Fatal Dog Mauling...NOT Pit Bulls

TheIndyChannel.com
Elderly Man Killed In Dog Attack

POSTED: 6:17 am EST July 3, 2005
UPDATED: 7:03 am EST July 3, 2005

CAMBY, Ind. -- Police said four dogs attacked an elderly man outside his home, killing him. Investigators aren't sure why the dogs mauled the man.



Boyd Fiscus


When police arrived at the home Friday night, they were responding to a report of a drowning, RTV6's Jeremy Brilliant reported.

"Deputies quickly observed that the man appeared to be brutally attacked before his death," Morgan County detective Dan Downing said. "At that point, other investigators were called in."

Boyd Fiscus, 83, had multiple bite marks all over his body. Police said four dogs, owned by a neighbor, mauled him to death.

"It was definitely the most violent crime scene that I have seen as of yet," Downing said.

According to police, the dogs were an American bulldog, a Johnson bulldog, a neapolitan mastiff and a border collie. Officials said Fiscus knew the dogs and had even fed them in the past.



Police say dogs like these were involved in the attack.


"He petted them quite often. We're not really sure what happened or what provoked this event, or even if it was provoked," Downing said.

Fiscus' neighbor, Jim Baker, said Fiscus was a friendly man in good health. He spent hours each day doing yard work.

"I thought he probably had a heart attack or something because he works hard," Baker said. "I'm not surprised, but I didn't think they (the dogs) were that mean. You see the same dogs around quite a bit."

Police think the same dogs may have been involved in another attack against a child more than a year ago.

"The investigation has led us to a 12-year-old girl that was bitten by a group of dogs," Downing said. "We're still trying to make sure this was the same group of dogs."

So far, criminal charges have not been filed, but the investigation is ongoing.

If police do file charges, they could range from misdemeanor counts for allowing animals to stray to more serious felony reckless homicide charges.

All four dogs involved in the attack will be destroyed at the owner's request.

Previous Stories:
July 2, 2005: Police: Man Killed In Dog Attack
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Wow, a pack of dogs. That's so sad. It upsets me that the owner didn't have them under control. They could be the nicest dogs in the world, but, put them in a pack like that.......I hope they weren't destroyed unneccesarily. :(

The scary thing is that they knew the guy...he's fed them and let them out before. Actually I'm glad that they destroyed the dogs. In readlity would anyone actually want a dog that had participated in a fatal mauling?

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Originally posted by Cheshirekatt
"He petted them quite often. We're not really sure what happened or what provoked this event, or even if it was provoked," Downing said.

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it is always provoked. dogs dont just attack for no reason.

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Originally posted by cocker_luva
it is always provoked. dogs dont just attack for no reason.

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Exactly. The provokation could have been something as simple as one of the dogs wanting to be petted before the other and boom, the man is in the middle of a dog fight. Wonder what the reproductive status of the dogs were?

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Originally posted by cocker_luva
it is always provoked. dogs dont just attack for no reason.

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There may always be a reason, but, it's not always provocation.

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Originally posted by Pit Chick
Exactly. The provokation could have been something as simple as one of the dogs wanting to be petted before the other and boom, the man is in the middle of a dog fight. Wonder what the reproductive status of the dogs were?

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That's a very good point. Dogs won't attack for "no reason" People may not see the reason as it could be something that could have been brewing in the dogs minds for months. Ive noticed that if you get a group of dissimilar breeds together, even the tinest things could send them off in a tizzy. I've seen even the most copasetic dogs get into scraps. Different breeds do think differently and who knows what could have been going on with the dogs before the guy arrived. (A fight, one of the dogs in heat etc)

IMO, if they aren't YOUR dogs, you ALWAYS use caution when dealing with them, even if you think you "know" them well. It's sad that four animals had to be destroyed, but no one knows for sure what set them off except for the person who was unfortuneatly killed in the incedent.

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Originally posted by DJFyrewolf36
but no one knows for sure what set them off except for the person who was unfortuneatly killed in the incedent.

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Even he may not have known. Like you said, it could have been something brewing......he may have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am still upset that these dogs were just allowed to wander.

Very sad. It's hard to know what caused things to go the way they did, but dogs that wander around unsupervised in a pack together like that, especially if unaltered, can be a recipe for disaster. If one dog bites/attacks, the instincts of the others kick in to join their comrade in the fight. It's a very basic instinct, the same one that drives dogs to protect their owners when they perceive them as being under attack.

