Mastiffs maul caretaker at Ving Rhames house?

Question

This story should help the pitt people feel a little better --

A man working as a caretaker at a residence owned by actor Ving Rhames was found dead on the property Friday morning after being mauled by two dogs, authorities said.

He "appears to have suffered a number of injuries as a result of the dog mauling," Lombardo said.

"There were dogs loose on the property. Those dogs have been captured by animal regulation (officers)," he said. "We have four dogs that have been taken into custody for quarantine pending further investigation ..."

Police said investigators quarantined a pair of 200-pound mastiffs, along with two other dogs.

"Both those dogs are mastiffs; they're rather large," Lombardo said. "Normally we understand they are pretty friendly dogs. But, you know, there are occasions where dogs will turn on their owners or their caretakers, and this looks like a tragic accident."

*My Q is... were the dogs doing their job or are they killer beasts?*

SOURCE: http://www.knbc.com/entertainment/13815373/detail.html?treets=la&tid=2653360844813&tml=la_4pm&tmi=la_4pm_1_06000608032007&ts=H

Incidently, I use the term "killer beasts" as sarcasm because that's the brush the media will use to paint these dogs regardless of the actual circumstances of the mauling.

Answer 1

That Dude sufer heart failure

Answer 2

One of the news articles stated there were also 9 puppies on the property but they were left there.

English Mastiffs are very docile animals and after watching one of the videos where the poor dog is surrounded by strangers and being led away from it’s home with a “catch pole” – actually has the tail waging!

If a mastiff (no matter what type and there are many) wanted to harm a person – do you really “think” he would have ended up with puncher wounds? There would have been Hugh parts of skin missing with more blood. There was no dried blood found on any of the dogs.

I rescued a part wolf/husky a long time ago. He was pulling a chain. I found the choker was too tight around the neck that the skin was actually growing around it! Not knowing how abused the poor dog was – decided to push on his back to make him sit. (Found out later he had broken bones across his back that were never set properly and caused extreme pain) He accidentally bit my lower lip off and there was a LOT of Blood from just that one bite!

Also no one heard any screams from the man being mauled. I would “think” anyone being repeatedly bitten would scream loud enough for someone (neighbors or the other people inside the house) to hear his cries.

It makes more sense that the caretaker could have started to have a heart attack and fell. The bite marks are from the animals sensing something was wrong and were trying to get him up? That is why he was able to make it to the other side of the fenced area before he collapsed again and unfortunately died.

I’m surprised that no one has had any contact with Ving Rhames concerning this matter. If it was my dogs and I had learned a friend had just died on my property I would be on the next plane home – not only to protect my “babies” but to learn the truth in the tragedy.

Answer 3

2

Answer 4

Well it doesn't make me feel better, just another dog attack that is going to be used to demonize and entire breed. They were just doing what Filas were bred to do; Ving Rhames was totally irresponsible.

But it is premature to say that the man was killed by the dogs. There has been no autopsy yet. The man could've had a heart attack, heat stroke, seizure, aneurism...and the dogs could have mauled him after the fact. That has happened before:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=370450&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source=&ct=5

An autopsy can reveal if the bites were sustained post mortem or if there was another cause of death. It is a sad tragic situation and God be with the family, but we also don't know what prompted the attack.

Furthermore Ving Rhames should have been more responsible as an owner. Fila Brasileiros (Brazilian Mastiffs) are not dogs that you allow a stranger to care for, they are VERY untrusting of strangers and VERY protective of the home. Although this handler had been caring for the dogs for 2 years he was not family and not a member of the pack. The filas probably didn't fully trust him.
Also, from what I read on AOL, it does not sound like the man was trained to handle dogs. It sounds like he was just some guy that Rhames hired to care for the dogs. A person trained to handle animals would know how to read a dog's body language and know if the animal is agitated. Dogs don't just attack without warning, there are subtle indicators that a dog is going to attack, for example, "whale eyes"-turning head away and revealing the whites of the eye, excessive licking, stiff wagging tail, hair standing on end...
http://www.wagntrain.com/BodyLanguage.htm
Most dog attacks are also prompted by the actions of humans, staring at dogs, fast sudden movements around nervous dogs, abuse, agitating an eating or sleeping dog...
A trained handler would also know how to respond to an agitated animal to calm it and how to respond once an attack is in progress.

