Pet Rottweiler mauls owner to death after he and roommate had a fight, put down after it attacked rangers
A man was mauled to death by his own Rottweiler after an argument with his roommate. 59-year-old Dave Whitney was brutally attacked inside his residence in Morley, a suburb of Perth, on the night of Monday, September 7. As reported by Nine News, former broadcast operator Whitney was embroiled in an argument with his 36-year-old roommate Brody Gardner when his Rottweiler pounced on him and inflicted fatal injuries.
Emergency services responded to the Halvorson Road home at 8.10 pm following an animal complaint and found Whitney bleeding on the floor with deadly injuries. Despite the paramedics' best efforts, Whitney was pronounced dead at the scene. An investigation was launched by detectives from the homicide squad, while the Rottweiler was seized by an animal ranger. It later emerged that the dog had lunged at officers and had to be put down.
Gardner was called for interrogation following the attack and was released without charges. Meanwhile, Whitney's neighbors said the dog had attacked several children in the neighborhood.
Danielle Marendaz, who lives on the street, said the dog was "vicious" and that she had made a number of complaints about it to the local council. "It just appears to be quite aggressive," she said. "We've had a lot of trouble with the dog being aggressive and wanting to jump the fence, so unfortunately we knew there was going to be an incident that would come up sooner or later. It's really sad... it's heart-wrenching because we could have prevented some of this... I've got no words to describe it really," she added.
Neighbors also revealed the canine had previously attacked its owner in April, when both Whitney and Gardner were rushed to the hospital and needed plastic surgery for their wounds. "They got in an attack a couple of months ago and I had to take both of them to hospital," neighbor Hailie Featherstone told ABC. "They knocked on my door and they both had gashes on their arms and legs and stuff, and they were in hospital for like three days."
Whitney, who previously worked at channel Seven and Ten, was described as a "gentle" and "down-to-earth man." The investigation continues.
Earlier, we reported how an elderly Florida woman had been fatally mauled by her dog that also left her son severely injured after he tried to intervene and save his mother. The 84-year-old woman, Carolyn Varanese, had been pronounced dead on August 28, by the Margate Fire Rescue. Her dog, identified by cops as a mixed breed, was found tied up at the back of the house.
Joseph Varanese, 57, was rushed to the Northwest Medical Center for treatment and was discharged the following afternoon. Authorities revealed that the attack took place around 9.30 pm at a house on the 6100 block of Southwest First Street. Margate Police Department Lt Al Banatte revealed that the dog had bitten both Carolyn and Joseph multiple times. Jimmy, a family friend, said that just days earlier Carolyn had allowed the dog to sleep on her bed. The dog had been adopted from a local rescue group a few weeks before the incident had taken place.
"He was trying to save his mom and the dog kept going for her jugular. The dog grabbed her ankles and he started beating the dog with the wheelchair," Jimmy explained.
