People key to stopping dangerous dog attacks

When I was 9, I stood at the bottom of our driveway in suburban Minneapolis, waiting for the school bus. I was alone. From across the street, our neighbor’s two dogs saw me, sprinted across the road, and attacked me, dragging me down.

Fortunately, quickly after the attack started, the owners ran from their house and stopped it. My parents rushed out of our home to take care of me. Cuts and minor bites were my only injuries. Both the dogs, as I recall, were cocker spaniels.

Being attacked by a dog or dogs is terrifying. I was traumatized.

Being killed by a dog is unimaginable and horrifying. And in no way in this column do I want to minimize that fact.

Instead, I want to explore the reasons behind dog attacks and, as a result, understand how they can be reduced. A clue: it’s about owners, guardians, and communities understanding what dogs need and taking responsibility. A theme: It’s not the dog. It’s the humans.

First off, dog attack fatalities are rare. According to Dogbites.org, there were 46 deaths caused by dogs in 2020. From 2005 to 2020, 565 were killed by dogs. This is tragic and unacceptable, but we must also keep it in perspective. There are over 90 million homes in the U.S. with dogs.

In a year, that’s billions of dog-human interactions. In terms of other causes of death, mosquitoes worldwide kill over 750,000 people yearly, and humans (not counting wars) are responsible for over 400,000 deaths annually. (Cows, by the way, are responsible for an average of 20 human deaths a year)

A glaring piece of data from Dogbite.org data is that pit bulls and Rottweilers are responsible for over 70% of the fatalities.

A simple solution is banning pit bulls and Rottweilers, right? Well, no. It’s complicated, and it’s been tried. Denver, for example, rescinded its pit bull ban in November 2020 — they’ve put some restrictions on pit bull ownership — can’t own more than two, must be leashed, fenced and muzzled in public —a reasonable compromise. Residents voted to lift the ban because after 30 years the data wasn’t there to support it.

To truly impact change, we need to go beyond breeds. According to a 2013 report by the American Veterinary Medical Association, there are multiple factors involved in dog attacks. The good news is that these factors are under the control of dog guardians. They are:

1. Absence of an able-bodied person who can intervene.

2. The individual has no relationship with the dog.

3. Owner failed to neuter the dog. (Non-neutered males are more than twice as likely to be involved in an attack.)

4. The victim is too young or physically unable to control the dog. (Never leave a child alone with a dog. Young children don’t understand dog “cues” and often pull tails and ears.)

5. The dog is not a family dog but rather a “guard” or resident dog with little interaction with humans. (Fortunately, the national trend is towards more “family” dogs and fewer “resident” dogs.)

6. The dog owner has mismanaged the animal. (For example, training a dog to be aggressive.)

7. The dog has a history of being abused. (Dog abuse must be high on our list of strictly punishable crimes. People who abuse dogs often go on to abuse humans.)

Because we live in Santa Fe, I would add “loose” dogs to that list. In fact, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association report, in the United States, “from 1979 through 1998, 24% of dog-caused fatalities were done by owned dogs (typically more than one) that were roaming off the owners’ property.”

There are two categories where we can make a difference here (or anywhere). First is to be responsible dog guardians and understand that our role is to keep our dogs safe, socialized, neutered, engaged, leashed and healthy. And remember, family dogs are safer dogs!

Next, we need to advocate with community leaders to enforce and fund reasonable, databased, effective dog ordinances. For example, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, there are two licenses. There is one for normal dogs and one for dogs that, because of previous behavior, are deemed dangerous. Dangerous dogs require more restrictions: approved fencing and to be leashed and muzzled in public.

As always, eliminating dog attacks altogether might not be realistic, yet as a community of dog guardians, it is something to strive for. Remember, it’s not a dog problem. It’s a human one.

Being responsible dog guardians means understanding that our role is to keep our dogs safe, socialized, neutered, engaged, leashed and healthy.