VA - Bethany Stephens, 21, mauled to death by her 2 dogs, Dec 2017

[rsd1200]

Had a wolf hybrid (keri) few years back, already had lab & husky. She was not a problem until young child (5) was visiting. While standing on the other side or the fence and looking at keri she paced back and forth the whole time looking at child like she was her next meal.

Needless to say she went back to breeder.

I just saw this. Please don't think my posted article, a bit down the line, was in reference to your post/dog breed. You made a good choice. Mine too is pointing out children and dogs and safety.

 

[rsd1200]

I always introduced my dogs to my newborn child as soon as we got home from the hospital. I let the dogs sniff the child - some say this tells the dog that the child is related to us and therefore part of the "master". I remember my GS the most. She gave my daughter, brought home on Christmas day, a huge kiss with her big, wet tongue. My mother almost had cardiac arrest 'cause it was unsanitary, and not safe. But it was safe, even if a bit unsanitary. From that time on the dog knew the wee one was part of me, leader of the pack, and acted accordingly.

I sent home a blanket from the hospital that had my scent and the baby's from where I'd been holding the baby wrapped in the blanket. I never left them unattended, together, though. Not even with the small dogs. I didn't mind them lying down with them or snuffling them and we had one that thought our first grandchild was hers (the little cairn mix). She'd bring the baby dog toys and kibble... When the baby started learning to roll over, the dog would roll over with the baby, crawl with the baby when the baby started to crawl, etc.. My daughter and the baby moved out after a couple years, and to this day, when that child is here, that dog is everywhere the child is. Goes nuts when she walks in our door. The same dog took in an abandoned kitten, we found on our doorstep, a couple years ago, and they are almost inseparable. Our eldest dog could not have cared less about either of them.

 

[anya]

“I wasn’t able to see the body, so I can’t tell you what happened. I can’t tell you if it was a blunt force or if it was a mauling, but I know those dogs didn’t do it,” Barbara Norris said.

Friends say Stephens had recently been receiving death threats prior to the incident, which is another reason why they question whether the dogs were to blame.


http://wric.com/2017/12/15/sheriff-...ead-in-woods-was-mauled-to-death-by-own-dogs/

Just wondering if there's any further information about her receiving alleged death threats... Who? Why? When?
Wondering if there's a link between it and the dogs? Do we know where she got the dogs from (breeder, boyfriend, the pound, etc)? I'm not debating whether or not pitbulls, pit mixes, presa canarios, et al are dangerous or not - they absolutely can be, especially if traumatized, mistreated or neglected - I just think there's more to the story here.
Did anyone else other than her father have access to their kennel/property while she was away? Were there any other dogs or animals kept on the property? How long were they living at her father's for? Any boyfriends or exes who may own pitbulls or similar as well? Could someone have sic'd them on her? I know the latter is pretty far-fetched but how possible could it be if they gained the dogs trust while she wasn't around often, turning them against her? How easy is that to do considering their sudden isolated situation?

Sorry if questions are redundant but just covering all the possibilities as I can't glean much else from my search of news.

 

[rsd1200]

This just happened in Bell County, Ky., this morning.

The woman is dead, and the man has been transported to an area hospital. He managed to shoot the dogs but one survived and has escaped and the public is to be on the lookout for the dog.
http://www.lex18.com/story/37135000/woman-mauled-to-death-husband-injured-by-2-dogs-in-bell-co

 

[mpoinar]

This just happened in Bell County, Ky., this morning.

The woman is dead, and the man has been transported to an area hospital. He managed to shoot the dogs but one survived and has escaped and the public is to be on the lookout for the dog.
http://www.lex18.com/story/37135000/woman-mauled-to-death-husband-injured-by-2-dogs-in-bell-co

This truly terrifies me. We live in a poor area in the SW desert and we have lots of pit bulls all around us. The main dog breed in the shelters are pit bulls. We have had 3 deaths from pit bull attacks in our area. One woman was just jogging. And I have 2 friends who both worked with dogs and both were ripped open by pit bulls. One of them had rescued one off the streets in FL and it attacked her for no reason. It took chunks out of her arm and ate them. After one year she is still having surgery on her arm so she can use it again. Both my friends have PTSD.