The dogs were unaltered?! I'm sure that is a major contributing factor to the attack...and why in the world would anyone allow a pack of dogs just wander around unsupervised?

:( Sad

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Originally posted by DJFyrewolf36
The dogs were unaltered?!

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I don't think it ever said.....did you read somewhere that they were?

There was a rumor floating around that there was a female in heat with the pack but I saw that on a different forum. Does anyone know for sure? Knowing that would explain a few things about the attack.

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Originally posted by DJFyrewolf36
Knowing that would explain a few things about the attack.

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A pack of dogs roaming the streets is enough explanation, a female in heat is an added bonus.

You know, this case is not setted yet & the four dogs remain
the the county animal shelter.A local tv station said tonight that
the police are considering charges against the next door neighbor
of the dog owners home. The police investigating this are not
giving out a lot of info yet. This sounds very strange to me.:confused:

How terribly sad. :( Poor man.

I disagree that dog attacks are always provoked. You know how many newborn babies are attacked and/or killed by dogs? Even while sleeping? A dog does not need to be provoked in order to attack someone, just as people don't.

Oh, how awful, what a shame, I don't really know what to say......:(

Dog attacks NEED to be provoked? Sorry...but that is so far from the truth. No animal NEEDS to be provoked. Yes they will attack when provoked, but not always. They can have their own reasons in their heads, but that reason is not always caused by someone provoking them. I have had a dog attack me as a child. All I did was play in the sand at the beach, probably 10-15 yards away from him. He was FAR. He saw me from far just sitting in the sand, and came after me, jumped on me, and was about to bite me. Thank GOD his owner and my dad came running and got him off me before he was able to harm me, but that was one vicious dog that came after me for absolutely NO REASON. No animal NEEDS to be provoked.

This is a VERY sad story, and honestly, it saddens me that some of you always justify the dog's reasoning no matter what. It is an ANIMAL for heaven's sake. If an animal is not trained properly, or if it just loses its mind for whatever reason, it CAN attack, without being provoked. How do YOU KNOW they were provoked?

Poor guy. :(

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Originally posted by popcornbird
Dog attacks NEED to be provoked? Sorry...but that is so far from the truth. No animal NEEDS to be provoked. Yes they will attack when provoked, but not always. They can have their own reasons in their heads, but that reason is not always caused by someone provoking them.

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Yeah, I said this earlier and was going to say a few things more (about friends I remember being attacked as kids, and, about me almost being attacked, - the dog was leashed, thank goodness - but, I thought I'd let others say their own personal experiences). But, here's what I said early in the thread.....

Re: Re: Fatal Dog Mauling...NOT Pit Bulls

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Originally posted by cocker_luva
it is always provoked. dogs dont just attack for no reason.
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There may always be a reason, but, it's not always provocation.

We may not see provokation the same as a dog. Just because we think it was "for no reason" doesn't mean the dog does. Like I said, it could be a simple movement that provokes it. It's always for some reason that a dog attacks and of course we're going to justify their actions no matter what, we brought them into our world to live with us so if something goes wrong, people need to take responsibility. People take dog attacks personally like dogs are on a mission to hurt people on purpose. Dogs don't think "I'm in the mood for mauling someone today".

I highly encourage everyone to get the book Fatal Dog Attacks: the facts behind the statistics.

I agree with there always being a reason. But, even from my experience with my dog, Bruno, being attacked. The dog was running around the building, didn't even see Bruno at first. Then, just stopped and picked him up in her mouth, shaking him. He was nearly killed, and, had simply been sitting in the grass, doing nothing. He never even saw the dog coming. They'd never had any issues before. Again, maybe the reason was the dog saw him as a toy, whatever, but, I don't see that as being provoked. And, the same with babies and kids getting attacked. Maybe the dog is jealous or whatever. And, that's certainly a reason, but, I just don't see how it's provocation. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on what provocation is.

I do agree that people need to take responsibility, but, I don't agree that it is always the victim's fault. And, it just seems that it's always assumed that the victim has done something wrong, especially if it was an adult. It probably was, at some point in time, something a human did wrong by the way of the dog, but, not always the victim. Even if it started as early as inbreeding and having a dog that's maybe prone to viciousness or whatever.

Anyway.....my thoughts are all over the place on this one.

No one said it was always the victim's fault. Provokation can be accidental, but that doesn't mean the victim was at fault. People need to quit looking at dog attacks so personally where the dog is concerned and try to understand why the attack happened from the dogs point of view. Maybe then government officials would enforce better dangerous dog and owner responsibility laws and quit with the breed ban BS and people would be safer.