Posted on May 31, 2020 by Colleen Lynn

Viral Video Shows Extreme 'Entitlement' of White, Female Scofflaw Dog Owner, Who Quickly Plays the Race Card

Call-To-Action: Send in Your Stories of Scofflaw Dog Owners

Scofflaw dog owner Amy Cooper reacts after being told to leash her dog in the Ramble.

On October 14, 2020, it was reported that Amy Cooper made two false 911 calls that day. In the second call, previously unreported, Cooper claimed the man tried to assault her. "The defendant twice reported that an African American man was putting her in danger, first by stating that he was threatening her and her dog, then making a second call indicating that he tried to assault her in the Ramble area of the park," said Joan Illuzzi, a senior prosecutor. Read the DA's full statement.

Overview of Confrontation
New York, NY - On Monday, a video went viral showing a female dog owner "calling the cops" on a black man after he asked her to leash her dog in an area that requires leashes. The woman is white and her intent is clear, "I'm going to tell [the cops] there is an African American man threatening my life." Amy Cooper becomes agitated after Christian Cooper (no relation) begins filming her. Christian tells her, "Please don't come close to me" and "Please call the cops."

Amy proceeds to call the police, as Christian continues to film her. For the safety of his own life, Christian should continue filming her. Amy tells dispatchers, "There is a man, an African American … He's recording me and threatening me and my dog." Amy feels so "infringed upon" and "fragile" she nearly chokes her own dog, while trying to hold onto its collar -- she still has not leashed her dog either. In a matter of seconds, Amy manages to threaten the life of Christian and her own dog.

Monday, May 25, 2020 - The Ramble in Central Park

Central Park this morning: This woman's dog is tearing through the plantings in the Ramble.
ME: Ma'am, dogs in the Ramble have to be on the leash at all times. The sign is right there.
HER: The dog runs are closed. He needs his exercise.
ME: All you have to do is take him to the other side of the drive, outside the Ramble, and you can let him run off leash all you want.
HER: It's too dangerous.
ME: Look, if you're going to do what you want, I'm going to do what I want, but you're not going to like it.
HER: What's that?
ME (to the dog): Come here, puppy!
HER: He won't come to you.
ME: We'll see about that...
I pull out the dog treats I carry for just for such intransigence. I didn't even get a chance to toss any treats to the pooch before Karen scrambled to grab the dog.
HER: DON'T YOU TOUCH MY DOG!!!!!
That's when I started video recording with my iPhone, and when her inner Karen fully emerged and took a dark turn...

Intimidation, rage, assault1 -- even fatal assault -- after telling a dog owner, who is flouting a leash law, to leash his or her pet is nothing new to us. Threats of calling the cops and worse, frequently come in the wake of telling a scofflaw dog owner to adhere to the law. The degree of "entitlement" these dog owners express, just like Amy did, should put the public on notice that scofflaw dog owners often engage in escalating hostile behavior when a person asks that they leash their pet.

Within 24 hours of the filming, Amy had surrendered her dog to the rescue group she had adopted him from, and had been fired from her high-level finance job at Franklin Templeton. Christian, who graduated from Harvard, expressed conflict about her fate. "I'm not excusing racism," he told media outlets. "But I don't know if her life needed to be torn apart." Amy later admitted in a statement that she was the one who had acted "inappropriately by not having my dog on a leash."

In 2017, the Seattle Times examined the attitudes of dog owners and those who aren't wild about dogs. Some in the latter category "vent their frustration about 'self-absorbed dog owners' on Internet forums." Others have "resigned themselves to being yelled at" when they speak up in public spaces. "My biggest gripe is all the dogs who are let off leash in parks despite the leash laws and the hostile reaction you frequently get if you say anything," a retired English teacher said.

Colleen Lynn, the founder and president of DogsBite.org, a nonprofit public education website, said the conversation is often erroneously cast as being for or against canines when it should be about entitlement.

