Four-year-old Alex Angulo of Chicago, Illinois, was mauled to death by a Rottweiler on January 11, 2009. The dog belonged to his foster parents. The child was killed in his own back yard. There were three dogs present, two of them being Rottweilers. No adults were present.
The full story of this particular boy is heartbreaking (Read it.)
The circumstances of this attack included three of the factors on my Dog Attack Danger Scale:
* More than one dog in their own yard, and no master present. In 2008, 78% of the human fatalities were by dogs in their own yard.
* Pit bull, Rottweiler, Akita or Chow. Most fatal dog attacks are by pit bulls. In 2008, 65% of the fatalities were by pit bulls.
* The pack mentality. Three dogs are worse than 2, 4 are worse than 3, etc. Docile dogs often become uncharacteristically violent and vicious when they are in a pack. In 2008, 39% of the fatalities involved multiple dogs.
To evaluate the potential danger in any situation involving dogs, see my Dog Attack Danger Scale on the home page of Dog Bite Law.
