Articles Posted in Dog Bites

Recently there have been several dog bite incidents involving young children or infants in the San Bernardino area. On May 27, 2010, there was yet another tragedy when 2-year-old Nathan Aguirre was mauled to death by his family’s pit bull in the backyard of his own home. The San Bernardino Sun reports that the fatal dog attack occurred when Nathan’s father stepped inside their home for a few moments after playing with Nathan and their two pit bulls in the backyard. Moments later Nathan’s mother found the dog attacking the child. By the time, the child was transported to the hospital, it was too late. He had already suffered fatal head and neck injuries.

I offer my deepest condolences to the parents of this child for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. They will be in my prayers.
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Wendy Soto, 38, a U.S. Census worker sustained serious injuries in a dog bite incident as she was going door-to-door in Coalinga, California. According to a CBS news report, Soto was conducting census interviews the evening of May 17, 2010. She rang the doorbell of a home when a pit bull came out and began biting her repeatedly. The dog attack only stopped when the owner came and pulled the dog away, police said. Soto sustained injuries to her right leg, stomach and hands. Doctors are now apparently waiting for the swelling to reduce before assessing the extent of Soto’s injuries. Officials are preparing to hold a hearing in order to determine whether the dog should be classified as “vicious.”
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A vicious dog bite incident in Orange County has left a 6-year-old child seriously injured, the Los Angeles Times reports. Police said the mother of the child who was attacked ended up shooting the dangerous dog, described as a pit bull mix or a boxer, the morning of May 19, 2010. The dog attack occurred in the driveway of the girl’s Lake Forest home as her mother was coming out of the house with her infant child and 14-year-old son. The girl and her sister were playing outside when the dog pushed her to the ground and started biting her ferociously.

Despite a neighbor’s attempt to free the girl from the dog, it was her brother who jumped on the dog and punched it until it let go. The woman took all her children and ran inside with the dog chasing her. The woman then came out with a handgun and shot the dog, which was still in the porch. The dog has apparently been spotted in the neighborhood before displaying violent or hostile behavior. The girl sustained several bites to her face, leg and body. Police are looking for the owner of the dog, which survived the gunshot.
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Two people were hospitalized with injuries after a dog bite incident in the Hyde Park area of South Los Angeles, Fox News reports. The dog attacks involving three bullmastiff dogs occurred early morning on April 16, 2010 in the 4000 block of Slauson Avenue near West 58th Place. Eyewitnesses told news reporters that they heard someone screaming for their life. They saw a woman surrounded by three large dogs. A motorist who had stopped to help the woman was also attacked and bitten. Police officers who responded took one dog and shot another. Animal control officers caught a third dog.

My heart goes out to the two victims who were apparently seriously injured in this brutal dog attack. Another news report states that each of the dogs weighed about 100 pounds. These were large dogs. I hope that the dog bite victims have not been severely injured and pray that they recover quickly and completely.
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A Victorville woman was seriously injured in a dog bite incident after she was mauled by two pit bulls while walking out to get her mail. The San Bernardino Sun reports that the brutal dog attack occurred the afternoon of April 2, 2010 near the intersection of Barrington Street and Fuschia Lane. San Bernardino sheriff’s officials saw the victim on the street as the dogs were attacking her. Police had to shoot and kill the pit bulls because of the dogs’ hostility and aggression toward neighbors who came to help as well as emergency personnel who were attending to the injured victim.
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A 6-month-old infant was severely injured and disfigured in a dog bite incident on April 3, 2010, after he was left unattended in an apartment with two pit bulls. According to a news report in The Press-Enterprise, the brutal dog attack occurred when the 22-year-old mother of the baby — Carrie McKinney, left the baby in an infant carrier on the floor, in a room at her friend’s apartment. A pit bull and pit bull mix attacked the baby severing his testicles. The dog’s owner is identified as Doug Ritchey. Officials say the dogs tore off the baby’s diaper and bit his scrotum. The baby was transported to a local hospital, but his condition is not clear. The incident is being investigated by police and child protective services.

My heart goes out to this little baby for what he has gone through. It is not clear if he has sustained life-threatening injuries. But it is clear that these injuries will affect him for a prolonged period of time, if not, for the rest of his life. This child will certainly be in my prayers.
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Two dog owners are facing seven felony counts of owning vicious animals that caused great bodily injury in connection with a terrible dog bite incident that critically injured 5-year-old Destiny Colon and also, injured her siblings. According to a news report in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Jose Antonio Lopez Gonzalez, 49, and Judith Mendez Lopez, 55, were charged with the felonies this week. The dog attack occurred February 1, 2010, when Destiny’s mother was walking with her children to a neighborhood park. Five pit bull mixes escaped from their yard and attacked the family on Tokay Avenue near Arrow Highway.

While one of the dogs was shot and killed by a police officer during the attack, the others have been euthanized. Police have been investigating this incident for more than a month. During their investigation, they checked into the animals’ prior interactions with other neighbors. As with most dog bite cases, officials also had to compare marks and bites in order to prove that the dogs that were captured were the animals involved in the attack.
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The debate about pit bulls is getting louder in one Southern California community after a vicious dog bite incident in Fontana involving five pit bull mixes almost killed 5-year-old Destiny Colon and injured three of her siblings. Also, recently, a 3-year-old Apple Valley boy was fatally attacked by the family’s pit bull. A Hesperia woman recently suffered a broken arm after her own pit bull attacked her in October. With these and other recently recorded cases, there appears to be no shortage of dog attacks involving pit bulls.

Why is that? Some say that it is not the dogs’ fault. Pit bull advocates say that this breed gets a bad rap because of “neglect by irresponsible owners.” However, according to a recent article in The San Bernardino Sun, many in the local community, who have witnessed vicious behavior by pit bulls and pit bull mixes, say that pit bulls have a natural “mean streak” compared to other breeds of dogs.
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Ashlynn Anderson, 4-year-old daughter of reality TV show star Jesse Browning, was the victim of a fatal dog bite incident February 28, 2010. According to an Associated Press news report, Ashlynn was found by her mother badly injured on their lawn in Astoria. The girl had been attacked by one of the family’s own Rottweilers. Ashlynn was transported to a Portland hospital where she was pronounced dead. This tragic dog attack occurred just four months after animal control officers had taken a Rottweiler from the same home after it bit an adult family member. The two Rottweilers at the home have been quarantined. There is no word on whether any criminal charges will be filed against Ashlynn’s parents in this case.

My heart goes out to everyone who knew and loved little Ashlynn for their tragic and devastating loss. I offer my deepest condolences to her family members. Please keep them in your prayers.
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