FATAL DOG ATTACKS: THE TRUTH BEHIND THE TRAGEDY

   IT’S THE OWNER, NOT THE DOG  

A National Canine Research Council Year-End Report: 2007 

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Extensive research and investigation using 40 years of data has conclusively identified the reckless and criminal ownership practices that can cause a dog to become dangerous:

OWNER MANAGEMENT & CONTROL OF DOGS

Owners failing to humanely contain, control and maintain their dogs (chained dogs, loose roaming dogs, cases of abuse/neglect), and owners failing to properly supervise interaction between children and dogs.

FUNCTION OF DOG

Owners maintaining dogs for guarding/protection, fighting, intimidation/status, or as yard dogs. Such dogs are resident dogs, not family pets.

REPRODUCTION STATUS OF DOG

Owners failing to spay or neuter animals not used for competition, show, or in a responsible breeding program.

 Tabulations of fatal dog attacks by breed yield no understanding of human/canine interaction and offer no remedies to enhance community safety. Forty years ago, Pit bulls and Rottweilers combined were involved in less than 2% of all fatal attacks.* Nevertheless, one or more of these same critical factors was evident in 90% of all fatal dog attacks during that time.

From 2005-2007, increased focus on the negligent and criminal human behaviors has resulted in 31% of owners and/or parents of young victims being criminally charged.

HOLDING OWNERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE HUMANE TREATMENT, CONTAINMENT, AND CONTROL OF THEIR DOGS IS THE ONLY WAY TO MINIMIZE INCIDENCE OF CANINE AGGRESION.

Behind the Statistics:  The True Tragedy

Statistical numbers and general analysis of fatal dog attack cases often fail to convey the true degree of negligence and the terribly tragic circumstances experienced by both the victim and the dog. Statistics often present an impersonal and detached examination of traumatic events. 

The case below occurred in 2007 and is cited to convey, on a personal and emotional level,  the preventable tragedy found in the overwhelming majority of cases of fatal dog attacks, both past and present. In this classic example it is very clear how negligent and abusive owner behavior resulted in dire circumstances for both the child and the dog. 

THE BOY AND THE DOG: A NEW YORK TRAGEDY

The Boy:

• A two-year old boy is bitten in the throat by his father's "guard" dog.
• The father faults his two-year-old son for crawling too close to the dog's food bowl.
• Two months later, the boy's visiting grandmother is attacked and bitten by the same dog. She requires treatment at the local hospital.
• The father is charged with owning a dangerous dog and owning an unlicensed dog.
• Child Protective Services monitors the father, child and home to ensure that his son is not exposed to the dog, which is still on the premises.
• Three months later, the boy is found, alone and unsupervised, in the backyard, crawling in high grass near the shore of a lake.  His father says he is unconcerned, as the lake is “not very deep.”
• During the months following the guard dog is seen chained outside, but then disappears.
• Three years later, the father obtains a new “family" dog.

The Dog:

• At five-weeks of age, the tan, male pup is sold to a man - call him Owner # 2 - for $100.00
• One month later, Owner # 2 complains the 10-week-old puppy is "hard to house train" and gives the dog to a new owner, Owner # 3.
• Owner # 3 locks the dog in the basement and "forgets" to feed him.
• After a couple of months, the dog is given to Owner # 4, who feels sorry that the dog has been locked in the basement without food.
• Owner # 4 only keeps the dog for a couple of months before giving the dog to Owner # 5.  Owner # 4 explains that she is moving, and cannot be bothered to take the dog with her.
• Owner # 5, the father in question, chains the dog to a large scrap metal heap.

Boy Meets Dog:

Owner # 5 has had the dog for less than a week when he allows his son to go out and feed the dog, which is still chained to the pile of scrap metal. Fifteen minutes later, the boy is found dead, lying amid the junk, entangled in the dog’s chain.  The food bowl is found upside down and empty.

Two days later, Owner # 5 has the dog killed. He later pleads guilty to misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child and is sentenced to one year conditional discharge – he is already on probation for another offense –  and is prohibited from owning a dog for a year.

The news stories about this tragedy all described the dog as the “family dog.”

What About Breed & Breed Statistics?

