2021 Dog Bite Fatality: 61-Year Old Missouri Woman Killed by Daughter's Familiar Pit Bulls and Pit Bull 'Mixed-Breed'

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Leann Gratzer killed by familiar pit bull
Leann Gratzer, 61, was killed by familiar pit bulls while approaching her daughter's home.

Dog Owners Confirmed
UPDATE 12/08/21: Two male pit bulls and one female pit bull-mix that killed a woman have been euthanized. Previously, the female dog was reported to be a "mixed-breed." That dog, however, was identified by its owner, the victim's daughter, as a "red/brown pit" that bolted from her property in September. That any officials are still calling this dog a "mixed-breed" is inaccurate. The dog's characteristics are predominantly pit bull, and it was in a household with two other pit bulls.

Leann Gratzer, 61, was mauled to death Monday outside of her daughter's home, reports the St. Louis-Dispatch, confirming details in our original post. The pit bulls were in a yard that had an underground invisible electric fence, Franklin County Sheriff Steve Pelton said in an interview Wednesday. The same yard with an invisible electric fence that the daughter's female pit bull-mix bolted from in September. At that time, her dog, "my baby girl," did not have the electric collar on.

No one witnessed the attack, Sheriff Pelton said. The daughter lives next door to Gratzer in the 2400 block of Highway TT. No records of previous complaints that the dogs behaved aggressively were reported to county officials, Sheriff Pelton said. "It's such a sad situation," Sheriff Pelton said. "She'd [Gratzer] been around the dogs numerous times. I don't have an answer as to why the dogs attacked her." Gratzer's daughter and her daughter's roommate owned all three pit bulls.

"A Sad Situation"

"Intra-family" dog attacks resulting in death, specifically when the dogs mutilate and kill the parent of the dogs' owner, are horrible. In this case, as well as the September case of two pet rottweilers killing the elderly mother of the dogs' owner, at least resulted in the dog's being put down. That was not true after Loretta Moore, 84, was killed by her son's dog pack, also in September. James Moore fought county officials, and four of the dogs that killed his mother were returned to him.

12/08/21: Woman Killed by Familiar Pit Bulls
St. Clair, MO - On Monday, Franklin County sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a female found deceased in the 2400 block of Highway TT, states a press release. "During the course of the investigation, it was learned that the female had gone to a relative's residence, as she approached the house she was attacked by dogs that were on the property. During the attack, the victim received a fatal injury from the dogs and succumbed to her injuries," states the release.

Authorities identified the woman as Leann Gratzer, 61, who lived in an area that contains multiple properties where family members also reside, including where her daughter resides, according to online searches. Gratzer was a neighbor and relative of the dogs’ owner, reports the eMissourian. The dogs and the victim were reportedly familiar with one another and hadn’t had any issues in the past. The sheriff's office confiscated three dogs, two pit bulls and a mixed-breed.

"The victim was walking down to the residence, which is known to them, a relative of the animal owners. And the victim was attacked by the animals." - Sheriff Steven Pelton

In early September, her daughter's female pit bull-mix "took off" after a storm. "She is usually on an invisible fence but she did not have her collar on!" states the September 2 Facebook post. Her dog was later located. Franklin County Sheriff Steve Pelton also stated that the dogs involved in the attack were two males and one female. Pelton did not confirm the relationship between the dog’s owner and the victim, only that everyone involved was cooperating with the investigation.

In a highly disturbing "pit bull glorification" meme posted by Gratzer's husband in December 2018 to his Facebook page, one sees a bloody, gruesome scene after a person allegedly broken into a home through a window. The post states, "To the person who broke into my house last night. I hope you liked the dog." A pit bull is also seen in the meme. Ironically and more appropriately, the caption could read: "To the relative who walked to my house last night. I hope you liked the dog."

