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 »
Apollo Duplantis, 1-year old, was killed by a family dog in the Gentilly Woods area.
Young Boy Killed
New Orleans, LA - A 13-month old boy is dead after being attacked by a family dog in the Gentilly Woods area Monday, New Orleans police said. The attack was reported at 6:46 pm at a residence in the 5500 block of Seminary Place. The victim was transported to a hospital for treatment by private vehicle, where he later died. On Tuesday, the child was identified as Apollo Duplantis by the parish corner. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause and manner of death.
After the attack, a Louisiana SPCA officer entered the backyard of the home to capture the dog. The dog then attacked the SPCA officer. "At that time, officers on the scene heard the LASPCA officer screaming for help," states a release by New Orleans Police. "NOPD officers on the scene entered the yard and saw the dog attacking the LASPCA officer. The officer discharged a service weapon, striking the dog and killing it." The condition of the LASPCA officer is currently unknown.
Though police have not released breed information, photographs on the mother's Facebook page show a family pit bull-American bully, named "Bear." If Bear proves to be the culprit, he will be the third American bully-type dog, described as a "a natural extension of the American Pit Bull Terrier" by the UKC, involved a fatal dog mauling this year. No other major kennel club recognizes the breed, which curiously comes in four size standards: pocket, standard, classic and XL bully.
An American bully/bull breed-mix is seen on the mother of the child's Facebook page.
Given "Mixed-Breed" Designation
On Tuesday, the Louisiana SPCA issued a statement regarding the fatal dog mauling, including identifying the dog as a "mixed-breed" family dog. There is no doubt the dog is a mixed-breed, as an American bully can be comprised of at least five bully breeds, including: pit bull terrier, American bulldog, English bulldog, Old English bulldogge, Staffordshire bull terrier, French bulldog and multiple mastiff variations, such as the Neapolitan or bullmastiff, to achieve the XL size.
That said, at the very least, "Bear" is a bull breed-mix, not to be confused with 300 plus breeds that could produce a mixed-breed dog without human killing aggression, such as a border-sheltie mix (herding breeds) or a poodle-terrier mix (small toy breeds). Gladys was also unethically characterized as a "mixed-breed" after killing a volunteer at a dog rescue facility, though Gladys had ample, pit bull, mastiff and XL bully characteristics and weighed a massive 125-pounds.
At approximately 6:54 p.m. on July 11th, the Louisiana SPCA’s New Orleans Humane Law & Rescue (NOHLR) team responded to an animal attack in the 5500 block of Seminary Place. The call placed to 911 described a 13-month-old child attacked by a mixed-breed family dog and severely injured. Our officer arrived on scene where the New Orleans Police Department was present and awaited a warrant to enter the property to seize the dog while the child was transported to receive immediate medical care.
A second NOHLR officer arrived on scene before the warrant was acquired to assist. Once the warrant was obtained, the two NOHLR officers attempted to leash the dog through the backyard fence, but when the effort was unsuccessful they entered the backyard. With control poles the NOHLR officers attempted to leash the dog again. Before a leash could be secured on the dog, a NOHLR officer was attacked and called for help from the NOPD officers on the scene.
NOPD entered the yard and saw the dog attacking a NOHLR officer. At that time, a NOPD officer discharged a service weapon striking the dog and killing it. - Louisiana SPCA, July 12, 2022
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.
Pit bulls are suspected in an attack that killed Dennis Moore and injured another man.
Cause of Death Determined UPDATE 09/11/22: In September, the medical examiner determined that Dennis Moore died from a cardiac event prompted by the dog attack. Moore was found dead in an alley on July 10 with severe trauma to his body. St. Louis Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Graham said that Moore, "died from heart disease that was exacerbated by this attack -- not either one of those things by themselves." Graham added, "We think most of the extreme damage occurred after he died."
Prior to the dogs being captured, they attacked a 92-year old man in the alley, and the next day, they attacked 23-year old Kevin Davis. Both men were treated at a hospital. The three pit bulls seized after the attacks remain impounded. The city's health department released a statement saying, in part, "the department remains concerned for the public’s safety regarding three dogs connected with this incident." The department has recommended euthanasia for the animals.
