Dog Mauling

Dog Mauling 

Indexed on Jan 3, 2005 Relevance:
Dog Mauling Fresno County deputies are calling six-year-old Tyler Babcock's death a dog mauling. The child's body was found at Shaw and Leonard in Clovis. "It's a tragic event, obviously. And everyone is shook up." Neighbors found Tyler Sunday in a pasture. He was stripped of his clothing and mauled with bite marks to the head and neck. A helicopter rushed Tyler to Children's Hospital but the boy later died. Deputies believed the dogs belong to a neighbor. 3 dogs are now quarantined at the Fresno County SPCA. 2 are Pit Bull mix. Animal control officers were surprised by the dogs'
demeanor. 

TV Channel abc30.com 

Family Saddened After Dogs Kill Boy

The grandparents of the boy believed to have been killed by a neighbor's dogs are speaking about how it has affected their family.
Sharon and Leonard Babcock were away on a holiday trip when they got a call. Sharon recalled the conversation, "Our son called us and told us to come home because there had been an accident. We asked what it was and he said Tyler had 
been bit by a pit-bull next door."
Six-year-old Tyler Babcock was found in a neighbors back yard, stripped of his clothes, with marks around his neck and head.
Fresno County's coroner says the injuries were consistent with dog bites.
The dogs suspected in the attack are now quarantined at Fresno County's SPCA — two pit-bull mixes and a chow mix. Both breeds are known to be aggressive.

The dogs' owner could face felony charges.

The SPCA has no record of a previous attack, but the Fresno County Health Department 
does have record of a dog bite in October of 2003 at the address where the dogs lived.    

DNA tests from dog attack to take time
Boy was found mauled in a pasture on property where three dogs lived.
By Marc Benjamin / The Fresno Bee

Published 01/05/05 00:00:00

It will take a few weeks before results from a DNA test determine whether as many as three dogs were responsible for an attack that killed a 6-year-old boy Sunday. Tyler Babcock died from injuries sustained outside his grandparents' home 
about a mile east of Clovis. Law enforcement and coroner's officials say he died from bites consistent with a dog attack.
Three dogs owned by neighbors living to the south of his grandparents' home have been taken to Central California Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. There were no witnesses to the attack, which means evidence from DNA testing will weigh heavily in pinpointing the dog or dogs that killed Tyler. The three dogs, who live on property owned by Roxanne Montgomery, have been seen frequently in recent months roaming the neighborhood near Shaw and Leonard avenues.
Detectives need to sift through extensive amounts of forensic analysis, said Fresno County sheriff's Sgt. Bob Moore.
That analysis will determine whether the dogs quarantined at the SPCA were responsible in the attack.

"They said 'it was not our dogs,'" Moore said of the residents who willingly submitted the animals for testing.

"You want a track record for that specific house and the dogs and are there other dogs in the area that have similar personalities," Moore said. "We don't want to be too quick to zero in only on these dogs."
Until results of DNA tests come back in three or four weeks, Moore said, there will be no way to file charges in the case.
Residents also have told deputies that packs of coyotes roam the area.
"We are not zeroing in only on these dogs, everything is on the table," Moore said. "We have to be careful everything is being followed up on ... I feel confident we are on the right track and forensics are going to let us know that down the line."
Tyler was discovered in a pasture on Montgomery's property and Moore said it is not clear to investigators how he got there.
One of the dogs recently had a litter of puppies that are now about 6 weeks old, Moore said.
Tyler's grandmother, Sharon Babcock, said Tuesday that the family understands it will take some time before a determination can be made whether the neighbors' dogs were involved.
"I think we are all resigned to the fact that the best way to go about this is in a systematic and legal way," she said.
Sharon Babcock said her family had previously asked residents in Montgomery's home to keep the dogs on their property. She said the dogs would regularly eat food that was left for two cats the Babcock's cared for.
"We told them to keep the dogs in their own back yard," she said. "One of the dogs barked at Tyler and scared him."
Sharon Babcock said Tyler would play outdoors for hours and had a friend who lived behind their home that he frequently visited.
"Tyler loved animals, but he was afraid of the dogs next door," she said.
Principal Colin Hintergardt of Cedarwood Elementary, Tyler's school, said every class discussed Tyler's death when they returned from holiday break Tuesday.
"With the younger kids you want to keep them as innocent as possible," he said. "We discussed it in every class and perhaps in a little bit more detail with the upper grades."
In some ways, he said, the school's teachers and staff may have had a more difficult time with Tyler's death than students. He said a psychologist was on campus and Clovis Unified School District had psychologists on call if needed.
"We have a DARE program, we talk about kids and strangers," he said. "There is a lot to be learned by this. Perhaps we can get a little better with talking to kids about dogs."
Hintergardt said he was impressed with families at the school.
"You can't believe the outpouring of support and sympathy in our community," he said.

