California Injury Blog

Jerry Yates, 69, was killed in a dog bite incident after he was mauled on his own property by two large pit bulls that belonged to a neighbor. According to an ABC News report, Yates's body was found with large bite marks and torn flesh, the afternoon of August 22, 2010. Authorities say Yates' wounds suggest that he died trying to fight off the dogs. The owner of the dogs, Sheryl Sellers, has been arrested on a single felony charge of allowing vicious animals at large. Officials say she held the dogs in an enclosure, which was clearly inadequate to restrain dogs of that size. Sellers surrendered the pit bulls, which have since been euthanized.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jerry Yates. Apparently, Yates was a Marine Corps veteran who served three combat tours in Vietnam. Tragic! Please keep this grieving family in your thoughts and prayers.

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A 7-year-old girl sustained severe injuries in a dog bite incident the afternoon of July 24, 2010 after a pit bull terrier bit her on the face. According to a Bay City News report, the dog attack occurred at a home on 82nd Avenue. Eyewitnesses told police that the dog owner asked the girl if she wanted to pet the dog just before the attack occurred. Oakland police officials said the girl suffered significant injuries, but that they were not life-threatening. This incident comes two days after a fatal pit bull attack in Concord where a 2-year-old boy was mauled by his step-grandfathers dogs.

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Neighbors in a San Diego community are concerned that a pit bull involved in a dog bite incident two weeks ago has still not been located. Tina Souza, the woman who was attacked and injured by the dog, is offering a $500 reward for information about the pit bull or its owner, 10news reports. She says that the dog ran through a gate and charged at her when she was taking a walk in the neighborhood. Souza said she tried to defend herself by putting her arm up when the pit bull bit her arm. The dog ran away and was never located.

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Jose Sadino, 5, sustained critical injuries in a dog bite incident after he was brutally attacked and mauled by a pit bull in the middle of a large apartment complex in Newhall. According to an ABC news report, the dog attack occurred the evening of June 11, 2010 when a number of children were playing. The dog, witnesses say, jumped out of a window and started biting Jose.

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Marilyn Reyes, 65, was severely injured in a dog bite incident when a pit bull attacked her in her place of work. The Orange County Register reports that Reyes, an employee at a Garden Grove Elementary School, was attacked the afternoon of June 8, 2010, after a pit bull entered the school's office through an open door. Reyes was bitten several times as she tried to prevent the animal from coming inside. She sustained puncture wounds to her arm and leg and had to be rushed into emergency surgery after her artery was ruptured by one of the bites.

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Recently there have been several dog bite incidents involving young children or infants in the San Bernardino area. On May 27, 2010, there was yet another tragedy when 2-year-old Nathan Aguirre was mauled to death by his family's pit bull in the backyard of his own home. The San Bernardino Sun reports that the fatal dog attack occurred when Nathan's father stepped inside their home for a few moments after playing with Nathan and their two pit bulls in the backyard. Moments later Nathan's mother found the dog attacking the child. By the time, the child was transported to the hospital, it was too late. He had already suffered fatal head and neck injuries.

I offer my deepest condolences to the parents of this child for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. They will be in my prayers.

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Wendy Soto, 38, a U.S. Census worker sustained serious injuries in a dog bite incident as she was going door-to-door in Coalinga, California. According to a CBS news report, Soto was conducting census interviews the evening of May 17, 2010. She rang the doorbell of a home when a pit bull came out and began biting her repeatedly. The dog attack only stopped when the owner came and pulled the dog away, police said. Soto sustained injuries to her right leg, stomach and hands. Doctors are now apparently waiting for the swelling to reduce before assessing the extent of Soto's injuries. Officials are preparing to hold a hearing in order to determine whether the dog should be classified as "vicious."

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Two people were hospitalized with injuries after a dog bite incident in the Hyde Park area of South Los Angeles, Fox News reports. The dog attacks involving three bullmastiff dogs occurred early morning on April 16, 2010 in the 4000 block of Slauson Avenue near West 58th Place. Eyewitnesses told news reporters that they heard someone screaming for their life. They saw a woman surrounded by three large dogs. A motorist who had stopped to help the woman was also attacked and bitten. Police officers who responded took one dog and shot another. Animal control officers caught a third dog.

