Fatal Attack by a Staffordshire cross - trigger warning

[MabelMoo23]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9232029/Pictured-Woman-25-savaged-death-rescue-dog.html

I’m in the Midlands and this is local to me. For those who don’t want to read the link (it’s Daily Mail)

This poor poor woman. But also this poor dog as well. She found it dumped - a Staffordshire Cross - and rescued it and took it home to live with her. Who knows what kind of life had before he was dumped. I know the area of Birmingham where she lived and it’s not a a particularly nice area, in that I can well imagine that someone had it, treated it badly so it was aggressive and then dumped it.

She was asleep and the dog bit her arm, and died of her injuries at the house.

I can’t even begin to imagine the terror she must have felt when she woke up and she’d been attacked.

But this also serves as an example as to why rescues will not rehome to houses with young children, and why those people then shouldn’t try and get round those rules by adopting from abroad.

Any rescue, their background is totally unknown.

This poor woman. RIP

I assume that was meant to say 35kg golden retriever! 😅

I've been bitten by 2 dogs.

The first was a Jack Russell terrier,the second was a Welsh Springer spaniel.

Breed means very little when it comes to which dogs will bite

@rwalker
Complete bollocks

She was an epilepsy support dog so the cost was for training ect. If she could be startled and bite, this poor dog never stood a chance. Instinct is instinct, it was probably a nervous dog.

Did you see that the picture was a file image, and the neighbour said she'd heard it was a staffie but looked more like a bull.mastiff? If it wasn't really a staffie that's even sadder, as the breed gets so much hate and is already hard to re-home.

Sounds like the poor lady had such a kind heart, and what an awful way to go.

But this dog wasn’t from a rescue centre, or from abroad, as far as I can see?

She “found it in a garden” and took it home. That’s very different. I would recommend what she did but I find it distasteful in the extreme that you’re using her horrific death to make points that don’t apply here.

[quote Raindough]@lockeddownandcrazy her being alone doesn’t matter considering the police investigate no witness murders and are able to piece together what happened to the victim. In this situation presumably most of the blood was in/near the bed suggesting she was attacked there and not elsewhere.[/quote]
But we will never know why the dog attacked her.

@Ritasueandbobtoo9 "They need to have a gradual ban on these dogs"

Who are they? and what are 'these' dogs? Do you mean badly bred dogs or those that are seen as status animals and deliberately encouraged to be aggressive. There will never be checks on those as the scum that breed them will never have them microchipped or vaccinated or admit to owning, and every litter will be 'accidental'.

“Wouldn’t recommend what she did”

The dog on her background Facebook photo doesn't look like a bull mastiff to me.

OP I know exactly what you mean re areas of social deprivation and the increased incidence of irresponsible dog ownership (of certain “status” breeds in particular). It is not snobby or judgemental to make that observation and we can’t deny that it’s a problem. I live in a similar area and this is seen not infrequently.

Obviously we don’t know exactly what cross the dog in the incident was, but in my area we are seeing an increase in the American bully-type bulldog breeds, I wonder if it could have been one of those? Apologies for not knowing the correct breed terminology.

I am used to dogs and a believer in deed not breed, but having met one of these up close with my three year old I was stunned, absolutely gobsmacked by its sheer size, musculature, and it’s massive head and jaws. I just have never seen anything like it in my life.

According to the owner it was good natured and indeed seemed placid, but it was a lethal weapon on a lead. And yes, of course you can say that about any dog, but the problem with this one is the far higher chance of life-changing injury or death should it choose to attack, as it would be virtually impossible to control it. It looked like it weighed about ten stone.

I’m not sure what my point is. I guess it’s about responsible dog ownership. Some idiot out there indirectly caused this poor kind young woman to lose her life. It’s utterly tragic.

@Hoiking

The majority of staffies are big softies. Abd many of them do make lovely pets. There is no such thing as a bad dog. Just bad humans who have made them like this in the first place. 'Attack dog' really isn't the right phrase.

As for the incident. It is tragic but not the dog's fault. The woman was acting from a good place, just misguided.

@lockeddownandcrazy

But we will never know why the dog attacked her.

🤦🏼‍♀️ What valid reasons are there for the dog to attack her then? There’s no evidence of the dog being abused by her, no injuries are noted on the dog by the police; police visited the house and didn’t comment that there were signs of neglect etc.

It’s not “anti-dog” to come to the conclusion that the dog may have been abused in the past and attacked the new owner for no valid reason.

Wow, I had no idea @ArcherDog. So presumably it’s possible to rehabilitate ex-fighting dogs then?

Poor woman was trying to do something nice. I bet the dog bloody adored her too. I suppose we’ll never know what triggered it.

@allington completely agree. We have a dog from a rescue, history unknown, from Romania. We’ve had him for two years and he’s never shown any aggression, plays beautifully with other dogs, very gentle with children, and although nervous of other adults, loves ones we are close to and his dog walkers. I wouldn’t hesitate to get another. We know a lot of the rescued dogs from dog walking, rescued from the U.K. and from abroad, and they’re all gorgeous. Problems seem to be more with nerves than with any aggression.

