1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Today's episode includes the discussion of deaths of individuals and 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: animal scavenging. So if this sort of thing upsets you, 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: I suggest you check out some other category other than 4 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 1: the true crime section. Welcome to Mayhem An the More 5 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: with your host, Doctor Kendall Crown. Today's episode pet Food. 6 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 1: I was listening to the radio driving somewhere when a 7 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: song came on that had the following lyric in it. 8 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,600 Speaker 1: She was a winner that became a doggies dinner. The 9 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 1: song goes on to tell a story of a movie 10 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: star found dead and eaten by her dog. This type 11 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: of thing fascinates me. I had to find out who 12 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: wrote it and what the song was about. So when 13 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: I got home, I did an Internet search and I 14 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: found out the song was by an artist by the 15 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: name of Nick Low and it was entitled Mary Provost. 16 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: Now the question became, was she an actual person? Did 17 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: she actually get eaten by a dog? And what I 18 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: found out was the song was loosely based on the 19 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: life of a real person by the name of Mary Prevost. 20 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: And I might be mispronouncing her name, I don't know, 21 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 1: but I found out all about her from different websites, 22 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: articles and even a book, Yes, an actual book which 23 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: I still like to read. And now I will share 24 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: a brief summary of what I found out, just so 25 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: you can know too. She was a major star of 26 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: the Silent movies that had a tragic downfall and untimely death. 27 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: She had a career that spanned twenty years and had 28 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: been in one hundred and twenty one movies. Her box 29 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: office successes brought in large sums of money that helped 30 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: build studios like Universal and Warner Brothers. In the mid 31 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 1: to late nineteen twenties, she experienced several tragedies. Her mother 32 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 1: died in a car accident, she was let go from 33 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 1: her contract from Warner Brothers, and she got a divorced 34 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: from her husband. She became depressed and started drinking heavily 35 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: and bingeating to try and cope, and in nineteen twenty seven, 36 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 1: One More Thing Happened sound was introduced to the movies. 37 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: Her star power was waning, partially because she had gained 38 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: so much weight and the drinking, but some sources say 39 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 1: she also didn't have a good voice for the new 40 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: form of movies. She was getting smaller and smaller and 41 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:15,919 Speaker 1: smaller roles, and in the late nineteen thirties, She attempted 42 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: to make a comeback by starving herself to lose weight. 43 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:23,680 Speaker 1: On January twenty third, nineteen thirty seven, she was found 44 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,920 Speaker 1: on a well being check in her locked apartment after 45 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: complaints of her dog incessantly barking for two days. The 46 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,360 Speaker 1: crime scene photograph that is attributed to her shows her 47 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: face down in bed wearing a robe. There's a blanket 48 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: across the middle portion of her body, which was probably 49 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 1: put there by law enforcement for modesty. Her legs are 50 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: exposed and there appears to be abrasions on them. The 51 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: scene description from an article from the Los Angeles Times 52 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: dated January twenty fourth, nineteen thirty seven, describes the crime 53 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: scene as follows. She was apparently dead two days. Her 54 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: body was found clothed and face down on a folding 55 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: bed in her tiny kitchen. Two gas heaters were burning 56 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: under an open window. Several empty whiskey bottles lay in 57 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: the sink. The apartment was disarranged, but there was no 58 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: indication of violence or foul play. This description is typical 59 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: of an alcoholics disheveled apartment, empty bottles, a mess, etc. 60 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: Often they don't have anything in their refrigerator but more 61 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: alcohol no food. The article further states whining at the 62 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: bedside was her pet dog Maxie, and teeth marks on 63 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 1: the actress's body indicated the animal had tugged at his 64 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 1: mistress in an attempt to arouse her. Maxie was her 65 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: prize docsin that she owned at the time, but unlike 66 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: the nick Low Song and other stories about her, Maxie 67 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 1: had not actually eaten her. The nick Low song was 68 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: a propagation of a rumor from a book called Hollywood 69 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: Babylon by an author by the name of Kenneth Anger. 