Posted on April 5, 2023 by Colleen Lynn

2023 Dog Bite Fatality: Child Dies After Being Attacked by Relative's Dog in Frederick County, Maryland

Blake Bettis was killed by a relative's dog while visiting a Frederick County, Maryland home.

Child Killed by Dog
Brunswick, MD - A young boy is dead after being attacked by a relative's dog. Brunswick police and Frederick County responders were dispatched to a home in the 400 block of West B Street at about 5:13 pm Tuesday for a dog attack. Upon arrival, they found a 2-year old boy suffering life-threatening injuries sustained from a dog bite. While treating his injuries, the boy went into cardiac arrest. The boy was airlifted to Frederick Health Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Dog Kills Two-Year-Old Boy
Multiple Attempts Made to Save Child

BRUNSWICK, Md. (April 4, 2023) – At approximately 5:13 p.m., today, the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) and the Frederick County Division of Fire & Rescue Services (DFRS) received a call for service of a child in cardiac arrest at the 400 block of West B Street in Brunswick.

Upon arrival, BPD and DFRS found a two-year-old boy suffering from life-threatening injuries sustained from a dog bite.

While treating the child’s life-threatening injuries, he went into cardiac arrest. After exhausting all life-saving measures, Maryland State Police Trooper 3 transported the child, via medivac, to the Frederick Health Hospital, where medical personnel pronounced him dead shortly after arrival.

The BPD and Frederick County Animal Control are currently conducting a full investigation. BPD made all appropriate next of kin notifications.

The victim and his family are residents of Fauquier County, Virginia. Due to the victim being a child and out of respect for the family, no other identifying information is available.

Per the Frederick County Division of Animal Control, the dog is currently in quarantine. - Frederick County Sheriff's Office

The child and his family, who live in Fauquier County, Virginia, were visiting a relative in Brunswick when the deadly attack occurred, Chief of Brunswick Police Kevin Grunwell said. The child had played with the dog, described as a pit bull-mastiff mix, all day, according to Chief Grunwell. When the boy's family was preparing to leave and say goodbye, the dog attacked the boy inside the home, Grunwell said. The Frederick County Division of Animal Control took custody of the dog.

WUSA reports the dog is now being described as a 145-pound mastiff-pit bull mix. The dog is owned by the boy's grandmother and has played with children in the past, according to family members. The dog has no history of violence. Both police and the family confirmed the boy did not provoke the attack. An investigation is being conducted by Brunswick police and Frederick County Animal Control. The family has started a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral expenses.

WUSA also spoke to the child's grandmother, Kimberly Russell, who witnessed the attack. The dog, a male rescue mastiff-pit bull mix named "Cash," has lived with the family for five years, Russell said. The violent attack came without warning in Russell's bedroom when family members were saying goodbyes and giving hugs to each other. Chief Grunwell said that he had seen Cash being walked in the community repeatedly with no issues over his two years as police chief.

NBC Washington spoke to the child's great-aunt, Tammy Crawford, who said it was unclear why the dog attacked the toddler. "He just attacked him, so. And the dog is very lovable too, so we just don’t know what happened," Crawford said. "It’s very heartbreaking. For him to be gone at such a young age, he was such a joy to be around," Crawford said. He was a "very lovable kid, loved his mother, they were like glue, them two together. The dog [and him], they was friends," she said.

The male dog named "Cash" was a rescue and had been living at the home for five years.

The male dog named "Cash" was 84 pounds in June 2020 and described as a "puppy dog."

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Maryland and D.C. Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.

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.

Posted on March 24, 2023 by Colleen Lynn

2023 Dog Bite Fatality: Man, 66, Killed by Rescue Pit Bull After Trying to Break up a Dog Fight in East Tulsa

Don Gibson, 66, was killed by a rescue pit bull after trying to break up a dog fight.

Rescue Dog Kills Man
Tulsa, OK - It was reported Wednesday that a man was hospitalized in critical condition after being attacked by one or more of his rescue pit bulls and later died of his injuries. EMSA responders said there were eight dogs at the scene. Tulsa Animal Control took three of the dogs into custody. The victim's wife then asked to reclaim two of those dogs that she did not believe initiated the attack. Those two dogs were given back to her because this was a "first-party bite," officials said.

