Virginia: Family's German Shepherd Killed Boy, Exam Reveals

VIRGINIA -- Eight-year-old Daryl Sanders was mauled to death by his family's German shepherd, a state medical examiner in Norfolk has ruled.

The Medical Examiner's Office released preliminary autopsy results to Hampton police Wednesday, said Sgt. Jeff Walden, police spokesman.

"The examination showed that all injuries sustained by Sanders are consistent with that of the German shepherd, P.J.," Walden said.

Officials from the forensic lab for the eastern region wouldn't comment on specifics of the examination and referred questions to Hampton police. Walden didn't provide further details, such as the number of wounds, their location on the boy's body or which ones likely caused Daryl's death.

He said the department had concluded its investigation now that detectives knew the boy died as a result of the dog attack.

"The medical examiner ruled the official cause of death as mauling by dog," Walden said.

Because Daryl never showed up for school Friday, police think that the attack happened that morning. Daryl Sanders was a second-grader at Tarrant Elementary School.

Two siblings found P.J. standing over Daryl's body shortly after they returned home from school, police said.

Police, paramedics and animal-control officers found the dog chained in the back yard about 30 feet from the family's home.

One animal-control officer described the dog's behavior as "docile and calm - not what you'd expect from a dog that just killed someone."

Eugene Falls, director of the Peninsula Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Newport News, said officers picked up P.J. three times last year for running loose.

Two other boys alleged that the same dog attacked them in a Newport News schoolyard in September 1998.

(Daily Press - Feb 24, 2000)

Earlier:

• Virginia: Chained German Shepherd mauls eight-year-old boy to death
• Virginia: German Shepherd Blamed In Child's Death Had Attacked Another Child in 1998

Virginia: German Shepherd Blamed In Child's Death Had Attacked Another Child in 1998

VIRGINIA -- There were moments when young Steve Fitchett wondered whether he would escape the German shepherd's jaws. It seemed like the harder he kicked, the deeper the dog's teeth sank into his flesh.

Three days after 8-year-old Daryl Sanders was found mauled to death behind his home on Jamestown Avenue, Steve recounted his battle with the same dog in a Newport News neighborhood.

One day in September 1998, Steve, then 10, and five friends were strolling across the playground at Washington Middle School. Steve and the others thought the dog, P.J., was chained under the neighbor's porch - until he started chasing them.

Steve ran to the monkey bars. The German shepherd caught his left leg before he could climb the first beam. "He was yanking at my leg," the boy said.

Steve needed 14 stitches after the attack. He has four scars on his left leg, one on his back and one on his left side. When he learned about Daryl's death from a dog attack, Steve sobbed.

Linda Fitchett blames the dog's owner, Annette Sanders, for her son's injuries; a few months later she filed a civil claim in Newport News court against the woman, seeking $3,000.

The Fitchetts have not received a dime from their former neighbor, who was evicted from 1213 36th Street a few weeks after the attack.

"She signed a year's lease. I think I had to evict her about the third month for non-payment of rent," Ernest Carter, the landlord, said Monday. Carter's lease did not allow pets.

P.J. is no stranger at the SPCA shelter in Newport News, where the dog has been quarantined since two of Daryl's sisters found the boy's body after school Friday.

Animal control officers answered three complaints last year from residents in the 1100 block of 27th Street in Newport News, where Annette Sanders' mother lived. In each case, according to Peninsula SPCA director Eugene Falls, the officers found the German shepherd running loose.

An officer who handled the first complaint on Jan. 16, 1999, cited the owner for not having a city dog license and impounded the dog.

SPCA records showed that Annette Sanders on two occasions reclaimed the dog from the SPCA after 10 days, and paid a $75 pound fee. On the other occasion, Falls said, she picked up the dog after four days.

Falls described the German shepherd's demeanor as "unpredictable."

"I think he has a mental problem because of his weird temperament. When one person walks by his cage the dog is fine. The next person the dog tries to eat up," Falls said.

