Tennessee: Ten months later, man mauled nearly to death by his pit bull, which he had raised from a puppy in a loving home, is still recovering

Some funding pages go viral almost immediately. Pit bulls shot by police officers typically reach their goal amount within days. Other times, children attacked by dogs get media attention. 

Poor Mr. Nelson, nearly killed by his pit bull, wasn't so lucky. Almost a year after the attack, his funding page had only managed to raise $630 out of their $5,000 goal. It's a shame that a person, at their most vulnerable, shares their story and it just isn't one of the stories that manages to go viral. They're quickly forgotten and left to suffer and recover in anonymity.

Where is the Lexus Project? Where is the ASPCA? Where is the HSUS? Where are all the pit bull defenders? Why don't they pay this man's medical bills and explain to him that he should 'blame the deed and not the breed'? 

Why? Because it doesn't fit their agenda - where they insist that only dogs that were beaten and abused or trained to attack do these types of things. 

Prayers for you, Mr. Nelson.

ORIGINAL STORY:
According to the police report, the officer stated he observed a large, black, pit bull dragging the elderly male subject across the floor by his ankle. He believed the man to be deceased and advised the people to get behind the fence as he ran onto the porch of the residence.

"He wasn't a vicious dog. He's never bit anybody. He's never snapped at anybody. I don't know what happened this day," Jeannie said.

 

They look like a very nice couple. I don't believe
they ever 'abused' or 'trained' this dog to be vicious.

Mrs. Nelson, interviewed by phone on her way to the Memphis hospital where her husband is to undergo surgery, said this about pit bulls:

"I'll never own another one. That was my first and that's my last! We've had Pepper ever since he was 3 weeks old because his mother was struggling to feed all her pups, and we bottle fed him, and he's never showed that kind of aggression."

 

  

TENNESSEE -- On New Year's Eve my mother, Martha "Jeannie" Nelson and my father, William "Willie" Nelson were attacked and severely mauled by the family dog, Pepper. Pepper had never shown any previous signs of aggression. We have no idea what caused him to attack my parents. My mother was bitten on the stomach, my father however received severe damage to all 4 of his extremeties. The doctors are estimating a 3 to 6 month hospital stay for my father. Any and all donations would be greatly appreciated.

Update:
Daddy's out of surgery, the wash out and trach went well. Now they are waiting for the anesthesia to wear off so he can hopefully wake up. Finally got a trach!

Daddy will be going in to surgery sometime this afternoon so ortho can try to repair the tendon in his right arm. Plastics was supposed to go in today as well but they pushed that until next week. In the meantime they have him sitting up in a chair so he can get a clean bed and a bath. He probably feels right at home considering how much time he spends in his recliner at home. Waiting for a clean bed and a bath....

Daddy didn't have surgery today, the doctors have decided to wait until Monday so Plastics can come in as well. If anything changes I will let everyone know.

Daddy was sitting up and wide awake when we arrived this morning! He's still in alot of pain but at least he's awake!

Daddy Got A Room! That's right daddy got moved from TICU, he's now in PCU. He went to surgery last night for another wash out.

Daddy can talk! The speech therapist has him covering his trach hole with his finger when he wants to talk until they downsize his trach to one with a cap on it so he doesn't have to use his finger. His new room has less restrictions on visitors so now peyote can go see him and at anytime if they want.

 

I apologize for not posting the latest update about daddy being home. He did get to come home. He still has wound vacs on some of his wounds. We still have plastic surgery to go through for his left and right arms.

(GoFundMe - Donations for Willie Nelson)

Earlier:

• Tennessee: Raised from a puppy in a loving home, pit bull mauls its elderly owners
• Tennessee: Family ponders reason why their beloved pit bull, raised from a puppy, tried to kill its owners

Pennsylvania: Anthony King beat and tortured his pit bull. Then police arrived and got some justice by tasing and pepper spraying King - and charging him with animal cruelty

PENNSYLVANIA -- A Hazleton man who beat his dog repeatedly resisted arrest when police took him into custody, court records say.

Anthony H. King, 23, faces four counts simple assault, two counts each disorderly conduct and animal cruelty and one count each resisting arrest and false identification to law enforcement.

He was arraigned Friday by Magisterial District Judge Donald Whittaker, Nanticoke, who set bail at 10 percent of $50,000. Unable to immediately post the money, King was taken to jail.

He was taken into custody, arrest papers state, after repeatedly resisting officers’ commands and pulling away from them while they attempted to detain him at 534 Seybert St., on Thursday around 8 p.m.

The struggle King put up with police resulted in additional officers responding, but they — and pepper spray — didn’t stop him from trying to get away from officers, court papers state, so a conducted electrical weapon, known by the brand name Taser, was deployed upon him and he was placed in handcuffs.

