Page County youth dies from dog attack

^{– Posted on Jan 22, 2015 – by Chuck Morris}

(Clarinda) — Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer reports a 7-year-old Page County boy was killed this afternoon following an attack by the family’s dog.

Palmer says Page County deputies were called at 4:53 p.m to 709 Glen Avenue in College Springs after the boy had been attacked. On arrival, deputies found the boy unresponsive and EMS from Clarinda and College Springs were administering CPR.

The victim was taken by ambulance to the Clarinda Regional Health Center where he was pronounced dead at 5:50 p.m.

Dog attack victim identified

^{– Posted on Jan 23, 2015 – by Mike Peterson}

The Page County Sheriff’s Office says Malaki Mildward was pronounced dead at Clarinda Regional Health Center at around 5:50 p.m. Sheriff’s deputies were notified shortly before 5 p.m. that the boy was mauled by his family’s two 6-month-old dogs at 709 Glen Avenue in College Springs. The initial report was the victim was not breathing at the time. When deputies arrived, EMS from Clarinda and College Springs were administering CPR to Mildward in the yard.

Boy, 7, mauled to death by his family’s two new dogs at home in Iowa

Child was set upon by two six-month-old canines at home in Iowa
By the time deputies arrived on Thursday afternoon, he wasn’t breathing

^{By MIA DE GRAAF FOR DAILYMAIL.COM – PUBLISHED: 10:34 EST, 24 January 2015 | UPDATED: 15:24 EST, 24 January 2015}

On Friday, his father Xavier Mildward shared a picture on Facebook of Malaki, with the words: ‘I love you so much my baby boy’.

Malaki lived with his older sister, his mother, Amber Braymen, Jeremiah Hicks and Hicks’ son.

Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer told Omaha.com that the dogs were mixed-breeds with some bulldog heritage, but neither would be considered a pit bull.

He said he saw the dogs in the pound Friday morning before they were euthanized and showed ‘no aggressiveness.’

Malaki’s family also had another dog, a bulldog type that was not involved in the attack – it was also put down on Friday morning.

Palmer said Malaki often played outside with the dogs and there had no been any problems.

Six months ago Malaki’s mother posted on Facebook: ‘Have Pitbull English bulldog pups got shots and ready to go message me for details and pics.’

No arrests or charges have been declared.

7-year-old Iowa boy dies after attack by 2 family dogs; both have been euthanized

^{POSTED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2015 9:57 AM – By Andrew J. Nelson / World-Herald staff writer}

COLLEGE SPRINGS, Iowa — A 7-year-old boy was playing outside his home with two of his family’s dogs Thursday when he was fatally mauled by the dogs.

Investigators have found no witnesses to the attack.

Malaki Mildward, a first-grader at Garfield Elementary in Clarinda, died after the attack by two 6-month-old dogs, said Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer.

“Those puppies today … they showed no aggressiveness,” he said. “When I went in this morning, they were still wagging their tails.”

Malaki’s family also had another dog, a bulldog type that wasn’t involved in the attack, put down Friday morning, the sheriff said.

“They are in shock,” he said of the boy’s family. “They want to make sure this never happens again.”

Palmer said he hopes to have the investigation wrapped up this weekend. He does not expect any charges to be filed.

“We don’t suspect any negligence or neglect on the parents’ part,” he said. “We have no idea what transpired … I don’t know if we’ll ever know.

“This is a child who has probably played with the puppies since they were born.”

Malaki lived with his older sister, his mother, Amber Braymen, Jeremiah Hicks and Hicks’ son at Hicks’ home in College Springs, a town of 214 located about 80 miles southeast of Omaha.

The white-frame house sits on the east edge of town, with an open field separating it from most of the rest of College Springs.

Malaki often played with the dogs in the yard, Palmer said. On Thursday, his mother was at work, but Hicks was at home with other family members. A relative found Malaki outside after the attack. Someone called 911 just before 5 p.m.

2015 Dog Bite Fatality: 7-Year Old Boy Killed by Two Family Dogs in College Springs, Iowa

^{DogsBite.org – 1/30/15}

The Household Dogs

At the time of the biting incident and deadly attack four months later, there were four dogs in the Hicks household, two adult pit bulls, Shipper and Road, a male and female respectively, and two younger dogs, Two Face and Satan. Both younger dogs were 8 or 9 month old pit bull-mixes from Braymen’s August puppy post. People close to the case say that Road and her two fatally attacking offspring were put down after Malaki’s death. Shipper still remains in Hicks’ home.

The Hicks household had inherited the two adult pit bulls through different maternal relationships. As noted earlier, Shipper came with Hicks’ current relationship with Braymen. Road was inherited through the teenager’s mother, Jo Anna Wentworth Parrott. The dog was named Road because it was found on the side of the road and taken in by Parrott. Last February, Parrott left Road and a python snake at the Hicks home with a note, apparently unable to care for them any longer.

