Corpus Christi: 30th U.S. dog attack death of 2023 is 21st by pit bull

(Beth Clifton collage)

Corpus Christi animal control chief Joel Sizemore calls pit bull attacks “extremely rare” over victim’s dead body

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas—Attacked on May 31,  2023 while dog-sitting her adult child’s pit bull,  Rita Maria Vasquez,  58,  of Corpus Christi,  Texas,  3 days later on passed away from her injuries.

Vasquez hence ended up being the 30th U.S. dog attack death of 2023,  and the 21st individual in the U.S. in 2023 to be killed by several pit bulls.

The U.S.,  in simply under 6 months,  has actually had more deadly dog attacks than in any complete year prior to 2012,  though the average ever since has actually been 38,  and more deadly attacks by pit bulls than in any complete year prior to 2009,  with a typical ever since of 33.

Joel Skidmore, director Corpus Christi Animal Care Services.  This image,  by the way,  might be a book illustration of how not to utilize an animal control pole, starting with not seeing the dog,  not utilizing both hands,  & letting the dog come towards the handler.
(Facebook image)

“This has not happened to Corpus Christi”

All of that ought to be stunning enough,  however more stunning still ought to have been Corpus Christi Animal Care Services program supervisor Joel Skidmore’s evaluation of the case,  as reported by Ana Tamez of the Corpus Christi tv station KIII.

“Vasquez’s daughter surrendered the dog to Animal Care Services,  Skidmore said,  and it was euthanized,”  Tamez reported.

No surprise there,  however Tamez continued,  “Skidmore said this type of incident that results in a person’s death is extremely rare in our area.”

“This has not happened to Corpus Christi in my career since I’ve been here with the city,” he said.”

Skidmore,  to be reasonable,  has actually just been at Corpus Christi Animal Care Services considering that February 2020.

But Corpus Christi,  a city of 317,000 in Neuces County,  population 442,000,  has actually now had 3 dog attack deaths in ten years,  2 of them caused by pit bulls.

Rita Maria Vasquez.

Corpus Christi dog attack death rate is triple the U.S. standard

That jobs to a neighborhood dog attack death rate of more than 5 times the present U.S. standard per capita,  which itself is now 60 times greater than it was a bit more than 60 years earlier.

That 2 thirds of the deaths have actually been caused by pit bulls follows the U.S. nationwide average considering that 1833,  which is as far back as ANIMALS 24-7 has actually had the ability to collect information.

The initially of the 3 Corpus Christi dog attack deaths taking place in Corpus Christi throughout the previous ten years might be thought about a fluke.

(Beth Clifton collage)

2013 death was a rabies case

Apparently bitten by a wild roaming on the Mexican side of the U.S. border,  more than 150 miles from Corpus Christi,  Guatemalan nationwide Federico Mendez-Hernandez,  28,  in some way crossed into Texas prior to the U.S. Border Patrol discovered him roaming,  delirious and dehydrated,  and took him in addition to other apprehended unlawful immigrants.

More than 700 individuals,  mainly fellow apprehended unlawful immigrants,  were provided post-exposure treatment after Mendez-Hernandez was belatedly hospitalized and passed away on June 11,  2013.

Skidmore can be excused for not understanding about the Mendez-Hernandez case,  due to the fact that the dog attack did not take place on his watch,  nor even in Nueces County or the state of Texas.

(Beth Clifton collage)

Two near-fatal attacks on Skidmore’s watch

But Skidmore ought to have born in mind that as Sam Huerta of KIII reported on October 8, 2022,  “A Corpus Christi woman was viciously attacked by a dog.  A couple of good Samaritans found the woman bleeding out and were able to get her immediate medical attention.  The woman’s son said his mother almost lost her arm.  Fortunately doctors were able to save it.”

Skidmore ought to likewise have actually remembered that,  as Bill Churchwell of KIII stated on July 6,  2021,  a pit bull left a six-month-old baby in vital condition with extreme head injuries late on the night of the Fourth of July.

(Beth Clifton collage)

Valentine’s Day massacre

Skidmore ought to even more have actually understood that deadly pit bull attacks on other animals,  though fairly rarely reported by news media,  are not uncommon at all in Corpus Christi.

