Fatal dog attacks in the United States

This article contains dynamic lists that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Fatal dog attacks in the United States are rare, although non-fatal dog bites are not unusual. Typically, between 30 and 50 people in the US die from dog bites each year, and the number of deaths from dog attacks appear to be increasing. Around 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs every year, resulting in the hospitalization of 6,000 to 13,000 people each year in the United States (2005).

Injuries, illnesses, and fatalities resulting from encounters with dogs are a major public health concern worldwide. Dogs not only cause morbidity and mortality as a result of bites, but they may also transmit zoonotic infections, which may also result in illness or death. Dogs are the main source of rabies transmission to humans worldwide. It is estimated that 3% to 18% of dog bite wounds become infected, with occasional cases of meningitis, endocarditis, and septic shock leading to death reported. Children have the greatest risk of death.

About reports of fatal dog attacks in the United States

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Below are lists of fatal dog attacks in the United States reported by the news media, published in scholarly papers, or mentioned through other sources. In the lists below, the breed is assigned by the sources.

Fatalities prior to year 2000

Further information: List of fatal dog attacks in the United States (before 2000)

Fatalities between years 2000 and 2009

Further information: List of fatal dog attacks in the United States (2000s)

Fatalities in 2010

Date	Victim's name	Victim's age	Category of Dog	Circumstances
January 9	Omar Martinez	3 years	pit bull	The father, boy, and their dog were together in their Apple Valley, CA backyard, but the father stepped inside, leaving the dog alone with the boy, and the dog attacked. The aggressive dog kept EMTs away until police arrived and shot it to death. The boy was unresponsive and was taken to the hospital where he was declared dead two hours later.
January 17	Johnny Wilson	56 years	pit bull (6)	Killed by his daughter's six dogs. Police said the dogs were pit bulls, while the animal care and control commissioner said they were mixed-breed dogs.
February 8	Carolyn Baker	63 years	Rottweiler	A woman died of a heart attack when she went outside to get her dog. Media reported that the woman was killed by her pet dog and was found in her driveway with numerous bite wounds. Although the woman's family said they did not believe the dog was responsible for the death, the dog was euthanized after a pathologist determined that severe dog bites contributed to her death. The county coroner stated that the bites appeared to have been from the dog's attempt to drag her to safety after she collapsed.
February 18	Robert D. Hocker	11 days	Siberian Husky	A newborn was alone on a bed when the family's dog bit him. The 71-pound dog was later put to sleep.
February 19	Kenneth Bock	57 years	Redbone Coonhound	The dog, which had a history of biting people, was roaming freely and bit Kenneth Bock at a storage facility where the man was a manager. Bock died of Capnocytophaga canimorsus sepsis from the bite several days later.
February 20	Christine Staab	38 years	pit bull	While Christine Staab was fighting with her mother, she was killed by one of her mother's six dogs. The family stated that the dog was protecting the mother. The dog was killed by Philadelphia police officers.
February 20	Violet Serenity Haaker	3 years	American Bulldog	Killed when she became entangled in the chain restraining one of the dogs at the family's American Bulldog breeding facility. The attacking dog along with 3 others were later put to sleep. It was originally reported that a pit bull was responsible.
February 23	"Baby Doe" Garrett	5 days	pit bull	Severely injured by her family's dog on February 18, a newborn died of her injuries on February 23.
February 28	Ashlynn Anderson	4 years	Rottweiler	Killed by a 2+1⁄2-year-old female dog owned by her stepfather, (Ax Men star Jesse Browning). The dog along with a male Rottweiler were put down.
March 4	Ethel Horton	65 years	pit bull	An elderly woman was also attacked when she tried to rescue her 71-year-old husband during an attack by their nephew's dog. Victim died of heart failure during the dog's attack and was found deceased with the still-chained dog standing on her. According to the police report, she had major injuries to her face and legs, and had puncture wounds over her body.
March 8	Justin Lopez	9 months	Rottweiler (2)	Killed by his family's two newly-acquired dogs. The dogs had been obtained the day before and were later put to sleep.
April 14	Thomas Carter Jr.	7 days	pit bull mix	Killed while in bed next to his mother, who slept through the attack. After the attack the dog went outside and attacked another pit bull that was on a chain.
May 20	Krystal Brink	3 years	Sled dog (6)	Killed by at least one sled dog when she wandered into her neighbor's sled dog yard, her uncle's brother later shot all 6 sled dogs to death via shotgun.
May 25	Hao Yun "Eddie" Lin	33 years	Rottweiler	The man was a USPS letter carrier. The dog was in a house, but pushed open a door, ran after Lin, and caused his head to strike the ground. He died nine days later. Authorities did not say if the attack included bites. The dog was put down.
May 28	Nathan Aguirre	2 years	pit bull	The victim was killed by his family's dog in their backyard. The father had gone inside for a moment and when the mother checked on the boy, the dog had ahold of him.
June 3	Savannah Gragg	9 years	pit bull	Killed at her home while opening the door to let the dog outside. The dog "went right to the throat", and was euthanized immediately after the incident.
June 15	Michael Winters	30 years	Bullmastiff mix (5) pit bull–Boxer mix (3) Rottweiler mix (1)	Killed by his nine dogs. Unknown which dogs/breeds participated in the attack. Two were killed by police officers at the scene when they became aggressive. The others were euthanized on the property.
July 12	Kyle Holland	5 years	German Shepherd-Husky mix	Killed by at least one dog owned by his mother's live-in boyfriend. The boyfriend pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous animal death and the mother pleaded guilty to child abuse and manslaughter. The mother was also charged with "accessory after the fact" because she tried to dispose of her boyfriend's marijuana plants before calling 911.
July 20	William Parker	71 years	pit bull (2)	While walking in his neighborhood, the victim was attacked by two of his neighbor's dogs. The neighbor was charged with Reckless Homicide and four counts of Felony Reckless Endangerment. The dogs had attacked another neighbor two days earlier. The dogs were euthanized. The person caring for the dogs while their owner was in jail during the time of the attack, pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The victim's daughter won a $2.5M lawsuit against the apartment complex owners who allowed dangerous dogs to reside there.
July 22	Jacob Bisbee	2 years	pit bull (3)	Killed by three of his step-grandfather's dogs. Grandfather arrested for manslaughter. The dogs had decapitated the family's pet Akita and killed the family's pet Chihuahua and parrot within the prior year. The dogs, which were kept in a garage, had previously shown aggression toward the boy. They were all put down.
July 31	Aaron Carlson	2 years	German Shepherd mix	Killed by his family's dog which was later put down. The mother was later arrested for five felony counts of cruelty to a child with possible injury or death.
August 19	Tracey Payne	46 years	Unknown dog(s)	Killed by a dog(s) in vacant home.
August 22	Jerry Yates	69 years	pit bull (2)	Killed by two dogs a tenant was keeping on his land.
August 25	Jason Walter	7 years	pit bull (3) and "mixed-breed Shepard"	Killed by a neighbor's three pit bulls and a mixed-breed dog while staying at the neighbor's residence. All four dogs were euthanized.
August 25	Taylor Becker	4 years	Boxer	Killed by a dog owned by a family friend.
September 4	Mattie Daugherty	85 years	pit bull	Killed by her daughter's 9-year-old dog.
October 13	Rev. John Reynolds Sr.	84 years	pit bull (17)	Found dead with severe bite wounds in a pen containing pit bull dogs.
October 24	Justin Valentin	4 days	pit bull	Killed by his family's dog. The dog was later put to sleep at owners' request.
November 2	Christina Casey	53 years	pit bull–Weimaraner mix (2)	Killed in her own yard by her neighbor's two dogs.
November 10	Kaden Muckleroy	2 years	pit bull mix	Killed by his grandfather's dog, which was chained to a tree.
November 15	Cason Bryant	5 years	Mixed-breed dog (5)	Killed in his own yard by five out of 12 of his neighbor's dogs. All 12 dogs were put down.
November 15	Shirley Lou Bird	79 years	German Shepherd	Killed by her own dog, which had bitten her on prior occasions.
November 16	Justin Lane	25 years	pit bull	Killed by his family's dog
December 5	Edward Mitchell	67 years	pit bull	Edward Mitchell was bitten while disciplining the dog, which belonged to his nephew. The dog was put down at the nephew's request. He died two months later from complications of his injuries.
December 8	Larry Armstrong	55 years	Pack of reservation dogs	Found on the side of the road, unconscious, with a pack of underweight stray dogs still attacking him, up to 445,000 of which roam the Navajo Nation. Several of the stray dogs were rounded up and euthanized to test for rabies.
December 19	Janet Vaughan	3 months	Rottweiler or Rottweiler mix	While the child's mother bathed one dog, the child was killed by one of the nine dogs that the family kept in the back yard.

Fatalities in 2011

Date	Victim's name	Victim's age	Category of Dog	Circumstances
January 4	Linda Leal	51 years	pit bull mix	Leal was found dead in her own yard with bite wounds to the throat and head, and her pit bull mix "Toby" had her blood on it. Toby and a second pit bull, which had a history of violent behavior and was kept in a pen, were removed from the property and Toby was euthanized with the permission of Leal's husband, Enrique. He said the pit bull mix had always been friendly with Leal, and they'd never had any problems with it. Leal was fighting liver cancer at the time of her death.
January 12	Makayla Woodard	5 years	pit bull (2)	Makayla was killed by her neighbor's two loose pit bulls, one named "Rebel", as she played in the snow in her own yard. They bit her all over her body and inflicted a fatal bite wound to her throat. Her great-grandmother tried to stop the attack and was severely injured by the pit bulls. One pit bull (Rebel) was shot by police at the scene, the other was shot later that day as it ran loose. The neighbor, Michael Brandon Gordon (23) initially pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea during jury selection. Police had visited his house prior to the attack to warn him about his pit bulls' dangerous behavior while running loose. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 to 24 months in prison. Gordon's homeowner's insurance paid out a $20,000 wrongful death settlement for Makayla's killing.
January 24	Kristen Dutton	9 years	Akita	Kristen was killed while playing in her grandfather's yard with the family's new dog, an adult Akita which had been bought by the grandfather 3 weeks earlier as a pet for his grandchildren. The dog, which had shown no aggression previously, bit her repeatedly in the neck, severing her carotid artery; she bled to death in the yard before EMS could arrive. Her brother found her dying in the yard.
January 26	Ronnie Waldo	51 years	pit bull (3)	Killed by landlord's three dogs while crossing the yard from a trailer home to landlord's home. Evidence showed the dogs appeared not to have eaten or been watered for a long time; the owner was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years in prison (15 years suspended).
January 26	Howard James Paul	76 years	Unknown stray dogs	The victim was a homeless man found dead in a vacant lot. The medical examiner determined he bled to death after being attacked by stray dogs.
February 17	Sirlinda Hayes	66 years	Rottweiler (2)	Killed by her neighbor's two dogs in her own backyard. The dogs also attacked their owner when he tried to come to her aid.
February 19	Darius Tillman	15 days	pit bull	Kalamazoo, Michigan. Killed by family pet. Darius was put down for a nap in his mother's bedroom while she attended to his toddler brother. She was in the toddler's room with the pit bull when she fell asleep for about ten minutes. Woken by her ringing phone, she noticed that the pit bull was, unusually, hiding in the basement. She found the newborn Darius on the floor of her bedroom, mauled and partially consumed. The pit bull, "Buster", was euthanized and its body examined for signs of starvation or neglect. A veterinarian said it appeared to be in good condition, and the necropsy showed a stomach full of food.
March 6	Jennie Erquiaga	47 years	pit bull mix	San Bernardino, California - Victim was attacked by her own dog in her home. Others in the house fought with the dog to stop it.
March 7	Vanessa Husmann	3 years	Rottweiler (2)	Killed by uncle's two dogs in his backyard.
April 12	Annabelle Mitchell	7 months	Rottweiler	Killed by the family's dog when left unattended while the child's mother was intoxicated. The girl's mother was subsequently convicted of endangering the welfare of a child.
April 22	Virgil Cantell	50 years	pit bull	Killed by a dog that was chained to the front porch of a neighbor's house. The dog had bitten other neighbors in the month preceding the attack.
April 24	Margaret Salcedo	48 years	pit bull mix (4)	Killed by four dogs when she was out walking alone in her neighborhood. A passerby tried to help but the dogs drove him back into his car.
May 27	Jayelin Graham	4 years	Cane Corso	Killed by dog belonging to his mother's boyfriend. News outlets initially reported that the dog involved was a pit bull.
May 29	Jesse Porter	89 years	Dutch Shepherd Police Dog	While at home, the man was bitten and dragged by a police dog that was searching for an unrelated suspect. This led to the amputation of his leg and then death on July 27, 2011.
June 11	David Haigler	38 years	pit bull	Victim found dead at his home by his 18-year-old son. It was determined he was killed by one of his two dogs; the other, also an adult pit bull, was chained elsewhere inside the home. Both dogs were taken to the county animal shelter.
June 15	Roy McSweeney	74 years	pit bull (2)	Mauled by a neighbors' two pit bulls while he was doing yard work in his own yard. The dogs amputated one arm and seriously injured the other arm and his face. He died a few days later. The dogs, who had two known prior attacks on adults, were euthanized. The dogs' owner pleaded guilty to four charges and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, community service, some victim restitution, and is prohibited from owning any dogs.
June 29	Salvador Cotto	6 months	American Bulldog mix or pit bull mix	Chesterfield, Virginia - While visiting his aunt and uncle, the boy was briefly left alone in a room with their dog and was bitten. The medical examiner determined that the boy died of cerebral edema as a consequence of a single bite to the head, and ruled that the death was accidental. In the media, the dog was variously called an American bulldog mix, a Dogo Argentino, and an American terrier and pitbull mix. The dog was euthanized.
July 3	Michael Naglee	11 months	American Bulldog	Killed by the dog of his paternal grandparents at a family gathering.
August 11	Darla Napora	32 Years	pit bull	Pacifica, California. Killed by one of her family's two pit bulls. Napora was pregnant and alone in the house with her spayed female pit bull Tazzi and her husband's intact male pit bull Gunner when Gunner attacked her. Napora died of blood loss and shock according to the autopsy. Gunner was found guarding a dying Napora, charged police and had to be shot to death; dental impressions matched the bite wounds on Napora. The female pit bull was returned to the husband as there was no evidence it was involved. Greg Napora chose to bury his pregnant wife and unborn child with the ashes of the pit bull that had killed them.
August 12	James Dowling	4 years	Rottweiler	Killed by his grandfather's dog when it escaped its enclosure.
August 23	Michael Cook	61 years	pit bull mix	His own dog inflicted injuries on August 3 that required the amputation of both arms. He succumbed to his injuries on August 23.
August 30	Addyson Paige Camerino	9 days	Unknown (4)	The child was killed in the kitchen of the family's home. There were five dogs in the home, a pit bull, bulldog, Alaskan Malamute, German Shepherd, and German Shepherd-Bulldog mix. Four of the dogs were involved in the attack, but the news media did not report which ones. The mother and grandfather were both indicted for involuntary manslaughter, but charges were later dismissed after a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.
August 30	Carmen Ramos	50 years	pit bull	Killed by her boyfriend's dog. The owner/boyfriend had previously been cited by the PSPCA for animal cruelty.
September 4	Brayden McCollen	Two weeks	Labrador Retriever mix or pit bull	Killed by family dog. Some sources reported the dog as a Labrador retriever mix, others as a pit bull.
September 16	Donna Harmon Conrad	71 years	Doberman Pinscher	Killed by a male purebred Doberman owned by her and her adult daughter, who bred and sold Dobermans under the kennel name La Cantera Ranch. The dog was an import from Hungary whose registered name was Tom-Dober Iglo Jr, and had sired litters for the kennel.
September 30	Nevaeh Bryant	20 Months	pit bull (3)	Killed by her aunt's three dogs. Her aunt later pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide, receiving a one-year suspended sentence.
October 3	Mya Maeda	11 days	pit bull-Mastiff mix	Dragged from her bassinet and killed by the family dog.
November 11	Edna Dyson	71 years	pit bull	Severely injured on her property when a neighbor's dogs slipped through a hole in their fence and attacked her. She died of her injuries several days later.
December 5	Joseph Hines	58 years	pit bull	Killed by his dog in his home. The medical examiner said Hines bled to death after his pit bull bit into his jugular vein while Hines tried to fend it off, based on the bite marks to his forearms. Hines' sister said he'd owned the pit bull "Honey" for 5 years.
December 6	Tonia Parks	39 years	American Bulldog or pit bull (2)	While trying to break up a fight between her two dogs, she suffered a seizure and was attacked on November 13. She succumbed to her injuries on December 6. Some news sources initially described the dogs as Pit bulls and later described the dogs as American Bulldogs.
December 8	Misti Wyno	40 years	pit bull	Killed by one of her neighbor's four pit bulls, all of which had been seized and returned by animal control after attacking a child three months earlier. Pit bull owner Bobbie Jo Courson was friends with Wyno, who had come to her house to borrow some food; the tethered male pit bull broke loose and killed her by biting her in the head, arms and legs. Wyno was recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident at the time of her death. 2 of the pit bulls were euthanized.
December 18	Mable McCallister	84 years	pit bull	Severely injured on December 18 by her grandson's dog. The victim spent four days in a trauma center and died in hospice on December 31.
December 24	Emako Mendoza	75 years	pit bull (2)	San Diego, California - The victim was attacked by her neighbor's two pit bulls on June 18; and succumbed to her injuries on December 24 after three limb amputations failed to save her. The pit bulls' owners (a mother and daughter) were convicted on February 13, 2013 of involuntary manslaughter and of owning a dangerous animal causing death; and sentenced to four years in prison. During trial, it was shown the Cornelios knew the dogs were dangerous, having previously attacked another neighbor and his dog, and failed to maintain the fence which had a hole in it. The sentence also ordered restitution to the Mendoza family.