King denied harming the dog when police responded to the Seybert Street home, stating that he was only giving the dog a bath. But at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton while waiting with police to have the Taser probes removed and to be decontaminated from the pepper spray by medical staff, he admitted to beating the dog, arrest papers state, claiming it was his right.

He said he poured hot water over the dog’s face and in her eyes, according to officers.

Police said they responded to the address after receiving multiple reports from the public about a person beating a dog with a belt.

King initially refused to give officers his name when they arrived to investigate the claim, court papers state, and the dog, a brown pit bull named “Queen,” was found by police shaking and drooling in a submissive position, looking fearful.

Witnesses also told police they saw King hit the dog with a metal bucket and yank the dog by its choker chain and leash to the point where the dog’s legs were off the ground for over 30 seconds. Witnesses also saw him hitting the dog with a belt, police wrote.

Two police officers sustained minor injuries as they took King into custody, according to court records.

The dog was taken to the Hazleton Animal Shelter, which arranged for her to receive medical care.

(Standard Speaker - July 7, 2016)

Tennessee: Family ponders reason why their beloved pit bull, raised from a puppy, tried to kill its owners

TENNESSEE -- A Mid-South man remains in ICU a week after his family said their pit bull snapped.

"He was dead set on killing him," Jeannie Nelson said.

Nelson said it's a miracle her 64-year-old husband, Willie, is not dead considering the wounds their pit bull named Pepper inflicted on him.

 

"I guess when he got the taste of blood, it was over with," Jeannie said.

Both of them were attacked on New Year's Eve inside their Dyersburg home as she prepared snacks in the kitchen.

According to the police report, the officer stated he observed a large, black, pit bull dragging the elderly male subject across the floor by his ankle. He believed the man to be deceased and advised the people to get behind the fence as he ran onto the porch of the residence. 

 

She said Pepper bit her stomach before turning on Willie when he stepped in.

Then Mrs. Nelson tried pulling the dog off, then sprayed the dog with pepper spray, and even threw hot water on him, but nothing would stop Pepper from attacking Mr. Nelson.

"He was our kid. He was our baby and I don't know what happened to him. What made him vicious," Jeannie said.

She said she tried to get Pepper to turn loose as he dragged Willie into the living room.

It eventually took a fatal shot from responding Dyersburg Police officers to stop the assault.

"My house looked like somebody got slaughtered in it. I mean, it was slaughtered," Jeannie said.

The Nelsons raised Pepper, who would have been three in March, from a puppy.

He even slept with Willie, who now remains in ICU at Regional Medical Center in Memphis and faces a long recovery and multiple surgeries...thanks to man's best friend.

"He wasn't a vicious dog. He's never bit anybody. He's never snapped at anybody. I don't know what happened this day," Jeannie said.

 

Mrs. Nelson, interviewed by phone on her way to the Memphis hospital where her husband is to undergo surgery, said this about pit bulls: 

"I'll never own another one. That was my first and that's my last! We've had Pepper ever since he was 3 weeks old because his mother was struggling to feed all her pups, and we bottle fed him, and he's never showed that kind of aggression."

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family with medical expenses. They say they estimate Nelson will have to stay at the hospital for the next 3-6 months.

(WMC Action News - Jan 9, 2016)

Earlier:

• Tennessee: Raised from a puppy in a loving home, pit bull mauls its elderly owners

Tennessee: Raised from a puppy in a loving home, pit bull mauls its owners

TENNESSEE -- On Thursday night, Dec. 31, at 7:52 p.m., Dyersburg Police received a dispatch advising of a caller that said: "A dog was biting a man and they could see it through the window at 1730 Wheeler Street."

When officers arrived on the scene, people were yelling, "The dog is inside killing Willie!"

According to the police report, the officer stated he observed a large, black, pit bull dragging the elderly male subject across the floor by his ankle. He believed the man to be deceased and advised the people to get behind the fence as he ran onto the porch of the residence. 

 

"The officer opened the front storm door and yelled at the dog, which continued to viciously bite the male subject (William Nelson)."

Because Nelson was badly injured, lacerated, bleeding profusely and with broken bones, he couldn't move.

Only when the dog briefly turned away from its victim was the officer able to take a shot, then another, and a third, which struck the dog's harness and caused the dog to exit the house through the storm door.

The officer alerted another officer at the scene that the dog was coming back around to the front yard, and as he looked out the front storm door the dog jumped at the fence as if to attack the people on the other side.

An officer moved the people away from the area, and the dog came up on the front porch by the storm door. In the report, an officer stated he opened the door slightly and shot the dog in the head before calling EMS, which he knew could not get in the residence while the dog was alive.

EMS arrived at the scene, and William Nelson, 64, was transported to Tennova Health Care Dyersburg Regional's helipad and flown to the Med in Memphis. EMS advised of several broken bones and severe dog bites. Mrs. Nelson went to the Tennova Regional ER to receive treatment for her wounds as well.

