Woman Killed By Pack Of Wild Dogs On Rosebud Indian Reservation
Several Reports Of Attacks In Recent Weeks
KDLT News – 3/14/15
A 49-year-old woman is dead after being attacked by several wild dogs on the Rosebud Indian Reservation.
Mellette County Sheriff Mike Blom says Julia Charging Whirl Wind of the Lower Swift Bear tribal community was attacked near her property early Saturday morning.
A 911 call came through just after 6:00 a.m. Sheriff Blom and an ambulance arrived on the scene shortly after.
Blom says Charging Whirl Wind was surrounded by blood and that two people were trying to fight off two dogs near her.
Swift Bear resident killed by pack of dogs
March 14, 2015 3:26 pm •
A woman died after she was attacked by wild dogs early Saturday morning on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, according to the Mellette County Sheriff’s Office.
Julia Charging Whirlwind, 49, of the Lower Swift Bear community, which is just west of White River, was pronounced dead Saturday at the Rosebud Hospital.
The reporting 911 call came in at 6:07 a.m., said Mellette County Sheriff Mike Blom.
An ambulance was dispatched and arrived at 6:17 a.m. Blom arrived two minutes later. When he arrived, he saw two citizens were trying to fend off two remaining dogs as they tried to approach Charging Whirlwind. She had already suffered life-threatening injuries, Blom said.
The sheriff said he shot one of the dogs as soon as he arrived, causing the other dog to flee the scene. The victim was then loaded into the ambulance. She was breathing and had a pulse when she was taken into the ambulance. She arrived at the Rosebud Hospital at 6:55 a.m. Blom said he did not know what time she was pronounced dead.
Community In Shock After Woman Killed By Pack Of Dogs
“She was a well respected member of the community. It was a terrible tragedy,” said Mellette County Sheriff Mike Blom.
Blom was one of the first to arrive after Julia was attacked.
“I shot a couple dogs and the ambulance removed the victim to the hospital, and she was pronounced dead shortly after,” said Blom.
This attack comes just months after an 8-year-old girl was also killed by a pack of dogs on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
“We’ve had dog bite complaints but I’ve never had anything this serious,” said Blom.
“She was my best friend, my sister,” said Robin Clairmont.
Clairmont says Julia was walking home from her house when she was attacked.
“She just said ‘I’m going home now’, and I said ‘alright I”ll call you later’,” said Clairmont.
Rosebud Community Shocked By Fatal Dog Attack
March 16, 2015, 10:03 PM by
WHITE RIVER, SD – Rosebud Tribe officials have killed more than 20 dogs on reservation land since Saturday, when a 49-year-old tribe member was killed by a pack of wild dogs near White River.
The death of Julia Charging Whirlwind at the Lower Swift Bear Community has shocked the community and spurred officials to emergency action.
“It was the first time I’ve cried really hard in years, was Saturday,” Alvin Bettelyoun, a tribal councilman representing the Swift Bear area, said. “I couldn’t sleep the past couple of days. I still can’t fathom what actually happened.”
Bettelyoun still tears up when he talks about Charging Whirlwind and her death from a dog attack on Saturday. He’s also sad to be part of a response that included killing dogs, but believes it was a necessary first step to preventing another tragedy.
Some dogs were strays. Others had owners but wandered and caused problems. Bettelyoun said a number of residents gave up their dogs voluntarily, saying they just couldn’t properly care for them.
“Willingly give their dogs up because they can’t take care of them,” he said. “That’s emotional, for every dog owner, and I can see their point fully in regards to having to destroy what they can’t take care of.”
The Rosebud Tribal Council held an emotional meeting Monday, as members worked to strengthen animal-control ordinance across the reservation as Charging Whirlwind’s family made plans for services. The emergency response will be followed by a more structured effort at dog adoption, spaying and owner education says tribal Councilwoman Kathleen Wooden Knife.
“The short-term plan is next to put together a kennel, a holding place for them, but the long-range plan is we don’t intend to go on a killing spree,” Wooden Knife said.
2015 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Killed by Dogs on Rosebud Indian Reservation
Community Grieves
UPDATE 03/17/15: Just after dogs attacked and killed a mother of five, Rosebud Tribe officials rounded up a few dozen dogs in the area and put them down. Some of the dogs were strays, others were owned that had roamed and caused problems in the past. The effort targeted known problem dogs in the Lower Swift Bear and Horse Creek communities, where Julia Charging Whirlwind was mauled to death early Saturday morning, an event that even she had forecast.
Clairmont says the dogs that killed her friend lived in two separate homes in the neighborhood, and had been causing trouble for a while.
The Rosebud Tribal Council held a meeting Monday to discuss short and long term strategies for stronger animal control policies across the reservation. Some of the strategies included a more structured effort at adoption, mobile spay/neuter clinics, owner education and financial assistance and establishing a tribal pound. Like the weighty dog problems on the Pine Ridge Reservation, which came into focus after the dog mauling death of a little girl, Rosebud faces similar issues.
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Julia Charging Whirlwind
49-years old | White River, Rosebud Indian Reservation, SD
Julia Charging Whirlwind, 49-years old, was attacked and killed by two or more dogs in the lower Swift Bear Community on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. She had left a friend’s house and was walking home, about 100 yards away, when the dogs attacked. Mellette County Sheriff Mike Blom was one of the first officers to arrive on scene. He saw two people trying to fight off two of the dogs. Sheriff Blom shot and killed both dogs so that emergency responders could reach the victim. She was transported to Rosebud hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Robin Clairmont, whose home Julia had left that morning, said the dogs were a known problem. She said that Julia had even said to her recently, “I wonder what it’s going to take. Somebody’s probably going to have to get killed or die from them dogs.” Tribal council members responded with an emergency measure, rounding up and destroying known aggressive or unwanted dogs in the area. As of April 5, 2015, no additional information is known. [source citations]
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
- American Bulldog
- American Pit Bull Terrier
- American Staffordshire Terrier
- English/Standard Bull Terrier
- Miniature Bull Terrier
- Olde English Bulldog
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Mastiffs