Fatalities in 2012

Date	Victim's name	Victim's age	Category of Dog	Circumstances
January 14	Jace Valdez	23 months	pit bull	Killed by his grandmother's dog.
January 30	Steven Robertson	6 years	German Shepherd	Mauled to death by a service dog owned by a military veteran suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The dog and child were left alone together in the back yard.
February 16	Howard Nicholson Jr.	2 days	Husky	Killed by one of the family's four dogs. The victim's mother pleaded guilty to child endangerment.
March 4	Diane Jansen	59 years	pit bull	Suffered a stroke when attacked while delivering mail and soon died of stroke with heart disease and dog bite listed as "contributing factors". The dog, which had been resting unchained in a garage with some juveniles, was later seized by animal control and later euthanized. It was reported she suffered the stroke immediately after getting attacked, but also that a witness said there seemed to have been something wrong with her before the bite, which the dog seemed to notice and spurred it to attack. The witness also noted that the dog had a reputation as trustworthy and friendly. The medical examiner said that the wounds were not very bad, but that soon after the frightening attack her speech began to slur, she became unresponsive, and was taken to the hospital where she was declared dead the next day.
March 9	Dylan Andres	17 months	Rottweiler	Killed by his neighbor's chained dog.
March 25	Kylar Johnson	4 years	pit bull or pit bull mix	After wandering half a mile from his home, the boy was killed by a chained dog in fenced yard.
April 9	James Hurst	92 years	pit bull (2)	Killed by his neighbor's loose, roaming dogs.
April 20	Aiden McGrew	2 months	Golden Retriever – Labrador Retriever mix	Killed by the family's dog. The death was ruled a homicide and the child's father was charged with illegal neglect of a child.
April 27	Jeremiah Eskew-Shahan	1 year	Mastiff – Rhodesian Ridgeback mix	Killed by the family dog.
May 2	Clifford Wright	74 years	pit bull	Victim was found dead in his home, killed by his son's three-year-old dog owned since it was three weeks old. The dog was seized and euthanized.
May 8	Jazilyn Mesa	15 months	pit bull	Las Cruces, New Mexico - Killed by the two-year-old family dog when she was left alone. A neighbor, hearing screams, came to their aid and shot multiple times, eventually killing the dog. The victim's paternal grandmother was charged with negligent child abuse resulting in death, and the father and paternal grandfather were charged with possession of a dangerous dog resulting in death.
May 12	Maryann Hanula	73 years	pit bull (2)	Surprise, Arizona - Elderly victim was mauled by a neighbor's two dogs on October 10, 2011. The dogs were shot by an off-duty policeman in the neighborhood, but by then most of a foot was gone, she had bites all over, and had a dislocated shoulder. Victim died seven months later after 13 surgeries, multiple infections and most of that time in the hospital. The dogs' owner moved away 4–6 weeks after the incident.
May 17	Makayla Darnell	3 days	pit bull mix	Lima, Ohio - Infant victim was mauled by the family dog as she sat on a swing at her grandmother's house.
May 26	Eugene Cameron	65 years	pit bull	Found dead in his car port with dog bite injuries. The dog was identified via DNA testing and the dog's owner, who was a neighbor, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and obstruction of justice.
May 27	Ja'Marr Tiller	2 years	Labrador Retriever – German Shepherd mix (2)	Killed by two stray dogs.
June 13	Jack Redin	2 years	mixed-breed dogs (2)	Killed by neighbor's two mixed-breed dogs after wandering onto the neighbor's property. The dogs were confined behind an invisible/underground fence and were owned and housed by two sons of the Third Judicial Circuit Court Judge Timothy.
June 14	Tyzhel McWilliams	8 months	pit bull	Killed by a single bite from one of three pit bulls owned by the mother's roommate. Immediately prior to the attack, the dog was on a bed with the mother's roommates who were smoking marijuana. The dog reportedly became "frisky," at which point they pushed it off the bed and it bit the boy. A person in the house bit the dog to try to force it to release the boy. The cause of death was given as "penetrating craniocerebral injuries due to a dogbite."
June 27	Kevin Latz	50 years	pit bull	Cold Springs, Nevada - Victim was attacked when he stepped out on the back porch of a house he was visiting. He was bitten in the throat, crushing his trachea. The dog had bitten two people before and was euthanized.
July 11	Ronnel Brown	40 years	Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog or Bullmastiff or pit bull–Bullmastiff mix	Killed by his own dog when it bit through his IV tube while he was undergoing at-home dialysis. Media reported the dog as several different breeds. The SPCA Cincinnati Officials said that the dog was a "rare breed" Alapaha Blue-Blood Bulldog.
August 12	Rebecca Carey	23 years	one or more of Presa Canario (2), pit bull (2), Boxer mix	Victim was found dead by her friend and co-worker when she didn't show up for work. There were five large dogs in the house at the time. All were euthanized.
August 16	Charles Hagerman	44 years	pit bull	Killed by at least one of two pit bulls that belonged to his girlfriend's son. Relatives said that Hagerman was scared of the dogs, which were kept in a cage. They also reported that the dogs had previously killed a dog and that they bit people that they did not know.
September 1	Dawn Jurgens	76 years	Cane Corso (2)	Trotwood, Ohio - Victim was found dead by her husband in their backyard with the dogs.
September 5	Bryton Cason	4 years	Unknown	Bryton, spelled erroneously in some reports as "Brayton", was playing in his yard when he disappeared. His body was found in the woods, dead of blunt-force trauma from a dog attack. Neighbors suspected a roaming bulldog they had seen in the neighborhood, which authorities captured and were trying to determine its involvement.
September 7	Debra Renee Wilson-Roberts	45 years	pit bull (2)	Killed by her own dogs, which had bitten people on previous occasions, including the owner.
September 11	James Hudson	10 Months	pit bull mix	Killed by the family dog. Animal shelter officials identified the dog as a Labrador – American Bulldog mix. The dog's owner and police identified the animal as a "pit bull mix."
September 20	Donald Thomas	82 years	Rottweiler (2)	Outside checking his mail when two dogs owned by a neighbor mauled him to death. Police shot and killed the two attacking dogs and subsequently removed more than 30 other Rottweilers from the neighbor's residence.
September 24	Rayden Bruce	3 Months	pit bull mix	An hour before the attack, police responded to the home for a domestic dispute between the infant's parents that included injuries. While the police were taking witness statements, the boy was left alone in a room with the dog and was attacked. The dog had been responsible for a "minor bite" in 2011. It had also been picked up by Animal Services in 2010 for running loose.
September 26	Nellie Davis	60 years	pit bull	Killed by a family member's dog.
October 2	Mary Jo Hunt	54 years	Pit bull (7)	Killed while using a rake to stop an attack in which the pit bulls killed a pug and injured two terriers. Authorities euthanized the seven attacking dogs.
October 4	Tarilyn Bowles	3 weeks	pit bull	Mauled indoors by the family dog when left briefly unattended.
October 17	Robert Rochester	55 years	German Shepherd	New Castle, Delaware - On Oct 12 the victim, a postal worker, was attacked by a dog that got out of its fence. For 25 minutes, the victim was attacked while trying to get any driver in the road to open their door. Finally he got a ride to the hospital. Five days later he died.
November 9	Dixie Jennings	3 months	Rottweiler	Killed by her grandmother's dog at a boarding kennel owned by the grandmother. The dog was loose in the kennel area, not caged, and the victim's mother failed to latch a door securely, allowing the dog access to the office where the baby was. The owner took the dog to a vet to be euthanized.
November 11	Remedios Romeros-Solares	30 years	Olde English Bulldogge-American Bulldog mixes (8)	Killed by the dogs at a house she was hired to clean. The owners are being investigated for owning 24 marijuana plants found at the home. The owner was breeding the dogs for sale.
November 14	Dawn Brown	44 years	Mastiff	Killed by a dog she had obtained less than one week earlier.
December 11	Esteban Alavez	34 years	pit bull (4)	Visiting his relatives when killed by their neighbor's dogs. Other neighbors said that the dogs had a violent history and were always roaming loose in the area. A month earlier they had killed a neighbor's dog. However, Animal Control said that they had never received a complaint about the dogs.
December 11	Elizabeth Louise Hirt	93 years	Boston Terrier (2)	Bethel Township, Ohio - The elderly victim was mauled by her two dogs on November 27, 2012 and died two weeks later. Her daughter was home with her at the time, but was intoxicated.
December 13	Savannah Edwards	2 years	pit bull	Killed while visiting a relative who rented living space from the dog's owner.
December 26	Tomas Henio	8 years	Pack of 9 stray dogs (mixed-breeds)	Killed by a pack of stray feral dogs while snowsledding on a hill near his home. The dogs killed had four goats weeks before, and were later put to sleep. Charges were later filed by the FBI.

