Parents for Dog Bite Awareness

This is one of the many cases I unfortunately had lined up but was unable to process until now. It’s an egregious case with tons of horrific points and a complete lack of justice, as is commonly found in areas like Alabama.

Willard Norton was a quiet, well loved man who maintained a beautiful yard and clean home with his wife. He was known as the Watermelon Man and was “loved by everyone who met him.”

Unfortunately, You Can’t Choose Your Neighbors

Missy Nix and her husband were well known. They allegedly participated in shady hustles and ran a dog breeding operation with signs of animal cruelty and abuse. The dogs that eventually killed Willard had been a consistent problem for at least a year. They killed a man’s dog and were involved in multiple aggressive attempts against other people. The ex-MIL spoke out publicly on the breeding issues:

Willard tried to respectfully handle the growing issue, talking to the neighbors, writing letters, and begging for them to be careful. He eventually reached out to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s office multiple times and they confirmed this, but seemed to take no action.

Just days before the final attack, Willard had an unwanted altercation with Missy when her pitbulls charged him in his yard. He yelled to keep them off his property or he would finally sh00t them.

This seems to have triggered Missy to make a rehoming attempt the day before her dogs killed Willard for at least one of the pits, where the history of aggression was not disclosed:

Witnesses claim they heard Missy slide her door open and “sic” her pitbulls 🐕 on Willard.

At the time, Willard was trimming his rose bushes. The pits severely mauled Willard by his front door. When first responders arrived, they attempted life saving procedures and placed Willard on a life-flight ✈️ to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Darlene Bradford wrote a touching memorial post about Willard where hundreds of people shared their love for him. His grandson, Andrew Tate, wrote:

“He was a man in every way I hope I will be someday. He loved people the way we should love people. He prayed for me beside his truck at the station when I lost my job. He loved his family, he loved Jesus and he loved me.”

RIP 🪦 Mr. Norton. It continues to shock me that our society tolerates horrible dogs owned by horrible people just running around tearing apart others without consequence. May your story not be in vain, but trigger lasting change in Lawrence County, in Alabama, and in the country and world so that no one else ever has to endure such a hideous ending.

Respectfully,

-JL DBA Editor

News article:

https://www.waff.com/2024/06/03/elderly-lawrence-county-man-mauled-death-by-dogs/https://www.waff.com/2024/06/03/elderly-lawrence-county-man-mauled-death-by-dogs/