(Beth Clifton collage)
Pingel died eight days after rescuing son from pit bull, on what would have been Daxton’s 10th birthday
WAUSAU, Wisconsin––Heather Pingel, 35, of Bowler, Wisconsin, mauled by a pet pit bull on December 8, 2021 while rescuing her four-year-old son from attack, died eight days later at the Aspirus Wausau Hospital from injuries including amputation of both of her arms and kidney failure brought on by massive physical trauma.
Pingel died around noon, nine days before Christmas, 45 miles west of the home she shared with her family, on what would have been Daxton James Borchardt’s tenth birthday.
Two hundred miles south and a decade earlier, in Walworth, Wisconsin, Daxton Borchardt was on March 6, 2013 pulled from the arms of his babysitter, Susan Iwicki, by two pit bulls she had raised from puppyhood. Daxton was killed; Iwicki, then 30, was severely injured while trying to save him.
Heather Pingel & son Damion as infant.
Outweighed by “at least 30 pounds”
Shannon Pingel told Wausau Daily Herald reporter Tom Dombeck that her sister Heather, a stay-at-home mother of two, who formerly worked at Schroeder Brothers Potatoes and the Mattoon Veneer Mill in nearby communities, was outweighed by the pit bull who killed her by “at least 30 pounds,” Dombeck wrote.
“The attack happened while Damion and Heather were home,” recounted Dombeck.. Heather’s 5-year-old daughter, Carmen Bernarde, was at school, and the children’s father, Shane Bernarde, was at his brother’s home, Shannon said.
“When Shane returned home that afternoon,” continued Dombeck, “he said Heather was in the bathroom with the door closed. She told him that Damion had fallen down the steps and she didn’t know where he was, according to a police report from the Shawano County Sheriff’s Office. After he located the boy in the living room, Shane returned to the bathroom and found the family’s pit bull attacking Heather.”
(Beth Clifton collage)
“I have no arms & I’m dying”
Said Shannon Pingel, “We don’t know how long she was in there fighting him off. Shane got home to find her lying on the bathroom floor. She said, ‘I have no arms and I’m dying.'”
Added Dombeck, “Shane told officers he grabbed the dog and pulled it outside, grabbed a pistol, and shot the dog, according to the police report. Shane was bitten by the dog as well.
The responding police officers “found Heather on the bathroom floor, struggling to breathe and unable to speak. Damion was sitting in a chair in the living room with a severe injury to his leg, the report said. The dog was dead,” Dombeck said.
The injuries to Damion Bernarde required roughly 70 stitches to close, Shannon Pingel told Dombeck.
(Beth Clifton collage)
“Couldn’t toss the pet aside”
The sequence of events apparently began when Damion fell down the stairs, detonating the pit bull, who attacked Damion but re-directed toward Heather Pingel when she ran to help her son, dragging the pit bull to the bathroom and closing the door.
. “According to the police report,” Dombeck summarized, the fatal attack “was not the first time the family’s dog had shown signs of aggression, but Shannon said Heather had a fondness for animals and couldn’t toss the pet aside.”
Despite online rumors that the pit bull who killed Heather Pingel and injured Damion Pinger and Shane Bernarde might have been rabid, “A local veterinary clinic told police the dog was up to date on its shots and did not have any known health issues,” Dombeck finished.
The rumor about rabies apparently originated because Bernarde shot the pit bull in the head, so that slides of brain tissue could not be examined by fluoroscopy for negri bodies, the bullet-shaped “cinders” left by an active rabies infection.
(Kim, Daxton & Jeff Borchardt )
Victim-blaming
As after Daxton Borchardt’s death, when Iwicki and parents Jeff and Kim Borchardt were vilified online, social media following Heather Pingel’s death carried frequent filled “blame-the-victim” allegations.
