USA, Maryland: A woman adopted a pit bull dog about two weeks ago. However, reportedly, the dog killed her in the yard. Howard County Police Department made the announcement on their Facebook page on 4th September. According to their report, the 64-year-old woman, Robin Conway, was "mauled to death." However, they also noted that an autopsy will be performed to confirm the exact cause of death.
Pit bull stood over her body
Fox News reported that the woman's husband found her body in the evening at around 7.20 PM on Monday. The aggressive dog which stood over her body allegedly had to be restrained.
He managed to secure it to a fence before notifying the emergency services. Police attended the scene of the death. They noted in their report that the pit bull remained aggressive, "lunging" at paramedics and police officers. Euthanized, the animal is subject to examination to establish whether it had rabies or any other disease.
Caring person who adopted the dog
The incident in Tamar Drive, Columbia, happened at a home where no previous reports of animal welfare were noted. Apparently, Robin loved animals and had a caring attitude. That probably explains why she adopted an animal instead of buying in from breeders. Wjla News noted that ABC7 spoke to Robins' sister, Susan Eve LeClair, who said that she was "excited about adopting the pit bull.
“She was a caring person above all,” LeClair says. “She cared about animals, she cared about her family, she cared about people.”
Police could not yet establish where the dog came from. They know it was adopted from somewhere outside of the state. Some USA states ban ownership of pit bulls as it's believed they are dangerous.
However, in Maryland, the restrictions were lifted in 2014. The governor at the time, Martin O’Malley, signed it off as Pit bulls are "no longer considered to be “inherently dangerous” in Maryland." HuffPost noted that Actress Rebecca Corry felt the dogs were no more dangerous than any other breed.
She told them, "It’s about time the ignorance of the ‘inherently dangerous’ argument get[s] laughed at and tossed out."
Pit bull dogs banned in the UK
According to the Gov.uk website, pit bull terriers are banned in the UK. Very strict regulations apply to the sale and ownership of them. They may not be sold and even crossbred dogs require registration and insurance liabilities. Other dogs under the same legislation as the pit bull breed include the Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and the Fila Brasileiro.