Garland County AK
On June 9, 2013 five year old Ayden Evans was killed by a dog reported to be a Bullmastiff, which is a mastiff/pit bull cross. Later reports from local officials calls the dog half mastiff and half pit bull. For a bit more information on the history of "bulldogs" and pit bulls please click here.
Fox19 gives the basic information the attack. ""The child was putting on some shoes and was crying and upset," said Garland County Deputy Scott Hinojosa. "The dog possibly took that as being aggressive and at that time the child was attacked."
Hinojosa said a 50-year-old woman named Lynnn Geiling owns the dog with her husband. Lynn told police she tried to pull the dog off the boy, but by the time she got them separated the boy had injuries described by deputies as "major lacerations" to the head and neck.
He was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital in Hot Springs.
Deputies said the boy and his two-year-old sister are from Moore, Oklahoma. They'd been staying with the family friends for about two weeks while their parents tried to rebuild after their home was destroyed in the recent tornado.
After the attack the dog ran off but was later shot by a neighbor and is expected to be euthanized. Later reports clarify the status of the child. Per his mother's statement Ayden was staying with her sister for the summer and had been given permission to visit a neighbor. There is no familial connection between Ayden Evans and the owner or family that harbored the dog.
A final quote from Fox16. "After getting the news, Ayden's parent drove the six hours from Oklahoma to Arkansas to carry their son back home.
"From what we gather from the funeral director is that (Ayden) can't be seen. It has to be a closed casket. We still don't know the extent of the injury, we have to have him cremated," said father Greg Moore.
Ayden's family is planning a service to remember him in Oklahoma. He would have entered kindergarten next fall.
"He should be home. I should not be taking him home in an urn," said Evans."
Ayden Evans, his mother is right, this beautiful should not have been taken home in an urn.
Unsurprisingly, Garland County AK is considering regulation of dangerous dogs.
7/2/2013 update, It appears that BSL is coming to Garland County. If pit bull owners are unable or unwilling to control their dogs then they can expect to be regulated.
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June 17.2013
Union City CA T
Six year old Nephi Selu, recent kindergarten graduate, was mauled by a family pit bull and died several hours later at a local hospital. The boy was staying in his grandparents home with extended family including seven cousins. Early reports indicate the child was actively playing with the dog, a pit bull mix when he was bitten on the head. Nephi's aunt, Iona Keanaaina stated the dog was " "good with kids, very obedient, he was never allowed in the house, he stayed right at the door, so we never had any problems with him at all. It's a huge shock."
The dog was owned by San Mateo Police officer, Kelala Keanaaina, who is apparently being represented by Attorney Michael Rains. Rains made a statement to NBC news that the attack was "almost inexplicable" because the dog had been around the children for two years without incident. This is a pretty predictable comment after a pit bull attack that leads to the death of a child. Per family reports Nephi and the dog were "best friends." A family spokesperson has stated that family does not want the dog returned to them.
For more information on this attack please click here.
Nephi Selu with the pit bull that killed him.
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Effingham SC
June 25, 2013
Five year old Arianna Jolee Merrbach was mauled to death by a chained pit bull owned by a family member. This makes the third pit bull fatality in South Carolina since the first of the year. Animal Control seized three pit bulls from the home, the killer pit bull was humanely euthanized.
Herbie Christmas of Florence County Environmental Services made the following statement "Pitbull type dogs are in my opinion like a loaded gun, you need to treat it like a loaded gun, you need to make sure that people from the public can't get into that area, and most importantly, you need to make sure that your dog doesn't go to someone else's dog and cause that person injury," The animal in question was on a chain, and we do have a tethering ordinance in Florence County, which prohibits that activity."
Neighbor Lulu Waddell contacted County Environmental Services about the pit bulls last year stating that she was frightened of them running loose in her yard which prompted the tethering of the dogs. "I was afraid of them because I don't bother nobody's pitbulls, so when I called, they made them tie them up in the back."
Arianna Jolee Merrbach in the loving arms of a family member.
For the death notice for this beautiful baby please click here. Vocal pit bull promoters need to be reminded of the suffering caused by their poor choices.
