THOR AND THELSA BREAK FREE, ATTACK CHILD ACCORDING TO LAWSUIT.
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A Palm Beach County couple is being sued after their two American Bulldogs allegedly attacked and repeatedly bit a 4-year-old girl in the face at a vacation rental property in the Florida Keys. The lawsuit, just filed in Circuit Court in Palm Beach County, claims the attack happened July 7, 2025, at a home on Leoni Drive in Islamorada owned by TMR Properties, LLC. The child, identified in court papers only by the initials B.O., was a social guest at the property with her parents, according to the complaint.
According to the lawsuit, the dogs — named Thor and Tesla — had been intentionally shut in a separate room because the homeowners knew the animals could be aggressive toward people, especially young children. Shortly before the family was set to leave, the suit claims, the dogs got out of that room and ran straight into the living room where the girl was sitting. The complaint says the bulldogs attacked “without warning or provocation” and bit her several times in the face, leaving what attorneys describe as permanent injuries.
The suit names three defendants: Tina M. Rorabeck-Tipton and Joseph F. Tipton, individually, along with TMR Properties, LLC, the Lake Worth-based company that owns the Islamorada property and is solely owned by Rorabeck-Tipton. The complaint alleges both dog owners knew, or should have known, that the dogs had a history of aggressive behavior, and that TMR failed to take reasonable security measures to keep visitors safe from the animals.
The seven-count complaint leans heavily on Florida’s strict dog-bite statute, which would make both owners automatically liable for the girl’s injuries regardless of fault, and adds separate negligence claims against the Tiptons along with negligent maintenance and negligent security claims against TMR. The case was filed in Palm Beach County — not Monroe County, where Islamorada is located — because the Tiptons live in PBC and TMR’s principal place of business is in Lake Worth. The girl’s parents, Stephanie V. Thorpe and John B. O’Brien of Nashville, Tennessee, are seeking damages in excess of $50,000 and have demanded a jury trial.
The family is represented by attorneys Daniel D. Dolan II, Eric Bluestein and Laura Navia of the Miami-based firm Dolan Dobrinsky Rosenblum Bluestein, LLP. None of the defendants had filed a response as of Wednesday morning. We note that lawsuits are allegations.
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