5-Week Old Mauled By A Dog 9/04

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- A 5-week-old boy is dead after being mauled by a dog.The attack happened at a home off Jade Drive on the Westside Tuesday afternoon. Authorities say a man and a woman rushed the young boy, identified as Jose Diaz, to a nearby fire station asking for help. Firefighters tried CPR on the little boy until Trauma One arrived to take the baby to Shands Jacksonville. The boy did not survive.

Grandfather Frank Michno says the dog who attacked his grandson had been with the family for more than 12 years. "Oh, I'm very angry with Chance. I can't understand what would have gone through his mind." Michno says his plans are to euthanize his dog if the courts don't already order it.

In the mean time the family is just trying to cope with the loss. "It's like a bad dream, I don't know what else we're going to do," Michno said. First Coast News anchor Mark Spain says investigators believe the baby's grandmother and mother were in the house at the time of the attack. Family members say the child's parents were dropping the child off at his grandparents for the day. The grandmother left the room for only a moment. "A split second was all it took and it was done and gone," Michno said.

There are three dogs at the home. Animal Control officers took the dogs away. Two of the dogs are mixed, the third is a terrier. Investigators are trying to determine which dog attacked the baby. Once that is determined, the dog will be labeled as "dangerous", and that could lead to it being put to sleep.

The tri colored Rottweiler/Labrador mix is the animal thought to have attacked the baby.

Terrified neighbours see Bullmastiff kill owner 08/04
A 39-year-old woman was savaged to death by her pet bull mastiff dog yesterday.

Terrified elderly neighbours could only look on as the fatal attack, which started inside Carol Leeanne Taylor's home in the Dunedin suburb of Caversham, spilled on to the back lawn. Blood and upturned furniture in the lounge told a gory story. Neighbour Melva Dixon told how she watched helplessly as Mrs Taylor fought for her life.

Mrs Dixon, 72, said she saw Mrs Taylor trying to fight the dog off while sitting on the ground in the back yard of her home. Blood was coming from a bite on her arm. Mrs Dixon stayed behind a solid gate blocking access to the back yard and called out to Mrs Taylor, but was answered only by screams.

"I said to her 'do you want the ambulance?' I could not understand what she was saying, because there was only screams and yells. "With that the dog rushed over to the gate and left her on the ground." Mrs Dixon was alerted to the horror when she heard high-pitched squealing noises "like a cat" coming from next door about 3.50pm. She peeked over a fence separating the two houses and could see the dog with "something on the ground". "I had thoughts of taking the broom or something, but I started to panic and I just went around to the side gate of the house empty-handed."

Mrs Dixon said she was afraid to open the gate to try to intervene for fear of being attacked herself. When she yelled out, and the dog rushed to the gate, Ms Taylor remained sitting on the ground. Mrs Dixon rushed to another house and called emergency services. By the time she returned to the gate Ms Taylor was lying in a gathering pool of blood. Other neighbours had also gathered, but could do nothing.

Senior Sergeant Phil McDouall said the attack started inside Ms Taylor's house. "There was a confrontation in the lounge, then the dog has dragged her outside and the attack has continued," he said. "The ferocity of the attack meant neighbours weren't able to get in to help for fear of their own safety." Ms Taylor, a sickness beneficiary, received major head and upper body injuries from the attack, which took place about 4pm. On hearing screams, neighbours called emergency services. Ms Taylor was still alive when police arrived, but she died within minutes.

The tan bull mastiff is thought to have released her on its own accord and was wandering around the back yard in an "agitated" state when police arrived, Mr McDouall said. It was destroyed by police. "It was still growling and wandering around very agitated while we were trying to resuscitate the owner."

Police did not know what had prompted the attack. Mr McDouall said the Dunedin City Council animal control team had been called to the address after a neighbour complained of the dog's barking. One neighbour said Ms Taylor had considered getting it destroyed because she was afraid of it. Pauleen Tangimetua said the dog frightened Ms Taylor so much that she had called animal control herself for help. Ms Taylor called dog control to the house in June when she could not stop the dog ripping her clothes, but withdrew consent for it to be taken to the pound.

Victim Support was at the scene yesterday supporting neighbours. Police asked reporters not to approach an 88-year-old man who saw the attack and was severely shaken by what he had seen. Ms Taylor's body was removed at 5.30pm and Mr McDouall said inquiries would continue on behalf of the coroner. Dominion bull mastiff club secretary Simone Mearns, of Auckland, was last night dismayed a "gentle and friendly" breed was linked to the death.

