Articles Posted in Dog Bites

A San Pedro man shot and killed a pit bull that turned on him after attacking a neighbor’s cat April 15, 2009, the Daily Breeze reports. The dog attack began when the cat’s owner started screaming for help as her pet was being attacked by a loose pit bull. The man armed himself with a handgun from his house before walking outside to help. The dog charged towards the man as he walked down his driveway when he shot and killed it. The pit bull, which Los Angeles police officials said, weighed at least 60 pounds, had apparently escaped from another neighbor’s yard and then attacked the woman’s cat.

The woman had attempted to rescue her cat and even tried hitting the dog with a broom and then a brick. But according to the woman, the pit bull held onto the cat and “was just tearing it up.” The badly injured cat had to be euthanized at a local veterinary hospital. The pit bull’s owner was not cited because animal control officers had not seen the pit bull out of the yard or unleashed, first hand.

My heart goes out to the woman who lost her cat in this brutal dog attack. These incidents tend to be brushed aside because they don’t involve any people. However, to pet owners, losing a pet especially in such a sudden, violent manner is devastating.
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Gordon Lykins, 48, of Winterhaven, California, has died recently from injuries he suffered in a March 28, 2009 vicious dog bite attack in the community, which is located in the California-Arizona border. Lykins was apparently mauled by a pack of dogs that were running lose in the Bard area, near White Road, the Yuma Sun reports. A surgeon at Yuma Regional Medical Center reportedly said it was the worst case of trauma he had ever seen.

Police are still investigating and are yet to file charges against the dogs’ owner who apparently owned 11 of these mixed breeds dogs. All the dogs were removed from his home and taken to an animal shelter. Those dogs are believed to have been loose at the time of the attack, but police are trying to piece together evidence. The main challenge, officials say, is to prove that the dogs taken from that owner’s property were the ones that attacked Lykins. Police are also looking for any eyewitnesses who can identify the dogs. The unidentified dog owner, who lives near the area where Lykins was attacked, called in the dog attack.

My heart goes out to the family of Gordon Lykins and Lykins himself for the extreme trauma, pain and suffering he must have endured the last couple of weeks. I offer my deepest sympathies to them.
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Los Angeles County Dog Attack Injures Three

Three people including a 79-year-old woman were injured in a Los Angeles dog attack, KTLA News reports. The incident occurred on March 19, 2009 in the 11900 block of Hiawatha Street in Chatsworth when the elderly woman with a walker was attacked by two large boxer dogs. The dogs bit the woman and knocked her to the ground. Two men, who heard her screams for help, tried to get the dogs away from her. The dogs attacked the Good Samaritans as well.

One of them – a 58-year-old man – was bitten on the right wrist and suffered “serious injuries that are potentially debilitating,” according to Los Angeles County Fire Department officials. Another 51-year-old man got a three-inch cut on his arm as he struggled with the dogs. Firefighters eventually managed to confine the dogs to a nearby yard. The animals have been impounded and the dogs’ owner has been identified but not cited or arrested.

I’m extremely relieved that this vicious dog attack did not result in any fatalities. I shudder to imagine what might have happened to the elderly woman had it not been for these two men who came to her rescue. They are the real heroes here and I commend both for their courage in trying to stop this Los Angeles dog attack. I wish all three of the injured victims the very best for a quick and complete recovery.
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Fatal Dog Attack in Riverside County

Hill A. Williams Jr., 38, of Rancho Mirage was killed in an apparent Riverside dog attack after his own mastiffs mauled him to death, according to an article in The Desert Sun. Williams, apparently lived alone with his dogs and was found dead in his backyard on March 16, 2009. The dogs that weighed 115 pounds and 90 pounds each were turned over to animal control officials by Williams’ girlfriend and were euthanized. Officials still do not know what triggered this vicious dog attack.

Neighbors told officials that Williams may have been trying to breed the two mastiffs. The Riverside County Department of Animal Services confirmed that neither dog was spayed or neutered and said the behavior of any animal is highly unpredictable when it is focused on mating.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of Hill A. Williams Jr., who was tragically killed in this vicious dog attack. I offer my deepest sympathies to them.

I’m relieved that no one else was hurt or killed by these animals. In such a situation, the attack could easily have been on someone else – a young child who was visiting, a neighbor, someone who came to work for him. This is how dog attacks occur. And it is well established that a pair of dogs or more are more likely to attack than a single animal.
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Long Beach Girl Injured in Los Angeles Dog Attack

A 2-year-old Long Beach girl has been hospitalized with dog bite injuries after she was attacked by the family’s cocker spaniel. According to this news article in the Los Angeles Daily News, the dog attack occurred at the home in the 1800 block of Gardenia Avenue on March 16, 2009. Long Beach fire officials and animal control officers, who responded to the emergency call, say the girl suffered deep cuts to her face.

