De Munnynck and Van de Voorde’s (2002) case study of a single DBRF includes a summary of common DBRF factors from the literature. The authors are physicians, and as often happens in papers without benefit of a canine behavior expert, the literature review is uncritical, containing discredited and even non-existent sources, as extreme as claims of “rape of humans by dogs.” Secondary or tertiary citations from such papers should never be used as a basis for subsequent literature reviews.
The purpose of this article was to outline a proper forensic approach to investigating DBRFs in order to reconstruct the events physically, usually for legal investigatory purposes. Their stated aim to facilitate efforts to reduce the number of canine attacks is clearly beyond the scope of this medical investigation.
The case in question involved a 6-year-old girl who was bitten by three dogs belonging to her father and identified as Rottweilers. The victim suffered multiple bites to her head and neck and ultimately died of asphyxia and external bleeding. She was familiar with the dogs and provocation was unknown, though neighbors suggested a passing air balloon might have elicited the biting behavior. The method for breed determination was not specified and therefore should not be cited.
De Munnynck and Van de Voorde detail their procedure for investigating dog bite incidents, including analysis of the scene, documentation, forensic analysis of both the victim and suspected canine(s), and gathering information about past behavior of all involved parties. They recommend a thorough scene investigation (witnesses, photographs, trace evidence, environmental conditions, position of the body), examination of the victim (age, relationship to dog, bite marks, defense wounds, alcohol, health status), and examination of the dog (age, owner, gastric contents, exclusion of rabies, pathological disorders, previous behavior).