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Team Probes Fatal Dog Attack

December 03, 2006, 12:0AM MT

By Michelle Buckalew

An investigative team, which included Best Friends animal expert Sherry Woodard and aggression and forensics specialist Jim Crosby, went to Texas recently to assist police in determining why a pit bull attacked and killed a man.

By Cathy Scott, Best Friends Staff

What Woodard and Crosby learned was not what they expected to find. Both called the case an unfortunate chain of events and circumstances that led to the death of a man.

The two interviewed witnesses and walked through the crime scene. “We were given unlimited access by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department,” said Crosby, who lives in Jacksonville, Florida.

The facts of the case as Crosby and Woodard learned them are based upon their investigation and in-depth interviews with witnesses as well as input from law enforcement and animal control.

It turns out the victim, 41-year-old David "Ted" McCurry, had intravenously taken a street drug while sitting in a car with a 19-year-old woman in front of the dog owner’s house on Saturday, October 28, just before greeting the dog.

The dog’s guardian, Firas Beseisso, is mentally and emotionally challenged and his younger brother takes care of him, Woodard said. It was the first time the victim had been to the house in Conroe, Texas, and the first time he had met the dog.

The dog, a young pit bull named Drix (who was also called Dax), regularly greeted visitors to the house, usually young people in their 20s, by humping their legs. “Drix was used to being pushed away,” Woodard said. “The dog tolerated people pushing him off.”

But this time it was different.

When Drix ran out of the house to meet the new person, “something caused the dog to go for the man,” Woodard said. “It was all about that man and very personal to him. He had just shot drugs with needles. He was high.”

On top of that, Drix was protective because of his owner’s disability, and the dog slept each night on his owner’s chest.

The bottom line, Crosby said, “is the dog was looking out for the owner and making the decisions because (his owner) was unable to. The dog was taking care of the human.”

For some reason, Crosby said, “the dog perceived this visitor -- who had shot up some sort of intravenous drug shortly before he arrived and had needles and some other drugs on him -- as a threat and it set this dog off. The dog’s response was over the top.”

Drix did not go after the woman who was with McCurry. The dog walked up to her and started to hump her leg, but he did not attack her. Instead, he was focused on McCurry. The dog’s guardian was able to pull the dog away a couple times but was unable to hold onto him because the dog was not wearing a collar and was not on a leash.

Also, Woodard pointed out, Drix was not neutered and had never been vaccinated.

“The dog’s owner is developmentally impaired, with poor decision-making skills and is illiterate,” she said.

Also, Beseisso served two years in prison on a narcotics-related conviction, Crosby said. All involved – witnesses, the owner, and the victim – have drug-related criminal records.

Another possible contributor to the attack was that Drix was regularly given drugs, both Crosby and Woodard said. The two drew blood from Drix to be tested for traces of narcotics in his system. “Dogs end up in situations where once again it’s stupid human behavior,” Woodard said. The results of the test were not yet known.

To evaluate Drix, Crosby went into the dog’s run at the sheriff’s department, where he was being quarantined. Drix has since been put down by an order of the court.

“Much to the amazement of the police, I was able to put a lead on Drix without any problem,” Crosby said.

While two trainers, armed with Taser stun guns and double poles, as well as an officer with a loaded tranquilizer gun and armed sheriff’s deputies, stood ready, Drix walked into the run and allowed Crosby to approach him.

“He was afraid of me,” Crosby said, “but he let me pet him.”

Then Crosby tried to antagonize the dog, as part of his evaluation. “I tried pushing his buttons,” he said. “He did not want to confront me. Had I not been told this dog had killed someone, I would not have been that concerned walking up to this dog. He didn’t show any aggression toward me.”

Crosby said he would be doing forensics testing of samples of the dog’s brain as part of his investigation.

The district attorney’s office in Montgomery County is expected to hand over the case to a grand jury to see whether criminal charges should be filed against Beseisso. If convicted, he faces one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

But Crosby said it’s a tough case to prosecute. “It’s going to be very difficult to hold (the owner) responsible for much of it, because of his diminished mental capacity,” he said. “He’s psychologically and mentally challenged.”

Pictured: Forensics Investigator Jim Crosby evaluates Drix.

Photo by Sherry Woodard.
Sherry Woodard

Comments

Posted December 04, 2006, 11:53AM by kendra

How absolutely horrible! Just the whole thing distrubs me. The fact that this dog was put down after all he was put through. It's so wrong to punish a dog that way when he obviously was not living a balanced life. Being injected with drugs, not being given proper restraint or discipline, not being corrected for inappropriate behavior like leg humping (which by the way is a sign of unstable psychological problems..). The dog should have at least been given the chance to be rehabilitated with a behavior modification expert. It's so not fair to just put him down because of the horrible life he was given.... : (

Posted December 04, 2006, 4:16PM by ChefsNoCook

This story is so very sad. Human ignorance, yes, but which humans? The brother ie caretaker is responsible too. If Firas Beseisso had two conditions that impaired his cognitive ability, then chances are there is also a case manager. Did Drix hump the case managers leg? At any rate, it doesn't sound like Firas was taught right from wrong on many levels. Stupid humans failed Firas Besiesso and he in turn failed Drix.

Posted December 05, 2006, 2:17AM by kathy_g

Roxane took the words right out of my mouth. :(

Posted December 03, 2006, 10:36PM by marla

This is such a awful sad case. Why is it the dogs always are the victims and have to pay the price?

I hope he is happy now over the rainbow ridge.

Posted December 03, 2006, 10:41PM by Roxane

This is so sad. Once again the dog is put down for stupid and irresponsible behavior of the humans.

Posted January 23, 2008, 6:12PM by birna_ciara

i miss my brother in law ted. :(
&&i love him

Posted September 25, 2007, 12:13PM by lpeters

I am disturbed by all the events of this story, but again, it comes down to the dog not having proper boundries and training put before him. Humping is more of a dominant gesture by the way.

I had a Staffordshire Terrier named Shasha, at the time I lived in a very wild urban area, and felt safe with her. A friend was over on my porch, having a few beers, and starting playing with a knife, she kindly growled, and he put it away, but would have never attacked.

Actually, I foster many difficult breeds, and work all ages, the Staffordshire breed (pit bull) has been the best ever, very loyal, obedient, and very sensitive. They have a 6th sense, but so do others, they are emotionally sensitive, and you do have do do the proper things by them, if you are a responsible owner.

First of all, this situation, the owner with a mental disability should have been monitored properly to ensure that he could do the right things with a pet, dog. etc....and it definately didn't look like a good situation all the way round the board. The dog was doing what he thought was best for his friend, people with drugs in their system, do dis-purse a funny sentiment, and dogs can pick that up easily.