Woman dies after being bitten by neighbor's dog

Friday 01st August, 04:26 PM JST

HOKKAIDO —

A 77-year-old woman was found unconscious on Thursday in the backyard of a house in Furano, Hokkaido. She was taken to hospital but died about three hours later. Police said she had been bitten by her neighbor’s dog.

Toki Fukao, 77, was found unconscious by the 61-year-old owner of the dog in the backyard of his house at around 2 p.m. According to police, Fukao had injuries on her arms consistent with having been bitten by the 70-80 centimeter tall dog which was chained at the time. Police said Fukao who suffered from heart disease may have died of shock after having been bitten.

Latest 15 of 27 Total Comments Show All

OhioDonna at 11:35 PM JST - 1st August

Where I live owners of certain breeds of dogs must carry insurance. In addition children are not permited to walk the dogs. An adult must be in charge of the animal at all times. Even with all these regulations in place people still getting attacked. Dogs that kill are usually put down and many times the dogs who attack are also put down. I am sorry the woman died.
himasan at 11:36 PM JST - 1st August

The dog just sped up the inevitable. As for not chaining up dogs, what do you suggest, let em run around the yard, on a Japanese property. Yeah right! thepro-what do you care if people keep dogs in cages, you hate dogs right?
cleo at 12:00 AM JST - 2nd August

zurc -

get over yourselves. Humans are more important that dogs

Couldn't agree with you more. And if this dog had been cared for properly, the old lady would probably still be alive.

delitachan -

We've had a lot of cases here in my city where people just taking a stroll down the sidewalks of the neighborhood are mauled to death by dogs who escape thier yards. Usually the owner is at fault here because they failed to restrain the pooch.

Usually?? No, always. Any damage caused by a dog is ultimately the owner's responsibility. Even if the owner isn't there at the time.

I will say it again, sometimes a dog needs to be chained. Leave it loose and watch it attack people passing by and watch your butt be taken to court.

Say it as many times as you like, chaining a dog does not turn it into a little pussycat. Quite the opposite. If the only alternative to chaining a dog up the owner can think of is to let it run around attacking people, that owner isn't fit to have a dog in the first place.

And no one is saying the old lady deserved to die.

himasan -

As for not chaining up dogs, what do you suggest, let em run around the yard, on a Japanese property. Yeah right!

No. Supervise the dog properly, give it a nice cosy bed inside. Train it responsibly, see it gets the right amount of exercise and isn't going stir-crazy with boredom and frustration.

As timorborder says, try sitting out in the summer sun for hours on end with a chain around your neck, deprived of everything your instincts dictate that you need, and see whether you feel more or less 'vicious' at the end.
usaexpat at 12:03 AM JST - 2nd August

Guess you can't hold the owner liable if the dog was chained and the woman was trespassing. How did the woman get bitten in the first place? If the dog was barking and going ape sh*t like dogs do when someone enters their turf why would she get within biting range?
cleo at 12:18 AM JST - 2nd August

usapat -

I can't find any links at the moment, but I'm sure I read somewhere (can't even remember which country, sorry) of an incident where a dog was in a cage in the owner's yard, a kiddy climbed over a gate onto the property, stuck its hand through the bars of the cage, got bitten and the owner of the dog was held liable.
delitachan at 12:19 AM JST - 2nd August

Chaining a dog will not turn it into a pussycat, but by god, it will at least be a responsible move on part of the owner. If it's chained up, the chances of it running after and mauling a person are reduced. True there are times when the chain will break, but at least a preventative measure was taken.

Train the dog all you want, its natural instincts are going to still make it bark wildly over intruders (depending on your breed). Some dogs are naturally excited over things like that and training won't take it away.

I'll gladly sit outside in the hot sun with a chain around me once my dog takes my place washing the dishes and cleaning out the house. Are we also going to chastise the Border Patrol and Police department for keeping the dogs chained up too?

Give it exercise yes, let him have a lot of running around time, yes. No one's saying to chain it up 24/7. I'm disputing the "dogs should NEVER" be chained" statement because yes, they need to be at times, especially when the owner isn't around. Even if it's a friendly dog, they become excited and seeing strangers pass by and often times jump at em. I've been knocked down before by an adult Golden Retriever. I imagine kids would have it worse. It's not being cruel to the animal, it's being RESPONSIBLE.

