Pennsylvania: Woman claims man stabbed her Pit Bull mix for no reason; doesn't mention the dog was loose and tried to attack man

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA -- When I read the GoFundMe page, I immediately suspected the owner, Jesse Mortimer, wasn't being 100% truthful. She says:

"A man was passing by our home while Clark was outside, on his leash, to go potty. The man suddenly stabbed Clark when Clark went up onto the sidewalk to greet him. He showed no aggression towards the man, as he is a very sweet boy. The man then immediately took off, leaving our poor boy bleeding out on the street. He was stabbed in the lower abdomen, close the lungs and stomach."

If this dog is leashed he wouldn't have had an opportunity to get to the sidewalk. If a person has a reasonable fear of being attacked, they are legally allowed to protect themselves.

When we get to the news story, which is one-sided on her part, we get the truth:

Wednesday night, Clark was outside on a leash when a man walked toward Fretts' home on Burrows Street. Clark started barking.

"He said, 'Girl, get your dogs in,' so I was like, all right, I'm going to make sure they're all contained," Fretts said.

In the process of getting Clark inside, the dog slipped out of his collar and ran toward the man.

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Clark is a friendly dog, claims its owners.

"When we adopted him, he had no record of aggressive behavior," owner Greta Fretts said.

Wednesday night, Clark was outside on a leash when a man walked toward Fretts' home on Burrows Street. Clark started barking.

"He said, 'Girl, get your dogs in,' so I was like, all right, I'm going to make sure they're all contained," Fretts said.

In the process of getting Clark inside, the dog slipped out of his collar and ran toward the man.

Fretts is adamant that Clark wasn't attacking the man, but said that as the dog ran toward the passerby, Clark was stabbed by the man, who then ran away.

"Not real aggressive or anything," Fretts said. "He was just trying to run and greet him like he usually would anyone else, and the guy had a knife already and stabbed him in the said."

Immediately, Fretts applied pressure to the wound. She and her roommate got Clark to a veterinarian at Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Center in the North Hills.

"It penetrated his chest cavity and caused an injury to the lung, so it was a very deep wound," Dr. Kelsey Sutcliffe said. "He's a young, otherwise healthy dog. I think his prognosis is excellent, as long as he continues to do as well as he has."

Pittsburgh police are investigating the incident.

(WTAE - April 11, 2018)

North Carolina: Mother, young son mauled on Easter Sunday. Pit Bull won't stop when beaten with tree trimmers; only relents when repeatedly stabbed

LEE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA -- A local mother and her young son are recovering at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill after being attacked by a dog in Sanford on Easter Sunday.

The attack happened while they were visiting family in the 4000 block of Lee Avenue in Sanford this weekend.

The community is rallying around Tiffany Griffis and her 2-year-old son Cameron Moore to help care for her other three children while she recovers.

Griffis's cousin, Destiny Godfrey, was there when it happened.

She said the dog went for the 2-year-old first. Griffis was able to lift him above her head, but the dog then started going for her legs.

Godfrey said they were dropping off a plate of food to her when a nearby dog escaped from a neighbor's yard.

The bottom of the neighbor's chain-linked fence was unsecured.

The battle to stop the attack was a desperate one according to Godfrey, who tried to stop the dog by hitting him with garden shears.

When that didn't work she moved to more extreme measures.

"The next thing I thought was 'God, what do I do,'" she said, "And it's like I heard this voice in my head telling me 'stab him, stab him,' and I grabbed the biggest knife I could see, and I just started stabbing him."

Godfrey said while Cameron is expected to be released from the hospital today, after a bite to his left thigh, Griffis' injuries are much more extensive.

Her fingertips and both legs were mauled. Griffis and Cameron were airlifted to UNC Hospitals following the attack.

Godfrey said that while Griffis' surgery for her legs went well, it's unclear what the road ahead may bring.

Godfrey said she worries about what this could mean for her cousin, a single mother supporting four children.

At first, I thought with so many young children and being referred to as a "single mother", she is a widow. But it seems she has a fiance who (based on their Facebook posts) appears to be the father of her three youngest children. 