KOTV-DT identified the victim as 66-year old Don Gibson and interviewed his wife, Gena Carter. Both Gibson and Carter were trying to break up a fight between two of their pit bulls in their garage when a female pit bull, named "Isabella," viciously redirected onto Don. "Finally I just threw up my hands and said 'let them fight 'till the end,’” Carter told KOTV-DT. “And Don said 'no, no.' And I said, 'Don I got to go get help, look at you.' My garage looked like a slaughterhouse," Carter said.

"What made [Isabella] turn, I have no idea,” Carter said. “It's just all a shock to me. But after I seen what she did to Don, I said ‘no, no more."’

Sgt. Brian Collum of the Tulsa Police Department said the injuries Gibson sustained were a "contributing factor" to his death. "There's absolutely no doubt." Collum also cautioned people who rescue dogs that may have a checkered past. "Try to find out some background, try to find out some other things before you actually take this dog into your home,” Collum said. Carter said her other dogs are "all I got to live for now," but she hopes that people will learn from her story.

The attack occurred at the couple's home in the 18000 block of East 4th Street in the morning, according to media reports. Two of the dogs were put down, Isabella and the primarily black pit bull (presumably). As many as six dogs remain on the property. The fenced-in yard shows multiple dog bowls, but there was an absence of dogs outside during the interview with KOTV-DT. A Google Street view from 2015 shows a black pit bull standing in their yard before it was fenced.

More Dog Information

An update from Fox 23 Tulsa states that "Angel," a pit bull-Lab mix, was the other dog involved in the fight. “Angel came bombarding through the door and Isabella, I guess was already out of her pen, and they got in a fight,” Carter explained. They broke up that fight, but Isabella wasn't done. “She came charging back in the gate to get at Angel and when she found out she couldn’t, is when she went after Don and tore chunks out of his arm, his legs and everything," Carter said.

Both Isabella and Angel were put down. Carter does have six remaining dogs on the property. One of them is a rescued wolf-dog hybrid-akita mix, named "Wolfie," who bears little resemblance to either breed. Just last week, Carter said that Isabella had attacked Wolfie over a bone. Wolfie and Isabella were rescued "years ago." Isabella was not a recently acquired rescue. The couple had been married for 23 years. Gibson used to be the owner of Ralph's Hot & Juicy Burgers.

Location where a man was killed by his rescue pit bull after trying to break up a dog fight.

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

Posted on March 22, 2023 by Colleen Lynn

2023 Dog Bite Fatality: Man Killed by Dog at Visalia Business; Occupational Safety and Health Agency Responded

A man was killed by a dog at a Visalia business on South Santa Fe Street.

Man Killed by Dog
Visalia, CA - On Tuesday, the Visalia Police Department issued a media release about a man attacked and killed by a dog. At 7:48 am, police responded to the 2300 block of South Santa Fe Street regarding an adult male attacked by a dog. The man was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. "The Visalia Police Department Violent Crimes Unit responded," states the release. "The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health also responded to the scene."

Police did not release the victim's name or the breed of dog involved. KSEE reported that the business located on South Santa Fe Street is the Jack & Jeff Transfer Company. According to the company's website, the entity has been in business since 1917. It is unknown if the attack occurred inside or outside of the facility or who owns the dog involved. Since the state's occupational safety agency responded to the scene, it seems likely the fatal attack occurred on the business' property.

The property is expansive and has a long roadway leading to the building. A Google Street view from 2019 even shows a dog at the front gate entrance. This fatal dog attack comes two weeks after Mateo Salvador, a 42-year old construction worker from Guatemala, was killed by four guard dogs after entering a home-turned-business property in Jurupa Valley to perform work for the property's owner, Homeland Electric. Salvador's family plans to sue the company, according to Univision.

NOTE: On May 23, 2024, we received a response to our FOIA. The victim was 47-years old and the dog involved was a female pit bull. Dog ownership information was not disclosed per 964 PC.

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: California Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Colleen Lynn

2023 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman, 38, Killed by a Pair of Great Danes She Agreed to Feed in Perry County, Pennsylvania

Kristen Potter, 38, was killed by a pair of great danes in Perry County, Pennsylvania.

