Victim of Dog Bite May Have Had Heart Attack

166. Reading all these comments of people automatically blaming the dogs makes my blood boil. I feel sorry for the man who died but all the "speculation" that the dogs attacked and this/that breed is naturally vicious is BS. I honestly believe that unless there is an issue such as inbreeding, a dog's temperament is mostly from the care and training it receives from it's owner. It's quite obvious that most of you "yelling" the loudest while blaming the dogs are not dog owners. If treated well, by nature dogs will be the best friend you ever had and will PROTECT YOU, NOT HARM YOU. So to all you negative thinking people, keep your thoughts to yourself until the final details come out.....it's people like you who put any kind of down-side on being a pet owner. I've had dogs all my life, from mutts to pure breeds, and have NEVER EVER had one to bite anyone.

Posted at 3:09PM on Aug 6th 2007 by anituh

167. I believe the comment written on the dogs probably knew the man was going to have a heart attack if that is what happened. Something happened to this man. He is 40 why would he have a heart attack? The dogs obviously treated him as their owner for 2 years bulldogs and bullmastiffs are not vicious breeds. They probably sensed the heart attack and tried to get his attention, most likely not knowing their own strength.

Posted at 11:27AM on Aug 7th 2007 by Amy

168. #159 the person ur thinking of is LeAnn Rimes!! DEE DEE DEE

Posted at 10:47PM on Aug 6th 2007 by deedeedee

169. People are so quick to assume that dogs that attack must be aggressive and vicious. Who is to say that the man who was attacked didn't provoke the animals? Dogs who are loved on by humans don't attack for no reason. They are like children. They grow into what they are taught to be.

Posted at 8:43AM on Aug 8th 2007 by Lee in Anderson

170. Geri (#167) it is actually futile talking to some people, they only believe what they read and see in the news when much of it (like this case) is so sensationalized.

I too have an English Mastiff (like those pictured in the video) and agree with you on all points, for God's sake they are highly recommended as therapy dogs for disabled people and children! One issue is that the AKC just calls them Mastiff which then associates them to people as every mastiff breed, which they are not.

Not to mention that the media continues to call them Bullmastiffs which is NOT what these dogs they are showing are. Also they continue to state the other dog, 150# is an English Bulldog, not possible, and English Bulldog is 50#, likely they mean an American Bulldog, yet another blow to another breed.

I'm awaiting the results of the autopsy report, it has already been said that none of the scratches or bites were life threatening. Also they were not at the throat which is where a dog would attack; they were on the arms and legs.

It is very possible that the man coud have been exercising the dogs and he had a heart attack and then fell to the ground, it would be in their nature to go to him and even paw at him or try to grab his arms or legs to pull him. I know this because ours will play with my husband and he will curl up in a ball under a blanket and hide from her and she will get under the blanket and paw at him and grab his arms until he gets up.

Of course it's easier and more sensational to think they killed the guy.

Posted at 12:16AM on Aug 9th 2007 by Ragdoll

171. I have an Italian Mastiff. His breed name is Cane Corso. He is roughly 150 lbs. He has his own bed in my room which he always goes to when he wants to sleep. He is gentle with attitude and spoiled rotten. Last year my son noticed that Max was sleeping on one side of my pillow with his head next to mine when he checked on me before going to work, (I have MS). This went on for about 3 days. At my doctor's appt. on the fourth day, I was admitted to the hospital with congestive heart failure. The dog knew something was wrong before I did. He has been correct at other times since then and my doctor said they have an uncanny power to discern illness. The mastiff breed has always been known to be protective of the people they love. I don't know what happened in this tragic accident. We should all wait and find out the facts, to the extent they can be determined, before blaming the dogs.

Posted at 1:12AM on Aug 9th 2007 by Sassy 56

172. SOME of you are correct. With the given weights, it would be more likely the dogs were American Bulldogs and English Mastiffs. (Incidentally my English Mastiff is sitting next to me) Anybody with moderate experience with dogs, and any ambition to actually educate themselves instead of just passing judgement, would know that it is very unlikely that these dogs are probable culprits. Certain characteristics are common to certain breeds, it is what dogs have historically been breed for. I knowlege of American bulldogs is not what it is for Mastiffs, but in my experience they may be a bit intimidating to some, but gentle good dogs. One breeder I knew had all of her dogs certified thorough TDI. If you arent familiar with TDI, do some research. Start now. Now Mastiffs, while historically being breed as a guard dog, and even a war dog hundreds of years ago, are very gentle dogs. Furthermore, a Mastiff, when confronted with a threatening sitruation, is a passive protector. While protecting the Alpha, he is much more likely to place himself between whom he is protecting and the threat. A Mastiff doesnt need to be aggressive.