A 3-year-old German shepherd should weigh around 80 pounds, Falls said. "This one is about 20 below that."

He said the dog would be destroyed today and the remains delivered to the state medical examiner's office in Norfolk.

A medical examiner will compare Daryl's wounds with teeth impressions from the dog.

Hampton police have not released the results of an autopsy on Daryl, but a source close to the case said Monday the internal injuries "were serious enough to cause death."

One of the wounds punctured a lung.

"I checked with the people in Norfolk and Virginia Beach; this was the first known fatal dog attack in at least 30 years," said Falls, who has been director of the Peninsula SPCA for 27 years.

Nationally, the SPCA last year documented 12 fatal dog attacks out of 4 million cases.

"Probably 80 percent of the dog bites are not documented," Falls said.

(Daily Press - Feb 22, 2000)

Earlier:

• Virginia: Chained German Shepherd mauls eight-year-old boy to death

Virginia: Chained German Shepherd mauls eight-year-old boy to death

VIRGINIA -- An 8-year-old boy was killed in a savage attack by the family dog Friday.

After the attack, the dog - a German shepherd named "P.J." - stood over the body of Daryl Sanders, snarling at several siblings as they pleaded for their brother to wake up.

Sanders lived with his mother and sisters in a brown duplex at 2323 Jamestown Avenue in Hampton, Virginia.

Sgt. Jeff Walden, a Hampton police spokesman, said one of the victim's sisters told a 911 operator at 3:43 p.m. that she found her brother dead in the back yard.

Richard Clark, a Hampton physician who examined the body, said he found multiple wounds "all over the body." He guessed the boy had been dead several hours. An autopsy will determine more precisely when the attack occurred and the cause of death.

Louis I. Hicks lives two doors from the Sanders. Hicks, a welder, was returning home from work when he heard two girls trying to rouse a young boy on the damp, cold ground.

Hicks said one of the girls appeared to be about 10 years old. "She was calling, 'D, get up! D, get up! Get up!' " the neighbor said. "D" was Daryl's nickname.

Hicks glanced across the wire fence from his porch and saw the boy on the ground, and a growling German shepherd standing over the body. Hicks said the girls appeared terrified.

Hicks recognized the dog as belonging to the boy's family.

As Hicks crossed into the yard, he saw a neighbor on the opposite side moving toward the dog.

"He was holding a tree limb and was hitting the dog across the back with it," Hicks said.

Hicks said he waited for the dog to move, then raced to the spot and lifted the body.

Hicks said he could see teeth marks in the boy's neck, rip marks on the back of his shirt and noticed a shoe was missing.

His wife, Sharon Hicks, said minutes later the boy's mother pulled her car into the driveway. She said the mother picked up the boy and cradled him in her arms.

After police and emergency workers gathered at the scene, the mother - Annette Sanders (Annette Brown Sanders) - stood on her front porch.

Sanders raised three fingers when asked the age of the dog. She also gave its name: "P.J."

After the body was taken away, two officers from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals snared the dog and locked it in the back of a vehicle.

"He was calm, not aggressive at all," said SPCA officer Ron Chavers.

The German shepherd will be quarantined, Chavers said, "until the court decides his fate."

Police believe the boy might have been attacked shortly after he left his house to board a school bus for Tarrant Elementary School off Aberdeen Road.

It was not immediately known why the boy's body was not discovered earlier in the day.

"The little boy must have gone out to feed the dog or play with him before school," Louis Hicks said.

(Daily Press - Feb 19, 2000)

Florida: Animal Control officers seize nearly 40 dogs from Marta Pejouhy

FLORIDA -- Officers from the city's Animal Control took 37 dogs from a home in the 100 block of Southeast 28th Avenue on Saturday morning, after police served a search warrant on the house and found the dogs living in inadequate cages filled with urine and feces, and infested by rats.

