Meals on Wheels driver & second grade teacher also among week’s pit bull death toll OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma; THOMASVILLE, Georgia; TYLER, Texas––Locklynn McGuire, whose third birthday was to have been on December 12, 2025, 73-year-old retired Duke Energy employee, volunteer firefighter, and Meals on Wheels driver Michael Bodenheimer, and 23-year-old second grade teacher Madison Hull […]
$7.5 million award for mauling by pit bull rehomed from L.A. Animal Services
Los Angeles Animal Services withheld bite history from pit bull adopter LOS ANGELES, California––The Los Angeles City Council on June 14, 2024 approved a record $7.5 million settlement of claims resulting from a pit bull attack on Argelia Alvarado, 74, of Van Nuys. “In May 2020,” Alvarado’s attorney Kenneth M. Phillips told ANIMALS 24-7, “a […]
Jury orders L.A. Animal Services to pay $6.8 million to mauled volunteer
Finding of gross negligence comes with comparable cases against “no-kill” city shelter pending LOS ANGELES, California––Finding Los Angeles Animal Services guilty of gross negligence, a Los Angeles jury on May 31, 2023 awarded $6.8 million to German shepherd mix attack victim and former shelter volunteer Kelly Kaneko, 36. The Kaneko award came less than […]
Best Friends wants you pay more for insurance to subsidize pit bulls
Why laws forcing insurers to cover pit bulls, Rottweilers, et al are literally no skin off the insurance industry’s buttocks ALBANY, New York; PHOENIX, Arizona; RENO, Nevada––New York and Nevada state laws have since the beginning of 2022 required every homeowner and renter to subsidize the few who keep pit bulls by prohibiting insurance […]
Courts reject suing landlords for attacks by dogs kept by indigent tenants
“Don’t ask, don’t tell” exempts landlords from risk MONTPELIER, Vermont––A newly published Vermont Supreme Court decision, rendered on September 3, 2021, affirms previous jurisprudence weakening the ability of dog attack victims and survivors to sue landlords in cases involving tenants’ dogs. The verdict in Katherine Higgins v. Shawn Bailey & Suzan Bailey appears to give […]
$20.8 million jury award for California dog attack
Retired police dog chased mail carrier before killing man, mauling woman UPDATE: The California Court of Appeal in February 2024 overturned the $20.8 million jury award referenced here, leaving the plaintiffs with only a much smaller settlement already received from defendant Alex Geiger. EXETER, California––A San Luis Obispo County jury on July 28, 2021 […]
Indiana ruling may help L.A. woman now in critical from adopted pit bull
Indiana Court of Appeals reinforces shelter duty to inform adopters of dogs’ past attacks LOS ANGELES, INDIANAPOLIS––Reports from Los Angeles indicate that a recent Indiana appellate decision could have a multi-million dollar impact on a yet-to-be filed case in which a 70-year-old woman is reportedly in critical condition from an attack by a pit […]
Kamala Harris: long record on animal issues, including pit bull attacks
Prosecuted two dog attack fatalities, enforced pit bull sterilization ordinance, but favors adoptions of fighting dogs SAN FRANCISCO––U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, named vice presidential running mate to Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden on August 11, 2020, brings to the election campaign both a strong record on animal protection and a mixed record in […]
Why did pit bull & Malinois victims Liquori & Hazel die alone?
Thought they knew the risks… FORT PIERCE, Florida; DIGHTON, Massachusetts—Killed in unwitnessed dog attacks on May 9, 2019 and May 10, 2019, respectively, Christine Liquori, 52, of Port St. Lucie, Florida and Ryan Hazel, 14, of Rehobeth, Massachusetts, had almost nothing in common––except that they were alone in kennel facilities with one or more […]
January 2019 saw the most dog-related deaths in 13 months
Three killed by pit bulls, three in human conflict involving dogs, one possibly by German shepherd, one killed by dogs unidentified by breed HOUSTON, Texas––A January 28, 2019 shoot-out in Houston, Texas that left five police officers injured and two drug suspects dead raised the apparent dog-related death toll for the month, worldwide, to eight, […]