
(Beth Clifton collage)
Includes new U.K. record for dog attack deaths in a year
NOELVILLE, Ontario; WEST MELTON, South Yorkshire––Chuck Evans, 83, and Joanne Robinson, 43, on July 14 and July 15, 2022 respectively became the sixth and seventh known pit bull attack fatalities in eight days, worldwide.
(See Five pit bull attack deaths in five days: these were the victims.)
Monkeypox, making headlines globally all year, is by contrast known to have killed only one person ever.

(Beth Clifton collage)
“My dad was killed by a pit bull”
Evans’ death, in Noelville, Ontario, Canada, population 250, was not even reported by mainstream media until four days later, after the victim advocacy organization National Pit Bull Victim Awareness alerted 27 newspapers and broadcast outlets, three of which belatedly took notice.
National Pit Bull Victim Awareness learned of the attack from Facebook postings on July 14, 2022 by Chuck Evans’ two adult children.
Wrote Cathy Foskett, “Tragically today my Dad was attacked and killed by a pit bull.”
Echoed Steve Evans, “So tragically my father, 83 years old, was killed today by his neighbor’s pit bull. The owner was also attacked.”
National Pit Bull Victim Awareness noted that both Foskett and Evans have history of being themselves online pit bull advocates.

(Beth Clifton collage)
Shelter dog?
A third party alleged on Facebook that the pit bull responsible for Chuck Evans’ death had only recently been adopted from a local animal shelter. The two nearest animal shelters appear to be in Sudbury, about 50 miles west, and in North Bay, about 60 miles east.
Since pit bulls and “lookalikes” have nominally been banned in Ontario since 2005, neither shelter should have been passing out pit bulls, even if called something else.
But Ontario prime minister and provincial Progressive Conservative party leader Doug Ford is an avowed foe of the pit bull ban. Since Ford was elected in 2018, the Ontario Provincial Police and the police forces of Ottawa and Toronto, among others, have joined the Toronto Humane Society and Ontario SPCA in disregarding enforcement.

(Beth Clifton collage)
Denial
Fashionable disregard of pit bull mayhem may also be why CTVNorthernOntario.ca digital content producer Darren MacDonald described the killer dog as a “mixed breed,” despite four clear mentions of it as a pit bull in the police radio scanner records of the incident obtained by National Pit Bull Awareness from the Greater Sudbury Area Fire & Ontario Provincial Police.
Only in the last sentence of his report did MacDonald acknowledge that “The dog is believed to be part pit bull.”
But a Sudbury Sun account of the fatal attack did not even use the words “pit bull.”
Further covering for pit bulls, Ontario Provincial Police spokesperson Rob Lewis asserted that Chuck Evans died “due to medical conditions not related to the dog attacking the neighbor,” even though Evans succumbed to an apparent heart attack in the act of rescuing the neighbor, who “was airlifted by to the local hospital with serious non-life threatening injuries.”
Two and a half hours west, two pit bulls running at large injured a man and his small dog in Elliot Lake, Ontario, but mention that the dogs were pit bulls was again confined to police radio scanner records.

(Beth Clifton collage)
“American bully XL”
Joanne Robinson of West Melton, South Yorkshire, a day later, on July 15, 2022, became the seventh United Kingdom dog attack fatality of the year––a dubious new national record, with nearly half the year still ahead.
Robinson became the third British victim of an “American bully XL,” a common pit bull variant, in less than seven months.
Summarized Chloe Mayer of MSN, “American bully XL Rocco seized mom-of-two Joanne Robinson, 43, by the throat in a vicious attack, then turned on her long-term partner James Stead when he tried to save her. The couple’s other dog, a female bully XL called Lola, became agitated and then joined in, with Stead trying to wrestle her out of the room as Rocco continued savaging Robinson. Neighbors reported hearing desperate screams from the home at around 10 p.m.
“Robinson leaves behind her two children, Elle, 24, and Dillon, 19,” Mayer continued.
“Stead, 42, remains in hospital where he has reportedly undergone skin grafts after suffering severe injuries to his hands, abdomen, and face. Both dogs have now reportedly been put down by police,” Mayer said.

Staffordshire pit bull.
(Beth Clifton collage)
Mad dogs & Englishmen
The mean South Yorkshire temperature at the time of the attack was approximately 64 degrees Fahrenheit, and the sun set half an hour before the attack, but Robinson’s mother, Dotty Robinson, alleged nonetheless to The Sun and the Daily Mirror that the pit bulls turned mad in the extreme heat.
“It must have set them off,” Dotty Robinson insisted. “There’s a saying about mad dogs going out in the midday sun.”
The midday sun had not been seen in ten hours.

