VA - Bethany Stephens, 21, mauled to death by her 2 dogs, Dec 2017

[gitana1]

Does he come home with wounds? We are not allowed to let our cats out at night because they kill wildlife.

No wounds so far and I don't allow him out at all. But he's busted almost every screen in your house to get out. (I replaced them all with heavy pet screens.) He has a brother (Bartleby) who is normal. (Still spoiled but not aggressive).

 

[rsd1200]

lots of pics

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/wo...y-Lynn-Stephens-death-found-woods-mauled-dogs

The 22-year-old suffered horrendous head and throat injuries, police in Virginia said.

Fox 2 reports she was found dead in a wooded area of Virginia Thursday night by her worried father who had gone searching for her.

BBM
That poor man.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

It may mean that it was an external injury not an internal injury like choking would produce. They may not have bitten through her oesophagus, just the flesh on her throat. I can't believe I typed that.

It may mean that her injuries were so severe that when she was first found they couldn't work out what had been bitten and what not. Maybe her throat was bloodied from wounds elsewhere but that when her body was cleaned up the position became clearer.

 

[JaneEyre]

Can you link to a site that discusses dominance training just so I know what it is? It doesn't have to be related to this case.

It's the use of alpha rolls and scruff grabs and the like. It's how Cesar Milan ends up getting bit! And it's based on erroneous assumptions about alphas in wolf packs.

https://apdt.com/resource-center/dominance-and-dog-training/

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[JaneEyre]

OT - I started reading a book by Tamar Geller called The Loved Dog. She debunks some of the myths about how wolf packs actually function in terms of hierarchy. I really like her training methods. Here's part of her bio and qualifications from Wikipedia:

Tamar Geller*is *advertiser censored*dog trainer*who developed "the Loved Dog" method of dog training. After serving as an intelligence officer working with the Israeli Special Forces,*she dedicated her time to observing wolves in the wild and studying how the parent canines trained their young. By using similar techniques as the wolves, she created a method of training puppies that does not involve aggression, dominance, or*choke chains. Tamar’s method goes beyond positive reinforcement as she emphasize building a solid relationship with the dog based on understanding the dog as the individual that s/he is and coaching them through games and fun.

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[Elley Mae]

http://via.wtvr.com/tVQu5

ETA Also in this article, a neighbor heard screams in the woods but blew it off!

Maybe screaming in the woods is common. 🤷*♀️

 

[2Hope4]

Were these dogs neutered?

I don't the trainer that Bethany worked for. I'll only say that the varying degrees of trainers can be from someone who watches videos, or reads books and trained their dog to sit, thus claim they are a dog trainer, to those that professionally train dogs to perform in movies. A wide range of training.

Just like other jobs, there's good trainers, and not good trainers. Experienced through life and trial and error, and those that have 40-50 at one time that they are training. I don't know what position Bethany held nor her job responsibilities. I know someone that says they work for a vet. They aren't lying, they do. Their job is cleaning the rooms after each visit, and cleaning the kennels the animals are kept in.

 

[Lora J.]

Any report what all type clothing wearing? Coat, gloves, etc while taking dogs for walk. Sounds like fairly cool day, 36 at 4pm when neighbor reported hearing something. Could statement going out to "care for dogs" mean a routine check, refill food, then found dogs had broke loose, ran into the woods, thus the signs of pry marks, damage to pen?

 

[whereareyou]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5198369/Dogs-ate-owner-22-neglected.html

'They were neglected': Beloved dogs that ate their owner, 22, 'had recently started living outside in a kennel at her father's home and weren't being fed regularly'

 

[JaneEyre]

Were these dogs neutered?

I don't the trainer that Bethany worked for. I'll only say that the varying degrees of trainers can be from someone who watches videos, or reads books and trained their dog to sit, thus claim they are a dog trainer, to those that professionally train dogs to perform in movies. A wide range of training.

Just like other jobs, there's good trainers, and not good trainers. Experienced through life and trial and error, and those that have 40-50 at one time that they are training. I don't know what position Bethany held nor her job responsibilities. I know someone that says they work for a vet. They aren't lying, they do. Their job is cleaning the rooms after each visit, and cleaning the kennels the animals are kept in.

According to the trainer and friend of hers, they were neutered.

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[JaneEyre]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5198369/Dogs-ate-owner-22-neglected.html

'They were neglected': Beloved dogs that ate their owner, 22, 'had recently started living outside in a kennel at her father's home and weren't being fed regularly'

Here's the deal. A major change in routine and living situation can make a dog become destructive. Additionally, 10 x 10 kennels and chains can make high energy dogs highly anxious and even aggressive. I have seen the results of this in rescue. I've also seen several dogs who were fed sporadically throughout the week, having to either make the food last days or compete with other animals for it. Both can't really be done (making it last and making sure it isn't stolen). This was a perfect storm. I still suspect there was a trigger and that this resulted from redirected aggression initially. But eating her stomach - that's what hungry animals do. When they just kill, they usually go for the neck and that's it. Think about most of the dogs you hear about whose prey drive makes them kill wildlife in their yards. They usually kill it by the neck and the rest of the body is in tact.

