Rottweiler destroyed for mauling owner may have been helping her

A Rottweiler destroyed for mauling its 63-year-old owner in Cleveland Heights in February, may have been trying to help drag the woman to safety, after all. Carolyn Baker collapsed in her driveway after a heart attack, Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller said on Tuesday. The ailing woman had gone outside in only a nightgown to bring her 140-pound dog, Zeus, into the house.

The death was caused by a natural collapse, Miller said. "The dog was trying to help her, really. There were very few actual dog bites, it was mostly [signs of] pawing," he said. Baker's family had said they believed Zeus was a hero, and the wounds were part of the 9-year-old dog's devoted rescue attempts.

Cleveland Heights Municipal Court ordered the dog be destroyed on April 2, deeming it vicious and dangerous to society.



That decision was based on testimony from police officers and a neighbour, the dog's behaviour report from the kennel, and from an oral report from a pathologist, listing '"severe dog bites" as contributing to her death.

While Miller said the description was accurate, he also said that the injuries the dog caused looked a lot worse than they actually were. "It's our theory that she went down for a natural reason and then the dog was kind of tugging on her and some bleeding occurred that by itself may not have been fatal," Miller said.

Cpt. Ron Salcer said the dog was deemed vicious based on the severity of Baker's wounds and because the dog regurgitated part of the woman's bra about a week after it was impounded. "[It] shows that he was very aggressive if he would bite and chew to the point that he would take off her brassiere and swallow it," Salcer said.