(USNewsMag.com) – Harold Phillips, 35, from Detroit, Michigan, died five days after being mauled by three dogs while walking home from a bus stop.
The father of six was returning from a shopping trip at the mall where he was purchasing new clothes for a job interview when the dogs got loose from a backyard on January 29th. He was rushed to the hospital following the attack, had his right arm amputated, was put on dialysis, and needed transfusions, according to his wife, Shauntaye Phillips. She added that he was bitten in “his groin, his head, his back” as well as his legs.
On February 2nd, his family announced on a GoFundMe page that he had died. She stated, “Our lives will never be the same,” and mentioned major milestones in their children’s lives that he would miss.
The victim’s youngest son, Haroun Phillips, said that “(There) should be justice” for his father, adding that dog owners who do not know how to secure their dogs should not own dogs.
Roy Goodman, the owner of the three dogs, had four dogs despite a city ordinance that limits the number of dogs to two. The ordinance also requires dogs to be secured. The three dogs involved in the attack were euthanized, while the fourth dog was seized. According to Goodman, the dogs have a history of three other bite incidents, including a bite incident with a child.
He apologized to the family saying, “I’m so sorry,” adding, “If there’s anything I can do, I will.”
Goodman was given 10 citations for $500 each, a total of $5,000 in fines.
The Phillips family retained a lawyer and stated on February 1st that they would be filing a lawsuit against both the city of Detroit and Goodman. The family’s attorney, James Harrington, stated that he had started his initial investigation, which “has been very thorough in a short period of time,” adding that some of the information uncovered by the investigation is “shocking.”
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