Police said the 23-year-old college student suffered multiple bite wounds and had five dogs with her – two pit bulls, a boxer mix, and two Presas – at the time of her death.  According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, all five dogs were euthanized.  DeKalb animal control director Tim Medlin said they did not know which dog or dogs attacked the young woman, and therefore could not take a chance of someone else adopting a dog that could inflict these type of injuries, and, thus, had no choice but to euthanize all five dogs.

Carey’s parents, Greg and Ellen Carey, said in a statement  “their daughter vowed to be a voice for animals after reading the book “Throw Away Pets” in second grade.”  Rebecca, according to her parents, volunteered countless hours with rescue networks and animal shelters doing what she loved the most:  rescuing animals and finding them safe, loving homes.

Carey’s body was discovered by a friend, Jackie Cira, who owned one of the Presas Carey was dog-sitting.  After Carey didn’t show up for work at Alpharetta’s Loving Hands Animal Clinic, Cira went to Carey’s home and found her bloodied body with bite marks to her neck and upper torso.  At first, police thought they were dealing with a homicide, but it soon became clear that the attackers were dogs.  Monica Cofer, Carey’s neighbor, stated the “dogs never showed any type of aggression, even if one got loose.”

When you or a family member are injured by a dog bite or attack, it is advisable to immediately seek medical care and contact an experienced dog bite attorney.  Arizona law holds the owners of dogs responsible for any harm caused by their pets, and you may be entitled to receive damages for medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering.

Charles Hagerman, according to Chicago Police, was attacked and killed by at least one of his two pit bulls earlier this week.  When Hagerman’s wife, Charlotte Williams, arrived home, she found the unresponsive man on the floor with one of the pit bulls on top of him in their Chicago apartment.  She ran outside, called police, and when the police arrived, they pronounced the man dead at the scene.

An autopsy performed on Hagerman, showed that he suffered multiple injuries received during the dog attack, including a fatal neck injury.  Officials from the Cook county medical examiner’s office ruled the death as accidental.

Daryl Williams, Charlotte’s son, said that the family owned one dog, Scrappy, since he was a puppy, and took in Scrappy’s son, Rocco, about a year-and-a-half ago.  He said the dogs were friendly with all three family members, which makes the attack so puzzling.  “The dogs slept at the foot of their bed.  He played with my nieces and nephews.  We can’t figure this out.”  According to Williams, his mother is so traumatized by the incident, she is inconsolable and unable to sleep.

The unprovoked attacks of pit bulls is one of the reasons they are considered so dangerous.  A pit bull can be playing with its owner one minute and then turn around and attack him the next minute.  If you or a loved one have been injured by a pit bull or another breed of dog, seek medical care immediately and contact an Arizona dog bite attorney who can protect your legal rights and seek the compensation you deserve.

Police officers in London were raiding a home in March when they were attacked by the owner’s pit bull. The officers were sent to investigate reports that a man had been bitten by a dog at the home last year and that a bicyclist had been bitten as well.  According to police, animal welfare officers had visited the residence  in May of last year, but there was no one home and no further action was taken.

When officers arrived at the home, the dog immediately began attacking the officers.  A neighbor gave an eye witness report of the incident by saying that one officer leaped onto the bonnet of a car to escape the attacking dog and also added that the raid quickly turned into a savage attack.  The neighbor, Dennis Clarke, stated  the dog was holding on to the officer’s leg, but the officer was able to get over the wall.  The officer jumped on the car, waited a minute, and then hopped down when he heard one of his fellow officers screaming and yelling.  In all, five officers were injured by the dog.  One constable may require skin grafts on his body and all five officers needed treatment for wounds on their hands and legs.

The pit bull was finally shot and killed by an armed police officer.

The owner of the dog, Symieon Robinson-Pierre, 25, was found guilty under the Dangerous Dogs Act on three charges during a hearing at London Crown Court.  Robinson-Pierre was cleared of one charge when it was discovered  one attack took place in the garden of his home, which is private property.

Robinson-Pierre admitted to the charge of owning a fighting dog as well, and remains in custody until his sentencing in September.

Tim Thomas, 49, tried to keep his dogs from killing the smaller dogs.  Unfortunately, when he tried to pull his dogs off the smaller dogs, he suffered a fatal heart attack and died in the cul-de-sac in front of his home on Mitchell Road in Douglasville.  According to Sgt. Mike Howell of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Thomas died from natural causes, not as a result of a dog attack.  “Thomas had already separated the dogs and then he collapsed there in the street.  It appears he died from a heart attack.  He was deceased there when we arrived.”

Thomas was on the phone with his ex-wife at the time of the attack.  Myna Meyer, his ex-wife, said that she heard Thomas yelling, “stop, stop”,” and heard growling, barking and Thomas struggling with the dogs.  Meyer put down the phone, ran over to the road and found her ex-husband laying dead at the scene of the dog fight.

