Stockton man dies after pit bull attack

^{Jeff Cousins – Digital Media Manager – Updated: 6:39 AM PDT Jun 6, 2016 – Stockton, CA – (KCRA)}

Deputies were called about 4 p.m. Saturday to the 500 block of North Gertrude Avenue

Neighbors said the man, identified as Earl Stephens Jr., 43, of Stockton, was visiting a friend, who owned the pit bull, and was walking to get something out of his car when the dog attacked, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office..

Stephens’ wife and the owner tried to get the dog off Stephens, but the dog also started to snap at the owner, neighbors said. Two pit bull puppies also attacked the victim but were eventually pulled away.

Police kill pit bull after deadly attack

^{BY ELLEN GARRISON – [email protected] –}

A pit bull killed a man in Stockton on Saturday, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s department.

Just before 4 p.m., deputies found Earl Wayne Stephens Jr., 43, bleeding from multiple dog bite wounds in the 500 block of north Gertrude Avenue. In an attempt to save Stephens, the officers shot and killed the dog, who was still loose and aggressive in the yard, a department press release said.

Stephens was transported to a local hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

‘Aggressive’ pit bull shot and killed after fatally mauling a California man

^{Veronica Rocha – 6/6/16}

Deputies arrived to find a “loose and aggressive” pit bull in a yard as the injured victim, Earl Wayne Stephens Jr., lay nearby, the sheriff’s office said.

Stephens was “badly bleeding with multiple dog bite wounds,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

In order to reach Stephens and render aid, deputies had to shoot and kill the pit bull, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Stephens was taken to an area hospital, where he later died.

Neighbors told KOVR-TV that the dog’s owner and Stephens got into an argument before the pit bull attacked.

Deputies said they are still investigating the mauling. No arrests have been made.

Stockton man fatally attacked by pit bull

^{Staff, ABC10 , KXTV 1:23 PM. PDT June 05, 2016}

A loose pit bull fatally attacked a Stockton man Saturday afternoon, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said deputies were called to a pit bull attack on North Gertrude Avenue, at the Farm Street crossing, just before 4 p.m. In the area deputies found 43-year-old Earl Wayne Stephens Jr. badly bleeding with multiple dog bite wounds.

The pit bull was loose in the yard and acting aggressively, according to deputies, prompting them to kill the dog in an effort to save Stephens. Stephens was taken to a nearby hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

http://www.abc10.com/news/local/stockton/stockton-man-fatally-attacked-by-pit-bull/232779138

Pit bull fatally mauls man visiting dog’s owner

^{By Joe Goldeen – Record Staff Writer}

Ezekiel Steffens-Goeas, 31, a neighbor and the son of the woman who called authorities, said the pit bull was named Harley and was about 2 years old. He said Harley was the father of two puppies that also joined in the attack on Stephens. Those puppies were removed by animal control officers.

“I know the dog; the dog knows me,” Steffens-Goeas said, hesitant to describe the dog’s general demeanor. “It depends on how you raise the dog and how much time you spend with him.”

Steffens-Goeas, who arrived home minutes after the attack, said his mother heard the commotion and a man yelling for help. He said it took 10 minutes for that help to arrive after his mother called 911.

He said the dog’s owner and another person, possibly the victim’s wife, attempted to pull Harvey, away but the dog turned on them before going back to Stephens. The attack reportedly took place in a confined area between the home and the front of a semitractor parked on the fenced property.

“By the time (deputies) got here, the guy was gone. They revived him but he died again. I guess he lost a hell of a lot of blood,” Steffens-Goeas said.

“I send my condolences out to the family. I don’t wish that on anybody,” he said.

2016 Dog Bite Fatality: Police Kill Pit Bull After Dog Fatally Attacks a Man in Stockton

^{DogsBite.org reports}

‘Repairing a Scooter’
UPDATE 06/06/16: Earl Wayne Stephens Jr., was helping a friend repair a scooter in the friend’s front yard on Saturday in east Stockton, the local paper reports. “Little did anyone know it would be the last thing he ever did,” states the Stockton Record. Both men were inside the friend’s home on North Gertrude Avenue at about 3:45 pm, when Stephens went outside to get some cigarettes from his car, according to Deputy Les Garcia with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.

As soon as he stepped outside, the pit bull, named Harley, viciously attacked him. The Record reports the dog had been friendly to Stephens earlier when he was out in the fenced yard. After hearing the attack, Stephens’ wife and friend rushed outside to help. The dog’s jaws were clamped onto Stephens; the two tried to pry them loose. His wife was bitten on her fingers in the process. She also accidentally struck the dog owner’s head with a hammer that she was using on the dog.

American Pit Bull Terrier

The ‘bull and terrier’ type was originally developed in England in the early 19^th century. The lineage goes back to the mastiff / molosser types, including what we now call the Olde English Bulldogge, that were used for bear-, bull- and horse-baiting from the 12^ththrough the 18^th century. This isn’t the bear-baiting we think of today, when hunters feed bears in order to bring them out in the open to shoot them. Rather, the bear, bull or horse was confined in a public arena where the mastiff ‘bulldogs’ would slowly tear them apart alive for the public’s amusement^1,2,3,4,5.

The popularity of this ‘sport’ declined as education became more emphasized in urban society of the Industrial Revolution and literacy among the population grew (from about 30% in the 17^th century to 62% by 1800)⁶. The ‘sport’ was banned altogether by Act of Parliament in 1835.

The lovers of blood ‘sports’ turned to dogfighting to satisfy their fancy, breeding the large, mastiff-type bulldogs to smaller working terriers to get dogs both smaller and more agile, easier to keep and to hide, but just as willing to attack and fight to the death. With the rise of the kennel clubs and the desire to distinguish dogs by looks and pedigree as well as by performance, this ‘bull and terrier’ type eventually divided into many official breeds. They all share the same ancestry and function, distinguishing themselves mostly by slight differences in appearance.

Learn more about the American Pit Bull Terrier

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