Posted on October 21, 2021 by Colleen Lynn

2021 Dog Bite Fatality: 7-Year Old Boy Found Dead in Creek County, Oklahoma was Killed by a Family Dog

James McNeelis, 7-years old, was fatally bitten by a dog in Creek County, Oklahoma.

Mixed-Breed Dog
UPDATE 11/06/21: Michael and Hannah McNeelis spoke to Fox 23 News and clarified some information about the dog that killed their son. The male dog, named Max, was picked up by the boy's grandmother, along with several other stray dogs about three weeks earlier. James and his parents lived with his grandmother. Presumably, it was the grandmother who initially described the dog as a "sheltie-corgi" mix to media outlets, causing a stir among dog trainers and dog owners.

Michael admitted he didn't know what type of dog Max was. He said it was "about knee height, white, long hair, fluffy. It’s face looked kind of like a collie, a sheep dog type breed." Max had never shown signs of aggression, the parents said. Since the attack, the dog has been held at an animal control facility. The status of Max is unknown, along with the status of the other dogs that resided in the grandmother's home. The memorial fund for James has so far raised close to $15,000.

10/21/21: Boy Killed by Dog
Creek County, OK - A 7-year old boy was discovered dead Wednesday night after a dog attack, according to the Creek County Sheriff's Office. The parents of the child called deputies just after 7:00 pm to report that he was missing from a home in the 5000 block of West 171st Street. The boy had been outside playing and wandered off. Deputies put together a search team and found the boy dead near West 171st Street South and Highway 75-A in Creek County, near Kiefer.

"The child was pronounced deceased at approximately 7:35 pm. Our preliminary investigation indicate the child was attacked by a family pet (dog). The dog is being held at an animal control facility. We are currently working with the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office on this investigation," the Creek County Sheriff's Office said. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife was also involved, who made the determination the child was attacked by a dog, not a wild animal.

The child's family described the dog as a sheltie-corgi mixed breed. They had taken the dog in as a stray three weeks earlier, according to family members. The dog had not shown aggression before the attack, family members said. No photos of the dog were released. The dog is currently being held at an unnamed animal control facility. We have no records of shelties or corgis being the primary attacker in a fatal dog attack, not even of infants, much less a 7-year old male child.

No information was provided about the boy's injuries either. Certainly, a well-placed bite by the majority of dog breeds could kill a child, such as when a family Weimaraner fatally bit 2-year old Liam Peck in the neck in 2009. A Welsh corgi could not be excluded from a fatal attack after two pit bull-mixes mutilated and killed 71-year old Carshena Benjamin in 2007. That corgi was also found at the scene. These are the dog breeds most commonly involved in fatal human attacks.

The home on West 171st Street where a 7-year old boy was fatally bitten by a family 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.

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Colleen Lynn

2021 Dog Bite Fatality: Grandmother Bitten in the Throat, Killed by Family Pit Bull in Matthews, Indiana

Kathleen Bertram, 69, of Matthews, died after being bitten in throat by a family pit bull.

Fatal Neck Bite
Grant County, IN - The Grant County Corner's Office issued a statement Tuesday about a dog bite fatality. At about 2:12 pm Monday, Grant County Medics, Jefferson Township Fire Department, Grant County Sheriff's deputies and Matthews Town Marshal responded to 303 High Street for a dog bite. "Subject has been bitten in the throat by a dog. Bleeding excessively at this time," according to audio dispatch logs. "She is bleeding heavily from her throat," the dispatcher said.

Noah Roy reported he was in the back bedroom of his home when he heard loud screams from the living room. Roy reported he then found the family dog, a pit bull, had attacked his 69-year old mother, Kathleen Bertram. His mother had been sitting on a chair in the living room holding her 3-year old granddaughter. She then fell from the chair and the granddaughter screamed. At that moment, the pit bull attacked Bertram, "biting down on her neck," according to the statement.

Matthews Police Marshal Chet Johnson, who responded to the scene, said that Bertram sat down on an "uneven" chair and fell to the floor. According to the coroner's office, Bertram was holding the 3-year old when she fell. Her granddaughter started crying. When she began crying, the dog came into the living room and attacked Bertram as she laid on the floor. The child's mother was in the room at the time of the attack. She called for her brother and husband to help, Johnson said.

Medical personnel arrived at the scene and began administering CPR to the victim. Due to the severity of the injuries, Bertram was pronounced dead at 2:55 pm. Marion Animal Control was called to the scene to take custody of the pit bull. Officers had to tranquilize the dog due to the animal still being actively aggressive at the scene, according to the statement. The dog was then removed from the residence. An autopsy of Bertram is pending, according to the statement.

