Dog Bites

Certain breeds of dogs, such as Pit Bulls, Mastiffs, Rottweiler, Dobermans, and Wolf Hybrids, have become victims of bad press and are being discriminated against as much as some humans are. If a dog from the group of breeds that are often thought as dangerous breeds were to bite or viciously maul a human being, the public and local authorities will most likely vote to destroy the animal. If the dog was from one of the breeds often thought to be really gentle and lovable i.e., Golden Retriever, Dauschound, Chiauhua, Terrier… etc., it would be most likely returned to its master. There are other solutions besides destroying the dog.

March 15th, 1993: A seven-year-old child (Josh Ashe) was mauled to near death after teasing (by poking it with a stick through the fence) a Pit Bull, which was chained to a doghouse in its master's back yard, till the Pit Bull became enraged and broke the chain. Once the dog had freed itself from its shackles, it launched itself at Josh and commenced to maul the child. When the case was taken to court, the presiding judge declared that the dog was to be destroyed. In this case, both the dog's master and Josh made mistakes. The master kept the dog outside in the backyard chained to a doghouse and raised it with almost no human contact. Josh had teased the dog into a rage. If the dog's owner had raised the dog differently, this mess could have been avoided. If Josh had the sense not to tease a dog, he would not have been mauled.
January 3rd, 1994: A golden retriever bit deeply into the calf of a twelve-year-old door to door candy bar salesgirl (Cathy Vickerson) after she had stomped at it teasingly while she was walking through the front yard to the door. The owner was sued for the cost of the hospital bill and the dog was released back to the owner's custody after being checked for rabies. The owner testified to reporters that the golden retriever was a good family dog and she did not understand why the dog had bitten the poor girl. The reason the dog bit Cathy is because it did not like being teased.
August 11th, 1991: A nineteen-year-old man (Darren Cunningham) was bitten severely on the left arm by a Rottweiler after he had climbed the fence of a home he had intended to rob. Darren was charged with breaking and entering, but he was able to sue the owner of the Rottweiler for the damages he received to his left arm. He also got his wish, which was to have the Rottweiler destroyed.

July 25th, 1992: A twenty-three-year-old woman (Rachel Bergenstein), who was checking on the house of her best friend (Carol Johnston), was bitten deeply in her upper leg by a cocker spaniel after she had climbed a fence. She had to climb the fence since she had forgotten the spare key that was provided by the owner of the house to get the key that was hidden under the rug by the back door. The Cocker Spaniel was chained to the doghouse since it tended to urinate on the couch while Carol was away for long periods of time. She had the dog checked for rabies at a local vet and was told that the dog was only protecting the house. Rachel and Carol settled out of court. Carol provided a sum of cash to pay for Rachel's hospital bill.

May 21st, 1994: A ten-year-old boy (Daniel Akaholm) was at his best friend's (Ben Warford) house when Ben's Mastiff bit him. Daniel straddled the dog's back trying to ride it like a horse. The dog, who was stunned, turned around and bit deeply into the Daniel's calf severely damaging several muscles. Daniel's mother was very angry that her child's best friend's family had a Mastiff as a family dog. She attended one of the community meetings in her area and openly demanded that the Mastiff be put to death. Almost all those present at the meeting voted to have the Mastiff put to death. Daniel lost Ben as his best friend because his mother had the Mastiff executed. The dog was not at fault. The child's mother was at fault for not teaching her son how to treat pets. The good friendship between Daniel and Ben was irrevocably destroyed.

July 8th, 1996: An eight-year-old girl's (Sarah Garris) ear was almost bitten off by her best friend's (Beth Paine) poodle after she tried to pick it up. Beth's mother offered to pay the medical bill without hesitation. Sarah's mother accepted the offer and a court battle, which would have been damaging both financially and friendship wise, was avoided. Beth should have told Sarah that the poodle did not like being picked up or Sarah should have asked if it would be okay for her to pick it up.
November 13th, 1989: A ten-year-old-boy (Tom Carson) unleashed his bulldog upon his aggressor (Rich Norstorm) who was attempting to break into Tom's house. Rich received a crushed ankle and severe damage to the key muscles in his right foot, which caused him to forever limp. Rich sued Tom's parents and demanded that the bulldog be destroyed. Tom's parents were sued for five thousand dollars and the bulldog was destroyed.

December 22nd, 1992: A twenty four-year-old-woman (Denise Yardam) unleashed her Irish setter upon a man (Victor Beckerford) who was sexually harassing her. Victor was bitten badly in the arm and hand; this resulted in the loss of two fingers. Victor tried to sue Denise but the judge told Victor that he had been asked nicely to leave Denise alone and was charged with sexual harassment at a later date in criminal court. Victor then tried to have the Irish setter destroyed, but was laughed at instead.

January 4th, 1992: Two American Pit Bull Terriers (Pit Bulls) were accidentally let loose. While they were loose they came to a burro which they mauled to death. The woman (Trish Wellish) and her children who owned the burro spoke to the city council and demanded that the city assume custody of the Pit Bulls and put them to sleep stating that the no one in the city should have such a dangerous animal for a pet. The city council agreed unanimously and had the dogs put to sleep. Two months later the city council passed a law stating no person could keep a Pit Bull, Mastiff, or Wolf Hybrid as a pet.

July 23rd, 1994: A Dalmatian got loose and while it was out, it bit the hand of a child who was only trying to pet it. The child was treated for minor injuries and released back to his parents. The pound was called and they took the dog to their facility and checked it for rabies. After finding none, they released the dog back to its owner.

Mary K., who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, owns two Pit bulls and a Rottweiler/chow mix. The older Pit bull, which is named Petey, has been around children ever since he was a pup and has not bitten anyone once. He loves to be petted and will let someone pet him to death. He also thinks he still is a puppy and likes to sit in Mary K.'s lap. The younger Pit Bull, which is named Raptor, was rescued from an abusive owner and is going through the process of becoming a family pet. The progress looks extremely promising. The Rottweiler/Chow dog is named Tyra. She has been around children her whole life and has not bitten anyone except in a playful manner.

Five years ago, a Wolf Hybrid (Canker) was rescued from an abusive junkyard owner. After a long process of encouragement, coaxing, and physical/emotional healing, Canker became fiercely loyal to his new caretaker (David Reinhold). He plays well with the children of David's friends. Canker came a long way from being beaten down and scared to become one of the bravest, most loyal and best-behaved companions a person can have.

The Padilla family, which lives in Santa Fe', New Mexico, owns two Pit Bulls, two Shar Pei and a Shar Pei/Chow breed. All five dogs has been in the family since they were pups and grew up with the five Padilla siblings who are all adults now. These dogs all love to be petted and they love to do tricks such as roll over, beg, play dead, and crawl. They also enjoy making children laugh.

Seven years ago, a child named William Yoder suffered damage to the muscles in his right forearm after being bitten by an enraged Mastiff named Killer. William pleaded with authorities not to destroy Killer. The authorities agreed on one condition. That condition was that William adopt Killer and take him to obedience school. A few weeks later, Killer graduated from Obedience School with flying colors. Now, they can been seen as they walk around the Highland Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico every afternoon.

There are ways to avoid getting bitten by a dog as well as ways to keep a dog from feeling that it needs to be aggressive for any reason. In some cities, dog experts go on tours of the schools in their area. They inform the students about proper dog care and they also tell the students the proper way to approach a strange dog. This should also be taught to the students by their parents who sometimes do not know this themselves.
They tell the students that keeping a dog in the back yard and not allowing it to have any human contact can cause the dog to become extremely territorial. Once a dog becomes territorial, it will defend what they define "their territory" even and especially against their owners. Letting the dog roam the home and letting it be in contact with children and other family members will allow the dog to form a bond between its master(s). If the dog forms a bond with a child that lives in the same house he/she does, the child will have a good friend and a loyal companion. The experts also state that it is better to raise a dog with a firm but loving hand than it is to raise a dog with strict discipline. A dog raised by a firm but loving hand will be more likely to be loyal to the person(s) who takes care of him/her. If a dog is loyal to the person who provides it with care, the dog will be a good protector of its owner(s).

They also state that a person should approach a strange dog (even if the dog is a member of the their friend's family) slowly and offer her/his hand so that the dog may sniff it. Sniffing the hand will tell the dog whether or not to befriend that person. This action will provide the first foundation in a good friendship. They also say never ever tease a strange dog because the dog may not see it as teasing but as threatening and will attempt to counter the threat.

When a person is choosing a dog, he/she should consider getting a stable mannered dog rather than a overly aggressive dog. A stable dog will more likely be more rational towards most situations. Aggressive mannered dogs might see most anyone as a danger and will most likely attack a stranger without first checking the person out.

Instead of putting a dog, that has bitten or mauled someone, to sleep, steps should be taken to insure that it would not bite anyone again. There are cases where some of the "more dangerous" dogs had bitten someone and were taught not to bite anyone again. The teaching and training took place at a facility called a obedience school. There is at least one in every major city. To insure the safety of the public, the masses should be taught what to do and what not to do around an animal whether it is a pet or otherwise.

 

Annotated bibliography

America Online Instant Messaging® Communications:

Anderson, Mary K.
"Re: Dogs and breeding"
Instant Message correspondence with the author.
March 15th-April 24th, 2000

Mary K Anderson has been a friend of the author for the last three years. She owns two Pit Bulls and has been breeding them for twenty years. During the time she spent breeding Pit Bulls, she has become quite knowledgeable about them. Her older Pit Bull Petey was raised around children and is what she calls "Child Proof". This means that if a child were to pull on his tail, Petey will not bite him/her. This is proof that a Pit Bull can be a great family dog.

Padilla, Cheryl.
"Pit Bulls"
Instant Message correspondence with the author.
April 23rd-April 25th, 2000

Cheryl has been a great friend of the author for the past eight years. She has had a lot of experiences with a lot of different kinds of dogs growing up. Presently, she owns two Pit Bulls, two Shar Pei, and a Shar Pei/Chow mix. The dogs she owned in the past were of Mastiff, Doberman, Golden Retriever, and Chow breeds. She states that none of her dogs (past or present) has ever attacked or bit anyone because they were raised around children and grew up with a lot of loving human contact.

Websites:

Kenneth, Morgan, and Phillips, Attorney at Law.
Dog Bite Law: Teach Your Kids How to Avoid Dog Bites.
Last Update: April 4th, 2000. Date Accessed: April 4th, 2000.
<http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/teach.htm>

Kenneth, Morgan, and Phillips is the name of a nationwide law firm that have had twenty years of dealing with civil cases involving dog attacks. After working theses types of cases for ten years, the firm decided it was time to publish a information page on the World Wide Web so that people may learn about dogs and what to do and what not to do when around a unknown dog. Some of the cases involving dog attacks were on the website until several of their clients complained about "Violations" of privacy, but the author of this paper was able to copy and paste them to a personal archive for his use in this paper.

Canis Major Publications.
Dog Owner's Guide.
Last Update: February 4th, 2000. Date Accessed: April 4th, 2000.
<http://www.canismajor.com/dog/guide.html>

This is an online guide for those who are looking to obtain and/or looking for help on how to raise a dog. This guide was selected for this paper because of its completely unbiased standing. This guide councils the prospective owners on what kind of dog they should obtain for a pet (not according to breed, but according to manner and temper). This guide also suggests that the owner raise the dog with a firm hand rather than with strict discipline.