High Performance Dog Food, Supplements and Nutritional Products

By Sigrid Reisiger

The dog and the wolf-hybrid showed no hostility when they were taken to be euthanized by the local animal control officers. They had been family pets for years before they killed the two year old who, authorities indicated, must have scaled a six foot, chain-link fence before toppling into the dog kennel that evening.

It is shocking to learn that, out of thirteen human fatalities resulting from dog bites in 1991, as compiled by the Humane Society of the United States, ten were children younger than ten years old. Seven of these victims had been left unsupervised with dogs. The remaining children killed include a child who climbed a fenced enclosure containing guard dogs, to retrieve rubberbands that he and a group of youngsters had been shooting at the dogs; a fatal brain hemorrhage by a six month old infant pulled from a bed to the floor by a family dog when left alone; and the case initially described, involving the two year old who climbed into a kennel.

Three adult fatalities for 1991 were reported by the H.S.U.S. One victim was fifty-nine years old, while the other two were older than eighty. There were no witnesses to these attacks, as far as the reports go, so details remain in sketchy. The fifty-nine year old man, it is believed, experienced a seizure that may have caused a fear response within the dogs.

Children dominate the 1990 statistics as well. The Humane Society reported seventeen out of twenty-four incidents involving children under ten. Again, the secondary victim age group was seniors. One was a woman inflicted with a gunshot wound by a neighbor trying to help her when she was being bitten. Another victim was feeding some other person's dogs. The third elderly victim, it was speculated, fell on a dog with a known history of biting. Finally, a seemingly disoriented man who had wandered during the evening was found dead next to a chained dog.

The rest of the 1990 fatalities were drawn from the general adult population. A forty-eight year old woman was killed by seven street dogs she allowed into her home to feed and house for the night. Records indicate that a seizure may have instigated this attack, as well. Another woman was killed by free roaming dogs. These dogs had already earned official "dangerous dog" classification. The last victim was bitten by a police dog, in the line of duty, and the victim died two days later.

H.S.U.S. figures for 1986-1989 confirm children as America's number one dog-bit fatality victims, with the elderly running a distant second. There were thirty-four child and fourteen senior-citizen, out of fifty-two total deaths. Three of the remaining deaths combined circumstances of neglect, abuse, existing aggression, or an absent owner during the attack. Two adults cited in the statistics did not die of dog bites, per se. A bicyclist's apparent panic when chased by a dog caused him to fall and sustain a mortal head injury. While at an Independence Day fireworks display, a frightened dog bit the other victim, who was later killed by a resulting blood clot.

Dangerous Dog and Breed Specific legislation is a growing concern for all who own and love dogs. Evidence culled from H.S.U.S. bite case reports have horrifying implications. Proponents of these laws seem unaware of who is at risk. Current dog laws being proposed and adopted around the world, don't address the true issues. They lull us into false complacency, inviting us to believe that dangerous dogs have been taken care of, therefore, any dogs now encountered will be good dogs. I am sure that the parents who left their children alone with dogs did not do so knowing their children could die. The time to realize these laws don't work has come. These laws are dangerous, because they mask a problem that is difficult to face. We seem to find it easy to accept a political placebo, then pretend it will remedy the problem of biting dogs. These are volumes of ineffective dog legislation. We really need to stop advocating new ones. Instead, we must realize that with dog ownership comes great responsibility. Though dogs seem like part of the family to us, they are also our possessions. We buy and sell them. Because it is hard to think of them this way, it is often difficult to see that we are responsible for our dogs in the same way as with any of our other possessions, such as cars. Possession alone won't cause injury, but negligence often will.

The British banning specific breeds is an excellent example of how these laws fail to work. In the few short months since this law was adopted, at least ten savage attacks have occurred in England. None involved a breed named in their law. Since this article was written months before publication, more attacks of this type may be reported in the interval. H.S.U.S. records show that no specific breed is responsible for fatal attacks in the United States. Many different breeds and a very many dogs of mixed background have figured in the dog bite study. How is it then possible for breed specific legislation to work, when it addresses a myth that is discredited by the statistics?

It may be very hard to get authorities to impose dangerous dog status on a Labrador retriever, Coonhound or Newfoundland who has never shown aggression but each of these breeds has appeared in human fatality studies. Ironically, it could prove easy to have a Bull Terrier, Great Dane, or any other imposing-looking dog declared dangerous, even though they may be guilty of nothing more than barking a friendly greeting at a frightened stranger. Breed-specific legislation puts great burdens upon certain dog owners while letting the rest of the public off the hook.

Politicians and the media can attach a label to a breed, get everyone stirred up until it is banned, then return to business as usual. Meanwhile, what happens to children left with dogs? What of our responsibility to the elderly? The handicapped? We have identified the factors common to most dog bite fatalities. It is our duty to be safe and well educated in the handling and care of our possessions.

Futile, quick-fix laws should be shunned, freeing us to face the truth about irresponsibility - the leading cause of fatal dog bites. Could it be that what we really need is a generic dog ownership law?