Posted on April 22, 2022 by Colleen Lynn

2022 Dog Bite Fatality: Family Pit Bulls Suspected After Woman Found Dead in Mission, Texas

Police suspect Maria Rachel Perez, 59, was killed by two pit bulls inside her Mission home.

Woman Discovered Dead
Mission, TX - A 59-year old woman was found unresponsive by her 10-year old granddaughter on Thursday around 3:41 pm in the 800 block of Leal Street. When police arrived at the scene, they located the woman covered in blood with "several bite marks on her left side of her body and face," according to Mission police spokesman Investigator Art Flores. Maria Rachel Perez was pronounced dead at 4:18 pm. Two pit bulls that belonged to relatives were taken into custody.

It was the granddaughter that called 911. "A young lady, a juvenile showed up at home to a residence and observed that her grandmother was laying on the floor with blood," Flores said. "We did see some evidence of dog bites on the female’s left side portion, upper portion of the body, left arm," said Flores. "We can’t say it was the dogs at this point." When police arrived, the "two pit bulls were isolated in another room," Flores said. An autopsy has been ordered for Perez's death.

A male neighbor, who did not wish to be identified by KRGV, said the two dogs were known to be aggressive. "These were pretty aggressive dogs. They would escape. They were always roaming in the neighborhood. They'd even break into people's yards," he said. "It could have been a child. I hope this never happens to anybody ever again." The last dog bite fatality DogsBite.org recorded in this county -- Hidalgo County -- was the death of a 5-year old child that occurred in 2008.

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

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 April 20, 2022 by Colleen Lynn

2022 Dog Bite Fatality: Elderly Woman Dies After Dog Attack in the Heights Section of Billings, Montana

Melitta Hain, 84, died eight days after being mauled by dogs in Billings Heights.

Mauling Victim Identified
Billings, MT - On April 18, news reports emerged about a fatal dog mauling in Billings Heights, a suburban neighborhood in northeast Billings. The attack occurred on April 8 in the 1100 block of Sandstone Trial at about 6:30 pm. Police were initially dispatched to the area on a report of a disturbance. While en route, police learned the disturbance was a dog attack. When officers arrived on scene, they found an elderly woman who had sustained injuries from a dog attack.

On April 19, the Yellowstone County Coroner's Office identified the victim as 84-year old Melitta Hain. She was injured on April 8 and died on April 16 from complications of multiple dog bites. Her death was ruled an accident, the coroner's office said. The attack occurred on private property, and three large mixed-breed dogs were involved, police said. All three dogs are being held in quarantine at the Yellowstone County Animal Shelter. No arrests or charges have been filed.

Audio dispatch logs from Yellowstone County Public Safety on Broadcastify.com indicate the victim lived at a home on Sandstone Trial next-door to the property where the dogs resided. No other information has been released by police. Hain's family has retained the Billings-based law firm Heenan and Cook to represent them, reports KTVQ, an MTN News affiliate. The family and their attorney declined an interview request with MTN News until the police investigation is complete.

Last year, two people were killed by dogs in Montana. In December, 58-year old Duke Little Whirlwind was fatally mauled by a pack of dogs in Lame Deer on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, about 115 miles southeast of Billings. In May, 4-year old Elliot Sherwin was killed by his grandparents two rottweilers in Whitehall, about 200 miles west of Billings. The grandparents had gained custody of the boy and had recently moved to the area from Washington state.

Prior to the pandemic, only two fatal dog maulings had been recorded in Montana since 2005. In 2006, Dominic Giordano, 4-years old, was killed by one of his uncle's rottweilers in Ulm. The boy and his family had been staying with his aunt and uncle who owned four rottweilers. In 2017, Melissa Barnes, 65-years old, was brutally attacked by two familiar pit bulls belonging to a tenant that lived on her property in Bozeman. She was pronounced brain dead the following day.

Obituary Announcement

Melitta Martha Hain was born in Berlin, Germany prior to World War II. She was injured in the bombing of Berlin and buried in a hospital for two days in Leipzig, according to her obituary. She would have been a young child at that time. She later escaped from East Berlin. Being sponsored out of a refugee camp, she arrived in Great Falls, Montana and felt "safe and free." After marrying her husband in 1983, the couple lived in Denver, Colorado before settling in Billings, Montana.