The fundamental flaw found when using breed and/or statistics to define canine behavior is that it gives no recognition to natural canine behaviors and ignores dangerous ownership practices. Or, in other words, the behaviors which directly played a role in an individual case of fatal canine aggression are ignored, while breed history, image and statistics are discussed.

This approach at addressing canine aggression can be dangerous, because it either ignores or refuses to acknowledge the very real canine and human behaviors that have played a direct role in cases of canine aggression and teaches us nothing about the prevention of dog attacks.

Recently, some organizations, groups and individuals are keeping "track" of Pit bull and dog-related fatalities as found reported in the media. Inevitably, using media sources to track fatal dog attacks will yield inaccurate numbers and seriously flawed conclusions on the types of dogs involved in these attacks and the circumstances surrounding them. The media has repeatedly proven not to be a reliable source of information on dog attacks.

Do Pit Bulls Inflict Injuries Unlike Other Breeds of Dogs?

Descriptions of the type of fatal injuries dogs have inflicted on their few unfortunate victims is a graphic topic that NCRC has been hesitant to address. Fatal dog attacks are exceedingly rare occurrences; and in light of the fact that many people already harbor a highly disproportionate fear of being killed by a dog, there seemed no useful purpose in addressing the nature and type of injuries a victim sustained during such an attack, nor do we wish to compromise the privacy of victims or sensationalize their tragedies.  

Unfortunately, selected groups and individuals are making claims about the severity and nature of Pit bull attacks versus the severity and nature of other (non-bully) breed attacks and exposing victims' identities and descriptions of victims' injuries to forward their personal theories and agenda.  

Virtually all of the claims about the "unique damage that Pit bulls inflict" are made by individuals or special interest groups with no knowledge or experience in analyzing fatal dog bite injuries. For this reason, the NCRC feels compelled to address these tactics and claims.

For nearly two decades the NCRC has investigated and analyzed fatal dog attack injuries. The NCRC has previously stated that it is impossible to determine the breed of dog by reviewing an autopsy report or photo, as no breed of dog has a particular method of attack or inflicts an exclusive type of injury.

Below is a list of 15 different victims of a dog attack along with the description of the fatal wounds as listed on the autopsy report. Each victim was attacked and killed by a single dog.  Each victim was killed by a different breed of dog (for a total of 15 different breeds*).  Only one victim was killed by a Pit bull (or any type of bully breed).

• Victim 1: Multiple penetrating wounds to the abdomen
• Victim 2: Collapsed lungs, multiple wounds to the chest, partial devourment
• Victim 3: Massive head and neck injuries
• Victim 4: Multiple bite wounds, dismemberment
• Victim 5: Extensive scalp and neck injuries
• Victim 6: Multiple lacerations of scalp and neck, depressed skull fracture
• Victim 7: Exsanguination from multiple bite wounds
• Victim 8: Skull fracture and severe bites to upper back and face
• Victim 9: Multiple penetrating wounds to back and chest
• Victim 10: Severe bite wounds to the head
• Victim 11: Severe bites, massive bleeding, broken facial & neck bones
• Victim 12: Massive head injuries
• Victim 13: Severe, multiple penetrating injuries to head and neck
• Victim 14: Massive bite injuries to lower extremities, dismemberment
• Victim 15: Severe scalp, facial wounds, laceration of jugular

Fifteen different breeds inflicted the fatal wounds listed above. The breeds were:

• Siberian husky
• Coonhound
• Dachshund
• Chow chow
• Pit bull
• Sheepdog-type dog
• Malamute
• Labrador Retriever
• Chesapeake Bay Retriever
• St. Bernard
• German Shepherd dog
• Wolfdog
• Golden Retriever
• Mixed breed (no discernable breed visible)
• Rottweiler

It is virtually impossible for anyone to match the breed of dog with the fatal injuries listed above - as such - claims that one breed of dog inflicts injuries unlike other breeds have no merit.  

(Fatal wounds / breed matches can be obtained upon request).

* Breeds were chosen for this sample only if the breed has been involved in more than one human fatality (i.e., Airedale Terrier, Pomerarian, Jack Russell Terrier, et.al,  were not used as only one human fatality has been attributed to each of these breeds in the United States).

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