70 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,720 Speaker 1: In that book, it said Maxie had made mince meat 71 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: of his mistress, and the caption for the crime scene 72 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 1: picture states dog these facts were actually wrong, but they 73 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 1: make for a great story. The reality was Maxi was 74 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 1: loyal and stood by his owner waiting for her to 75 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: get up, and never tried to eat her. All he 76 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: did was scratch at her and tugged, trying to wake 77 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: her up. And we would all like to think that 78 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 1: our pets would be like this, but the reality is 79 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: much different. And so today we'll be going over facts 80 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,719 Speaker 1: surrounding post warm pet scavenging and discussing a few of 81 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,640 Speaker 1: the cases I've had in my career, so let's get started. 82 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: Pets are a big part of our lives. Most of 83 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: us have a pet of some type, whether it's a 84 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: dog or a cat, or a fish or a hamster. 85 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: We all truly love our pets. But what happens when 86 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 1: you die and your pet is trapped with your slowly 87 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,719 Speaker 1: decomposing corpse with little to know food or water, nobody's 88 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 1: feeding your pet, and your pet gets hungry, so very hungry. 89 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: What will they do? They can't operate a can opener 90 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:54,280 Speaker 1: because they don't have thumbs, they can't call nine to 91 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: one one or door dash, and they eventually get to 92 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,360 Speaker 1: a point where they have to eat something to survive, 93 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: and all they have is you. I know, you would 94 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: like to think your pet would never eat you and 95 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: would stand loyal age your side like MAXI did until 96 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: it starved to death and died, But unfortunately, your pet 97 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 1: has different ideas. Occasionally, some pets do die waiting for 98 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:17,279 Speaker 1: their owners to wake up. They're usually the older ones 99 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: that the mild disruption in their routine ends up being 100 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: too much for them and they die. But these are 101 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,919 Speaker 1: the exception. Most pets will scavenge their owners at some 102 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:30,039 Speaker 1: point exactly how long it takes or what triggers. This 103 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,599 Speaker 1: is always the question. There isn't a lot of data 104 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:36,719 Speaker 1: out there that exactly answers the question, though, And this 105 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 1: is because like most things in forensics, you can't easily 106 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:43,040 Speaker 1: recreate the situation and in a lab. I mean, you 107 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: can't get one hundred pet owners and then have them 108 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 1: die at a known time and then watch what their 109 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 1: pet does. It's just not possible. But there is a 110 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:53,359 Speaker 1: lot of research that has been done evaluating cases after 111 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: the fact, looking at patterns and trends after scavenging has occurred. 112 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:00,480 Speaker 1: In the medical literature, there's a great discussion of postmorum 113 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:05,479 Speaker 1: scavenging by domesticated animals. The main focuses on dogs and cats, 114 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,279 Speaker 1: which are the most common pets, but there are also 115 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: articles in which pet birds and even hamsters have been 116 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: found to have consumed their owners. The reality is, though, 117 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: I've probably seen more people consumed by their dogs than 118 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:23,039 Speaker 1: any other pet, probably because dogs just don't discriminate. From 119 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: some of the theories I've read, it is felt that cats 120 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: were more likely to eat you quicker than dogs, but 121 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: dogs are more likely to eat their owners than cats. 122 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:34,799 Speaker 1: Cats usually wait a day or so before they start 123 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: consuming their owners, whereas dogs usually have a slightly longer 124 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 1: waiting period of about three to seven days, and after 125 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 1: seven days the body is so decomposed that most pets 126 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: won't touch it anymore. The reason why cats are quicker 127 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 1: to eat their owners is because they have a higher 128 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: metabolism than dogs do, and so they need to eat faster. Also, 129 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: cats have a specific need in their diet for the 130 00:06:56,400 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: amino acid tyurine, which is only found in meat. They 131 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:02,840 Speaker 1: have to find a source of meat to survive, and 132 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,839 Speaker 1: that is all they're trying to do. Nothing personal, but 133 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: with cats you have to wonder if it is personal. 