Now the thing about where we live, the pit bulls either run loose or are on chains even though both are illegal. We have stopped walking where the dogs are and stopped riding our bikes after having one pit bull (used for fighting and missing one eye) got loose and cornered us on the street when we walked by. I am honestly terrified of pit bulls. I feel for any animal who has been abused but my one friend who was ripped open from her face to her fingers had simply picked up the leash of a dog she knew and was going to take it home to the owner when it attacked her. That one was well cared for, lived indoors, and was never abused.

On an uplifting note, we have had 5 abandoned desert dogs as pets and none of them have ever growled or snapped at us or anyone else. I miss them, they have all passed - they were wonderful dogs - 3 were mixes (no pit in them) 1 was a small Spitz, and 1 elderly one was a gorgeous Siberian Husky. I have had Dobermans in the past and I was so afraid of their reputation that I over socialized them and when we were broken into once and I needed them for help, I couldn't even get them to do bark! They were also very good dogs.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

 

[jamicat]

Just wondering if there's any further information about her receiving alleged death threats... Who? Why? When?
Wondering if there's a link between it and the dogs? Do we know where she got the dogs from (breeder, boyfriend, the pound, etc)? I'm not debating whether or not pitbulls, pit mixes, presa canarios, et al are dangerous or not - they absolutely can be, especially if traumatized, mistreated or neglected - I just think there's more to the story here.
Did anyone else other than her father have access to their kennel/property while she was away? Were there any other dogs or animals kept on the property? How long were they living at her father's for? Any boyfriends or exes who may own pitbulls or similar as well? Could someone have sic'd them on her? I know the latter is pretty far-fetched but how possible could it be if they gained the dogs trust while she wasn't around often, turning them against her? How easy is that to do considering their sudden isolated situation?

Sorry if questions are redundant but just covering all the possibilities as I can't glean much else from my search of news.

1) Apparently, Bethany had been going through a bad breakup of her marriage. As too often it happens, it had come to some terrible words, even threats, according to friends

2) The SO likely lived with the dogs, so they may regard him as the Alpha. My dogs do not react to In house arguments and horseplay. I would never test it, but I do not believe they would protect me from any of my family members. In fact, I have my doubts they’d protect me from anyone. In studies I’ve seen, most dogs would not in simulated attack scenarios. What keeps you safer having dogs is that there is about a half a chance the dogs would attack a transgressors and no way to know until it happens
3) Bethany worked with animals. She apparently got one of dogs as an 8 week old pup from a shelter. She got the other a year or so later from someone who had adopted it but did not want to keep it. The dogs were litter mates
4). No idena who else had access to the dogs. The father had refused to be responsible for them, allowing her to pen them there but refusing to do anything else

5)Bethany came “about 5 Times a week “ to care for those penned up dogs. Her father seems to have known she had come and taken them. He was not concerned she did not return as she had friends in area and had been living her own life for a while. It was when her friends came by concerned because she wasn’t answering their calls, that he, along with the friends went looking for her. She had a certain place she took them and that was where she and dogs were found
6) No one knows exactly what happened out there. Police report and autopsy results are that she was killed by animals the size of those dogs, and they were feeding on her when they were found

7) I doubt anyone could plan out siccing the dogs on her. Too risky. Doubt anyone who saw her with dogs would take chance attacking her
Unless someone who knew her and dogs well enough to do. But the person that friends named, not anywhere near the place. Solid alibi

8) LE awe sure those dogs attacked her. No reason why. And then when hungry fed on her

 

[MaryG12]

Dumb general question here:

34 pages of posts in this thread on the subject of pit bulls and attacks, would be interested in knowing exactly why one would want to own a pit bull (excluding the standard reason of owning a dog, for self protection, seems like pit bulls fail in that area, MOO).

Are there any reasons?

 

[jamicat]

This truly terrifies me. We live in a poor area in the SW desert and we have lots of pit bulls all around us. The main dog breed in the shelters are pit bulls. We have had 3 deaths from pit bull attacks in our area. One woman was just jogging. And I have 2 friends who both worked with dogs and both were ripped open by pit bulls. One of them had rescued one off the streets in FL and it attacked her for no reason. It took chunks out of her arm and ate them. After one year she is still having surgery on her arm so she can use it again. Both my friends have PTSD.