(Beth Clifton collage)
Brains overheating?!
Statements associating dog attacks with hot weather go back to Roman times, if not earlier, when people widely believed that because more rabid dog attacks occurred in summer, and since rabid dogs suffered from high fever, rabies was caused by their brains overheating.
This belief was not disproven until the mid-19th century.
Continued Chloe Mayer of MSN, “According to the UK Bully Kennel Club website, ‘In spite of its considerable size, the XL is highly prized for not only its impressive stature, but also its gentle personality and loving nature. It is a recent breed, dating back to the 1980,” whose “distinctive build and height combined with a compassionate nature mean its popularity continues to grow.’”
In reality, the so-called “American Bully XL” is simply an extra large pit bull descended from the John D. Johnson line of fighting dogs, whose name has morphed since 1947 from “American bulldog” to “Ambull” to “American bully,” with no change in any evident physical or behavioral trait.

John P. Colby & Bill. One of Colby’s pit bulls in 1909 killed his 2-year-old nephew.
“Not a banned breed”
Dotty Robinson also claimed that the “American bully” who killed her daughter is “not a banned breed.”
This points out the major flaw in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, namely that it allows any and all pit bulls so long as they are not called “American pit bull terriers.”
Among the dozens of different names for specific lines of pit bull, the most deceptive is “Staffordshire.”
This name was never applied to any dog in Britain before the U.S. breeder John P. Colby started his fighting dog line in 1889, eventually calling them “Staffordshires” as a promotional ploy.

(Beth Clifton collage)
The Natural History of Dogs
The 1818 Manual of British Field Sports makes no mention of any dog called a “Staffordshire.” Neither does the term “Staffordshire” appear among the descriptions of dog breeds given by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Hamilton Smith in The Natural History of Dogs, published in 1839-1840 by W.H. Lizars of Edinburgh, Scotland. This is the book that formed the basis for describing most recognized pedigrees.
Nor is “Staffordshire” to be found as a dog breed description among any of the thousands of pages of U.K. newspapers, 1607-present, searchable at NewspaperArchive.

Lea Freeman. (Beth Clifton collage)
Earlier victims
The five earlier pit bull victims in the streak of seven fatalities in eight days were: Trena Ranee Peed, 46, killed by two pit bulls she was dog-sitting on July 7, 2022, in Greensboro, North Carolina;
Lea Freeman, 4, killed by three pit bulls on July 9, 2022, in Dallas, Texas;
Dennis Moore, 62, killed by three pit bulls running at large on July 10, 2022, in St. Louis, Missouri;
Apollo Duplantis, 1, killed by his parents’ pit bull on July 11, 2022, in New Orleans, Louisiana; and