It wasn't that long ago when media outlets across the country highly glorified two pit bulls that killed a man, who was dubbed a "possible intruder" by police. Typical comments left on social media at the time included, "The dogs were just doing their job!" and "Even if it was an intruder, trespassing is not a death penalty crime." The truth is, the majority of people that pit bulls fatally attack are well known to the dogs, specifically, 53%, over the 16-year period of 2005 to 2020.

female pit bull owned by daughter

A female pit bull-mix owned by the victim's daughter bolted after a storm in early September.

Related articles:
10/19/21: 2021 Dog Bite Fatality: Grandmother Bitten in the Throat, Killed by Family Pit Bull...
10/09/21: 2021 Dog Bite Fatality: 84-Year Old Woman Killed by Son's Dogs in Indiana...
09/26/21: 2021 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Killed by Pit Bull She was Dog Sitting in Myrtle Point

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.

DogsBite's Giving Tuesday Challenge 2021 - Help us Turn the Wheels of Justice Forward

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Giving Tuesday Challenge 2021
Join us on Facebook for DogsBite's Giving Tuesday Challenge 2021.

Giving Tuesday Challenge 2021
DogsBite.org - Giving Tuesday, November 30, is already here. This year we are fundraising on how DogsBite.org and our supporters help turn the Wheels of Justice. These wheels turn slowly, but they do turn. Never doubt that raising your voice doesn't make an impact. This year's campaign highlights how DogsBite and our supporters find their own approach to advocating. The more of us contributing, even in our own small way, helps turn the mighty Wheels of Justice.

We highlight over two dozen examples, including two deep investigations by DogsBite.org after serious criminal charges were brought against two pit bull activists in Ohio for fraud and animal abuse; sobering comments from a former open intake shelter whistleblower; letters to city council members and candidates;  editorials to local papers; and advocacy on social media platforms by advocates Anita Child, Bonny Lee, Carol Miller, Julie Wall, Lucy Muir, Tina Pounds and others.

Our campaign also reminds supporters that we are here to help you with your advocacy efforts. "Do you need help writing your letter to legislators? We are here to help! Do you need statistical information for your letter or Facebook post? We are here to help! Do you need help writing a victim's impact statement? We can help!" You can also advocate by making a donation to DogsBite on Tuesday so that we can continue to help turn, ever so slightly, the Wheels of Justice.

Finally, it is also important to call out the second part of the statement, the Wheels of Justice turn slowly, "but grind exceedingly fine." So, even though justice may not be done quickly, when it finally happens the punishment is grim. Remember Luke Westerman - The Great Con? After nearly three years, he finally pleaded guilty to 19 felonies. For the rest of Westerman's natural life he will have to make monthly payments to pay off the $1.1 million dollar restitution amount.

How Does the Match Work?

This year, Facebook is matching $8 million. The first $2 million is matched 100% and will last less than a minute. For the remaining $6 million, Facebook will match 10%, ensuring that the match lasts longer. If you donate within the first 30 minutes, your gift could be matched by 10%. The speed is part of the challenge! Thousands of nonprofits are competing for these match dollars. Facebook donations all day long on GivingTuesday are FREE of transaction fees as well.

Ways to Participate

You can donate directly to our Facebook campaign. Facebook also encourages people to start their own fundraiser for a nonprofit. On Monday evening or Tuesday morning, you can start a fundraiser for DogsBite.org by using one of our campaign graphics. You can also create a campaign "In Memory" of a special person or pet or use one of our graphics to create a theme. Then share it on your Timeline and tell your friends why it is important to act on GivingTuesday.

Ways to Give

Many of our blog readers are already monthly or annual donors. Thank you so much to all of you! Giving Tuesday is always a giving day to attract new people to our cause and to invite casual readers of the blog to support our cause on this global giving day. There are also many ways to give to DogsBite. You can give a one-time gift or a re-occurring gift through PayPal, you can give to our ongoing GoFundMe charity page and you can give to our PayPal Giving Fund page.

Help us reach our goal of $8,000 for DogsBite's Giving Tuesday Challenge 2021!

