the victim's wife, Janie Najera, who was also critically injured by the dogs, have testified. The defendants hope to reduce their sentences by shifting the blame onto the city of San Antonio for failing to process the dogs as "dangerous dogs" prior to the attack, which would have led to them being euthanized.
03/10/23: Third Criminal Arrest Made
A third criminal arrest has been made in connection to the February 24 multi-victim pit bull mauling that left one man dead, his wife with critical injuries and two other people with bite injuries. The arrest comes after San Antonio police began investigating alleged threats and intimidation against neighbors who witnessed the deadly dog attack and spoke to media members. Destiny Marie Cardona, 26, was arrested on March 9 for retaliation, a third-degree felony, according to court records.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Cardona is the sister of Abilene Schnieder, who co-owned the pit bulls with her husband, Christian Moreno. Both dog owners continue to be held in the Bexar County Jail; each have been charged with two felony counts. On March 3, Cardona went to her sister's home and saw a neighbor who had spoken to media members about the attack. Cardona yelled at the witness and threatened to kill the witness and their family member, the affidavit states.
In related news, a report from KABB shows that citations written by San Antonio Animal Care Services (ASC) have fallen dramatically since 2020. From 12,782 citations during the fiscal year of 2020 to 4,758 citations during the fiscal year of 2022, a 63% reduction. The fiscal year of 2020 comprised the first Covid year too, which ran from October of 2019 to September of 2020. Documents uncovered by KABB showed that it was a goal for the animal services department to issue fewer citations.
Issuing fewer and fewer citations and instead using the "education only" model for dog owners who fail to vaccinate, fail to keep their dogs from roaming at large and commit other violations, has long been part of the "no-kill" shelter model, whose primary goal is a 90% "save rate." Reducing impounds and citations decreases animal intake overall and decreases the number of owner-surrendered animals, whereby reducing euthanasia, even if the cost to public health and safety is high.
03/01/23: Wife Arrested as Co-Owner
As anticipated, after the wife of a man criminally charged for the February 24 fatal dog attack gave a 29 minute interview to local media outlets, police have charged her too. We stated earlier, “Abilene doesn’t understand that she can also be criminally charged. She’s a co-owner of these dogs that had two bites before the fatal dog mauling on Friday.” Abilene Schnieder now faces the same two felony charges as her husband, dangerous dog resulting in death and injury to an elderly person.
On Friday, Ramon Najera, Jr., 81, was mauled to death by the couple’s two pit bulls that had a history of escaping their property, biting people and aggressive acts. Three other victims were also injured in the devastating Friday attack, including Najera’s 74-year old wife, a relative and a firefighter. Abilene was previously arrested for theft on January 30. She posted a $3,000 bond and was released from jail that same day. Her husband, Christian Moreno, however, has an extensive criminal history.
According to a document released Monday, the San Antonio Police Department received 39 calls for service in a 14-month period beginning January 1, 2022, concerning Moreno’s residence. Only two of those calls were animal-related. The other calls to police included 10 complaints about fireworks, disturbances, Child Protection Services, four calls about a “wanted person,” five calls about an abandoned vehicle, two calls about loud music and one call about the sound of a gunshot.
The Moreno-Schnieder home was not exactly neighborhood friendly. Who is surprised the couple also owned dogs with a history of violence?
The couple previously lived in Medina County, Texas reports the San Antonio Express-News. Moreno’s criminal history in that county shows arrests dating back to 2009 for criminal trespassing, possession of a controlled substance, evading arrest or detention, hindering apprehension or prosecution and felony theft of property, reports the Express-News. In 2019 and 2021 Moreno was also arrested by San Antonio police in Bexar County several years before the February 24 fatal dog mauling.
More criminal charges may follow too. Najera’s wife apparently suffered grave injuries, which also falls under the Texas felony dog attack statute. A person does not need to die in order for prosecutors to pursue charges under the statute. Causing “serious bodily injury” is sufficient for a third-degree felony. The statue is defined as, “death and serious injuries inflicted by dog(s).” If death results, the offense becomes a second-degree felony. Both Schnieder and Moreno remain incarcerated.
