National Canine Research Council Summary and Analysis:

An early study by Pinckney and Kennedy (1982) reported on DBRFs between 1975 and 1980. The authors gathered data by contacting newspapers and requesting files on fatal dog bites. A total of 51 cases were identified. Fewer than half of the editors contacted responded. Despite receiving conflicting information from neighboring newspapers, the researchers “made no attempt to verify the news stories…” Because the resulting data is almost certainly incomplete and described by the authors as unverified, the results from this study cannot be relied upon for any epidemiological conclusions, particularly since the authors themselves state, “Details of the attack are lacking for most cases.”