Fatalities in 2013

Date	Victim's name	Victim's age	Category of dog	Circumstances
January 8	Betty Ann Chapman Todd	65 years	pit bull	Emergency Medical Technicians found the victim with dog bites to the neck, head, and face, and could not revive her. Her twelve-year-old granddaughter had attempted to pull the dog off her. According to the owners (the victim's son and daughter-in-law), the victim had visited the house numerous times weekly and the dog had never shown aggression towards her. Later, a local online newspaper reported that the owners didn't report the dog's previous aggression. However, the Greenwood County Sheriff's Dept stated that the dog's past had been reported the night of the attack by both owners. The dog had a history of violence and had killed a Siberian Husky that it lived with. Prior to the attack on Todd, the owners had attempted to reduce the dog's aggression by neutering it.
January 19	Christian Gormanous	4 years	pit bull	Climbed over a fence and got too close to the neighbor's tethered dog.
February 8	Elsie Grace	91 years	pit bull (2)	Found dead with dog bites in a motel room that she shared with her son and the two dogs. Autopsy results to determine if she died before or after being bitten are pending.
February 16	Isaiah Aguilar	2 years	pit bull	Killed in a neighbor's yard by a dog tied up in the yard.
March 2	Ryan Maxwell	7 years	pit bull	Killed by a dog that was kept chained in the back yard of a home he was visiting. The dog may have been let off the chain by the boy or may have broken free before the attack. The dog's owners had been cited previously for letting their dogs run loose. Officers had also been called to their house on reports that dogs were not being fed.
March 6	Daxton Borchardt	14 months	pit bull-Staffordshire Terrier mix (2)	While babysitting, holding the baby in her arms, Susan Iwicki went out into her backyard let her two 45lb. dogs out. They became "nippy", jumping up at the pair, so she batted them off. The dogs then attacked, tearing her clothing and knocking her down, causing the boy to hit the ground, whereupon the dogs attacked him. The babysitter tried unsuccessfully to stop the attack, and redirect the dogs onto her. A neighbor heard screams but did nothing as he thought it was kids having a snowfight. She got the child away from the dogs, leaving him on the floor while she called 911. The boy was taken by ambulance to the hospital, and by helicopter from the hospital to a medical center later that day, where he was pronounced dead from his injuries. Before the attack, the veterinarian center where the dogs had been spayed, neutered, and otherwise cared for had not seen them as dangerous, but one was described as "standoffish" while at the facility. The owner said she had got the three-year-old dogs as puppies and that they had never shown signs of aggression. After the attack, the dogs were euthanized and tested negative for rabies, and the authorities decided not to press charges against the babysitter.
March 27	Monica Renee Laminack	21 months	pit bull and pit bull mix (7)	Killed by dogs belonging to her mother's boyfriend. An autopsy confirmed that the child died of injuries consistent with a dog attack. The child's mother was subsequently charged with Cruelty to Children in the Second Degree.
April 7	Tyler Jett	7 years	pit bull mix (2) or bulldogs	Attacked while riding his bike by his neighbor's two dogs and died five days later. The owner a week prior had received a citation for allowing his aggressive dogs to run loose and is facing criminally negligent manslaughter charges. Some sources identify the two dogs as "pit bull mixes"; other reports identified them as a "brindle bulldog" and an "Alapaha blue blood bulldog". Some articles referred to them as both "pit bull mixes" and "bull dogs" within the same article. Photos of the dogs exist.
April 11	Claudia Gallardo	38 years	pit bull–Mastiff mix	A woman was killed after being attacked by a dog that had "terrorized" the neighborhood for months, according to authorities and residents. The dog, reported to be a female pit bull/mastiff mix, was also reported to have attacked neighbors in the past. Claudia Gallardo was killed after jumping into the fenced yard where the dog was kept.
April 22	Jordyn Arndt	4 years	American Staffordshire Terrier	Four-year-old Jordyn Arndt, was mauled by a pit bull at her babysitter's home. The owner of the dog, 24-year-old Jana Marie Wright, was babysitting Jordyn at the time of the attack. She was convicted and sentenced in July 2015 to 10 years in prison for child endangerment causing serious injury, 10 years for neglect of a dependent person, 2 years for interference with official acts, and 1 year for assault on a police officer, to be served concurrently. Neighbors say that they had previously filed several complaints about the dog. The babysitter had a history of arrest on drug-related and child-neglect charges.
April 24	Beau Rutledge	2 years	American Staffordshire Terrier mix (pit bull mix)	The boy was killed while the mother stepped away to use the restroom. The dog was eight years old and neighbors said they had never thought it was aggressive.
April 30	Rachael Honabarger	35 years	German Shepherd	The attack happened at home involving a male dog registered to her husband. The dog was 100–150 lb. and three years old. One neighbor said that the dog has been aggressive and guarded the house. News sources reported that she died four days after the attack; however, the date given in her obituary was 2 days after the attack.
May 8	Carlton Freeman	80 years	pit bull mix (4)	Freeman, a bi-lateral amputee at the knees, was driving in his wheelchair when he was attacked by a pack of four dogs that neighbors said had been roaming the neighborhood on-and-off for months. He tried to fight the dogs, but was unable to and was pulled from his wheelchair. The incident happened on May 8, and Freeman died on May 12. The coroner says he had lacerations and bites "from his legs to the top of his head." Initial reports said that three of the dogs belonged to a woman who is Freeman's neighbor and relative. The Sheriff's Office later announced that the four dogs were feral and did not belong to anyone. Sheriff's reports described the dogs as "brown dogs" and Animal Control claimed that they were mixed-breed "with possible 'pit bull' influence." However, multiple news sources stated that they were pit bulls. Photos of three of the dogs are available. One of the four dogs was not found.
May 9	Pamela Marie Devitt	63 years	pit bull (4)	Littlerock, California - A woman was walking near her home when she was attacked and killed by a pack of dogs. DNA results later confirmed that four of the eight dogs owned by a local man had been involved in the attack. Local residents reported that the area repeatedly has problems with packs of dogs running loose. The owner of the dogs, Alex Jackson, was charged with second degree murder for the attack. He was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon for a previous incident in which his dogs attacked a horse and rider and he threw a stone at the rider. He also faced several charges related to a marijuana-growing operation he was running. The dogs had been involved in several other attacks for which the owner was cited, and he had also been cited for failing to vaccinate, license, spay, neuter or microchip the dogs. He was also in violation of the legal limit in that jurisdiction of owning no more than 3 dogs. In 2006, he had had four other dogs confiscated and euthanized after they attacked emus. He was sentenced to 15 years to life for the second-degree murder conviction.
June 9	Ayden Evans	5 years	Bullmastiff	Killed inside the home of family friends near Jessieville, Arkansas where he had been staying for two weeks because his family's home in Moore, Oklahoma had been destroyed by tornados. After the child had started loudly crying, the 150 lb. dog came running out of a back room and attacked him. The dog's owner stopped the attack, but not before the boy had received serious wounds to the neck and face. He was rushed to a hospital in Hot Springs, AR where he was declared dead. The dog ran away, so authorities began trying to find it and euthanize it. Investigators declined to say whether or not the owners would face any charges.
June 17	Nephi Selu	6 years	pit bull mix	The boy was attempting to ride the dog "like a horse" when he was bitten a single time on the top of the head. The two-year-old, un-neutered male dog had been acquired as a guard dog and was kept in the backyard of the family's home. After the bite, the family did not think he had been seriously injured and expected him to be fine "after a couple of stitches." He was brought to the hospital 2 1/2 hours after being bitten and died two hours later. The dog had up-to-date rabies shots and was properly licensed.
June 25	Arianna Jolee Merrbach	5 years	pit bull mix	Killed after walking up to a chained dog that belonged to her aunt. The dog had been kept on a chain in violation of the county's laws against prolonged tethering, and animal cruelty charges were being considered against the owner.
July 1	Linda Oliver	63 years	Labrador Retriever mix or Mastiff-Rottweiler mix	Victim was killed by a dog that she had taken in as a stray two weeks previously. The incident occurred while she was attempting to stop it from attacking her other "small brown wiener dog." The dog was tracked and shot by police the following day.
August 30	Juan Campos	96 years	pit bull	Katy, Texas - Victim was found dead in his backyard, with one of his lower legs missing, bites all over his body, his pet dog dead, and three pit bull type dogs nearby. It is believed that one or more of the dogs belonged to the rear neighbor whose wooden fence had some broken slats.
September 15	Jordan Reed	5 years	Husky mix(es)	Jordan was found dead after being mauled by one or more loose dogs.
September 22	Daniel Jackson Teubner	2 years	pit bull mixes (3)	Gilbert, Arizona - Toddler was killed by three dogs owned by his babysitter, who was also babysitting in her home his four other siblings, all special needs. The babysitter was also mauled and hospitalized trying to break up a fight between the dogs. The dogs were euthanized for rabies testing.
September 23	Samuel Eli Zamudio	2 years	pit bull mix (5)	Killed by up to five dogs that belonged to his grandmother, in the back yard of her house. Authorities do not know how the boy ended up in the yard with the dogs, and occupants of the house said they heard no screams or other noises, but the boy was found dead with bite marks to his face and neck. Neighbors had complained to authorities about the noise and "stench from the yard" where the dogs were kept. A photo of one of the dogs is available. The boy's grandmother and uncle were later arrested in Colton, California.
September 27	Jordan Ryan	5 years	pit bull	The boy was unsupervised at a family friend's house and entered a backyard pen where the dog was kept. The dog had been acquired 6 weeks earlier.
November 1	Terry Douglass	56 years	pit bull	Her dog, Boosie, which she originally acquired for protection and had raised from a puppy. It had previously attacked a family member and Douglass, who carried a large facial scar as a result. Boosie had been taken away by authorities, but Douglass had fought to have Boosie back, and he had recently been returned to her apartment in Balitimore, Maryland. Officers speculated Douglass, a handicapped woman, may have fallen on the dog, and described the scene as "horrific".
November 4	Katherine Atkins	25 years	pit bull (2)	Went out to the kennel behind their home in Kernersville, NC to feed the dogs as usual, but this time they attacked. They belonged to her boyfriend. The dogs were euthanized and will be given a necropsy for clues as to why they attacked.
November 5	Nga Woodhead	65 years	pit bull (2)	On her daily walk about a mile from her home in Spanaway, Washington. The dogs had escaped from a nearby property and attacked from the rear. She fought the dogs with her umbrella and called her husband. A passerby tried to help. He told her husband the location, who called 911. Another neighbor gave the passerby a gun and he shot one, which fled. Police arrived and shot them, and an ambulance took her to the hospital. Her arm was especially badly mauled ("shredded"). Almost a week later, when she was sitting in the hospital waiting for her discharge paperwork, she died of a heart attack thought to be brought on by "extremity contusions, lacerations and fractures due to dog bites". The Sheriff recommended the county prosecutor file charges, but it was not yet clear whether they would.
November 8	Levi Watson	4 years	pit bull(s)	Visiting a home in White County, Arkansas. The boy "managed to get out of the home" and "enter a fenced-in area where three pit bulls were being held." Emergency crews brought him to the hospital where he died. At press time, police were investigating which of three pit bulls were responsible; what the fate of the dogs, which were taken into custody, would be; and whether any charges would be filed. The owner was cooperating with the investigation.
November 21	Joan Kappen	75 years	pit bull-bull mastiff mix	Hot Springs Village, Arkansas The owner of the 87-pound dog said it would frequently "bite out of fear". It had previously bitten an intoxicated family member in the face, bitten a neighbor in the face, and bitten its owner on the arm and leg. The attack occurred after the dogs were let outside unsupervised, off-leash in an unfenced yard.
December 7	Jah'Niyah White	2 years	pit bull (2)	South Side, Chicago
December 10	Mia Gibson	3 months	Shiba Inu (2)	Attack occurred in the Columbus, Ohio home when the parents were sleeping. Mia was a premature baby who had only come home from the hospital Thanksgiving.
December 13	Michal Nelson	41 years	pit bull	Her own dog. She had gone outside, where the dog was kept chained up in a pen, to break ice on the dog's water bowl, when it attacked. Her brother found her body and shot the dog. Her eleven other dogs were taken away by authorities.
December 28	Tom J. Vick	64 years	Boxer	Vick and his wife tried to break up a fight at their home in Bullhead City, AZ between their two dogs when one of them turned on them. He died soon after arriving at the local hospital; she survived and was flown to a Las Vegas, NV hospital.