An updated report from the Express-News states that animal control now believes that 13 complaints can be traced back to Moreno’s and Schnieder’s dogs since 2020. Regarding the two previous bites by the dogs, neither victim was informed by animal control of their right to file a Dangerous Dogs Affidavit, which forces the agency to start a dangerous dog investigation. Now a Texas state senator, José Menéndez, is drafting legislation to allow people to fill out these affidavits anonymously.
Other details include that a witness said the two pit bulls that brutally killed Najera “tore a dialysis shunt out of the man’s body” as they attacked him. “It was horrific. It was just blood all over the place,” he told the Express-News. Pit bulls tearing out a “dialysis shunt” has occurred in at least two other fatal dog attacks: the deaths of Michael Parks in 2017 and Ronnel Brown in 2012. Also, Najera’s wife Janie has been released from the hospital and is recovering at a family member’s home.
Before she was arrested, Abilene Schnieder admitted to owning the pit bulls that killed Ramon Najera Jr. in a TV interview. She also stated in December that she is Snow’s “grandma.”
02/24/23: Multi-Victim Pit Bull Attack
San Antonio, TX – Horrific footage captured by KSAT Friday show three firemen fending off multiple pit bulls in order to reach a dying victim. The violent dog attack occurred just before 2:00 pm in the 2800 block of Depla Street. When the San Antonio Fire Department arrived, they saw an 81-year old man being dragged down the sidewalk by one of the pit bulls involved in the multi-victim attack. His wife was also attacked by the dogs and remains in critical condition at University Hospital.
“Firefighters were very heroic in this instance. They were fighting off these pit bulls with pickaxes and pipe poles to try to get to the patients.”
“This is not something normal for us. We usually don’t show up and have to defend patients from animals or ourselves,” SAFD Chief Charles Hood said. One of the firefighters was bitten in the leg, but is okay. A third victim was bitten while trying to help the elderly couple that was being attacked. All three pedestrian victims were transported to University Hospital. “Horrific scene, horrific for the people who experienced it and horrific for our firefighters that were part of this,” Hood said.
The two pit bulls involved in the attack and a third pit bull belonging to the same household that was also unrestrained were confiscated by San Antonio Animal Care Services. Director Shannon Sims said the three dogs -- two females and one male -- were involved in “another” attack two years ago and previously impounded. “We could not move forward with a dangerous dog designation” at that time because a Dangerous Dog affidavit was not filed by a victim and witness, director Sims said.
There were also multiple calls in the past two years about the dogs being estray and neglected, Sims said. Media reports state that Sims described the 2021 attack as a “mild bite.” A commenter on the KSAT 12 Facebook post states there was another attack. “These are the pit bulls that just attacked my Dad in January. Pulled chunks from his arms and legs and left him out of work for weeks. They were ‘investigated’ and left there knowing they had just attacked a human," stated a female.
Footage captures horrific pit bull mauling in San Antonio that occurred on Friday. The two dogs involved, Snow and King, had recently been sterilized and had a history of biting people.
Owner Faces Multiple Felonies
Late Friday, the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) announced that the owner of the dog was arrested under the Texas felony dog attack statute. Christian Alexander Moreno, 31, faces one count of felony attack by dangerous dog causing death and one count of felony injury to an elderly person (the charges will likely increase). SAPD clarified that the 81-year old male and 74-year old female were a married couple who had just exited their vehicle when the dogs viciously attacked them.
Arrested - San Antonio Police Department
On February 24, 2023 a couple, an 81 year old man and a 74 year old woman, went to the 2800 block of Depla Street to visit some friends. When they arrived and exited their vehicle, two American Staffordshire Terriers escaped their yard, which was next to the location the couple was visiting. The two dogs attacked the couple, causing visible dog bite injuries to both victims. Witnesses saw the attack and called police and EMS. San Antonio Fire Department EMS arrived to the location and saw the dogs still actively attacking the couple and attempted to intervene. During their efforts one of the EMS Captains was bit in his leg by one of the dogs. The male and female victims and the EMS Captain were all transported to a local hospital for their injuries. Despite efforts by SAFD EMS to save the male victim, he died as a result of the dog attacks. SAPD and City of San Antonio Animal Care Services arrived and began investigating the attack.