Toddler Wanders Into Yard, Face Mauled by Chained German Shepherd Dog
August 1, 2004, SPANIARD'S BAY, Nfld. -- A dog attack that took just seconds has left a Newfoundland toddler in hospital with facial wounds his mother fears he may never fully recover from. Two-year-old Johnathan Mahoney-Marsh remained in hospital this weekend in St. John's after a stomach-turning incident Tuesday night. The boy and his brother were being cared for by a babysitter who took the children with her to her brother's home.

While there, the youngsters wandered out of the caregiver's sight, and Johnathan strayed within reach of a German shepherd that was chained up in a neighbour's yard. "I got the call at work to go and meet them at the Carbonear hospital," the boy's mother, Sonya Mahoney-Marsh, said from her home in Spaniard's Bay. "When I got there and met with him, I was beside myself -- the only thing keeping his face together was a face cloth."

She said the right side of Johnathan's face has stitches on his mouth, cheek, below his ear, on his forehead and on his temple. His mother also said Johnathan has bruising on his back, and his nails are blackened from scratching the pavement while trying to escape the dog's reach. "I'd trade places with him (in) a heartbeat," she said.

RCMP Const. Steve Blackmore said because the dog was tethered on private property the animal's owners aren't facing charges. However, he said they've voluntarily agreed to put down their pet. "The owners did the right thing by having the dog tied on, but the problem really is that a child can wander and get within the dog's reach," Blackmore said.

Mahoney-Marsh, a single mother of three boys, said she's not able to spend as much time with her boy in hospital as she'd like. "I can't stay in there because I've got two other kids, which is tearing the guts out of me," Mahoney-Marsh said. "I'm calling around the clock to see how he is."

Johnathan is in satisfactory condition and is expected to leave hospital by Monday. But his mother fears the damage may stretch beyond the remedy of cosmetic surgery. "They said within a couple of years we could go back and see about plastic surgery, but it's a mortal sin," she said. The major obstacle facing Johnathan right now, his mother said, is the infection from his wounds. She said doctors told her they may have to reopen his wounds to drain infection and then restitch the cuts to prevent further complications.

Dog Owner Stunned by Vicious Akita Attack 06/04
EARL, N.C. -- A 7-year-old Cleveland County boy is in critical condition after a neighbor's dog attacked him Thursday morning. Paramedics had to airlift Brandon Ivie from his home near Earl to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

Around 8:45 a.m., Ivie was playing with his neighbor's dog, which was on a chain. Ivie's mother said her son got too close and that the dog grabbed him around the neck with its teeth. She said she was also bitten when she tried to free her son from the dog's grasp. The dog latched on to Brandon Ivie's throat and would not let go. CMC officials said Ivie had lost a large amount of blood by the time he arrived at the hospital.

The dog, a 6-year-old Akita named Boo Boo, is owned by the Adaway family. The Adaways said they were shocked when Boo Boo attacked. Kimberly Adaway said she usually keeps Boo Boo on the running line near their trampoline. Thursday morning, screams coming from that part of the yard brought her running. When Adaway reached Boo Boo, she found him with his jaws locked down around the boy's throat. "He had latched onto his neck from the back," she said. Adaway hit her dog until he loosened his grip, and Ivie's mother pulled her son away.

Kimberly Adaway said she will be more cautious about other people approaching her dogs. Ivie's playmates filled in the details of the attack. Ivie "was running toward the dog and slid and hit the dog," Adaway was told. "And the dog bit him." Adaway said she has seen Ivie play with Boo Boo before and even hug him. Boo Boo "loves kids and anyone who comes toward him," she said. "I'm assuming he was scared of him."

The Adaways, who have four dogs, said they did a lot of research on Akitas when they got one. They even got a book from the Cleveland County Public Library that said Akitas make perfect baby sitters because they are so good and gentle with children. "He's a good dog," Adaway said.

The Cleveland County Animal Control Bureau said the Adaways did not violate any laws because the dog was leashed and had all of his vaccinations. But the public health director has declared Boo Boo a dangerous dog, which means he will have to live out the rest of his life in a more secure enclosure. Boo Boo will be quarantined at a veterinarian's office for 10 days as a precaution. The Adaways will have to purchase $100,000 of liability insurance if they plan to keep the dog.

Adaway said she does not have any concerns for the safety of her children when they are around Boo Boo. But she said she will be more cautious in the future. "I don't want anyone near my dogs anyway, because you don't know what could happen," she said.

