Posted on January 1, 2022 by Colleen Lynn

2021 Dog Bite Fatality: Man Killed by Pit Bulls on Far South Side of Chicago Prior to the New Year

A 34-year man was killed by pit bulls on the Far South Side of Chicago before the New Year.

Pit Bulls Kill Man
Chicago, IL - A 34-year old man was discovered dead with dog bites in a home in the 300 block of West 108th Place in the Roseland neighborhood around 11:30 pm Thursday. The man, who remains unidentified, was found in a living room with "visible dog bites" on his body, according to police. An autopsy Saturday determined the man died of multiple injuries from a dog mauling, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His death was ruled an accident.

Three pit bulls -- two pit bulls and one American Bully, which is an extension of the American pit bull terrier -- were found inside the home.

Between 2010 and December 30, 2021, seven people have been killed by pit bulls in an 8.3 mile radius of the 300 block of West 108th Place on Chicago's Far South Side, including 56-year old Johnny Wilson (2010), 44-year old Charles Hagerman (2012), 2-year old Jah'Niyah White (2013), 5-year old James Nevils III (2015), 77-year old Dorothy Ford (2017) and 57-year old Karen Brown (2018). In 2020, Katie Amos, 70, was killed by pit bull-cane corso mixes only 11.5 miles away.

Deaths by American Bullies

Because "American bullies," which is a pit bull designer breed, are often pit bull-bull breed-mastiff mixes (extra-large pit bulls), police often classify them as pit bull-mixes. That is the correct classification and also how DogsBite classifies them. Due to this, however, tracking occurrences of "American bully" mentions in media reports is difficult. We just know that deaths inflicted by these extra-large pit bulls have sky rocketed in the US and the UK over the past 6 or so years.

Consider that the only thing that "bully" means in the creation of the four American bully classes is a "thicker" pit bull, where heights vary from pocket size to XL and XXL sizes. Yet, bully breeders are all over the map too, including the hulking pit bull/bully that killed Amber LaBelle in front of her two daughters in September, the "champaign" pit bull designer breed that killed Morgan Crayton in 2019 and the XL pit bull/bully from ManMade Kennels that devastated a child's face in 2018.

far south side of chicago pit bull fatalities

A number of pit bull inflicted deaths have occurred in or near the Far South Side of Chicago.

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Illinois 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 December 30, 2021 by Colleen Lynn

2021 Dog Bite Fatality: 26-Year Old Woman Mauled to Death by Four Dogs in Her East Valinda Home's Backyard

Karen Rosa-Madrid, 26-years old, was killed by four dogs in her East Valinda home's backyard.

Dogs Kill Woman
Valinda, CA - On December 28, Karen Rosa-Madrid, 26, was fatally attacked by her family's four dogs while trying to get into a backyard window of her East Valinda home, according to police. Her 6-year old son suffered minor bite injuries. Rosa-Madrid, who resided at the home with her sister-in-law, had forgotten her key that day. No one was at the home in the 18000 block of Elizondo Street when she attempted to access the backyard window, sheriff’s Lt. David Petrocelli said.

“The dogs were familiar with the child, but not with the mother,” Petrocelli said. The breeds of dogs involved were not disclosed. The attack occurred around 5:30 pm Tuesday. Audio dispatch log files from Los Angeles County Fire stated, "We gotta patient with multiple dogs standing around her. She's in bad shape, and the dogs are still loose." Fire also indicated they "had no access" to the victim, apparently due to the loose dogs, according to the audio feed on Broadcastify.com.

Firefighters eventually used their hoses to get the dogs away from Rosa-Madrid. She suffered major injuries to her head and arm. She was transported to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, where she died. Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control seized the dogs. “The dogs are under quarantine at one of our animal-care centers,” spokesperson Don Belton said. “This is an ongoing investigation and we are not able to provide additional information at this time.”