The dog was taken into custody. It will be quarantined for 10 days when the dog will be evaluated for signs of disease. Depending on the results, officials will decide what to do with the dog. Officials say the girl’s mother is “upset” and has not made a request to get the dog back.

My heart goes out to the family of this young girl who must be going through a tough time with their daughter’s injuries caused by their own dog. I will pray for her quick and complete recovery.
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The city of Lancaster is considering adopting strict penalties for owners of potentially dangerous and vicious dogs – particularly pit bulls and Rottweilers – which they say are used as weapons of intimidation by the area’s gang members. According to this news report in the Los Angeles Times, the proposed ordinance would also require spaying and neutering of all varieties of pit bulls and Rottweilers including mixed breeds that have the predominant physical characteristics of those breeds.

If this ordinance is approved, Lancaster will join many other cities in Los Angeles County that have adopted similar dangerous dog ordinances. But in this case, the city is going one step further by specifically identifying dogs that are potentially dangerous or vicious. California law allows government agencies to target specific breeds for spaying and neutering, but these specific breeds cannot be officially branded “vicious.” Under Lancaster’s ordinance, a hearing officer could determine an individual dog to be vicious if for example they behave aggressively. City officials say they particularly want to use this ordinance to crack down on local gang members.

Such ordinances almost always offend owners of pit bulls and Rottweilers, who understandably have a soft corner in their hearts for these animals. They argue that there is no scientific evidence that genetics cause a breed of dog to be aggressive, vicious or dangerous. While it is true that irresponsible or negligent dog owners should be punished or be held liable in dog attacks, consider these statistics. According to a report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), pit bulls and Rottweilers accounted for more than 70 percent of dog attack fatalities in the United States between the years 1979 and 1996. This report clearly shows that when it comes to dangerous dog breeds, pit bulls and Rottweilers really do lead the pack.
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A woman was attacked in downtown Chula Vista by two pit bulls early morning on January 12, 2009 when she was walking her dog, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune news report. Two men who lived nearby apparently heard the woman scream for help on Jefferson Avenue near K Street.

One of the men, 30-year-old Lawrence Kijanka, said he and another man screamed at the pit bulls and chased them about a block away. The woman, who was attacked by the pit bulls, was trying to protect a small black dog she was walking. Kijanka said he saw the woman on the ground with blood on her forehead and apparent bite marks on her arms and legs. Chula Vista animal control officials have put the pit bulls under quarantine. There is no word about the dogs’ owner.

My heart goes out to the woman who was injured in this horrific San Diego County dog attack. I wish her the very best for a quick physical and emotional recovery as these vicious dog attacks can be extremely traumatic Continue reading →

Retired Marine Douglas Perry, 58, of Anaheim, was forced to stab and kill a loose pit bull that attacked his wife, Vicki Perry, and their two dogs. Both Douglas and his wife were injured in the dog bite attack, which occurred when the couple was walking their two dogs – a Siberian husky and an American Eskimo – in the 2800 block of West Elmlawn Drive in Anaheim. Our source for this blog was this news report in The Orange County Register.

Douglas Perry said a black and white pit bull pounced on Vicki and their Siberian husky and they “were rolling in a ball on the ground.” The husky was seriously injured and had to undergo surgery, but is expected to survive. Douglas Perry then went into a neighbor’s house, got a kitchen knife and stabbed the pit bull two times. It was only then that the dog let go of its “prey,” staggered away, collapsed and died on the street.

My heart goes out to this couple. What a tough, emotional day for them! Douglas Perry says it was hard for him to kill the pit bull because he is a dog lover. I wish the couple a speedy and complete recovery from this brutal dog attack. I’m relieved that both their dogs survived this brutal attack.
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Drew Heredia, a 9-year-old boy is being hailed as a hero for saving a 12-year-old dog attack victim, who was bitten by a pit bull while walking her dog. According to this news report, Drew says he and his friend were walking a small dog on December 30, 2008 in their neighborhood when a pit bull jumped on the dog. The girl tried to save her dog when the pit bull turned on her and started attacking her.

Drew said he jumped on the pit bull and applied a choke hold that he learned while taking classes at a Brazilian jujitsu studio. The boy says he was scared, but did it anyway because it was the only way to save the girl from getting more seriously hurt. The girl, who was not identified, was taken to a local hospital and treated for puncture wounds. The pit bull was quarantined at the animal control office where it will be euthanized after 10 days. The owner of the pit bull is yet to be located. The girl’s dog was seriously injured, but is expected to survive.

This is a frightening dog attack, which could have turned from bad to worse in a split second. I commend young Drew Heredia for his bravery and presence of mind, but I also shudder to think about what could have happened in this case.
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