NEWS AND COMMENT-GEORGIA, USA: Mail Online has reported on the unusual case of a burglar (described as an ‘intruder’) of a residential home who was mauled to death during his alleged criminal activity by two pit bull dogs inside the home. The unnamed homeowner returned to his home to see the body of 21-year-old Alex Binyam Abraha on his front porch on September 24. It seems that the burglar was attacked inside the home and then tried to get away and was fatally mauled on the porch.
For an animal lover, what is good about this story is that the dogs will not be put down (it seems) and of course neither will the homeowner face any charges relating to the burglar’s death. This is a good outcome in terms of animal welfare but it is very sad nonetheless because a man has lost his life engaging in what law enforcement would regard as petty crime but which homeowners would regard as serious crime. It is a good example, too, of how guard dogs can be highly effective, too effective, in this instance.
A fundraising campaign has commenced to raise money for the relatives of the burglar. The goal is $25,000 and it has raised more than $1000 at the time of this report.
Initially, the police treated the matter as a murder then worked out that this was a case of dogs defending their territory against an intruder. A medical examiner determined that Binyam Abraha died of a dog attack. The homeowner did not know Binyam Abraha and he said that he had no reason to be inside his home.
Both dogs were seized as part of the investigation by the county’s Department of Corrections. The report by Mail Online hints that the dogs may be put down because the journalist states that “it was not immediately clear what will happen to them”. I sincerely hope that they are not euthanised because they did nothing wrong.
Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.
Binyam Abraha had several warrants against him in Fulton County at the time of his death as reported by Fox News. Binyam Abraha’s family say that they were notified days after his death and that they have received conflicting and confusing information from the investigators. They were told that an autopsy would be carried out but an online article said that an autopsy had already been concluded. It is clearly a difficult time for Binyam Abraha’s family and as I said it is a tragic event despite the fact that he was engaged in alleged criminal activity.
SOME MORE ON DOGS:
