Woman, 83, mauled to death by neighbor’s dog

BY DREW JOSEPH, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS : APRIL 14, 2014 : Updated: April 15, 2014 12:01am

SAN ANTONIO — For the second time this year, an elderly woman has died at University Hospital after a dog attack.

Petra Aguirre, 83, was attacked by a neighbor’s dog in her backyard on the West Side last month and died Friday evening at the hospital. She had bites all over her body, according to officials and her family.

The dog, a 2-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix, was surrendered to Animal Control Services and was euthanized Saturday. The dog was involved in another bite incident last year.

Aguirre’s death comes just months after a Canyon Lake woman, 75-year-old Betty Clark, was fatally attacked by two dogs while out in her neighborhood.

Some doctors at University Hospital are trying to raise awareness about the problems with dog bites in the region, saying they amount to a public health problem.

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-Arrangements under the direction of Funeraria Del Angel Trevino Funeral Home, San Antonio, TX.

American Staffordshire Terrier

*The American Staffordshire Terrier is in fact the same dog as an American Pit Bull Terrier, but registered by a different kennel club. At the turn of the 20th century, the pit bull breeders wanted the respectability of AKC recognition, but the AKC was reluctant to register fighting dogs. The AKC finally recognized the American Pit Bull Terrier in 1936 after decades of lobbying by pit bull breeders. John P. Colby’s champion fighter, American Pit Bull Terrier ‘Primo’, formed the basis for the breed standard of the ‘new‘ AKC breed – but the AKC wasn’t willing to have the word ‘pit bull’ in the ‘ new’ breed’s name. The ‘new’ pit bull breed was dubbed ‘the Staffordshire Terrier’ in order to hide its relation to the pit bull and its origins and history in the fighting pit. The breed’s name was changed again to American Staffordshire Terrier in 1972, to distinguish the larger American version from the smaller English version (which kept the name ‘Staffordshire Bull Terrier’)1,2. In 1972, the breed register was also re-opened for a time to allow people to register their UKC registered pit bull as an American Staffordshire Terrier if they regretted not having done so earlier.

Because of their shared ancestry, history, function and genetics, we refer you further to our page about the American Pit Bull Terrier, since the information you need to have is identical.

In North America, from 1982-2013, Pit Bull breeds and mixes have seriously attacked 2,990 humans that resulted in 1,777 maimings and 275 deaths.

LIST LINKS to:

Staffordshire Bull Terrier

American Pit Bull Terrier

1. Stregowski, J, American Staffordshire Terrier athttp://dogs.about.com/od/dogbreedprofiles/p/American-Staffordshire-Terrier.htm (accessed March 2014)

2. Jessup, D, History of the Pit Bull at http://www.workingpitbull.com/history.htm (accessed March 2014)

POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG BREEDS

This is a list of dog breeds that have a history of being potentially dangerous to people, especially children. Daxton’s Friends for Canine Education and Awareness understands that any dog has the ability to bite or inflict serious harm to humans. This list consists of several dog breeds that have a higher than average number of recorded human fatalities. Please use extreme caution if you choose to bring one of these breeds into your home. Rental communities and homeowners insurance may restrict many of the dog breeds on this list due to the likelihood of a serious incident.

Pit Bulls, Mastiff, and Rottweiler lead in fatalities and are listed first. The rest of the breeds are listed in alphabetical order:

Pit Bull Terrier Family