07/12/22: Mauling Victim Identified
Family members identified the victim as 62-year old Dennis Moore. Police told his wife, Melvina Moore, that she should not see his body. "We don’t want you to remember these wounds. We don't even want to tell you how many times he was bitten," she told KSDK. Moore was discovered dead in an alley Sunday morning, suffering from "significant bodily wounds." A 92-year old man was also discovered in an alley with dog bite injuries. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.
"The dogs ate him up to the point where his body was decayed, they can't show me his body. They didn't eat his head up." - Melvina Moore
The couple married after meeting in the Penrose neighborhood in 2016. "We had a wonderful wedding, and I asked him 'I never had a wedding before," Melvina said. "I mean, to take in a woman with seven kids, just think about it." Moore was a retired landscaper, who often helped the elderly cut their grass in the neighborhood, reports KSDK. Melvina said she knew something was wrong when Moore did not call her Saturday night as she worked a nightshift at a nursing home.
When she called him Sunday morning, police answered the phone. They would not tell her the circumstances over the phone. "The dogs ate my husband up like wolves," she said shakily. "I don't know how to move on." She is now trying to raise money for his funeral costs. Animal Control seized three pit bulls suspected of being involved in the attacks, police said. The dogs, described by police as pit bulls, matched descriptions of "several dog bites in the area," reports KTVI.
07/11/22: Multi-Victim Dog Attack
St. Louis, MO - KTVI reports that three pit bulls are suspected in the death of one man and the injury of another. The multi-victim attack occurred sometime between 11:30 pm Saturday and 6:30 am Sunday in the 4800 block of San Francisco Avenue, located in the Penrose neighborhood on the north side of St. Louis. Arriving police officers discovered a 62-year old man suffering from "significant bodily wounds" and a 92-year old man in a nearby alley with dog bite injuries.
The 62-year old man was "possibly attacked by pit bulls," an investigation revealed, who apparently died at the scene. The 92-year old man was transported to a hospital. Animal control officers confiscated three pit bulls in the area. The medical examiner's office and the city's Animal Control Division are handling the investigation, KTVI reports. The current condition of the 92-year old man is unknown. Thus far, we have located only a few news reports about this attack.
A report from KMOV states the 62-year old man was dead when police arrived. Officers found him in the backyard of a home. While officers searched the scene, they discovered the 92-year old man, who was suffering from a large number of dog bites. The older man got the bites from several dogs attacking him in the alley. KMOV did not report any breed information, but stated, "Animal Control later found three dogs matching the description of several attacks in the area."
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.
Lea Freeman, 4-years old, died Saturday after being attacked by a pit bull in southeast Oak Cliff.
Child Identified UPDATE 07/12/22: Family members have identified the 4-year old girl who was killed by one or more pit bulls in southeast Oak Cliff. WFAA spoke to Lea Freeman's mother, Tiara Freeman. She said she left her three daughters with her friend and her dad at the home on Bluffman Drive, where all of them were living. Lea's 2-year old sibling was in the room with her sister when the pit bull attacked. "She's traumatized. She's very scared, she saw her sister be killed," Tiara said.
Family members said the mother has mental health issues. Tiffany Freeman, Lea's aunt, said they have been trying to get the children to live with their grandparents. The home on Bluffman Drive is "run down and ill-fitting for children," Tiffany said. Lea's grandparents have been calling CPS and warning them since March about the conditions the children have been living in. Neighbors said the pit bulls at the home would escape by jumping through a broken window to run at large.
NBC DFW also spoke to Tiara. She and her children had moved into the home on Bluffman Drive with a woman she knows. Prior to the attack, Tiara asked her friend to watch her children while she went to the store. When she returned, she found Lea badly injured. "I'm crying, picking up my baby and I'm getting bitten up by her dogs," Tiara said. She believes a pit bull, named "Rambo," was the attacker, "but I got a feeling Rawlow and Reina had something to do with it too."
The Dallas Morning News reports that Tiara, who is 23-years old, was trying to get her life back on track after experiencing homelessness. That is when Tiara and her three children began living at the home on Bluffman Drive. Last month, she found a job about 10 minutes away. Prior to the attack, Tiara left the home "to go buy beer," leaving both of her daughters with a woman, who also lived at the home. Her youngest daughter was staying with her father that day, Tiara explained.