The suspect, 31 year old Christian Alexander Moreno, was later arrested by the SAPD Covert Unit and is facing a felony charge of Attack by Dangerous Dog Causes Death and a felony charge of Injury to an Elderly.
WOAI identified the man who died as 81-year-old Ramon Najera. His wife remains hospitalized. The couple had driven to the area to visit a relative’s home. As soon as they stepped out of their vehicle, the dogs attacked. When firefighters arrived, the attack was still happening. "As they rounded the corner, they could see a gentleman being dragged by a dog," San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said. "They could see him completely bloodied before they got off of the fire truck.”
WOIA also confirmed the “January 2023” bite case, presumably related to the victim’s daughter, who stated in a comment Friday: “These are the pit bulls that just attacked my Dad in January. Pulled chunks from his arms and legs and left him out of work for weeks.” Thus far, there are two confirmed previous bites by the pair of pit bulls that killed Najera and critically injured his wife. The city of San Antonio continues to review the related 911 and 311 call history from this neighborhood.
San Antonio Animal Care Services and San Antonio Police released a statement Friday, based on the preliminary investigation, which clarified the number of victims and previous calls for service in the area. Four people were attacked Friday: The elderly couple, one of the couple’s relatives, and the SAFD captain. All four were transported to University Hospital, where Najera died of his injuries. The SA CORE team was also deployed to provide counseling and support to neighborhood residents.
On November 6, 2022, The San Antonio Police Department responded to a dog related call relating to this property. An officer responded on the scene and spoke to the owner of the dogs. The officer told the owner that the dogs must be kept in the yard.
At least two of the dogs have been involved in a pair of confirmed bite cases in the past including one in January of this year and another in September of 2021. The injuries were moderate or mild and the dogs successfully completed the State required quarantine before their owners reclaimed them. Individuals involved declined to file a dangerous dog designation. A dangerous dog designation requires owners to keep the dogs in a secure enclosure, purchase a $100,000 liability insurance policy, special warning signage, be muzzled when outside, be spay/neutered and be subject to annual inspections.
Multiple charges are pending in connection to today’s incident and Animal Care Services is working with SAPD on the investigation.
The City of San Antonio is reviewing any related 911 and 311 call history associated with this area.
Christian Moreno, 31, faces multiple felonies after the horrific pit bull mauling in San Antonio.
The Dogs Were Sterilized
Two days after the vicious multi-victim attack in San Antonio that left one man dead, the wife of the dogs’ owner -- her husband Christian Moreno continues to sit in jail, facing two felony counts in connection to the mauling death of 81-year old Ramon Najera -- claims she was “traumatized” by the attack and feels remorse. Abilene Moreno also tried to blame the violent behavior of the dogs that she co-owned with Christian as due to recent spay/neuter operations at the request of animal control.
Abilene doesn’t understand that she can also be charged. She’s a co-owner of these dogs that had two bites before the fatal attack on Friday.
The most recent of the two previous biting incidents occurred in January 2023. After that incident, San Antonio Animal Services required the couple to spay and neuter their dogs and keep them in a body harness and tethered in the yard. Abilene claimed the “dogs snapped, they snapped on all of us” after being sterilized. She stated that in the days leading up to the fatal attack, the family had talked about “giving [the dogs] back to ACS.” The dogs are just “too much for us,” Abilene said.
The dogs were neither in body harnesses or tethered in the yard at the time of the fatal mauling. Despite two previous bites, Abilene said her pit bulls “were not aggressive dogs. They weren’t mean,” she told KABB. “We did not raise them to be mean. My husband isn’t this monster that everyone is making him out to be.” Notably, Christian was released from prison for an unrelated offense on February 2. Just weeks before the multi-victim dog attack that resulted in the death of Najera.