Fatalities in 2014

Date	Location	Victim's name	Victim's age	Category of dog	Circumstances
January 5	Houston, Texas	Christine Bell	43 years	pit bull (1) and pit bull mix (1)	Killed by loose dogs in an attack in which two other people were also injured, one seriously. Animal Control caught one of the dogs, while the owner fled with the second dog, a pit bull mix. Later the owner surrendered the second dog plus a third dog not believed to be part of the killing. The owners of the dogs were cited for keeping the animals in deplorable conditions, not licensing or vaccinating them, and allowing them to run at large. Homicide detectives were determining whether to press criminal charges.
January 6	New Braunfels, Texas	Betty Clark	74 years	pit bulls (2)	Elderly widow was walking alone when neighbors' dogs badly mauled her. She was saved by another neighbor and her boyfriend, who used a gun to scare off the dogs, but not before receiving wounds that caused her death in the hospital 16 days later. After the attack, the dogs were euthanized and their owners were arrested for allowing a dog attack that resulted in a death. The attack was first reported in the news media 4 months after the incident in an article about an unrelated attack. The dog's owners were indicted and arrested in 2014 for "Attack by dog resulting in death". Five years later, their cases are still ongoing with a jury trial scheduled May 6, 2019.
January 17	Bloomington, Illinois	Kara Hartrich	4 years	pit bull (2 males, 1 female)	Died from blood loss following injuries sustained to head and neck after being attacked by the dogs while her grandmother was babysitting Kara and her 2-year-old sister. When the grandmother attempted to intervene, the dogs turned on her and she then focused on protecting the 2-year-old child and was unable to stop the attack on Kara. Emergency personnel were called and Kara was taken to a hospital but died from her injuries. The dogs were surrendered to McLean County Animal Control where they were euthanized after a 10-day observation period. No charges were filed against the owners.
January 26	Corona, California	Annabell Martin	89 years	Rottweilers (3)	The dogs belonged to the woman's grandson. He told police they had no history of aggressive behavior. Other details are not known as there is little media coverage available from the incident.
February 7	Dayton, Ohio	Klonda Richey	57 years	Mastiff mix (2) or Cane Corso mix (2)	The woman was attacked in the driveway of her home in the early morning hours by two mixed mastiffs that belonged to a neighbor. The dogs were shot and killed when they attacked police officers who responded to the call. The couple who owned the dogs were both sentenced for "failure to control dogs". A wrongful death suit was filed against the county dog warden and his agency. The victim had made 36 calls to authorities about the dogs over the prior two years before her death (in addition to 20 other anonymous calls), built a fence and installed security cameras. Richey's death sparked several attempts (still ongoing) to change the vicious dog laws in Ohio.
February 17	Temple, Texas	Je'vaeh Mayes	2 years	pit bull	The girl's family was watching a friend's female dog and its two puppies. They were being kept in the back yard. The 2-year-old girl went out into the yard alone without her parents' knowledge and was attacked by the mother of the two puppies. The dog was chained in the backyard at the time, was later euthanized, and no criminal charges were to be filed.
February 24	High Point, North Carolina	Braelynn Rayne Coulter	3 years	pit bull	Was playing in her yard when her family's dog suddenly attacked. Her mother tried to stop it, but the dog attacked her as well. The family said the dog had never been aggressive, but neighbors said it had escaped and attacked a dog. Both mother and daughter were taken to the hospital, where Braelynn died. The dog was taken by authorities and scheduled to be euthanized after police finished their investigation.
February 26	Tallassee, Alabama	Summer Sears	4 years	White shepherd mix, with possible involvement of a black retriever mix	Killed while playing behind the trailer her grandfather rented.
February 28	Paterson, New Jersey	Kenneth Santilla	13 years	Bull mastiff	A 115-pound bull mastiff escaped a back-yard fence and mauled two 13-year-old boys, killing one and injuring the other.
March 1	Killeen, Texas	Raymane Robinson Jr.	2 years	Bull mastiff	Walking home from the playground with an 8-year-old girl, when the dog accidentally escaped from his owner's garage and attacked the girl. A teenage boy saved the girl, but then the dog immediately attacked Raymane and dragged him off. Someone shot at the dog, frightening it into dropping the boy and running back into the garage. Police and EMTs arrived and took them both to the hospital, where doctors saved the girl but the boy died of penetrating and blunt injuries.
March 14	Phoenix, Arizona	Nancy Newberry	77 years	pit bull	Victim was feeding 4-year old Titan, one of the family's three dogs, when he bit her in the abdomen. The dog had a history of aggression and biting people, and was euthanized per family request.
March 25	Houma, Louisiana	Mia DeRouen	4 years	pit bull	Family's pet pit bull attacked while she was watching television with her mother. The mother, also injured, had to barricade herself and the injured child in a bedroom until police arrived. Responding officers were forced to shoot the pit bull in order to enter the apartment. The dog, Niko, was of an unusually large size, weighing in at 130 lbs. The victim's family has refused cooperation with authorities into further investigation. Another dog, a 6-month-old female, was removed from the scene.
March 31	Thornton, Mississippi	Christopher Malone	3 years	pit bull (2)	Christopher Malone's mother found the boy's body behind the family's Holmes County home. The Holmes County Sheriff's Department said it happened around 4 p.m. No one saw the attack. Family members said they've had the dogs since they were puppies, and the dogs have been around children their entire lives.
April 1	Kaufman, Texas	Dorothy Hamilton	85 years	pit bull (2)	A woman was found dead at her home in Kaufman on Monday afternoon, and police believe that pit bulls are responsible for the killing. It was around 4:45 p.m. when authorities were called to a residence in the 1400 block of East First North Street. When police arrived at the scene, they discovered 85-year-old Dorothy Hamilton dead in the living room of her home. Investigators also found a pair of aggressive pit bulls inside of the house. Animal control put down the two dogs that were inside the house when police found Hamilton. Authorities said that the dogs were being held in a bedroom, but it looks as though they broke down the door in order to attack the woman.
April 6	Riverside, Alabama	John Harvard	5 years	pit bull	Playing outside his home when neighbor's dog, between 80–100 lbs., attacked. His 9-year-old brother couldn't get the dog off him, so he ran in the house and got his father, who shot at the animal, which broke off the attack and fled. After the attack, a neighbor called the EMTs, and an ambulance took him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The dog was taken to a veterinary clinic. Before the attack, John and the dog had played together; the dog had been legally allowed free range with no previous complaints; and the town had had a nuisance law but no leash law.
April 11	San Antonio, Texas	Petra Aguirre	83 years	American Staffordshire Terrier mix	Victim was feeding cats in her own backyard when the neighbor's dog crawled under a fence and attacked her. She died two weeks later. The dog, who had previously bitten a child, was euthanized and the dog's owner sentenced to five years in prison.
April 28	Sebring, Florida	Jessica Norman	33 years	Unclear (see text)	The woman was found dead of a methamphetamine overdose. An autopsy found that she had bites that "appeared to come from a canine" and which "contributed to the death." At the time that she died, neighbors had seen three aggressive Pit bulls running loose in the neighborhood. Investigators attempted to link the dogs to the woman's death with DNA. They were able to show by DNA that hairs on her were of canine origin, but were unable to match the DNA with that of the specific dogs.
May 3	Smiths Station, Alabama	Katie Morrison	20 years	pit bull (3)	In her friend's yard playing with the dogs. When she picked something up from the ground, one of the dogs attacked, and the other two joined in. She suffered extensive bite wounds over her body and a severe head injury and died about a week after the April 28th attack. At press time no charges had been filed. The dogs were euthanized.
May 4	Caldwell County, North Carolina	Nyhiem Wilfong	18 months	Rottweiler	Toddler killed by a chained family dog in backyard at his grandfather's house.
May 7	Felton, Delaware	Kasii Haith	4 years	pit bull (3)	The child had gone with his pregnant mother to visit one of the mother's friends and was playing in front of the home with the dogs, whom he had reportedly played with in the past. At some point the mother looked outside to see the three pitbulls attacking the child and rushed to help him, at which point the pitbulls attacked her. Nearby HVAC workers attempted to beat the dogs back with PVC pipes and were unsuccessful. The child was pronounced dead on scene by paramedics, the pregnant mother was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries and monitoring of the unborn child. The dogs had not been vaccinated against rabies and were euthanised.
May 25	Branford, Connecticut	Rita Pepe	93 years	pit bull mix	Victim was out walking on April 13 when the dog dashed out of its owner's back door and went straight for the elderly woman. The owner had to beat the dog on the head with a rock to get it to let go of the victim's leg. The victim died in hospital a month later.
June 9	Davisburg, Michigan	Holden Garrison	10 weeks	Catahoula Cur	When the dog tried to get on the sofa where the baby was on his uncle's lap, the uncle pushed it off. The dog then attacked, biting the baby on the face and neck. Father was injured prying him out of its jaws. EMTs tried to revive the baby and airlifted him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Prior to the attack, the dog had lived with the family for four years. It had bitten a person once, but had drawn no blood. After the attack, the dog was euthanized.
July 4	Benton County, Mississippi	Derrick Sanders	45 years	pit bulls	Found dead, naked, throat split, and in a horrible state, police originally thought victim was murdered - until two months later when the victim's cousin David Glass was found barely alive, mauled by pit bulls. Eventually, Eric Hodges, the owner of these same dogs who also killed David Glass two months later, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for two counts of manslaughter. The dogs were let out to roam at night; both were euthanized.
July 20	Tampa, Florida	Logan Sheppard	4 years	pit bull (2)	Mauled to death by his uncle's guard dogs after being left unsupervised while his parents left to consume cannabis. The boy's grandmother said that the family knew the dogs were vicious. Neighbors also said that the dogs were known to be vicious. Although early speculations stated that the child may have let the dogs out of their cages to play with, family members later stated that the uncle had left the dogs free to roam the yard and "to protect his property."
July 20	Dayton, Ohio	Johnathan Quarles Jr.	7 months	American Staffordshire Terrier	The boy's stepgrandmother picked the boy up from a car seat and then the dog jumped and bit the boy and the stepgrandmother. The stepgrandmother tried punching the dog and grabbing its collar but then the dog bit the boy's head. The dog had prior behavioral issues. Following the incident, the dog was seized and euthanized and the stepgrandmother was sentenced to three years in prison in June 2016.
July 23	Metamora Township, Michigan	Craig Sytsma	46 years	Cane Corso (2)	The victim was out jogging in the evening. A neighbor who witnessed the attack successfully drove off the dogs after wounding one with a gun. According to police, dogs at the same address had attacked and bitten two other people in the previous two years who were walking or jogging in the neighborhood. An unprovoked attack on a jogger by two 100-pound Cane Corsos was reported in Lapeer, Michigan. The jogger died. The two owners of the dogs were charged with second degree murder, which carries a potential sentence of Life in Prison, and ultimately pleaded guilty to "owning a dangerous animal, causing death", receiving a prison sentence for a minimum of 57 months to a maximum of 15 years. The couple may also face deportation, as they were under investigation for falsifying citizenship documents at the time of the mauling. "The dogs involved in the attack have a history of escaping from their kennel and have bitten at least twice before."
August 4	Madison Township, Ohio	Cindy Whisman	59 years	pit bull or pit bull-Presa Canario mix	Was playing with her 2-year-old grandson in the yard when the dog attacked. A neighbor beat the dog off with a walking stick, but she was already dead, with multiple wounds to the head, neck, and body. The dog had not shown previous aggression; the child used to climb and put weight on the dog. After the attack, the dog was to be euthanized.
August 7	Fanning Springs, Florida	Joel Chirieleison	6 years	pit bull (2)	Babysitting aunt let the child and the two dogs outside her house and sat to watch TV. No one saw the attack. She looked outside and saw the body in the driveway. The authorities arrived and determined that the dogs had killed the boy. After the attack, the dogs were removed by animal control officers and scheduled to be euthanized. The aunt had been babysitting the child when his father went to work for weeks. The aunt said she had never had any problems with the dogs before the attack, and police said the boy and the dogs had been together on a regular basis.
August 11	St. Charles County, Missouri	Deriah Solem	22 months	pit bull mix	Grandmother, 58, had set the child down after feeding her when the 80 lb., 10-year-old family dog attacked. Wounds to the head and neck were the cause of death, not those to her back and stomach. Grandmother, who lost several tips of her fingers trying to save the child, ordered her brothers, 5 and 8 years old, to run for their lives. They ran to the next door neighbor who came and stabbed the dog repeatedly to get it to release. The child was pronounced dead at the hospital. Before the attack, the dog had previously shown aggressive behavior. The dog was euthanized.
August 13	Miami-Dade County, Florida	Javon Dade Jr	4 years	pit bull (1) and pit bull mixes (5)	The boy was found dead in the backyard the morning after the victim's father and his girlfriend smoked marijuana laced with cocaine and fell asleep. There were six dogs in the yard. The adults were charged with child neglect. The father had an extensive criminal history for dealing drugs. Animal Services removed all of the dogs and the pit bull was euthanized for aggressive behavior. Pit bulls are illegal in Miami-Dade County. The father pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in prison and six years probation in a plea deal.
September 21	Benton County, Mississippi	David Glass Sr	50 years	pit bulls (3)	Attacked by dogs on the side of the road at night and died the following day. Eric Hodges, the owner of these same dogs who also killed Derrick Sanders two months earlier, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for two counts of manslaughter. The dogs were let out to roam at night; both were euthanized.
September 26	Cave City, Arkansas	Alice Payne	75 years	pit bull	Payne's daughter was in the backyard and heard her mother say she'd fallen. Upon entering, she saw her mother's pit bull biting her and called 911. Victim was dead when responders arrived, with bite marks on her face, neck, and arms. The family was able to get the dog into the back yard where it was put down by police officers.
October 15	Modesto, California	Juan Fernandez	59 years	pit bulls (4)	Victim and his elderly mother were both attacked by the neighbor's four dogs who had breached the common fence. The dogs were shot and killed by deputies. The woman received multiple bite injuries and a broken leg; the man did not survive.
October 24	Hustisford, Wisconsin	Logan Meyer	7 years	Rottweiler	The boy took the dog outside to relieve itself, and within five minutes was attacked. The victim's father was running a protection dog training business; the 3½ year old dog had been trained in "personal property" and was in training for "personal protection and service for a doctor who had three children". The dog was euthanized.
November 2	Rowland, North Carolina	Alameaner Dial	83 years	pit bull (4)	Attacked by her granddaughter's 4 dogs on October 25 while she sat on her porch. The victim's daughter in law said that the dogs were left to roam in a large fenced area, were known to be vicious, and had caused problems in the neighborhood before. Relatives and neighbors had repeatedly asked that the dogs be restrained. They had previously called police and the Department of Social Service to intervene, but the situation of the dogs had remained unchanged. The dogs included 1 adult male, 1 adult female, and 2 puppies.
November 12	Wind River Indian Reservation, Wyoming	Deanne Lynn Coando	40 years	Pack of reservation dogs	No one witnessed the attack by the pack of roaming dogs and few details are available.
November 18	Stratford, Connecticut	Stella Antanaitis	91 years	Keeshond mix	The woman was attempting to intervene in a fight between her dog and cat when the dog attacked her on November 14. She died four days later.
November 18	Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota	Jayla Rodriguez	8 years	Pack of reservation dogs	While sledding near her home, the girl was attacked by a pack of dogs. Witnesses to the attack were unsure of how many dogs were involved or what were their breeds.
November 23	Rockingham County, North Carolina	Jose Robles	62 years	Pack of Hounds and Blue Heeler	Man attacked by a pack of 14 dogs died from injuries related to the attack. The attack occurred by the pack of dogs while he was walking down a road. He was visiting family in the area.
December 1	Pollock, Louisiana	Bobbie Cheveallier	85 years	Unknown	Elderly woman attacked while she was unconscious (due to a diabetic condition) near her home by a pack of dogs. She died a few days later due to injuries from the attack. Some of the dogs belonged to a neighbor and some of the dogs were stray dogs. Their breeds were unknown.
December 6	Citrus County, Florida	Christopher Joaquin Camejo	2 years	Rottweiler (4)	The child was attacked and killed by four of his grandfather's dogs outside in the yard. Animal Control seized and euthanized the dogs. Both parents appeared under the influence and tested positive for meth, amphetamines, oxy, opiates and benzos. Neighbors told authorities the dogs had been aggressive in the past, including attacking people, and had previously been reported to Animal Control. The neighbors also reported constant drug traffic at the home. Cause of death was ruled "Multiple Blunt Force Injuries due to Dog Mauling" and the victim's two young siblings were placed in foster care. In 2016, the mother pled guilty to Manslaughter of a Child and the father was found not guilty of Murder in the Third Degree by jury.
December 15	Corpus Christi, Texas	Rita Ross (aka Rita Woodard)	64 years	Unspecified (5)	Victim was found dead after being attacked by five of the seventeen dogs she kept in her home. Described as "a bloody mess" by police, the coroner determined she died of "critical coronary artery atherosclerosis following multiple dog bites". All five dogs were euthanized.
December 25	Portage, Indiana	Edward Cahill	40 years	pit bull	The man died after suffering bites to his arms and face from his dog. No one else was home to witness the attack. The man's girlfriend said they had given the dog a bone for Christmas and he was extremely aggressive and protective of it. The girlfriend also said that she had told Cahill to euthanize the dog in the past because he was "extremely aggressive and unpredictable."

