Photo of a young Robert “Bob” Northrop at Hāpuna Beach “before the hotel was built”, courtesy Shannon Matson.

(BIVN) – On the same day police identified the Kaʻū man killed in a Tuesday morning dog attack, the victim’s family said they want to prevent such a tragedy from happening to anyone else in Hawaiʻi.

Police say 71-year-old Robert Northrop of Ocean View succumbed to his injuries while en route to the hospital, after he was attacked by four large dogs in the roadway of Outrigger Drive.

“There is currently no evidence that the victim provoked this horrific attack,” said Hawaiʻi Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz. “This incident is a senseless tragedy that could have been avoided.”

Police say the dogs’ owners were not home at the time of the attack. “Investigators are looking into claims that the dogs had previously been reported as stray animals,” a police news release stated. “In the meantime, the owners have surrendered all four dogs and a litter of 10 puppies to the Hawai’i County Animal Control and Protection Agency.” Police are investigating the incident as a Negligent Failure to Control a Dangerous Dog case.

Northrop’s daughter, Shannon Matson, said that she and her sister, Anna, “are absolutely shocked and devastated” by the news.

In a shared statement, Matson wrote:

Our long-standing family joke is that Robert “Bob” Northrop has more lives than a cat, because he has survived catastrophic surfing accidents, construction accidents, car crashes, motorcycle crashes, and most recently last year- an electric bike crash into the lava fields in HOVE that hospitalized him at Queen’s Medical for 3 weeks. It is so tragic for him to finally meet his end in this way, especially as he is a life long animal lover and would frequently rescue strays. He was born in Connecticut where he and my mom met and went off to explore the world together. One quick story that shows both the nature of his spontaneity and his passion for doing good for others is that he was prompted on a whim to move to the islands and help rebuild homes on Kauai after hearing a news story about the destruction from hurricane ‘Iwa. He has a background in glass work and construction and has always been good at building things. He also worked for the County of Hawai’i for many years as an inspector for DPW. Once he arrived on Hawai’i island in the late 80’s he knew he never wanted to live any where else and lived in many locations in Kona and ended up living in Oceanview after my parents divorced in 2005.

While we don’t know all of the details yet, our family is committed to making sure that the dog owners are held accountable and we will be doing everything in our power to stop this sort of tragedy from happening to anyone else on our island home. There is a huge over population of unwanted and stray dogs and we want to see all animals treated with compassion and also all residents to feel safe walking and biking in their neighborhoods. While our County has recently enacted stricter laws on animal control issues we are hoping that they will truly be enforced by our officers and upheld in court to prevent future loss of life or injury.

Police are awaiting autopsy results to determine the exact cause of Northrop’s death. Anyone with information relative to the investigation is asked to contact Detective Donovan Kohara at (808) 326-4646 ext. 238, or via email at donovan.kohara@hawaiicounty.gov. They may also contact the police department’s non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311.