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Bad Dogs?: Community Remains in Dangerous State of Denial
ROBIN STARR
TIMES-DISPATCH GUEST COLUMNIST Feb 9, 2007
The recent killing of a small boy at his home by two family rottweilers has horrified our community. There have been a number of attacks in Virginia in the past few years by pitbulls and rottweilers that have caused death or serious injury. How many people must be killed before we find the integrity to honestly address the predictable and preventable nature of these attacks?
From Sept. 1, 1982, until Jan. 1, 2007, there were 2,227 reported attacks causing human bodily harm by dogs kept as family pets (guard dogs, police dogs, and dogs trained to fight were excluded). Of these reported attacks, 267 resulted in death and 1,329 resulted in maiming (i.e., loss of a limb or other permanent disfigurement). Pitbulls, bull mastiffs, and rottweilers were responsible for 73 percent of the total attacks, 66 percent of the deaths, and 72 percent of the maimings. Children and elderly persons were the victims in almost all of the deaths and maimings.
The reasons for these statistical realities are clear. To a large extent, these dogs are selectively bred by humans to achieve aggressive temperaments both for the purpose of illegal dog fighting and to stoke the egos of young men. Both the breeding and training of many members of these breeds produce aggressive behavior. While these dogs may not be any more aggressive on average than certain other breeds such as akitas, the numbers of pitbulls and rottweilers have increased dramatically due to recent social trends, thereby magnifying the problem with those breeds.
OWNERS OF these dogs usually do not have them spayed or neutered, resulting in a much higher level of the hormones that contribute to aggressive behavior. They are often kept outside on chains, which greatly increases territoriality and aggressive behavior. Of course, their brawny physiques and powerful jaws enable them to inflict severe damage. Small children and frail people are the most vulnerable.
Many humane organizations have been profoundly unwilling to recognize and react responsibly to the human safety issues posed by some members of these breeds. Advocates of these breeds respond with hostility to any suggestion that public safety concerns may be valid and insist upon providing anecdotal evidence of the sweet temperaments of individual dogs of the breeds. They vocally condemn any effort to identify the particular members of the breeds that are likely to present serious threats to human safety.
No one could ever argue with the fact that certain pitbulls, bull mastiffs, and rottweilers are wonderful companions and family pets. But, the obstinate state of denial of a considerable portion of the human community in the face of empirical evidence that these breeds cause a disproportionate amount of serious attacks is not only irresponsible but a disservice to the very dogs they care about. If advocates for these dogs will not support rational and compassionate safety steps, then inhumane and excessively broad regulations such as breed bans and denials of insurance coverage
may be expected.
THE NEWS media share substantially in the blame. When these horrifying attacks occur, news reports play to people's emotions with tearful statements of friends and family. Testimonials that the dogs were docile and could never have been expected to attack are always provided. Rarely, if ever, are we afforded key information about the predictive factors that invariably are present, or any analysis by qualified animal behaviorists.
In the recent Henrico rottweiler attack, for example, the news media repeated for days the false story that the dogs had been "rescued" by the family when, in fact, they had been bred for profit by a Massachusetts breeder and sold to the boy's parents. No report I saw provided the crucial information that the dogs were not spayed or neutered and that one was in heat at the time of the attack.
Local and state legislative bodies deserve blame. Any number of humane legislative actions could substantially reduce the dangers of these breeds without unjustly penalizing individual dogs that are not dangerous. Anti-chaining ordinances, mandatory spay/neuter requirements for these breeds, restricting the sources of these dogs to shelters and pounds, and prohibiting their transport into the community would go a long way toward addressing the problem and would actually improve life for the innocent members of these breeds. The Richmond SPCA's efforts to promote such steps have fallen on deaf ears. Sadly, these elective bodies quickly forget the tragedies and are swayed by the aggressive breeders' lobby.
If we lack the honesty to confront reality and the resolve to take reasonable and humane steps to reduce the risks of these dangerous dogs, more people will die and most of them will be small children and the elderly. When that happens, we should be horrified but we most certainly should not be surprised.
Robin Robertson Starr is the CEO of the Richmond SPCA.
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