A dog at the Flagler Humane Society attacked a volunteer on Thursday (Dec. 5), severely injuring the volunteer, who was hospitalized at Halifax hospital in Daytona Beach. The dog, a pit bull terrier mix, was euthanized.
The dog, a stray, had been picked up on Nov. 22 after property owners on John Anderson Highway in Flagler Beach reported that the dog had showed up on their property. A Humane Society staff member brought the gray male terrier mix to the society, reporting that the dog acted in a friendly way when being picked up. “There was no signs of aggression,” Amy Carotenuto, the society’s director, said. “He was strong.”
No one called the society looking for the dog matching its description, nor were any reports filed. A few days later the dog was neutered and vaccinated, and given a name: Slurpy.
Thursday afternoon one of the society’s volunteers was walking Slurpee when the dog attacked her, “mouthing her arm,” according to Kyndra Mott, a society staffer. “By the time I got to her she had gotten away from the dog and closed the gate to the yard,” Mott reported. The dog had ripped the volunteer’s clothes. “She stumbled forward and kneeled on the ground, said, ‘I need medical attention.'”
Mott called 911. “During the call I saw how much blood she was losing and ran to get towels to apply pressure,” Mott wrote. She also alerted medicfal staff in the facility, who ran out to help.
Slurpy’s equivalent of an identification card at the society listed him as a 4-year-old 68-pound, blue terrier mix, with no bite history–at least not until the Dec. 5 incident.
Carotenuto said the victim, who’d been volunteering for the society for a few months, was released from Halifax hospital late Friday afternoon, and would be requiring physical therapy as her right arm heals from the attack.
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Ritchie says
The dog paid with its life for being a dog:(
Veteran says
I’m a dog lover who used to walk pit bulls at FHS. That dog had to be euthanized!
AC says
Mauling people isn’t a normal dog activity. Pitbulls are a very dangerous breed but our society kept downplaying it like changing mauling to “mouthing” and it’s never their fault if they attack. Good that this dog was euthanized
AS says
All dogs have the ability to bite and maul. How many other dogs do you see in the news that attack? It is mostly pit bulls or mixes that attack because of how they were raised, trained or treated as a puppy. These dogs are the ones most often trained wrong along with raised wrong and a miriad of other things. Sometimes the dog is doing literally what its learned.
Anita says
Connecticut’s State Director of the Humane Society took in a rescue pit bull with an obscured bite history as a pet. A few weeks ago an elderly visitor to her home who was a dear family friend was attack and mauled by the “sweet pit bull which never hurt anyone.” The woman died from her injuries which were rated as a 6 on the Dunbar Dog Bite Scale. That’s an injury that results in death. Annie Hornish’s reaction was to refute the accounts of eye witnesses, first responders and police and medical to say the woman died from falling down when her pit bull greeted her too playfully. She is trying to send the dog out of state because a destruction order was given by the court. She should be fired.
This dog which mauled a woman’s arm and sent her to the hospital was rightfully euthanized as it has proven itself to be a danger to life and limb. She was fortunate she didn’t loose her arm or her life. Dog addicts have gone beyond the pale when it comes to endangering life and limb in favor of proven aggression by pit bull dogs which have been bred for hundreds of years for bloodsport. The pit bull at the Flagler Society was described as having no bite history. That is false and an example of how these Humane Societies obscure bite histories. This dog’s bite history should have stated “Unknown as it was picked up as a stray.” But , instead they phrased it in a very deceitful way by saying “this dog has no bite history” when they didn’t have a clue as to its bite history. The Humane Society has once again proven itself to be responsible for getting people mauled and killed with their “ All dogs are individuals policy” and their policy to obscure breeds and suppress dogs’ bite histories.
In May a volunteer working with a pit bull in the Humane Society of St Lucie was mauled to death at the shelter. That shelter has thankfully been closed down.
I’m beginning to think that the Humane Society of the US should be investigated as their policies and procedures are getting people killed and injured.
Jessica says
How is attacking someone ‘just being a dog’???!!!!!
Joanie says
Pit bulls bite hard. They shake and tear and cause catastrophic injury. I am tired of the pit bull lobby with their pro pit propaganda. They are fighting dogs, not suitable for pets. A pit bull recently killed a 95 year old woman and the nuts are trying to save the dog’s life. And what on Earth for??