Young Adult Victims

Of the 568 Americans killed by canines in the 16-year period of 2005 through 2020, only 20 victims, 4%, were ages 20 to 29. Pit bulls were involved in 18 of these deaths, 90%. At least one rottweiler, one Dogo argentino and two presa canarios were involved in 3 of these deaths. Thus, the age of Rosa-Madrid, 26, heavily indicates that pit bulls or mastiff-type dogs or both were involved in her mauling death, despite this being a pack attack involving at least 4 dogs.

In July, a 66-year old man was killed by a family pit bull when he climbed through a window to enter a relative's home. In June, a 3-year old boy was killed by his family's pit bulls after he fell out of a rear second-story window of his home in New Jersey. In the Valinda case, authorities found Rosa-Madrid's 6-year old son at a neighbor's house after the attack. It's unclear why Petrocelli would say the dogs were only familiar with the boy, given that his mother also lived at the home.

Records Show Breeds

On January 24, we received a response to our breed identification records request from Los Angeles County Animal Care & Control. The dogs involved in the fatal mauling of Rosa-Madrid were two male and two female cane corsos between the ages of 6 and 2-years old. Though offspring information was not released, the older male and female pair were 6 and 5-years old and the younger pair were 3 and 2-years old. Sterilization status information also was not released.

Due to the victim's age of 26-years old, we had predicted that pit bulls or mastiff-type dogs were involved. Our prediction was correct. One media outlet, American Post, reportedly talked to Rosa-Madrid's mother, Gloria Madrid, but the article contains many language errors that are indicative of a poor language translation. Indeed, the source article is from La Opinión on January 18. There was also a follow up by the same author at La Opinión, Araceli Martinez Ortega, on January 20.

Karen Julisa Rosa Madrid was attacked and killed by four cane corso dogs in East Valinda.

Posted on December 17, 2021 by Colleen Lynn

2021 Dog Bite Fatality: Wisconsin Mother Dies After Saving Son's Life During a Family Pit Bull Rampage Attack

A mother is dead and two others were injured after a family pit bull rampage attack.

Pit Bull Kills Mother
Bowler, WI - On December 9, a GoFundMe was started for a woman by her sister. The original text stated in part: "My sister was not so lucky this dog mauled her arms. She lost so much blood on the way to the hospital her heart stopped. She was in surgery over 6 hours and they had to amputate her left arm and are hoping the right will heal." The next day, the fund posted an update, "Unfortunately they were not able to save her right arm and had to take it above the elbow."

Today, multiple news outlets are reporting this multi-victim attack. 35-year old Heather Pingel, a stay-at-home mother of two, was rushed by paramedics to Aspirus Wausau Hospital following the December 8 rampage attack at the family's home in Bowler. Her injuries were extensive, including suffering two arm amputations. She died about noon on December 16. Her son, Damion Bernarde, received about 70 stitches to his leg following the attack, but is back home from the hospital.

The Wausau Daily Herald spoke to Heather's sister, Shannon Pingel. “She is the bravest, strongest mother I know to do that for her child; she risked her life to save him," she said. "She is a hero." At the time of the attack, only Heather and Damion were at the home with the dog. Her 5-year old daughter was at school and the children's father, Shane Bernarde, was at his brother's home. When Shane returned that afternoon, he found the dog attacking Heather in the bathroom.

When Shane returned home that afternoon, he said Heather was in the bathroom with the door closed and she told him that Damion had fallen down the steps and she didn't know where he was, according to a police report from the Shawano County Sheriff's Office. After he located the boy in the living room, Shane returned to the bathroom and found the family's pit bull attacking Heather.

“We don't know how long she was in there fighting him off," Shannon said. "Shane got home to find her lying on the bathroom floor. She said, ‘I have no arms and I'm dying.'" - Wausau Daily Herald, December 17, 2021

Shane told police he grabbed the dog, dragged it outside then shot and killed it. Shane was bitten by the dog as well. When officers arrived at the scene just before 3:00 pm, they found Heather on the bathroom floor barely able to breath. Damion was sitting in a chair in the living room with a severe injury to his leg. The dog was dead. Heather, Damion and Shane were all transported to a hospital for treatment. A single family pit bull rampage attack resulted in three human victims.