Tiara identified the woman she was living with as "Simone." Tiara said she never got a call from her while she was at the store. "I don't get a call when I'm at the store, I don't get a call from her letting me know that my kid is dead," Tiara said. She picked up Lea and rushed outside. She asked Michael Pennington, who lives across the street, to call 911. "Simone" was allegedly outside when the fatal dog attack occurred and had left Tiara's two children alone with the animals.
It remains unknown how many calls Dallas Animal Services (DAS) received about the dogs at the home on Bluffman Drive. DAS declined to answer questions related to this on Monday. Tiara also expressed to the Morning News that she believes all three pit bulls in the home were involved in the attack. No arrests have been made in connection to Lea's death, police said. The medical examiner's office confirmed the child's identity, but a cause of death has not been determined.
A fund has been created for Lea Freeman, 4-years old, who was killed by one or more pit bulls.
07/11/22: Neighbor Called 911
In a heartbreaking update, we learn more about the home on Bluffman Drive in southeast Oak Cliff, where a 4-year old girl was mauled to death one or more dogs Saturday morning. Multiple media outlets interviewed a family that lives across the street. Neighbor Michael Pennington placed the 911 call. He saw the horrific injuries to the child's head. "I said that baby is dead," an emotional Pennington told the Dallas Morning News on Sunday. "I said that baby's dead, man."
Officers were dispatched to the 5600 block of Bluffman Drive just before 8:00 am Saturday about an animal attack. Police said the child suffered multiple bite injuries. Police did not release the breed of dog involved. But a review of the Dallas City Police audio dispatch files indicates the child was bitten by a black pit bull inside the home and that a gray pit bull also resided at the home. Pennington believes three dogs, all pit bulls, living the home were involved in the violent attack.
Dallas Animal Services spokeswoman Marlo Clingman confirmed Monday that three dogs were picked up by the city. Dallas police spokesman Michael Dennis also confirmed that multiple dogs were seized from the home. According to Pennington, a woman who lives at the home is the owner of the dogs. No adults were inside the home when the attack occurred, Pennington said. Dallas police and Texas Child Protective Services are investigating the child's mauling death.
In the month's leading up to the child's death, Pennington said the three dogs had escaped the home multiple times by jumping through a broken window. Pennington's sister, Lorie Pennington, said one of the dogs attacked her 15-year old niece about a month ago. The dog clamped onto her arm, but the jacket she was wearing protected her skin from the dog's teeth. Lorie broke down crying in the video, recalling, "I didn't feel right with those dogs in the house with those babies."
"If you turn around and look, every last one of those windows was busted out because of those dogs …Those dogs should not have been at that house. Many times they got called on. They should have been gone … If CPS had done what they were supposed to do it could have been avoided." - Lorie Pennington
Lorie said she called 311 multiple times to report the dogs being loose, but was told by Dallas Animal Services (DAS) they would not send an officer out because the dogs were not on her property. Lorie also said that Child Protective Services had been called to the home in the past. Tiffani Butler, a Texas Department of Family and Protective Services spokeswoman confirmed the family of the child had been in "involved" with CPS in the past, but did not provide any details.
NBC DFW also spoke to the Penningtons. Michael said a neighbor came out of the house holding a baby, asking him to call for an ambulance. There were at least three children in the home. The 4-year old girl and two younger children. Lorie also described the three dogs as pit bulls, as she remembered her 311 call about the dogs earlier this spring, "I told them we have some pit bulls that my neighbor has and they keep getting out and they can't keep them in," Lorie said.
Lorie echoed her concerns about the children living at the home with the dogs and that Child Protective Services should have intervened sooner. "They (CPS) should have either said ‘You have to get rid of the dogs or the kids got to go,'" Lorie said. "We tried to save those kids but we couldn't," she said. Multiple agencies, including police and DFPS, are investigating the child's death. As of Sunday, the two surviving children were in the care of separate parents.
07/10/22: Child Killed by Family Dog
Dallas, TX - A 4-year old girl is dead after being attacked by a dog Saturday morning in southeast Oak Cliff, a neighborhood in Dallas. Police and emergency responders were dispatched just before 8:00 am to a home in the 5600 block of Bluffman Drive about an animal attack. Police said the dog bit the girl multiple times, reports the Dallas Morning News. She was transported to a children's hospital, according to the audio log files of Dallas City Police on Broadcastify.com.