"I don't think this is an issue of 'not liking' dogs," she wrote in an email exchange. "What alarms and annoys people are negligent dog owners and their careless, thoughtless attitude toward others. - June 9, 2017

Finding instances of dog owners being filmed after being told to leash their pet on YouTube proved to be difficult.2 But Carolin von Petzholdt has several videos dedicated to it. Like Christian, she is a bird lover. One incident of taking her parrot to a county park nearly resulted in assault. This particular dog owner is the antithesis of what we mean when we say that scofflaw dog owners will often engage in escalating hostile behavior when a person politely asks them to leash their dog.

Leash laws are a simple public safety measure. Scofflaw dog owners take pride in breaking the law and are the first to declare "victimhood."

This dog owner classically projects his own wrongdoing onto Carolin (failure to leash, presuming he has the right to come to a public space and "take it over"). Carolin is assertive, but knows the situation is escalating. After taking a photo of her license plate, the male dog owner eventually saunters away. She states, "Some dog owners are really inconsiderate and really jerks." When Carolin returns home, she calls the police to understand what she should do if this occurs again.

When Carolin free-flies her parrot named Hope, she reminds dog owners to leash their pet.

Exponential Entitlement

Central Park is 843 acres. The Ramble is a heavily wooded 38-acre section described as a "wild garden" and supports over 230 bird species. Dogs are only allowed in the Ramble leashed. In many parts of Central Park, dogs are allowed off-leash from 6:00 am to 9:00 am and from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am when the park closes. At the time of Amy Cooper's "entitlement meltdown," it was between 7:30 am and 8:00 am, when hundreds of park acres were open for off-leash dogs.

Amy wanted a private oasis for her dog smack dab in the middle of a protected environmental area. Christian Cooper is not only a birdwatcher; he is a board member of the New York City Audubon Society. So when Christian said the dog was "tearing through the plantings" and he told Amy to leash her dog, he was speaking as an expert. Unlike members of the public who are not or would only be "silent and stew" after seeing such an activity, Christian spoke up immediately.

Amy did not only lose her job and dog, she may face criminal charges for falsely reporting an incident. The NYC Commission on Human Rights has also opened an investigation into the incident. The Central Park Civic Association even issued a statement asking the mayor to impose a lifetime Central Park ban on this lady "for her deliberate, racial misleading of law enforcement and violating behavioral guidelines set so that all can enjoy our city’s most famous park."

Call-To-Action: Send Your Stories

For 13 years we have been fielding complaints about scofflaw dog owners, who flout leash laws, and complaints about dogs "tearing up" ecologically fragile areas. Virtually all remain in private email exchanges. The viral video involving the two Coopers during Covid-19 shows that these issues should be written about more, and certainly, they should be recorded more. "Entitled" dog owner Amy is nothing new to us, but she weaponized racism too, sinking her own career.

Despite this incident becoming a national issue, dominating media coverage, a major factor is being left out of every story. Scofflaw dog owners like Amy are a dime-a-dozen. Such owners routinely engage in escalating hostile behavior after being asked to leash their pet. If more dog owners followed leash laws, an insurmountable number of injuries could be prevented each year. This includes bite injuries and non bite injuries, especially to bicyclists, caused by unleashed dogs.

We want to hear your stories about hostile responses from scofflaw dog owners who flout leash laws. After learning about the Central Park incident, one person told us, "I was chased by a man using his leash as a whip when I was pregnant, simply because I asked him to leash his dog." Another said, "Just a couple of weeks ago, after I told a man his dog was supposed to be on a leash (again on a public sidewalk near my home), he yelled at me, 'Just die! Just die!'"

Send us your stories of hostile dog owners flouting leash laws or leave them in comments!

Dog owner Amy Cooper called the cops on a black man who asked her to leash her dog.

Christian Cooper gave an interview with The View. "The Ramble is an area of Central Park, which is protected because there is a lot of wildlife there and a lot of delicate plantings," he said. "So it is posted all over the Ramble that dogs are supposed to be on a leash at all times. Unfortunately, we've had a problem with this for many, many years. People think, "Ah well, it doesn't really apply to me." We've been fighting for awhile to get enforcement," Cooper said. "A lot of us have been recording these incidences of scofflaw behavior regarding the leash laws, so I pulled out my mine to document it so that we would have some evidence of what's going on in the Ramble."