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[Jade]

I looked for the posts which asked some questions and can’t find them now [slow computer] so apologize but wanted to pass on the information I found while reading links today:

Tonka was with BS since he was 8-weeks old and friends said she later adopted Pac-Man to get him out of an abusive home.

http://wtvr.com/2017/12/19/dogs-went-through-drastic-lifestyle-changes-before-mauling-owner/

Hyoid bone is an indicator of strangulation so the dogs did go for the throat according to authorities but they didn’t break the hyoid:

Investigators had CAT scans and X-rays done prior to the autopsy to rule out homicide; there were no broken bones or signs of strangulation.

http://wtvr.com/2017/12/18/press-conference-on-mauling-by-dogs/

Why menstruation was mentioned:

The medical examiner also concluded with “complete certainty that there was no sexual assault involved.” Stephens was on her menstrual cycle and had a tampon in place which is part of how they determined she was not sexually assaulted.

http://wtvr.com/2017/12/18/press-conference-on-mauling-by-dogs/

The statement that she felt no pain because the dog went for the jugular was not from this case but from post 168 about the little girl that was attacked.

Some pretty horrific information in these articles including descriptions of the injuries inflicted from the photos that were shown so read with caution:

http://wtvr.com/2017/12/19/longtime-trainer-stunned-over-grisly-dog-mauling-they-were-very-passive-dogs/

 

[Lilibet]

Baggins is insane. He loves his mama but he's just crazy. If he was a dog he'd be the type to turn on me I fear. He has so much testosterone. Even after getting him fixed. He is desperate to fight. He has gotten out a few times and is fearless. Just tears through the neighborhood on a panting, manic rampage. Jumps over fences and onto roofs with no caution at all. And instantly attacks any cat he sees.

Hes the worst cat I've ever had but he's also super funny and cuddly and I love him to bits.

But our pets will always have some of the wild in them. And they can have instincts that overcome their love for us. It's unusual but it can happen.

BBM

OT:

Gitana, I’m a cat person. Your poor kitty sounds stressed and off-the-rails. This isn’t normal, as you know. What does the vet suggest? Can kitties take Xanax? Maybe he needs estrogen. Only half joking.

Have you ever watched cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy’s show “My Cat from Hell”? Baggins sounds like he would benefit from Jackson’s help. He’s amazing.

https://www.jacksongalaxy.com/cat-daddy-tips/

Article on cat aggression from the link:

https://www.jacksongalaxy.com/blog/aggression-in-cats

 

[anonypotomous]

Why are we talking about cats and posting personal pet photos on this thread? This is supposed to be about Bethany and the horrific thing that happened to HER.


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[Lilibet]

Why are we talking about cats and posting personal pet photos on this thread? This is supposed to be about Bethany and the horrific thing that happened to HER.


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Sorry, I should have sent that info as a pm. But this discussion has included info and experiences with other dogs and even cats because animal behavior is relevant to what happened to Bethany and it’s easy to go OT. But yes, this thread is about Bethany.

 

[anonypotomous]

Sorry, I should have sent that info as a pm. But this discussion has included info and experiences with other dogs and even cats because animal behavior is relevant to what happened to Bethany and it’s easy to go OT. But yes, this thread is about Bethany.

:hug: You know I adore you Lilibet! It was more the personal photos I didn't understand.

 

[Lilibet]

:hug: You know I adore you Lilibet! It was more the personal photos I didn't understand.

Mutual anon. :heartbeat: I think we love our pets so much that we can’t resist an opportunity to show their darling photos, even when it’s OT.

 

[zencompass]

Hello everyone,

I am not in the slight bit surprised that everyone on these threads are animal lovers, whether they own one or not.

There is such great compassion and kindness on these threads.

 

[Trident]

‘He was bait’: Family dog mauled to death at PetSmart
http://wtvr.com/2017/11/06/he-was-just-bait-family-furious-after-dog-mauled-to-death-at-petsmart/

Guess who?

 

[Jade]

These two of your posts have really had me thinking.

<<<<<<Respectfully snipped>>>>> Like the picture of Bethany w/him, his ears are back and a blank stare. Hollow

I also noticed that the dog seemed distant, I guess, in the pictures.

I can’t get a good front on picture of my dog because he is always wriggling and looking at me when I am close. And he is a bully breed, a Bull Terrier.

This link in this post about the attack of the poor guy by his dogs expresses a sentiment by a neighbor that is chilling.

Respectfully snipped>>> [URL="...dogs-as-9-year-old-neighbor-tries-to-save-him
>>>>>

April Parnell said that two of the dogs — Little J and RJ — had been fighting earlier. Her neighbor — who she said was a small man of 69 — broke up the dogfight, inserting himself between the animals and throwing punches to separate them.

Later in the day, the same two dogs attacked the neighbor.
“The dogs were probably retaliating,” she said.

Part of me says it’s anthropomorphizing…

For what is worth I read if you are of a mind to intervene in an attack to grab the back legs of the attacker and pull straight up. It startles the attacker and interrupts the attack mode.

My husband used it at the dog park and it worked but it was on a dog which playfully had another dog’s collar and wouldn’t let go.