A review of the audio dispatch files indicates the child was bitten by a black pit bull that belonged to the 911 caller who was in the home. "The pit bull is inside the house .. [I'm guessing] at the location," states the dispatcher. When asked by the responder, "Is the dog away from the 4-year old right now?" The dispatcher replied, "The dog belongs to the caller. The dog is currently put up. It is a black pit bull. The child is bleeding. And the dog is still at the location, but he's put up."
Police did not release the breed of dog to the Morning News, or whom the dog belonged to. The dog is currently in the custody of Dallas Animal Services (DAS). No other information was made available Saturday. This is the first known fatal dog attack in Dallas since the 2016 death of Antoinette Brown. Her death caused the city to revamp DAS protocols -- police even took over the embattled agency temporarily, in order to combat the loose and stray dog problem in south Dallas.
The home on Bluffman Drive in Southeast Oak Cliff where a 4-year old girl was killed by a dog.
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.
Trena Peed, 46, was killed by two pit bulls she was dog sitting at her Greensboro home.
Pit Bulls Kill Woman
Greensboro, NC - A woman is dead after being attacked by two pit bulls she was caring for at her home. Trena Peed, 46-years old, was dog sitting two pit bulls when she let them out into the backyard of her home in the 1100 block of Vance Street at about 2:00 am Thursday. Just after she let the dogs out, neighbors heard her crying out loudly for help. WGHP listened to the 911 call made by a neighbor, "It’s dark. All I hear is her yelling and her dogs over there attacking her."
Hours after her death, her daughter, Waynesha Peed, created a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral expenses. "Early this morning, my mom was tragically taken away from us by a vicious attack from a dog," she wrote. She also shared the recent tragedies her family has suffered. "My siblings, grandmother, family, & I are heartbroken at her sudden passing. She has endured and overcame so much, most recently losing two of her sons two years apart, both by tragic car accidents."
Ja-h Quan Peed, 14-years old, was killed by a car while crossing a multi-lane road in Fayetteville in 2017. Ja-h Quan was a seventh grader at Westover Middle School. "No one knows the pain that I feel without you being here," Trena shared with WRAL. In 2019, Eric Lee Peed, 24-years old, was killed in a traffic collision involving a tractor-trailer in Southampton County, Virginia. All four people in the car that rear-ended the stopped tractor-trailer in the road were killed, police said.
A friend who knew Trena from church posted on Facebook, "This breaks my heart. This young lady grew up going to church with us and has suffered so much loss in her young life, losing two children to accidents, and now she was attacked by a dog and died." Waynesha hopes to raise enough funds to "bring her home to Virginia & make arrangements for her homegoing service." Anything given is greatly appreciated, she said, and please "keep praying over our family."
Greensboro Police, Greensboro Fire and Guildford County Animal Control were dispatched to the home on Vance Street. Police shot and killed one of the pit bulls to stop the attack. "Shots fired," could be heard on traffic radio, reports WGHP. "I got one dog down, itʼs another one out here." The other pit bull was taken into custody and is currently being held in quarantine at Guildford County Animal Services. The owner of the two pit bulls was not identified by officials or media reports.
Dog Sitting Pit Bulls
Every year, multiple people are killed while dog sitting one or more pit bulls. Last year was no exception. In September, Amber LaBelle, 42, was killed by a large pit bull she was dog sitting in Oregon. Her two daughters, 5 and 8, witnessed the violent attack. In August, Rhoda Wagner, 60, was killed by three pit bulls she was dog sitting in Pennsylvania. In June, Rebecca McCurdy, 28, was killed by two pit bulls while she was house sitting for the dogs' owner in rural Oklahoma.
The most controversial fatal pit bull mauling in 2021 also involved dog sitting. The attack occurred in Garner, North Carolina, about 85 miles east of Greensboro. Jayden Henderson, 7-years old, was attacked and killed by her neighbor's two pit bulls her family had been caring for while their owners were out of town. Her mother suffered severe injuries trying to stop the attack. After Jayden's death, the owners, Joseph and Amanda White, fought to get the dogs returned to them.
Greensboro Police responded to the scene and shot and killed one of the attacking pit bulls.
Trena Peed was killed by two pit bulls she was dog sitting at her home on Vance Street.
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.
View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Louisiana Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.
View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: 