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Colleen Lynn

2022 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Killed by 'Highly Trained' Personal Protection Dog in Loudon County, Tennessee

A woman was killed by a K-9, trained as a "personal protection dog" in Tellico Village.

Dog Kills Owner
Tellico Village, TN - On March 30, the Loudon County Sheriff's Office issued a statement about a dog attack investigation. "Patrol and Detective Divisions are on scene of a fatality involving a Tellico Village woman who appears to have been killed by her own dog." Witnesses reported seeing the dog attacking the woman. When deputies responded, they found a "large black dog standing over a body." A deputy was forced to shoot and kill the dog in order to aid the victim.

The victim was only identified as a "local Tellico Village woman." She was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. Her body was transported to the Knox County Regional Forensics Center for an autopsy. The deceased canine was taken to the University of Tennessee Veterinary College for a necropsy. WVLT reported later that evening that LCSO Spokesperson Matt Fagiana, said the large black dog was a "shepherd breed" that was trained as a "personal protection dog."

Justin Vallejo, a New York correspondent for The Independent, which is a British newspaper, reported additional information in a statement by the sheriff's office. "The dog was a Dutch shepherd and was reportedly a very highly trained personal protection dog that was owned by the victim and her husband, who is a long-time and very accomplished K9 trainer," a statement to The Independent said. It's unclear why this statement has not been reported by local media outlets.

Dogs trained in protection sports have been in involved in multiple fatal dog attacks. In 2019, Ryan Hazel, 14, was killed by a Dutch shepherd and multiple Belgian Malinois on the property of Scott Dunmore, a professional dog trainer, highly regarded in Schutzhund. In 2014, Logan Meyer, 7, was killed by a Holland imported rottweiler trained by his step-father, Jessie Smith, who had formerly been the Director of Executive and Family Protection at Vohne Liche Kennels.

Semyonova: The Tragic Fantasy that a Protection Dog Can Make a Reliable Family Pet

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Colleen Lynn

2022 Dog Bite Fatality: 6-Year Old Boy Killed by Dog on Spirit Lake Reservation in North Dakota

Francis Cavanaugh, 6-years old, was mauled to death by a dog on the Spirit Lake Reservation.

Boy Killed by Dog
Fort Totten, ND - A 6-year old boy is dead after being attacked by at least one dog on the Spirit Lake Reservation, according to investigators. The attack occurred on Sunday, March 27, at a housing development off of Highway 57 in Fort Totten, reports InForum. The FBI is investigating, but declined to release any details. It's unclear if the owner of the dog has been identified at this time. Like many reservations, Spirit Lake has been plagued with roaming dogs for years.

At least 700 dogs found roaming the reservation were taken in last year, according to Tribal Chairman Douglas Yankton. That did not even "dent" the problem, he said. There are so many dogs on the reservation, Yankton added, that it would be impossible to establish a registration system. The boy's dog mauling death occurred one day before a young woman was fatally attacked by a large pack of dogs on the Meskwaki Nation Settlement in Tama County, Iowa.

In December, Duke Little Whirlwind, 58, was killed by a pack of dogs on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana. In May, Lyssa Upshaw, 13, was killed by a pack of dogs on the Navajo Nation in Arizona. Since 2010, there have been at least 14 fatal dog maulings on Indian reservations nationwide. The persistency of the number of roaming dogs on reservations -- many of which are owned, but un-collared and unchecked, or abandoned -- has deadly ramifications.

Native American reservations often have seriously underfunded animal control resources or lack them all together. The Spirit Lake Reservation only has one animal control employee. Like other tribes across the country, Spirit Lake also has a breed-specific ordinance that bans pit bulls and rottweilers, at least from their housing program. Yankton said that enforcement, however, is problematic. Owners become confrontational and evicting just increases the homeless situation.

Family Speaks to Media

In a video report, iNews TV identified the boy as Francis Cavanaugh. The group spoke to Fallon Greywater, the sister of Francis' biological mother. Fallon and her husband Keith have been the boy's parents since birth. Fallon said Francis was attacked by one dog, which was taken into custody (an unusual scenario, reservation attacks are nearly always pack attacks). Francis was outside with his older brother when the dog attacked. He had played with this dog in the past.

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Fatal Dog Attacks on American Indian Reservations.

Learn about breed-specific laws on Indian reservations in our Breed Safety Laws section.

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