On August 10, 2009, Carter Delaney, 20, of Louden County, VA, was killed by pit bulls which he cared for, and which were owned by his brother. He was found dead in the basement of his grandfather’s home, along with a pit bull puppy, a caged cocker spaniel, a dead pug-mix, and two pit bulls “covered in blood.”

The dogs that killed Delaney were legally registered, current on their shots and had no history of biting. It is for this reason that pit bulls are regarded as being unpredictable. (Read the article.)

On the Dog Attack Danger Scale, the circumstances of this fatality registered a score of 2, because the attacking dogs were pit bulls, and there were more than one of them.

Police arrested 19 people for organized finch-fighting. The arrestees had come to New Haven, Connecticut, from as far away as Massachusetts and New Jersey. Officers seized 150 birds, most of which were small, saffron finches. A few were canaries.

The 19 people, all originally from Brazil, were charged with cruelty to animals and gambling. Police also charged the apparent ringleader, 42-year-old Jurames Goulart, with interfering with officers. Goulart denied the charges, saying he had the birds for singing.

Dog attacks often result from irresponsible behavior on the part of the dog owners. However, sometimes the victim and his parents also bear part of the blame.

There is an example in the news this week. Twenty-five-year-old Jessica Chavous, of Augusta, Georgia, is behind bars, charged with negligence after her son was mauled by a neighbor

Prosecutors are charging dog owner David Reilly, 41, of Firestone, Colorado, with possession of a dangerous dog as well as threatening to further harm the victim if she called the police (a felony). Not only was the victim threatened, and also her children.

The dog had a history of previously biting a woman who was simply walking around dog, mauling a trainer at an animal hospital, biting a woman in the neck, and attacking a woman that Mr. Riley was arguing with. This is described as a