A SIX YEAR OLD MOUNTAIN HOME CHILD IS DEAD AFTER BEING ATTACKED BY A PIT BULL
(Photo: Special to the Citizen-Times)
HENDERSON COUNTY DEPUTIES ARE CONTINUING THEIR INVESTIGATION TODAY AFTER A SIX YEAR OLD CHILD WAS ATTACKED AND KILLED BY A PIT BULL DOG TUESDAY AFTERNOON.
By WHKP News Director Larry Freeman 3am 7/8/15
The dead little boy has been identified as Joshua Phillip Strother.
When animal enforcement deputies shot and killed the pit bull, deputies and emergency responders were able to push down a fence to gain access to the child. The six year old child did not respond to emergency treatment and died on the scene. Officers believe the little boy climbed over the five foot tall chain link fence to get to and play with the dog.
Deputies: Dog Attacks, Kills Child in Henderson County
News ABC 13 – (7/7/15)
HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. — Law enforcement says a pit bull killed a 6-year-old in Henderson County on Tuesday afternoon.
The attack happened around 4 p.m. on Piney Ridge Drive in the Mountain Home area.
Henderson County Sheriff Charles McDonald says with the information they have now, they have no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.
The sheriff’s office says the 6-year-old was staying with his grandparent. The recently adopted pit bull was next door in the fenced-in backyard. Deputies are investigating how the boy got into the yard.
Deputies: Boy attacked, killed by dog in Henderson Co.
Posted: Jul 07, 2015 5:54 PM CDT Updated: Jul 07, 2015 7:44 PM CDT – By Heather Carpenter
A 911 call from the boy’s mother said she went inside to use the restroom for five minutes and came out to find him lying in the neighbor’s yard. The boy’s mother said her son played with the dog and the dog was familiar with him, according to the call.
The mother told dispatchers she didn’t think her son was breathing and that he was not responding when she called out to him, according to the call. She also told dispatchers that the neighbor’s gate was locked and she could not get inside their yard, according to the call.
The mother told dispatchers her son and other kids climbed the fence frequently and that the home owner’s were not home, according to the 911 call.
Pit bull attack kills 6-year-old in Mountain Home
A dog attacked and killed a 6-year-old boy who climbed a fence to enter his neighbor’s yard in Mountain Home Tuesday afternoon.
The pit bull was so aggressive that animal enforcement deputies had to shoot the animal so emergency workers could get to the child, according to a news release from the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office.
Emergency workers pushed down the fence to get to the child, but he did not respond to medical treatment, the release states.
Family members identified the child as Joshua Phillip Strother.
In a 911 recording released by the sheriff’s office, the boy’s frantic mother calls emergency dispatchers around 4:15 p.m.
“I went to the bathroom and my boy is dead,” the caller says, weeping. “There’s blood all over his face.”
Update: Family grieving boy’s death in pit bull attack
Sabian Warren, [email protected]
Joshua’s great-grandfather, Jerry Hayes, also of 163 Piney Ridge Drive, said the neighbors had gotten the dog about three weeks earlier and that it seemed friendly. Joshua had played with it more than once, Hayes said.
“It may have seen Josh coming over the fence and thought it was somebody breaking in,” Hayes said.
Fighting back tears, Hayes said his great-grandson was “smart as a whip. He could count up to 100 frontwards and backwards. He liked to ride bikes and climb. He was very active. He liked SpongeBob.”
Joshua would have entered the first grade at Mills River Elementary School in August, Hayes said.
The dog’s owners were not at home when the attack happened at about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday. When deputies and first responders arrived, they initially were not able to go into the yard because of the “aggressive nature of the pit bull,” Henderson County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Frank Stout said.
2015 Dog Bite Fatality: Pit Bull Kills 6-Year Old Boy in Henderson County, North Carolina
DogsBite.org reports
Victim Identified
UPDATE 07/08/15: The young boy mauled to death by a recently adopted pit bull in Henderson County has been identified as Joshua Phillip Strother. The late night update from Blue Ridge Now communicates portions of the painful 911 call made by the little boy’s mother who is 8-months pregnant, according to a neighbor. The news report also indicates the pit bull had only been with the unnamed dog’s owner and next door neighbor for two weeks before fatally attacking a child.1
“I went to the bathroom and my boy is dead,” the 911 caller says, weeping. “There’s blood all over his face.” The mother of Joshua Strother
American Pit Bull Terrier
The ‘bull and terrier’ type was originally developed in England in the early 19thcentury. 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 12th through the 18th 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 amusement1,2,3,4,5.
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 17th 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.
This fence should have been secured like swimming pool areas do to keep children safe. I think the pit bull owners violated these two laws. I considered an animal as an ‘object’ because animals are considered property by law.
The attractive nuisance doctrine applies to the law of torts, in the United States. It states that a landowner may be held liable for injuries to children trespassing on the land if the injury is caused by an object on the land that is likely to attract children. https://definitions.uslegal.com/a/attractive-nuisance/
I also consider this yard as booby trap. If a person sets up such a trap to protect his/her property, he/she will be liable for any injury or death even to an unwanted intruder such as a burglar. It is illegal to set a booby trap on one’s own property to prevent intruders. https://definitions.uslegal.com/b/booby-traps/
I was wanting to do something about these dogs in our neighborhood. I am talking about pit bull dogs, I live on the street that little Josh was killed on. There have been many attacks of pit bull dogs in this area. They already have laws for dangerous dogs here. So, they told me that there was nothing that I can do. Our next door neighbor who was 89 years old was attacked by a neighbors pit bull dog. And they still have the dog. The victim tried to sue the owners, but wasn’t successful. The stupid owners still have the dog. They only had to pay $90, put up a fence with a top and put dangerous dog signs up. Something needs to change. People need to stop treating pit bull dogs or any other dogs that they are better than a persons life. I mean they are dogs. Everybody wants to blame the victim. Especially, when they are just a child. People should take responsibility when they own a dog like that. Like make sure a child can’t get into the area. I mean kids are going to be kids. You can tell them that those dogs are dangerous, but the kid doesn’t think so. I also have a son that is almost seven. I don’t let him leave the yard, but guess what he still does it.