4 Conn. children died of dog attacks since 2011, data shows

2 of those deaths occurred this year

got into the child’s room.

Another child wouldn’t die from a dog attack in Connecticut for nearly 10 years. On May 10, 2021, in Norwich, one-month-old Carter Settles was being held when the family dog, a mixedbreed pit bull, jumped up on the family member and began biting Carter, according to Norwich police. He died from his injuries.

Almost three years later, on Feb. 16, 2024, 2-week-old Brayden Burwell Heery died of an injury to the head after he was bitten by the family dog, a Husky, according to Burke.

The fourth occurred weeks later, on March 13, 2024, when an 11-month-old child was attacked by a pit bull, Burke said.

East Hartford police said a mother and the child were on a trampoline when a larger, mixedbreed dog attacked the child. The mother also sustained minor bite injuries.

After the incident, the dog, as well as another family dog, were removed from the home and were being quarantined, police said.

A woman who identified herself as the baby’s aunt said her nephew, Lennox, was killed just as the family was about to celebrate his first birthday.

Since the two fatal dog attacks this year, professionals have urged families with young children and any other vulnerable people to remain vigilant around their dog.

Burke noted bites are rare.

Annually, about 3.9 million people suffer a dog bite in the United States, and nearly 850,000 seek medical care, Burke said, citing a study. The study noted that rates of dog-bite-related emergency department visits are highest among pediatric patients.

The nationwide study showed that emergency department visits for children suffering from dog bites spiked by almost 200 percent in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You’ve got more kids home, more families willing to take on an animal in their home, but this is a pretty remarkable spike,” that fatal dog

Burke said in the Wednesday meeting. The numbers dipped as the pandemic waned, he noted.

The study also showed that dog bites aren’t as common in the Northeast as in other parts of the country. New England only represented 3 percent of dog bite patients.

Data from the national study showed that children 3 years old or younger were more likely to seek medical care for dog bites, representing 28 percent of the patients. The study also described how about 80 percent of the children 3 years or younger who had been bitten by a dog were bit on the head. The incidence of bites to the head decreased with age.

“When you’re younger, you’re more likely to suffer a dog bite to your head,” Burke said. “The younger you are, the more vulnerable you are.”

The panel also discussed dog breeds.

Data from the National Canine Research Association of America, presented by Burke Wednesday, showed that 433 people in the United States — at any age — died from dog bite injuries. Some 284 of those, or 65.6 percent, involved pit bulls, and the secondhighest breed was Rottweillers at 45 incidents, or 10.4 percent. The study noted that four deaths involved both pit bulls and Rottweilers.

Any dog will bite if provoked, though, the American Medical Veterinary Association noted.

“It is not a dog’s breed that determines whether it will bite, but rather the dog’s individual history and behavior,” the association stated on its website.

However, medium- to largesize dogs typically inflict more severe injuries.

Burke noted that it was challenging to track dog bites, considering the national data showed many are treated at home.

“It gets super challenging, and I think a dog bite is very different from a dog fatality,” he said. “And a dog bite by a Chihuahua is a lot different than a dog bite by a pit bull, and the victim’s size and presentation certainly impacts the result of that, too.”