An interesting side story here, Effingham SC is considering the relocation of another pit bull to a "rescue" in New York state. This dog mauled a local child last year. It is unlikely that a change of address will change the dog. Please note that this DOG has a court appointed attorney. The family of the injured child strongly opposes the re homing of the dog.
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These comments are from articles on the three deaths I have written about today. Three dead children and these pit bull advocates feel that these remarks needed to be made? It is a difficult time for breed specific advocates, what with sixteen Americans killed so far this year but "when in doubt, advocate" just looks ugly to the rational public.
American Pit Bull Terrier Assn Inc (NZ)
Here we go again - all the stiff necks exposing their ignorance.
Any medium breed is capable of breaking the bones in an adult human's forearms. 5lb lapdogs kill people. And here we have again the hysterically inflated 'statistics' taken from media reports stacked up by those with an agenda.
Let's just continue to ignore the science and qualified opinion and let the facts escape the notice of the public in the interests of selling copy and boosting ratings, and pushing the ideologies of those who would have a pet-free world.
Learn to spot the difference between the hate/fear-mongers and those actually qualified to make a statement. It's not hard to spot.
Any medium breed is capable of breaking the bones in an adult human's forearms. 5lb lapdogs kill people. And here we have again the hysterically inflated 'statistics' taken from media reports stacked up by those with an agenda.
Let's just continue to ignore the science and qualified opinion and let the facts escape the notice of the public in the interests of selling copy and boosting ratings, and pushing the ideologies of those who would have a pet-free world.
Learn to spot the difference between the hate/fear-mongers and those actually qualified to make a statement. It's not hard to spot.
American Pit Bull Terrier Assn Inc (NZ)
The world is my backyard. Who are you anyway? The forum police. I'll visit and comment wherever I like!
Jim Crosby · Top Commenter
Once again the dog was destroyed in a hurry, with no need and apparently with no behavioral evidence gathered. Why can't we take our time and investigate these cases completely and correctly? EVERY case is different, and EVERY homicide, no matter what the weapon or cause of death, deserves a full investigation.
Theresa Matech · Follow · Animal Behavior College
First Of xxxxxx......Pitbulls Aren't Bred To Be Vicious It's The Irresponsible Owners Who Raise Them WRONG! You Don't See People Banning Or Singling Out German Shepherds Or Rottweilers And They Have Had Reports Of Killing People And Attacking People Or Dalmatians Who have Had Reports Of Aggression Towards Children! It's So Easy To Single Out A Breed And Attack Them Because The Fact Scumbags Raise Them Wrong For Fighting Purposes And Gives Them A Bad Name So The Dogs That Are Actually Raised Right Get Looked Down Upon. Its Pathetic! And That Child Should Have Not Been Left Unattended At All! Where Was The Parent? Seems You Are More Focused On Blaming The Breed Rather Then The Fact The Parents Weren't Even Watching Their Child Either!
Theresa Matech · Follow · Animal Behavior College
Yea xxxxxxxxl Your Forgetting About All The Other Breeds Who Have Been Reported For Attacking Kids And Killing Kids! Look Online For Other Breeds Who Have Killed Kids. I Have 2 Pitbull Bullmastiffs And They Are The Best Dogs I Have Ever Owned! I Know Tons Of People With Pitbulls Who Never Have Had Aggression Problems Or Reports Of Attacking Someone! So If You Wanna Ban Pitbulls You Gonna Ban Rotweillers Or Dobermans Or German Shepherds? How About Dalmations Which Are Known For Their Aggression Towards Kids? Its So Easy To Attack A Breed That Has Been Destroyed By The Media As A Viscous Dog. And People Like YOU Are The Ones That Feed The Fire More To Give Them Bad Names. You Can Preach All You Want About The Breed Being So Dangerous Cause That's What The Media Tells You! How Many Attacks Are Pure Breed Huh? How Do You Really Know The True Bloodline? You Know What The Media Says And You Listen To That Without Questions. If You Wanna Preach Bad Breeds Name All That Have Killed Kids On The List As Well Before You Single Out Just The Pitbulls. That Kid Should Of Been Supervised No Matter What Breed The Dog Was. If You Can't Keep And Eye On Your Kid You Shouldn't Have Kids In The First Place That Was Extremely Irresponsible Of These Parents But You Don't Take Note On That Just Blaming A Dog Though Right?
