Relatives and neighbors have opened up to local news outlet WGHP about the tragic death of Trena Peed, 46.
According to the report, Peed was dog sitting for two pit bulls, and let the animals out of the backyard of her Greensboro home at about 2:00 a.m.
Neighbors told the family they heard Peed's cries for help soon after. Others witnessed the attack.
Peed's son was inside the home at the time of the attack, and awoke to find out his mother was dead.
One of the two dogs was shot by responding police.
Both dogs are in the possession of animal control and in quarantine.
The Greensboro police didn't immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
A GoFundMe campaign has been started to help the family pay for Peed's funeral.
On the campaign's page, Peed's daughter, Waynesha Peed, relayed that her entire family's shocked and heartbroken by her death.
Reader Comments
Pits can be the most lovable and silly dogs out there, if given the proper treatment.
I've had dogs all my life. Our first springer bit our son. Our second springer bit someone who intruded into our fenced back yard. When I was a kid my shepherd mix bit several people. I got bit myself by our neighbor's German shepherd a few months ago. In every case, not pleasant but far from catastrophic. in every case it was bite, release, draw back. Maybe more growling but not a relentless attempt to kill. If any of these bites had come from a pitbull the result would have probably been a hospital visit or worse.
If anyone is stupid enough to reply "any dog bite is bad, the dog must be trained properly not to bite" I'm not wasting my time responding. We all know dog bites are bad. And training is never foolproof.
My statement wasn't attempting to declare anything other than that it is not generally the canine's fault when something like this occurs.
Yes, dog bites happen, they happen a lot. Most of the time that you hear about a dog causing a human's death it is one of the 'dangerous' breeds. Most of the time, but not all of the time.
So, the comparison that you make about shotguns and pellet guns is absolutely accurate and I won't dispute that at all.
Also, there are always warning signs when a dog is about to "turn", as you put it. It is the task of the humans to learn how to recognize these signs and act accordingly.
I would submit that this poor woman who passed away was ignorant of vital information and training that could have saved her life. We have a serious issue of willful ignorance in this country, perhaps the whole world, about how to properly raise, train, nurture and respect canines. It's not all about training the dog, although that is a large part of it, it is also training the human. Usually the humans need more training than the dog does.
Obviously, I can't know all the details of this case, but I would almost bet my career on the fact that the deceased either caused the attack or missed the signs leading up to the attack. It is highly unusual for a canine to just attack for no reason.
@Steelj: I apologize if my original post triggered you.
A lot of the high statistics out there about pit bull attacks however, come from an overpopulation of that particular breed. Especially in America. It's simply a matter of averages, if you have more of one particular thing it will always skew the average statistics.
I agree with you that ignorance and pride are huge factors in people's poor decision making these days. It is becoming increasingly obvious to anyone with half a brain that this is the way that TPTB want it.
Public education about simple life matters are practically non-existent.
I imagine this poor woman's experience quite differently than you. I see her approach the dog as she always did. The dog was in a different mental state than usual, a hair-trigger state, as dogs can be. She sensed danger, exuded fear, which the dog sensed, and in his condition was triggered to attack. She saw the signs and thought "uh-oh". But the attack came instantly, and being a pit bull it went on until she was dead.
For all we know, this woman was abusing these dogs physically (or worse). Potentially the owners were abusive to the dogs, we just don't know enough.
I still stand by my original statements. There are always signs, or indicators, that a dog is going to attack/defend. Nine times out of ten, these indicators are plainly evident to anyone who understands canine behavior at all and the vast majority of dog attacks could be avoided altogether.
It just really bothers me that these types of attacks are usually portrayed as being 'out of the blue' or random. Dogs do not think like people do. They do not attack out of hatred or anger, generally. Granted, there are exceptions to that rule, but for the most part that is the truth.
Dogs will attack humans because they feel threatened or they are protecting something or someone that they feel is threatened.
Sadly, there is just very little focus on proper training of people to better understand the psychology of animals. Something that could be attributed to the hubris of man. We, as a species, tend to try to always dominate the animal kingdom.
So, what is the solution to this? Do we ban pit bulls, do we go out and kill all of them that we can find?
How about we educate people? Let's try to shift the focus from how we can control the animal kingdom to how we can foster a partnership with the animal kingdom. Before it is too late and they turn on us, en masse. Against that we would stand little chance of survival.