Giving Tuesday Challenge 2021

DogsBite's Giving Tuesday Challenge 2021 - Help us Turn the Wheels of Justice Forward

Related articles:
11/30/20: DogsBite's GivingTuesday Challenge 2020 - Rising Above & Beyond During COVID-19
05/05/20: Nonprofit Announces GoFundMe Charity Campaign on New Global Day of Giving
12/03/19: GivingTuesday has Arrived! Please Donate During December to Support our Work

2021 Dog Bite Fatality: Boy Killed by Dogs Being Fostered at Grandfather's Home in Doña Ana County, New Mexico

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Three Family Members Charged with Felony Offenses

dogs being fostered killed boy - Avery Jackson Dunphy
Avery Jackson-Dunphy, 6, was killed by dogs being fostered by his grandparents.

Family Members Charged
UPDATE 08/01/22: Three family members have been charged in connection to the death of 6-year old Avery Jackson-Dunphy last November. His mother, Danika Jackson, 33, is charged with reckless child abuse resulting in death. His grandfather, Kevin Owens, 61, is charged with two felony counts, reckless child abuse resulting in death and dangerous dogs resulting in death. The boy's grandmother, Leslie Owens, 63, is also charged with dangerous dogs resulting in death.

Avery Jackson-Dunphy was killed by at least three dogs while visiting his grandparents' Mesilla Park home on November 22, 2021. Doña Ana County Animal Control euthanized six dogs taken from the property that day. Three of these dogs, a mother and her two offspring, were being fostered by the boy's grandfather from the city and county operated animal shelter. Behavioral notes of the dogs being fostered states the mother dog had started becoming aggressive.

"At the urging of Avery’s father, Patrick Dunphy and his family, we asked the Sheriff’s Department for their investigation into the child’s death. The District Attorney’s Office was not notified of the incident by the Sheriff’s office and learned of the child’s death through media reports. As the chief law officer of the state in Doña Ana County; I have the authority to advise on matters in the public interest, and bring criminal charges, especially when it involves a death investigation. This is a horrible and tragic incident. During the review process, we assessed the facts in view of the relevant law and presented the case to the Grand Jury which found probable cause to charge each named defendant with felony offenses." - Third Judicial District Attorney, Gerald Byers.

Read: DA Letter to Doña Ana County Sheriff - Dog Mauling Statements - February 2022

Third Judicial District Attorney Gerald Byers responds to felony charges in fatal dog mauling case.

12/31/21: Municipal Shelter Dogs
Weeks after mauling death of 6-year old Avery Jackson-Dunphy, it was revealed that three of the six dogs that were immediately euthanized after his death were foster dogs from the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley (ASCMV), just as DogsBite initially suspected. ASCMV operates through a joint powers agreement between the governing bodies of the City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County and is the only open-admission municipal shelter in the county.

The three dogs were an intact female, identified as a black "mixed-breed (medium) dog" and her two 4-month old puppies. It was noted in an early August ASCMV memo that the mother dog was "becoming a little aggressive" with Kevin Owens, the child's grandfather who began fostering the three dogs in early July. "She will growl at them [the caretakers] if they touch the pups." The mother, and up to five other dogs (four being puppies) fatally attacked Avery three months later.

The memo also stated, "[Kevin] is willing to work with her for a month after to see if her aggressive behavior changes," referring to a month after it became okay to separate the puppies from the mother dog. It is unknown how the mother dog's behavior transpired after August. Information about the other three dogs involved is also unknown. Previously, all six dogs were described as shepherd-type and border collie-mix breeds, of which the mother dog and her offspring are neither.

Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley now joins a growing number of taxpayer-funded municipal shelters, in whole or part, since 2014 that have adopted out, fostered out or transferred a dog to a rescue that subsequently killed a child or an adult. Since Avery's death, Doña Ana County State Representative Joanne Ferrary began advocating for stricter fostering guidelines and awareness that would require foster parents to be trained and educated if they want to foster.