134 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:12,360 Speaker 1: Cats might eat their owners faster, but ultimately the pet 135 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,119 Speaker 1: that eats their owner of the fastest is reportedly pet 136 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: Hamsters are rodents. They will eat the dead owner in 137 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,240 Speaker 1: less than a day. They will not only eat you, 138 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:23,520 Speaker 1: but they will make a nest in your body cavity 139 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: formed out of bits and pieces of your skin, soft tissue, 140 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: and bones, and evidently they'll even sharpen their teeth on 141 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: your bones. So watch out for rodents. Another interesting fact 142 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: is if there's more than one pet involved, they're more 143 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 1: likely to eat you partially because there's less food available, 144 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: but also because the alpha of the group will signal 145 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: to the others that it's time to eat, and then 146 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: it becomes a free for all and they will all 147 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: join in and eat you together. I have a couple 148 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: examples of this. One was with a group of dogs, 149 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 1: chihuabas to be specific. There was five of them, and 150 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 1: when police made a well being check because people had 151 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: not seen the owner for weeks and the mail was 152 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: building up, they forced open the door, and when the 153 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 1: light from the outside shined into the darkened foyer, there 154 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:15,680 Speaker 1: was a de season laying dead on the tile floor. 155 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: There were several chiuahuas eating in his face and neck, 156 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: and one standing on his chest. The one standing on 157 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 1: his chest reportedly looked into the light, blood covering his 158 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:29,200 Speaker 1: face and muzzle, and started snarling and barking. Then all 159 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 1: the other chihuahuas looked up, their tiny little heads soaked 160 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: in blood, and they scattered like cockroaches. The police officers 161 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 1: were freaked out by this and deeply disturbed. The chiuahuas 162 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: had partially consumed the head and neck and were working 163 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 1: their way down the body. Police called the medical examiner's 164 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: office and bodied transport arrived and picked the body up. 165 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 1: There was enough left of the owner that we were 166 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 1: able to actually determine that he had died from a 167 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 1: heart attack. What happened to the chiuahuas no one actually knows. 168 00:08:57,800 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: The police didn't know. They didn't ever find him, They 169 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: didn't look for him. Animal control was evidently called, but 170 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 1: they never followed up with it, so I don't know 171 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:06,880 Speaker 1: what happened to them. They probably went back through a 172 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:10,200 Speaker 1: portal to Hell, which is probably where they came from originally. Anyway, 173 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 1: who knows. The guy probably didn't even own chiualas. This 174 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: is not unique to dogs either. The pac mentality takes 175 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 1: over with cats as well. One case I had was 176 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,680 Speaker 1: an elderly lady. She was eighty five years old, a hoarder. 177 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 1: She had about twenty cats when she died, and she 178 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 1: was not found for several weeks, and when a well 179 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:33,200 Speaker 1: being check was finally made, they found her body secured 180 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:36,320 Speaker 1: in her home. She was nearly sclenized by the cats 181 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:41,199 Speaker 1: head and neck, chest, abdomen. Even the extremities had very 182 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:45,280 Speaker 1: little tissue left. They had even completely eaten her hands. 183 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,680 Speaker 1: Now dogs will eat the bones, but usually cats stone 184 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: they're a little more discriminating, and often if they eat bones, 185 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,880 Speaker 1: they'll just eat the bones of the hands because they're small. 186 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: This group of cats, on the other hand, actually chewed 187 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:00,959 Speaker 1: up the bones on the floor, arm, the radius, and 188 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 1: alma and broke away the bone and eaten about half 189 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: of those bones on each side. What little tissue was 190 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:09,560 Speaker 1: left of her was mummified, and there wasn't enough left 191 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:12,080 Speaker 1: of her for us to even make a determination of 192 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: what her cause of manner death was. Her case was 193 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:18,040 Speaker 1: closed out as the cause of death and manner death 194 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 1: were undetermined. The scene also had another odd finding at it. 195 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:26,720 Speaker 1: There were several dead, mummified cats that had also been 196 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 1: scavenged by the living. It had truly become a survival 197 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: of the fittest in this house. Over the years, I 198 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 1: have only seen a handful of cases in which there 199 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 1: was a group of pets. Usually what I see is 200 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:41,360 Speaker 1: a singular pet scavenging on their own. Again, it's usually 201 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:44,199 Speaker 1: just a lonely dog, and without the pack, what pushes 202 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:46,920 Speaker 1: the dog to finally eat you. There are a number 203 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 1: of theories about this. Of course, hunger is a prime 204 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 1: reason for some pets to eat, but it doesn't make 205 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: sense if food is available. One of the other theories 206 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:59,319 Speaker 1: is is when you begin to decompose, your smell changes 207 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 1: to a more or food like odor to the dog, 208 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:05,000 