1The context for the assault video is here: "Terrier-able" Behavior: Dog Owner Attacks Woman in Historic Fourth Ward Skate Park. Louis Rivera was arrested for simple battery by the Atlanta Police Department.
2By contrast, Youtube is filled with stories of irresponsible dog owners who lash out after being confronted by animal lovers for leaving their dog in a hot car.

Posted on May 28, 2020 by Colleen Lynn

2020 Dog Bite Fatality: 9-Year Old Boy Killed by Two Pit Bulls in Faulkner County, Arkansas

Robby Taylor, 9, was killed by one or more pit bulls in Faulkner County, Arkansas.

Girlfriend Finally Charged
UPDATE 01/15/21: Eight months after two pit bulls struck down a 9-year old boy who had gone to fetch the mail, the owner of the dogs has been arrested. Lisa Young, 26, has been charged with one count of negligent homicide and faces up to one year in jail if convicted. Young was not home when her dogs killed the boy. Previously, her boyfriend Trey Wyatt, who was home, was charged with negligent homicide, tampering with evidence and four unrelated felonies for narcotics.

Lisa Young was charged with negligent homicide in connection to Robby Taylor's mauling death.

06/26/20: Wrongful Death Suit Filed
A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed after a 9-year old boy was mauled to death by at least one pit bull. Trey Edgar Wyatt, 25, of Vilonia, was arrested in connection to the death of Robby Taylor. One of the dogs that killed Robby had acted aggressively toward the Taylor family on more than one occasion, according to the lawsuit filed against Trey Wyatt and his girlfriend, Lisa Young, who owns the dogs. Wyatt remains behind bars without bond and faces a felony tampering charge.

The complaint filed on behalf of Robby's parents accuses Wyatt and Young of wrongful death, strict liability, negligence and two counts each of trespassing and nuisance. According to the complaint, May 28 began as a "normal day." When Robby and his sister woke up, the two "piled up blankets and pillows in front of the TV and started to watch a movie." They were interrupted by barking and soon found an abandoned puppy in the carport. It was covered in fleas and ticks.

While Robby's sisters set to work giving the puppy a bath, he asked his mother if he could go check the mail. The mailbox is a 300-yard walk from the home. Robby never returned. He was attacked by "two or more dogs" at the end of the family’s driveway," reports the Log Cabin. One of the dogs was the same brown pit bull that broke a glass door at the family's home two weeks earlier, when that dog and another pit bull tried "to get into a metal cage containing chickens."

Young, pertaining to the May 14 chickens incident, previously told Faulkner County Sheriff's Office deputies that the dogs' shock collars had failed and that she had "ordered replacements." Young, who is known as Lisa Cheyenne on Facebook, is the owner (or co-owner) of the accused dogs in both attacks. So far, Young has not been charged with any criminal or animal control violations in connection to Robby's death. The complaint also describes Robby's horrific mauling injuries.

"Robby was unable to overcome the dogs and eventually fell in the field ... The dogs ripped his face apart, including detaching his right eye and removing it completely from the socket. There was major trauma to the left side of his face as well. There were severe and deep wounds to his right upper arm, as well as puncture wounds on the right arm, neck, and chest areas. Robby succumbed to his injuries while laying in a puddle of water in the field." - Log Cabin Democrat

Robby had asked to check the mail around 9:00 am. His mother called 911 at 9:17 am, as she and the boy's siblings frantically searched for him outside. His mother found his shoes and the umbrella he had been carrying in the driveway. His 15-year old sister discovered his "bloody and mangled body" in a field around 9:30 am. She screamed when she found him. His mother rushed over and discovered Robby's badly injured body. Law enforcement arrived shortly thereafter.

05/29/20: 25-Year Old Man Arrested
On Thursday afternoon, Trey Edgar Wyatt, 25, of Vilonia, was arrested for tampering with physical evidence in connection to the death of Robby Taylor. Wyatt is also being charged with multiple county animal ordinance violations and four unrelated felonies: possession of controlled substance, a Class C felony, two charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, Class D and B felonies, and weapons possession during controlled substance offense, a Class Y felony.