“We never knew that neutering them would do this to them,” Abilene said, referring to the dogs’ violent behavior, in the extended KAAB interview.
“We only spayed them because ACS told us … I had asked the lady at the desk, ‘What more do I have to do to prevent my dogs from getting out and hurting somebody?’” Abilene said they told her: ‘Spay them, get them neutered. Buy them body harnesses. Make sure your gates stay secured. Make sure there’s no holes in the gate, where they can get out from. And, that was basically it,” Abilene said. But spaying and neutering does not eliminate “learned” behaviors or breed-specific behaviors.
Neutering bully breeds -- between the optimal age of 6-9 months old -- can “reduce the risk of a male dog escaping if it smells that a female is in heat somewhere. Spaying reduces the risk that a female of this class of dogs will attract other dogs when she goes into heat, which she may then attack. Spay/neuter is also crucial to reducing the numbers of these dogs that are being put down in shelters because they are too dangerous or because nobody wants them.” - Alexandra Semyonova
The female attacker, Snow, had a litter of 9 pit bull puppies in December 2022. The progeny of these fatal attackers will be recycled back into the San Antonio, Bexar County community.
Recent San Antonio 311 service requests include 9 calls near the dog owner's home on Depla Street for animal control violations between April 5, 2020 and February 22, 2023. The multi-victim horrific pit bull mauling that occurred on February 24, 2023 has not yet been logged.
Baseline reporting requirements:
Law enforcement departments across the United States should release consistent "baseline" information to the media and the public after each fatal dog mauling, including these items.
On Monday evening, a woman was mutilated and killed by a family pit bull in Toledo, Ohio.
Pit Bull Kills Woman
Toledo, OH - On Monday, a woman died after being attacked by a family pit bull. The attack occurred at a home in the 800 block of Wright Avenue, just before 6:00 pm. Toledo police and fire crews found 58-year old Bonnie Varnes severely mutilated and unconscious in the backyard of her home. Varnes was transported to the University of Toledo Medical Center, where she later died. A Toledo police detective at the scene told WTOL News the dog appeared to belong to the victim.
Dr. Diane Scala-Barnett, the Lucas County coroner, confirmed that a woman had been killed by a pit bull but did not have additional details, reports the Toledo Blade. Online records show that Varnes and her daughter both lived at the home. Social media pages showed that each owned a female brown and white pit bull. Varnes owned “Peaches” and her daughter, Amelia, owned a similar appearing pit bull, “Amenia.” Initially it was unclear which pit bull mauled and killed Varnes.
An update from The Blade states the attacking dog was registered to the victim’s daughter, who also lives at the home, police spokesman Officer Andrew Dlugosielski confirmed. Thus, Amenia appears to be the fatal attacker. Amelia Varnes, 30-years old, declined to comment to reporters. The circumstances of the attack remain unclear, police said. The whereabouts of Peaches during the attack are also unclear. Social media posts indicate that Peaches is at least 10 years old.
Attack Captured on Video
A report from McClatchy National states the deadly attack was captured on video and confirms that Amenia was the attacker. Video footage obtained by the Toledo Police Department showed Varnes taking Amenia outside the back door on a leash. As she did, the dog pulled her down and began to attack. A neighbor spotted her body in the yard as the dog ran around her, states a police incident report. The neighbor called Amelia first then called 911 and went over to Varnes’ home.
Arriving officers found Varnes lying face down in her backyard. Officers spoke to Amelia, who said that she returned home after receiving a call from her neighbor. When she arrived, she found her mother covered in blood in their yard. She told police her dog, Amenia, was also covered in blood, according to the report. She locked Amenia in the garage. She put her other pit bull, “Poochie,” in a bedroom. The daughter described Amenia as being vicious “at times,” states the news article.
The last time Amelia saw her mother alive was around 8:30 am on the day of the fatal attack, according to police. Varnes had worked for Washington Local Schools as a bus driver for over three decades. In a statement to WTVG, the company said, “Bonnie worked for WLS for over 30 years and was a deeply loved, valued member of our transportation team. We are devastated by this loss.” The animal is currently in the custody of Lucas County Canine Care and Control.