Terry Huffman says
People first….always.
Terry Huffman says
It was a Pit Bull. Then add to that a Pit Bull with an unknown history. Don’t adopt them and be a real asset to the community.
Pitbulls Arekillers says
It was a pit bull. It mauled, not “mouthed”.
Anne D says
Although I’m sorry the volunteer was attacked- imagine if they had adopted this stray to a family with small kids. Dogs do not inherently attack with no provocation. Something was wrong with this animal.
Susan m says
The volunteer involved did nothing to provoke the attack. She has been walking up to 20 dogs a day for years-NOT months as the article states. So perhaps the dog had a history of aggressive behavior-and why he was surrendered in the first place.
Susan Maccariella says
The dog seriously injured a volunteer. If it were simply “being a dog” he would have been wagging his tail and chasing a ball, not ripping someones arm off.
Terry Huffman says
The victim almost paid with their life for a dog of the fighting breed lineage being a dog of the fighting breed lineage. Uncivilized to call them a “pet”.
Percy's mother says
Very sad for all involved, including the dog.
Who knows what these poor animals go through? The dog may have been terribly frightened.
I adopted an old 12 year old dog a couple of months ago, and from reading the poor dog’s history, he’s had a terrible life. He was very frightened and stressed when I brought him home. It took about 5 days for him to calm down and realize he was going to be okay and that no one was going to hurt him or dump him again. Took him to the groomer this morning and when he got in the car, he was terribly frightened again obviously thinking he was being taken to get dumped again.
It’s very sad for these poor animals who go through heaven knows what and for how long. They react out of fear.
Again, very sad for all involved.
Mary Fusco says
Percy’s Mother, first of all God bless you for adopting an older dog. Unfortunately some people have no clue how to treat pets and when they get tired of them they have no problem dumping them. It’s hard to believe. Right now, I have 2 rescues, dog and cat. I recently lost another rescue. My cat is 11 (rescued at 10 weeks) and my JackChi is 4 (rescued at 12 weeks). He is quite the handful so my next rescue will be an “older” dog. Too old for the puppy gig. LOL. These poor animals don’t know what end is up when they wind up at a shelter. You never know what will set them off. So sorry that this poor dog had to be put down and hope that the volunteer recovers completely. People really need to think before they get a dog. There is good and bad and it is for the life of the dog.
Joanie says
Poor animal? What about the poor woman who almost had her arm torn off? People have such ridiculous, upside-down priorities.
Percy's mother says
Did the woman “almost have her arm torn off”?
Joanie, are you privy to the medical records, the emergency room report and the other hospital records such that you know for sure the woman’s arm was almost “torn off”?
Willy Boy says
Just a bit of literary license.
Eilidh Somerville says
Don’t make excuses for that vicious pit bull. One of my dogs (a non fighting/guarding breed) had been badly abused before I got him and his reactions to frightening/threatening things is to cower or back away. He has never displayed aggression because of it. Pit bulls and other similar breeds are well known for launching violent attacks because that is what they were bred to do!
palmcoaster says
Very sad first for that Guardian Angel volunteer that I pray fully recovers. Also for Slurpy that paid with his life for hurting her. Wonder what kind of history or life that dog had before rescued, to bite in such way! No words are enough to thank that recovering Guardian Angel volunteer.
CB from PC says
Love dogs. Have a 5 year old pit mix rescued at 4 months. Yes, they are very smart and loving, but require training and consistency.
Who knows what the history was of this dog. There are many more bad owners than bad dogs.
Sorry to see any dog euthanized, but sometimes there is no choice.
Jimbo99 says
Flagler Humane Society is full of sociopath pit bulls that are unfit for adoption into anything more than being chained up to a rusty old car in a salvage yard. Pit bulls are not pets, anyone thinking otherwise is a fool of the highest order. That breed is a time bomb waiting to go off. Whether the dog eventually has a mental disorder and declines to that stage or just has an instinctual moment of snapping is irrelevant, the breed is capable of manslaughter. Owner’s must be held accountable & responsible for criminal liability. The state of FL considers your pit bull as your property, there is little difference in the owner of a pit bull pulling a deadly weapon against another and their dog attacking another pet or human being. I’ve been over to that facility, the majority of those dogs are nothing but an “I’m sorry” time bomb of a liability in the community. A Chihuahua is not a pit bull, therefore the rationalization that any lesser breed still bites is not empowered. If one can’t keep their pit bull restrained & controlled, that owner should be treated like a criminal for the destructive force that results in that momentary lapse of accountability & responsibility.
