General

• Deadly dog attacks: only one common denominator
  Mar 17, 2009

  We’ve all seen the sensationalistic headlines, each one more gruesome than the last, and all invariably bearing the image of a dog in a Cujo-pose. But the most recent fatal dog bite that seems to stick out in my mind the most happened late last year in Riverside County California.

  At the time, I was researching information for a pit bull related story, and came across the mauling death of 60-year old Gerald Ademund. Apparently, just before Christmas, Ademund stepped into his backyard to smoke when his breeding pair of pit bulls attacked and killed him. The news reports surrounding this incident unwaveringly described the incident a “random attack,” but was it?

  After reading the NCRC’s meticulously gathered statistics, this attack looks a lot more predictable.

   

  Fatal Attacks Exceedingly Rare

  You are more likely to be killed by a random bolt of lightning than by a dog—the numbers prove it.

  According to the National Weather Service, in the year 2007, 45 people were struck and killed by lightning. That same year, fatalities attributed to dog attacks are reported as either 33, or 34.

  And yet, how many splashy news articles can you recall regarding the unlucky guy smoked by lightning? Obviously, more lightning bolts than dogs were killing folks in 2007, and yet the only lightning story I can truly recall was the Croatian guy whose penis was transformed into a spontaneous lightning rod when he stopped to pee by the roadside. On second thought, that’s probably exactly why I remember the event—but my point is; I also recall dozens of national headlines blaring about this or that fatal dog mauling.

  In retrospect, it certainly seems a bit out of proportion.

  Another interesting fact the NCRC’s research has concluded is that if you are killed by lightning, it’s a certainty it was an act of God. If you’re killed by a dog, however, you can attribute it to an act of human stupidity. Well, OK—that’s my interpretation of the information, but in light of the evidence, the wording seems appropriate.

   
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• Parent of dog bite victim wants tougher animal control measures
  Mar 17, 2009

  A Darlington County woman whose daughter’s ear was partly bitten off by a dog called for tougher animal control ordinances Monday night during a Darlington County Council meeting.

  Robin Conger told council the dog that attacked her 7-year-old daughter nearly a month ago still has not been deemed dangerous.

  She said she thinks the dog, a yellow Lab that has since been returned to its owner, should be put down, but she said at the least she wants it declared dangerous.

  According to reports, the child was playing on a trampoline at a friend’s house when she was bitten.

  Conger said half her daughter’s ear was bitten off in the attack. She said her daughter was bitten at least three times and suffered deep lacerations.

  Conger showed council photographs of her daughter’s injuries. She said she has received no satisfactory answers from the county officials with whom she has attempted to discuss the matter.

  She told council she did receive a letter from County Attorney Jim Cox stating that the dog would not be deemed dangerous.

  “Nobody has given me any explanation as to why the dog has not been deemed dangerous,” Conger said.

  Council received her comments as information but took no action.

  In another matter, Chief Fourth Circuit Public Defender Michael Stephens and Deputy Circuit Public Defender Robert L. Kilgo Jr. presented their agency’s budget request for the upcoming budget year to council.

  The agency, which serves the four counties that make up the state’s Fourth Judicial Circuit — Darlington, Marlboro, Chesterfield and Dillon — will not ask for an increase in funding from Darlington County for 2009-19, Kilgo said. The agency is requesting its funding from the county remain at its current level of $185,000, he said. Darlington County will provide 23 percent of the agency’s total $806,251 budget if council grants the request.

  Kilgo, however, said the agency does plan to ask for increases from the other three counties in the circuit.

  The budget proposal presented to council indicates the agency will seek $110,918 from Chesterfield County, up from $43,500; $100,187 from Dillon County, up from $52,000; and $87,809 from Marlboro County, up from $53,000.

  Kilgo said the state already has cut the agency’s state funding by about $200,000, and he said another cut of about 1 percent could come as early as today.

  He said the public defender’s office already has implemented five-day furloughs for agency employees to cope with the decline in state funding.

  If the counties do not fund the agency, he said, the result could be layoffs since a significant part of the budget is tied up in salaries. It also could mean a return to the old public defender system, which Kilgo said is something nobody wants.

  At one time, each of the four counties had its own public defender corporation. Last year, the four systems merged to form the new circuit system, Kilgo said.

  — WBTW News13’s Kelly Gillespie contributed to this report.

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• A Recipe for Dog Bite Injuries: Kids, Dogs and Warm Weather
  Mar 17, 2009

  BUFFALO, N.Y. -- If you and your child are romping in the park or enjoying a stroll on a warm spring day and a dog approaches, be ultra vigilant.

  Children, warm weather, and dogs, even family dogs, don't mix well, according to a study conducted by pediatric otolaryngologists from the University at Buffalo's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

  Results show that young children are especially vulnerable to severe dog bites in the head and neck areas, and that there is a correlation between cases of dog bites and rising temperatures.

  The study appears in the March 2009 issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

  The authors reviewed charts of the 84 children up to 19 years old who were treated for dog bites at Women and Children's Hospital in Buffalo from1999 – 2007.

  Results show that the average age of injured children was six years. One-third of the bites occurred on the cheeks, 21 percent on the lips, and eight percent each on the nose and ears, results showed.

  Sixty-four percent of the patients suffered more than one facial wound, and 40 percent of the total injuries had to be repaired in the operating room under general anesthesia.

  Dog bites increased as the weather warmed, the researchers found, and a family pet was the culprit in 27 percent of the injuries.

  Pit bull terriers were the breed most commonly reported or identified as the attacker, because of their notoriety. However, Behar notes that the breed of dog often wasn't known or wasn't recorded.

  Health care providers should collect as much information as possible, including breed and sex of the dog, spay or neuter status, history of aggression, ownership and owner's use of restraint, time of the incident, the child's past history of dog bites, location of the incident and the dog's vaccination history.

  "This information is important to be able to identify trends and develop and promote prevention strategies," says Behar.

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• Dog Attack Injures 2, Kills Smaller Dog
  Mar 17, 2009

  A brutal dog-on-dog attack ends with one animal dead and two people injured on Thursday on Madison's East Side, authorities said.

   

  Police said that a pit bull-like dog is being blamed for attacking a smaller dog that friends said was named Rocco in the 5200 block of Piccadilly Drive just before 7 p.m. Police said the owners of both animals were injured trying to break up the fight.

   

  Authorities said that it ultimately took a Taser and a catch pole to gain control of the larger dog as witnesses watched.

   

  "We were inside and all of a sudden, I heard screaming and the kids were screaming and I thought the dog got off the leash and got hit by a car," said witness Shanda Martel. "Then, they were in the middle of the road and the pit bull is just whipping the puppy up in the air like a rag doll. I mean, he's torn to shreds."

   

  Martel says the larger dog's owner tried to get her dog off of the smaller one it was biting, but couldn't because her dog wasn't wearing a collar and she couldn't get a grip on him.

   

  The owner of the larger dog surrendered the animal to animal control officials and is being held by the Dane County Humane Society. Police said that the dog had a history of aggressive behavior.

   

  The dog's owner was cited for letting her dog run free and causing injury off her property.

   

  Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage. - 4 - 10

• Infant killed in dog attack
  Mar 16, 2009

  MESA, Ariz. - March 5, 2009 - -- A 2-week-old Arizona girl has died after being attacked by the family's dog in their home.
  
  Mesa police detective Steve Berry says police were called Wednesday night by a woman who said her daughter had been bitten by a family dog.
  
  Berry says officers found the infant in the living room with bite wounds on her head. The baby was pronounced dead at the scene.
  
  Berry says the mother had placed her daughter in a low-lying bassinet or crib and discovered the attack when she returned a few moments later.
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