Maybe I'm getting old and grumpy, but whatever happened to people getting married before they start having children?? Yes, what happened to her and her little boy is horrific and she will definitely need donations for her long-term medical care that isn't covered by insurance, but the father of her three children - who she is not married to - is the one who should be buying diapers and clothing for his children. 

Note: I've been making at effort at blurring out the faces of children when I locate and post their parents' social media photos in relation to an article, but since the article didn't blur the faces of these children, I didn't either.

According to Lee County Animal Control, they are holding the dog for a 10 day observation period. The dog is set to be euthanized afterward.

Same photo on both of their FB pages

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NORTH CAROLINA -- Crystal Underwood Burris is with Tiffany Griffis. Posted on Facebook April 1, 2018 ·

Pray warriors need serious prayer. They were attacked by pit bull. She is having surgery to save her leg and the baby was bit in vital areas .....please pray!

(WTVD - April 2, 2018)

Links:

• Tiffany Griffis Facebook
• Cory Moore Facebook

United Kingdom: Shad’a McQueen stabbed her dog several times, slit its throat then left it to slowly die in agony. The judge gave her probation

UNITED KINGDOM -- A woman who slit her dog’s throat after going on a booze binge has been banned from owning an animal again.

Shad’a McQueen attacked her pet bull dog on October 29 last year after a night out drinking with an ex-girlfriend, Croydon Magistrates Court heard this week.

The 33-year-old armed herself with a knife and set upon her pet dog at her home in South Norwood in south London, stabbing it several times in the body. The court heard how she then used the same knife to slash the dog’s throat.

She then called the police and when officers arrived, the female dog was found to be ‘close to death’ and was taken to a vet and put down.

GIVEN PROBATION FOR HORRIFIC CRIME
McQueen pleaded guilty to stabbing her dog and causing the pet unnecessary suffering and was handed a four-month jail term, suspended for 18 months. She was also ordered to do 60 hours of unpaid work and was banned from owning animals for an indefinite period.

Judge Susan Holden told McQueen that ‘no animal’ should have to ‘go through what your dog was put through’. She added: ‘This is a deeply distressing case. ‘It’s clear that your dog must have suffered unnecessarily.’

Despite the courts stating that she was banned from owning animals for "an indefinite period", they immediately told her she could go visit her other dog. That would be the one she didn't stab repeatedly and then slit its throat, leaving it lying there in agony, slowly dying. 

When sentenced at Croydon Magistrates’ Court, the 33-year-old found out she may one day be able to own a dog again.

She walked free from court and was told she will be able to visit her other, shared pet dog - if accompanied - who she owns along with an ex-girlfriend.

This is how this ridiculous woman dresses for court.

(Metro UK - March 9, 2018)

Michigan: Diane Gay Eland charged with Felony Animal Cruelty after stabbing her son's dog to death, say police

MICHIGAN -- A local woman was charged with killing or torturing an animal Jan. 25 after police allege she stabbed her son’s dog just after midnight Thursday.

Police responded to the home of Diane Gay (aka Diane Gay Eland, Diane Eland) after receiving a complaint that she had stabbed the dog.

Arenac County Undersheriff Don McIntyre said the incident was reported at 12:34 a.m. and upon deputies arriving at the scene, Gay allegedly told them she had stabbed the dog.

According to court documents, an 8-inch fillet knife was located underneath a couch in the home and seized as evidence.

Police reportedly followed a trail of blood and located the deceased dog outside with an apparent stab wound to the abdomen, court documents state.

Arenac County Animal Control was contacted to retrieve the deceased dog so it could be further examined.

Court documents state Gay submitted to a preliminary breath test at the scene and yielded a 0.257 blood alcohol level.

According to this chart, if we assume Diane Eland is 140 pounds, 3 drinks in one hour would put her at about .11 BAC, which is considered legally intoxicated. She had a .257, which means she had the equivalent of 9 drinks in her when police tested her. One drink equals a shot of liquor, 12 ounces of beer or 5 ounces of wine so clearly she'd been drinking a lot.

Killing or torturing an animal is a felony charge with a maximum penalty of four years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine. Gay is scheduled for a probable cause hearing Feb. 5 at 1:30 p.m. She is currently being lodged in the Arenac County Jail.

