Joseph Pettaway: fatal dog attack in Montgomery, AL (2018)

A police dog attacked Pettaway during a burglary response; he later died.

FatalUnknown police dogMontgomery, AL
Date2018-07-08
LocationMontgomery area; historical source does not support an exact BiteDB map pin
Victim(s)Joseph Pettaway (reported age: 51)
Dogs involvedSee cited historical table; exact count retained in source when available
Injury severityFatal
Breed attributionUnknown police dogThe cited historical incident table does not provide a specific breed attribution for this event. BiteDB leaves the breed unknown rather than inferring it.
What the record currently shows

Incident summary

A police dog attacked Pettaway during a burglary response; he later died.

Media & source coverage

Video, reporting and source material

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Source provenance

Primary record used by BiteDB

Fatal dog attacks in the United States — cited historical incident tableSecondary historical index with per-incident citations to reliable news, official records, and/or scholarly sources · Published 2026-08-28 · Accessed 2026-08-28

The cited historical incident table records a fatal dog attack on 2018-07-08 involving Joseph Pettaway in Montgomery, AL, with dog type listed as Unknown police dog.

Open original source ↗
Data-quality notes

What BiteDB does not infer

Breed is recorded only at the provenance level shown above. Missing injury details, dog history, ownership facts or circumstances remain unknown unless a reliable source establishes them. This record may be updated as police, animal-control, medical, court or follow-up reporting becomes available.