In January 2020, Wyatt was charged with a felony after reportedly hitting his pregnant girlfriend in the face and threatening to beat her stomach, reports the Log Cabin. After hitting his girlfriend in the face, Wyatt reportedly "threw her against the wall and tried to choke her out." He also pushed his knee into her stomach. Wyatt was charged with aggravated assault, a Class D felony, and interference with emergency communications, a Class B misdemeanor, following the incident.

Wyatt's girlfriend has multiple pit bull photos on her Facebook page. As recently as January, she needed one adult female "gone" and was peddling three puppies. It's unclear who owns the attacking dogs, but tampering with physical evidence could indicate Wyatt tried to wash the blood off the dogs. Between the January charges and now, Wyatt is facing at least five felony charges. His life, as he knows it, is finished. It is also unclear if more people are going to be charged.

Robby Taylor's family released the following statement to the media:

"The Taylor Family is shocked and heartbroken over the loss of their son, Robby. They are outraged because this loss was entirely preventable, and especially because Robby’s sister had the grisly misfortune to find her brother’s body. At this time, the family requests space to grieve the loss of a beloved son and brother, as well as pray while they navigate this devastating time."

Trey Edgar Wyatt is facing multiple charges in connection to the boy's dog mauling death.

05/28/20: Dogs Kill Young Boy
Faulkner County, AR - On Thursday at 9:15 am, the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office received a call regarding a 9-year old boy who was missing in Mt. Vernon. "His mother advised deputies that he went outside to check the mail. When he didn’t return a few minutes later, she looked for him and could not find him. His mother also stated that she noticed several dogs running from a field near her home," states a press release issued by the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office.1

"The young boy was found in the field deceased from an apparent dog attack. Faulkner County Major Crimes Unit was dispatched to the scene. The investigation led to two people being questioned by authorities regarding the incident," states the release. "Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the Conway Animal Shelter who took custody of two dogs from a residence off Chambers Lane. The dogs will be quarantined and held for investigative purposes."

Kaydi Homme organized a fundraiser for the boy's family and identified the child as Robby Taylor. Homme also identified the dogs involved as two pit bulls. "On the Morning of May 28, 2020 the Taylor Family will forever be changed," Homme writes. "Robby was walking to the mailbox at his home in Mount Vernon and was attacked by two loose pit bulls that ended up taking his life. His family will forever be at a loss and changed from this horrible tragedy," Homme writes.

Homme asks the public to help the Taylor family, who also have two other children. "The Taylor family needs help and support right now with bills and incoming expenses that were not expected at this time while they deal with this devastating loss. Please help them with what you can and your support matters to them," Homme writes. "The two other children will need help through this as well. Your thoughts and prayers are much needed in this time of need," Homme writes.

Audio Dispatch Files

We have pulled a portion of the audio dispatch files from Faulkner County Area Public Safety, published by Broadcastify. The boy's mother had been searching for him. During this segment, she finds him in a field. "She thinks a pit bull got ahold of him. His face is [pretty mauled]." One responder communicates, "I'm just trying to get there as quick as I can." It is then communicated, "It appears he is not breathing at this time." This fatal dog attack occurred off of Highway 36.

Listen to a portion of the audio dispatch files from Faulkner County Area Public Safety.

A neighbor said the 9-year old boy was attacked by a pit bull and dragged into a pond.

Two dogs were removed from a home on Chambers Lane off of Highway 36 near Mt. Vernon.

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Arkansas Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.

1Commenter Gary Eldridge states on the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office post: "This happened two houses down from me. Both yards are fenced. The dogs the FCSO believes are responsible are pit bulls. And The owner of said dogs is booked in jail. There is still an investigation going and that’s because a lot of things are still uncertain."

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 May 27, 2020 by Colleen Lynn

Seizure Speculated After Family Pit Bull Named 'The Devil' Kills Teenage Owner -- Excuses Have No Borders

Throughout this post we are linking into Spanish language news articles. If you are using Google's Chrome browser, it will automatically translate for you. In any browser, you can paste the URL into this left box. Then in the right box hit the open icon (a small box with an arrow pointing upward).