Beth & Merritt Clifton
Michelle Sheeks, 44, of Red Bay, Alabama, who died on July 12, 2022, nearly three months after being injured in the April 28, 2022 attack that a day later brought the pit bull mauling death of Alabama Public Health Department investigator Jacqueline Summer Beard.
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UNITED KINGDOM DOG ATTACK FATALITIES SINCE INTRODUCTION OF DANGEROUS DOGS ACT 1991 , to 7-18-2022
(55 total, 69 dogs involved, 46 of them pit bulls, 21 of the pit bulls called “Staffordshires”)
Victim Age Date Dog
Joanne Robinson 43 yrs 07-15-2022 American bully XL Keven Jones 62 yrs 05-23-2022 American bulldog (pit bull) Daniel Twigg 3 yrs 05-15-2022 Cane Corso Lawson Bond 2 yrs 03-28-2022 3 Rottweilers Bella-Rae Birch 17 mos 03-21-2022 American bully XL Kyra Leanne King 3 mos 03-06-2022 Husky John William Jones 68 yrs 01-10-2022 3 “British bulldogs” 2021 Adam Watts 55 yrs 12-22-2021 American bulldog (pit bull) Jack Lis 10 yrs 11-08-2021 American pit bull Lucille Downer 85 yrs 04-02-2021 2 pit bulls Keira Ladlow 25 yrs 02-05-2021 Staffordshire pit bull 2020 Jonny Halstead 35 yrs 01-29-2020 Staffordshire pit bull 2019 Elayne Stanley 44 yrs 09-24-2019 2 pit bulls Sharon Jennings 55 yrs 06-10-2019 Named “Pyscho,” probable pit ** Frankie Macritchie 09 yrs 04-13-2019 Pit bull 2018 Reuben McNulty 05 wks 11-18-2018 2 Staffordshires 2017 Mario Perivoitos 41 yrs 03-20-2017 Staffordshire 2016 Archie Joe Darby 04 mos 10-14-2016 Staffordshire Dexter Neal 03 yrs 08-21-2016 American bulldog (pit bull) David Ellam 52 yrs 08-16-2016 Staffordshire Stephen Hodgson 45 yrs 05-22-2016 Staffordshire/pit mix Liam Hewitson 22 yrs 01-01-2016 Pit bull mix 2015 Bill George 68 yrs 10-09-2015 Pit bull (sepsis) Irene Collins 73 yrs 09-04-2015 GSD/spaniel mix police dog Reggie Young 03 wks 06-20-2015 Patterdale terrier Rhona Greve 64 yrs 03-20-2015 American “bulldog” 2014 Lexi Branson 04 yrs 11-04-2014 Aylestone bulldog Molly Wotherspoon 06 mos 08-03-2014 American pit bull Eliza Mae Malone 06 dys 02-18-2014 Malamute Ava Jane Corliss 11 mos 02-10-2014 American pit bull Barry Walsh 46 yrs 01-09-2014 Staffordshire pit bull 2013 Emma Bennett 27 yrs 12-??-2013 Staffordshire & U.S. pit (2) Lexie Hudson 05 yrs 11-05-2013 Doge du Bordeaux Leslie Lawn * 40 yrs 09-??-2013 Staffordshires (2) Clifford Clarke 79 yrs 05-26-2013 Staffordshire/bull mastiff Jade Lomas-Anderson 14 yrs 03-26-2013 2 Staffordshires, 2 bull mastiffs 2012 Harry Harper 1 wks 11-21-2012 Jack Russell Gloria Knowles 71 yrs 10-30-2012 2 French mastiffs, 2 American bull dogs, one “small mongrel" Brian Cruse + 78 yrs 09-20-2012 Pit bull 2011 Leslie Trotman @ 83 yrs 01-23-2011 Pit bull 2010 Barbara Williams 52 yrs 12-24-2010 Cane corso Zumer Ahmed 18 mos 04-17-2010 American bulldog 2009 John Paul Massey 4 yrs 11-30-2009 American pit bull Oluwaseyi Ogunyemi 16 yrs 04-27-2009 2 Staffordshires # Jaden Mack 3 mos 02-06-2009 Staffordshire & Jack Russell 2008 James Rehill 78 yrs 01-27-2008 Rottweiler 2007 Archie-Lee Hirst 13 mos 12-28-2007 Rottweiler Ellie Lawrenson 5 yrs 01-01-2007 American pit bull 2006 Cadey-Lee Deacon 5 mos 09-24-2006 Rottweilers (2) 2005 Liam Eames 1 yr 07-11-2005 American bulldog 2003 George Dinham 45 yrs 05-16-2003 Staffordshire 2000 Kirsty Ross 25 yrs 07-11-2000 Doberman 1996 David Kearney 11 yrs 01-03-1996 Rottweilers (2) 1994 Ashley Wilson 1 mos 12-22-1994 Staffordshire 1993 Dean Parker 7 yrs 11-21-1993 Pit bull
* No evident cause of death; coroner claimed dogs dismembered body after death.
+ Suffered fatal head injury responsible for the death.
@ Died of injuries six days after the attack.
# Dogs disabled the victim on command; Chrisdain Johnson, 22, was convicted of then stabbing him to death.
** Broke up fight at dog park; died of sepsis.
Sharing with gratitude…and all the usual thoughts and feelings.
And the beat goes on.
The death in Noelville was not from the dog. Someone was critically injured by the dog and an older gentleman had a medical issue occur while attempting to go assist.
The circumstances of Chuck Evans’ death in Noelville were fully explained in our coverage, and his death was clearly due to the pit bull’s behavior. Had the pit bull been a human criminal who somehow put another person into critical condition and then menaced a would-be rescuer such that the would-be rescuer dropped dead of a heart attack or stroke, that human criminal would be charged with capital murder for causing a fatality in the commission of a felony offense. Even if a non-criminal puts someone under sufficient stress to trigger a heart attack or stroke, that person will usually be charged with second degree homicide or manslaughter. That the criminal in this case was a dog in no way means the dog was not the proximate cause of the death, such that the owner of the dog could not be criminally charged and civilly sued for allowing the actions leading to the death to occur. For further discussion of the legal principles involved, see Pit bulls & “proximate cause” deaths.
I just want to thank you for the hard work you do to expose the transformative experience we have to endure because of big dollars to animal rescues. These CEOs make 800K salaries, lots of TV ads for the poor pitty. Let alone the big networks NEVER expose the tragedy of death, bought and paid for Just again Thank You, its hard earned respect while CEOs make so much money, its disgraceful.