Last month, 84-year old Loretta Moore was partially dismembered and killed by her son's five dogs in Boone County, Indiana. Her son, James Moore, then fought to get the dogs returned to him. Boone County officials were eventually forced to release all five dogs to their owners. A pit bull that James had been fostering for about a month was returned to its original rescue. The four other dogs, including two huskies, were returned to James under an agreement with the county.

Both Indiana fatal dog attacks involved family dogs killing a family member on the owner's property. Under normal circumstances, family members like Roy automatically surrender the dog to authorities. Typically no law forces them too. Boone County officials wanted to euthanize all five dogs involved in Moore's death, but could not because James refused to surrender them and state, county and local laws have no provision for euthanizing dogs that kill a person at home.

Disproportionate Response

Pit bulls habitually execute the killing bite as a disproportionate response to stimuli. These killing bites, targeting the head or neck, are often inflicted by family pit bulls on family members too. Even when in a safe, predictable environment, pit bulls consistently display these dangerous traits, "failure to communicate intention before an attack, disinhibited aggression and a disproportionate response to stimuli," we stated in our comments to the Department of Transportation last year.

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

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Colleen Lynn

2021 Dog Bite Fatality: 7-Month Old Baby Killed by Large Family Dog in Sevier County, Tennessee

A 7-month old baby boy died after being attacked by a St. Bernard in Sevier County.

Infant Killed by Dog
Sevier County, TN - Sevier County Sheriff Ron Seals issued a press release Monday afternoon stating that a 7-month baby died after being attacked by a family dog. On Sunday, emergency responders were dispatched to a home on Apache Lane at about 6:15 pm for a report of an infant not breathing after a dog attack. When first responders arrived, they found the infant dead and an occupant in the home suffering injuries from trying to protect the baby during the dog attack.

The large dog became aggressive toward emergency responders at the scene and was dispatched at the scene. The identity and gender of the baby was not released by the sheriff's office. The breed of dog was not released either. As of Tuesday, the case was still under investigation by the Sevier County Sheriff's Office. Earlier this year, two people were killed by the same dogs in Cocke County, Tennessee. The fatal attacks occurred about 3.5 months apart.

WVLT spoke to the mother of the baby, Tiffany Parker, who identified her baby as a boy. At the time of the attack, he was at his grandmother's home, she said. The grandmother was hurt while trying to help the baby, Parker said. "I’ll never get to hear him say mama," she said. WVTL also published a photograph of the baby boy. We expect this video segment will be updated, adding the mother to it, in preparation for the evening news cast. The death investigation remains ongoing.

Evening Updates

WTLV interviewed the baby's mother, Tiffany Parker. 7-month old baby Bentley was visiting his grandmother, according to the Sevier County Sheriff's Office, while his mother was moving into a home one block away. Parker heard some commotion coming from her mother's home and ran over to check on her son. The family dog, a St. Bernard, had attacked her mother and killed her son. Parker said the dog typically stayed outside when the baby was visiting his grandmother.

A "Beware of the Dog" sign hung on a fence at the grandmother's home in the 900 block of Apache Lane. Parker is distraught that she never got to hear her baby say "mama" for the first time. Parker also warned parents about aggressive dogs. “If you have any doubt about an animal, please please, just get rid of the dog or something,” she said. “You wouldn’t expect it to happen, but it does.” The dog got so aggressive with first responders that it was dispatched at the scene.

A family St. Bernard fatally attacked a baby boy and injured his grandmother who intervened.

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Colleen Lynn

2021 Dog Bite Fatality: 84-Year Old Woman Dismembered, Killed by Son's Dogs in Indiana; Son Fights to Have Dogs Returned to Him

County Forced to Return Five Fatally Attacking Dogs to Owners

After five dogs killed his mother in September, the son wants dogs returned to him.

Killer Dogs Returned
UPDATE 10/15/21: All five dogs implicated in the death and partial dismemberment of 84-year old Loretta Moore have been released to their owners. Boone County authorities had wanted to euthanize the dogs, as all five reportedly had blood stains around their mouths. The owner of the dogs, James Moore, is the victim's son, who also lives at the home and found his mother's body when he returned home from work that day. Moore fought to get his five fatally attacking dogs returned to him.

State, county and local laws have no provision for euthanizing dogs that kill a person at home. Boone County officials were forced to return all five dogs to their owners. A pit bull that James had been fostering for about a month, "Chance," was returned to Lucci’s House Bully Rescue of Indianapolis. That dog can never return to Boone County. The four other medium to large-sized dogs, including two huskies, belonging to James, were returned to him under an agreement with the county.

First and foremost, James can never sue the county for any potential aggressive conduct by the dogs and the county has each dog's chip information, according to Robert Clutter, an attorney for the Boone County Commissioners. "They must be contained to his property at all times," Clutter said. James has a six-foot fence around the backyard and the dogs may be in the residence or in the fenced yard with the gate secured. The dogs are not allowed to leave the Moore property without a leash.

Boone County Commissioners plan to make a provision for euthanizing dogs that kill a person at residence and hope Lebanon leaders will too, Clutter said. A similar action was taken by a North Carolina county earlier this year after two pit bulls killed a 7-year old girl inside their owner's backyard. Also, Boone County Animal Control Officer Hannah Fisher will ask the Indiana state legislature for a provision in state law that allows for euthanizing dogs that kill a person at private residence.

10/09/21: Woman Dies, Dogs Live
Lebanon, IN - 84-year old Loretta Mae Moore was found dead on September 14 at a home on Elizabeth Drive. Boone County Coroner Justin Sparks said an autopsy determined her cause of death to be mutilation by dogs. The five dogs -- a pit bull, two huskies and two others -- belonged to the victim's son, who also lives at the home. The dogs will likely escape euthanasia because local, county, and state laws do not adequately address vicious dog attacks on their owners' property.

James Moore's four dogs and a fifth dog he was fostering, a pit bull, were in the home they shared in the 1400 block of Elizabeth Drive when he left for work on September 14. James found his mother's body when he returned that day, according to police. Part of her arm was missing and has never been found, reports the Herald Bulletin. All five dogs had apparent blood stains around their mouths, according to the Boone County’s petition to destroy the dogs involved filed on September 24.

Robert Clutter, an attorney for the Boone County Commissioners, explained that Lebanon, Boone County, and the state of Indiana lack laws to give the authority to euthanize dogs that attack on their owner’s property. “I guess none of us contemplated this type of situation,” Clutter said. “We are trying to find a way to dispose of the dogs." There are many remedies for off-property dog attacks, Clutter said. But there are "very limited remedies -- almost none" for on-property dog attacks.

“None of us contemplated this type of situation," echos the response by city and county officials after two pit bulls killed a child in Garner, North Carolina earlier this year. In another on-property attack, Jayden and her mother went next door to care for their neighbor's pit bulls while the owners were out of town. The dogs killed Jayden and severely injured her mother. The owners demanded their dogs be returned to them due to the city's ordinance failing to contemplate this type of situation.

To be clear, the failure of these local and state laws is the failure to account for the owners of dogs that kill a person who demand their dogs be returned to them afterward. James wants his five dogs back after they mutilated and ate part of his mother. The North Carolina owners wanted their two pit bulls back after killing a 7-year old child and critically injuring her mother. Prior to modern times, owners such as these, would have surrendered their dogs to authorities for humane euthanasia.

Petition to Destroy Dogs

Had the Boone County Sheriff's Office and Board of Commissioners not petitioned James Ray Moore and Lucci's House Bully Rescue (the owner of the pit bull being fostered), this dog bite fatality may not have been reported by the media at all. An elderly woman killed by a family pit bull falls into the most likely unreported fatal dog attacks, which is an adult ≥ 40 years old killed by a single or pair of family pit bulls in a city area, of which 89% of cases occurred on the dog owner's property.

The pit bull that James had been fostering came from Lucci's House Bully Rescue of Indianapolis. The county reached an agreement with the rescue and released "Chance" to its custody on Monday (Case no. 06C01-2109-MI-001296). “We agreed to permanent placement outside of Boone County and with a trainer who is very used to working with dogs who have behavioral issues,” Clutter remarked. “As part of the agreement, the dog is not allowed back in Boone County," he said.

The county has been unable to arrive at "satisfactory negotiations" with James' attorney regarding the remaining four dogs. “We’re trying to look toward a possible release of the dogs that would still protect the public as much as we can,” Clutter explained. “We’re looking at a number of options. Mr. Moore’s attorney has been receptive to some different suggestions. It’s just all-around a terrible, traumatic situation," Clutter said. We shall add, made more miserable and traumatic by James.

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

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County Forced to Return Five Fatally Attacking Dogs to Owners