Fatal Attack

[Summersaint]

Just read this on Ninemsn: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8285120/pitbull-mauls-to-death-pregnant-woman

thoughts to the family and their dogs

[k9angel]

Very sad.

[dogfan]

Very upsetting

[Loopy Lola]

It is very sad but sounds a bit fishy to me ........if he found her out the front of the house when he returned from work ......surely the neighbours would have heard her screaming if the dog attacked her

[melzawelza]

How very sad, that poor woman

But I agree something isn't adding up. He found the body, how does he know the dog mauled her?

[sandgrubber]

I don't think the story is fishy. They're doing necropsies, etc. to make sure the dog wasn't rabid. The SF Chron is a reasonably good paper and I don't think they'd run the story if there were major doubts.

http://pacifica.patc...-pregnant-woman

See also the San Jose Mercury's coverage.

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county/ci_18671143

Pit bull mauling of pregnant Pacifica woman remains a mystery

By Joshua Melvin and Lisa Fernandez

A day after the family's pit bull fatally attacked his pregnant wife, Greg Napora said Friday he doesn't blame the dog. He even plans to bury his spouse, Darla, with their pet's cremated remains in her casket.

"They are the most loving animals I have ever had in my life. Whatever happened right now was not the breed's fault," said Napora, who found his wife dead when he returned to the couple's Pacifica home from his construction job with plans to take her to lunch Thursday. "It was just a freak accident."

Police shot and killed the dog, named Gunner, when they say he approached emergency workers, but Greg Napora said Gunner didn't charge them, as was reported by some media outlets.

Horrified neighbors left flowers in front of the tiny white house on Reina Del Mar Avenue, where a "Beware of the Dog" sign hung from the fence. Darla Napora loved her dogs -- 2-year-old male Gunner and a 6-year-old female pit bull, Tazi -- family said, and was an avid supporter of Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit bulls, or Bad Rap, which seeks to change attitudes toward the polarizing breed.

She was also ecstatic about being pregnant with the couple's first child, said her mother, Sandy Robinson, of Seattle, who described Darla as the "heart of the family."

"She was the one who held the family together," Robinson said.

Greg Napora said he does not know why Gunner, who the couple had raised from a puppy, attacked his wife. Investigators also have no idea what may have led to the attack but hope an autopsy of Darla Napora and a necropsy of the dog will give them clues.

Greg Napora said he left for work about 8 a.m. as his wife was asleep with both dogs in the bed. When he arrived home about noon, he found the dog standing over her body and made a frantic 911 call.

Greg Napora declined to discuss what happened next, but police said his hands were cut while wrestling the dog into another room. Neighbors reported seeing him screaming and covered in his wife's blood as emergency crews worked to save her.

Pacifica police Capt. Dave Bertini said investigators have some theories about what happened but are waiting for exam results, which they hope to have back in a few weeks. Police said, however, they have no reason to believe foul play was involved.

"But you never know, so that is why we're waiting for the reports to make sure we didn't miss anything," Bertini said.

Peninsula animal care officers took custody of the couple's other pit bull, Tazi, and are examining her as part of their effort to piece together the attack. Police said that dog was not involved in the woman's death.

The two dogs may have had a fight, said Scott Delucchi, spokesman for the Peninsula Humane Society. But he said it was also possible that Gunner was provoked by something getting in the way of food or a toy he wanted.

"We don't know what triggered this," Delucchi said. "Nobody knows."

The family wants to get their surviving dog back as soon as possible.

"Tazi is kind of our rock. Right now we need her back," Robinson said. "It's what Greg has left right now."

...

Edited August 13, 2011 by sandgrubber

[paulni]

So have we seen a photo of the dogs?

[WreckitWhippet]

So have we seen a photo of the dogs?

does it matter ? the poor woman is dead and possibly killed by one of the family pets.

[paulni]

So have we seen a photo of the dogs?

does it matter ? the poor woman is dead and possibly killed by one of the family pets.

It matters a great deal to other APBT owners and there dogs if as usual the breed is being wrongly accused .

[WreckitWhippet]

So have we seen a photo of the dogs?

does it matter ? the poor woman is dead and possibly killed by one of the family pets.

It matters a great deal to other APBT owners and there dogs if as usual the breed is being wrongly accused .

The owner has said what breed his dogs were and not to blame the breed.

Read the articles

[RottnBullies]

Such a tragic event

I'm not sure what to make of It, but until those reports come In, It Is still not certain on whether this dog caused her death

LINK

Greg Napora returned home for lunch yesterday in Pacifica, California to find his wife, Darla, lying dead on the floor and their male pit bull standing over her. Darla was six months pregnant.

