Coal, a rescued pit bull, is a certified search and rescue dog in Indiana.

While dogs continue to serve in many of their traditional functions in Indiana, dogs have taken on new and unique tasks that enhance the lives of their owners and the community.  Therapy, medical assistance, and search and rescue are only a few of the many services dogs provide to the people of Indiana.

While serious attacks by dogs are rare, the intense media coverage that may accompany such an incident can mislead the public and/or lawmakers into imagining that dogs pose a significant threat to the community.  Sensationalized publicity, combined with a lack of understanding of the infrequency of dog attacks, and of their causes, has resulted in reactive and uniformed policies directed against certain types of dogs.  At least six towns or cities in Indiana have  banned or restricted certain types of dogs in the profoundly mistaken belief that the appearance of a dog  governs its behavior . . . or the behavior of its owner.

Fortunately though, most of the residents of Indiana understand and recognize the value of dogs, irrespective of their individual physical characteristics.

Today, dogs contribute more to the welfare of individuals and society than perhaps any other time in the history of the human dog bond. Additionally, over the past three decades, increased awareness of the importance of humane care and control of dogs, the enactment and enforcement of leash laws, and dog bite prevention education, have all been instrumental in  reducing the number of reported dog-related injuries in Indiana and throughout the nation.

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Laney with Christopher after she alerted him to a house fire

Family Dog Saves Children From Fire

A brave dog is credited with saving a boy and his friends from a fire in Portage, Ind.  The heroics of a loyal Labrador got her young owner and his friends out of harm's way.

Christopher Peebles' dog, Laney, is more than a family pet. She's a guardian, getting a lot of love after leading Christopher to safety this morning.

A fire broke out at their home while Christopher and two friends were sleeping in the basement. Laney woke Christopher up.

"My dog came down and bit me to wake us up because there was smoke everywhere and we walked upstairs and we thought it was a dream," Christopher said.

A space heater in the garage sparked the blaze sometime around 10 a.m.

Peebles' mother and father had already left for work when firefighters broke through the door to get to the kids.

Police called Christohper's mom to tell her what happened.

"It dropped. It dropped to my feet. And I just started shaking," Vickie Peebles said.

The fire spread to the attic and consumed everything in the garage. The kids say if it weren't for Laney, they wouldn't have made it out alive.

Even neighbors who saw the fire couldn't believe their eyes.

"I freaked out, I put on my contacts and ran out and seen him and I just started crying," said ninth grader Michelle Iliff.

Laney had a doctor's visit to make sure she's OK. Her owners say she's a little shaken up after her ordeal, but the cure for that is pampering.

"I think I'm gonna give her a big bag of treats," Christopher said.

The Peebles family is also thanking firefighters for their quick response this morning.

National Canine Research Council

What is a dog bite?

While the question seems simple enough,  the answer is often not what we imagine.

Dog bite numbers offer little useful information about canine behavior.  Dog bite numbers are simply a tally of the number of people who sought medical treatment and/or reported a break in skin after exposure to a dog's nail or tooth;  in other words,  the number of persons that have been injured interacting with a dog, whether or not that interaction involved aggression.

So, if dog bite numbers provide little useful information about canine aggression, then what can Indiana dog bite numbers really tell us about canine / human interaction?

Dog bite numbers reveal that there is no "dog bite epidemic" in Indiana, and that all types of dog-related injuries in the state have dramatically decreased in the past 3 decades.

Increased awareness of the importance of humane care and control of dogs, the enactment and enforcement of leash laws, and dog bite prevention education, have all been instrumental in drastically lowering the number of reported dog-related injuries nationwide.

Despite significant increases in the human and dog population, cities and counties in Indiana have reported steady decreases in the number of reported dog bites from the early 1970s:

Source:   Marion County Public Health Department

Source:  Indiana State Department of Health

indiana-state-2005

National Canine Research Council

Over the past 45 years (1965-present) there have been twelve (12) dog bite-related fatalities in Indiana, an average of one (1) fatality every four (4) years.

NCRC's 2011 Preliminary Report on Dog Bite-Related Fatalities illustrates the challenge of accurately reporting on these extremely rare, tragic events. Our mission of preserving the human-canine bond obligates us to be as accurate about these emotionally charged incidents as we can, so that they are calmly, correctly and, therefore, usefully understood. Accuracy takes time.

At least twelve (12) different breeds/types of dogs have been reported to be involved in these incidents.*

The victims were 5 adults and 7 children.

Only one of the fatalities involved dogs that had been spayed or neutered. All the others involved intact dogs.

At least four of the cases of dog bite-related fatalities in Indiana resulted in owners receiving convictions on criminal charges related to the incident.

In 1982, a 10-year-old girl was riding her bicycle down a country road accompanied by her own dog. On this road was a residence where an elderly couple had taken in a large pack of stray dogs. While the couple fed the dogs, they did not provide medical care for the animals, nor did they keep them contained. The pack chased the girl, attacked and killed her. The owner of the dogs, C. Bird, pleaded guilty to criminal recklessness and was fined $500. (Paoli)

In 2000, W. Newton and J. Latvaitis were found guilty of criminal recklessness after their large pack of dogs attacked and killed a U.S. Census worker.

In 2005, Linda Kitchen and Michael Kitchen, a husband and wife, were both convicted of criminal recklessness resulting in bodily harm, of obstruction of justice, and of false reporting, after their dogs killed their 87-year-old mother (in-law). The false reporting charge stemmed from their claim that a "Rottweiler-type" dog and "a white dog" entered their home and attacked Julia Beck. They apparently made this false statement in an effort to conceal the fact that the dogs belonging to the daughter were responsible for the attack. (Marion)

In 2005, Andy Warren and Anita Warren both pled guilty to failing to restrain a dog resulting in death, after their four dogs escaped their yard and mauled to death their 83-year-old neighbor, Boyd Fiscus. (Morgan County)

In 2007, Phyllis Carroll, 63, was attacked and killed by one of her dogs after she went out into the yard to feed him some treats. (Connersville)

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*Note: In recent years, scientists have established that visual identification of dogs of unknown origin is extremely unreliable; therefore, while we can be sure these listed incidents involved varied types of dogs, we cannot be certain of the accuracy of most breed identifications.

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In spite of the recklessness and negligence of some owners, dogs still pose an incredibly low risk of causing a fatality in Indiana:

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

In 2007, fifty-three (53) Indiana children died as result of maltreatment (abuse / neglect).

In the single year of 2007, more than 7 times as many Indiana children died from maltreatment than the total of all children killed by dogs in the state over the past 45 years.

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Fact is, people in Indiana accept far greater risks from ATVs, bicycles and swimming pools than any that are associated with companion animals.

National Canine Research Council