So what happened to the alleged “Pitbull English bulldog pups” that Braymen advertised for sale in August that produced at least eight puppies, two of which killed Malaki? It turns out that Parrott had two dogs, Road and a male English bulldog. Road may have been pregnant when it was left at Hicks’ home in February, or there was a planned breeding between the two or there was never an English bulldog involved in the mating. The mating was simply between Shipper and Road.

Finally, Auten and her son had nothing to do with the four pit bulls in Hicks’ home. Hicks also has custody of the boy. It was Auten and her husband that alerted authorities to the September biting incident. For reasons that are still unclear, the bite report was classified as unfounded and no follow up proceeded. Now, after being bitten by Road and witnessing the traumatizing sight of Malaki dead in Hicks’ yard, Auten’s son must return to this same home where Shipper remains.1

********

Malaki Mildward

7-years old | College Springs, IA

Malaki Mildward, 7-years old, was viciously killed by two 8 or 9-month old pit bull-mixes while playing in his yard. There were two adult pit bulls, a male and female, also living at the home, but were inside during the attack. The adult female, Road, had delivered a litter during the previous summer; the two fatally attacking dogs were from that litter. Malaki’s stepfather, Jeremiah Hicks, was in the home when the attack occurred. The boy’s mother and two other children were away. When several family members, including a 10-year old boy, returned to the home, they saw Malaki’s body in the yard. The dogs had horribly attacked the boy and stripped away most of his clothes. Road had bitten the 10-year old boy four months earlier. His mother reported the biting incident to the sheriff’s office and the Iowa Department of Human Services, but DHS classified the bite report as unfounded and no follow through occurred. Road and her two fatally attacking offspring were euthanized; Hicks kept the male pit bull. [source citations]

American Pit Bull Terrier

The ‘bull and terrier’ type was originally developed in England in the early 19^thcentury. The lineage goes back to the mastiff / molosser types, including what we now call the Olde English Bulldogge, that were used for bear-, bull- and horse-baiting from the 12^th through the 18^th century. This isn’t the bear-baiting we think of today, when hunters feed bears in order to bring them out in the open to shoot them. Rather, the bear, bull or horse was confined in a public arena where the mastiff ‘bulldogs’ would slowly tear them apart alive for the public’s amusement^1,2,3,4,5.

The popularity of this ‘sport’ declined as education became more emphasized in urban society of the Industrial Revolution and literacy among the population grew (from about 30% in the 17^th century to 62% by 1800)⁶. The ‘sport’ was banned altogether by Act of Parliament in 1835.

The lovers of blood ‘sports’ turned to dogfighting to satisfy their fancy, breeding the large, mastiff-type bulldogs to smaller working terriers to get dogs both smaller and more agile, easier to keep and to hide, but just as willing to attack and fight to the death. With the rise of the kennel clubs and the desire to distinguish dogs by looks and pedigree as well as by performance, this ‘bull and terrier’ type eventually divided into many official breeds. They all share the same ancestry and function, distinguishing themselves mostly by slight differences in appearance.

The American Pit Bull Terrier is, like all the ‘bully’ breeds, one of this group of descendants of the British ‘bull and terrier’ type fighting bulldogs. Once imported into the United States, it was bred up to be bigger again, and again used in baiting animals and in dogfighting. The American Kennel Club (founded 1884) was unwilling to register these fighting dogs, so in 1898 the United Kennel Club was founded specifically to register working pit-fighting dogs and to promote dogfighting. In order to be registered, a dog had to first win three pit fights^7,8,9. The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) became a ‘breed’. As dogfighting declined in popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, Colby (the most famous and prolific breeder of these dogs) began to search for a new market and began promoting the APBT as family pets^10,11. This despite the fact that his breeding lines included child killers¹².

The APBT is of medium intelligence, and it is athletic. They have plenty of energy and exuberance for life. They are affectionate companions are often referred to as a “nanny dog”, which leads many families to believe that they are suitable companions for children. Many can live happily with children and never have an issue, but there are many cases of the family pit bull suddenly attacking or killing a child in the household. The Pit Bull advocacy group BADRAP recently retracted their original “nanny dog” statements (https://www.facebook.com/BADRAP.org/posts/10151460774472399 )¹³. In 2013, in the United States, 16 children were killed by Pit Bulls and their mixes. Most of these children were killed by family pet pit bulls that had never been neglected or abused and had always loved the child. As with all breeds, the traits needed for their original tasks remain in the dogs – in this case, the sudden explosive aggression that was necessary to survive in the fighting pit. An APBT may never show this aggression, but if it does there will be no warning and the attack will not be easy to stop. Extreme caution should always be taken when this breed interacts with children. They are fun loving dogs that have “clownish” behaviors. Despite, their many positive qualities, this breed may not be suitable for everyone. Their high energy requires a family that can accommodate and appreciate this aspect of their personality. They usually do best with active families. Many American Pit Bull Terriers get calmer as they age and an older dog may work for a more reserved family.