The warrant was issued after a Nov. 30 incident in which someone called police, claiming that Marta Pejouhy, owner of the house, was seen walking a neighbor's dog that had been reported missing, according to Boynton Beach police.

Officers were unable to find that dog but did find about 30 other dogs living in wretched conditions at the home, police said.

Animal control is trying to get custody of the dogs, and if custody is granted, may put the dogs up for adoption.

(Sun Sentinel - January 23, 2000)

Connecticut: Joseph Loewy, 53, gets sweetheart deal from Judge Wendy Susco even though he's the reason a little girl's cat died of antifreeze poisoning

CONNECTICUT -- A Granby man accused of abducting a neighbor's cat and dropping it miles from home received a form of probation Friday that could wipe his record clean.

Joseph Loewy trapped the velvety black cat named Tiny late last year and drove it to the Glastonbury Industrial Park after an ongoing dispute with its owners. Tiny was found after two months on his own and returned home just before New Year's Day. He died a few days ago, apparently from antifreeze ingested during his wanderings.

The 53-year-old businessman claims he was protecting his own cat, Nate, who was repeatedly roughed up by Tiny, and his four horses, who were terrified of the prowling 16-pound neutered male.

But Loewy drew little sympathy from the abducted cat's owners, an interested neighbor and a few animal lovers who came from as far as East Hartland for Friday's sentencing on animal cruelty and larceny charges in Enfield Superior Court.

``It's made me ill. That animal suffered for over two months,'' said Dawn Leto of Glastonbury. ``I'm furious.''

Tiny's owner's -- Steven Fischer and Margaret Fiore Fischer -- strongly disagreed with Judge Wendy Susco's decision to grant Loewy accelerated rehabilitation, a form of probation used for first-time offenders. He was ordered to give $150 to an animal charity of his choice and cover Tiny's veterinarian bills -- approximately $375 -- since his return.

Tiny was the Fischers' 9-year-old daughter's pet.

Dressed in a blue blazer, tie and khakis, Loewy remained silent, while his attorney, T.R. Paulding of West Hartford, described him as a ``calm, rational and reasonable'' man.

``He recognizes what he did was wrong,'' Paulding said.

(Hartford Courant - Jan 8, 2000)

California: Pamela Miller's trial has been postponed

CALIFORNIA -- Pamela Miller (aka Pam Miller, Pamela Miller-Sackter, Pam Sackter, Pamela Sackter) will have to wait a bit longer for her day in court.

Miller, whose trial on charges of operating an illegal dog shelter in Burbank had been scheduled to begin Thursday, now has until March to prepare her defense, court officials said.

Miller is accused of 14 Burbank municipal and penal code violations in connection with the non-profit Millerwood Animal Sanctuary at 110 and 120
W. Linden St.. Authorities allege she has operated without a kennel license since July 1998. On Thursday, Miller's trial was continued until March 10.

Among other violations, Miller is charged with cruelty to animals, impounding an animal without food and keeping animals in unsanitary conditions. She has denied all the charges.

The legal battle to keep the sanctuary open has been brewing since July 1998 when the Burbank Animal Shelter denied Miller's bid to renew her kennel license. In January, the Burbank City Council upheld that decision.

Since then, Miller has filed two lawsuits in U.S. District Court in which she has named city officials and local municipal court judges as defendants. She also filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court.

In the federal lawsuits, Miller claims the city and numerous individuals violated her civil rights in an illegal search, said Asst.

City Atty. Richard Morillo. The city is waiting for decisions on requests for dismissals in both cases, he said.

The Superior Court case included a motion to overturn the City Council's decision not to renew her kennel license. In July, the court ruled in favor of the city, Morillo said.

In October, A Superior Court judge granted the city a preliminary injunction to force Millerwood to cease operating without a license.

The injunction allows the city to take possession of 120 dogs housed at the kennel. However, Miller appealed that decision in November and has managed to keep the city from acting on the injunction, said Michael Duberchin, Miller's attorney in the civil cases.