Yet the only thing that Pingel, Iwicki, or the Borchardts could fairly be accused of having done wrong was believing the incessant barrage of pro-pit bull propaganda amplified by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the misleadingly named pit bull advocacy organization Animal Farm Foundation, the Best Friends Animal Society, the Humane Society of the U.S., and Maddie’s Fund, among a legion of other “humane” organizations still widely trusted by the public, despite having long ago abdicated working for the safety of the hundreds of humans and thousands of other animals per year who are the victims of pit bull attacks.
(Beth Clifton collage)
Record number of Americans killed by pit bulls in 2021, with two weeks left
Heather Pingel was the fortieth pit bull-inflicted fatality in the U.S. in 2021, tying the record set in 2017. Pingel was also the record forty-first pit bull inflicted fatality in the U.S. and Canada combined.
Altogether, dogs have killed 51 persons in the U.S. and Canada thus far in 2021, six behind the 2017 record of 57.
At least 63 and possibly more than 70 pit bulls were involved in the 57 deaths.
Rottweilers have participated in killing four people, three boxers were involved in killing one, Cane corsos and huskies have been involved in killing two people each, seven other breeds have been involved in one fatality each, and the dogs responsible for two fatalities have not been identified.
(Beth Clifton photo/ collage)
Two more killed while Heather Pingel was hospitalized
Unfortunately, pit bulls participated in killing two other Americans just during the eight days Heather Pingel was hospitalized.
Lori Martin, 60, of Anchorage, Alaska, visiting family in Cherrydale, South Carolina, on December 9, 2021 was fatally mauled while apparently trying to break up a fight among three boxers and a pit bull, Sumter County sheriff Anthony Davis told media.
Two other dogs in the home did not appear to have been involved.
(See 16 real-life tips for surviving a dog attack (2021 edition)
Duke Little Whirlwind, Sr.
(Facebook photo)
Duke Little Whirlwind, Sr.
Duke Little Whirlwind, Sr. 58, was found dead on December 12, 2021 in Lame Deer, Montana, on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, the victim of a pit bull attack that relatives and acquaintances alleged to media was inadequately investigated.
Last seen picking up his bicycle from a repair shop at about 11 a.m., Duke Little Whirlwind, Sr. was killed just minutes later.
Said the Bureau of Indian Affairs in a prepared statement released to media on December 16, 2021, at about the same time Heather Pingel died, “On December 12, Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services law enforcement responded to a report of a person being attacked by dogs. When officers located the individual, there were no dogs present.
(Beth Clifton collage)
“No dogs have been located”
“The Rosebud County Sheriff/Coroner also responded,” the statement said. “Following a preliminary autopsy, it was determined the cause of death was an attack by canines, with drugs and alcohol as contributing factors. To date, no dogs have been located or captured. The case remains open and under investigation by law enforcement.”
But Avalee Little Whirlwind, 49, niece of the victim, did not buy that, and neither did 40-year Lame Deer resident Tom MexicanCheyenne.
“My brother George saw him lying there, all of his clothes ripped off, naked,” Avalee Little Whirlwind told Casey Conlon of KTVQ television in Billings, Montana. “He was face down, and those dogs were still running around.”
Avalee Little Whirlwind.
(From KTVU video)
“They just ran around all night”
Summoned to the scene, Avalee Little Whirlwind reportedly brought a .22 caliber rifle with her to shoot the dogs. A confrontation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs police reportedly ended with Avalee Little Whirlwind in handcuffs, though she was not charged, her rifle confiscated, and the dogs still in the vicinity, led by a female pit bull whom Avalee Little Whirlwind said had recently birthed puppies.
“They just ran around there all night,” Avalee Little Whirlwind alleged.
The next day, Avalee Little Whirlwind told reporters, the dogs’ owners shot four dogs, including the female pit bull, who appeared to have participated in the attack on Duke Little Whirlwind, Sr.
Julia Charging Whirlwind.
“They say it isn’t their responsibility”
Dog attacks on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation are “a very big problem,” Avalee Little Whirlwind told Conlon. “People walk around with scars on them. There have been near-death experiences.”