Joe Thomas, the father of the deceased man, expressed shock at his son’s death.  He stated his son was a disabled Navy veteran with medical problems, but he was unaware that his son suffered from heart problems.

The victim’s dogs were taken away by the Douglas County Animal Control officials who stated the dogs fate will be determined at a later date.

The two dogs that were attacked belonged to a neighbor, who was just moving into a house across the street from Thomas.  Duane Mauldin said that one of his dogs sustained injuries and would need to be taken to a veterinary.  He also said that he hated that it happened … “I just hate that he died trying to save my dogs.”

A docile family pet showed her more violent side when a burglar stuck his hand through a cat flap in a home in England last week.  Missy, an 11-year-old Rottweiler,  was just protecting her home when she latched onto the arm of the crook.  According to the police, Missy did so much damage with her bite, that police were able to take DNA samples of the blood left at the scene of the attempted break-in at Pauline Cunningham’s home.

Pauline was called away from home last week due to a family emergency.  A neighbor was looking after the house for Pauline and turned off the lights, but left the stairgate open, which meant, unfortunately for the burglar, the dog had the run of the house that night.  It appeared that Missy attempted to pull the burglar through the cat door after she sank her teeth into his arm.

It wasn’t until the next morning when the neighbor came back to check on the home and found the door drenched in blood, the attempted burglary was discovered and police were called.  Cunningham at first did not believe her neighbor when she was phoned about the attempted break in, however, when she returned home and found a police forensic team in her kitchen and found her door splattered with blood, she realized her neighbor was telling the truth.

Pauline now calls Missy “a crime fighting dog, who’s usually a docile family pet.  She’s a big softie and a lovable old girl, and in dog years, she’s an old pensioner.”

Though very few victims end up at a hospital for treatment of their wounds, the wound can still be dangerous. When bitten by a dog, the victim should seek medical care if if the bite causes a puncture, laceration or tear to the skin.  Once the skin is broken, there is a good chance of the wound becoming infected.  A dog’s saliva has a wide diversity of bacteria, and in 100 percent of dog bites, harmful bacteria and other dangerous pathogens are present and can be transmitted to the bite wound.  Signs that a dog bite has become infected include, redness, inflammation, pain and oozing.

Dr. Mark Wulkan, surgeon-in-chief at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, said that the dangers of serious dog bite are two-fold in that one is”the infectious dangers from rabies and bacteria and the dog’s mouth,” and then the other is “really around the trauma of the bite itself.”

When bitten by a dog, Dr. Wulkan stated the victim needs to find out if the dog is up to date on its rabies shots.  Then, if the wound does not look serious, washing the cut with soap and water and applying antibiotic ointment may be all that’s necessary.  However, if there’s redness spreading or puss draining from the wound, Dr. Wulkan stated that you need to make an appointment with your doctor to seek further treatment.

One important point he  added is that it would be best to get a tetanus shot if it has been ore than five years since you had your last booster shot.

If you or a family member has been bitten and injured by a dog, it is not only important to seek immediate medical care, but legal assistance as well.  An experienced Arizona dog bite lawyer, can provide you with the legal representation necessary to represent you in court and protect your interests.

When Jacklyn Tucker was sleeping over at her friend’s house, she fell off the couch in her sleep.  Looking up, she saw the family dog growling at her.  Tucker said that she just laid there with her eyes closed, hoping that the dog would go away, but unfortunately for her, he did not.  The family’s Jack Russell terrier-English Bulldog cross, instead, lunged at the girl, tearing off three-quarters of her upper lip and part of her nose.

The dog’s owner picked up pieces of severed skin and gave them to the paramedics that transported the 11-year-old girl to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, but unfortunately, because of blood vessel damage, the skin turned gray and died.  Jacklyn was transferred to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, for special surgery. 

Dr. Drew Schnitt, a plastic and craniofacial surgeon, stated he and fellow surgeons decided the best way to repair Jacklyn’s face was to borrow tissue from her bottom lip.  In this procedure, known as a lip switch, the surgeon takes a wedge from the lower lip and flips it upside down and inserts it into the upper lip.  By doing this procedure, the upper and bottom lip will match in color and texture.

Schnitt then used part of Jacklyn’s chin to reconstruct her nose that was damaged by the dog bite.  Dr. Schnitt thought the surgery was quite successful and stated that it will take two to three weeks for new blood vessels to grow into the tissue.  The surgeons will then bring Jacklyn back to the hospital for the separation procedure.

Tanker, the dog that bit Jacklyn, has been turned over to Animal Care and Control, according to reports, and will likely be euthanized.

