Woman, grandchildren safe
after attack by family pet

By MISTY MAYNARD
Thursday, May 31, 2007
www.maysville-online.com

DOVER -- Often described as man's best friend, when a family's pet German shepherd suddenly and viciously turned on a woman and her two grandchildren last week, they found that man's best friend can sometimes also be his worst enemy.

"I'm just thankful we're all living," said Sylvia Kabler, the grandmother who has been credited with saving her two grandchildren's lives by her quick action when the dog, named King, attacked them. "I just thank God we're OK."

Describing the events of May 24, when the attack occurred, Kabler said she had just arrived home with her two grandchildren, a boy and a girl, both 4 years old, when she noticed King had broken his collar and was roaming about the backyard.

Though the children wanted to go outside to play, Kabler said she encouraged them to stay inside while King roamed about. When it appeared the dog, who had played with the children on previous occasions, had settled down a bit, Kabler and the children stepped out onto the deck of the house.

Kabler ultimately let the children go into the yard to play, and eventually they drifted around to the side of the house, out of her view.

"They played about an hour or so," she said.

Sylvia Kabler and her grandchildren, Landen Pence and Hayven Kabler are recovering from their injuries after being attacked by the family dog last week near Dover. 'Rocky,' also a family pet came to their rescue during the vicious attack.

Kabler, who remained on the deck, called her sister as the kids played. Then, suddenly, the young boy reappeared, and informed his grandmother the dog was "bothering" the girl.

Kabler peered around the side of the house and saw her granddaughter on the ground, the dog on top of her. What ensued next was a vicious game of tug of war over the girl.

"I just dragged her over to the side of the car," Kabler said, while the dog continued to bite at the girl's legs, pulling on the child. Kabler said she yelled for her grandson to go in the house and close the door.

Kabler managed to get her granddaughter in the car, but could not close the door as the dog was pushing his way in through the opening. Her grandson came back out of the house armed with a fishing pole, with which he attempted to hit the animal.

"He yelled, 'grandma, get in,'" Kabler recalled.

King turned on the boy, clawing his back and biting his leg, but Kabler managed to get her grandson into the car along with the girl, blocking the dog's access to the children with her own body.

Kabler still could not get the car door closed, and King continued his attack on Kabler, biting her a number of times. At one point, Kabler said she thought she was going to pass out.

Kabler pried the dog's teeth open to gain a moment's relief from the bites on her leg, and noticed another pet dog, named Rocky, nearby. Kabler said she yelled for Rocky to help her.

While she is not sure what Rocky did, King did suddenly turn and begin to pursue that dog. Kabler slammed the car door shut, safe inside.

When the door slammed, King's attention was once again redirected at the car. Kabler said the dog climbed on the door and the windows, attempting to get inside.

At one point, the dog wandered away to get a drink of water, and Kabler said she attempted to retrieve the cell phone she had dropped when the attack occurred, but the movement of the door opening attracted the dog's attention.

Fortunately, the sister Kabler had been on the phone with when the attack occurred heard what was happening and drove to Kabler's home. When she arrived, Kabler shouted directions at her.

"I told her not to get out of the car," Kabler said. "And get someone."

The sister left the three still inside the car to find someone who could shoot the dog. Two men at Ranger Steel, identified by police as Josh Vice of Maysville and Jason Smoot of Flemingsburg, followed the woman back to the home with a handgun.

The first shot was fired through the open window of the truck the men were in. The second shot killed the dog.

Kabler said prior to the incident, King had not demonstrated any violent tendencies. She said he was only chained up when the family spotted him "running cattle."

"Maybe our mistake was chaining him up," she said.

Kabler said she had suggested to her husband they give the dog to someone who had room for him to run, since she felt sorry for him being chained up so often. Still, she said he always seemed to be a happy dog. He would jump on her when she came to feed him or give him water, and he would lick her while she petted him. The dog had often played with the children as well.

"He'd never acted up, was a real good dog, a beautiful dog," Kabler said. "It just wasn't real."

Kabler said when she got the children inside the car, she hoped King would recognize her and discontinue the attack.

"He just took at me like he didn't even know me," she said.

King's remains were transported to Colonial Heights Veterinary Clinic, then sent to a lab in another city to test the dog for rabies. The tests came back negative, raising even more questions about why the family pet had attacked.

Dr. J.T. Williams, at Colonial Heights Veterinary, had suggested other reasons the dog may have attacked, though in all circumstances he said the attack on the three people seemed extreme even for those circumstances.

While King betrayed her trust, Kabler said she is grateful the other dog, Rocky, was there.

"He's an awful good dog," she said, adding if King had not taken after him at one point, she might never have gotten the door shut, and the injuries could have been worse.

As it is, the two children suffered dog bites and scratches, but are OK.

