• Georgia toddler mauled to death by family's pack of dogs

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    A toddler was mauled to death after her family didn't notice she had gotten out of the house, and seven of their nine dogs attacked her in the backyard, Georgia authorities said.

    Monica Renee Laminack, just 21 months old, crawled through the doggie door of her family's Ellabell, Ga., home on Wednesday evening and managed to slip out into the backyard, Debra Odom, Bryan County sheriff's office administrative secretary, said.

    That's when the family's pet dogs — all pit bulls or pit bull mixes, according to Odom — seized on her.

    "They started attacking the child, mauled her, drug her all over the yard, took her clothes off, scattered her clothes," Bryan County Sheriff Clyde Smith said in a news conference Thursday.


    Emergency personnel arrived on the scene to find the girl covered in bite marks and were unable to revive her, reported WTOC.com in Georgia. 

    “When we got here and spoke to EMS, they told us that when they got here, she was already cold. There was nothing they could do,” Bryan County Deputy Sheriff James Beatty told The Savannah Morning News.

    Five people were home at around 6 p.m. when the mauling happened, according to WTOC.com, including Monica's 12-year-old brother, who was assigned to watch her, and their grandmother.

    The grandmother, who was not identified, reportedly woke up to hear the dogs barking; she looked out her window and yelled "They are killing Monica!", reported WTOC.com. 

    Bryan County Animal Control euthanized all seven of the dogs involved. An Irish settler and beagle that the family owned were spared, Odum said, adding authorities had never been responded to calls at the home before this.

    An autopsy was being conducted on Thursday. No charges have been filed yet.

    "It's still under investigation right now," Odum said.

    It's unclear why the dogs became aggressive with the toddler, who would have turned 2 years old in June. 

     “She habitually played with dogs, all of them. But they drug her all over the yard. Something turned them on her. We don’t know what,” Smith said, reported The Savannah Morning News.

  • Pair of pit bulls maul 14-month-old boy, killing him

    A 14-month-old Wisconsin boy was at his babysitter's apartment when two pit bulls attacked and killed him. WTMJ's Annie Scholz reports.

    By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

    A 14-month-old Wisconsin boy has died after a brutal attack by a pair of pit bulls, authorities said on Thursday.

    Police received a call from Susan Iwicki, 30, on Wednesday saying that she and the young boy were being attacked by the dogs, according to local NBC affiliate WMTV. Iwicki told police that she and the boy had each sustained injuries.


    The boy died of his injuries at a Milwaukee area hospital later on Wednesday, the Walworth County sheriff’s office said, according to The Associated Press.

    The boy had the “biggest eyes, great smile,” family friend Valerie Brylow told local affiliate WTMJ. “He was a great little boy.”

    “He is adorable, absolutely adorable,” Nicole Jennison, another family friend told the station.

    The boy’s name has not been released, and an investigation continues. Both of the pit bulls were removed from the property and euthanized on Wednesday, WMTV reported.

    The fatal dog attack was the first in Wisconsin in a decade, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

  • Pit bulls maul California man to death, officials say

    A California man was mauled to death in a driveway by four pit bulls belonging to a neighbor. KSEE's Angela Greenwood reports.

     

    By NBC News staff

    A man near Fresno, Calif., was mauled to death by four pit bulls that have since been taken away as authorities on Thursday investigated what happened.


    The man was found dead Tuesday night in the driveway of a home in Selma. Animal control officers later impounded four pit bulls, six pit bull puppies and two other dogs at a house next door, NBC affiliate KSEE TV reported.

    Neither the victim nor the dogs' owner were identified.

    A neighbor said he wasn't surprised, saying that the pit bulls had killed his own dog about a month ago.

    "They come in our front yard and will come in our driveway," Blake Anderson told KSEE. "I couldn't even get out of my car one time. There were like four of them, so yeah it's ridiculous." 

    Anderson said the owner should be held responsible for letting the dogs run free.

    Authorities would not confirm if the owner will face any charges.

    Liberty Animal Control Services, which handles pet issues in the area, said it had not received any earlier calls about the pit bulls.

    "The owner of the animals was cooperative. He did sign all the animals over to Liberty Animal Control Services, where they will not be returned to the owner," Liberty director Daniel Bailey told KSEE.

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  • Maryland court finds pit bulls are 'inherently dangerous'

    By Chris Gordon, nbcwashington.com

    A new ruling makes it easier for anyone attacked by a pit bull or pit bull mix in Maryland to take legal action against the dog's owner.


    The Maryland Court of Appeals ruling declares pit bulls as a breed are "inherently dangerous," and the owner of a pit bull or a cross-bred pit that attacks is strictly liable for damages, as is any landlord who rents to a pit bull owner.

    The Maryland SPCA, which arranges adoptions for dogs that need homes, currently has three pit bulls under its care: a five-month-old Brutus is scheduled to be adopted this week, Ayoki is available and Valentina will be put up for adoption soon. But the SPCA is concerned that it may be harder to find adoptive homes and families may abandon pit bulls after the recent ruling.

    “We believe that an animal’s behavior should be the determining factor in whether or not the animal is considered dangerous,” said Cheryl Bernard Smith, of SPCA. “We don't believe that a particular breed should be pinpointed for that."

    For more, visit NBCWashington.com

    "All dogs, if you don't train them and show them love, can turn out to be mean animals,” said Rodney Taylor, of Prince George’s County Animal Management. “It has a lot to do with the owner and how you raise the pet."

    "I guess I'm just a fighter," said Alberta Phillips, 81, who used a bottle of hand sanitizer to help fend off a vicious pit bull. WDIV-TV's Hank Winchester reports.

    The Maryland Court of Appeals decision dealt with the case of a young boy who suffered life-threatening injuries when he was attacked by a pit bull.

    Pit bulls are banned in Prince George's County.

    "Back in 1997 they passed a law saying you could not own or harbor a pit bull or a pit bull mix in Prince George's County,” Taylor said. “If you happen to have one or are caught with one you could be arrested. It does carry six months in prison and a $1,000 fine for having one."

    Now the law finds pit bull owners throughout Maryland absolutely accountable for the behavior of their dogs.

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  • Police: Woman threw three puppies at boyfriend who allegedly broke her nose

    By msnbc.com staff

    FRIDLEY, Minn. – An Anoka County, Minn., woman was jailed Thursday after throwing three 1-week-old pit bulls at her boyfriend, who allegedly broke her nose, police told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.


    The man, David Peter Remme, 25, was arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault; the woman, Gabrielle Tywon Allen, 20, of Sping Lake Park, was held on possible charges of animal cruelty, the newspaper said. Both were in the Anoka County Jail on Thursday.

    Fridley police said the two argued in a parking lot outside an apartment building early Thursday. Allen allegedly hurled the three newborn puppies, which were huddled on the front seat of a pickup truck, at Remme after he punched her in the face, police said.

    The pups landed on the concrete and appeared to be uninjured, police said.

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