Affirmed Tom MexicanCheyenne, “The attacks are reported to law enforcement, but nothing ever gets done. They say it isn’t their responsibility.”
Julia Charging Whirlwind, 49, of the Lower Swift Bear community on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, about 100 miles southeast of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana, was in March 2015 killed in a similar broad daylight attack by a free-roaming pack including multiple pit bulls.
(Beth & Merritt Clifton)
The dog attack fatality rate on U.S. Native American reservations, relative to human numbers, is about 100 times that of the U.S. as a whole, and has tripled since 2016, coinciding with an influx of pit bull genetics into the traditionally free-roaming reservation dog population.
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Sharing with gratitude to you both for your bravery and determination in sharing these facts with those who will read them. I get trolled almost every time I share them, and share them I will, for as long as I am able.
Not a pit bull. Real pit bulls weigh about 40-55 pounds. If that dog weighed 30 pounds more than her then it wasn’t a real pitbull.
Historically, a “real pit bull” has been any dog bred to have characteristics expected by the breeders to succeed either in bull-baiting or fighting other dogs in a pit. These were typically terrier/mastiff crosses, called simply “bulldogs.”
At the time the term “pit bull” first came into frequent use, fighting pit bulls typically ranged in size from the 35-to-45-pounders favored by John P. Colby, a man of very small stature who introduced the “Staffordshire” brand name, to the 60-plus pounders favored by John D. Johnson, a much larger man, whose line is ancestral to today’s “American bullies,” now advertised by breeders at up to 130 pounds.
The most common legal definition of a pit bull today is “American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, or any dog displaying the majority of physical traits of any one or more of the above breeds, or any dog exhibiting those distinguishing characteristics, which substantially conform to the standards established by American Kennel Club or United Kennel Club.”
It is true that today’s pit bulls are often substantially larger than the pit bulls of the Colby era, to the point of blurring the once relatively clear distinction between pit bulls and bullmastiffs, who were and are pit bulls recrossed with mastiffs to achieve greater size, and close kin also including substantial pit bull lineage, including Presa Canarios, Dogo Argentinos, and Cane Corsos.
However, humans today are also substantially larger. The average American man during Colby’s lifetime stood 5’6″; the average American man today is 5’9.” The average American man during Colby’s lifetime weighed 120 to 150 pounds; the average American man today weighs 197 pounds. His increase in size does not make him no longer a “real man.”
Heartbreaking to read about these incidents, especially the mother who dragged the dog into the bathroom and sacrificed her life to save her child. I don’t understand how anyone can argue with factual data, but we know they do. Certainly, there are bad owners out there who contribute to their dogs’ aggressive behavior. We can’t blame a breed for having a certain genetic predisposition, but we can be smart about it instead of dismissing it or always placing blame on the owner or the victim – that helps no one, including the dogs themselves, because we advocates know that this breed is among the most commonly found among shelters and dog-fighting enterprises; so yes, they suffer, too.
This is so tragic and sad….I can’t help but question some of the reported “facts” though. I saw the picture of the mother and the article states the dog was “30 pounds” heavier than her. If she was say 100 pounds that would make this dog 130 pounds and the largest pit bull to ever exist on the planet. It just makes the rest of the statistics mentioned questionable since such license was taken with basic information. And the photoshopped bloody bathroom scene with children’s things placed in there….it seems as though dramatic effect was the goal instead of sharing “facts”. Pretty irresponsible since you seem to have readers that take your articles as gospel.
Shannon Pingel’s estimate that the pit bull who killed her sister Heather Pingel outweighed Heather by “at least 30 pounds” very well could have been accurate, in view that pit bull breeders today, unlike in decades past, commonly advertise “American bullies,” “Xtreme bullies,” et al at weights of 130 pounds or more.
