the saying there is no bad dog only bad owners? takes a big man to take a small dog for a walk, but a small man to take a big dog for a walk.
sad time for that poor family, (sorry for your loss)
i have an eight year old staff dog when he was a pup we had an australian vet and he showed me the correct way to socialize a pup, blowing in face, cleaning eyes pulling cleaning ears, around the genitals, tail pulling, getting the dog used to everything he should and has come across very early in life (this method has worked on every dog i have owned). i used to sleep with the dog till i left home