Pit Bull Kills Owner
Saltillo, MX - On May 19, media outlets in northern Mexico reported that an 18-year old man was attacked in the neck by his pit bull and died. The fatal attack occurred inside the victim's home located in the Central Zone of Saltillo, Mexico. The cause of death of Miguel Ángel Aguilar Hernández was hypovolemic shock (blood loss) due to the severing of his internal carotid artery. Though no one witnessed the attack, it is speculated an epileptic seizure triggered the attack.

The victim's mother, Veronica Trinidad, discovered him dead in a room covered in blood when she returned from work. The dog's name is "El Diablo," which translates directly to "The Devil." Trinidad told investigators that "The Devil" is a brave dog, but became nervous every time her son suffered an epileptic attack. Trinidad also claimed the brutish, hulking family pet is a presa canario, not a pit bull. Thus, the owners of pit bulls are no different in Mexico than in the United States.

Trinidad also speculated to municipal police investigators that her son "probably suffered an epileptic attack" and then "fell on the animal."

More fairy tales were conjured up by El Guardian, a gossip and viral website. Such as, the pit bull was only trying to help the victim ("was not to harm him, simply to help him") and ended up killing him. "The Devil" pulled him with the "intention of turning him onto his back, but one of the bites cut his carotid artery," states the Google translation. "The Devil" is currently under observation, and could be up for adoption, states the translation. Information from El Guardian is not credible.

Not a Presa Canario

Presa canarios always have a black mask and are either brindle or fawn. Presa canarios are a mastiff-type with a heritage of fighting and guarding (one of several gladiator breeds). Like similar breeds, such as the cane corso, today's presa canario is the result of a "reconstructed breed" by dangerous dog breed enthusiasts in the 1970s,1 because the original breed from the Canary Islands became extinct. Authentic presa canarios are rare in the U.S. and cost upwards of $1,000.

"The Devil" is an oversized, overweight pit bull that is seen covered in so much blood, its coat color could be mistaken as being red. A similar oversized pit bull killed its owner in Washington D.C. in 2018. Due to pit bull "designer breeds," chiefly bred by American bully breeders, larger and bulkier pit bulls have become much more common and have carried out multiple fatal attacks in the U.S., including: Morgan Crayton in 2019, Cecille Short in 2017 and Mia DeRouen in 2014.

Excuses Have No Borders

Last year, after three people were killed by a family pit bull, it was speculated afterward that a seizure must have triggered the violent mauling. Two of these attacks were owner-directed, when the dog killed its longtime owner, 44-year old Melissa Astacio and 52-year old Homer Utterback. The third attack was directed at a family friend, 21-year old Dustin Bryan. In two cases, no one witnessed the "start" of the attack so assigning blame to a seizure is highly questionable.

The 18-year old victim in the Saltillo attack was alone with "The Devil" when it executed the killing bite. Trinidad said, "The Devil" had a history of being nervous when her son suffered seizures. Thus, he must have had one then fell on "The Devil." The truth is no one will ever know. Perhaps "The Devil" simply carried out an unpredictable attack, like pit bulls routinely do. Or, perhaps "The Devil" had a disproportionate response to minor stimuli, like pit bulls characteristically do?

The same fairy tales El Guardian reported have long been in American media too. Of the 12 fatal dog maulings we have recorded that allege the victim was having a seizure, 100% involved pit bulls and nearly all involved killing their owner.2 It's unclear why a seizure wasn't surmised after a woman using a wheelchair was speculated to have either rolled over the pit bull or fallen on the canine, thus triggering the lethal attack. That fatal attack occurred in Ft. Worth earlier this year.

Only dog breeds with a well-identified risk for inflicting severe injuries, chiefly pit bulls, have storied “excuses and theories” for attack triggers.