As for Kabler, she spent five days in the hospital, not returning home until Tuesday evening. She said she is still red and swollen and cannot walk very well, only managing short trips to locations in the home. Still, she said she is simply thankful God intervened.

"I don't know why we're here," she said. "But I know the Lord helped us."

Contact Misty Maynard at misty.maynard@lee.net or 606-564-9091, ext. 274.

German shepherd attacks woman, grandchildren


By MISTY MAYNARD
Thursday, May 24, 2007
www.maysville-online.com

DOVER -- A woman and her two grandchildren were injured after their family pet broke its chain in the backyard and attacked them Thursday.

According to Mason County Deputy Mike Rigdon, the sheriff's office received a call around 12:15 p.m., concerning a disturbance. Rigdon responded to a location on Lee's Creek Road in Dover where a 96-pound German shepherd had attacked a 51-year-old woman and her two 4-year-old grandchildren.

Rigdon said the adult victim, whose name is being withheld until completion of Rigdon's official report, advised him the dog attacked the 4-year-old girl for no apparent reason while she played in the backyard. The dog had been restrained by a chain, but apparently broke the chain.

When the young girl was attacked, the woman attempted to intervene and the dog bit her numerous times as she tried to ward the dog off. During the attack, the 4-year-old boy was also bitten.

Rigdon said the three individuals were able to make it into a car sitting outside the residence to get away from the dog.

The woman had been on the phone with her sister when the attack first started. When the dog attacked, she dropped the phone. Rigdon said the sister apparently heard the commotion and drove from her residence to the location of the dog attack. When she arrived, Rigdon said the sister observed the dog circling the car, attempting to get inside the car.

From there, Rigdon said the sister drove to nearby Ranger Steel for assistance. Two men, identified as Josh Vice of Maysville and Jason Smoot of Flemingsburg, followed the woman to the location.

Rigdon said once there, the men observed the dog still circling the car. When they realized the individuals inside the car were injured, they shot the dog with a firearm one man had in his possession.

An employee at Ranger Steel called the Mason County Sheriff's Office to report the incident, Rigdon said. When he arrived, the dog had been killed.

Two of the victims were taken to Meadowview Regional Medical Center by ambulance, while the third was transported to the hospital by a family member.

Rigdon said the grandmother received numerous bites on both legs. The girl received two or three large bits to her left hip and leg, while the boy received one large bite to his leg and a scratch on his back, Rigdon said. None of the bites appeared to be life-threatening, Rigdon said.

"It was a vicious attack," he said.

Rigdon commended the woman, as well as her sister, Vice and Smoot for their quick action. He said their response essentially saved the two children's lives.

"(They) did a stellar job protecting the children," he said.

The German shepherd had apparently never demonstrated any violent tendencies prior to the attack, Rigdon said. Additionally, Rigdon was told by the adult victim the children had been playing in the backyard and had not been provoking the dog before the attack occurred.

Rigdon said the woman had owned the dog for about a year and a half. She had received it from another family member.

The body of the dog was transported to Colonial Heights Veterinary Clinic.

According to Dr. J.T. Williams, the veterinarian at the clinic, the dog will be tested for rabies at a laboratory in another city. To do that, Williams said the lab will examine a portion of the dog's brain for the virus. Additionally, the lab will inoculate a mouse with part of the tissue as a confirmatory test to see if rabies was present in the dog.

In the case of the German shepherd, Williams said it may not be possible to complete the test because the dog was shot in the head. Depending on the line of travel, the bullet could have destroyed the part of the brain necessary for the testing.

Williams said cases of rabies in Kentucky are "very rare." In a report he viewed recently, as few as four to six cases had been reported in a year's time. Incidences of rabies in Kentucky occur most frequently in skunks, bats and occasionally, foxes, Williams said. Other animals typically at a higher risk are livestock such as horses and cattle, which may be out in the field during the night when wild animals are out.

If the dog had rabies, it could have been harboring the virus for up to six months, Williams said. According to Williams, it takes that long for a dog with the virus to become infectious. Once the dog becomes infectious, it would die within 10 days times.

Williams said the rabies vaccine is the only required vaccine for dogs, and recently became required for cats and ferrets. Williams said he did not know the German shepherd's vaccination history.

Other conditions which could have potentially incited the attack, Williams said included cognitive dysfunction, or a brain or spinal infection.

Cognitive dysfunction, Williams said is possible in an older dog. However, typically the changes in behavior are more along the lines of disorientation.

Additionally, Williams said a dog may attack in response to pain, if it associates that pain with a person in the area. However, he said in those cases the response is usually not as severe as in the case of the German shepherd attack. An animal which has been restrained for a long period of time may also suddenly snap in some situations, Williams said.

Williams said in the circumstances as he is aware of them, those responding to the scene did the right thing in shooting the dog.

Williams said the results of the rabies test could come back as early as today.

Contact Misty Maynard at misty.maynard@lee.net or 606-564-9091, ext. 274.