My heart goes out to the two victims who were apparently seriously injured in this brutal dog attack. Another news report states that each of the dogs weighed about 100 pounds. These were large dogs. I hope that the dog bite victims have not been severely injured and pray that they recover quickly and completely.

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A Victorville woman was seriously injured in a dog bite incident after she was mauled by two pit bulls while walking out to get her mail. The San Bernardino Sun reports that the brutal dog attack occurred the afternoon of April 2, 2010 near the intersection of Barrington Street and Fuschia Lane. San Bernardino sheriff's officials saw the victim on the street as the dogs were attacking her. Police had to shoot and kill the pit bulls because of the dogs' hostility and aggression toward neighbors who came to help as well as emergency personnel who were attending to the injured victim.

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A 6-month-old infant was severely injured and disfigured in a dog bite incident on April 3, 2010, after he was left unattended in an apartment with two pit bulls. According to a news report in The Press-Enterprise, the brutal dog attack occurred when the 22-year-old mother of the baby -- Carrie McKinney, left the baby in an infant carrier on the floor, in a room at her friend's apartment. A pit bull and pit bull mix attacked the baby severing his testicles. The dog's owner is identified as Doug Ritchey. Officials say the dogs tore off the baby's diaper and bit his scrotum. The baby was transported to a local hospital, but his condition is not clear. The incident is being investigated by police and child protective services.

My heart goes out to this little baby for what he has gone through. It is not clear if he has sustained life-threatening injuries. But it is clear that these injuries will affect him for a prolonged period of time, if not, for the rest of his life. This child will certainly be in my prayers.

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A man and his pet dog sustained serious injuries in a Long Beach dog bite incident involving a pit bull, The Press Telegram reports. The brutal attack occurred the night of April 6, 2010 near Livingston Drive and St. Joseph Avenue, in Belmont Shore. Officers who responded to the call saw the man who had visibly suffered several dog bites on the ground holding his small dog, which was also severely injured. Officials contacted the pit bull's owner at his home, to have him surrender the animal to the custody of Animal Control officials.

However, when the owner brought the pit bill out, it escaped out of its collar and charged a woman and her small dog nearby. Officers tried to subdue the dog, but the dog was unaffected and charged toward them. They then had to fire their weapons, striking the pit bull multiple times and killing it. The man, who had initially been injured by this pit bull, was transported to a local hospital as was his small pet. Both are expected to recover.

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Two dog owners are facing seven felony counts of owning vicious animals that caused great bodily injury in connection with a terrible dog bite incident that critically injured 5-year-old Destiny Colon and also, injured her siblings. According to a news report in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Jose Antonio Lopez Gonzalez, 49, and Judith Mendez Lopez, 55, were charged with the felonies this week. The dog attack occurred February 1, 2010, when Destiny's mother was walking with her children to a neighborhood park. Five pit bull mixes escaped from their yard and attacked the family on Tokay Avenue near Arrow Highway.

While one of the dogs was shot and killed by a police officer during the attack, the others have been euthanized. Police have been investigating this incident for more than a month. During their investigation, they checked into the animals' prior interactions with other neighbors. As with most dog bite cases, officials also had to compare marks and bites in order to prove that the dogs that were captured were the animals involved in the attack.

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The debate about pit bulls is getting louder in one Southern California community after a vicious dog bite incident in Fontana involving five pit bull mixes almost killed 5-year-old Destiny Colon and injured three of her siblings. Also, recently, a 3-year-old Apple Valley boy was fatally attacked by the family's pit bull. A Hesperia woman recently suffered a broken arm after her own pit bull attacked her in October. With these and other recently recorded cases, there appears to be no shortage of dog attacks involving pit bulls.

Why is that? Some say that it is not the dogs' fault. Pit bull advocates say that this breed gets a bad rap because of "neglect by irresponsible owners." However, according to a recent article in The San Bernardino Sun, many in the local community, who have witnessed vicious behavior by pit bulls and pit bull mixes, say that pit bulls have a natural "mean streak" compared to other breeds of dogs.