The only issue we’ve really had is recall. Its very patchy, and he can escape anything. He does always come back, eventually. But some scary moments chasing around looking for him

**Rescuers can bash me all they like, but I prefer to know the history of my dog and you can only have that if you buy as a pup.

Not true. Many rescue dogs are given up reluctantly because of death, illness or financial problems and their history is known.

The majority of staffies are big softies.

I'm sure they are...until they aren't. And it's at that point that a dog of such power and damaging potential is going to kill you, not just maim, or slightly scratch depending on the size/build of the dog.
All dogs are like swords of Damocles, some are small butter-knives, others are huge double edged killing machines.

I totally agree with the previously poster who said some dogs can just have wires crossed in their brain. I got a six month old dog from a Crufts winning breeder, the best known breeder of this type of dog in the U.K. and there was something very mentally wrong with the dog. Attacked dh within minutes of being home, we spent a fortune on dog behaviourists, proper registered ones, vet assessments, medication and he never stopped attacking dh/trying to attack others.

Maybe something awful happened to him in his first six months. I’ll never know, the breeder said he’d never been sold before but I suspect she was lying.

Last year I got attacked by an off lead Doberman while cycling. The owner was adamant the dog was fine snd well behaved but admitted he’d only had the dog six weeks. When I said how irresponsible it was to have such a new and unknown dog off lead he said he was an ex raf dog handler who knew what he was doing. Twat!

No one should have any pet in their home that is able to kill them or other occupants inside.
Don’t care how well you have looked after them. They are an animal and can turn at any time.
Photos babies and small children next to huge dogs make me panic. One bite because the dog do scared or some other reason and your baby’s arm is bitten off or far worse.
This poor lady was trying to help, so awful but I just think bit muscly dogs are so so dangerous

[quote Raindough]@lockeddownandcrazy

But we will never know why the dog attacked her.

🤦🏼‍♀️ What valid reasons are there for the dog to attack her then? There’s no evidence of the dog being abused by her, no injuries are noted on the dog by the police; police visited the house and didn’t comment that there were signs of neglect etc.

It’s not “anti-dog” to come to the conclusion that the dog may have been abused in the past and attacked the new owner for no valid reason.[/quote]
I don't think there's such a thing as 'valid' and 'non-valid' reasons in this scenario.

Any human will say that of course there's no valid reason for the dog to attack, but from the dog's point of view, it wouldn't have attacked her for fun. Chances are it was terrified.

I think it's important to stress that we can't possibly know she was asleep at the time. That comes from her neighbours, who weren't there, and clearly have a very vivid imagination.

Maybe she wasn't doing anything at all. Maybe the dog has serious health issues and was in horrible pain. Maybe it was resource guarding. Maybe she unwittingly did something that triggered a memory of abuse, and it was acting out of blind terror. She may even have been taking advice from a dominance trainer (God knows there are enough people spouting dominance theory on here) and tried to 'scruff' it or pin it.

My point is, we have no idea of the facts here, and for that reason, it's not 'proof' that people shouldn't adopt rescues from a reputable shelter.

(When I say it was probably terrified, I mean this is generally the reason why dogs react aggressively. I'm not suggesting for one minute that she abused or neglected the dog.)

@Hoiking

I own and love dogs, my number one favourite animal, but that doesn't make me blind to what they are capable of it they have aggression issues or have pyschological/neurological problems. Yes a soft, friendly dog can suddenly just turn, but that is very rare. It is not a case that there is a bloodthirsty,slobbering monster within every dog just desperate to get out.

@TheSockMonster

Yeah ex fighting dogs can be rehabilitated in some situations. Some, admittedly are too far gone to save and sadly need to be put down. It's the kindest thing all

@TheSockMonster

Sorry, posted too soon. Sometimes they are too far gone to save and putting them down is the best thing all around. But other times, they can be rehabilitated. A lot of the time they go through rescue centres and experienced staff their decide whether they can work with them or not and who is the best type of owner to rehome them.

If someone were to find a random stray that they wanted to keep, I would suggest taking it to a vet to try to get a picture of it's backstory and taking advice from an experienced trainer/behaviourist.

@DavidsSchitt

The dog on her background Facebook photo doesn't look like a bull mastiff to me.

Doesn’t look like a staffy either, so if it is a staffy cross it must be crossed with something pretty massive.

I would buy from a breeder because then I could choose a breed suitable for my needs (young children, etc). Pick a good breeder, choose a puppy who's temperament suits our family and then the chances of me ever having to regime my dog would be slim. If everyone did this properly then maybe there wouldn't be so many dogs needing rescued in the first place. It would also be a good idea to have some sort of licence for owning a dog, to make sure you are serious and are choosing the right dog. Might also help with dog theft. It's an awful thing to happen, I think it's about time that owning a dog was made harder and breeding from your dog was also made harder. I don't understand folk apart from breeders wanting to have pups from their own dog, I've seen so many unsuitable dogs bred from just on a whim...... Plenty lovely staffy crosses out there, it's certain people who do the harm...

@TheSockMonster

Wow, I had no idea *@ArcherDog*. So presumably it’s possible to rehabilitate ex-fighting dogs then?

Poor woman was trying to do something nice. I bet the dog bloody adored her too. I suppose we’ll never know what triggered it.

It is but often their dog aggression is too dangerous to put them out into the public.