In ‘horrible new ways for you to die that you can now be scared of’ news, an inquest at North London coroner’s court has heard that the dog of Mario Perivoitos, an IT worker who was mauled to death, had probably eaten crack cocaine before attacking its owner.
The awful incident was seen but not filmed by journalists, who were in the North London flat of Perivoitos filming a BBC documentary called Drug Map of Britain when Perivoitos began having a seizure and lay down on his bed.
It was then that his Staffordshire Bull Terrier Major began to attack.
Perivoitos received serious injuries to his face and neck, and extensive haemorrhaging, and was killed after the dog crushed his larynx between its jaws.
The film crew called an ambulance and tried to help as the dog attached itself to Perivoitos’ neck, with the programme’s producer, Joshua Haddow, eventually managing to wrestle Major off his owner; but it was too late to save him.
Nicholas Carmichael, a veterinary toxicologist, told the inquest that urine samples had indicated Major had high levels of cocaine and morphine in his system.
As reported by Mail Online, Carmichael said the drugs probably played a part.
It is very likely that this dog had consumed drugs, probably eaten them. It is almost impossible to say whether that will make the dog attack, but it does make them respond abnormally. They become very excited and agitated. It is more likely that this attack happened because this dog had taken cocaine.
Senior coroner Andrew Walker, concluded that Perivoitos had died as a consequence of injuries received from the dog, and that the combination of a seizure and a dog with drugs in its system caused the mauling.
It is likely that he was experiencing an epileptic shock, which caused the dog to nip his face before biting his neck. The film crew telephoned an ambulance while attempting to get the dog off Mr Perivoitos. It is likely that the dog had consumed cocaine by eating it and it is likely that this was an additional factor in the dog’s behaviour. Mr Perivoitos suffered serious injuries and was taken to a major trauma hospital, and died shortly after midnight.
Police told the inquest that Major is to be put down.