According to 'reports', he put the male dog in the backyard and called authorities. When the police arrived, Gunner got out and was immediately shot and killed by the police officers.

Studying the quickly banged out articles from the San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle and Huffington Post, certain facts seemed missing from the coverage. Reuters reported the woman as a San Francisco native and one story featured a ridiculous photo of a yawning pit bull on a city street.

Had the media that dived into the frenzy done a bit more investigating, they might have discovered the real truth behind Darla's death.

According to residents of the Napora neighborhood, the dog did not maul Darla Napora, "just found out that the woman fell off a ladder and hit her head...husband came home found the dog standing over her...he put the dog out side....it got loose and cops shot the dog...thinking that it had mauled the lady. The dog had blood on it's body because he was trying to nudge her to make her move...."Darla's father, Doug Robinson was quoted as saying, "Lets wait for the autopsy I talked to the police and will wait for the professionals to make a decision I have been a police officer and a detective for several years. This is my daughter and I will wait for the evidence."

The people who covered this story need to re-examine the facts. Hopefully, an autopsy will be performed and answer the many questions left gaping and open in the articles. If discovered Gunner was innocent and pawing his mom to 'wake up', the dog is still dead.

The female pit bull, guilty of nothing, was sent to Peninsula Humane Society, also the county dog pound. The facility's history with pit bull breeds is not very hopeful, so her chances of being saved are probably slim to none.

The death of a pregnant woman is a tragedy to horrible to imagine. People immediately jumped on the pit bull hate train with remarks like, "pit bulls should be terminated FOREVER," "exterminate that nasty breed once and for all," and from a wildlife volunteer, "these are not dogs…they are a different category of beast" pulled from SF Chronicle commentary.

Until the coroner's report is disclosed, no one will know the whole story. Hopefully, the report will convey exactly what happened yesterday at the Napora household.

Sadly, with this kind of media coverage, everyone suffers. Pit bulls are sitting in death row shelters waiting to die in the millions as it is. With coverage like these stories, millions more will die needlessly.

[paulni]

So have we seen a photo of the dogs?

does it matter ? the poor woman is dead and possibly killed by one of the family pets.

It matters a great deal to other APBT owners and there dogs if as usual the breed is being wrongly accused .

The owner has said what breed his dogs were and not to blame the breed.

Read the articles

Yes but this is America were they have rather broad idea of what a pit bull is .

[RottnBullies]

Yes but this is America were they have rather broad idea of what a pit bull is .

Too true, I've just had someone telling me that SBT and APBT are basically the same breed

[k9angel]

Such a tragic event

I'm not sure what to make of It, but until those reports come In, It Is still not certain on whether this dog caused her death

LINK

Greg Napora returned home for lunch yesterday in Pacifica, California to find his wife, Darla, lying dead on the floor and their male pit bull standing over her. Darla was six months pregnant.

According to 'reports', he put the male dog in the backyard and called authorities. When the police arrived, Gunner got out and was immediately shot and killed by the police officers.

Studying the quickly banged out articles from the San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle and Huffington Post, certain facts seemed missing from the coverage. Reuters reported the woman as a San Francisco native and one story featured a ridiculous photo of a yawning pit bull on a city street.

Had the media that dived into the frenzy done a bit more investigating, they might have discovered the real truth behind Darla's death.

According to residents of the Napora neighborhood, the dog did not maul Darla Napora, "just found out that the woman fell off a ladder and hit her head...husband came home found the dog standing over her...he put the dog out side....it got loose and cops shot the dog...thinking that it had mauled the lady. The dog had blood on it's body because he was trying to nudge her to make her move...."Darla's father, Doug Robinson was quoted as saying, "Lets wait for the autopsy I talked to the police and will wait for the professionals to make a decision I have been a police officer and a detective for several years. This is my daughter and I will wait for the evidence."

The people who covered this story need to re-examine the facts. Hopefully, an autopsy will be performed and answer the many questions left gaping and open in the articles. If discovered Gunner was innocent and pawing his mom to 'wake up', the dog is still dead.

The female pit bull, guilty of nothing, was sent to Peninsula Humane Society, also the county dog pound. The facility's history with pit bull breeds is not very hopeful, so her chances of being saved are probably slim to none.