Fatal dog mauling may bring no charges 02/04
LIHUE, Kauai police detectives and prosecutors were scheduled to meet today to decide whether criminal charges should be filed against a Moloaa man whose dog fatally injured a 17-month-old boy on Saturday.

"So far, I don't think we see anything criminal," acting Police Chief Willie Ihu said late yesterday. The parents of Trusten Heart Liddle issued a statement through their attorney, Susan Marshall, asking for privacy and time to heal. "We request peace and quiet while we mourn the death of our cherished loved one," wrote Dove and Raven Liddle. "We appreciate your prayers. Our only request is for people to light a candle in memory of Trusten at sunset."

The dog, which belongs to a neighbor who has not been identified by police, was on a chain anchored on the neighbor's property. There are conflicting accounts whether Trusten wandered on to the neighbor's property or whether the chain was long enough to allow the dog on to his parents' farm.

"That's part of the investigation: how long was the chain and did it end on the owner's property?" Ihu said. Trusten died in the emergency room at Wilcox Memorial Hospital. He had suffered extensive head, throat and chest wounds, Kauai police said. His parents' statement said: "Trusten did not wander onto the neighbor's property." But Marshall would not say whether the child was attacked on the Liddle's property.

There is no fence between the two farms. Moloaa, which is on Kauai's northeast shore, is a rugged area containing numerous small farms, most secluded from public roads. The dog was taken to the Kauai Humane Society, where it is being held. Dr. Becky Rhoades, the veterinarian who is the shelter's executive director, said she does not know if the dog has a name and she had not heard from its owner as of yesterday.

She said the dog appears to be a Labrador-Basset hound mix, with a long body and short legs. "He's still very stressed but he's not hard to handle. He hasn't been aggressive at all," Rhoades said. Rhoades said dogs who are chained for a long period of time can become very territorial about the area within the radius of the chain and attack anyone who comes within their territory. The fate of the dog will be decided either by the owner or a judge, she said. Many dogs involved in serious attacks have been euthanized but that is not her decision to make, Rhoades said.

Akitas attacking in Edmonton, Canada 08/03
EDMONTON - Two of three Edmonton-area Akita dogs involved in vicious attacks in August will have been destroyed by the end of the week. The other is in quarantine.

Parkland County officials said they would kill an Akita on Friday that savagely bit a two-year-old this month. The dog lunged at the boy's head, nearly killing him and causing wounds that took 600 stitches to close. Another Akita was destroyed on Monday. That dog had attacked three children on three separate occasions, most recently a five-year-old this month.

Over the weekend, a 16-year-old girl was bitten in the face by an Akita while selling chocolate bars door to door. That dog is on a 10-day quarantine. The girl hasn't filed a complaint about the incident, so no formal investigation has been launched.

Four year old killed by Rottweilers. 03/03
KINGSTON PENINSULA, N.B. - Friends and relatives of a child killed on the weekend by three Rottweilers say they don't know how the boy got out of the house, or why the dogs attacked.

Four-year-old James Waddell, known as "little Jim," was mauled to death Saturday night in the yard of his home in Kingston Peninsula. It's about 30 kilometres north of Saint John. The boy's uncle, Steve Waddell, said the boy was left alone watching cartoons while the father and the dog's owner checked on an electrician in the basement. The dogs had been moved outside and the door was closed.

Minutes later they heard the dogs barking and checked the yard, said Waddell. Jim had been dragged from the front to the back yard, and was dead by the time they reached him. The boy's father, Ron, is not talking to the media. The three Rottweilers, and another living in the house, were euthanized at the request of the owner, who also lived in the house.

Police say the attack was so savage they've brought in grief counsellors for their staff and emergency crews.

No charges have been laid in the case as police wait for autopsy results from the boy and the dogs.

A burial will take place in Moss Glen, N.B., on Tuesday.

"Wolf Hybrid" Kills Child 06/02
A Ballard County woman whose dog fatally attacked a 5-year-old boy in June 2002 has pleaded guilty to a felony count of reckless homicide. Ballard Commonwealth's Attorney Tim Langford said the plea agreement reached this week calls for a two-year prison term for Latasha Laster. Laster, 22, will be sentenced March 5.

Laster's attorney, Gorman D. Bradley of Paducah, said his client was "very remorseful" about the attack, but added that she would seek probation. He said Laster, who remains free on bond, wanted to get the incident behind her and resume taking college classes.

The dog, described by authorities as a wolf hybrid, mauled T.J. Adams of Benton, who was visiting his grandmother next to Laster's home in Wickliffe. The boy died of his injuries at Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville. Laster's defense disputed the dog's pedigree.

