Canine scavenging of human remains in an indoor setting

Post-mortem injuries by a dog: A case report

“…The absence of self-defense injuries or signs of vital trauma provided us with further differential clues between artificial post-mortem bite injuries on the one hand and intravital acquired bite injuries on the other, which are generally observed in combination with self-defense wounds. 11,12 Like most similar cases reported in literature, [13][14][15] this report presents a case in which the action of a domestic animal played no role in the causation chain leading to the home death itself, which had instead resulted from natural causes.…”

Indoor postmortem animal scavenging - a case report

“…6 Even in the presence of plenty of food in the near proximity, indoor postmortem mutilation by pets has been noted. 12,13 Furthermore such activities have been noted even within a very short period of time after death. 13 These reasons clearly show that the only reason for such behavior by the animal is not hunger or lack of food in the proximity.…”

“…A pet noticing his master being in an unconscious state will try to help by licking or nudging, failing to produce any positive results the behavior of the animal can become more fanatic and could lead to biting. 13 This kind of behaviors is known as "displacement" which is motivated by confusion and fear. Furthermore dogs have been noted for sniffing around the region of mouth and nose in recumbent bodies.…”

“…There are reported cases where animal scavenging by pets have occurred within the first 45 minutes of the death of the person. 13 If the animals are being locked up, the extent of the scavenging can be to a degree of complete consumption of the soft tissues leaving the bones. In such situation it has been noted that feeding typically begins at the face and then moves down the body.…”

“…Paw prints; blood stains; animal feces at the scene; pets having easy access to the corpses in the house and presence of rodents nests in the close vicinity are few other findings that have been reported in cases of indoor animal scavenging. 1,2,9,13 Therefore during investigations of deaths which are suspected to have been occurred indoor and have injuries to the exposed area of the body, a special notes of the factors such as presence/absence of self-defense injuries on the deceased body, amount of blood present in the scene, presence of paw prints deriving from animal's paws, accessibility to the pets/ wild animals, presence of rodent nests in the immediate surroundings must be made while taking a detailed assessment of the scene of the questioned case.…”