Note: Online records state that she is 69 years old (born in 1948) and also list the address as being in Shelby Township (the article mentioned Standish Township, Michigan). 

Also, although you initially think this was domestic-related, there are a lot of unanswered questions. Did the dog attack her, unprovoked and she defended herself? A lot of times adult children move back to their parents' home and bring their dogs with them - and we've read plenty of stories where the elderly parent is attacked and/or killed by that dog. Was she abusing the dog? Was she drunk and got in a fight with her adult son and stabbed the dog in a rage? Like I said, lots of unanswered questions... but I'm guessing since they got a felony charge of Animal Cruelty, they believe the dog didn't do anything to her to warrant being stabbed to death.

McIntyre said people or families who feel they cannot adequately care for an animal should contact the Arenac County Animal Shelter.

“We have a second-to-none animal shelter that is almost 100 percent no-kill,” he said. “They find them new homes. That’s an option for folks who feel like they don’t have any options.”

(Arenac Independent - January 25, 2018 )

Florida: Pit Bull attacks entire family, including pregnant woman and teen, before being stabbed to death.

FLORIDA -- A family had to stab one of its pit bulls to death Friday after it got loose and started to attack its owners, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

Now a 45-year-old mother and her 14-year-old and 22-year-old daughters are being treated for dog bites and other non-life-threatening injuries at Bayfront Medical Center, said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Spencer Gross.

Sierra Willson, 22, stabbed the dog after it began viciously attacking two other dogs and then its owners, including Willson’s mother, Heidi Cooper, 45, and her sister, ________, 14.

Note: Although the news story initially listed the teen's name, I removed it after seeing on Sierra's posts that they didn't want her name listed. It's hard enough being 14 without having your name plastered all over the news.

 

 

Deputies received a 911 call at 4:07 p.m. on Friday from 765 West Gate Drive in Safety Harbor.

The Sheriff’s Office said the family had a known-aggressive pit bull named Buster they kept separate from their other two pit bulls.

From the comments below, it appears that the Pit Bull had attacked at least one of them on a previous occasion. 

 

These are their other two Pit Bulls, that were not involved

"At some point, Buster got out and started attacking the other two pit bulls," Gross said. "The mother and two daughters tried to intervene but Buster turned on them and bit them numerous times."

Gross said one of the daughters (Sierra Willson) grabbed a knife and stabbed the dog to death.

From The Tampa Bay Times:
Reached via Facebook, Willson declined to speak with a reporter Friday evening.

On her page, she wrote that she was due to deliver a son in just seven weeks. She also regularly wrote about her dogs: a female and two males, purebred pit bulls.

She says stayed home during Hurricane Irma to be with them. She posted a photo of Buster in September with a blue heart next to his name.

  

 

 

  

 

 

Pinellas County Animal Services responded to the call of the dog attack.

(Tampa Bay Times - Nov 24, 2017)

(October 2017) Arkansas: Family slits Pit Bull's throat after it attacks everyone, including their elderly Golden Retriever, which had already been attacked by it once before

ARKANSAS -- David S. Waters added 2 new photos to Facebook.
October 13, 2017 · Redfield, AR ·
⚠️ EXPLICIT ⚠️

Last night, my pit bull attacked my golden retriever for the second time.

Although Pumpkin (Golden-retriever), will be okay now. Lavender (Pit-Bull) would not let go of her and it resulted in someone having to cut her throat to get her to release. Right after she went after us humans. 

Although she survived, she is okay but we do have to put her down today.

I wanted to believe that she wasn’t a vicious, cruel, and dangerous dog but after this unexpected attack I can no longer believe that. We treated her correctly, we didn’t starve her, we didn’t abuse her. We took advice from experts, animal control, vets, and we still couldn’t control this specific Red-nose pit bull.

It’s been very hectic since last night, I posted some on Snapchat and I truly appreciate your remorse. May god bless you all!

Emma Julianna - We don't always know why dogs do what they do, but I believe it's usually with good reason. Please don't turn your back on your own dog.