The death of a pregnant woman is a tragedy to horrible to imagine. People immediately jumped on the pit bull hate train with remarks like, "pit bulls should be terminated FOREVER," "exterminate that nasty breed once and for all," and from a wildlife volunteer, "these are not dogs…they are a different category of beast" pulled from SF Chronicle commentary.

Until the coroner's report is disclosed, no one will know the whole story. Hopefully, the report will convey exactly what happened yesterday at the Napora household.

Sadly, with this kind of media coverage, everyone suffers. Pit bulls are sitting in death row shelters waiting to die in the millions as it is. With coverage like these stories, millions more will die needlessly.

So true RnB. I don't know what to make of it either. It all sounds a little odd to me.

It'll be interesting to see what the outcome of the coroner's report is.

[espinay2]

I would not immediately condemn a dog for 'standing over the body' (particularly if it was a pet concerned about its owner - my own dogs have been known to stand over me and nudge me if I fall and am hurt - and how many times have we seen the movie scenario of 'the person standing over the body must have done it'), but there are so many things that are unclear in this story that it is hard to judge one way or another. It will be interesting to see the outcome.

[Horse2008]

http://www.examiner.com/american-pit-bull-in-national/pacifica-dog-mauling-what-really-happened-1

Says it all really...

[sandgrubber]

http://www.examiner....ally-happened-1

Says it all really...

I agree that we should wait to see the coroner's report. . . . and the necropsy results on the dog. But I've never heard of the news source, and not ready to believe it over other, better established sources.

If the ladder story is true, I don't understand why the husband isn't endorsing it? He loved the dog enough that he's having the dog's cremated ashes buried with his wife. If the dog is innocent and the police framed and shot his dog, you'd think he'd speak up. Especially, given his support of Bad Rap, etc.

p.s. Clicking a few more buttons shows that examiner.com employs citizen reporters, and the woman who wrote the linked story is a pit bull advocate. She calls herself "Pit Bull Examiner". She doesn't live anywhere near the Pacifica CA, and is unlikely to have inside information other than that coming through pit bull circles. See:

http://www.examiner..../cindy-marabito

edited to add further information on story source

Edited August 14, 2011 by sandgrubber

[OSoSwift]

Yes but this is America were they have rather broad idea of what a pit bull is .

Too true, I've just had someone telling me that SBT and APBT are basically the same breed

Had someone on here argue exactly that same thing - however that APBT, AM Staff and STafford were all the same breed.

Hope the truth is found soon. Poor family

[sandgrubber]

Yes but this is America were they have rather broad idea of what a pit bull is .

Too true, I've just had someone telling me that SBT and APBT are basically the same breed

Had someone on here argue exactly that same thing - however that APBT, AM Staff and STafford were all the same breed.

Hope the truth is found soon. Poor family

There will always be lumpers and splitters. That's taxonomy for you, whether you're dealing with Eucalyptus or molluscs, or dogs. And lumpers and splitters will always disagree. In a way, they're all the same. In another way they're all different.

I'd say Americans have good reason to define the American pit bull. Here (in the US) we have the registered type, and the street-bred type. Far more or the latter. I find it moving that the husband puts no blame on the dog and will bury the dog's ashes with his wife. Unless, of course, he somehow engineered the whole thing (I've read too many detective novels) and it was actually a murder. But, as in the best side of a detective novel, you need to suspend judgement until the end. And understand that in the real world, it may be necessary to suspend judgement forever, cause no clear answers come out. But who gives a damn what us voyeurs think anyway?

[RottnBullies]

Looks like It Is confirmed that the dog was responsible, I do wonder why/what happened to spark him off, but that will never be known

I hope they will allow the female to be returned to the husband

LINK

The pregnant Pacifica woman who was attacked by her pet pit bull bled to death, police said Monday.

Darla Napora, 32, died of blood loss and shock, according to a preliminary investigation by the San Mateo County coroner's office.

Napora's husband found her unconscious when he returned from work to their home on Reina del Mar at about noon Thursday. The dog stood over his wife's body before he dragged the animal to another part of the home, police said.

Two officers shot the pit bull to death when he got loose from the backyard after police arrived, authorities said.

A necropsy of the unneutered, 2-year-old male pit bull, Gunner, confirmed that the 125-pound animal was responsible for the attack, said police Capt. Dave Bertini.

A veterinarian at the Peninsula Humane Society reviewed hair and tissue samples and blood evidence to reach that conclusion, police said.

An examination of the couple's other pit bull, a female named Tazi, confirmed that she was not involved in the attack.

Teeth impressions were made of Gunner and Tazi, and they were compared with Napora's wounds, Bertini said.