Witnesses said the dog, which was attached to a long chain at the time, attacked the boy in his grandmother's yard and then dragged him into Laster's yard. A Ballard County grand jury indicted Laster on charges of harboring a vicious animal, wanton endangerment and second-degree manslaughter. Langford said the first two charges were dismissed and the manslaughter charge was amended to reckless homicide. He said the boy's family agreed to the plea bargain.

Police shot the 70-pound dog after the attack.

Langford said a prosecution witness was prepared to testify based on a tissue analysis that the dog was a wolf hybrid, a breed of dog that has been blamed for dozens of attacks on people. Some states and cities have enacted laws requiring owners to control or confine such dogs, which can resemble a Husky or Malamute in appearance, but Kentucky does not have such a law. Laster told investigators she found the dog as a stray and did not know it was dangerous. Police said there had been no prior problems with the dog.

Statewide, felony prosecutions against dog owners are rare because fatal attacks are rare, said Gale Cook of Murray, president of the state prosecutors' association. She said she can't recall any felony prosecutions other than the Ballard County case.

Toddler recovers from dog attack 06/01
SYDNEY, N.S. - A toddler is recovering in hospital after a dog attacked her at a Cape Breton campground during the weekend. The 18-month-old girl tried to pet a stray dog Sunday afternoon at the Black Rock campground in Boularderie.

The dog bit her several times on the face. RCMP say the girl suffered large lacerations and required surgery. Police seized a dog described as a German Shepard mix.

Police searching for dog owner after attack 12/00
FREDERICTON, N.B. - An elderly Fredericton woman is recovering from surgery after a dog attacked her on a local walking trail. The incident happened Friday but police are still trying to find the dog and its owner.

Lorna Smith, 70, is nursing a serious wound. She says a large black dog chewed through her jacket and took a piece of flesh off her forearm. "With no warning he just took off like a bolt and grabbed me by the arm." "He had torn away quite a bit of flesh and I had to get plastic surgery at the hospital," she says.

The attack happened during a leisurely walk along the Fredericton train bridge. The last thing Smith says she remembers is seeing a man who appeared to be in his 50s, with two dogs and a bicycle. "He said, 'don't worry about the dogs they're friendly,' and as I continued to walk by, this dog started to wonder towards me," she says. "With no warning he just took off like a bolt and grabbed me by the arm and that was it." She says she ran back to her car and drove herself to the hospital.

Smith says she was planning on going south next week on a golf vacation. But now she says her arm is in too much pain to move and she can't even swing a club. Dow Phillips, an animal control officer with the city of Fredericton, says investigators want to find the owner of the dogs. "We're looking for the individual with the two dogs so we can prevent something like this from happening again" he says.

Bullmastiff Kills 8 year old girl. 05/99
STOUFFVILLE - An Ontario jury is calling for much tougher laws governing vicious dog attacks. The jury is part of a coroner's inquest looking into the death of eight year old Courtney Trempe. The Stoufville girl was mauled to death last spring. A death it called accidental.

"If you want to call that an accident, that's an awful accident," says John Trempe, Courtney's father. On April 27th, 1998, Courtney Trempe was at a neighbour's house in Stouffville, playing in the back yard with friends. That's when the neighbour's dog - a 60 kilogram bull mastiff - attacked. The dog pierced her carotid artery and crushed her windpipe. She died from her injuries. The dog was destroyed.

The Trempe's say the dog had a history of attacking people. They hired a private investigator who found witnesses to back up their theory, witnesses they say the police should have found. They wanted the jury to find that their daughter's death was by homicide - a ruling that would be purely symbolic, because coroner's inquests can't assign blame. Today the jury made 35 recommendations, including new laws forcing dog owners to "take more effective control" of problem animals, and allowing the courts to order potentially dangerous dogs destroyed.

It wants fines for irresponsible dog owners substantially increased and they say those people should be prohibited from owning another dog for a specified period of time. Jurors also want a ban on trained guard or attack dogs, except for police or security agencies and they want a province-wide database to track problem dogs.

Husky dogs blamed for boy's death 12/98
CROSS LAKE, MANITOBA - RCMP are investigating the death of an 8-year-old boy in Cross Lake in northern Manitoba. Police say the boy was attacked by dogs late monday night.

Some residents heard a noise which they thought was dogs fighting. When they went to chase the dogs away they found the child lying in the snow. He was pronounced dead a short time later at the Cross Lake nursing station. Police say a number of dogs in the community have been destroyed at the request of the band council. An autopsy will be done at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre.