Dog That Killed Owner Likely High on Crack

It looks like a dog that fatally attacked its owner in London was high on crack cocaine. During a coroner's inquest, a veterinary toxicologist testified that high levels of the drug and of morphine were found in the urine of the Staffordshire bull terrier named Major following the March attack, which was witnessed by a BBC crew filming a series about drugs, per the Guardian. Mario Perivoitos had begun having a seizure when Major reportedly attacked, crushing his owner's larynx and causing loss of blood. A producer intervened, but 41-year-old Perivoitos died later at a hospital.

A coroner said Perivoitos had also taken cocaine and was likely "experiencing an epileptic shock, which caused the dog to nip his face before biting his neck," per the Mirror. It is "likely that this attack happened because this dog had taken cocaine … up to 48 hours before, but it may have been much shorter than that," the Guardian and Evening Times quote the veterinary toxicologist as saying. "It is almost impossible to say whether that will make the dog attack but it does make them respond abnormally." Detective chief inspector Luke Marks told the court that the dog was taken to a police facility following the attack and "was due to be destroyed but I do not know if it has been." (More animal attack stories.)