Speaker 1: and they begin to eat you because they don't recognize 209 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 1: you as you anymore, but they recognize you as food. 210 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 1: But after you decompose enough, they'll usually stop because the 211 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: smell just becomes so bad. The other theory is dogs 212 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:20,960 Speaker 1: are exhibiting a displacement behavior, and what is displacement behavior 213 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: is a defense mechanism where unconscious actions are used to 214 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:27,760 Speaker 1: cope with stress and anxiety. This is something seen in 215 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:30,880 Speaker 1: humans as well. It's when you're upset about a situation 216 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:34,319 Speaker 1: or frustrated and you start clicking your pen, chewing your fingernails, 217 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:36,880 Speaker 1: cleaning the house, anything that stract you or help you 218 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:40,440 Speaker 1: cope with the situation instead of outright dealing with the issue. 219 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:43,200 Speaker 1: Dogs cope the same way we do, and when there's 220 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,560 Speaker 1: a situation that they can't deal with, they can't click pens, 221 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 1: they can chew pins, or choose or scratch or wine, 222 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:53,440 Speaker 1: lick their lips or yawn, and when their owner dies, 223 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: they have anxiety, they have grief, They mourn the loss, 224 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:01,199 Speaker 1: and some people theorize that's when this displaced behavior arises, 225 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:05,520 Speaker 1: and that's because you aren't acting normally because you're dead 226 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 1: and you're not talking to them, you're not taking care 227 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 1: of them. It is theorized that your dog will initially 228 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:14,160 Speaker 1: try to revive you, and they'll start by licking your face, 229 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:16,600 Speaker 1: and when they aren't getting a response, that's when the 230 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:20,000 Speaker 1: displacement behavior kicks in and they start biting, and they 231 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:23,080 Speaker 1: escalate the biting, nipping at your nose and your mouth 232 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 1: or something along those lines, and that's when it's believed 233 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:28,360 Speaker 1: that a little blood might come out. And when the 234 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 1: blood comes out, that's when the dog's instincts take over, 235 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 1: because after all, their DNA is predatory wolf. They start 236 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:38,360 Speaker 1: eating and they can't stop themselves, and they might be hungry, 237 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:41,920 Speaker 1: or they might just be mindlessly eating because they can't 238 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,960 Speaker 1: think of anything else at that point, and you taste 239 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,560 Speaker 1: so good. The majority of cases in which an individual 240 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:50,839 Speaker 1: is found dead indoors, the head and neck are the 241 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,760 Speaker 1: main things consumed, which makes sense if they're trying to 242 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:57,200 Speaker 1: wake you up. This information is of course all about 243 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:01,240 Speaker 1: indoor domesticated pets. Now, if you're out and there's feral 244 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 1: animals or feral dogs or cats about they'll usually eat 245 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:06,960 Speaker 1: the chest and abdomen first because they're trying to get 246 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,080 Speaker 1: to the protein rich organs. But again that's not what 247 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: happens with domesticated animals. And those are the theories. I'm 248 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:16,000 Speaker 1: sure there are more out there that I haven't read yet, 249 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:18,440 Speaker 1: and maybe i'll read them one day, and maybe we'll 250 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:21,040 Speaker 1: have this discussion again, but those are the ones that 251 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 1: I know of right at this moment. Really, your pet 252 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:26,360 Speaker 1: wants you around, they love you, they don't want to 253 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:29,359 Speaker 1: lose you, and losing you does create stress and anxiety 254 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:31,800 Speaker 1: for them, and it may result in them eating you. 255 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:34,719 Speaker 1: So it'll only eat you if it has to. And 256 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: as I have said, I have had a lot of 257 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:39,880 Speaker 1: these types of cases over the years, probably about one 258 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:43,440 Speaker 1: every few months. I have one case a pet scavenging 259 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 1: where it became a life or death issue for the dog. 260 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:49,079 Speaker 1: The case was in Memphis. It was a hot summer 261 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:52,440 Speaker 1: day in July. A seventy year old male who's overweight, 262 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: decided to go out in Moe's lawn, took his shirt off, 263 00:13:56,120 --> 00:14:00,120 Speaker 1: started Mona's lawn, and he collapsed. And that's where a 264 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:03,160 Speaker 1: stay for several days, sitting out in the hot sun 265 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:07,040 Speaker 1: in his sten sin yard was his dog. It was 266 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 1: a small to medium sized mixed breed dog, just a 267 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:12,959 Speaker 1: mut and he was a really good dog. The family 268 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 1: loved him. Now, this elderly gentleman had lived alone. His 269 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: wife had died several years prior, and his kids would 270 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:22,400 Speaker 1: come by and visit him periodically. His son had not 271 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:24,360 Speaker 1: heard from him for a few days, so he went 272 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:26,480 Speaker 1: to go check on him. When he arrived at the house, 273 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: the gate was shut. He opened up the gate and 274 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,040 Speaker 1: the dog greeted him, but the dog's behavior was off. 275 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:33,960 Speaker 1: He wasn't his usual happy self, and the dog kept 276 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 1: running towards the back of the house, so that his 277 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,600 Speaker 1: Seeden's son followed him, and that's where he saw his 278 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:42,800 Speaker 1: dad laying by the lawnmower, unresponsive. The son ran over 279 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:45,520 Speaker 1: to him and he was greeted with a horrific scene. 280 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:48,440 Speaker 1: His dad was skeletonized from the neck up. There was 281 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 1: a little tissue left on the back of the scalp, 282 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,720 Speaker 1: but the rest of it the tissue was gone. No eyes, 283 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,520 Speaker 1: no mouths, no ears, none of it. The rest of 284 00:14:56,560 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: the body showed moderate decompositional changes. There was bloatings, skin slippage, 285 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 1: green discoloration, but it was horrifying, and the dog sat 286 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 1: down next to the owner and just kind of cried. 287 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:11,760 Speaker 1: The son called the police. Police arrived, the dog was 288 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 1: taken by animal control, and the body was brought to 289 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: the Medical Examiner's office and we did an autopsy. We 290 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 1: had found that the dad had died from a heart attack. 291 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 1: He had hypertensive cardiovaster disease and coronary athosclerosis, so he 292 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,080 Speaker 1: really shouldn't have been outside mowing. But this happens a 293 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: lot in the summer. People that are out of shape 294 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:34,040 Speaker 1: and shouldn't be doing yard work love to get out 295 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 1: there and work in their yard and end up dead. 296 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:38,440 Speaker 1: So just make sure if you're going to do that, 297 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: that you're healthy enough to be outside work in an 298 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 1: your yard. And that goes for shoveling snow as well. 299 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,720 Speaker 1: But the issue became did the dog eat him? And 300 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 1: the family called me and said, did the dog eat him? 301 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:52,480 Speaker 1: Because if he did, we're going to have him put 302 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: down and we want to know. And I had to 303 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:59,120 Speaker 1: make a decision. Did the dog eat him? I wasn't sure. 304 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: I was ensure how I was going to figure this out. 305 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: In Memphis at the time, I worked there. They had 306 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:08,560 Speaker 1: anthropologists on staff, and what they told me is they 307 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:10,720 Speaker 1: could figure out if an animal had eaten them by 308 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:13,760 Speaker 1: patterns on the skull. But to do this they would 309 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:16,240 Speaker 1: need to boil the skull. So what I had to 310 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:18,920 Speaker 1: do was go in there and remove the skull from 311 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:21,360 Speaker 1: what was left of the tissue, which wasn't very hard. 312 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 1: All I did was cut away the remaining musculature of 313 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:26,640 Speaker 1: the neck and cut through the inner vertebral space of 314 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:30,400 Speaker 1: the cervical spine and off comes ahead and neck, and 315 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 1: I took that to the anthropologist. They placed it in 316 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,119 Speaker 1: a large steel pot something like you'd use at a restaurant, 317 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:38,200 Speaker 1: filled it with a fluid which I don't know what 318 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: it was, and they boiled it. After a few days, 319 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: they had the skull completely cleaned up and we looked 320 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 1: at it and what we saw was incredibly interesting. The 321 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:53,320 Speaker 1: skull actually had little parallel scratches all over it, especially 322 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 1: in the ocular cavities, and what these little scratches look 323 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 1: like were little claws. And what the answer, Holodus told 324 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:05,680 Speaker 1: me that it was most consistent with raccoons. At the scene, 325 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 1: it was noticed there was raccoons around the house. When 326 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:10,879 Speaker 1: I called the family and I told them what I 327 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:14,080 Speaker 1: had found, and they told me that their dad had 328 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:18,640 Speaker 1: actually had constant problems with raccoons. They felt the guilty 329 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:21,600 Speaker 1: party was the raccoons. They must have eaten their dad. 330 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:25,400 Speaker 1: So the dog was acquitted of all charges. Now, did 331 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:28,720 Speaker 1: the dog actually consume part of him? It's hard to say, 332 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 1: but we're going to go with the happy story that 333 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,800 Speaker 1: the dog did nothing and it was all the evil raccoons. 334 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:37,679 Speaker 1: What happened to the dog in this one, well, the 335 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,040 Speaker 1: son took him in and the dog lived out the 336 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 1: rest of his life with that family case clothed. And 337 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: that brings us to the end of the episode. I 338 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:53,879 Speaker 1: hope you learned something like never trust a raccoon, and 339 00:17:53,920 --> 00:18:01,840 Speaker 1: I hope you were entertained until the next time. S