Fatalities in 2015

Date	Location	Victim's name	Victim's age	Category of dog	Circumstances
January 7	Frederick, Maryland	Eugene Smith	87 years	Pit bull	The man died after suffering bites to his head and left arm from his son's dog. He was taking down a Christmas tree when the dog attacked him.
January 19	Brooksville, Florida	Declan Moss	1½ years	pit bull (2)	Playing on his family's porch when the family's two dogs attacked. His grandfather tried to pull the dogs off, but when the ambulance arrived, he was already dead. Before the attack, the two dogs had played with Declan since they were puppies and they had never shown any aggression. After the attack, the two dogs were removed by animal control.
January 22	College Springs, Iowa	Malaki Mildward	7 years	pit bull mix (2)	Playing in his yard with the six-month-old dogs — a 25-pound female and a 35-pound male — as he had done with no problems since they were small puppies. There were no witnesses; relatives came outside and found him unresponsive. The dogs stood calmly by while EMTs tried to revive him. They were calm and friendly as they were taken away until they along with the family's third dog were put down, just as they had reportedly always been with everyone before the attack. When his father sold their litter-mates, he described them as "pitbull English bulldog-types." Malaki was pronounced dead 50 minutes after the attack. No charges were filed.
February 4	Coal Hill, Arkansas	Fredrick Crutchfield	63 years	unknown (3)	Found dead by a family member.
February 22	West Mifflin, Pennsylvania	TayLynn DeVaughn	2 years	pit bull mix	The family had been staying with the residents for days and the dog had shown no sign of aggression. At about 8:45 p.m. the dog suddenly bit her face and shook her, killing her very quickly. She was pronounced dead at the hospital; the dog was euthanized, and no charges were filed.
March 8	Ohio County, West Virginia	Roy Higgenbotham Jr.	63 years	pit bull	Victim was killed while trying to revive his roommate, the dog's owner, from a heart attack. A woman who witnessed the attack was found hiding from the dog on the roof. The dog was not registered with the city, despite ordinance requiring all pit bulls in the city be registered. Both men were pronounced dead at a local hospital. The dog was ultimately sent to a Pennsylvania rescue.
March 12	Sulphur Springs, Texas	Betty Wood	78 years	Rottweiler	Found dead by her daughter in the home where she lived alone. Investigation concluded she had been killed by the dog that she had owned for five years. The dog was scheduled to be euthanized and tested for rabies.
March 14	Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota	Julia Charging Whirlwind	49 years	Pack of reservation dogs	The woman was attacked early in the morning near her property. The sheriff arrived and shot and killed the dogs.
March 21	Jefferson County, Arkansas	De'Trick Johnson	38 years	pit bull (7 or 8)	Arrived at a garage for a car repair appointment, when seven guard dogs got under the fence and attacked him. He ran and got on the roof of his car, but was not saved. Police arrived and tazed a dog, but it had no effect, so he shot it dead. Animal control tried a tranquilizer gun on another, but that failed, so three more were shot dead, one escaped, and animal control captured and euthanized two. Before the attack, reports had been filed with the police about the dogs. After the attack, the escaped dog returned to the garage, showed aggression towards a deputy and was shot. An eighth dog found on the property that had not participated in the attack was captured. The owner pleaded guilty to a felony manslaughter charge on April 1, 2016.
March 31	Washington, Georgia	Neta Lee Adams	81 years	unknown	The woman's body was found in a ditch and autopsy determined she had died from a dog attack.
April 14	Pahrump, Nevada	Kenneth Ford	79 years	pit bull (3)	The victim went to his neighbor's two-home property to feed his cats when a tenant's three dogs jumped the six foot fence and attacked him. Two men ran to help the screaming victim and the dogs attacked them. The men were able to drag the victim next door and close the gate, but the pit bulls found a hole in the fence and resumed the attack. The dogs had chewed off the victim's left hand and his face, leaving an eye hanging out. One of the men got a gun and shot two of the three pit bulls, but the dogs continued attacking, undeterred, until police and EMS arrived, at which point the dogs fled. Authorities arrested the dogs' owner immediately. The victim was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition and died a month later. Both assisting men were seriously injured; one spent 23 days in hospital. The three dogs were caught and put down. The dogs had a history of aggression and being at large. Ricky Davidson, 40, tenant of the neighbor's house, pleaded guilty to one count of reckless endangerment, a gross misdemeanor. Davidson was sentenced to 364 days in jail in connection to the death of Kenneth Ford. The sentence also included other dog-related and drug-related charges against Davidson that were bundled together in plea negotiations.
April 19	Dallas, Texas	Brayden Lamar Wilson	10 weeks	pit bull	Victim was killed by his family's dog. The child was sitting in a bouncing seat while the parents were outside. The victim's two older siblings had grown up playing and sleeping with the 8-year old dog. The father shot the dog after the incident.
May 2	Canyon Lake, Texas	Gaege Anthony Ramirez	7 years	Unspecified (5)	Mauled to death by up to five dogs while visiting friends.
May 24	Rochester, New York	Anthony Wind	26 years	Rottweiler	Victim was mauled to death by his girlfriend's dog which allegedly assisted the victim when he had epileptic seizures. The dog, however, had previously attacked the victim four times, injuring both ears. Three of those incidents were reported.
May 25	Chicago, Illinois	James Nevils III	5 years	pit bull or Dogo Argentino	Boy was killed by his cousin's dog while visiting his home. The cousin was not at home at the time of the attack. The dog latched onto the boy's throat and the child's mother dragged the dog and child outside to get help. Several witnesses intervened and beat the dog with sticks and bricks and also stabbed it, trying to get the dog to let go of the boy. Once the dog let go, they beat the dog to death. The cousin was cited with two tickets for not having the dog inoculated for rabies and not having a city license.
June 28	Lawton, Oklahoma	Jordan Collins-Tyson	3 years old	pit bull	Killed by dog while under the care of his babysitter. The dog fatally bit the boy's throat. Police said the child had been around the dog before without any problems.
July 2	Pecos, Texas	Norberto Legarda	83 years old	pit bull (3)	Victim was attacked and killed by three dogs belonging to his daughter's next door neighbor while feeding his daughter's Labrador Retriever. The neighbor's dogs somehow entered into the backyard and began attacking Legarda and the Labrador. When police arrived, the dogs were still attacking the Labrador and a man was lying in the backyard. Police had to pepper spray and Taser the pit bulls to reach the injured man. Shortly thereafter, Legarda was pronounced dead.
July 7	Hendersonville, North Carolina	Joshua Strother	6 years	pit bull	Killed by a dog belonging to his neighbor, who had adopted the neutered male pit bull from the Asheville Humane Society three weeks earlier. The attack occurred after Joshua climbed the fence to enter his neighbor's yard. Joshua had been climbing over the fence to visit the dog since its arrival, as well to play with his neighbor's young daughter.
July 12	Shaker Heights, Ohio	Annie Williams	71 years	pit bull	Attacked and killed by a dog that had escaped from the back yard just after she exited her car in a residential neighborhood. Annie was picking up her two great granddaughters from a home in Shaker Heights, where they were with their father, when the dog belonging to someone living in the home attacked her in the driveway. The dog's owner pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. His mother pleaded guilty to negligent homicide and received a six-month suspended jail sentence.
July 24	Redbird, Oklahoma	Carolyn Lamp	67 years	pit bull (3), Rottweiler (1)	The victim was killed by up to four dogs. Witnesses said she was walking down South Main Street in the small town of Redbird when the animals attacked. One man chased the dogs away, but it was too late. The dogs attacked the woman's face and ripped off all of her clothing. Witnesses said she was left unrecognizable. She died on scene.
August 10	Orlando, Florida	Max Gracia	25 years	police dog	The man, an armed robbery suspect, was bitten multiple times by police dogs while resisting arrest. An autopsy determined that he died four days later of infection from the bites. During the arrest, Gracia had hit the dog several times and attempted to drown it in a lake.
August 22	Spartanburg, South Carolina	Porsche Cartee	25 years	pit bull	Cartee was killed by her own dog, and her two roommates were injured, when she tried to fend off an attack on one of her roommates. Victim's ex-boyfriend said the dog had been aggressive for years and was a contention in their relationship and victim's relationship with her family.
August 24	Davie County, North Carolina	Cathy H. Wheatcraft	48 years	pit bull	Wheatcraft had just stepped out and was walking toward her mailbox when attacked. The dog, which may have been riled from a storm, had escaped through a neighbor's window while its owner was away. It had been declared a "nuisance animal" three months earlier, after leaving its owner's property and fighting with another dog. A neighbor of Wheatcraft was attacked while trying to assist her, until a police officer arrived and fatally shot the dog.
September 4	Autauga County, Alabama	Barbara McCormick	65 years	Shepherd or Retriever mixed breeds (3)	McCormick was apparently mauled to death by her family's pet dogs. When she was found, two dogs were off of their leashes, and one was tied up. The county sheriff speculated that the dogs may have gotten into a fight during feeding, and she may have tried to break up the fight or been accidentally knocked down prior to the attack.
September 8	North Shore, California	Emilio Rios	65 years	pit bull (2)	The man was out for a morning walk near his home when he was attacked by the dogs. The dogs also attacked a woman, leaving her in a hospital with major injuries. They ran off when police arrived, and were later captured at a nearby residence.
September 22	Miami-Dade County, Florida	Carmen Reigada	91 years	American Bulldog mix, Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, German Shepherd mix	The woman was found in her home in a pool of blood, missing the skin off of her scalp and most of her face, with bites on her head, neck, arms and legs. Her great grandson's three pet dogs were suspected. A forensic dentist matched the mouths of all the dogs to the bite marks. Miami-Dade Animal Services confiscated the dogs, declared them dangerous, and wanted to euthanize them, but the owner fought to spare two of them. His attorney argued that the Bulldog, found covered in blood, may have been the aggressor, and that the other two dogs, found without blood, were trying to help her. A March 2016 ruling ordered their euthanization.
September 28	Baker Heights, West Virginia	Lamarkus Hicks	2 years	Boxer mix	The toddler was attacked by a 1-year-old boxer mix named Bubba, which was chained in the yard of a neighbor.
October 16	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Edgar Brown	60 years	pit bull (5)	Victim was attacked by five dogs when he went to a friend's rental home to take out the trash. After three limb amputations and other surgeries, he died in the hospital about two weeks later. The dogs were euthanized and their owner pleaded guilty to second degree manslaughter. The victim's estate won a $15M civil case against the dogs' owner.
October 18	Vidor, Texas	Tanner Smith	5 years	pit bull (2)	The boy was killed by two dogs while visiting a friend's home. The dogs had earlier that year bitten a young girl.
November 8	Elmont, New York	Amiyah Dunston	9 years	pit bull	Amiyah was visiting her father and playing outside with 2 other children when a family friend's 2-year-old male dog attacked her, biting into her head and neck and throwing her around. Police had to shoot the dog to end the attack. Amiyah died at the hospital with bite wounds all over her body.
November 12	Madison County, Tennessee	Anthony Riggs	57 years	Rottweiler	Attacked and killed by a 5-year-old dog he had adopted that day. His wife called deputies who shot the dog, killing it. Riggs was pronounced dead on the scene with multiple bite wounds all over his body.
November 15	Oneida County, New York	Carter Hartle	11 months	Shar-Pei - pit bull mix	Family dog attacked and killed the baby while "playing" with the children.
December 2	Detroit, Michigan	Xavier Strickland	4 years	pit bull (4)	Attacked and killed while walking with his mother to volunteer at a local school. The dogs escaped from 41-year-old Geneke Lyons' poorly fenced yard, grabbed the child and dragged him back under the fence; once inside the fence, they mauled him to death as he screamed for his mother. Police arrived and shot 3 dogs fatally; the other was taken away by animal control. The child was rushed to a local hospital where he later died of his injuries. Dog owner Geneke Lyons was arrested by police; he was charged in January 2016 with second-degree murder, manslaughter and possessing dangerous animals causing death. His lawyer called it an accident. Neighbors say his dogs routinely escaped his property and terrorized locals.
December 3	Port Huron, Michigan	Rebecca Hardy	22 years	pit bull (1) and Husky (1)	The woman, a young mother, climbed onto a decrepit fence of a yard housing a dog known to be aggressive; a witness said the pit bull, King, pulled Hardy down off the fence. It mauled her head, tearing out her throat, one eye, both ears and part of her nose, as well as breaking her spine. There was a white Husky in the yard, and a litter of pit bull/Husky mix puppies in the house. The Husky joined in the attack later. Owners Andrew Scott Miller and Jessica Rae Johnson were cited for lacking dog licenses. All of the dogs were euthanized.
December 4	Rogersville, Missouri	Werner Vogt	85 years	Boxer mix (4)	Elderly man was killed by a neighbor's loose dogs while riding his bike in his neighborhood.
December 16	Gridley, California	Maria Torres	57 years	pit bull (2)	Deputies found victim's body when they arrived for a welfare check. She had been mauled by her two pet dogs, presumably while trying to break up a fight between them. The dogs were surrendered by family members and euthanized.
December 20	Miami, Florida	Nyjah Espinosa	2 years	American Bulldog mix	The girl was visiting her father at his home when his 95 lb dog attacked her. The girl's grandmother called the dog a pit bull on social media, but Animal Services said it was an American Bulldog mix.

Fatalities in 2016

Date	Location	Victim's name	Victim's age	Category of Dog	Circumstances
January 3	Linda, California	Tyler Trammell-Huston	9 years	pit bull (3)	The boy was killed while visiting his older sister, Alexandria Griffin-Heady, when he was left alone for several hours with her dogs. Griffin-Heady was pursuing custody of her younger brother, who was living in foster care; her family says she was "ill-equipped to care for a young boy", and her aunt told child welfare officials that her niece was "unstable". Citing Tyler’s death, state assemblyman Kevin McCarthy called for an oversight hearing of the child welfare system, which he said allows “too many kids to slip through the cracks and die.”
January 8	Independence, Virginia	Payton Sawyers	15 months	pit bull-Rottweiler mix	Payton was attacked on January 6, 2016, under the care of her babysitters. The dog, which belonged to the babysitters, bit Payton in the head. She was airlifted to a hospital and died two days later.
January 24	Lumberton, North Carolina	Talan West	7 years	pit bull (1) + mixed breed (2)	While playing with his siblings in a field, Talan was charged by three dogs. After being bitten multiple times by the other dogs, the male pit bull broke the boy's neck, killing him. The three dogs tested negative for rabies. The pit bull, who suffered from severe heartworm disease, died at the scene due to overexcitement. The other two, who were female and had young puppies, were euthanized. Six months later, the city modified their dog ordinance to include dog registrations, mandatory neutering, limit the number of dogs kept at any household to three, and labelled several pit bull breeds as "potentially vicious" requiring them to be kept indoors or in a secure outside pen.
February 7	Youngstown, Ohio	Aiden Grim	3 days	mixed-breed dog	Aiden was lying in a laundry basket when the family dog bit his head. He was dead at the arrival of the police. The death was ruled accidental as the forensic pathologist that performed the autopsy said the dog was only trying to pick the baby up. In media reports, the dog was mostly called "a mixed breed" but also "a mix-breed shepherd weighing around 50 pounds" and "a male Labrador and Shepard mix".
February 11	Perquimans County, North Carolina	Suzanne Story	36 years	Boxer-pit bull mix	Story was mauled to death inside her home by her 1½-year-old 100-pound male Boxer-pit bull mix. The dog had attacked her while she was cleaning its crate; her sister heard her screams and pulled the dog off her and shut it into a bathroom. The dog broke a hole in the bathroom door, forced its way out and resumed its attack, holding her down, mauling her, and ripping her throat out. Story had adopted Buddy from a newspaper ad placed by his former owner, Cheryl Davino, only weeks before it killed her. The dog's breeder, Mike Brown, told reporters Davino had told Brown that she sold Buddy after he attacked her small dog; Davino never mentioned Buddy's violent attack to Story.
March 8	Thurston County, Washington	Gladys Alexander	92 years	pit bull mixes (4)	Victim went to neighbor's house to deliver a newspaper, opened the door, and the four dogs attacked. Victim died two days later. The sheriff's office described the dogs as "one adult male pit bull/lab mix, one adult-female pit bull/heeler mix and two juvenile mixed-breed pit bulls". All four dogs were euthanized.
March 28	Charlotte, North Carolina	Bessie Flowers	84 years	American Pit Bull Terrier (2)	While visiting her daughter's home, Flowers slipped or fell onto a dog's bed. The daughter's family dogs, a male and female, initially played with Flowers, then became increasingly aggressive, biting her head and neck, and causing substantial blood loss. According to the Medical Examiner's Office, Flowers died of "blunt force neck injuries due to dog attack." The two dogs were euthanized three days after the attack.
March 31	Leesburg, Florida	Sonda Tyson	66 years	pit bull mix or Bull Mastiff-pit bull mix	Severely attacked in her home by her own dog, which police described as a 100 pound brindle pit bull mix. No witnesses were present. The dog was fatally shot on site by responding police officers.
April 14	Fresno County, California	Valente Lopez Aguirre	58 years	pit bull mixes (3) + mixed breed dogs (2)	Victim was found dead of animal bites in a dry canal. Less than two months later, another victim, 74-year old Robert Lee Simonian, was found dead in the same canal, now wet. Though Simonian died of drowning, he too was covered in dog bites. Both men were found about 100 yards from a dog owner's house, and his loose dogs were harassing responders, search and rescue personnel, and neighbors. After a hearing on the dogs, five dogs were declared dangerous and ordered to be euthanized.
April 21	San Diego, California	Sebastian Caban	3 days	American Staffordshire Terrier-Great Dane mix or pit bull mix	Two parents were watching television in bed with their newborn son and 2-year-old, neutered family dog, "Polo", which they'd adopted from the San Diego Humane Society five months previously; the SDHS advertised Polo online as "vivacious, bubbly and cheerful." The mother coughed, and the 76 pound dog reacted by biting the newborn infant in the head. After a struggle to get Polo to release their child's skull, the parents drove Sebastian to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Polo was quarantined by San Diego County Animal Services, which euthanized it days later, at the request of the owners.
April 24	Homestead, Florida	Manuel Mejia	49 years	Belgian Malinois-American Bulldog mixes (10)	Caretaker was killed on the farm where he worked and the dogs lived.
May 9	St. Louis County, Missouri	Adonis Reddick	45 years	pit bull	Victim was discovered dead inside his home by relatives who hadn't heard from him in a few days. One of the victim's two pit bulls was acting aggressively and was shot by authorities inside the home; the other pit bull was taken into custody.
May 9	South Dallas, Texas	Antoinette Brown	52 years	Unspecified (7)	Victim was attacked on May 2 in a vacant lot by a pack of dogs belonging to a local resident who had a history of repeated citations for violating dog ordinances and surrendering of dogs. This case sparked investigations and changes in several city departments because of failures to communicate between agencies.
June 4	Stockton, California	Earl Wayne Stephens Jr.	43 years	pit bull	Victim was helping the dog's owner repair a scooter when the dog bit the victim an undisclosed number of times, killing the victim
June 4	Bangor, Maine	Hunter Bragg	7 years	pit bull	Victim was playing outside with the dog when the dog attacked the boy's throat, according to the animal control officer's report. Report states the attack was unprovoked, and the dog had a history of attacking other pets belonging to its previous owner.
June 15	Manor, Texas	Erin McCleskey	36 years	appeared to be Labrador Retriever-Great Pyrenees mixes (4) and Husky-Australian Cattle Dog mixes (2)	McCleskey entered the gate to a property to serve court papers, and was attacked by several dogs. Neither the dogs' owner nor any witnesses were present during the attack. 14 puppies were also found on the property. No humans lived at the house, where the six adult dogs were kept for breeding purposes. A court ruling to euthanize the dogs was made on June 24, 2016.
June 20	New Haven, Connecticut	Jocelyn Winfrey	53 years	American Bulldog mix (2)	Jocelyn Winfrey was attacked, bitten and mauled by two dogs when she and her friend, Hamilton Hicks, the owner of the dogs, were walking to his house. During the attack, Hicks tried to pull the dogs off of Winfrey, but he was also attacked and suffered non-life threatening injuries. Neighbors also intervened by throwing rocks at the dogs during the incident. After the attack, Winfrey underwent surgeries to remove both eyes and one leg. Winfrey died one week after the attack. Hicks was charged with misdemeanor possession of crack cocaine, and there was "speculation as to whether or not the dogs may have gotten into some narcotics", but the dogs were too aggressive to test without anesthetics, which would have polluted the sample. The dogs were scheduled to be euthanized.
June 27	Fresno, California	Susie Kirby	3 days	Shar Pei-pit bull mixes (2)	A mother left her infant "for a few seconds" on a sofa, and her brother's two male dogs, which she thought were tied up outside, entered through an open door and attacked the infant. The mother heard screaming and ran to rescue the baby. Susie Kirby died at the hospital. The dogs were surrendered to the Central California SPCA to be euthanized.
July 14	Seba Dalkai, Arizona	Kayden Begay	3 years	Pack of pitbulls (12)	The victim's aunt went out to get the cattle and, unknowingly, her young nephew followed her. She saw a pack of the neighbor's dogs gathering and went over to see what it was, then found the child. Locals had been complaining for a while about roving aggressive dogs.
July 16	Detroit, Michigan	Elizabeth Rivera	71 years	pit bull (1-4)	Victim was found dead in her home by a family member. There were four pit bulls in the home and it is unknown whether one or more of the dogs were involved in the attack. Animal control removed all four dogs.
July 29	Kalihi, Hawaii	Crisencio Aliado	52 years	pit bull mixes (2)	The homeless victim was mauled to death while washing his clothes in a stream. The dogs were returned to the owners despite nearby businesses and residents saying the dogs had gotten out before and been involved in previous attacks.
August 1	Screven County, Georgia	Michelle Wilcox	30 years	pit bull	Victim mauled by a dog in her home while the dog's owner, her boyfriend, was at work. The dog was euthanized by the owner.
August 17	Las Vegas, Nevada	Derion Stevenson	9 years	pit bull	Victim had gone to his friend's house for some candy. When the front door was opened, the dog attacked. The dog was euthanized.
August 19	Jacksonville, Florida	Michael Downing	83 years	Rottweiler mix, German Shepherd mix, Chow Chow mix	Elderly man killed by a pack of four dogs that had escaped their yard.
August 29	Conifer, Colorado	Susan Shawl	60 years	pit bull (2)	Victim was attacked in the face by her son's dogs. He tried to pull the dogs off, and was also bitten. The dogs were euthanized the following day by permission from the owner.
August 31	College Station, Texas	Baby Jane Doe	6 days	Unspecified	Victim died after an incident with the family dog. The dog was surrendered and later euthanized.
September 24	Topeka, Kansas	Piper Dunbar	2 years	pit bull (2)	Victim was found dead in her own yard by police after receiving a call about the child being missing. The mother sued DCF and the contracted foster agency for moving the child back into the father's home after previously removing the child from there.
October 23	Sherman Township, Michigan	Kiyana McNeal	4 years	Doberman Pinscher	Child killed by 3 year old dog they had purchased minutes earlier; the mother tried to intervene, but was unable to stop the attack. The dog was later scheduled to be euthanized.
October 25	New York City, New York	Daisie Bradshaw	68 years	German Shepherd mix or pit bull mix (2)	Woman was killed in her home by her daughter's two dogs. The daughter blamed her mother for her own death. Media reports variously reported the dogs' breeds as pit bull mix and German Shepherd mix. However, animal control labelled them as "Am Pit Bull Ter Mix" and posted their photos. The two dogs were x-rayed to determine stomach contents.
December 2	Huntington, West Virginia	Isaiah Franklin	6 years	pit bull	The victim was playing a video game when the family dog attacked him unprovoked.
December 16	Grover Beach, California	David Fear	68 years	Belgian Malinois	The dog attacked an elderly woman and Fear was killed by the dog when he tried to intervene to stop the attack. The dog had escaped the owner's property. The woman survived the attack. The dog's owner, former officer Alex Geiger, is on trial for involuntary manslaughter and failing to maintain control of a dangerous animal resulting in injury or death.