Next subject. The breed that I have heard implicated that is FAR more likely is the Fila Brasileiro. This dog is vicous. There are only a handful of breeder is the US, and for good reason. I have also heard the Ambuelo Mastiff named. I am not as familiar with this breed, but it cross breed with the pitbull. Now for the part that is going to make some of you rabid. If it is an Ambuelo, I believe it is possible that this breed may be responsible. The pitbull is an agressive dog. A large percentige of those who own them, are irresponsible and negligent. Dogs have characteristics breed into them, and I believe that the pitbull may be a breed that has been destroyed by irresponsible breeders. Before you get too mad, statistics have no bias. As a matter of fact, four news station employees this morning fell victim to an attack by four dogs in Milwaukee Wi. Reportedly pitbulls. Now we know reporters make mistakes, IE the current story in debate, but there is video evidence, and they do resemble, very closely, pitbulls. Pitbull owners, if you are upset, purchase your next dog from a good breeder. Dont support these irresponsible backyard breeders turning a couple bucks and destroying your breed.

Finally, I think most would agree that the dogs were not the likely culprit. Unfortunately there is some irrresponsible reporting in this story, and a small amount in this blog as well.

Posted at 6:03PM on Aug 9th 2007 by mernst

173. Since he was the caretaker of the dogs, it seems very likely
that he had a heart attack and the dogs were trying to drag him to safety.

Posted at 8:48AM on Aug 19th 2007 by sidf1

174. Having a Mastiff, I can tell you that they are the most gentle of dogs...they are called the gentle giant for a reason. For any Mastiff to attack, the dog must feel that they or their owner is being threatened. Even at that they will usually place themselves between the attacker and their owner. The dog alone would never ever be so malicious as the press is making this out to be. The typically would use thier weight to simply hold the attacker down and not bit, but maybe slime them with all their drool. Also, mastiff's do not turn on their owners....even the sickliest of Mastiffs will always welcome their owner's touch & presence. Playing they might have been and if you have 3 200+ dogs running toward you, yeah my heart would beat a little faster. My best guess would be that this care taker had a heart attack and the very superficial wounds were the mastiff's trying to "help" their psuedo owner (If this guy was working here for 2 years, they would know that he is safe and is a secondary owner). One must remember that Mastiff's have big teeth, but have even bigger jowels and often get a sense of "dropping what is in their mouth" so they tend to bite down harder to make sure they have a good grip. The story is unfortunate, true, but please everyone you must understand that Mastiff's are the most patient dogs on the planet. I was at a softball game and toddler walked right up to my dog hugged him and stuck her hands in his jowels and lifted them as high as she could to make him smile and she said "happy doggie" and walked off. Sure the mom was horrified, but saw that my dog was just as gentle as could be. On the flip side....my dog knows who "doesn't belong" and will protect me at all costs. Walking down the streets of Nashville I was grabbed by a stranger (he obviously didn't see my dog). I yelled let go of me. My dog in 2 seconds flat had the man pinned against the building wall (never touching him...he had both his paws above this man's shoulders)....the only threat was the drool......sure he growled a little, but never once showed his teeth. Mastiff's just aren't mean, no matter how you slice and dice it. And yes, my dog had this man "stuck" until the police came about 5 minutes later. The would act in a similar situation if a robber broke into a home....

Posted at 8:19PM on Sep 12th 2007 by TangoDiva2614

175. The Ambullneo mastiff is a mix between the American Bull Dog and the Italian Police Dog the Neopolitan Mastiff.

Posted at 8:23PM on Sep 12th 2007 by TangoDiva2614

176. I found this article about a statement released by Ving regarding this incident. It says that the man suffered a heart attack and any wounds were only superficial. So it looks like the whole running for his life thing was speculation and the dogs probably scratched him trying to get him to get up after he collapsed. There were apparently no bites on the man. This is the link to the story.
http://www.celebritydogwatcher.com/2007/08/14/ving-rhames-released-statement-about-dog-attack/

Posted at 6:02PM on Oct 3rd 2007 by Common Sense