Concerning the collage, it pales in comparison to the actual scene where Heather Pingel was dismembered alive by the pit bull she had adopted, defended, and trusted.
….and the pit bull world records at 180 pounds (because I’m sure it’s being looked up) are mixes with Cane Corsos and Presa Canarios. Breeds that are created for hunting and not for pets in homes.
See above: It is true that today’s pit bulls are often substantially larger than the pit bulls of the Colby era, to the point of blurring the once relatively clear distinction between pit bulls and bullmastiffs, who were and are pit bulls recrossed with mastiffs to achieve greater size, and close kin also including substantial pit bull lineage, including Presa Canarios, Dogo Argentinos, and Cane Corsos.
Also of note, Cane Corses and Presa Canarios were bred from medieval “war dogs” for hunting human slaves, not for hunting wildlife. Both Corsica and the Canary Islands were waystations for the slave trade at the time these breeds originated; neither ever had much large wildlife to hunt, though Corsica in particular is notorious for profligate bird hunting.
Absolutely correct, Canes and Presas were medieval war and guard dogs with a high prey drive. This would unfortunately lend itself to hunting humans as well I suppose…..but the dogs of those breeds I have been around are kept on ranches for hunting feral hogs so they certainly have a use and a job to do, and they’re delighted to do it.
That being said, no sane person would sleep next to an animal that has exhibited aggression AND outweighs them regardless of the semantics regarding which breed it technically is. I also wouldn’t take a nap next to a violent convict that outweighs me and have them playing with my 10 year old.
I completely agree with the animal being promptly euthanized but it never should have been in that environment. A 100 plus pound aggressive dog (pit bull or not) is a hunting/guarding/defense tool not a pet. There is an enormous difference between “victim blaming” and suggesting some personal responsibility and common sense.
What happened to this woman and any other person fatally attacked by any dog is tragic and heartbreaking. But do you go around advocating for no cars and no guns as much as you do Pitbuls? Because cars and guns both kill about 40,000 people per year. Do their lives matter? Should we ban cars and guns?
“believing the incessant barrage of pro-pit bull propaganda amplified by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the misleadingly named pit bull advocacy organization Animal Farm Foundation…” EYEROLL
Another FACT you left out is that 94% of the fatal Pitbull attacks are in tact males, not neutered. So yes, it IS the failure of humans to these dogs and victims.
Concerning the relative risks posed by pit bulls, cars, and guns, only 1.3% of U.S. households keep pit bulls, but 91% keep cars, and 40% keep guns. In terms of daily exposure, pit bulls are 68 times more likely to cause a fatality than a car, and three times more likely to cause a fatality than a gun.
It is simply and demonstrably incorrect that “94% of fatal pit bull attacks” are by non-neutered males, though it is true that only about 20% of all pit bulls in the U.S. are neutered, compared to upward of 70% of the dog population at large. Over the 40 years that ANIMALS 24-7 has logged fatal and disfiguring dog attacks by breed, among those pit bulls who have been identified by gender about a third have been female (including the pit bull who led the fatal attack on Duke Little Whirlwind, described in this same article), and at least 60 pit bulls who have killed people in recent years are known to have been neutered.
Cars and guns are inanimate objects! They do not somehow get loose and run down the street attacking people and pets. Pit bulls should have been banned way back when they banned dog fighting. They were never meant to be family pets.
Many other things kill people and ANIMALS every day so before you go on about how pitbulls are so dangerous you should think about how many things kill people and ANIMALS every day.
Most things that people keep in their homes, if they kill anyone, are soon recalled by the manufacturer, and if not, are banned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Wow. These collages are horrible. Here I was trying to find information about one of these attacks and ended up at your site complete with insensitive artist renderings. That’s awful.
Ever been on the scene of an actual fatal dog attack? Ever seen the actual crime scene photos after a pit bull tears someone limb from limb, or removes someone’s face? We thought not. Beth’s collages are very much understatements of the gruesome reality.