Fatalities in 2017

Date	Location	Victim's name	Victim's age	Category of dog	Circumstances
January 17	San Marcos, Texas	Skylar Julius	2 months	German Shepherd	The baby girl was attacked by the family dog while the father was sleeping.
January 17	Atlanta, Georgia	Logan Braatz	6 years	pit bull mix (2)	Three children were attacked by two dogs on their way to school. The six year old died, a five year old girl was gravely injured and an older child got away with minor injuries. The dogs' owner was charged with felony involuntary manslaughter.
February 13	Queens, New York	Louise Hermida	75 years	Mastiff-Great Dane mix	Louise was attacked by the family dog in the basement of her home.
February 16	Clarksville, Tennessee	Unknown	5 years	English Mastiff (2)	The child was attacked by two family dogs. The identify of the child was not publicly reported.
February 26	Quincy, Illinois	Jamie Owsley	21 years	pit bull	Victim was bitten on the neck by one of the three dogs owned by roommate and cousin, Talburt. Five months later Talburt attacked another man and allowed his dogs to bite that man in the face. Talburt was sentenced to fifteen years in a plea deal for the second attack and a slew of related charges.
February 28	Los Angeles, California	Valentin Herrera	76 years	pit bull (2)	Victim was attacked on Feb 2 by a neighbor's two unlicensed dogs when the dogs attacked and killed victim's Pomeranian, and while the dogs' owner watched and did nothing to help. The dogs had previously killed another dog and the neighbors were in fear of the dogs. Victim died after three weeks in a coma, never regaining consciousness. The owner later tried to reclaim his dogs.
March 23	Lusby, Maryland	Jase Patrick Fohs	8 months	pit bull	Family dog of six years attacked the victim, unprovoked. Police arrived while the attack was still underway and shot/killed the dog. Victim's name was only mentioned in a GoFundMe post linked from various news articles.
April 6	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Cecille Short	82 years	pit bull (2)	Short was attacked by two dogs that escaped their yard while she was walking her own dog in her neighborhood.
April 25	Dayton, Ohio	Maurice Brown	60 years	pit bull	Victim was walking in an alley when he was attacked by a dog that had broken from its chain. Police arrived during the attack and killed the dog, and confiscated three other pit bulls from the owner's property. Two years later, Anthony D. Austin, 29, was convicted of a first-degree misdemeanor charge of failing to control his dog, and was sentenced to 100 days in jail. The police chief apologized in court; the two responding police officers delayed checking on the victim for nine minutes. The victim had died of blood loss.
April 27	Upper Macungie Township, Pennsylvania	Lisa Green	32 years	pit bull-Boxer mix	Green was attacked by her own dog on her second-floor deck. A neighbor heard her scream for help and unsuccessfully attempted to intervene by hitting the dog with a ham bone and poking it with a wooden board; eventually an off-duty police officer living nearby fatally shot the dog. Green died in the hospital and the dog was euthanized. Investigators with the state's dog law office later learned the dog had bitten someone before, but it had not been reported, so it was never placed on the state's dangerous dog list.
May 1	Asheville, North Carolina	Jane Egle	59 years	Boerboel	Egle, who was a dog breeder, was found dead in her house with injuries that are consistent with a dog attack. She was found dead by her daughter who described one of the six dogs that were in her mother's house as "extremely aggressive". All six dogs were South African Boerboels and all six were not properly socialized and had aggression issues.
May 8	Las Vegas, Nevada	Kamiko Dao Tsuda-Saelee	6 months	pit bull	Victim was playing in a baby walker when the mother went to the bathroom. Upon returning, she found her pet dog of nine years biting the baby.
May 12	Redding, Connecticut	Sandra Keiser	71 years	mixed-breed dog	Keiser was attacked by her own dog in her home.
May 25	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Susannah Murray	3 weeks	pit bull (3)	The baby was left alone "for five minutes" with three dogs; one of the three dogs attacked her.
June 1	Virginia Beach, Virginia	Margaret Colvin	90 years	pit bull	Elderly victim had fallen and the dog attacked. The dog had been adopted just hours before from a rescue's adoption center. The dog had been an owner surrender due to biting a child and the rescue was known for obtaining violent dogs from kill-shelters and rehoming them in mere hours. This dog had a bite history and had been sent for training/rehabilitation for 2–3 months, but it didn't work. He was adopted out two more times, and returned, before being adopted to the victim's family. Because of this death, Virginia passed a law requiring disclosure of a dog's bite history upon adoption.
June 9	Phoenix, Arizona	Marcos Raya Jr.	18 months	Rottweiler	Marcos was attacked by the family dog while her grandmother was doing laundry.
June 27	Bozeman, Montana	Melissa Barnes	65 years	pit bull mix (1) and Bull Terrier (1)	Victim was working in her yard when the tenant's kids exited the house with the dogs. Victim was attacked by the pit bull and the other joined in. Dogs were surrendered, euthanized and tested for rabies.
July 11	Whitley City, Kentucky	Vinson Tucker	79 years	Unspecified (4+)	Victim found dead outside a wrecker tow yard. Camera footage showed the dogs which attacked him. All of the dogs were euthanized and sent for rabies testing.
July 20	Fostoria, Ohio	Michael Parks	60 years	pit bull	Victim's pit bull ran off his property and attacked another pit bull being walked on leash. Victim tried to break up the ensuing fight but was bitten near his dialysis shunt, causing profuse bleeding.
July 27	El Paso, Texas	Jacob Brooks	4 years	German Shepherd mix (3), pit bull mix (1)	Jacob was attacked by four family dogs while left unattended on the trampoline in the backyard.
August 1	Hartwell, Georgia	Paris Adams	20 months	pit bull (2)	Grandmother and her young grandson were bowled over by two of their dogs which then attacked the child. Grandmother had previously been cited multiple times for disorderly animals. Grandmother was charged, and ultimately sentenced to 10 years' probation under a plea deal. The dogs were confiscated.
August 6	Bangor, Maine	Unknown	3 weeks	Husky-German Shepherd mix	The baby boy was attacked by the family dog while sleeping in his crib.
August 19	Houston, Texas	Michael Obergas	8 weeks	Giant Schnauzer mix (1), Labrador Retriever mix (1)	The baby boy was killed by the two family dogs while in his crib. The parents had stepped away and one of the dogs was able to open the door to the room. Both dogs were euthanized.
August 26	Fountain, Florida	Alicia Malagon	76 years	pit bull	Victim was killed by her daughter's and son-in-law's dog that she was tending while the owners were out of town. Before passing out, victim was able to place a call for help. The dog was quarantined.
August 27	Lake Worth, Florida	Grace Walks	41 years	pit bull (1) and American Bulldog (1)	Victim was killed by two family dogs on her property. Both were euthanized.
September 20	Neshoba County, Mississippi	Connie Storey	61 years	pit bull	Connie was attacked by her son's dog when she went outside to feed it. The dog was euthanized.
September 20	Mount Vernon, Ohio	Barrett Hagans	1 month	pit bull	Father woke up to discover his dog had mauled the child. Two dogs from the home were euthanized.
September 28	Cherry Log, Georgia	Kathy Sue Nichelson	61 years	pit bull	Victim was attacked by her friend's dog when she arrived at the friend's residence. A passerby tried to render aid, was also bitten, escaped to safety and called 911. The dog was shot and killed when it approached responders aggressively. There had been complaints to animal control of an aggressive dog at the residence, and the dog had acted aggressively towards somebody at the residence the same morning.
October 21	Lowell, Massachusetts	Javien Candelario	7 years	pit bulls (2)	Javien walked up to an enclosure to pet the two dogs, he was grabbed and dragged over the fence and into the enclosure where he was horrifically mauled. Five police responded, too late to save the boy but soon enough to be traumatized by witnessing the mauling. The police tried to shoot the dogs, one jumped the fence and ran a mile before being cornered and shot.
October 30	Hartman, Arkansas	Sharon Lindemann	75 years	Unknown	Victim was discovered laying dead in her driveway by her sister.
November 3	Cleveland, Ohio	Sophia Booth	2 weeks	German Shepherd	The baby girl was killed by the family dog in her bedroom.
November 4	Hamlet, North Carolina	David Baber	65 years	pit bull (1), mixed-breed dog (1)	Baber was killed by two of his dogs in the backyard of his home. He owned three other dogs and lived alone. A neighbor attempted to stop the attack by throwing bricks at the dogs.
November 29	Guntersville, Alabama	Tracy Cornelius	46 years	pit bull (4)	Cornelius and her friend were attacked by four dogs belonging to a relative; her friend survived, but sustained serious injuries. The attack occurred on the dog owner's property, which was not fenced and contained a beware of dog sign. At least one dog was contained by way of a leash. There are no ordinances requiring leashes or fences in the area. Seven pit bulls in all were captured or killed by police; all but one belonged to the owner. No charges have been filed.
December 1	Gaffney, South Carolina	Korbin Williams	8 years	mixed-breed dog (3)	Korbin and his friend were walking in his neighborhood when they were attacked by three dogs. Korbin was pronounced dead at the scene; the other child was taken to a hospital for bites to his leg. Korbin was familiar with the dogs, played with them daily, and had just fed them before the attack. His mother was caring for the dogs while their owner was out of town and they escaped from a fence.
December 7	Jackson County, Alabama	Emily Colvin	24 years	pit bull (5)	Victim was killed and another woman injured when five dogs from her neighbor's house attacked them while walking. Subsequently, the dog's owners were both charged with misdemeanor homicide, four of the dogs were ordered to be euthanized, and Alabama lawmakers passed a bill (Emily's Law) imposing felony charges on owners of dogs that seriously injure or kill someone.
December 11	Alsip, Illinois	Dorothy Ford	76 years	pit bull	Ford was attacked by a 6-year-old dog in the back yard of the home where she lived. The dog acted aggressively towards police officers at the scene and was killed.
December 14	Goochland County, Virginia	Bethany Stephens	22 years	pit bull (2)	Stephens was attacked by her two dogs while taking them for a walk in a wooded area near her father's house. Her father says the dogs appeared to be "guarding" her body when he found them; deputies witnessed the dogs eating her remains. Due to circumstances in her life, she had left her dogs in the care of her father who, according to reports, had neglected the dogs. The county sheriff states they "went from being inside dogs doted on by Stephens to living outside in a kennel" and "[they] became more isolated and only had contact with each other". The two dogs were 2½-year-old males from the same litter, and one had been rescued by Stephens from an abusive situation. Both have been euthanized with the family's permission.
December 20	Phoenix, Arizona	Carol Harris	69 years	Akita	Victim was attacked at a dog boarding facility while working to rehab a dog for an Akita rescue she worked with. The dog was euthanized and sent for rabies testing.
December 24	Arjay, Kentucky	Lorraine Saylor	66 years	pit bull (2)	Victim was killed by a neighbor's two loose dogs outside her home. The victim's husband was also later attacked; he shot both, killing one. The second dog was put down by the Sheriff's Dept and Animal Shelter when it returned to its home. The owner of the dogs was in jail at the time of the attack on unrelated charges; he was charged with harboring a vicious animal.
December 28	Modesto, California	Deborah Onsurez	56 years	Mixed breeds (7)	Onsurez was killed by a pack of seven stray dogs of various breeds and mixed breeds while outside near the driveway of a business. The pack of 7 dogs of mixed breeds included breed portions such as: Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd, Queensland Heeler, Labrador Retriever, and pit bull.