Answer 5

Who knows what happened at that house. Who knows how those dogs were being treated. Many things are possible even if they were treated okay. Dogs are pack animals and get more excitable together than alone.
Things dogs do together sometimes would never happen if they were alone.....just like with people. Things that aren't normal can set off a dog such as someone having a heart attack or an epileptic fit. Some dogs will react to high pitched screaming. These things happen all the time and usually result in a dog bite and not a killing. I think it is possible that the man died from a heart attack.

Answer 6

I know this question will raise all types of negative answers, so I need to add a couple of things.
I owned a Fila. I got him when he was ten weeks old from a friend of mine who imports them and breeds them. The Fila is the National dog of Brazil and they have been bred for many years for a specific job. To protect the home and the herds. Along the way they also were used to hunt jaguar, hence the lose skin on them, and because of their noses they were used to find run away slaves.
The beauty of the Fila, however, is its temperament. It is the only dog in the world that has a love/hate relationship with life. He loves everyone in the house, but hates everyone outside of it. I raised mine to a 200 pound adult around my newborn children with never a problem. The kids would ride him and climb all over him and he never showed any aggression towards them. In Brazil they call them the children's dogs. While he was a huge rug in the house, I can promise and guarantee that he would also kill someone, if they tried to break in.
He was extremely protective of the house and the yard and that was the way it should be. People should not have to breed the working temperament out of the dog, just to please them. The "Orrija" as it is called, is the way the dog's temperament is supposed to be for a reason.
What happened in LA is still up in the air and we still don't know the whole truth, yet.

ADD: Bozema and a gal and her dog. Sch is NOT protection training, it is a sport where the dog learns to bite the sleeve and the sleeve only, as a game. Do not ever rely on a Sch trained dog for realistic protection.

Answer 7

I agree with DP, guard dogs shouldn't kill. They should hold an intruder. Mauling is not protection. However, any guard dog even those trained in police work will continue to attack if the person is fighting back. Police dogs are trained to stop when the person stops fighting back.

Oh and before I hear this isn't so I am going by the word of a K-9 officer at the prison my son is a guard at. He has been telling me things about the dogs, so I can have better conversations with a few of the more experienced members here. In put is welcomed.

Answer 8

I agree -- to a point -- with DP. In general, dogs should NOT be killing people if they catch them in your house or yard. However, its kinda like a Rodney King deal -- if the idiot trespassing or breaking into your home doesn't stay down and stop struggling, then frankly -- they deserve what they get.

Several of my Dobes have been personal protection trained. They know to start with their voice to first chase a would-be trespasser or thief off. They will then try to corner the person and hold them in that area of control -- without using their bite. But they also know when that all fails to work they are to bite and hold the person. If that person struggles, I believe (although I've never had to test this theory) that any of my protection trained Dobes would have done whatever it took to keep their property and people safe -- even it it meant inflicting a fatal injury. In that case, mine would absolutely be doing their job.

Answer 9

Let me begin by saying that "No" dog is a killer beast. Dogs are only taught what we teach them. Also, man has bred dogs over the years to bring out certain characteristics. If a person is going to own a dog that is going to be high maintenance such as a Rottweiller, Doberman etc, then that person owes it to the dog and society to train the dog to be obedient and socialized. Dog's do not automatically think that they are going to kill someone today. No, it's what has been taught or bred into them.

The Fila which they are referring to, is a dog that was used way back when for hunting Jaguar etc. This dog will defend it's owners and property to the end which happend to be this person. It was unfortunate, but again, when you own a dog such as this, it takes a responsible person to know how to care for and handle this type of dog.

Answer 10

In my opinion, untrained "guard dogs" have one thing going for them: their looks. If I were thinking of screwing around on someone's property and saw a big dog, I'd think twice. This isn't one of those situations, though. If Rhames really wanted a guard dog, he should have a specially-trained dog.

If the dog isn't trained specifically for protection, things like this will happen. The dog was protecting its property like it was supposed to. I think the dog becomes a "killer beast" if its bloodlust causes it to leave the property and search for "fresh meat." Once it gets to horror-move-plot echoes, that's when there's a serious problem.

EDIT: thanks greekman for clearing that up.

Answer 11

It shouldn't make pit people feel better, it should make mastiff people feel like their dogs are being misused too. They are not killer beasts - they had an owner that did not socialize or train them properly. This is the point I make on this site every time when people want a "guard" dog. Only a schutzhund trained dog that has been through extensive training including obedience should ever be used for protection. Anything else is irresponsible ownership.