There are no "seizure" or "falling on the dog" allegations to excuse a fatal dog mauling when a German shepherd, golden retriever or other dog breed attacks. There are only excuses, such as a "seizure" must have triggered the pit bull to rip out its owner's throat or a "thunderstorm" must have prompted the pit bull to crush a child's head, about dog breeds with a well-identified risk for inflicting severe damage. Such "speculations" rarely exist when other dog breeds fatally attack.

In a similar 2012 rottweiler case, the second top-killing dog breed, family members speculated "Zeus" was only trying to drag its owner to safety after she collapsed and died due to natural causes. "Zeus" was still deemed vicious and ordered destroyed afterward. At that time, Captain Ron Salcer said the dog was deemed vicious based on the severity of Baker's wounds and because the dog regurgitated part of the woman's bra about a week after it was impounded.

"[It] shows that he was very aggressive if he would bite and chew to the point that he would take off her brassiere and swallow it." - Captain Ron Salcer

Summary

Miguel Hernández, 18-years old, was killed by "The Devil" in cold blood -- the dog severed the internal carotid artery in his neck. The attacker was an oversized, overweight family pit bull or pit bull-mastiff mix, not a rare, expensive presa canario. No one witnessed the attack, but a seizure was speculated as a trigger for the lethal attack. Excuses to explain away sudden pit bull violence are not limited to the United States. These excuses have no borders or language barriers.

Outside of a seldom rottweiler case, only pit bulls are afforded special excuses after inflicting extreme violence and death upon a person. Suffering a seizure, falling on a dog, the sound of a thunder, etc., are not activities that would cause any other domesticated dog breeds to inflict a fatal attack. If that were true, thousands of Americans would be killed by dogs each year. These excuses and "speculations" only seek to "normalize" the extreme abnormal aggression in pit bulls.

Finally, why did the family name the dog "The Devil?" Why not instead the archangel Michael or any warrior known for bravery? A 2002 study discusses the Devil in Mexican popular culture from 1750 to 1856.3 By the late colonial period, the Devil had become a term to explain accidents (Mira lo que hace el diablo) or "as an excuse or a reason for unacceptable conduct, such as violence." Sadly, when Trinidad found her lifeless son, she might have said, "Look what the Devil has done."

the devil pit bull kills owner - excuses have no borders

The victim's mother claimed the oversized, overweight family pit bull was a presa canario.

the devil pit bull kills owner - saltillo, mexico

A male family pit bull named "The Devil" killed its 18-year old owner in Saltillo, Mexico.

1The AKC states: "In the 1970s, a group of Italian fanciers banded together to revive the breed of their rustic ancestors. The Society Amorati Cane Corso (Society of Cane Corso Lovers) was formed in 1983..." and "Reconstruction of the nearly extinct Presa Canario began in earnest back in the early 1970s. Reputable breeders bred strong Presas that were rustic, massive..." View side-by-side images during the reconstruction phase.
2There is a 13th victim who suffered from seizures for years because of brain trauma whose rottweiler inflicted severe dog bite injuries at the time of death. This was an unreported fatal dog mauling, so there were no media reports capturing conjecture. Interestingly, of these 13 victims, 38% were between 21 and 28-years old, a rare age group for fatal dog mauling victims. Finally, there is a 14th victim as well, which was also an unreported fatal dog mauling. After we published our post about the death of Teena MaWhorter, a family member wrote to us in part, "What you didn't find out is that she had a seizure and fell on the dog which scared it. All dogs when startled lash out." All three parts of the speculation are intact: "had a seizure" and "fell on the dog" which "provoked" the family pit bull to fatally attack. MaWhorter's cause of death was determined to be, "severe blunt facial and head trauma."
3Mira Lo Que Hace El Diablo: The Devil in Mexican Popular Culture, 1750-1856, by Sonya Lipsett-Rivera, The Americas 59(2):201-219, October 2002.

Posted on May 17, 2020 by Colleen Lynn

Pit Bull Mauling Victim Undergoes Life Changing Surgery 23 Years After Attack -- Follow Her GoFundMe

Pit bull mauling victim undergoes life changing surgery decades after being attacked.