Recent attacks that did make news consisted of 2 roaming pit bulls eliminating a Chihuahua on Christmas Day 2022 and numerous killings and maulings of other dogs and cats by a roaming set of pit bulls around Valentine’s Day 2023.

 Skidmore was still at his previous position in San Antonio,  nevertheless,  when on February 4,  2018,  according to KIII,  “Two victims,  a 58-year-old woman and her 62-year-old husband,  were watching a pit bull that belongs to their son.  The dog broke both of the woman’s wrists and also broke a wrist of the male,  as well as taking a significant bite from the man’s arm.”

That sounds a lot like the deadly attack on Rita Vasquez,  other than that the 58-year-old female had her 62-year-old partner present to help ward off the pit bull and call for help.

Rita Woodard.

Rita Woodard

Rita Woodard,  64,  was alone at her Corpus Christi home on December 15,  2014 with 15 dogs,  consisting of a minimum of 6 pit bulls,  plus a number of cats.

The 6 pit bulls were taken and 5 were euthanized after Woodard was discovered dead in her backyard from what the Nueces County Medical Examiner’s workplace called “critical coronary artery atherosclerosis following multiple dog bites.”

Woodard considering that 2010 had “had fostered at least 50 animals for the Corpus Christi organization For the Love of Strays,”  organization president Angela Powell informed Corpus Christi Caller Times press reporter Beatriz Alvarado.

(Beth Clifton collage)

Years of grievances

Skidmore gotten here in Corpus Christi after years of grievances about insufficient reaction by Corpus Christi Animal Care Services to pit bull attacks in specific.

During the 18 months in between the Mendez-Hernandez death and Woodard’s death,  a nine-year-old on his method home from Kostoryz Elementary remained in August 2013 assaulted by a pit bull whom an irresponsible owner enabled to run outdoors.

In November 2013 a pit bull who was shot while assaulting a policeman however was gone back to the owner broke through a fence and killed 4 poodles.

Mentoned KIII,  “The owner of the small dogs said she hadn’t heard from police or animal control about getting the pit bull off the streets.”

(Beth Clifton collage)

Slow quarantine reaction

A day later on,  KIII reported,  “An elderly woman said she is glad to be alive after being attacked in the front yard of her own home by a neighbor’s pit bull.”

Two days after Christmas 2013,  KIII reported that “The owners of a pit bull who attacked a three-year old boy,”  who was walking with his mom,  “have 24 hours to turn over their dog to be quarantined before a warrant could be issued for them.”

Why was the pit bull not instantly taken for rabies quarantine?

Especially considering that the death of Federico Mendez-Hernandez less than 6 months previously ought to have increased Corpus Christi Animal Care Services’ awareness that rabies can reach the neighborhood from Mexico.

Animal control officer Fred Flintstone hurries to seize a family pet rock.  (Merritt Clifton collage)

Multiple priors

Less than a month prior to Woodard’s death,  the family of a 16-year-old lady who was hurt by a “mastiff mix” discussed to Bart Bedsole of KRIS tv that the “mastiff mix” had a history of previous attacks,  however had actually not been taken,  perhaps due to the fact that the previous attacks had actually not been reported.

In February 2015,  nevertheless,  when a 22-year-old man suffered “numerous dog bites on his arms and legs” from “between three and five dogs,”  2 of whom “had been seen coming from the same residence,”  according to report,   “Checking revealed that a female pit bull mix who had been one of the attackers had been complained about for aggressive behavior on nine previous occasions.”

Corpus Christi Animal Care Services “said the facts surrounding the incident were complicated by the woman’s initial claims that the dogs had been restrained when the attack happened and that the dogs weren’t hers.”

(Beth Clifton collage)

Multiple attacks in 2018

The two-year string of occurrences that brought Skidmore to Corpus Christi from San Antonio started in January 2018 when KRIS reported that 3 free-roaming dogs,  owner unidentified, had actually killed as numerous as 12 cats.

In February 2018 a policeman shot 2 pit bulls who burglarized a backyard to assault a restrained lap dog,  and a lady was reported to be “recovering from serious injuries after she was attacked by a dog outside of an adult video store.”

