List of fatal dog attacks in the United States (2000s)
Date Category of Dog Victim 's name Victim 's age Circumstances
January 2 pit bull mix ( 2 ) , chow mix ( 1 ) Tyler Babcock 6 years Clovis , California - Found barely alive in the pasture behind his house , severely mauled by a neighbor 's dogs that had terrorized the neighborhood , the boy passed away shortly after . Pressure by the community , which did n't have a universal leash law , caused Tyler 's Law to be passed in the Fresno area , giving law enforcement more leeway to seize dogs
January 27 pit bull ( 3 ) , Mixed-breed dog ( 1 ) Lydia Chaplin 14 years Died of hypothermia after being attacked by 4 dogs while walking alone at night in a rural area , one half-mile from home
February 4 pit bull Barbara Pilkington 70 years The dog 's owner was abusing the dog at the time of the attack and was sentenced to 15 years in prison . The dog 's owner had been arrested several months earlier for beating another dog to death
March 8 pit bull ( 3 ) Dorothy Sullivan 82 years Killed by three dogs while walking her Shih Tzu on her own property , two of the dogs were shot by police ; the dogs ' owner was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $ 500
March 15 Rottweiler ( 1 ) , Rottweiler mix ( 1 ) Sandra Sanchez 32 years Killed by two dogs that she was watching for a friend
April 5 pit bull ( 2 ) Cassidy Jeter 6 years Killed by her family 's two dogs as she walked to a swing set with her 4-year-old brother ; both dogs were killed by police . The dogs severed the child 's carotid artery , and caused 67 lacerations , punctures , and avulsions to her face and neck
April 9 Rottweiler - German Shepherd mix Robert Schafer 4 years He opened the dog 's pen and was killed by his family 's dog . The dog had allegedly bitten two people , however , the family denied it
April 13 American Bulldog ( 1 ) pit bull ( 1 ) Cane Corso ( 1 ) Ernie Assad 82 years Attacked by two dogs owned by Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears tight end Darnell Sanders and a third dog while watering his own back yard . One dog was a Cane Corso and the other two were variously described as American Bulldog , American Terrier , or pit bull dogs . The man died of directly related complications ( cerebral blood clot ) 11 days later . Investigators later determined that the Cane Corso played only a minor role in the attack . An attorney for dog owner Darnell Sanders argued that the dogs only knocked over the man . However , the local animal control officer stated that she saw 7 bite marks on Assad when she interviewed him the night of the attack
April 14 Mixed-breed dog ( 2 ) Laverne Ford 74 years Killed by her two dogs at her home . One of the dogs was killed by police after it charged at them
May 2 Rottweiler ( 2 ) Asia Turner 4 years Killed by her family 's two dogs in her own back yard ; both dogs were put down shortly after the attack
May 6 Husky , Alaskan Malamute Samantha Black 2 years Killed by her family 's two dogs in her back yard
May 7 Alaskan Malamute Kate-Lynn Logel 7 years Killed by her family 's new dog in her back yard
May 10 pit bulls ( 2 ) Lorinze Reddings 42 years St. Louis , Missouri - Killed by his own two pet dogs in his own home . Cause of death was determined as strangulation by canine from broken neck bones and cuts around the throat
May 15 Labrador Retriever ( 1 ) , Dachshund ( 1 ) Julia Beck 87 years Killed by her in-laws ' two dogs ; they were later arrested on preliminary charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury , obstruction of justice and false informing and sentenced to four years in prison
May 17 pit bull Arianna Fleeman 2 years Killed while visiting a friend 's home with her mother ; the dog 's owner was later sentenced to one year in prison
June 3 pit bull ( 2 ) Nicholas Scott Faibish 12 years San Francisco , California - The mother left the child in the basement , separating him from the two family dogs ( one an intact male and the other a female in heat ) that had bit him earlier that day . The mother returned after two hours to find the child mauled , outside of the basement . One dog had to be shot , the other was seized . The mother was charged with felony child endangerment . Spawned by this fatality , a law was passed allowing localities to pass breed-specific laws for neutering only , which San Francisco passed
July 1 American Bulldog ( 2 ) , Neapolitan Mastiff , Border Collie Boyd Fiscus 83 years Killed in his own back yard by his neighbor 's four dogs . Both neighbors were arrested but served no jail time
July 4 pit bull Dazavious Williams 5 weeks Killed when a neighborhood dog grabbed him from his aunt 's arms
July 13 Siberian Husky Alexis McDermott 6 days Killed in her crib by her family 's dog
August 2 Rottweiler Cassandra Garcia 16 months Killed when her grandparents ' dog grabbed her from her mother 's arms ; the same dog killed a maltese the year before
Fatalities in 2005
These are lists of fatal dog attacks in the United States between the years 2000 and 2009, reported by the news media, published in scholarly papers, or mentioned through other sources. In the lists below, the breed is assigned by the sources.