Fatal dog attacks in the United Kingdom are usually measured in single figures per year.
[6][7][8][9] Below is a list of human deaths caused by dogs reported by the news media, published in scholarly papers, or mentioned through other sources.
Early reports called the dog a mastiff cross-breed, but at the inquest, it was deemed largely a pit bull.
[35][36][37][33] The CPS declined to prosecute the dogs' owner, but the jury at Kearney's inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killing.
It weighed 34kg, spent its time bouncing on a trampoline in the back garden while carrying large pieces of wood, and was described by a dog specialist within the Met as "fantastically well conditioned" and of "immeasurable power".
[52][53][54][33] Initial media reports, based on eyewitness accounts, asserted that the dog attacked, tearing chunks of flesh from his face, and that this was what caused Rehill's death.
Furthermore, a post-mortem revealed that he had had a stroke immediately before his collapse, and his inquest ruled that his death was due to natural causes.
4 February 2009 † 21 September 2009 † 18 August 2010 † The owner's neighbour had previously called the police and local council about the dog after it smashed the fence between the two properties.