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

We had a home check for our girl They needed to make sure the back walls were high enough in case she tried to jump over. That she had enough space outside, that we had proper sleeping areas for her etc. That she had a place she could retreat to if she was overwhelmed. Home checks are very important when rescuing a dog. The previous applicant for our GSD was a girl in rented accommodation. When the homecheck was done, it turned out her father didn't want the dog at all, and wasn't going to have anything to do with it...in the same house. That was a recipe for disaster.

@tilder The main reason for home checks is to check that the dog is going to a good home where they will be well looked after. You have to have a home check no matter what type of dog you are adopting. You could be taking home the softest 9 week old puppy from a rescue centre and they will want to do a home check first.

@Hoiking As I've said before, a small number of individuals does not mean that a dog breed cannot make good pets.

And as I've said, I'm sure that they make wonderful pets....until they don't. It's that moment that will destroy the life, not the years of faithful friendship beforehand.
These dogs have a terrifying potential in them for killing. Potential doesn't mean they will kill, but that they can. And having an animal that can easily kill as a pet!? Nah.

There's lots in this story missing.
This dog had been living in a garden on/off for four years. You can't just go onto someone's property and remove their animal no matter how you think its being unfairly treated. Apparently was a mastiff type breed very broad scale on the breed front. We know nothing of this animals background and past treatment which would maybe go towards it being an unsuitable dog to take home. Staffies in my opinion get a bad rep. I've honestly never met a bad one and I've been in contact with many.....I'm a vet nurse. I'm not saying there aren't ones out there just none I've been in contact with.

This is such an odd story. Why would a dog bite the arm off a sleeping woman?? HOW would it? Theres so many questions to this story. Clearly a woman has been tragically fatally attacked by a dog, but theres got to be more to it than this, as anyone who has experience of dogs knows.

I blame these feel-good rescue videos online, that show a scrappy dog being turned into a happy healthy one in under 3 minutes (obviously months/years in real time)
But it gives the impression that love and good intentions are all you need to save an abused dog. I wonder if the poor woman in this story really understood what she was doing?

@Fieldofyellowflowers am sure they are. A lot of it also hinges on things such as children, including age of children, other pets etc plus experience of the prospective owner. Because some dogs are unsuitable for some homes. Or vice versa.

I have not suggested that a particular breed would be unsuitable as a pet. However it is very clear that that different breeds are likely to have certain behavioural traits and certain needs from their home. These are a consequence of breeding and the original aim of that breeding. It would be naive not to appreciate that certain behavioural traits were more or less suited to family life than others. For example I wouldn't own a border collie as we don't have the home life to suit it.

Yes, blame the deed not the breed. But understanding the breed can also be helpful.

@Hoiking my years of experience owning and caring for animals have convinced me that owning a dog is a risk worth taking.

It is not just dogs that can kill. Horses can kill their owners if they buck them off, for example. It doesn't stop people owning or riding them. Nor does it make them bad pets.

@tilder The last part of my comment wasn't aimed at you. And yes understanding the breed is important. When I got my dogs, I researched the breed beforehand. And I'm well aware that some breeds aren't for certain people or families.

You said in an earlier comment that you don't understand why anyone would want a dog that requires a risk assessment beforehand, and I just replied that the home check is to ensure that the dog is well cared for and suitable for them. E.g. a great Dane in a bed sit is a bad idea. Good rescue centres will also make sure that prospective new owners know what they are taking on as well.

I do agree @Fieldofyellowflowers.

Everyone has a different level of risk they are happy with. For me, I wouldn't take on a dog considered unsuitable for a home with young children or other pets. Regardless of whether or not I had young children or other pets.

Anyway. Am feeling very uncomfortable having this discussion here, given the tragedy that inspired the thread.

But surely you must accept that the risk to life goes up massively from tea-cup Yorkie to Pitt-bull type? Which is why people who welcome these bigger attack type dogs as family pets, are foolish at best or neglectful.
I don't believe the posters on here who claim their pets are always kept separate from children, that's impossible in a normal home environment.

“But surely you must accept that the risk to life goes up massively from tea-cup Yorkie to Pitt-bull type?“

That’s not how risks work though - it’s not a straight line rising in size of dog.

“I don't believe the posters on here who claim their pets are always kept separate from children, that's impossible in a normal home environment.”

It’s actually very very easy - dog, come... that’s it, that’s all you need to do.

Of course we weren't laughing at a young woman being torn to death - given none of us are seriously mentally disturbed.

But we did laugh at the thought that I can't possibly know DDog's temperament after 6 months.

And yes, any dog can act out of character - I knew a boy at school attacked by their family labrador with no warning, they never really worked out why. But that applies to all dogs, not just dodgy furrin' types. The family lab had been owned since a puppy and never any signs of aggression.