A memorial service for Tyler will be 11 a.m. Saturday Jan 8, 2005 at Memorial United Methodist 
Church, 1726 Pollasky Ave. in Clovis.

© 2005, The Fresno Bee, from Fresno/Clovis California

Tyler Babcock was a kindergartner at Cedarwood Elementary, where teachers now discuss safety
precautions while around animals.
Meantime, Tyler's family is grateful for the community support as flowers and condolences continue to
stream in.
Crystal Babcock's co-workers at Fashion Furniture have started a fund to help the family with Tyler's funeral expenses.
The Fresno County Sheriffs Department has also raised $1,000 for Tyler's funeral expenses.
Tyler Babcock's funeral will take place Saturday morning at 9:30am at the Clovis United Methodist Church.

Fresno County's coroner says the injuries were consistent with dog bites.

The dogs suspected in the attack are now quarantined at Fresno County's SPCA — two pit-bull mixes and a chow mix. Both breeds are known to be aggressive. 

The dogs' owner could face felony charges.

The SPCA has no record of a previous attack, but the Fresno County Health Department does have record of a dog bite in October of 2003 at the address where the dogs lived.

The child's body was found at Shaw and Leonard in Clovis.

Fresno County's Coroner says 6-year-old Tyler Babcock's death and injuries are consistent with dog bites.

The kindergartner is the first person killed by dogs in Fresno County in some 30-years. The big question now was the dogs' owner somehow negligent? Could there be criminal charges?

Residents on Leonard Avenue said they found the boy behind this house. In a next door neighbor's back-yard stripped of his clothes with bite marks around his head and neck. 6-year-old Tyler Babcock was barely conscious. He was rushed to
Children's Hospital, but did not make it.

The dogs suspected in the attack are now quarantined in Fresno County's SPCA. Two females are of pit bull mix, the third, a male, is part chow. Both are breeds known to be aggressive.

Neighbors also say they had previously complained to the owner about these dogs roaming the street and scaring neighbors.

Fresno County's Sheriff's Department is conducting a criminal investigation. "Whether the animals were penned up, whether they were allowed to roam. Those are all questions that will have to be determined."

The dogs' owner could face felony charges of criminal negligence if the animals' previous conduct showed them to be
mischievous. The SPCA has no record of a previous attack but the County Health Department does have record of a dog bite in October of 2003, at the address where these dogs now live.

This area has no leash law and animal control officials say Pit Bulls are one of the county's most popular breeds...

The dogs' owner was not available to comment.

Fresno County's SPCA says this is the first person killed by dogs in Fresno County in 30-years when a 10-year-old girl was mauled by a Pit Bull chained to a post in Southwest Fresno.

After that death, the dog was destroyed and the owner served prison time.


Dog Owner Speaking Out

They're blamed for killing a six-year-old boy. Now, the owner of three dogs breaks his silence and says his pets are not responsible for the boy's death.
Vaughn Tillotson says a number of dogs, and even coyotes, run around in the pasture behind his home.
His three dogs, including two pit bulls, are now quarantined at the Fresno County SPCA, suspected of killing six-year-old Tyler Babcock.
Investigators have not yet completed DNA tests matching the dogs' blood and saliva samples.
Tillotson says he's had problems with dogs next-door roaming on his property, "They had my cat, both Rottweilers, and they pulled my cat apart ... that's why I say those dogs are doing it."

The neighbor who owns those dogs did not want to comment on Tuesday.

Last updated 29-Mar-2005

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