Fatalities in 2018

Date	Location	Victim's name	Victim's age	Category of dog	Circumstances
January 9	Ouachita Parish, Louisiana	Laura Ray	53 years	Pit bull	Laura was killed by the dog at a pet boarding facility, Happy Hounds Hotel, where she worked. It was the dog's first stay at the facility; its owner later said the dog had never done anything like that before. The dog was euthanized later that week.
January 14	Duncan, Oklahoma	Rylee Dodge	3 years	Pit bull	Rylee was killed in her own home by a dog her family had acquired only five days earlier.
February 15	Owensboro, Kentucky	David Brown	46 years	pit bull	The 90# dog attacked the other family dog, a Beagle. Brown and his wife Dana tried to break up the fight and the dog attacked them. David Brown died of cardiac arrest complicated by dog attack, and Dana was injured. Police shot the pit bull and tasered the Beagle. A Dachshund in the household was also injured with dog bites.
March 7	Jonesville, Virginia	Aurora Little	8 days	Malamute-Wolf hybrid mix	The baby girl was mauled and killed while she was in her bassinet by the 3-year-old family dog.
March 9	Cape Girardeau, Missouri	Loxli Chavez	13 months	Mixed-breed dog or pit bull mix	Loxli was at babysitter Erica Jordan's home when she was attacked by her neutered male dog, which bit into the infant's skull and continued attacking as Jordan struggled to stop it. Though the dog was described by Jordan's brother as "part pit bull, Labrador and Malamute" mix it was called a "pit bull mix" by Jordan herself on multiple occasions, including in 2016 when the same dog bit her own 6 yr old son. Jordan pled guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison for Involuntary Manslaughter-2nd Degree.
March 25	Converse, Texas	Noah Trevino	4 years	pit bull mix	The boy was playing in the backyard of his home when the family dog attacked and killed him. The dog was tethered at the time of the attack and was described as a "pit bull mix" by a family member, and as a "mixed large-breed dog" by Bexar County Animal Control who seized the dog and intends to euthanize it.
March 25	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Hong Saengsamly	49 years	Pit bull	Victim was killed by her own dog. Her adult son discovered her body with one of her 2 pit bulls guarding it; when it attacked him, he shot it to death. Her arms and shoulders had been mauled so badly, bone was exposed on one arm.
May 5	Sherman Oaks, California	Gaia Nova	3 months	Rottweiler (1), Labrador Retriever (1)	The baby girl was attacked and killed by a family dog when her grandmother left the room to get a bottle. The family had three dogs - a Rottweiler (100 lbs), a Labrador Retriever (100 lbs), and a small terrier (10 lbs). Authorities are not sure which of the three dogs is responsible, but it is likely that one (or both) of the family's larger dogs was responsible (Rottweiler and/or Labrador Retriever).
May 10	Ardmore, Oklahoma	Tracy Garcia	52 years	Dachshund-Terrier mixes (6) Dachshund-Border Collie mix (1)	The woman was attacked and killed by her neighbor's seven dogs. The dogs were described as 6 Dachshund-Terrier mixes and one Dachshund-Border Collie mix. While news sources describe the dogs as a number of Dachshund and Terrier mixes, the exact breed(s) of the dogs remains unknown.
May 16	Gulfport, Mississippi	Georgia Morgan	75 years	Pit bulls (2)	Attacked by neighbor's dogs. The neighbor, Emily Craft, was later arrested on charges of "dog at large" and "vicious animal," and the dogs were euthanized.
May 24	Altoona, Pennsylvania	Gauge Allen Eckenrode	6 years	Pit bull	The victim was attacked outside the house by the family dog.
May 30	Miramar, Florida	Liana Valino	8 months	Pit bull	Infant attacked by family dog while in a bouncy chair at her grandmother's house. The dog, along with two others in the household, was seized.
June 10	Forest Park, Georgia	Paige Bradley	5 months	German Shepherd	The baby girl was mauled and killed by the babysitter's dog while the infant was asleep. The babysitter was also asleep in another room when the incident occurred. The babysitter was a family friend and the dog had been around the baby since it was born.
June 21	Huntingtown, Maryland	Jenna Sutphin	28 years	Dogo Argentino	Jenna was attacked and killed by one of her dogs, a Dogo Argentino that she owned with her fiance. She was found outside of her home early in the morning and died later that day as a result of her injuries. Her fiance is a K-9 officer and they owned two Dogo Argentinos (both family dogs) that were being used as a breeding pair. The dog that attacked Jenna was shot and killed by a responding Maryland State Police trooper.
June 25	Arcata, California	Donald Steele	91 years	Mixed-breed dog	Victim and his son's girlfriend were attacked in their home in a trailer park by a dog owned by victim's adult son. Shelter official Andre Hale described it as a mixed-breed dog. The animal was euthanized and tested negative for rabies.
July 8	Montgomery, Alabama	Joseph Pettaway	51 years	Belgian Malinois	The man was killed by a police K9 unit when police were responding to a burglary-in-progress call. The man was believed to be burglarizing a house when the K9 unit entered the house and attacked him.
July 17	Jacksonville, Florida	Jaelah Smith	6 years	pit bull mix	Jaelah was attacked on Sunday, July 15 by a dog that her family was dog sitting and she died of her injuries several days later. The family was watching the dog while its owner was on vacation.
August 1	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Javon Torres	2 years	Pit bulls (3)	Victim was attacked by three dogs in his home while under the care of a babysitter.
August 4	Chicago, Illinois	Karen Brown	57 years	Pit bull	Victim was attacked by a loose dog that had been kept in an unfenced backyard by owners who kept multiple dogs in crates
August 9	Montgomery County, North Carolina	Olga Rekhson	64 years	Pit bulls (2)	Victim went for a walk. She was discovered a few hours later, deceased on the side of an unused road within the development.
August 18	Rocky Mount, North Carolina	Gurney Walker	75 years	Pit bull	Victim was found dead at a home with injuries inflicted by a dog. Victim had been staying at the home of the owner of the dog.
August 22	Cincinnati, Ohio	Della Riley	42 years	Pit bull	Victim was attacked and killed by her own dog in her home.
September 3	Columbia, Maryland	Robin Conway	64 years	Pit bull	Victim was killed in her backyard by a dog she had adopted just two weeks previously.
September 6	Mount Shasta, California	Teena Mawhorter	74 years	Pit bull mix or collie-terrier mix	Elderly victim was attacked and killed by the family dog while sitting in her kitchen when she reached under the table to pet the dog.
September 9	Baker City, Oregon	Mitchelle Dean Segerdahl	53 years	Pit bulls (6)	Victim was attacked by one or many of his six dogs in his home. By the time police arrived, two of the dogs were dead from fighting each other.
October 1	Las Vegas, Nevada	Susan Sweeney	58 years	Mastiff-Presa Canario mix	Susan was attacked and killed by a dog that she had recently adopted from a shelter. Her husband found her body in their home and called the police to report the incident. The dog was euthanized after the police completed the investigation.
October 5	Clearwater, Florida	Khloe Williams	7 months	Retriever-hound mix or pit bull mix	The baby girl was killed while being babysat by her "foster grandmother". The woman had opened the dog's kennel to let it outside but it ran towards the baby and attacked. The woman called her son (a police officer) and then her husband (a retired officer and the dog's owner) before being instructed to call 911. The baby was pronounced dead at the hospital. The dog was euthanized. The dog, a stray picked up by animal services eight months previously (and then labelled a "pit bull mix"), was adopted even after biting at first meet, and was relabelled a "Retriever-hound" after the fatal attack. There were accusations that the child welfare agency was negligent in placing the child in a home with a prohibited dog, but the dog didn't reside in the foster parent's home.
October 12	Alvin, Texas	Denali Gonzalez	2 years	Leopard Cur mix	The child was attacked by the family dog in their backyard and died on the scene from her injuries. The child had gone into the backyard to play with the dog when the attack occurred. A family member immediately called 911 after noticing the attack. The dog was tranquilized when the police arrived and was later euthanized.
October 14	Washington, District of Columbia	Angela Smith	55 years	Pit bull	The victim's husband left the home for a 15 minute walk. On returning, he found his wife mauled by the family dog. Victim's mother in law was present in the home, but sleeping in another room. There were no witnesses of the attack. The dog attempted to bite responding officers and was later euthanized.
October 27	Greenville, Texas	Kristie Kelley	44 years	Brazilian Mastiff	The victim was home alone when the family dog attacked her on October 23. She was found injured but alive by her husband who called 911 for an ambulance. She was taken to the hospital but passed away four days later on October 27 due to injuries suffered from the attack.
October 28	Rocky Mount, North Carolina	Triniti Harrell	1 year old	pit bull mix	Victim was attacked by the family's dog of six years. 911 operator assisted the mother in trying to get the dog off. The dog was ultimately shot by responding officers.
November 2	Winchester, Kentucky	April Collins	45 years	Pit bull	Husband arrived home to discover his wife had been attacked by their dog. The victim had been bitten several times previously by the dog; family and friends said the dog had violent tendencies. Victim's husband was charged with first-degree wanton endangerment.
November 4	Windsor Township, Pennsylvania	Nora Sharp	19 months	mixed-breed dog	The toddler was attacked by the family dog at home while the parents were present.
November 11	Dunnellon, Florida	Cecileigh Garris	5 days	Pit bull	A family dog jumped onto a bed beside its owner's newborn daughter to attack the baby in her bassinet.
November 13	Big Prairie Township, Michigan	Sharon Daniels	77 years	Pit bull	Elderly, disabled, wheelchair bound woman was found dead in her home with three pit bulls, one of which bit her.
December 10	Robeson County, North Carolina	Esta Currier	73 years	Rottweiler (4)	Deputies responded to a call of dog attack and found the adult victim dead near the road. Two of the victim's grandchildren had also been attacked but were being protected by neighbors. All four dogs were shot by deputies when they attacked responders.

