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ANIMAL WATCH - A pit bull named “Buddha,” one of four owned by 73-year-old Jeraline Brady-McGinnis and her husband, fatally attacked her and seriously injured her husband as he tried to intervene. The attack occurred on November 18 inside their first-floor apartment in Roxbury, MA, according to a Boston Police Department report. (Initially, the dog was identified as “Deuce,” another of the couple’s pit bulls.)
Two responding police officers were also injured in trying to control the violent dog. There were three other Pit Bulls in the residence, and all four were reportedly kept in cages.
Jerilyn McGinnis was rushed to a local hospital, but later passed away due to her severe and extensive wounds. Her husband was still hospitalized at the time of the report.
The dog attack was reported about 4:29 p.m., at Dennison Street in Roxbury. When officers arrived, they reported finding two adults with wounds consistent with a dog attack, but no dog was loose on the premises.
As the officers administered first-aid-to the victims, the Pit Bull initially involved returned and attacked two officers outside the building, causing one to discharge his firearm in defense and wound the dog., according to the report.
The couple was rushed to the hospital. Brady-McGinnis had "life-threatening" injuries and died. Her husband had "very serious" injuries, according to the Police Department report.
Two officers who were attacked were transported by Boston EMS to a local hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
All of the dogs were transported to a veterinary facility by Boston Animal Control.
“Their overall condition is adequate,” the spokesperson said. “They are being cared for under the supervision of the city’s Veterinary Medical Director.”
Victim Of Fatal Attack Was Involved In Her Community
A neighbor and owner of the property where the couple lived, Jean McGuire, lived in the unit above them and described McGinnis and her family as “like my family.”
McGuire, 93, is a civil rights pioneer and the first Black woman elected to the Boston School Committee. McGuire said Brady-McGinnis was like a "sister" to her and that they had known each other for years, according to MSN.com.
According to the Boston Police Department, its homicide department is handling the investigation because of the severity of the victims’ injuries.
Statement By Her Children
The three adult children of Jeriline Brady-McGinnis released a statement following her death.
"Our mother was a loving and caring mother," they said. "The heart and soul of our family is gone."
According to the statement, Brady-McGinnis cooked dinner for her dogs every night.
Attack Victims Were Breeding Pit Bull Puppies
“I’ve never had any problem with any of their animals,” McGuire told the Boston Globe. “I don’t know what happened, and until I find out from Leon, I won’t know.”
"She's very close to her animals, almost like children, I think. She took good care of them. She walked them every day," her friend Jean McGuire, 93, told CBS. "She's a wonderful person, very generous, very loving person, loved animals."
“They had a pit bull family,” McGuire said, adding that the McGinnis’s would breed the dogs and sell the puppies.
However, she was concerned about how the dogs were maintained “You don't put your dog in a cage. You've got to keep them from fighting or whatever," said McGuire. "But you know you stay out of people's business."
According to WBZ, neighbors had also stated they were “scared of the dogs,” which, they said, often barked loudly.
Attacking Dog Shot By Police
"Given what he had done to the two victims," McLaughlin said, "The officer made the decision to discharge his firearm to put the dog down."
Two officers who were attacked were transported by Boston EMS to a local hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Note: Police declined to confirm the dog's breed, but CBS reports that the dog was a pit bull named “Buddha.”
Woman Dies After Pit Bull Attacks Her Neck and Throat at Home in Fontana, CA-
Juanita L. Sanchez, 35, died on November 8, 2024, after an attack to her neck and throat by two Pit Bulls at the Fontana home where she was staying, according a police report on November 8, 2024.
Juanita did not seem to have anywhere to be safe and, sadly, the efforts of a Good-Samaritan ended up in her death.
Fontana Police responded to a call that “a woman was attacked by Pit Bulls in a home in Fontana, CA, on, Sunday, November 3,” and found Juanita L. Sanchez gravely injured.
She was pronounced dead later that day after being taken to a hospital, the San Bernardino Coroner's Office reported. (Also see DogsBite.org)
Background Of Dogs
The family had taken in four stray pit bulls some months earlier, said Sgt. Nathan Weiske, a Police Department spokesperson. The family later invited Sanchez, a family friend who had become homeless, to live with them.
“There had been no problems between Sanchez and the dogs,” Weiske said. But around 3 a.m. on Sunday, Sanchez and another resident were in the backyard of the home in the 13800 block of Jurupa Avenue when suddenly two of the dogs bit Sanchez in the neck. Two other people were injured attempting to rescue her.
"They were feverishly trying to pull them off of her," Weiske said.
Animal control officers euthanized the two dogs, he said.
Animal Control Officer Seriously Hurt In-Battle with Pit Bulls –Is Going Home!
San Angelo Animal Control Officer Going Home After Pit Bull-Pack Attack
A San Angelo Animal Control Officer (TX) is now home after a long stay in a Lubbock hospital for injuries resulting from an attack by two vicious Pit Bulls on November 20.
Police say the attack happened Wednesday in the 20th block of Cloud Street in San Angelo.
The Animal Control Officer was responding to a call of multiple vicious dogs at a house when he was attacked.
Police say the officer has multiple bite wounds, lacerations and a broken arm.
On the GoFundMe online fundraiser started on Nov. 6., a relative dscribes how the ACO had been “attacked by a pack of pit bulls and sustained multiple life-threatening injuries.
According to the GoFundMe webpage, the fundraiser was created on Nov. 11 by a relative of ACO Floyd Jay Bias stating that Bias was flown to Lubbock after being “attacked by a pack of pit bulls” and sustaining multiple injuries, including:
- “His left arm is mangled and broken,” the webpage reads. “They bit his head, shoulders, and legs too. They had to give him several units of blood because his pressure dropped so low it was hard to register.
- He was later airlifted to an out-of-area hospital for “a higher level of care.”
A press release issued by City Manager Daniel Valenzuela on Nov. 7 stated that the employee was in “critical condition.”
Valenzuela said in an update issued the day after that the employee was in Lubbock and “now in stable condition,” there was no estimated date for his release.
Information provided on the GoFundMe webpage stated that Bias “had 3 heart stents put in 3 weeks ago” and that he will now undergo multiple reconstructive surgeries to regain the use of his left arm.
So, is it the breed or the owner?
The Pit Bull shown above, lounging on the soft bed cover and the dogs that attacked the homeless woman who meant them no harm, both killed a defenseless victim, apparently without cause—one killed its adoring owner and the others took the life of a helpless woman invited into the same home to be safe.
And, in the last scenario, an experienced ACO almost lost his life to save animals that obviously didn’t want help.
Is there a reason or excuse—other than the breed?
(Phyllis M. Daugherty is a former Los Angeles City employee, an animal activist and a contributor to CityWatch.)
