RESPONSE TO BELOW ARTICLE

July 4, 2005

The mauling death of Mr. Fiscus in Morgan County by his neighbor's four dogs is a tragedy and our prayers go to all involved.

Sadly, this kind of catastrophe is preventable but will continue to occur as long as we fail to hold ourselves to the task of confining and thoughtfully caring for the dogs we invite into our lives. The casual and ignorant attitude to allow one's dog(s) to roam poses the threat of disfigurement or death to the innocent whether they live in a rural area, the suburbs or the city.

As the breeds of these dogs were described as mastiffs and bulldogs, this should underscore to legislators that breed specific legislation (BSL) is reckless and misguided.

Move to ACT, Inc. (www.movetoact.org) is working to educate the public on the care, treatment and public misperception of dog breeds in order that accountability for a dog's actions is appropriately directed to the human.

Warren G. Patitz, President
Move to ACT, Inc.

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Indianapolis Star
Metro and State

July 3, 2005

Man, 83, dies after 4 dogs attack him at his home Resident of rural Morgan County was mauled by animals owned by a neighbor.

By John Tuohy
john.tuohy@indystar.com

Multiple dog bites killed Boyd W. Fiscus, 83, on his rural Morgan County property, according to an autopsy Saturday.

Fiscus' body was found about 8 p.m. Friday near a pond behind his home.

Sometime Friday, while his wife watered plants in the front yard of their home in the 12600 block of North Mann Road, south of Camby, Fiscus was attacked by four dogs owned by a neighbor, the Morgan County Sheriff's Department said Saturday.

On Saturday morning, an autopsy determined he died of multiple dog bites, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Authorities sent the four dogs to a veterinary clinic in Indianapolis, at the owners' request, to be destroyed, deputies said.

In the rural, northern Morgan County neighborhood of secluded ranch homes tucked behind leafy trees, residents said pets regularly wander from one large yard to another.

"A lot of people have dogs here, and there is a lot of other wildlife, like coyotes, but no one's ever had a problem," said Donna Baker, 66. "If you don't want them around, you just shoo them away."

Police would not say what type of dogs mauled Fiscus, but neighbors described them as two mastiffs and two bulldogs.

Katona Reed, 13, said that when the Fiscuses weren't gardening, they were walking around the yard holding hands.

"He was a really sweet man, and they were always together," Katona said.

Jim Baker, Donna Baker's husband, said that after Fiscus' wife had watered the plants and walked back to the house, she saw her husband's hat lying near the front door, shredded.

She called for her husband but got no answer. She sought the help of the next-door neighbor who owned the dogs, he said. The neighbor found Fiscus facedown near the pond in the back, his shirt torn open.

Jim Baker came over to the Fiscus home to provide her company until relatives arrived to comfort her.

The Bakers said Fiscus often fed the dogs when they came onto his land.
Authorities did not indicate what might have prompted the dog attack.

The dog-biting death was at least the fourth of an elderly Indiana resident in recent years.

On May 1, Julia Beck, 87, was mauled by a neighbor's dogs in her Marion home.

In August 2004, 87-year-old Mary H. DeLacy was killed by six pit bulls in Daviess County.

In June 2000, a half-dozen neighborhood dogs killed Dorothy Stewart, 71, of Brown County.

Call Star reporter John Tuohy at (317) 444-6418.