Last year, there were three family pit bull rampage attacks that resulted in death. The death of 86-year old Coco in Florida, involved a pair of family pit bulls attacking three family members, requiring three ambulances. The death of 1-year old Scarlett Pereira involved a single family pit bull attacking the baby and two adults who tried to intervene. The death of 25-year old Devon White involved a single family pit bull attacking four family members, requiring four ambulances.

Since the majority of the attack occurred in the bathroom, the family believes that Heather found the dog attacking her son and struggled to pull the dog away from him and into the bathroom. According to the police report, the December 8 attack was not the first time the dog displayed aggression, but Heather couldn't give the dog up. "My sister has the biggest heart for animals and just couldn't get rid of it...her heart was too big and they thought they could fix him," Shannon said.

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Colleen Lynn

2021 Dog Bite Fatality: Pack of Dogs Kill Lame Deer Man on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation

Duke Little Whirlwind, 58-years old, was killed by a pack of dogs in Lame Deer.

Death by Dogs Confirmed
UPDATE 12/16/21: On Tuesday, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) confirmed that a 58-year old Lame Deer man was killed by a pack of dogs on Tribal land. "BIA officers responded to a call about a man being attacked by dogs, but when they arrived there were no dogs present," the BIA said in a press release. Duke Little Whirlwind, 58, was found dead on a dirt road Sunday. The Rosebud County Sheriff and coroner also responded to the scene, reports the MT Standard.

"Following a preliminary autopsy, it was determined the cause of death was an attack by canines, with drugs and alcohol as contributing factors."

On Thursday, The Missoulian provided more details about Avalee Little Whirlwind's account, Duke's niece, who arrived at the scene with a .22 caliber rifle ready to kill the dogs that took her uncle's life. Her uncle lay lifeless under a tarp on the dirt road. She yelled at the BIA officers, demanding to know why they had done nothing about the dogs circling her uncle's body. At that point, the situation intensified and resulted in BIA officers placing Little Whirlwind in handcuffs.

The officers did nothing about the dogs, according to Little Whirlwind, something members of the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council confirm. Hours later, when Duke Little Whirlwind’s body was removed by the coroner and the officers left the scene, the dogs were left behind to prowl the blood-soaked street.

"They just ran around there all night," Little Whirlwind said.

The next day, the dogs’ owners took four of the dogs out of town and shot them. Little Whirlwind said a female pit bull had recently birthed puppies and was the instigator in the attack. She demanded to go see the dogs’ bodies and she photographed them. - The Missoulian, AJ Etherington, December 16, 2021

The BIA officers later told Little Whirlwind they understood she was upset and they let her go but confiscated her gun, reports The Missoulian. Little Whirlwind identified the instigator in the attack as a female pit bull that had recently birthed puppies. She photographed the four dogs suspected in the attack that were shot and killed by their owners the next day, including the female pit bull. The BIA continues to assert "there were no dogs present" when they arrived at the scene.

The 2019 Ordinance

Previously, we reported on the 2019 ordinance that the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council passed authorizing "law enforcement authorities (primarily BIA law enforcement) to eliminate dangerous dogs from the Reservation." The BIA had initially asked for the ordinance as an opportunity to take care of the dog problem, then recanted and "told the Council they could not comply with the ordinance due to federal rules governing the use of their firearms," reports The Missoulian.

Tribal Council member Lane Spotted Elk said the BIA police chief told the Council that any discharge of their service weapons would lead to an internal investigation by the agency and that officers did not want to undergo that, reports The Missoulian. So, the ordinance went unenforced until mid-2021. At that time the Tribe invested in traps and hired personnel to capture the dogs to either take them to shelters or euthanize them. That process is quite slow, Spotted Elk explained.