Toledo Pit Bull Fatalities
During the 2021 pandemic, two adults were killed by pit bulls in Toledo less than a month apart. Emily Kahl, 31, was killed by her roommate’s pit bull on July 18 after the dog clamped onto her neck. Her roommate claimed the dog was only “trying to save her.” On August 12, Javon Stokes, 26, was fatally bitten in the neck by a pit bull while visiting the dog owner’s home on Potter Street. The co-owner of that pit bull also claimed the dog was “trying to help Stokes and wake him up.”
Baseline reporting requirements:
Law enforcement departments across the United States should release consistent "baseline" information to the media and the public after each fatal dog mauling, including these items.
Otto Snow, a life-long chemist and activist, shares account of vicious pit bull attack.
I am Otto Snow. On April 15th of 2018, I was the victim of an unprovoked attack by a pit bull and my lip was bitten off my face. I was walking with my friend John to get a pizza at Tri-City pizza. We were walking on Earle Avenue in the Little City neighborhood of Bangor, Maine.
We had entered Earle Avenue from Warwick Street and were walking towards Tri-City pizza. We could see an unleashed dog up ahead coming out of a driveway and running in the street. We continued walking and when we reached the driveway the dog was running across the yard and running around a man at the top of the driveway. We made some small talk and continued walking as the man was preoccupied with the very excited unleashed dog.
John and I kept walking. John stopped walking and turned. I stopped and turned. Wham! A dog lunged from behind me and tore off my lip. Blood gushing out of my face. For an instant, I thought there was a man standing behind the dog, but then he would have pulled on the leash, it doesn’t make sense. I rescued dogs, my father rescued dogs, and Dr. Young, my buddy who I came and stayed with when I arrived in Bangor, rescued dogs. I am not a newbie to handling dogs. Dr. Young mentioned that the dog was excited and was lunging for my throat.
I staggered off the street and fell onto the lawn, covering my face from further attack. I am screaming. I did not know how serious the injury was but needed to stop the bleeding as it was profuse. The man who owned the dog said, “Dog never did that before.”
Blood continued to gush from my face and all over me. I pressed on my face to stop the bleeding. A piece of my lip was hanging from my face. Another piece of my lip was missing. I was told at the hospital that the dog probably ate it.
I got up and screamed at him as he was doing nothing. “Wet cloth, crushed ice Now!” He said, “My sister is a nurse.” He ran into the house and a woman came out. She ran back into the house and came out with a wet face cloth with crushed ice. Blood continued to gush from my face and all over me. I pressed on my face to stop the bleeding. A piece of my lip was hanging from my face. Another piece of my lip was missing. I was told at the hospital that the dog probably ate it.
On the way to the hospital, my friend said, “We are taking you to St. Joseph’s Hospital.” I flashed back to a trauma in 1983 and asked my friend, “Do you have a gun?” He kept telling me that we are in Bangor, we are in Bangor. I came back. I am disoriented and in shock. I have never flashed so severe as what I did then. It was as though I was back in 1983, ready to get my mother out of a hospital in Nashua, New Hampshire because I feared for her life.
Q: Did you witness the attack? A: Yes. Q: And tell us how -- what that was like, what you saw. A: Well, it was just kind of shocking, traumatic, because I mean, it literally -- the dog jumped, like, six feet and, like, right on his face. A: When you say six feet, do you mean six feet vertically in the air or horizontally? A: It was about three feet, four feet -- I mean, no, no, it was higher than that. So I'm going to say -- it jumped up, like, five feet, so I don't know -- four -- it was on its lawn and jumped into the road. Q: Okay. And was there any warning or barking before it jumped? A: No. - John Huhn
The team at St. Joseph’s in Bangor was very calm as they worked on me. They cleaned me of all the blood that covered my face and told me that they were calling in one of the best surgeons in the area. I asked about the damage the dog bite had done to my face. I was told that the damage the dog had done was severe, very severe and a large part of my mouth had been torn from my face. They gave me a mirror and my lip was gone.