Now the thing about where we live, the pit bulls either run loose or are on chains even though both are illegal. We have stopped walking where the dogs are and stopped riding our bikes after having one pit bull (used for fighting and missing one eye) got loose and cornered us on the street when we walked by. I am honestly terrified of pit bulls. I feel for any animal who has been abused but my one friend who was ripped open from her face to her fingers had simply picked up the leash of a dog she knew and was going to take it home to the owner when it attacked her. That one was well cared for, lived indoors, and was never abused.

On an uplifting note, we have had 5 abandoned desert dogs as pets and none of them have ever growled or snapped at us or anyone else. I miss them, they have all passed - they were wonderful dogs - 3 were mixes (no pit in them) 1 was a small Spitz, and 1 elderly one was a gorgeous Siberian Husky. I have had Dobermans in the past and I was so afraid of their reputation that I over socialized them and when we were broken into once and I needed them for help, I couldn't even get them to do bark! They were also very good dogs.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

I live in a similar situation, similar place. I have two dogs. I walk with pepper spray in my waist pack

 

[mpoinar]

You too!! Thanks for your reply.

When we go out, we have a backpack with the following in it:

Air horn, bear spray, ultrasound device, and a stun gun. But in the past, the police have warned me about stun guns saying that they don't work well and can cause more aggression. The spray would work the best but we have such strong winds here that the spray could get us instead of the attacking dogs! Sorry you have to deal with this too.

 

[Lilibet]

I live in a similar situation, similar place. I have two dogs. I walk with pepper spray in my waist pack

I’ve never used pepper spray. Would it really stop a dog...or two...or enrage them if you didn’t hit the eyes (I presumed that’s the target)?

 

[Lilibet]

You too!! Thanks for your reply.

When we go out, we have a backpack with the following in it:

Air horn, bear spray, ultrasound device, and a stun gun. But in the past, the police have warned me about stun guns saying that they don't work well and can cause more aggression. The spray would work the best but we have such strong winds here that the spray could get us instead of the attacking dogs! Sorry you have to deal with this too.

I love the SW dearly, but you must really love the place you live or have no other options to put up with arming yourself like this. Yikes! I hope you can access your backpack in time. I’m not a gun lover but I’d be tempted to carry a real one, and that’s very hard for me to say. Stay safe!

Welcome to Websleuths! :seeya:

 

[mpoinar]

I love the SW dearly, but you must really love the place you live or have no other options to put up with arming yourself like this. Yikes! I hope you can access your backpack in time. I’m not a gun lover but I’d be tempted to carry a real one, and that’s very hard for me to say. Stay safe!

Welcome to Websleuths! :seeya:

Thanks for the welcome and safe wishes.

Actually the police have said the same thing about guns but as of yet, we don't have a permit to carry. We can have them in our home.

And we really do love living here even with the dangers we face. We are an older couple and play it safe as best we can.

 

[Lilibet]

Thanks for the welcome and safe wishes.

Actually the police have said the same thing about guns but as of yet, we don't have a permit to carry. We can have them in our home.

And we really do love living here even with the dangers we face. We are an older couple and play it safe as best we can.

I do understand why you love it. Every time we travel in certain parts of the SW I find myself looking at real estate ads! I adore the red rocks. Juniper doesn’t like me though, so we will stay put in our neat retirement community in Oregon.

 

[mpoinar]

I do understand why you love it. Every time we travel in certain parts of the SW I find myself looking at real estate ads! I adore the red rocks. Juniper doesn’t like me though, so we will stay put in our neat retirement community in Oregon.

Oh this is ironical. I love Oregon as my brother lives there and I find myself looking at real estate adds in Oregon. But its too humid for me to live there. My body needs dryness.

NM is called "The Land of Enchantment" for good reason.

 

[rsd1200]

Dumb general question here:

34 pages of posts in this thread on the subject of pit bulls and attacks, would be interested in knowing exactly why one would want to own a pit bull (excluding the standard reason of owning a dog, for self protection, seems like pit bulls fail in that area, MOO).

Are there any reasons?