Shelter Dog-Inflicted Deaths

dogs being fostered

Three of the six dogs were foster dogs from the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley.

12/15/21: Parents Feud in Court
This week, new information has been released about the vicious dog mauling death of Avery Jackson-Dunphy. We learned that the boy's mother, Danika Thompson, filed a petition to be appointed as the wrongful death representative of the estate of her son within 48 hours of his death. Notably, Thompson was present on the property when her son was fatally attacked on her father's property (the child's grandfather). KFOX-TV also captured the grandfather's 911 call.

Thompson's legal action was followed by action from the child's father, Patrick Dunphy, indicating that he will name Thompson as a party responsible for the boy's death. According to online dockets at New Mexico Courts, the mother and father have been in custody litigation since 2015. The report from the Las Cruces Sun-News also provided breed information. The six dogs were described as shepherd-type mixes and border collie mixes -- two adults and four puppies.

Justice for Avery Jackson-Dunphy

A digital billboard asking for #Justiceforavery is being displayed in the Las Cruces region.

11/26/21: Foster Dogs Kill Boy
Mesilla, NM - On Tuesday, it was reported that a 6-year boy was mauled to death by one or more dogs. Deputies were called to a home in the 500 block of Fort Fillmore Road around 9:45 am after reports that a small child had been attacked by a dog. When they arrived, they found the boy severely injured. The child was airlifted to Children’s Hospital in El Paso, where he died. The boy apparently was able to enter into a pen that was housing six dogs -- all six dogs were euthanized.

The attack occurred at the boy's grandparents' home. According to a police report, the boy and his grandfather were playing outside when his grandfather stepped away for about 10 minutes, reports the Las Cruces Sun News. The grandfather told police he was called inside by some men working on his house. Shortly afterward, the boy's mother and grandmother realized the boy had gotten into the dogs' pen. The dogs were all being fostered, according to the police report.

Doña Ana County sheriff's deputies said that two dogs, both described as large, had blood on their heads after the incident. According to the police report, the boy suffered severe wounds from the dogs, including injuries to his neck and chest. How the boy was able to enter into the caged area was not released. The child's name was not released. The breeds of dogs involved in the child's death were not released. The agency that owned the dogs being fostered was not released either.

Thus, it is unknown if the county animal services "public agency" -- Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley -- owned these dogs.1

On November 28, KVIA News identified the boy as 6-year old Avery Jackson Dunphy. The celebration of life for Avery was held at Real Life Church in Las Cruces. The Las Cruces Fire Department was present, as well as other emergency personnel. Family members said his death was preventable, and that his "life needs to be celebrated and not to have died in vain." The breeds of dogs involved have not been disclosed by the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office.

dogs being fostered killed boy

Home on Fort Fillmore Road where boy was killed by dogs being fostered by his grandparents.

dogs being fostered killed boy - Avery Jackson Dunphy

A celebration of life was held for Avery Jackson Dunphy at Real Life Church in Las Cruces.

1Given the immediate euthanasia of all six dogs and failure by the sheriff's office to release more baseline information, it seems possible. See ASCMV's "About Us" and "Foster Program" information.

Related articles:
05/30/21: 2021 Dog Bite Fatality: New Mexico Dog Owner Charged with Tampering after Death
01/16/20: 2020 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Killed by Pack of Dogs on Tribal Land at Taos Pueble

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.

2021 Dog Bite Fatality: Houston Police Suspect 48-Year Old Woman Mauled to Death by Her Own Dogs

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Victim Called Pit Bull a "Cane Corso" and "Bandog" on Social Media

houston police suspect fatal dog attack
Images from the victim's social media pages also identified this dog a "red nose" pit bull.

