Another fatal pit bull attack in Toledo.

 August 13, 2012

Lucas County Ohio

There has been another fatal pit bull attack in Toledo, the second in just a month's time.  This attack was reported in the Toledo Blade.  It must be tough for the Blade reporters to write these stories and it is surprising that the Blade is publishing them.  The Blade was at the center of the effort to re-write Ohio law in order to deregulate pit bulls in Ohio.  That effort was successful in 2012 and in the nine years since passage of HB 14 Ohio has seen 22 fatal dog attacks.  It must be noted that Ohio had five fatal dog attacks in the decade prior to the passage of HB 14, sponsored by Ohio Representative Barbara Sears of the Toledo area and written by lawyers employed by Best Friends Animal Society of Kanab Utah.  One may ask why breed activists from Utah were allowed to re-write Ohio law and that would be a good question.  I can't answer it.  

Javon Stokes, age 26, suffered a grand mal seizure at the home where a friend,  Amanda Knezvich resided.  Jackson, a pit bull owned by Knezvich and Austin Dotson of the same address, attacked Stokes, biting his neck.  Mr. Stokes was transported to Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center where he was declared dead. 

Jackson has a history.  On August 2, 2021, the dog left the front porch of the residence and bit a neighbor passing by.  It was reported that Jackson had only been in the home for two weeks prior to the incident having been obtained from a family member.  Jackson's new owners were cited for dog running at large, told to get the dog a rabies shot and a license.  The shelter planned a recheck on Jackson on August 23 but Jackson killed Mr. Stokes on August 12th. 

Kelly Sears, director of the County Shelter made excuses for Jackson's behavior, just as she did for Romeo, another local pit bull that killed Emily Kahl just a month ago.  

It is not known whether Kelly Sears is related to HB 14's sponsor Representative Barbara Sears.  It is also not known what former Representative Barbara Sears may think about the impact of HB 14 upon the safety of residents of Ohio.  She and the authors of HB 14 assured us that the breed-neutral mess of a law that was passed by unthinking Ohio legislators would make Ohio "communities safer." 

Epic fail. 

Update -  The Lucas County Coroner's report states that the cause of Mr. Stokes's death is a dog bite and ruled an accident.  No one witnessed a seizure.  The dog was seen nudging and  licking the victim so of course, Ms. Knezvich thought her pit bull was attempting to assist the victim and "wake him up."  After all, she did not see any blood on the dog.  Did she look at the victim?  

The living arrangements in the household are unclear.  It was stated that Jackson "loved" Mr. Stokes and slept with him.  How many adults lived in this household?  Mr. Stokes's mother wants charges filed against Knezvich and Dotson.  She strongly favors accountability.  So do we. 

There is a gofundme set up to help with funeral expenses.    

Ohio woman killed by her daughter's pit bull. Will Ohio lawmakers PLEASE quit allowing breed specific advocates/animal rights advocates write and influence Ohio law!

Cindy Whisman, a 59 year old grandmother was killed by her daughter's pit bull as she was babysitting her grandson at her home in Madison Township Ohio.  Cindy Whisman was dead at the scene, her two year old grandson was found uninjured in the yard when a neighbor rushed to help, beating the pit bull away with a walking stick.

Neighbor Wayne Walker with his walking stick.

Julie Whisman, daughter of Cindy Whisman and the owner of the pit bull, named Polo, stated that her son and another dog were in the yard  at the time of the attack.  Julie Whisman identified both her dogs as pit bulls. Other sources have identified the dog not involved in the fatal attack as a Lab or a Lab/German Shepherd mix.  Julie Whisman stated "As far as I know my neighbor told me she saw her and the dog outside,"  "She thought they were playing back and forth like this, then all of a sudden she saw her on the ground and kept saying Polo, Polo, because that was the dog's name, and she was rolling over, so she (the neighbor) called 911 and then she didn't see her no more."  The 911 call included this  “Hurry! My neighbor’s dog is biting her,” the woman tells the dispatcher in between cries for help. “It’s a pit bull, she’s all bloody.”

There was no history of violence from either of Julie Whisman's dogs.  Per WCPO, Whisman will have the option of going through a hearing process if she wants the dog back.  Whisman stated to a reporter that she does not want Polo back but she had this to say about Polo “He loved my son. He would never hurt my son. They played together– my son would sit on him, lay on him. Smack him in the face. He wouldn’t do anything,”    



Cindy Whisman, killed by her daughter's pit bull.