AS says
Have you actually owned a chihuahua before???
They are possessive and usually not good with kids.
Jimbo99 says
How many news stories involve a Chihuahua attack that hospitalizes the victim ? Read the article and description of the attack. A Chihuahua is easily fended off by even a child, same with Dachshunds or any other breed that most likely would regret an attack on a human being that was serious about doing just more than reprimanding the dog for a quick nipping. I just think you missed the point on this, if any wild animal were to attack a human, it’s most likely put down to eliminate any potential for future threat(s). That’s usually what they do with dogs too, the bite/record for attack(s) is like a criminal’s record.
Kadie says
They need to stop putting unknowns and guesses on these dogs “adoption” cards. If the animal is a complete unknown as is the case with the dog, then putting “NO bite history” is disingenuous , at best. They need to state the truth, which is “bite history is UNKNOWN.” That seems like common sense to me. To do anything else opens them up to much liability.
Sellis says
This dog is clearly not a “mix” unless it is pit bull mixed with more pit bull.
People are asking why a dog would do this, and are defending him by saying that he must have been fearful. The dog does not have to have any sort of troubled past to do what has been ingrained by selective breeding for hundreds of generations. If this had been a beagle brought into the shelter and it chased a rabbit while on the walk with the volunteer, would anyone question why he had done so? If he had been a dachshund and he dug a hole while walking with the volunteer, would anyone question why he had done this? If he had been a greyhound and had pulled free of his handler and zoomed around and around the exercise area while on the walk, would anyone question it? If he had been a Brittany spaniel and had grown still and tense at the sight of birds while on the walk, would anyone question it? Of course not. In all those cases, everyone would understand and admit without hesitation that the dog was doing what the dog had been bred for generations to do. But why is it that when a pit bull uses sudden, explosive, unprovoked aggression toward a non-enemy, it must be because it was “afraid”? These dogs have been bred to do just that… to go from normal behavior to a gripping bite with no warning or reason. And as they do so, they feel the same joy and purpose that the aforementioned breeds do when they are fulfilling their innate desire to chase rabbits, or to dig, or to run, or to point. Watch some videos of pit bulls attacking and you will see them wagging their tails as they grip and tear, even if they are being struck or sprayed with pepper spray. It is their breeding and no amount of training or hugging or love is going to reverse what has been bred into them deliberately for generation upon generation. This volunteer was fortunate to escape with her life… not all have done so, including the woman several months ago at the Human Society of St. Lucie who was killed in similar circumstances.
Pam says
While some of these bully breeds live their entire lives without harming an animal or human, they remain the highest ranked type of dog to inflict serious harm and death to people. Genetics is very much what drives these dogs, they were bred to fight and inflict damage. Some may never be triggered, but once they are severe damage and death result.
No dog is worth a human’s life. Had this dog been placed in a home with children, the result might have been horrendous. The shelter took correct action to euthanize.
Teacher says
Sorry for the victim. Life for her will never be the same. Sad to say that she is lucky that she wasn’t the latest fatality by pitbull. Pitbulls are not suitable pets, since they were bred to kill. Do your homework and don’t trust shelters and rescues who claim that pitbulls and pitbull mixed breeds are good family dogs. Read up on how many pitbulls who had no history of aggression snapped one day and killed its owner or another person or child. It happens more often than you could imagine. Keep yourself and your family safe and stay away from pitbulls.
Harve Morgan says
Stop making excuses ! The breed was specifically and selectively designed to kill other things and when it does, you make excuses ! Do you make excuses when a retriever fetches a ball or when a lab goes swimming? Then stop making excuses for the pit bull when it does what it was designed to do.
Ken says
All dogs will bite, don’t mean they do but under certain circumstances. Pit bulls smh.
CB from PC says
I have to comment again to all these people stating Pit Bulls are bred to maim and kill.
That probably is the case for a certain demographic segment of the population.