Dog Mauling Suspected
Houston, TX - A 48-year old woman was discovered dead in the yard of her home at 12410 Rockampton Drive last Friday at 10:50 am. The victim was identified by Houston Police as Tiffany L. Frangione. Homicide detectives W. Huff, J. Nguyen and J. Wallschlaeger reported that patrol officers responded to a call of a deceased person at the residence and found Frangione in the backyard. "She had suffered puncture wounds to her neck," according to a release by police.

The preliminary investigation indicated that Frangione let her dogs out into the backyard and they began fence fighting with the neighbor's dogs. It is suspected that Frangione attempted to intervene and was possibly attacked and killed by her own two dogs. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences has ruled the death accidental and listed the cause as “blunt force trauma of the neck with penetrating injuries and mechanical asphyxia," reported the Houston Chronicle.

Though police have not released the breeds of dogs involved, KHOU reported them to be a female "Alaskan husky-mix"1 and a male "cane corso-mix." That information may have come from Frangione's Facebook page, where she mislabeled her own dog while trying to unload some puppies. The male dog, as seen on the owner's Facebook page, is predominantly pit bull. This dog is not predominantly cane corso (mastiff), as is evident in the UKC and Italian breed standards.

As we have stated in numerous previous posts, a designer "XL" pit bull, or large pit bull, has become the de facto standard for many pit bulls, thanks to the unhinged and unmoderated "American bully" breeding community. Just being a large pit bull, in no way means the dog is not predominantly pit bull. This case bears resemblance to the 2019 mauling death of Morgan Crayton, 31, who was killed by her pit bull that Hampton police identified as a "92-pound pit bull."

Instagram Page

The male dog at issue, "Rachirius Maximus," has its own Instagram page as well. This dog was born on January 13, 2018. The Instagram handle is @rachiriusthebandog, which is nothing more than a pit bull-mastiff mix. A "bandog" has nothing to do with a pure bred mastiff, including a pure bred cane corso. This large red-nose pit bull-mix may very well be the product of a pit bull-mastiff breeding, but that does not change the fact that the dog is predominantly pit bull, not a mastiff.

The Instagram page also indicates that "Rachirius Maximus" had issues with the neighbor's dogs and the fencing, hashtags #rednosebaby #meanneighbors and #alliwanttodoisplay There is no "mastiff" or "cane corso" hashtag present. Another post shows "Rachirius Maximus" lying down by the wooden fence. "Not Happy With My Human... She Made The Neighbors Fix The Fence!! No longer can see Thru," states Frangione. Hashtags #fenceissues and #imuptosomething.

Frangione also posted about the background of this dog on August 28, 2018. "I Came to the United States With My Two Brothers All The Way From Dubai. I Was Brought to Silently Guard A Sheiks Compound. But Found Myself Conflicted Between the job I was Hired To Do and My Loving Kind Nature. I Chose to Leave My Past Of High Profile Bodyguard Duties and and start my New Life Loving and Protecting My New Masters." [sic] Hashtags #dubaiborn #rednosebaby.

Owner-Directed Fatal Attacks

Over the 16-year period of 2005 through 2020, at least 568 Americans were killed by dogs. 81 of those deaths involved an owner-directed attack, when a dog killed its primary caretaker. Pit bulls were responsible for 62% of these deaths. The combination of large molosser breeds -- pit bulls, rottweilers and mastiff-type guard dogs and war dogs, the types used to create "baiting" bull breeds and fighting breeds -- were responsible for 79% of these owner-directed fatal attacks.

houston police suspect fatal dog attack

Home on Rockampton Drive where woman was believed to be killed by her own two dogs.

1It is also unclear why the other dog -- which has a full black mask and ears that do not resemble husky ears -- is being called a husky-mix, as opposed to a type of shepherd-mix.
map iconView the DogsBite.org Google State Map: Texas Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Related articles:
06/01/21: 2020 U.S. Dog Bite Fatality Statistics - Discussion Notes
06/10/20: Pit Bull Described as 'Mild-Mannered' Brutally Kills Female Owner in Nova Scotia
09/30/19: 2019 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Killed by Her Own Pit Bull in Virginia

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.