In March 2018 Corpus Christi Animal Care Services lastly carried out an area sweep to get pit bulls supposedly “walking around in packs,  like ten or 12 dogs” on the west side of town.

All seemed fairly peaceful for about 6 months,  up until in August 2018 a pit bull assaulted a Corpus Christi policeman.

(Beth Clifton collage)

“Rescue” pit bull hurt beach-goer

Another peaceful stretch followed,  ending in April 2019 when a “rescue” pit bull hurt a beach-goer,  no little matter in a city where beach tourist is a significant factor to the regional economy.

Reported Brenda Matute for KZTV,  “Paperwork provided by Corpus Christi Animal Care Services showed that the dog had a history of aggressive behavior,  as well as biting.  Despite the history of aggression,  the dog was adopted out once again.”

That pit bull was lastly euthanized.

Matute reported in June 2019 that a cops lieutenant cancelled the reaction to a 911 call from a man who discovered a number of pit bulls eliminating his cat.  The call was described Corpus Christi Animal Care Services.  An animal control officer lastly reacted 3 days later on.

Pit bull provided for adoption by San Antonio Animal Care Services.

Skidmore skidded in from San Antonio

Enter Skidmore,  whose Corpus Christi period started more-or-less with an attack by both a pit bull and a German shepherd that sent a man to the health center with substantial foot and ankle injuries.

“I started my career in animal welfare with San Antonio Animal Care Services in June 2010,”  Skidmore states.  “I started as an animal care officer.”

Promoted to doing harmful dog examinations,  Skidmore was next promoted to doing animal cruelty examinations,  was made field operations manager,  and ultimately “oversaw a 12-week academy,  training all newly hired animal care officers.”

That sounds excellent,  other than that a San Antonio city Audit of Animal Care Services Dispatching & Operations launched on March 13, 2015 recognized vital shortages in animal control officer “compliance with guidelines related to aggressive and dangerous dogs, bites, and permits.”

San Antonio Animal Care Services vehicle at the scene of Ramon Najera’s death.  (From KSAT 12 video)

Led U.S. cities in deadly dog attacks,  2005-2014

San Antonio over the preceding ten years led all U.S. cities in human deaths from dog attacks, all of them including pit bulls;  had actually regularly been amongst the cities with the most dog attacks on U.S. Postal Service letter providers over the previous 5 years;  and led the U.S. in 2014 in deadly dog attacks on other dogs,  according to information arranged by ANIMALS 24-7.

(See Audit hits San Antonio Animal Care Services for overlook of public safety and Why San Antonio Animal Care Services did not immediately seize a gunshot-wounded mastiff discovered running in a pack.)

Bradley Lane Croft at arrest.
(News 4, San Antonio)

Impounded pit bulls promoted cops work

This was likewise the time frame within which San Antonio dog fitness instructor Bradley Lane Croft was moneyed by the Animal Farm Foundation from 2013 to 2017 to prepare pit bulls drawn from animal shelters for cops work.

Croft was honored for his work by both the American SPCA and the Humane Society of the U.S.,  prior to being founded guilty in December 2019 of “scheming to defraud the federal government of more than $1.5 million in Veterans Affairs GI Bill benefits to train service canines and their handlers.”

Croft was sentenced in April 2021 to serve 2 months except ten years in jail,  pay $1.5 million in restitution and be put on monitored release for a duration of 3 years after finishing his jail term.”

(See Convicted of G.I. Bill scams: fitness instructor who prepped pit bulls for cops work.)

The 3 pit bulls who killed Ramon Najera were called Legend, King, and Snowball.  (Beth Clifton collage)

26% of bites however 47% of extreme injuries

Joe Conger of Fox 29 in January 2019 obtained information from San Antonio Animal Care Services revealing that pit bulls,  accountable for 26% of all dog bites reported in 2016-2017,  triggered 47% of the 120 injuries categorized as extreme.

That was on Skidmore’s watch.  That ought to have sufficed to persuade him,  and anybody of common sense,  that disfiguring and fatal pit bull attacks are not “extremely rare,”  either in south Texas or anywhere else.

Beth & Merritt Clifton.

San Antonio,  by the way,  had a deadly pit bull attack as just recently as February 24,  2023:  see Pit bull mauling death of Ramon Najera, 81, shocks San Antonio.

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