Dr. Campbell, a leading reconstruction surgeon in the area, was called in and it was arranged that he would arrive at EMMC asap. The team at EMMC was fantastic. I told them that I had experienced serious traumas in my life including one in a medical environment in 1983. They understood. Dr. Campbell explained every step of what he was doing as he stitched the layers of my mouth back together. The dog bite had torn my lip, flesh, nerves of my mouth, and the obturator oris muscle from my mouth. It is the muscle that allows us to pucker, speak, eat, and kiss. Multiple layers had to be pulled together and reattached as this part of my mouth was gone.
“DATE OF PROCEDURE: 04/15/2018
PREOPERATIVE DIAGNOSIS: Dog bite to right upper lip.
POSTOPERATIVE DIAGNOSIS: Dog bite to right upper lip.
PROCEDURE PERFORMED: Complex repair of 4 x 2 cm dog bite to right upper lip with full-thickness through skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle and mucosa with violation of the vermilion border. Total length of repair was 5 cm,” - Hector O. Campbell, MD
Doctor Hector O. Campbell would write: “The dog was unprovoked. The immunization status of the dog is not known. He was taken to St. Joseph Hospital, where his tetanus was updated and he received a dose of IV antibiotics of Unasyn. The patient was transferred to Eastern Maine Medical Center for plastic surgery reconstruction due to the complexity of the dog bite to his right upper lip.”
The doctors were concerned about infection as dogs can cause serious infections and also rabies. I was placed on two 875 mg tablets a day of Augmentin for 10 days. I was concerned about tinnitus, neurogenic bladder and colitis associated with taking high dosages of antibiotics. Dr. Campbell understood my concerns and told me to take a probiotic along with every dose of the antibiotic to prevent diarrhea.
I would have to redress the wound area with gauze and bandages for a month, being careful to keep it clean. My mouth swelled up and around my eyes were darkened following the attack. The owner of the dog did not have anything concerning the dog’s rabies vaccination. The hospital would call me and say that they would have to begin giving me injections to prevent rabies if the dog officer could not provide proof of the rabies vaccination. The dog officer was on this. It was several days of panic waiting to get any co-operation with the owner of the dog.
I was out of my mind, face torn off, and new to the area. One neighbor in the neighborhood brought flowers.
Aftermath: Trying to Get Help - Complex PTSD
The previous traumas in my life began replaying endlessly after the dog attack. I could not get them out of my head. The insomnia was severe. I was losing my mind, suicidal. Once, after I had a phone call with medical personnel discussing these issues, the police showed up and blocked off the streets in the neighborhood with cruisers. I explained to the officer about the dog attack and how I was being denied medications to calm my anxiety, nonstop panic attacks, and help with my sleep. I was breaking down from the isolation, anxiety, panic, insomnia, and constant memories of past traumas following the attack.
The officers took me to the ER for a low dose long-acting benzodiazepine tranquilizer that I could tolerate and two people held me to stop the shaking. I would later find out that not giving tranquilizers to patients made more money for the hospital with more emergency room visits. Patients who legitimately needed pain killers were also being denied resulting in more emergency room visits. Patients who complained of this were listed as “drug seeking” and pulled into the “drug rehabilitation” programs, which is another economy for medical in the area. Stockholders and management all profiting from this form of abuse, under a guise of “helping” the patient. Some people need medications and that is why they are available and should not be politicized.
My projects and ventures, publishing, nutritional supplements, anti-tumor agents that are FDA approved, group activities to help those with PTSD and isolation stopped. Everything that I wanted to get going, all coming to a screaming halt.
My nightmares were continuous for two years straight after the dog ruined my mouth. I was being denied medications and testing. I would have to put a pillow between my legs and put two belts to strap the pillow in. I was going into fetal position at night like I had done following a previous trauma in 1985. My muscles would tighten. Decades of therapy to get my PTSD manageable all coming apart.