Jacklyn does not have any hard feelings towards the dog’s owners, according to a family friend, Jennifer Calderon, who is trying to raise money to help with Jacklyn’s medical expenses.  Calderon stated that “Jacklyn doesn’t want anybody mad at her friend, as the incident was the dog’s fault.”

One negative aspect of owning a dog, however, is the possibility that the owner’s home insurance premium might go up. 

In an article in USA Today, we read that dog bites accounted for more the one-third of homeowners insurance liability claims paid in 2011.  These claims cost nearly $479 million in the United States according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Although the number of dog bites in this country has remained relatively flat, the cost of claims has risen by 48 % since 2003.  State Farm is the largest writer of homeowners insurance in the United States, and the company paid more than $109 million on nearly 3,800 dog bite claims in 2011.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost of dog bite claims in the U.S. was $29,396 in 2011, which is up 53.4 % from $19,162 in 2004.  The reasons for this increase were because not only have medical costs  risen, but the sizes of settlements and judgments and jury awards given to plaintiffs have risen as well

In the past, says Bob Skow, CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa, when a kid got bit, “Mom and Dad did not take him to a plastic surgeon, whereas nowadays they do.”

Dog bite laws differ from state to state, as eighteen states let dog owners off on liability for the dog’s first bite, but in others, an owner is responsible for all damages caused by his dog in normal circumstances.  Tom Alger, an Iowa Insurance Division spokesman said that most insurance companies “are going to put in their underwriting provisions that they are not going to cover vicious dogs.”

To prevent a dog bite incident that could cause a rise in their homeowner’s insurance premium, dog owners in Arizona need to ensure that their pet is contained at all times.

One reason dogs bite is fear aggression.  Hibbard said that she finds it amazing that people will approach and try to pet an unfamiliar dog.  Many people assume a dog wants to meet them, when this is not true at all. If a dog wants to meet you, the dog will approach you, and when he does, do not reach down to pet the dog.  When the dog actively seeks your attention, then it is safe to pet the dog.

Redirected aggression is another reason dogs may bite people.  Humans engage in redirected aggression all the time.  An example of this type of behavior is when people try to break up a fight and then end up getting hit themselves.  However, even though people engage in this type of behavior, they misunderstand this behavior in dogs. When a dog has been fighting with another dog and you grab the dog, you run the risk of being bitten because of the redirected aggression of the dog.

Possession aggression is a reason for biting that is fairly easy to understand.  A dog guards his resources just humans guard our resources.  We place locks and alarms on our possessions and resent people sitting in our chairs.  It’s the same with dogs.  Hibbard suggests that if your dog has resource guarding behavior, it would be wise to hire a professional to teach resource exchange, which is teaching your dog if they give something up, they will receive something better in return.

When a well behaved dog suddenly begins to act aggressive, according to Hibbard, this is a red flag that the dog doesn’t feel well or is in pain.  This is known as pain aggression, and in her opinion, is one of the most under diagnosed causes of aggression in dogs.  A trip to the veterinarian as soon as possible is suggested if your dog portrays this behavior.

Territorial aggression is one of the most common biting behaviors in dogs, and is why so many delivery people, utility workers and mail carriers get bitten.  The dog is just protecting what it sees as his territory.

Dominance aggression is what many people believe is the root of all dog behavior problems, but research does not back this up as the behavior is rare.  This behavior is described as a dog trying to control social interactions.  An example of this behavior is when a dog nips or bites his owner when a playful activity ends.

Although there are other types of dog aggressions and other reasons dogs may bite, the ones described above are the ones of main concern to dog owners, according to Hibbard.  By becoming aware of and understanding these types of behaviors in dogs, people should  in most cases be able to avoid being bitten by a dog.

In Wilmington, North Carolina, a man is accused of biting a 2-year-old police dog after fleeing from police officers.  Keith Glaspie, 22, ran from officers when they were attempting to detain him, and the officers sent their police dog, Maxx, after the man.  After Maxx ran down Glaspie, the man bit into the dog’s ear, leaving it in two pieces, which required 15 stitches to close the wound.    Maxx then bit Glaspie in the thigh, which required repair at a local hospital before he was taken to jail.

According to a police officer who witnessed the whole incident, he said the “attack was unprecedented.”  Cpl. David Pellegrino told ABC News, that “their police dogs do get assaulted, but no one has ever tried to cannibalize one of our animals before.”

Glaspie should have thought about the repercussions from assaulting the police dog, for now he has a felony charge of assault on a law enforcement animal added to his long list of legal charges.  Glaspie’s first charge was for resisting arrest after jumping out of a car when police tried to pull him over on June 5th.  He was arrested for that incident, posted bond and was released.  On June 15th, Glaspie was riding his bicycle past a car when he allegedly opened fire on the vehicle.  Fortunately, no one was in the vehicle at the time.

Glaspie is now being held in jail on a $1.025 million bond.