However,
keep any dog breed on a chain all day with no training or socialization and this is what you get.
Train a dog to be aggressive as a pup, and don’t discipline them when they are, this is what you get.
Too many lazy irresponsible people get pets and just let them run out of control… like they do their kids.
Guess that’s why School Resource Officers now have Rifle Vests and Ankle First Aid kits.
But that’s a discussion for another venue.
Mary Fusco says
CB, Very well said!
There is no such thing as a “stray” dog. They are turned loose by their owners and the Humane Society’s are called and have to deal with an animal that has been abused and neglected. I See how many older dogs are dumped in the HS because they require more care or more extensive vet care. Disgusting. I’ve had dogs for 50 years, both large and small. If you think a dog needs to be left in a yard, chained or crated you don’t need a dog. The fact that no one ever comes looking for these dogs confirms my theory. My dog and cat are both chipped and I would go crazy if they got out and I couldn’t find them. Adults need to take responsibility whether it be their kids or dogs.
AS says
This all right here, well said CB
ASH says
We need to start holding rescues accountable for housing and adopting out aggressive dogs. Rescues have become big business and need to be held accountable rather than hiding behind lax non-profit status which allows no over sight. Hiding bite history, using fluff and deceptive language to disguise aggressive dogs should be illegal.
Citizens who choose to own aggressive dogs need to be jailed and heavily fined when their canine weapon gets triggered. We don’t allow citizens to randomly shoot guns that kill and injure people, same should apply for their dogs. Your dog is property, you own it, you take the consequences for its action.
Karla says
‘MOST’ people don’t realize the ‘how and why’ the so-called ‘PITBULL’ breed came about in the first place. This breed was discovered after an experiment and found to be highly aggressive and mostly uncontrollable when need be. This breed of dog was duplicated for the purpose of fighting an enemy in war times. These dogs are dogs from hell period! These dogs and near breeds need to be euthanized as quickly and as thoroughly as possible!! You Tube shows videos of neighborhood cameras showing entire scenes of PITBULLS attacking their owners until the dog’s owner bleeds to death by the dog’s shredding of their flesh! It is quite sickening to see anyone wishing to protect this kind of dog just because it’s a living thing!! Yes, it’s a living thing that most want nothing to do with but somehow end up getting killed by it!! PITBULLS are the breed of the DEVIL!!!!!!!!!!! This is a WARTIME DOG that has warn out it’s welcome!
Keep Flagler Beautiful says
Pit bulls are not “specifically and selectively designed to kill.” The ones who become killers are trained by monster dogfighters to become killing machines, and the way they train them is horrifying and brutal. This does not in any way excuse what happened to the shelter volunteer, who was trying to be helpful to a shelter that is underfunded and can use all the help it can get. What a horrible, traumatizing experience she went through, and I do hope she will heal quickly, but please, people, do not blame Flagler Humane for being “full of pit bulls.” Why do you think that’s the case, Jimbo99? It’s because so many lowlifes get pit bulls for all the wrong reasons, then when the dogs are no longer useful, or the owners end up in jail for one reason or another, the dogs are dumped at the only place that will take them. The staff at Flagler Humane do the very best they can, but it’s impossible for them to know what has happened to a dog before it ended up at the shelter.
Steve Y. says
Notice a commonality with most dog attacks? Pit Bull or some mix with pit bull. Yes, those sweet, loving, adorable pit bulls. Sure. No thank you!
Richard says
The “Pit Bull” breed if it even be called that should be eradicated from this earth. They have absolutely no value to anyone other than to fight other dogs and destroy peoples lives. Get it done! I am a dog lover, have owned dogs most of my entire life and presently an owner of a 14+ year old Golden Retriever and if this aggressive animal had attempted to go after my Golden Retriever it would have been dispatched in a heart beat.
Debbie Bell says
No one person or group that has the welfare of all dogs as a priority would want more dog killing dogs to be born or to infest a neighborhood.
The dogs can’t help themselves but we should stop breeding more of them.
On a game dog forum, someone asked if pitbulls could be trained to not be dog aggressive.
One pit bull lover said “why would you want to? You would end up with an unpredictable dangerous dog”.
The fact is that pit bulls are intentionally bred to be psychopaths, to mature to have the drive to hunt down and kill their own family, their own kind.