canine attack
© Angela Antunes / CC by 2.0
A Fostoria man died late last week after trying to break up a fight between his dog and another canine, and one of the pets bit him.

Michael Parks, 60, was bitten at about 11 p.m. Thursday while attempting to stop the two dogs from fighting.

He was taken to ProMedica Fostoria Community Hospital by Fostoria Fire Division's EMS squad, where he later died.

According to a report on file with Fostoria Police Division, Amy Loving, 42, of Fostoria, was walking her dog near 845 Davoli St. at about 11:04 p.m. when Parks' dog attacked it.

When Parks intervened, he was bitten multiple times. As of Friday afternoon, police are unsure if he was attacked by one dog or both of them.

"We're not exactly sure which dog bit him, if it was the one or both," Fostoria Police Chief Keith Loreno said. "He did have serious injuries as a result."


Loreno said the Seneca County Coroner's Office would be tasked with determining the official cause of death.
"I don't know if (Parks) had underlying health issues and this just exacerbated it," he said. "Obviously, that's going to be the decision of the coroner."

Officers received two 9-1-1 calls regarding the incident, one from a female screaming that her husband was bleeding from an attack and the second from someone claiming a "vicious dog" killed another dog and attacked a man.

The Seneca County dog warden took possession of Parks' dog, which also was injured in the fight. According to the police report, Loving's dog was also "badly mangled" in the encounter — so much so that the owner was unsure if it would survive.

"It's always important to ensure that you have control of your pet, regardless whether you're in your own yard or not," Loreno said. "Dogs will be dogs, and if another dog is coming in the area, they become territorial. It's extremely unfortunate when this type of situation happens."