JACKSON, Tenn. — A central Tennessee man was attacked and killed by a
Rottweiler dog, just hours after adopting it from the county pound,
according to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
Anthony Riggs, 57, had adopted the Rottweiler from Jackson-Madison County
Rabies Control, which is a part of the health department, Thursday morning.
The dog attacked and killed him later that same day, according to the
Sheriff's Office.
After leaving the county animal facility Thursday around 10:30 a.m., Riggs
took the Rottweiler to show it to his son Thomas Riggs, according to
Adrienne Riggs, Anthony's ex-wife. Father and son had made plans for the
holidays, hugged and said they loved each other, she said.
At about 3:30 that afternoon, Madison County Sheriff’s deputies responded
to a call about a dog attack in the 2200 block of Highway 70 East. Deputies
found Anthony Riggs on the floor. Emergency Medical Services pronounced him
dead at the scene, according to Tom Mapes, spokesman for the Sheriff’s
Office.
Mapes said Kathy Riggs, Riggs’ wife, called her husband from work at around
1 p.m., but did not get an answer. When she came home with a co-worker, she
found her husband dead, Mapes said.
Kathy Riggs could not be reached for comment.
Adrienne Riggs said both Kathy Riggs and her co-worker were bitten by the
dog, which ran out of the house and was shot by deputies.
Mapes said the co-worker was Teresa Sanchez, who posted on The Jackson Sun’
s Facebook page that she was present and was bitten by the dog.
“He wasn’t growling or showing teeth he just bit us like he did it all the
time or something,” Sanchez wrote on Facebook. “It was unreal what that
dog did and he should NEVER have been adopted out period.”
Sanchez could not be reached for further comment.
The Sheriff’s Office is investigating Riggs’ death and more details will
not be released until the investigation is complete, Mapes said.
The Rottweiler that killed Anthony Riggs was adopted from Jackson-Madison
County Rabies Control. The dog was a stray picked up by a city employee five
days before its adoption, according to Kim Tedford, director of the county'
s Regional Health Department.
Tedford said the dog will be autopsied for signs of rabies or other disease
and any signs of recent abuse.
“It was a stray running at large, so we have no idea if the dog had been
vaccinated or not,” Tedford said.
Tedford said the 5-year-old male showed no signs of aggression while at
Rabies Control and she had not heard of it biting any Rabies Control
officers. Officers handle the dogs while they are at Rabies Control and look
for signs of aggression such as growling, showing teeth and lunging, she
said.