Every time that I move my mouth, it pulls across my face. My face is off-center and crooked. When eating there is little to no strength on that part of my mouth. That part of my mouth feels thick, and I have had to scrape skin that grows along the area that has been stitched together. I cannot shave as it bleeds and have grown a long beard to cover my lopsided mouth and face. I also have developed a lisp. My projects and ventures, publishing, nutritional supplements, anti-tumor agents that are FDA approved, group activities to help those with PTSD and isolation stopped. Everything that I wanted to get going, all coming to a screaming halt.
Finding Qualified Experts
It is very important to find qualified competent healthcare immediately following an attack or trauma. Practitioners can do more harm than good if they are unqualified or abusive.
After the dog attack, I would have to travel two hours to find a competent practitioner who was very familiar with the medications that I could tolerate, PTSD as well as autism. I would connect with a leading expert in PTSD in another state. A coach would work with me. I would connect with another expert on PTSD. The diagnosis was Complex PTSD depression and autism.
“The available information is consistent with autism spectrum disorder, a depressive disorder and severe and complex post-traumatic stress disorder.” - Elliott B. Rosenbaum, Psy.D. 6/28/2022
Complex PTSD has all the basic symptoms of PTSD but with more symptoms and criteria. The difference between PTSD vs C-PTSD is that C-PTSD is caused from repeated traumas or continuous long-term traumas. Complex PTSD is much more volatile. It generally involves patient centralized therapies, not the take a pill, “drive-thru” mental “healthcare.”
Complex PTSD is from the International Classification of Diseases. DSM follows the ICD. Internationally Complex-PTSD is recognized as separate from that of PTSD. Victims of sex trafficking, child abuse, torture etc., are liable to get complex PTSD. Many psychological and physical diseases are directly related to complex PTSD, especially from traumas in childhood. It is also mentioned in the literature that creativity is therapeutic and many great artists have histories of trauma.
The traumas attacked my muscles, now a constant tremor. At night the horrors of my traumas came out, every night, night after night, and I would write about them along with the never-ending stress and insomnia.
Feeling wounded and defective to be around people, with an aversion to medical environments, I grew my beard to cover my deformed face. A few of the practitioners and law enforcement were straight forward with me. There are no services here in Maine. There are no resources. Everyone was seeing it and nothing is being done.
I would see Dr. Campbell again. I thanked him for what he did for me. My mouth is deformed from the attack. I was upset, my world shattered. Dr. Campbell said, “I am sorry Otto. There is nothing that can be done to return the part of your mouth that the dog bit from your face.”
The difference between PTSD vs C-PTSD is that C-PTSD is caused from repeated traumas or continuous long-term traumas. Complex PTSD is much more volatile. It generally involves patient centralized therapies, not the take a pill, “drive-thru” mental “healthcare.”
I would take losses of several hundred thousand and future losses that we are calculating now. I would lose my house and be forced to relocate where I am able to get competent healthcare, friends who will facilitate me to connect with good people, and protective services for those who are elderly and are disabled, resources that are not available in Maine.
I have a couple of dear friends that are with me most of the time now. They get me talking about pleasant times as a child in Maine to bring me back. I am just now removing my mask for short periods. I go for walks with them in another part of the city where tenants and landlords are responsible. It is going to be a long slow recovery, and in my 60’s, it will have a very serious impact on my social security earnings. I am unable to write, work on books and the laboratory equipment has been dismantled and shipped out. I may never recover from this attack and what followed.
Otto Snow is an author of drug chemistry books used by law enforcement agencies and the courts. He has donated time providing scientific/medical documentation to veterans fighting for the right to cannabinoids in the treatment of PTSD. Otto was raised in both defense/pharmaceutical community of Southern NH and also in Maine with his grandparents on Wyman Lake in Somerset County.
Andrew Davis, the owner of the vicious pit bull, and Earle Avenue approaching Tri-City Pizza.
Part of the deposition of Andrew Davis denying that "Piper" inflicted a vicious dog bite.
Otto Snow seen peaceful and happy prior to the vicious pit bull attack that ripped off his lip.
View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Florida Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.
View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: 