David S. Waters - Yes I completely understand it wasn’t up to me to decide, to calm down lavender we had to call animal control and they didn’t give us an option since this is her 3rd time attacking. Once with a previous owner, 2 with us. I would of not decided to do that if i had the option.

David S. Waters - My 12 year old golden retriever didn’t deserve the beating she got twice in the last 6 months. She’s old and can barely walk, doesn’t pick a fight. Always stays away from lavender. It was just the dog I know it’s not all pits as we discussed before [apologist]. This one ended up not being a good one. 2 unexpected attacks in 6 months is not normal.

Denny Waters - Lavender is not a cruel dog but she acted by her instinct.. unfortunately she attacked pumpkin and we don t accept it cuz she is our family.. so lavender must go

Stephanie Stevens - Im so sorry to hear that.. has she tasted blood before? Maybe she attacked another that has trespassed in the yard or something? I've heard once some animals get the taste of blood, they turn that way. There's no turning back. Pray for a quick recovery for you're other dog though. 😔

David S. Waters - She attacked pumpkin last night once, smelled blood and came back for more. Tore her up. Then she went after my little brother. (Little but 16) someway somehow get her off of him and into the garage and we called the police she was going crazy she looked/ acted possessed.

Stephanie Stevens - It sounds definitely like the taste of blood. Its not all pits or dogs in general but blood will make them go crazy. As much as I hate to see a beautiful pit get put down, it probably would've been your only option even if you weren't forced. She wouldn't have stopped trying to get more. Sorry to hear about your dogs.

 

 

California: Sunnyvale Police K9 Jax stabbed to death by Jesus Birelas-Contreras

CALIFORNIA -- A man shot and killed by police Tuesday stabbed his girlfriend and fatally wounded a police dog named Jax before he threw a butcher knife at officers, according to the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety.

Police said the confrontation marked the first time in department history one of its police dogs was killed in the line of duty.

“It’s a huge loss,” said Chief Phan Ngo. “(Jax) was a family member, and his void will always be felt. He will always be in our hearts.”

Wednesday, Sunnyvale police commanders detailed the violent episode that ended in the city’s first officer-involved shooting since 2015. It began with a report of a stabbing called in around 1 p.m. Tuesday at the upscale Encasa apartment complex on East Weddell Drive off Fair Oaks Avenue.

Officers arrived to find a 25-year-old woman suffering from a stab wound to her abdomen, and she told them that her boyfriend attacked her during an argument and that he was still inside a nearby apartment.

Police said the contingent of responding officers, including K-9 Officer Stephen Eckford and Jax, and Lt. Emmett Larkin, tried several times to get the man, 25-year-old Jesus Birelas-Contreras, to surrender peacefully.

When that failed, the officers sent in Jax to subdue and apprehend Birelas-Contreras, but the suspect severely wounded the dog with a knife, police said. At some point, the officers retrieved Jax and brought him to safety, after which he was taken to an animal hospital.

About 18 minutes into the standoff, as they continued trying to coax Birelas-Contreras into surrendering, he threw a 6-inch butcher knife at the officers, Ngo said.

That prompted Larkin to open fire with his service weapon, striking the suspect at least once. Birelas-Contreras was rushed to the hospital, where he died. Jax died from his wounds the same evening.

Ngo said the woman who had been stabbed was taken to the hospital where she was treated and released.

“We’re treating this as a domestic-violence (case) because of the general nature of their relationship,” Ngo said.

CAREER CRIMINAL AT THE AGE OF 25
Birelas-Contreras’ criminal background was not immediately available Wednesday, but a cursory search of Santa Clara County court records shows more than 20 criminal cases associated with his name and birth date.

Jax, a 4-year-old German Shepherd, had served for two years in Sunnyvale, and had 26 arrests to his credit, Ngo said. He leaves three surviving dogs in the department’s K-9 unit.

Eckford, Jax’s handler, was not made available for comment Wednesday.

A memorial service is being planned for Jax.

Larkin was placed on paid administrative leave while the police department conducts an investigation monitored by the District Attorney’s Office, which is routine after officer-involved shootings in the county.

(Mercury News - November 1, 2017)