Pit bulls have a reputation. Many think of them as being violent or even vicious. Some will tell you that this disposition is inherent to these types of dogs. Others will tell you factors like environment, training, and attention play a bigger role in their demeanor.
Whatever the truth may be, there are still the occasional incidents in which a pit bull turns against the people who feed and shelter them. These attacks can result in severe injury or in the case of one elderly mother, death.
More from Little Things: CA Mom Stabs Her 2 Pit Bulls To Death When Trying To Save Her Toddler From Attack
'They ripped her arm,' the landlord recounted.
A pit bull named Buddha mauled 73-year-old Jeriline Brady-McGinnis to death outside of her home, CBS News reports. Brady-McGinnis was with her dog on Dennison Street in Roxbury, Massachusetts, around 4:30 p.m. on November 18, 2024.
Her landlord and close friend Jean McGuire identified her as the victim before police confirmed it. “She got attacked some way and they ripped her arm,” McGuire told reporters.
More from Little Things: Mom Finds Hero Pit Bull Dragging Tiny Baby By Her Diaper After House Goes Up In Flames
Brady-McGinnis died during surgery.
In the middle of the attack, Brady-McGinnis’ husband jumped in to try to save her. He was also injured, along with two Boston police officers who intervened. All four were taken to the hospital. Brady-McGinnis died during surgery, McGuire said.
Her husband sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Police shot the dog. Later, Boston 25, confirmed that Animal Control euthanized Buddha.
Brady-McGinnis' sons said she was the heart and soul of their family.
In the wake of their mother’s death, her three children, Chris, Ronald, and Donald, issued a statement. “Our mother was a loving and caring mother,” they wrote. “She put her children first … The heart and soul of our family is gone.”
Her children said their mother had a heart of gold, loved her animals, and cooked dinner for them every night.
McGuire echoed the sentiment: “She’s very close to her animals, almost like children, I think. She took good care of them. She walked them every day,” McGuire said. The couple owned four dogs.
'Don't put your dog in a cage,' McGuire said.
Neighbors were reportedly afraid of the family’s dogs. They claimed that they barked loudly and often. Many believed they owned too many, the New York Post reports.
While McGuire believed Brady-McGinnis loved her dogs, she says the couple were in over their heads. “They had too many dogs,” she told CBS. “And they put them in cages. Don’t put your dog in a cage. You’ve got to keep them from fighting or whatever. But you know you stay out of people’s business,” she said.
The injuries were so grave, the police department’s homicide unit is investigating.