GoFundMe for Surgeries
Wisconsin - In September, Niecie Venzke organized a fundraiser for Denise, who was attacked by her brother's two pit bulls in 1997. The dogs tore off most of her scalp. The fundraiser explains that she is undergoing a new surgery after struggling with sores and infections on her head for many years. "I have had multiple surgeries over the years, but I never had any options for my head. I really felt I was just going to have to live with the skin graft and issues for the rest of my life."

She first visited University of Wisconsin Health in Madison in 2017. "At that time the doctor took several pictures of my head and said he would present my case to his colleagues," she writes. When Denise returned a few months later, she was presented with a plan involving cranial facial surgery. "I was going to have 4 to 5 skin expanders placed under the hair growing portion of my scalp and my forehead and that skin would be stretched over a few months," she writes.

The GoFundMe shows many photos of her scalp before the new procedure. The skin graft does not allow hair regrowth, so she has been wearing a wig for many years. The initial surgery was scheduled for October 15, 2019. She then began the journey of undergoing the tissue expansion that would require 2 to 4 surgeries over the next year. As of May 14, 2020, she has posted 31 updates to the fund. On May 4, she published a video explaining the second phase of her surgery.

Denise explains her life changing surgery of skin expansion to regain feeling on her head.

We strongly recommend watching the full 15-minute video. The skin expanders are in place, so her appearance will appear unusual. Throughout most of the video, Denise is positive and upbeat as she explains the tissue expansion procedure and how she is coping. She also talks about the many incredible doctors and health practitioners she has met throughout this journey. We also learn that she is a single mother with three children, two of which are 6-year old fraternal twins.

Covid-19 has obviously impacted her surgery schedule. Towards the end of the video, she talks about how many images of herself she has had to adjust to since the pit bull mauling. "That's been one of the hardest things mentally for me through this. Getting used to how you look, and then it changing week-by-week. After tomorrow, I am going to look different again." Since the attack in 1997, Denise has had to be very careful to avoid bumping her head and sunburns to her head.

NEILLSVILLE - A truck driver was credited with helping to save a 14-year-old girl who lost her scalp when she was attacked by three dogs at her rural Clark County home.

Denise Seif was hospitalized after she was bitten on her face, arms and hands during the attack Thursday afternoon.

A deliveryman for the United Parcel Service drove into the yard as the attack was taking place.

The driver and the girl's brother pulled her away from the family's dogs - two pit bulls and another dog. The driver put the girl in his truck and drove to Neillsville.

The dogs were euthanized after the attack and will be tested for rabies.

- Associated Press, September 14, 1997, Telegraph Herald

On May 5, she posted a video after the expanders were removed. She states, "The results are better than we anticipated." She said her wonderful Dr. Garland can also add "magician" to her resume. On May 6, she was discharged from the hospital. On May 10, she was able to remove her bandages. "It was so emotional!" she said. "I now have feeling in most of my head and it’s the oddest feeling to touch parts of my head that I haven’t had any feeling in for the past 23 years!"

One week after the expanders were removed, she posted another video update. Much of the swelling had gone down. She said she still has a hard time adjusting to how small her head is now. "It's going to take me awhile to get used to this." The skin graft left her having no feeling on the top of her head. Thus, she lacks an ability to judge distance for her head. This causes her to often bump her head; each time this creates an open sore. The new surgery should reduce this.

Denise provides an update one week after the skin expanders were removed from her head.

Participate in Her Journey

Denise has at least two more surgeries left. She has also raised nearly $7,000 of her $8,000 goal. We encourage you to make a donation of any size. Doing so will also ensure that you receive future fund updates by email. Denise is an amazing and inspiring pit bull attack survivor, who also has three lovely children to care for. Several days ago, she sent in her attack story to us. We are publishing it in full below. The attack occurred on September 11, 1997 near Neillsville, Wisconsin.

I'm currently going through my 8th [surgery] directly related to the pit bull attack. I truly feel like I’m a fixer upper. Since I’ve been off work, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on my life and this crazy event. I can honestly say that I have no regret for it happening to me. I’ve become the person I am because of it.