I live in front of a mom and pop grocery store where kids often walk from nearby houses to the store. I simply CANNOT afford for them to be injured and then held responsibility.
delitachan at 12:40 AM JST - 2nd August

Not really his fault. The dog owner had it chained. It says the woman died of shock and not the wounds. Just a terrible accident :(.
cleo at 12:49 AM JST - 2nd August

If it's chained up, the chances of it running after and mauling a person are reduced.

If it's confined to the living room the chances are reduced still further.

Some dogs are naturally excited over things like that and training won't take it away.

Mmm, yes it will, that's what training's about, unless the dog's a congenital nutter in the first place. Most dogs aren't. Too many dogs are driven nuts by their clueless owners.

I'm disputing the "dogs should NEVER" be chained" statement because yes, they need to be at times, especially when the owner isn't around. Even if it's a friendly dog, they become excited and seeing strangers pass by and often times jump at em

A dog cannot jump up at passersby on the street if it's in the house. It is not responsible to have a dog chained up, it's just lazy. I'm not talking about having a dog on a lead when it's out with its owner, I'm talking about a dog chained up because the owner doesn't know/care about how to care for a dog and provide it with a safe environment.

I live in front of a mom and pop grocery store where kids often walk from nearby houses to the store. I simply CANNOT afford for them to be injured

Then why put your dog in that situation? Why not remove it to a safer place where the dog can be comfortable, the kids can get to the shop without having to run the gauntlet of a dog straining on the end of a chain to get at them, and you can get on with your dish-washing with an easy mind and the dog properly under your supervision?
cleo at 01:04 AM JST - 2nd August

OK, I found the original news article, and JT needs to get a new translator.

It turns out the dog is not a big fierce 80cm-to-the-shoulder half-a-mountain mastiff type, it's a mongrel weighing 12 kilos and measuring 70-80cm long - probably nosetip to tailtip for that weight. A little thing.

The yard has no fence to it, and the dog was on a 1.6 m chain.

The owner went out to see what was going on when he heard the dog barking more than usual. The old lady had bite marks on both arms, and a history of heart disease. http://www.toonippo.co.jp/news_kyo/news/20080731010009621.asp

Is it possible she simply collapsed with heart failure and the bite marks were caused by the dog trying to rouse her? Or if the heart attack caused her to twitch or throw her arms about, that could upset the dog causing it to bite out of fright.
nimbus at 06:24 AM JST - 2nd August

After reading Cleo's last post: Could it be possible that she was having a heart attack and was trying get to the neighbour's house to get help and the dog freaked out when she collapsed and was trying to rouse her? Notice the bites are on her arms and not on her face or throat. She was on the ground so if the dog meant to attack her, it would most likely be biting her face and throat.
timorborder at 09:26 AM JST - 2nd August

Chaining dogs. Rather than chaining dogs up (and thus making them more susceptible to stress), a better option is to train them. Furthermore, you should dog proof your yard so the dog stays in it. By the way, part of dog-proofing your yard means limiting access to other people (those who do not have a relationship with your dog).

Regarding putting signs up regarding dangerous dogs, we used to have a sign at home that said "Guard Dog on Premises." However, this did not stop those pesky door-to-door salesman coming to our door (and usually retreating rather quickly on meeting our larger dog). As such, I took a photo of our dog's teeth (just as he was sinking it into a ham bone) and laminated. The sign in front of our house reads "Guard Dog on Premises - Amputations Free of Charge" (that last bit was added by my kids). Rather crude but effective.
cleo at 11:28 AM JST - 2nd August

timorborder - I'm sure you'll agree with me that training a dog isn't so much a 'better option' as an 'absolute necessity'.

Amputations Free of Charge lol Another good one is 'No trespassing, survivors will be prosecuted'.
USAPatriot at 11:35 AM JST - 2nd August

Cleo

Disagreed with you on another post, but with you 100% here.

Dogs are highly social animals, they need to live with their owners, it is part of their nature to be part of the family. Dogs must live indoors with their owners, tying up a dog is as cruel as tying up a kid. They are not dumb animals but highly intelligent animals, with 100% loyalty and love for their owner.

Dogs go crazy tied up and and without a feeling of being part of the pack (family).

Your dog will love you, show them the same love back.
tclh at 11:46 AM JST - 2nd August

'No trespassing, survivors will be prosecuted'..interesting, and here is another one in Asutralia about someone rotterweiller:"trespasser today,dog's pooh tomorrow."Anyway for peace of mind,have a chihuahua or border collie.
stanoue at 10:06 PM JST - 2nd August

Hi Cleo - definitely possible that the lady collapsed because of natural causes and the dog was anxious and biting - it has happened before.