They are in the town area here and the shelter always has them, more than any other breed/mix breed. You can't miss those big heads. I've only seen a couple out our way but they have never come near our home. Their owners have large lots/property and keep them inside. We have lots of different varmints out this way, so when I walk with our dogs, out onto the farm, even with our big dogs with me, I carry a firearm. It is what it is.

 

[rsd1200]

I’ve never used pepper spray. Would it really stop a dog...or two...or enrage them if you didn’t hit the eyes (I presumed that’s the target)?

Not all dogs are affected by pepper spray and you have the possibility of wind. If it blows back on you, you're in a heap of trouble.

 

[rsd1200]

I love the SW dearly, but you must really love the place you live or have no other options to put up with arming yourself like this. Yikes! I hope you can access your backpack in time. I’m not a gun lover but I’d be tempted to carry a real one, and that’s very hard for me to say. Stay safe!

Welcome to Websleuths! :seeya:

I am a gun owner and have my ccp . I'm from Guntucky. It's just like getting our first car. It's what you do. I don't carry around town, or to the local walmart, or diner... If someone is that determined to kill a group of folks, I'm not gonna do much good. I do carry if I'm gonna be driving alone, or out o town, or walking the arm. My gandchild and I were out walking in the woods when an animal lept out o a tree, onto our big dogs heads! I got my grandchild out of there, and minutes later the dogs came rrunning up.We'd had wildcat killed behind us and I thought it might be a small one. Nope! Feral, house-sized cat, on the large size. I carry my firearm on our walks now. If a feral cat will jump a 100+ pound Rottweiler and 50+ pound Cattle dog, anything could jump us. My keyboard is haveing spasms, so i some characters are missing, or words misspelled badly, I'm not drunk...yet. Having the gun may have saved at least one of their lives, with the couple in Ky. today.

 

[Lilibet]

Oh this is ironical. I love Oregon as my brother lives there and I find myself looking at real estate adds in Oregon. But its too humid for me to live there. My body needs dryness.

NM is called "The Land of Enchantment" for good reason.

OT (off topic): Yes to NM! And don’t get be started on the Hatch chiles...Rancho de Chimayo enchiladas with both red and green (Christmas) sauce! Yum!!! My cousin lives in ABQ but it’s too big. Love Santa Fe and north. Our part of Oregon is dryer than most, but I’m sure it would feel humid to you. San Diego feels humid to me, but compared to other parts of the country it’s not.

Anyway...reluctantly back on topic. Enjoy, but stay safe.

 

[rsd1200]

OT (off topic): Yes to NM! And don’t get be started on the Hatch chiles...Rancho de Chimayo enchiladas with both red and green (Christmas) sauce! Yum!!! My cousin lives in ABQ but it’s too big. Love Santa Fe and north. Our part of Oregon is dryer than most, but I’m sure it would feel humid to you. San Diego feels humid to me, but compared to other parts of the country it’s not.

Anyway...reluctantly back on topic. Enjoy, but stay safe.

O/T Love Albuquerque, NM! I enjoyed travelling through NM. We came down 550 from spending some time in CO and picked up parts of RT66 on our way back home. Beautiful country out west, can't wait to go back.

 

[Lilibet]

I am a gun owner and have my ccp . I'm from Guntucky. It's just like getting our first car. It's what you do. I don't carry around town, or to the local walmart, or diner... If someone is that determined to kill a group of folks, I'm not gonna do much good. I do carry if I'm gonna be driving alone, or out o town, or walking the arm. My gandchild and I were out walking in the woods when an animal lept out o a tree, onto our big dogs heads! I got my grandchild out of there, and minutes later the dogs came rrunning up.We'd had wildcat killed behind us and I thought it might be a small one. Nope! Feral, house-sized cat, on the large size. I carry my firearm on our walks now. If a feral cat will jump a 100+ pound Rottweiler and 50+ pound Cattle dog, anything could jump us. My keyboard is haveing spasms, so i some characters are missing, or words misspelled badly, I'm not drunk...yet. Having the gun may have saved at least one of their lives, with the couple in Ky. today.

Yikes! Who’d have thunk it of a cat! Maybe it jumped on your keyboard when you weren’t looking. Mine were “kittens on the keys.”