Since the passage of HB 14 in 2012 Ohio has had nine fatal dog attacks, four by pit bulls, one by dogs identified repeatedly by the victim in complaints to animal control as pit/mastiff mixes, and four by all other breeds combined.  Historical note - in the previous 25 years Ohio had six fatal pit bull attacks and six fatal attacks by all other breeds combined.  HB14, sold to foolish legislators as "finally giving dog wardens the tools to deal with dangerous dogs"  is an epic fail.  Here is another historical note, HB 14 was written by Ledy Vankavage's staff at Best Friends Animal Society headquartered in Kanab Utah, the deal was brokered by private citizen and pit bull advocate Jean Keating, and pushed through the Ohio Legislature by Keating's personal friend, Representative Barbara Sears assisted with a media blitz by the Toledo Blade.  All these facts come from documents obtained via public records requests.

Just a week or so ago Jean Keating was interviewed for a story by NBC24.com.  She stated on camera that Ohio law since the passage of HB 14 is "much more proactive, it identifies dogs that are dangerous before they hurt people."   Given the nine fatalities, not so much.  Watch the video, Tom Skeldon is also interviewed. He gives very honest information.  Per NBC24.com "Skeldon says the amended law was a mistake. "At the rate we're going, you're going to have a lot more deaths due to dogs. And, it doesn't have to be that way." Skeldon has the opportunity to say "I told you so."  


This is Polo.

8/5/2014 Update.  Julie Whisman is having second thoughts about Polo.  Per WHIO "Julie Whisman, Cindy’s daughter and the dog’s owner, said today she wants to see the results of that investigation and better understand what happened before making a determination about Polo’s fate. She said after thinking about the situation for 24 hours, she is “indecisive.” 

There is a link to video of Polo at the shelter. The reported stated that Polo was aggressive to both dogs and the dog warden.  

This is insane.  The dog is a killer.  The death has been ruled accidental.

Welcome...

This blog will deal with the politics of pit bulls. It will deal heavily with Ohio, virgin ground since the passage of HB 14. Ohio law, which did not ban any dog but did require pit bull owners to contain and insure their dogs, did a pretty fair job of protecting residents, but has recently been changed to suit the desires of breed specific advocacy. HB 14 was passed in February and effective May 22nd.

Ohio has already had its first pit bull mauling death since the passage of the bill. A three day old infant was killed by the family pit, raised and loved by the family. http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/national/article_f9e57e49-e098-5a9a-a362-63caf62d098c.html Predictably, this family has been thrown under the bus by other pit bull owners. This child had not yet been buried but organized pit bull advocacy held a celebration over the passage of the bill. An award was given to the perpetrator of the bill, Representative Barbara Sears. http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2012/05/18/Pit-bull-advocates-to-mark-change-to-vicious-dog-law.html

HB 14 would not have prevented this tragedy but will promote more of the same. Without insurance requirements, there is no disincentive to breed more pit bulls, filling shelters and wandering the streets. Shelters will promote these dogs as family pets, "they are just like any other dog". As has been seen in other states, the standards for adoption of pit bulls are very low. Without containment requirements, peaceful people going on about the peaceful details of their lives will meet pit bulls, and suffer the consequences. These dogs are no longer required to be insured. Victims will pay their own medical bills.

Ohio will be carefully watched for statistical purposes. A proactive law has been removed and a reactive law has been substituted. This reactive law was written by Ledy Vankavage, Senior Legislative Attorney for Best Friends Animal Society. The same Ledy Vankavage who wrote the Illinois law that has come to be called Anna's Law. Anna's law was promoted as the answer to animal over population in that state, and to protect the public from dangerous dogs. Anna's Law has proven to be a failed experiment. It protects nothing but violent dogs and their owners. Residents of that state are attempting to remove it, but this will be a long and difficult process.

Pit bulls and pit bull owners in Ohio have a clean slate, it will be interesting to see what they do with it. This blog will watch the new day for pit bulls in Ohio, and may, from time to time, look at other states as well. You just never know. The next post will deal with some of the "how did this happen" on HB 14.

For more on the impact of Anna's Law on Illinois residents please click here

http://www.ksdk.com/news/regional/article/322119/16/Godfrey-pit-bull-only-quarantined-after-3-confirmed-attacks
and here
http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/dog-71094-hall-county.html