"This is about saving 120 lives," Duberchin said. "I don't know what the reason is behind the city -- I don't care what their motives are -- I just want to save those animals."

Duberchin said Miller does not have the funds to move her rescue operation to another city.

Shelter Superintendent Fred De Lange said that while the rescue is in better condition, Miller has failed to arrange adoptions for any of the dogs.

"She's caused this by not finding them homes," he said. "I would like to see her find those animals homes."

But Duberchin said the dogs Miller cares for are not easy to place.

"You can't find people who want junk yard dogs," he said. "They don't
want one-eyed, one-legged pit bull mixes."

(Burbank Leader - December 11, 1999)

Oklahoma: Mycha Herbert still recovering after being attacked by his family's Pit Bull. The dog ripped off his nose, eyelids and mouth

OKLAHOMA -- Mycha Lee Herbert had quite a week.

He went to Chicago. He appeared on the "Oprah Winfrey" show. And he lost his nose.

A lost nose is an occupational hazard for the active, 3-year-old Tulsan. Mycha survived having his face torn off by a dog more than a year ago, but life since then is full of challenges.

Some days, the biggest challenge is keeping track of the metal bars that form the mounting points for his prosthetic nose.

"He lost his nose when he was out riding his bike in the parking lot one evening" across the street from his home, his grandmother Linda Maritano said. "We found it with skid marks on it the next day.

"We're sure glad he wasn't in it."

Mycha's situation isn't funny, but neither is it pathetic to the family that has worked hard to make sure the child grows up as normally as possible.

A slightly battered artificial nose doesn't faze the boy. He has seen worse in his short life.

Mycha barely survived the Sept. 4, 1998, attack by the family dog, a pit bull named Blue. Relatives found Mycha in the back yard of his home with only his eyes and forehead intact on his head.

He had no nose, no mouth and no eyelids.

A miracle carried out by a team of plastic surgeons at Children's Medical Center in Dallas turned the flesh from his legs, forearms and belly into a face.

"It's because of Mycha being who he is that he came through it," Maritano said. "He's remarkable."

Since that first trip to Dallas, surgery has been a regular part of Mycha's life.

Surgeons placed springs in his jaw last week to replace the facial muscles he lost in the dog attack, Maritano said.

Shortly after that surgery, Mycha was off to Chicago for taping of the Oprah show, his grandmother said.

Somewhere in the excitement of the trip and the hustling to get to the taping, Mycha lost part of his nose. The vertical bar, one of two bars that magnetically attach to his skull, was lost.

Without the piece that forms the bridge of his temporary nose, he put on his prosthetic and went off to the taping, Maritano said.

"He lost the inside of his nose. He didn't seem to care," Maritano said. "I wanted to ask him, `Boy, where's the inside of your nose?' "

After the taping, the family was back on the road to Dallas for construction of a new bar. When the Oprah episode aired Monday, the family expected the little boy would be in surgery, Maritano said.

But a late-arriving magnet meant waiting until Tuesday, she said.

Mycha faces a lifetime of surgeries. Doctors expect him to undergo more than 30 major surgeries and many minor operations as he matures.

Eventually, some time around age 14, when his face stops growing, doctors plan to give him a permanent nose. Using a rib and, possibly, skin from his face, they plan to construct a new nose, Maritano said.

Meanwhile, Mycha is busy living the life of a boy. He gets into anything that's open around the house, he rides his bike, and he's busy honing his golf game, Maritano said.

"His daddy takes him out every other day, and he hits a bucket of balls," Maritano said. "The next Tiger - he's a phenom."

He might never rival golfing great Tiger Woods, but don't doubt his will, Maritano said.

"There's no way to undo the damage that was done," she said. "But he doesn't think that he is any different. He thinks he's normal, and that's what he is."

(Amarillo News - November 18, 1999)