Phillip Matthews · Sales Trainee at Fastenal
xxxxxxxxxx It sounds like you're making the argument that because pitbulls have a higher attack rate than other species, they should be exterminated. First of all, I would like to reference you to a person named Adolf Hitler. The two of you have a lot in common. Secondly, let's look at some other statistics. An overwhelming percentage of criminals (human criminals) are from the same race. Therefore, would you argue that people of that specific race are natural born criminals and should be exterminated as well? Human psychology and dog psychology aren't very far off, so I guess your opinion is that people of a specific race are naturally bad... wait... you're starting to sound like a bigot for some reason.
Clay Hundenshire · Top Commenter · Virginia Tech
Amazing, huh!!! But no, pit bull biased doesn't exist. It's scientifically proven, that 95% of the time the media blames a pit bull, it has no American Pit Bull terrier DNA. Most of these dogs reported as pit bulls are look-a-like mutts. American Pit Bull Terriers rarely attack humans. You are more likely to be mauled by a lab than an American Pit Bull terrier. The media uses pit bull as a loosely generic term for the look of a dog, but people actually buy that it's a pit bull. media hype and misunderstanding is what it boils down to.
Clay Hundenshire · Top Commenter · Virginia Tech
haha.... BS Stats!!! You are not only an idiot for believing it, you are more of an idiot for announcing you believe in it.
Summer Cribb · Georgetown High School
I own 5 Pit bulls and I love them to the moon and back. Very gentle, kind, and they have never let me down. I give my condolences to the family, but I still think the dog is not at fault. The animal was on a chain by its self and the child came up to it. I very much love my dogs and I hope this does not continue to ruin their reputation.
Stephany Morris Scott
Really truly sad that all these people have anger and animosity of the fact of the matter being a dog is the killer. ANY bread of dog could be a killer it just so happens that cruel people have raised "pits" to be fighters because they are of such strong breeds. So that being said yes.....fighting is hidden way down in some pits bloodlines and some it is more aggressively shown than in others....but it still refers back to a reflection on its owners. Regaurdless of breed this is very saddening that no one was watching this little girl close enough to where she could still be here today!! Its also sad that not once have I ever seen as many discussions, like on this page, on a page of a rape charge or a pedofile incident. SO many people have their priorities in the wrong place and push forward their oppinions on the lesser valued problems. ....You better realize it all though, its all a sign of the times!
EulaFrey
adios_pelota
It's amazing that no one wants to hold the owner responsible in these cases. My dog is a reflection of the environment, training and socialization I have provided for her. She also happens to be a Staffordshire. From day one she has been exposed to children and other dogs and treats them with respect the way I have taught her. So before you say we should ban a breed think about the number of bad parents that are out there. There's easily that many horrible neglectful dog owners. Usually it's these idiots that adopt a bully breed. It's usually for the wrong reasons. It sometimes ends badly.
I know I'm gonna get your thumbs down for sticking up for such a polarizing animal, but before you do you should know I've got a finger up for you.
adios_pelota
wassupwithyou - Really? If anything I was suggesting that Chicken_Bacon is a creeper that wants to check out my junk. As far as the finger goes, I reserve that for people I disagree with. Usually they're driving like idiots in front of me, but sometimes it goes out to folks like you. If that makes me a tough guy, than your bar for such things is set a bit low.
Karen,
Not sure who you are referring to as far as celebrating, but every time something happens like this, these DBO freaks (you are probably one also, because you used the made up term "nutter"), get so hard so they can spew their nonsense. Well, the DBO thing and people aren't doing anything but creating opposition of their agenda, and since it stifles their efforts completely, they should come up with something new. What if the US took Calgary's approach, which has no BSL, and has the least amount of incidents. Seems to work really well, and no one is offended or will fight that, so why not go with what works. Not many people are for bans anymore, as we can see BSL being outlawed left and right, and existing BSL being repealed. You folks can keep doing what you do, as you probably will, but as we can all see, it's not working in your favor one iota. Good luck
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For Death and Excuses part 2 please click here
For Death and Excuses part 1, please click here