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n May of 2017, 90 year-old Margaret Colvin was fatally mauled by the dog her granddaughter had just adopted from a Virginia Beach rescue. According to the adopter, and the lawsuit that was filed, rescue personnel never told her about the dog’s significant bite history. Tragically, this case does not represent an isolated event. Many of us in the animal welfare field have been increasingly disturbed about a growing practice of some shelters and rescues, also known as releasing agencies, to achieve “no kill” of status at all costs, including the insistence on adoption of dangerous animals without due regard...

<p>FOREST PARK, Ga. (AP/CNN) - A Georgia family is in mourning after their babysitter's dog killed their 5-month-old child.</p> <p>Clayton County Police Sgt. Ashanti Marbury says the German Shepherd mauled Paige George on Tuesday at a home in Forest Park, south of Atlanta.</p>

A loyal Yorkshire terrier stayed with a missing 3-year-old girl in a dense cornfield in Missouri all night -- and heroically led a search party to them with a "weak bark," authorities said. Remy Merritt and her dog, Fat Heath, had gone missing Thursday night in Qulin, triggering a desperate search that brought in some 150 volunteers, authorities said. But it wasn't until Fat Heath responded to barks from one of the search dogs that rescuers ended the 12-hour ordeal and found Remy and her trusty companion. "One of the dogs barked and a weaker bark was returned," Clark Parrott,...

What They Tell the Public vs. What They Tell New Holding Facilities web advertisements of aggressive shelter dogs Described as "loving, gentle," but has dog, stranger and handler aggression. False Advertisement DogsBite.org - In September 2016, we published an expose about what lies behind the web advertisements of aggressive shelter dogs available for adoption today. We determined that many shelters candy-coat dogs with aggressive behaviors in their zeal to increase "live release rate." Animal behaviorist Alexandra Semyonova provided a detailed analysis of the 34 case files we obtained from a county shelter, along with a special report about behavior testing...

Five people were injured — including four teenagers — when they were attacked by pit bulls in the Bronx, police said. The dog handlers, both 36, were walking the animals just before 10 p.m. Sunday near Pelham Parkway and Lurting Avenue in Morris Park when the dogs got loose, police sources said. The pit bulls then went after a nearby group of eight people, attacking five of them. The victims — all females, ages 12, 15, 16, 17 and 45 — suffered bites and cuts. They were taken to Jacobi Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The dogs were...

Landlord’s failure to respond or defend puzzles observers ATLANTA, Georgia––A $4.25 million default judgment issued on June 1, 2018 against Atlanta landlord Jonathan Kent Hart, 61, for an August 26, 2016 pit bull attack may be the biggest yet in which the victim is believed to be likely to collect at least a substantial part of the money. But further litigation is expected, while defendant Hart’s lack of response to the case perplexes observers. Victim Nakisa Shavon Hiles, 40, formerly Nakisa Hiles Wilkerson, had just rented a room at 1572 Montreat Avenue SW, Atlanta, according to court filings, and “was...

FAIRFIELD (CBS SF) — A 29-year-old Fairfield woman was severely mauled in her backyard by her own dog early Thursday before police shot it dead, authorities said. Fairfield police said the attack took place in the woman’s backyard in the 1600 block of Kentucky St. A next-door neighbor called 911 to report they had heard the woman screaming and looked over the fence and saw a large dog attacking her. Arriving officers could see the woman lying face down and bleeding profusely from both arms with a large dog standing over her. The woman’s house has an unusually large yard,...

ARTESIA, N.M (KRQE) - A New Mexico mother says she was trying to save her pet. Now, she's facing charges for firing off her gun to scare away a pair of pit bulls that attacked her dog. On the morning of Monday, April 30, Baeza says she was taking her puppy out to go to the bathroom with her 4-year-old daughter when she looked over to see her dog being mauled to death. "I went over to my dog and he had a big split down the middle of his chest, I guess from where the dogs were kind of...

DEARBORN, Mich. - A pit bull attacked its owner in Dearborn as a horrified Animal Control officer looked on, according to officials. The incident happened after neighbors complained about the dog and an Animal Control officer was sent to the owner's home. Signs at the front of the home give a fair warning of what to expect, and neighbors said trouble with the owner's dogs is not a surprise. "I hate to say it, but it's been building up," neighbor Lela Warren said. "These dogs have gotten out several times. The neighbor right here's had that dog in his backyard,...

A little girl torn apart by savage dogs lay on her hospital bed as nurses pumped her full of painkillers and pleaded, "Mummy, please don't let them put me down,". Five-year-old Leah Preston heard the vicious animals who mauled her in Low Hill, Wolverhampton, had been destroyed and was worried she might be put to sleep, her family said. Doctors said the youngster was in a stable condition in Birmingham Children's Hospital after undergoing surgery for bite wounds to her leg, groin and arm on Friday. Onlookers watched in horror on Thursday afternoon as schoolgirl Leah was tossed around like...

Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux announced Quebec is dropping breed-specific clauses in Bill 128, the province’s framework legislation on dogs. The move comes just as the bill heads into the clause-by-clause stage of the adoption process at the National Assembly. “There is no scientific consensus that the idea of going so far as to designate a ban on a specific race (of dogs) is applicable,” Coiteux told reporters. “This came across very strongly during hearings (into the bill) and I believe when we make laws they need to be based on objective scientific facts.” The issue of targeting specific breeds...

A saltwater crocodile has eaten a dog that made a mockery of it for years, to the horror of onlookers. At Goat Island Lodge, south of Darwin in the middle of the crocodile-infested Adelaide River, guests had gathered to watch pup Pippa perform her favourite trick — running at Casey the crocodile to scare her back into the river. But to the alarm of those looking on, including owner Kai Hansen, Pippa ran straight at her head — and Casey "did what crocs do".The video of Pippa being dragged into the water was made worse by the screams of bystanders,...

SAN DIEGO -- Like their fellow Americans in the coastal town of Bahia de los Angeles on the Gulf of California, Jo Anne Butler and Ray Ball kept returning, year after year, drawn by the small-town feel, the area's stark natural beauty, the warm waters that lapped almost at their door, friends said. But the shooting deaths of the two U.S. retirees together with their dog early Saturday at their waterfront house south of town has shattered the tranquillity of this quiet community some 380 miles from the U.S. border. Sustained largely by tourism and fishing, Bahia has a year-round...

A man is recovering after he was attacked by his neighbor's dog. The attack happened near 35th and Gore around 8:00 a.m. Monday. An investigation is underway following the attack. Police said a man went outside and was bitten by his neighbor's dog, he then went back inside to get a gun and shot the Staffordshire Terrier, more commonly known as a pit bull. The dog was impounded and is now in quarantine at a local vet while its owner is facing charges. "The dog owner was cited for running at large," Lawton Animal Welfare's Field Supervisor Roy Rodrick said....

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An 8-month-old girl was bitten by a family pit-bull dog and died from her injuries Wednesday in Miramar, police said. The baby was in the care of a grandmother during the attack, Miramar Police Officer Yessenia Diaz said outside a home in the 2400 block of Kingston Drive. Nearby, a distraught man was being comforted by two women. The male pit bull was 3 or 4 years old and had been raised by the family since it was a puppy, Diaz said. Its sibling and mother, both pit bulls, were also in the home.

Paid-for "certification" of service animals — bought online or anywhere else — never passed the smell test, and now it doesn't pass the legal test in Oklahoma. Deanna Fields, executive director of the Manufactured Housing Association of Oklahoma, brought a new law to my attention after I'd reported difficulties surrounding service animals, federal fair housing law and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Gov. Mary Fallin signed H.B. 3282 May 1. It goes into effect Nov. 1. The law, by Rep. Chris Kannady, R-Oklahoma City, and Sen. Kim David, R-Porter, has received no media attention, despite recent violent dog attacks and...

Lakemont, Blair County, Pa. - The Blair County Coroner tells WTAJ at 6:18 Thursday night, a 6 year old boy in Lakemont, Blair County was killed by the family Pit Bull. Logan Township Police are investigating. The boy was killed by blunt force trauma at the home along Gesser Avenue. The boy went to Baker Elementary School. Counselors there have been called in to help students and staff Friday. WTAJ is currently withholding the name of the child out of respect for the family's wishes. Coroner Patty Ross wanted to thank the staff at UPMC for their compassion during this...

“Pit bull roulette” cost the lives of 38 humans, plus nearly 13,000 dogs, 5,000 cats, and more than 20,000 farmed animals in 2017––and, only two weeks into 2018, has already killed Happy Hound Hotel boarding kennel worker Laura Williams Ray, of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, and three-year-old Rylee Marie Dodge, of Duncan, Oklahoma, along with many dozens of animals. Overall, pit bulls accounted for 68% of the human dog attack deaths in 2017, 88% of the human disfigurements, 92% of the dogs killed by other dogs, 94% of the dogs seriously injured by other dogs, 96% of the cats killed by...

Pit bulls make headlines when they attack humans because the injuries they inflict are typically severe and sometimes fatal. Two pit bulls attacked a 76-year-old woman in Gulfport on Wednesday when she opened the fence and went into owner Emily Craft's yard. The woman, who many in the neighborhood describe as "the can lady," died from her wounds. That wasn't the first time one authorities were called about Craft's dogs. Craft was arrested Wednesday morning after the mauling on an outstanding warrant on charges of having a dog at large and having a vicious animal after an incident last summer...