The owner of two Italian Cane Corsos, whom attacked and killed an innocent by passer in Livonia, Michigan, may be charged with involuntary manslaughter. The dogs in the attack are a known aggressive breed and have attacked two other people prior to the most recent incident.
According to The Associated Press , the victim of the fatal attack has been identified as 46 year-old Craig Sytsma. Systma was jogging along the road Wednesday evening when the dogs came up to him and began attacking. A neighbor saw the attack and tried to divert the dogs attention by shooting a gun into the air, but was unsuccessful. Systma then fell unconscious and was taken to the hospital where he eventually passed. In 2012 a woman had been bitten several times on the leg by one of the dogs; the woman filled a lawsuit, but the owner still kept the dogs. In 2013 one of the same two dogs attacked a man.
Cane Corsos are an Italian dog breed similar to a mastiff. Cane Corsos are very protective and guard their homes well; in fact, the dogs are capable of hunting bears, which is what they were bred to do originally. The dogs are so aggressive that they have been banned in several countries around the world.
The two dogs involved in the disheartening incident are being kept at the Lapeer County animal shelter as authorities fight to have the dogs put down. The owner of the dog has not received any official charges as of Friday, but the investigation is ongoing and the state has laws in place that reprimand owners of dogs involved in the death of a person, USA Today noted.