Ancient Dog Breed Lost

Diane Spotted Elk, also a council member and Spotted Elk's cousin, noted that the long-standing and sacred relationship the Northern Cheyenne people have with dogs was based on a specific, functional dog type that the "Cheyenne people travelled the prairies and mountains with generations earlier." That dog breed or type has been extinct for over a hundred years. Pit bulls, chihuahuas, yorkies, German shepherds and blue heelers are not the sacred dogs, she explained.

12/13/21: Man Found Dead in Lame Deer
Lame Deer, MT - On Sunday, Duke Little Whirlwind, 58, was found dead on a dirt road in Lame Deer. His family believes he was killed by a pack of roaming dogs. "My brother George saw him lying there, all of his clothes ripped off, naked," Avalee Little Whirlwind, Duke's niece, told KTVQ. "He was face down, and those dogs were still running around." Whirlwind had stopped a few blocks away to pick up a bicycle, Avalee said. He was found dead by a neighbor shortly thereafter.

Little Whirlwind's body was transported by the Rosebud County coroner to Forsyth late Sunday, then transported to the state crime lab in Billings. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday. Tom MexicanCheyenne, who has lived in Lame Deer for over 40 years, said that despite a Northern Cheyenne tribal ordinance enacted in 2019, law enforcement has not done enough to curb the issue. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officers, according to him, say it's not their responsibility.

The 2019 ordinance states, "WHEREAS, the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation is currently overpopulated with dogs, some of which roam uncontrolled and are dangerous and have attacked people on the Reservation without provocation ... WHEREAS, the Tribe currently does not have adequate funds to administer an animal control program; and WHEREAS, until funds are secured for such a program, the Tribal Council wishes to adopt an ordinance which authorizes law enforcement authorities (primarily BIA law enforcement) to eliminate dangerous dogs from the Reservation." - Ordinance No. DOI-014 (2019)

Avalee said the owners of four dogs, allegedly involved in the fatal attack, shot and killed the animals early Monday morning. Instead of waiting on officials to take action, "They decided to do that themselves this morning, around 6:00-7:00 am," Avalee said. "They showed me the spot, and I took pictures of the dogs they killed. They took them out of town and shot them, four of them, because those dogs had blood on them and they knew those dogs had a part in it," Avalee said.

Perpetual Problem

Back in May, Lyssa Rose Upshaw, 13, was killed by a pack of dogs on the Navajo Nation. Lyssa was found curled up in a fetal position, "her clothes and pieces of flesh scattered around," reported the Navajo Times. Her death came a month after the Associated Press reported that Covid-19 had hindered animal control services on the Navajo Nation, which spans 27,000 square miles. During 2020, the pandemic forced Navajo authorities to shut down three of their four animal shelters.

Roaming packs of dogs -- owned uncollared dogs and abandoned dogs -- are a perpetual problem on many reservations. Cultural beliefs and a lack of resources, such as animal control officers and functional shelters, are often to blame. The lack of spay/neuter services and mobile spay/neuter units to service remote areas are also to blame. As soon as a dent is made in lowering the population of roaming dogs, many new puppies are born and the problem starts all over again.

Dog Owner's Post

One of the dog owners, Limberhand Nolan, posted to Facebook claiming that his dogs are the heroes. Alleging that Duke "got jumped, beat to death and left on side of the road." He continued, "We would of never knew he was there or how long he would of been there. If it wasn't for are dogs who found him and started licking the blood off him. Duke had bruises, he was hit with a weapon. The police report will tell you the same. Just wanted to get the true story out there." [sic].

As if severe dog bite injuries do not leave bruises? Nolan's theory also cannot explain why the man was stripped naked -- a routine occurrence in a fatal pack attack. NorthernCheyenne Elders replied, "Hey dummy take this post down your ignorant for saying this you don't know that I just seen this post the autopsy hasn't been complete yet & those were your dog's. Have some fucking respect !!! They attacked him!!! Licking ?!!! Why does he have to have a closed casket than?" [sic].