Woman Killed by Dogs
Perry County, PA - A 38-year woman is dead after being attacked by a pair of great danes she agreed to feed while their owners were away. The attack occurred on March 16 around 5:15 pm in the 700 block of Clouser Hollow Road in Centre Township, near New Bloomfield. Perry County Coroner Robert Ressler said that Kristen Potter died of multiple traumatic injuries sustained in the dog attack. The manner of death was ruled an accident. Both dogs were subsequently euthanized.

The fatal attack occurred about two days after Potter published a distressing post to her Facebook page: "My life should be full and thriving and yet I'm here just surviving." Other posts show that her 11-year old son, Trevor Potter, died in May of 2020 in a tragic accident. The boy's father, Ryan Potter, passed away three months earlier, according to the child's obituary. Both tragedies occurred when the pandemic reached our nation's shores, causing lockdowns, panic and fear.

Her finacee, Jacob Presley Fickett, told the Daily Voice, "She was the Light of my life ... She has done nothing but good to anything she touched. I love her so much I can't even believe that she is gone." Fickett is a combat veteran. "She was able to teach me to love myself and her deeply," he said. She was also looking forward to moving to Florida, where her family would start a new chapter. "She wasn't that unhappy," Fickett said. He added that he is now "lost without her."

During the 2021 Covid year, there was another fatal dog mauling in Perry County. Rhoda Wagner, 60-years old, was killed by three pit bulls she was dog sitting for her roommate. Also, two other women between the ages of 43 and 49 were recently killed a pair or more of their own great danes. In 2022, Mindy Kiepe, 43, was killed by her five great danes in rural Clay County, Iowa. In 2019, Mary Matthews, 49, was killed by her two rescue great danes in Warren County, Ohio.

Prior to these three deaths, our nonprofit has only recorded one other fatal attack inflicted by a great dane since 2005. In 2009, Barbara Chambers, 59, died after being attacked by her prize-winning male great dane named "Lemonade" in Garland, Texas. Information from the 19th Century CDC study (Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998) shows that great danes were involved in seven fatalities during this 20-year period.

There was a third great dane at the home where Potter was attacked, but authorities say the dog was not involved. To add additional tragedy, Potter had gone to the home to feed the dog with her young son. He ran to get help when two of the three dogs attacked her, according to Ressler. Emergency responders were unable to reach Potter until animal control arrived and tranquilized the dogs. No information about the dogs' history or their owners has been released thus far.

A Penn Live article, behind a paywall, states the great danes are owned by Wendy Sabathne, who lives on the other side of the road from Potter's home. Sabathne was breeding and selling "AKC Registered Great Dane Puppies," according to her Instagram page, 240 weeks ago. In June 2019, a person on the Perry County Talk Facebook group reported there were "2 great danes running loose on Clouser Hollow." Sabathne chimed in saying, "They are harmless ... they just bark."

Dogs May Have Been Fighting

Potter's 10-year old son witnessed the start of the attack. “He screamed and ran down the driveway ... two of the great danes had attacked her from behind,” Potter's father Bill Keefer said. Despite being "attacked from behind," police speculated the dogs may have started fighting while Potter was feeding them and turned on Potter as she tried to intervene. Sabathne stated that her third great dane sustained injuries she believe is the result of the dogs attacking each other.

Keefer also said the same dogs had bitten Potter two or three years ago. It was also not the first time Potter had agreed to feed the dogs. Potter had agreed most recently because Sabathne was at a hospital with her mother, who is in intensive care and may not survive. “I’m heartbroken. I’m in shock. I’m in disbelief and I just want to die. I can’t believe this happened,” Sabathne told Penn Live. State police said the investigation is ongoing; it's unknown if any charges will be filed.

According to the audio log files at Broadcastify.com, Potter was found inside the dog pen. [Dispatcher] "Son found mother in a dog pen facedown with blood all over her ... mother is not breathing, is not conscious, has a lot of blood around the neck area. Also, one of the dogs does have blood on the muzzle" ... [Responder] "We have a dangerous situation here. We're not going to be able to get access into the patient .... we're going to need a [17] unit on scene," he said.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help her two surviving sons and to help pay funeral costs.

woman killed by pair of great danes in Perry County

Potter posted this two days before she was killed by a pair of great danes in Perry County. The interpretation of this post is proving to be controversial among family members as well.

The dogs' owner, Wendy Sabathne, had bred/sold "AKC Registered Great Danes" in the past.

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