Recalling the events on September 11, 1997 no longer upset me, for I now finally realize after all of these years I’ve accepted and appreciate that this was a part of life I was meant to experience. And it truly has altered my life since.

Disclaimer this may be hard to read.

I was 14 years old, just starting my freshman year of high school. I wasn’t feeling well that morning and my mom let me stay home from school. It was just me and my brother Doug. Doug had two pit bulls, Rock and Spike, who I completely adored. Doug was always an authoritarian since he was my older brother. He strictly told me to stay in my room that day since I was sick. But at 14, I thought that I knew better than anyone what I needed. I wanted to get outside and sit under a lilac tree in my parents front yard. I was sure that would make me feel better. I slyly snuck out of the house without my big brother noticing. I grabbed some dog food on my way out to feed the boys -- that’s what everyone called Rock and Spike -- they were brothers and just a little over a year old.

I was nearly to the lilac bush when I heard something, my heart nearly skipped a beat thinking it was my brother coming to scold me. It was "the boys." I remember thinking, "Oh thank god it’s just the two of you." But they were running at full speed toward me. I instantly knew something was wrong. Instantly I felt pain in my left leg. One of the dogs had bitten my leg so hard I fell to the ground. I didn’t know at the time, but I fell face first into the grass, which is what had saved my life. If I would have fallen on my back, [pit bulls] have a natural instinct to attack the throat. I remember yelling for Doug until my voice was horse. I couldn’t really feel pain, but I knew there was one dog by my head and one my left arm. I put my hand on top of my head, and I remember my hand was covered in blood when I could see it.

Right after that a UPS truck pulled around the turn in my driveway. Almost instantaneously Doug came running out of the house. He yelled at the dogs who ran towards him. When I knew they were a safe distance, I ran to the UPS truck. The UPS man said, "I have to do something, if I don’t you will die." He somehow managed to drive the 7 miles to Neillsville. We met the ambulance at the main intersection in town. I said to him, "Thank you, I think you just saved my life." To this day I’m not sure if he heard me, all I could manage to get out was a whisper. My body was shaking like I was having a seizure. I was in severe shock from the blood loss. After I was taken into the ambulance, I said, "I’m so tired I want to sleep." The EMT very firmly said, "If you sleep you could die."

Upon arriving at the small rural hospital, everyone seemed panicked and I was too. That same year, Spirit, which is Flight for Life at St. Joseph’s hospital was started. The helicopter was there in minutes. I was loaded onto the chopper and flown to Marshfield. I never lost consciousness and can remember every detail, smell and all the beeping in the chopper. Once we arrived, I was taken directly into surgery. After around 9 hours, I awoke in the recovery room. I didn’t realize the extent of my injuries until much later. I was in and out the next few days in the pediatric ICU. I had so much love and support from my community, family and friends. I knew my entire head was bandaged and I couldn’t move my left arm. But I was determined -- a determination I still have to this day.

I was walking with assistance after four days. One week after I was taken for my first skin graft. The top layer of skin was removed from my right thigh and grafted to my head. The “donor” area was from my knee to my groin and it was just enough skin to cover the scalp that was gone. A few days later I went back to surgery to have a graft placed on my forehead. This skin was removed from my left arm because the color matched better to my natural skin tone. I had one more graft placed on my upper left arm where I had lost 3/4 of my biceps and a large portion of my triceps muscles. I healed relatively fast and was discharged from the hospital two weeks and four days after.

I remember the first time I saw my head. My surgeons were so happy with their work they gave me a mirror so I could see it. I had only one glance and threw the mirror across the room. At 14 my appearance was everything. I though I would never adjust.

My arm was in a sling for a total of almost two months. I was told that I would never regain full range of motion again. It took over a year of physical therapy and lots of blood sweat and tears but I have 100% range of motion in that arm. I now realize that if the events of that day didn’t happen exactly as it all did, I would not have survived. I’m forever thankful to that UPS man and my brother Doug! - Denise

Make a donation of any amount to Denise's Life Changing Surgery Fund at GoFundMe.

1997 pit bull mauling victim seen after undergoing a recent life changing surgery procedure.

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