Fatalities in 2019

Date	Location	Victim's name	Victim's age	Category of dog	Circumstances
January 9	Grenada, Mississippi	Dianne Reves	70 years	Labrador Retriever mixes or mixed-breed dogs (7)	Dianne was found dead by a neighbor after being attacked by a pack of seven dogs in her backyard. The dogs were described as large mixed-breed dogs or "mutt-lab-mixed" dogs by sheriffs department investigators. The dogs belonged to a neighbor that lived nearby. All of the dogs involved were euthanized.
January 16	Joshua Tree, California	Lana Bergman	70 years	pit bull (4)	Bergman was attacked and killed by four pit bulls owned by Stephanie Johnston and Daniel Nelson, a couple who parked their converted school bus in her yard. Bergman had been trying to get the family to leave for weeks, sparked by the couple's pit bulls attacking Bergman's dog, a Lab. Bergman had left voice messages with her brother that she was going to insist that they leave on the same night that she was mauled to death. In late March 2019, prosecutors announced they would not file charges against the dogs' owner, who want their dogs returned to them. Following a hearing the owners failed to appear at, all four dogs were humanely euthanized.
January 21	Amarillo, Texas	Edward Dewitt Stanley	85 years	Shepherd-mix (1) and pit bull mix (1)	Mauled in his driveway, victim was aided by a neighbor with a rubber stick to ward off the two dogs. He died two weeks later. The dogs were seized.
January 24	Tucson, Arizona	Patricia Henson	8 months	German Shepherd mix	The infant girl was reportedly killed by the family dog while the mother slept. The mother was arrested for child abuse as she was intoxicated when the baby was attacked but she was later released as the investigation is still on-going. While the manner of death is still being investigated, the autopsy report describes injuries consistent with a dog attack. A photo of the dog was released and the autopsy report posted online. The dog was euthanized.
February 8	Guthrie, Kentucky	Ashton McGhee	1 year	pit bull mix	Victim was mauled by the grandparent's family dog while playing with a ball on the floor. The grandmother tried to intervene and was also bitten. The dog was euthanized.
February 8	Houston, Texas	Elaine Richman	66 years	Doberman Pinscher (2)	The victim trained dogs for a living (specifically Dobermans) and was found dead in her backyard by police with multiple bite wounds on her face and body. The Houston police found her while conducting a welfare check because she had not appeared for her dog training classes in two days. Her two adult dogs were confiscated by authorities and are being held by Houston Animal Control pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.
February 9	Anza, California	Angela Johnson	54 years	pit bulls (3)	Victim was hanging laundry in her yard when the dogs attacked. She was on life support for almost two months and died without regaining consciousness. The dogs' owner was arrested on outstanding felony warrants and the dogs were euthanized.
February 18	Beaufort County, North Carolina	Brenda Hamilton	77 years	Unknown	Victim suffered severe injuries after being attacked while out walking. She died of her injuries three days later.
February 21	Greenville, South Carolina	Nancy Cherryl Burgess-Dismuke	52 years	Boxer mix (2)	Neighbors attempted to stop a mauling of the victim by her own two dogs. According to a witness, the dogs had already amputated one arm and almost fully amputated the other. The dogs were seized by Animal Control.
February 26	Pall Mall, Tennessee	Bessie Jill Peterson	88 years	Mixed breeds (6)	Elderly victim died from an attack by a pack of dogs that belonged to a neighbor as she was trying to clear a clogged drainage ditch in her backyard. Her sister witnessed part of the attack and was chased. Victim was flown to Vanderbilt Medical Center but passed away. The dogs were all euthanized and the District Attorney is considering criminal charges to the owner. Variously reported as German Shepherds and/or pit bulls, both breeds were eventually ruled out. The veterinarian report declared them as mixed breed (mutt), and "while one could have had some type of shepherd mix, none of them had pit bull features."
February 27	Lubbock, Texas	Johnnie Mae Garner	88 years	pit bull mixes (6)	Victim was attacked in her backyard by 6 pit bulls belonging to neighbor Courtney White. The pit bulls were euthanized and sent for rabies testing, per Texas law on fatal dog attacks. Investigation revealed that the pit bulls had a history of running loose and attacking - they had mauled a man and killed a dog only days prior to the fatal attack. After that earlier attack, White had attempted to surrender the animals to the Lubbock Animal Services; records show he called the agency and was told the earliest surrender appointment was March 1. White was arrested March 8, 2019 and charged with Attack by Dog, a second-degree felony.
March 5	Salisbury, North Carolina	Jacari Long	6 months	Boxer-pit bull mix	The babysitter put down the baby boy in the living room to go outside to prepare her vehicle for transporting the infant. She heard her mother scream, ran back inside, and the baby was being mauled by her dog. The dog was seized.
March 8	High Springs, Florida	Tanner Jayce Kinnamon	2 years	American Staffordshire Terrier mix (1) and American Bulldog mix (1)	Victim and his grandmother went to another family member's house to let out the dogs, which she did daily. Two of the dogs were in the backyard and attacked the child, who was killed. The grandmother tried to intervene and she was also injured. The two dogs involved were surrendered to Animal Services for quarantine and euthanizing, and the other four dogs in the household were seized, to be held until completion of the investigation.
March 13	Santa Fe, Texas	Jimmy Lee Grigg	53 years	Mixed breed dogs (3)	Man was attacked by three dogs owned by a relative and died on the way to the hospital. The dogs were confiscated and will likely be euthanized. Earlier the dogs' breeds were said to be "cattle dog mixes" but a newer article mentions "all of the dogs were of mixed breed, including a Heeler and Mastiff mix."
March 22	Fresno, California	Jaysiah Chavez	2 years	Rottweilers (2)	Jaysiah was attacked in his own front yard by two loose Rottweilers. The dogs had escaped their unnamed owner's yard by digging under the fence, something neighbors say was a common event. The victim's grandmother suffered injuries trying to stop the dogs; the grandfather was able to stop the attack. The dogs were seized, the owner located, and the dogs were surrendered for euthanasia.
March 23	Irving, Texas	Johana Villafane	33 years	pit bulls (2)	Victim was attacked and killed by her own pit bulls, 1yo male Oliver and 1yo female Delfina, as she walked them outside the vet hospital where they were being held for a rabies quarantine (having previously gotten loose from Villafane's property and attacked a man). Both pit bulls were involved in the attack, and both were so aggressive that vet staff, EMTs and police were unable to aid the victim until police shot and killed them.
April 27	Henderson, Nevada	Kyna Deshane	15 months	Rottweiler	The 15 month old girl was attacked by a family friend's dog and later died of her injuries at the hospital. The family was at home when the incident occurred but doesn't know what happened or what caused the dog to attack the toddler. The dog has been euthanized at the family's request.
May 2	Louisville, Kentucky	Isaiah Geiling	3 years	pit bull	The 3 year old boy was attacked by his grandfather's dog and later died of his injuries at the hospital. The dog had bitten the child's ear a few weeks before the attack and neighbors reported that there have been previous problems with the dog. The dog has been quarantined and the investigation is still ongoing.
May 9	Fort Pierce, Florida	Christine Liquori	52 years	Pit bull mix	Volunteer at the shelter was found dead in the exercise yard with a dog. She died of blood loss from a dog mauling. The dog, owned by Humane Society of St. Lucie County for the last 8 days, was scheduled to be euthanized 5/10/2019.
May 9	Dighton, Massachusetts	Ryan Hazel	14 years	Dutch Shepherds (1), Belgian Malinois (4)	The boy was at the property of dog trainer Scott Dunmore to take care of his dogs while he was out of town. The boy didn't return home within a reasonable time, so his grandmother called a neighbor, who found the boy mortally wounded and four dogs loose in the area. Four dogs were seized (one Dutch Shepherd and three Belgian Malinois), along with seven other dogs which were caged at the time of the incident. The owner was out of town at the time. Investigators eventually returned most of the dogs, but euthanized five that were involved in the incident.
May 31	Fort Madison, Iowa	Robert Joseph "Joey" Quick Jr.	33 years	Boxer	Quick died after trying to save his 5 year old daughter from the attacking dog. Quick had bites to his juglar vein and other facial bites as well as suffering a heart attack at the scene. He could not be revived. When responders arrived on scene, the dog was attacking a third victim, an adult male. The dog was shot and killed to stop that attack. The second adult male victim and Quick's daughter were both injured, but survived.
June 16	Bakersfield, California	Crystal Lynn Pearigen	36 years	pit bull (2) + mixed breed (1)	A woman was found dead in a Costco parking lot. Area surveillance footage shows she was attacked by three dogs. The dogs are slated to be euthanized.
June 27	Newman, California	Undisclosed (boy)	2 years	pit bull-mastiff mix	Victim was bitten several times in the backyard of his home by a family dog, and was pronounced dead at hospital. The dog was impounded and will be put down. A neighbor said that dog had tried to attack her own dogs before, and she had seen it lunging and biting at the toddler previously.
June 28	Ventura, California	Maria Crawford	54 years	Australian Cattle Dog mix	Victim was found dead in her home by another family member. She was mauled to death by one of the family's two dogs (Kai, Australian Cattle dog mix and Havoc, a pit bull). Earlier in 2019, on at least two occasions, she had been significantly injured by Kai, the same dog that authorities determined fatally attacked her on June 28. Navoc was returned to the family on July 18. Kai was euthanized by Ventura County Animal Services on July 29.
June 29	Gilbertsville, Kentucky	Brian S Butler	46 years	pit bulls (3)	Victim was found dead in a driveway by a passerby. Three pit bulls were seized, and the owner of the dogs was charged with tampering with evidence, duty of a person, and finding or possessing a dead body.
July 4	Highlands County, Florida	Melvin Olds Jr.	45 years	Under investigation	Victim had taken a shortcut through a wooded area. His body was found later that day with more than 100 dog bites. Six dogs, all pit bull mixes, were caught in traps or picked up by law enforcement. The bite wounds matched the size of dog. DNA tests are being done to identify if the dogs they've caught were involved.
July 9	Gainesville, Georgia	Ruth Flores	3 weeks	Husky-mix (1)	The 22 day old infant was attacked and killed by the family dog. The infant was sleeping in a bedroom when the attack occurred. The investigation is currently on-going.
July 11	Uniontown, Pennsylvania	Homer Utterback	52 years	pit bull (1)	Victim was attacked by the dog he'd had for 10 years. It's believed he had an epileptic seizure and the dog attacked him.
July 18	Memphis, Tennessee	Mario Moore	40 years	pack of dogs (7-8)	Victim was attacked by a pack of dogs on the street and was taken to the hospital where he later died from the injuries. Seven to eight dogs were involved. Five were immediately picked up; trapping brought the total to 12 dogs. Four were determined not involved. Animal Services will euthanize those determined to involved.
August 10	Irving, Texas	Nelson Cabrera	16 years	Pit bulls (3)	Victim had jumped a fence into a yard and was attacked by the resident dogs. Responding police also jumped the fence, got between the dogs and victim, and shot at the dogs. One police officer was bitten. All three dogs were seized. One dog had been shot and was later euthanized.
August 19	Detroit, Michigan	Emma Hernandez	9 years	Pit bull mixes (3)	Victim was attacked by three loose dogs while riding her bike in an alley in her neighborhood. One dog was shot and killed by a neighbor and the other two dogs have been seized by animal control. The owner of the dogs was identified and has been arrested.
August 20	Rochester, Minnesota	Grady O’Brien	9 years	pit bull (1)	O’Brien was riding his bike when, a black pit bull owned by a nearby family, bit him in the leg. O’Brien tried to fend the dog away but was punctured in his right hand.
August 30	Knox County, Tennessee	Adrieanna O'Shea	19 years	Mastiffs (3), Rottweiler (1), pit bull (1)	Victim was attacked by a pack of five dogs on August 23 when she went to pickup her purse from a house where she had left it the night before. She was transported to the hospital in critical condition and died several day later on August 30. When police arrived at the scene, they found the victim unresponsive and shot and killed one of the dogs. The four other dogs were eventually captured and the owner, who lives in a nearby home and knew the victim, has decided to euthanize the remaining four dogs. The dogs were described as two Mastiffs, one Mastiff-lab mix, one pit bull, and one Rottweiler.
September 7	Pleasant Valley, New York	Arlene Renna	67 years	Coonhounds (2)	Victim was found unconscious in her home on the living room floor after being attacked by the family dog(s). She was found by her husband and later pronounced dead at the scene with injuries that are consistent with a dog attack. The victim and her husband had two coonhounds which were secured and taken by the local SPCA. Authorities are not sure if one or both of the dogs were involved in the attack.
September 20	Granite Bay, California	Baby boy (name unknown)	13 months	Pit bull (1)	A baby boy was mauled to death by the family dog, a nine-year-old pit bull.
September 30	Bennington, Oklahoma	Allen Bruce	56	pit bulls (2) and a pit bull mix	Bruce was mauled on September 28 by three dogs as he went to visit an acquaintance. Responders were also attacked by the dogs and had to shoot at them. Bruce was airlifted to hospital but died two days later.
September 30	Hampton, Virginia	Morgan Crayton	31	Pit bull	Crayton was mauled on September 29 by one of her dogs, a 92# pit bull. A 68-yr old woman was also injured. Crayton died the following day. The dog was removed by animal control.
October 1	Louisville, Kentucky	Steven Thornton III	3 years	Rottweilers (2)	Victim was attacked and killed in his backyard by the family's two dogs. The police stated that no charges are expected in this case. Animal services removed the dogs which will be euthanized after a quarantine period.
October 7	Modesto, California	Dustin Bryan	21 years	pit bulls (2)	Victim was attacked and killed by a family's two dogs while staying the night with them. The dogs were not previously known to be aggressive and are currently being held in quarantine at the county animal services agency.
October 30	Hazel Park, Michigan	Benjamin Cobb	4 years	Pit bull	The boy's mother tried to stop the dog with scissors and a steak knife when it attacked her young son. She was housing the dog for a friend. The injured dog was euthanized.
November 1	Clearcreek Township, Ohio	Mary Matthews	49 years	Great Danes (2)	Victim was attacked and killed by the family's two dogs that they had adopted and owned for at least two years. On Friday November 1, the victim's husband had returned home and found his wife unresponsive in the home with multiple injuries at which point he called the police. One of the dogs had recently shown signs of aggression and had bitten the husband's arm. Authorities seized the dogs and both dogs have been euthanized.
November 1	Bay City, Michigan	Brandy Joy O'Dell	41 years	Pit bulls (2)	O'Dell was found dead in her home. Autopsy revealed she was bitten to death by one or both of her dogs.
November 6	Suffield, Connecticut	Janet D'Aleo	95 years	Pit bull-Pointer mix	D'Aleo was visiting her friend when the family dog attacked her. She died at hospital. The dog, which was seized, was owned by an animal rights activist who is the Connecticut Senior State Director of the Humane Society of the United States. Family of victim is suing the dog's owner.
November 11	Madera, California	Lasaro Macedo	48 years	pit bulls (2)	Lasaro Macedo, homeless, went to visit a friend at a homeless encampment on the river bed in Madera. Macedo's friend was not there but her two pit bulls were and attacked Macedo. Police shot and killed one of the dogs, the other was impounded. Autopsy found that the two dogs were responsible for his death.
November 21	Dacula, Georgia	Lorena Cordova	45 years	pit bulls (3)	Lorena Cordova was attacked by her neighbor's 3 pit bulls that were not contained on the morning of September 16. Her daughter went to check on her and found her in the road with serious injuries. Another family member was also attacked when trying to help Gonzalez-Carrillo. A week before the attack, the victim's family had asked the owner of the dogs to contain them. The owner of the dogs surrendered them to animal control to be put down. She succumbed to her injuries on November 21.
December 13	Hollis, Oklahoma	Victor Garces	12 years	pack of dogs (3)	The victim was attacked and killed by a pack of three dogs when walking home from school. Police killed two dogs involved in the attack. The owners of the dogs (two brothers ages 44 and 53) have been charged with 2nd degree manslaughter and animal cruelty.
December 14	Broken Bow, Oklahoma	Cledith Davenport	79 years	Blue Heeler mixes (8-10)	The victim was found laying in a ditch by a mail carrier after being attacked by a pack of dogs. A number of the dogs were captured and quarantined. The medical examiner determined that the cause of death was due to the dog attack.
December 20	Somerset, Massachusetts	Melissa Astacio	44 years	pit bull	While having a seizure, Astacio was attacked and killed by her pet dog that had been in the family since a puppy.
December 21	Houston, Texas	Medessa Ragsdale	44 years	Staffordshire Terriers (3)	A woman was found dead in a ditch with bite marks all over her body just minutes after a different woman (49 years old) on the same street was attacked by the same dogs, surviving the attack in stable condition. Three dogs got out of their yard around 5:45 am, fatally attacked Ragsdale, leaving her there for hours.

Fatalities in 2020

Date	Location	Victim's name	Victim's age	Category of dog	Circumstances
January 8	Taos, New Mexico	Kay Torres	52 years	pack of dogs	Victim was found near an intersection being attacked by a pack of wild dogs. The caller stated she fended off the dogs with a broom. The FBI reported that an autopsy performed on Torres concluded that he died from an "apparent dog attack" and not, as was rumored on social media, a homicide.
January 9	Dayton, Ohio	McKenzie Terwell	4 months	pit bull	Around midnight, the father of the infant called 911 after he returned to the home and found his daughter on the floor, unresponsive. The Commander of the Violent Crime Bureau stated that the child had been attacked by the family dog and died from her injuries. The coroner ruled the death an accident and stated the child died from blood loss. Dayton police said the dog was a pit bull and the incident is under investigation by the Special Victims Unit.
January 10	Rockcastle County, Kentucky	Donald Abner	55 years	pit bull	Police were called to the home after a neighbor called 911. They found Abner in the backyard being attacked by the pit bull and the owner of the pit bull, Melissa Wolke (38). She was sitting on Abner, punching him in the face while the dog attacked him. Wolke had to be tased to remove her from Abner's body and the police put down the "overly aggressive" female pit bull named Denali. The victim had bite wounds on his head and face. Wolke was charged with murder.
January 25	Lafayette, Indiana	Julian Connell	1 month	pit bull mix	The pit bull mix was fighting with a beagle mix in the family home. The teenage son removed the beagle from the room to get it away from the pit bull. The pit bull mix then attacked the baby. The coroner stated that one month old Julian died from multiple sharp, catastrophic injuries to his head and neck.
January 30	Attala County, Mississippi	Harvey Harmon, Jr	76 years	2 pit bulls and 2 mixed breeds	Victim was pulled out of his wheelchair by four dogs and mauled to death in his front yard in the Palestine community. The two pit bulls belonged to Harmon's nephew and the two mixed breeds were strays that "hung around" the area. 3 of the 4 dogs were put down by a veterinarian at the scene, the 4th, one of the strays, escaped.
February 10	Oro Grande, California	Sterling Vermeer	5 years	pit bull	The family pit bull named Thor attacked and killed Sterling in the family home. The 5-year-old was dead by the time the police arrived. A family member called 911 stating that the pit bull attacked the child and would not let go.
February 11	Plainfield, IL	Devin White	25 years	pit bull	In an unprovoked attack, the family pit bull attacked the victim and 3 other adults (a 52-year-old woman, a 25-year-old woman, and a 19-year-old man). All four victims were taken to the hospital, but White later succumbed to the severe injuries he received when his pit bull mauled him after he tried to stop the attack on the other people in the home.
February 27	Shreveport, LA	Geraldine Hamlin	64 years	2 pit bulls	Hamlin was attacked by the two family pit bulls in her home she shared with her son and died as a result of her injuries.
March 3	Chipley, FL	Jean Dove	60 years	pack of dogs	Victim was attacked by a pack of at least five dogs while walking near the assisted living facility that she was a resident of. The dogs lived on a nearby property and were not stray. All of the dogs were captured by animal control.
April 11	Portland, OR	Frederick Shew	70 years	Mastiff	Victim was attacked and killed by his own dog after going to bed. The victim's housemate heard a loud noise and when he went to check on the noise, he found the dog biting and shaking the victim's neck. The housemate was able to wrestle the dog away from the victim; however, it was too late and the victim died from the bite wounds before paramedics arrived. The dog had a history of aggression and was previously involved with several bite-related incidents. The dog was seized by authorities and was euthanized the next day.
May 9	Fox Lake, IL	Lisa Urso	52 years	pocket bully mix	Victim was found unresponsive on the back patio of her home with multiple dog bite-related injuries after being attacked by her family dog. The dog had been involved with two previous bite incidents, one of which required her boyfriend to seek medical attention after the dog bit him.
May 31	Murray County, GA	Skylar Headrick	11 years	Neapolitan Mastiffs (2)	Victim was attacked by the two family dogs and was found deceased by her older sister on the basement floor of her home with injures consistent with dog bites. The victim's family stated that the two dogs were never aggressive towards anyone before. The dogs were surrendered and are no longer with the family.
June 11	Hartford, SD	Undisclosed (boy)	6 weeks	Belgian Malinois	The infant was attacked by the family dog and later died in the hospital due to injuries from multiple bite wounds. The dog was seized by authorities and taken to the local humane society.
June 28	Mandeville, LA	Barbara Cook	72 years	Pit Bull	Killed after being attacked by her daughter's two pit bulls near Mandeville, Louisiana. At the time of the attack, Barbara was babysitting her grandson and put herself between her grandson and the dog in an attempt to protect him.

See also

• Animal attack
• Beware of the dog
• Coyote attack
• Dingo attack
• Dog bite prevention
• Dogs in the United States
• List of wolf attacks
• Wolf attack

Species:

• List of fatal alligator attacks in the United States
• List of fatal bear attacks in North America
• List of fatal cougar attacks in North America
• List of fatal snake bites in the United States
• List of fatal, unprovoked shark attacks in the United States

In other countries:

• Fatal dog attacks
• Fatal dog attacks in Canada
• Fatal dog attacks in the United Kingdom