William Nelson and his wife Martha "Jeannie" Nelson, who own several dogs, including Pepper, the 3-year-old pit bull that attacked them, are dog lovers.

In fact, Mrs. Nelson, interviewed by phone on her way to the Memphis hospital where her husband is to undergo surgery, said this about pit bulls: "I'll never own another one. That was my first and that's my last! We've had Pepper ever since he was 3 weeks old because his mother was struggling to feed all her pups, and we bottle fed him, and he's never showed that kind of aggression."

Nelson was giving all the dogs treats when Pepper became vicious and bit her in the stomach. Mr. Nelson tried to intervene and the dog attacked him. Then Mrs. Nelson tried pulling the dog off, then sprayed the dog with pepper spray, and even threw hot water on him, but nothing would stop Pepper from attacking Mr. Nelson.

It took the Dyersburg Police Department and bullets to finally stop the vicious dog.

Pit bull is the common name for a generalized type of dog, and not a formal breed as recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC). According to their website, formal AKC breeds often considered in North America to be of the pit bull type include the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, and Staffordshire Bull Terrier. The American Bulldog and the Bull Terrier (standard and miniature) are also sometimes included. Many of these breeds were originally developed as fighting dogs from cross breeding bull-baiting dogs and terriers.

Mr. Nelson faces months in the hospital

According to the U.S. Humane Society, pit bulls constitute the majority of dogs used for illegal dog fighting in America. In addition, law enforcement organizations report these dogs are used for other nefarious purposes, such as guarding illegal narcotics operations, use against police, and as attack dogs.

A 20-year (1979--1998) study by the American Veterinary Medical Association into fatal dog attacks on humans concluded that "fatal attacks on humans appear to be a breed-specific problem (pit bull-type dogs and Rottweilers)," and that "pit bull-type dogs and Rottweilers were involved in more than half" (67 percent) of all the 238 recorded dog bite-related fatalities in the United States during that period, with pit bulls accounting for 66 deaths.

(State Gazette - Jan 8, 2016)

Sacramento man, Ignatius Llewellyn "Ignacio" Chavarria, charged with torture in dog's fatal scalding

CALIFORNIA -- A man who investigators say forced a small dog to stand under a scalding shower because it pooped in its crate was charged Tuesday with felony animal torture and malicious maiming.

Ignatius Llewellyn "Ignacio" Chavarria, 31, was arrested Tuesday morning by Sacramento police at the midtown fourplex where the crime allegedly occurred Nov. 7.

RIP Tucker

According to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, Chavarria admitted being upset because Tucker, a 4-year-old Yorkie-Maltese mix that belonged to his girlfriend, made a mess in the crate after the girlfriend failed to come home from work on her lunch break to take the dog outside.

Chavarria told investigators he intended to give Tucker a bath and placed him in the shower, turning the water "all the way hot" before backing off the temperature and testing it with his hand.

Chavarria said he then placed the detachable shower head on the floor of the shower and left the bathroom to take a phone call on the front porch while Tucker was confined in the shower by the sliding doors.

 

  

  

He said he left the dog alone for 10 minutes and returned when he heard Tucker howling.

 

Chavarria reportedly later told his girlfriend that Tucker's missing hair and extremely red skin were the likely reaction of the shampoo he had used to bathe the dog.

The girlfriend, on the advice of a poison control operator, gave Tucker a second bath before Chavarria admitted he had left the dog unattended in a hot shower, according to the investigative report.

At 8 p.m., Tucker was taken to an animal hospital where two veterinarians noted dead tissue across the shoulder region and third degree burns on 80 percent of the dog's body. Tucker was also suffering kidney failure, they said, and they euthanized him the following day.

Sacramento's Front Street Animal Shelter director Gina Knepp said the criminal investigation began after they were notified of Tucker's death by the girlfriend's mother.

 

 

"I can't imagine the pain and suffering, the noise this animal must have been making during this event," Knepp said. "The whimpering, the crying, the howling. How anybody could stand by and listen to that or do that to begin with -- I can't comprehend that."

During a search of the home in December, investigators noted the water temperature at the shower head was 143 degrees after running for two minutes, which they said could produce a scalding burn on a human in five seconds.

Tucker's owner responded to a text message seeking comment on Chavarria's arrest. "I do not feel comfortable talking with anyone at this time," she wrote.

Chavarria's mother, who was at the fourplex during the arrest and had occasionally taken care of Tucker, defended her son.

"He said the dog passed away. They gave the dog a bath but I don't know the whole story behind it," Sandra Evans said. "I don't think it was intentional. My son loved that dog."

Chavarria was being held in the Sacramento County Jail in lieu of $35,000 bail.

Knepp, the shelter director, said her staff received more than 300 complaints of felony or misdemeanor animal cruelty last year, but without a dedicated investigator only about a dozen cases made it to the district attorney for prosecution.

(News10 - February 11, 2015)