Staffies are one of my favourite breeds of dog. I think they are so clever and eager to please. They can also be hyper though and need firm boundaries, and like any other strong powerful dog I wouldnt have an unknown one around children it didnt know.

with all this, I still cant make head nor tail of what happened here. Why any dog would "bite off" its sleeping adult owners arm for no reason, whether it had a bad previous experience or not.

It is not fair to start acting like this is just a risk with rescue dogs, because millions of people have rescue dogs, and cases like this are massively unusual and they are newsworthy

Bran, I've read that unprovoked dog attacks may be triggered by nightmares? Dog wakes up having been dreaming about abuse, woman was sleeping with her arm over the dog??

We had a poodle pup a couple of weeks ago. From a KC registered breeder, waited over a year for her, the sire was a champion dog. I did all my breed research and as a first time owner thought I was going in with my eyes wide open. Within six days she was back at the breeder. She drew blood from us all, bit my three year old's face, went from mellow to aggressive within a moment. And that was a tiny poodle.
Never again will I own a dog...I'm told this 'nipping' was normal.
Well, I wouldnt let anything else inflict injury on me in my own home, I'm really not ok with a dog doing it. And I'm certainly not ok with my children being hurt.
The answer I was given was crate training...but if I had to put an animal in a cage to prevent it it doing damage, that still doesnt seem right either. I'll stick to my old faithful moggy from now on.
Out and about for a walk last week I was growled at by a golden retriever while with my nine year old. Dog not on a lead, dopey owner blithely assuring me to carry on past, he was just being grumpy.
A pug lunged at same child (who really is very sweet and inoffensive!) as we walked along the street on another walk. Regularly see dogs with muzzles on.
Weird really the love affair with dogs in this country. And that's without the barking, howling and other anti social behaviour. Of course, a lot of it can be trained out...but there's never a guarantee. Since I sent the dog back the amount of stories of vicious family dogs I've heard of attacking postmen, workmen, insurance men...quite alarming really.

@Hoiking

Bran, I've read that unprovoked dog attacks may be triggered by nightmares? Dog wakes up having been dreaming about abuse, woman was sleeping with her arm over the dog??

While sleeping is a weird one, but given it wasn’t her pet, but a mistreated dog she’d taken in, it could have been all sorts of stuff, something she did in her sleep while it was dark that triggered something, a noise from somewhere... I mean, likely no-one will ever know.

It’s a pretty horrible situation, I mean no attack is nice, but she’s obviously tried to do something kind and it’s gone so horribly wrong for her, it just seems such a shame.

Whoever was responsible for the dog before should be blaming themselves for her death.

Regularly see dogs with muzzles on

Small point of detail, but muzzles are not necessarily because of biting.

Dogs eat shit (literally and metaphorically) and that can cause horrible, even fatal, GI problems so muzzles can be recommended as a temporary or permanent precaution.

Muzzles also give the dog 'that look' and can help keep dog lovers at bay, as having kids lunging at even a placid dog can cause issues and some owners just like the peace a muzzle brings them!

@Ritasueandbobtoo9

They need to have a gradual ban on these dogs. Neuter them so they cannot breed any of these types of dogs any more. Enough is enough.

Define 'these dogs' for me please?

A dreadful thing. I can foresee more cases like this. Too many people have a dog and have no idea how to train it. This problem in exacerbated by know it alls who say you must ignore bad behaviour and only take notice of the good. How is the dog to know when it has transgressed if it never taught to behave properly. ? dogs and children need to be taught good manners from an early age.

@percheron67

A dreadful thing. I can foresee more cases like this. Too many people have a dog and have no idea how to train it. This problem in exacerbated by know it alls who say you must ignore bad behaviour and only take notice of the good. How is the dog to know when it has transgressed if it never taught to behave properly. ? dogs and children need to be taught good manners from an early age.

Positive conditioning is only outstripped by traumatic conditioning as a learning tool. Traumatic learning is often what leads to these sudden attacks.

I think we might find there is more to this story than first appears. It is VERY unlikely a dog could chew a person's arm off without that person waking up and moving from the bed, having defensive injuries on their other arm or legs etc, there being clear signs of a struggle.

@Hoiking

Just making my comments based on the fact we walked into a relatives house and jack russell (no history of any problems they'd had her since a pup well looked after) ran in and went for DS . Spent an afternoon in A and E having his face glued and scarred for life .

But he lived. Had this been a big dog, built for strength and killing, then I doubt you'd have the same attitude tbh.

HOIKING I don't understand what you mean

The dog was not from a rescue it was a stray wandering the streets. There is a photo if the dog it did look staffy but was a cross not sure what with. The background of the dog is not known. Before people rescue bash. I have a rescue plus cats, kids and other dogs. It's not just down to ticking boxes on a form it's also depends on what breed your after and your experience with dogs. The dog I adopted would not have gone to anyone who had no experience of the breed. Some people should not own dogs and hazzarding a guess this lady took in a stray that probably was a fighter. The staff breed in general attracts the wrong type of people that think it's clever if their dog is savage. I see young lads with them off leash and walk the other way.