CLAYTON – A 67 year-old Clayton man died after being attacked by two dogs. It happened Monday afternoon on Eddlestone Court off Gordon Road between Clayton and Wilson’s Mills.
Anthony Gerard Bastardi of Butterfly Drive, Clayton died in the attack. According to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, Bastardi’s daughter and her family were out of town on vacation. The family had hired a local animal hospital to care for the two dogs while they were away. The dogs were a cane corso and bull terrier.
While at the home, the animal hospital employee let the two dogs out of the house into the back yard, which is enclosed by a fence. While in the back yard, the cane corso reportedly bit the employee in the leg. The victim left the dogs in the back yard, retreated to safety, and notified the pet owners.
The family reportedly called Bastardi, who was familiar with both dogs and had been around them multiple times.
Bastardi arrived at the home around 12:30pm and told the animal hospital employee it was okay for her to leave. While there alone, Bastardi was reportedly attacked inside the house. The attack continued as the victim exited the front of the home.
Neighbors called 911 after seeing Bastardi being attacked in front of the home.
Wilson’s Mills Police were the first to arrive on the scene. The cane corso was still acting aggressive as he met the police officer at the entrance to the drivewayy. The officer shot the dog and the animal ran away.
The officer immediately turned his attention towards the bull terrier, which was still attacking the victim. The officer shot and killed the bull terrier to end the attack. The injured cane corso was located nearby. The dog was shot a second time and died.
EMS crews pronounced Mr. Bastardi deceased at the scene.
Detective Lt. Don Pate said neighbors reported the family had walked the dogs through the neighborhood in the past and the dogs never appeared to act aggressive. The sheriff’s office confirmed they had no prior calls to the residence for any animal complaints.
The incident remains under investigation.
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This story has been updated.
Why haven’t the owners of the dogs criminally charged??
This just happen. Let the investigation play out. This is the problem with the internet age. People want everything now!
The neighbors said there has been no evidence of aggression. They were out of town. I would say the dogs felt abandoned and acted to protect the property. No charges should be filed
I’m withholding judgement on the owners at this time. They were out of town. The friend who went over to help the animal hospital employee obviously didn’t think there would be an issue or he would not have gone. This appears to be out of character for these dogs.
It wasn’t their friends, it was the owners FATHER who was killed.
there was another person there before the father, this is a horrible tragedy and my heart absolutely breaks for everyone invovled
Exactly!
Lamont, you do realize that this incident happened just twelve hours ago (as of the time I’m writing this)? It’s still under investigation, and besides, why would the owners need to be charged if what their neighbors said is true?
Time is of the essence in a case like this. Call 911, but if you have a gun, kill those dogs.
How very sad for this family and the family of the man killed. Lifting them up in prayer.
One article says it was the home owners father. I can’t begin to imagine the grief & guilt.
the man killed by the dogs was the owner’s
dad.
Why would they charge the owners for something they had no control over, something the dogs had never done, and their family member has been killed.
What a terrible tragedy. Prayers going up for all involved. This is just awful for all involved!
Kill the dogs, charge the owners.
Smh…disturbing that this world is still filled with this low level of ignorance 🤷🏾♀️
This is an incredibly sad story to read. I’ll be praying for the family of the man that died, and I hope the animal hospital employee will be alright.
Still amazed that a cop shoots the wrong dog first and doesn’t kill it instead of shooting the dog that’s doing the mauling.
He shot the first dog because it was charging him. Go do something better with your life.
The firat dog met the officer at the driveway, about to attack him. He neutralized the first threat so he could move on to the victim being attacked by the second dog. Reading really isn’t that difficult.
Somehow I feel like u didn’t read the whole article.
You own dogs. You own property where dogs live. Dogs bite woman who was allowed on your property. Dogs kill man who was allowed on your property. Dogs have not shown aggression before both incidents. Civil liability dictates that owner is responsible and property insurance company will pay out to victims. Criminal liability (if charged) shows that if dogs were not known to be violent before incident, owner can use that as a defense.
Hold people responsible for their animals and you will see less of this.
Absolutely horrific! Two canine children attack their sitter and then attack and kill their human’s father. That poor lady must be completely distraught. Imagine coming home to the carnage that remains and losing your father and two dog babies. Absolutely horrible! Definitely hope the sitter is okay after her attack. She was lucky to get away. So sad!!
Animal hospital employee should be thanking God. It’s a miracle she wasn’t killed. She should also lawyer up.
What kind of people get a pitbull (if that isn’t bad enough) and a cane corso?? The owners endangered the community and their own family members.
Glad for the Animal hospital employee. Hope she sues her employer too for putting her in imminent danger.
There’s a lot of evil in this world. Protect yourselves. Neighbor was smart to wait for the police and not try to intervene. They likely would have perished too.
Can’t believe the people who claim no foul after a man died. The owners caused this situation by attaining dangerous dogs and then not handling them appropriately.
People need to be held accountable constantly (they took those dogs into public spaces) for their threatening other people’s lives. Sad someone had to die to make what should have been obvious to all.
People think they know their rights.
Have very little sympathy for this family. The father didn’t have much going for him either. Going over there without any plan. Opening the door and fleeing with the dogs attached to him…endangering the cops and neighbors’ life.
What if a random stranger had walked in front of the house. Not an unlikely scenario.
Selfish, bad owners and family. What has society turned into to allow this situation to even occur. This was not a weird sequence of events but a ticking timebomb.
Plenty of decent people own pitbulls there Truth, And there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, according to the article no pitbulls were even involved with this attack, funny you just had to throw in the Obligatory pitbull comment out of sheer ignorance. Don’t punish a breed punish the deed.
My understanding from reading this article is that the pit bull was actively attacking the victim on the ground when the officer shot and killed it!
Read closely. The dogs belonged to the victim’s (Bastardi) daughter. That was why the owner called him (Bastardi) to go over to the house. He knew the dogs and the dogs knew him.
You know what their are some ignorant people on here who should put their 2 cents in their pocket. Is there no such thing as an accident any more? Give me a break. Every time something happens it does not warrant suing someone.
These types of dog breeds should be illegal to own. It’s what they are made to do and there isn’t any amount of lying about “it’s the owner, not the dog” that will change that fact.