INDIANA --Joseph D. Hines was described as a down-to-earth guy with a great sense of humor.
Hines, 58, was killed last Saturday by Honey, his male pit bull.
Hines' sister, Shirley Silkey, 60, of Sand Springs, Okla., was close to her brother Joe.
"I'll always remember his laughter," Silkey said. "He was so upbeat and happy. He never got down in the dumps."
Silkey is staying with her sister, Barbara Hettinger, 68, in Kokomo. Joe Hines was the youngest of the three Hines children.
Silkey said her brother once worked in Walmart's meat department at Monticello but was unemployed at the time of his death.
He never married or had children, Silkey said.
"He always loved his dogs," she said. "He found this dog and took care of it. I guess the dog just lost it. He wasn't a puppy and wasn't real old. He was still filling out."
Hines had owned the pit bull about four or five years, Silkey said. She wasn't aware if the dog was aggressive or had behavioral problems.
After the fatal attack, Silkey ordered the dog be put down.
A niece, Melissa Booth of Kokomo, said she is puzzled by her uncle's death.
"We will miss him," she said. "He was a big man. That's what's so bizarre. I'm still trying to fathom this."
Matt Westerhouse, the White County coroner, said death was caused by a bite to the right jugular vein. Hines also had bite wounds on his forearms and an ankle.
"I'm in the first year of a four-year term, and this is the first fatal dog attack I've seen," the coroner said. "My pathologist said he's done a lot of autopsies, but he couldn't remember having one."
According to a Wikipedia listing of dog-bite fatalities reported by media, fatal dog attacks are relatively rare in the United States. In the past five years, dog-bite fatalities have averaged fewer than 27 annually.
According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study covering the years 1979 to 1996, pit bull-type dogs accounted for 30 percent of dog-bite fatalities in which the breed was known, more than any single breed. Rottweilers ranked second at 15 percent and German shepherds third at 10 percent.
Hines lived at 8082 N. County Road 1400 East in rural Burnettsville. His cousin, Mark Hines of Royal Center, is the current owner of the house.
Hines' mother, Vivian Cooper, lives in Arizona, and his father, Joseph H. Hines, is deceased.
Hines' neighbors reported seeing him walking with the pit bull many times.
Visitation will be held at 1 p.m. today at Harrison-Metzger & Rans Funeral Home, 304 Chicago St., in Royal Center.
The funeral service is at 2 p.m. Burial will be buried today in Thompson Cemetery in Royal Center.
(Dec 9, 2011)
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