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Tom Atkinson, 56, was injured in a dog bite incident in an Escondido gated community, according to a news report in the North County Times. He was apparently finishing a jog on Rock View Glen in the Emerald Heights development when he noticed what looked like two loose pit bull mix dogs growling at a neighbor and his leashed dog. As Atkinson walked on, the dogs lunged at him. He fought them off and they ran away, but returned and bit him several times. Atkinson sustained a bite to the forearm and another deep bite to the thigh. The report states that the owners of the dogs have chosen to euthanize the 5-year-old dogs, which have been the subject of prior complaints.

My heart goes out to Atkinson, who is dealing with dog bite injuries. I wish him the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.

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Three children were injured, one critically, in a Fontana dog bite incident after a pack of five pit bull mixes attacked them. The Press-Enterprise reports that the children -- Princess Colon, 7, Hector Perez, 6, Destiny Colon, 5, and a 3-year-old - were on their way to a park the afternoon of February 1, 2010, with their mother Josie Arellano, when the dogs attacked them. Destiny suffered critical injuries and bites while Hector had to get 235 stitches and Princess, 18 stitches to close up the tears and bites.

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A 64-year-old woman was hospitalized after she was injured in a dog bite incident on January 1, 2010 in Watsonville, a city in the San Francisco Bay Area. According to a news report in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the woman was walking in the neighborhood the afternoon of New Year's Day when a pit bull broke free of a tether in an unfenced backyard and attacked the woman, biting her on her left calf. Officials are considering filing charges against the dog owner.

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Denise Friedrich, an animal control officer in San Jose sustained severe dog bite injuries after two pit bull mixes attacked her the morning of November 3, 2009. According to a news report in the San Jose Mercury News, Friedrich was responding to a complaint from Bikramjit Singh, a homeowner, that the two dogs had strayed into his backyard. When Friedrich got into the backyard, one of the dogs started to attack her. When she tried to fend off the pit bull with her baton, the other dog started to bite her as well. A police officer who came to Friedrich's rescue eventually shot both dogs because they lunged at him. Friedrich's suffered nine dog bites on her arms, legs and buttocks.

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A 1-year-old child was fatally injured in a San Francisco area dog bite incident, according to a KSEE news report. The dog attack occurred evening of October 23, 2009 in Delhi, California, when the child who was being watched by his babysitter was suddenly grabbed by the sitter's 65-pound pit bull. The dog grabbed the child by the throat and dragged him around the yard. The babysitter told Merced County Sheriff's deputies that she had to stab the dog with a fork several times to get it to release the child. She then called 911 and then began to drive the baby to a hospital herself. She was stopped by police for erratic driving. The child was then rushed to an area hospital where he died. The pit bull has been quarantined. No charges have been filed yet in connection with this dog bite incident as an investigation is pending.

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The California dog bite lawyers at BISNAR | CHASE understand how traumatic dog attacks can be. Sharon Holland, 54, suffered serious injuries in one such brutal dog attack in San Diego after she was attacked by three mastiffs. The attack was so horrific that it traumatized those who witnessed it. In fact, those who saw the dogs attack her say they are surprised that Holland is even alive. Holland's family members say she was admitted with serious bite wounds after the attack on October 10, 2009, but that now her life is in danger because the wounds have become infected and she had to be rushed to the emergency room.

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Editor's Note: As a few of our readers have pointed out, our source info was partially incorrect when this post was originally written. The attacking dogs were not pit bulls as originally thought, they were mastiffs. We will post an update in the near future on this event.

A woman was seriously injured in a California dog bite incident in National City on October 10, 2009 after she was attacked by three pit bulls. According to a 10news report, the woman, who has not yet been identified, was walking along the 2700 block of Granger Avenue when the dogs jumped on her and knocked her down. Christey James who apparently saw the injured woman lying unconscious on the ground and bleeding from her arms, called 911. The victim was hospitalized with injuries. Animal control officials now have possession of the three pit bulls. The dogs' owner has also apparently been identified.

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