The Truth Behind Dogsbite.org

Dogsbite.org is not an "expert" organization when it comes to canine behavior. There, I've said it.

While it seems that lately, several media outlets have been treating them like they have a particular knowledge on the subject of dog bites and attacks (I'll get to a possible "why" on that later in the post), it doesn't erase the reality that dogsbite.org is simply a website run almost entirely by an individual person who has an expertise in web design, access to google, and a desire to seek revenge on an attack that happened to her several years. Those are the qualifications behind the website. And it runs no deeper than that. And treating the website as anything more than that is a recipe bad information that will lead to less safe circumstances for people and dogs. Let me explain.

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Dogsbite.org is a website run by Colleen Lynn. In June of 2007, Lynn was an unfortunate victim of a dog bite while she was out jogging. Because of the dog bite, by a dog that is said to be a 'pit bull', Lynn decided to create the website dogsbite.org.  According to the original "about us" section of the website, the intent of the website was three-fold:

-- Distinguish which breeds of dogs are dangerous to have in neighborhoods

-- Help enact laws to regulate the ownership of these breeds

-- Help enact laws that hold dog owners criminally liable if their dog attacks a person or causes serious injury or death

While I actually agree with her original third mission statement, the original purpose of the website is very clearin the first two statements -- she intended to target particular breeds of dogs and ban ownership of those breeds. The goal was not public education or anything that she claims it to be about now -- it was about enacting breed specific legislation...even though she has no credentials to propose legislation like that with any basis of expertise.

And make no mistake, all of the experts organizations disagree with her idea on breed-specific legislation.

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Every mainstream national organization that is involved in canine/human interactions is opposed to laws targeting specific breeds of dogs. An at-least partial list of these organizations include:

American Dog Owners Association

American Humane

American Kennel Club (AKC)

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

American Veterinary Medical Association  (AVMA)

American Working Dog Federation

Association of Pet Dog Trainers

Best Friends

Center for Disease Control

Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)

International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants

International Association of Canine Professionals

National Animal Control Association

National Animal Interest Alliance

National  Association of Dog Obedience Instructors

National Canine Research Council

No Kill Advocacy Center

You find nearly one-stop shopping of all of the position statements of these groups here.

These groups represent the best of the best in the United States for Dog Trainers, Rescues, Shelters, Animal Behaviorists, Government entities,veterinarians, and even Animal Control Officers. All of them oppose breed specific legislation. All of them, in large part, because they have experience working with the actual dogs, and read the science, and realize the aggession is not a breed-specific issue -and the reality is that most dogs, regardless of breed, do not show aggressive behavior -- and yet, some dogs, of each breed, have. 

All recommend dog ordinances that focus on the the behaviors of the actual dogs, and not on its body type.

And not listening to the professional organizations, and instead, listening to an "organization" that has no expertise, can lead to bad results. Again, their focus is not in the best interests of public safety...it's about getting revenge.

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For example: at the end of 2008, Dogsbite.org named Lucas County (OH) Dog Warden Tom Skeldon their "Dog Warden of the year." Their reasoning is that "Skeldon has vigorously worked to prevent horrendous pit bull maulings resulting in serious injuries or death of human beings, their domesticated pets and livestock."  Interestingly, in the same year that Skeldon received this "award", the actual number of dog bites in Lucas County had gone up 23%.

So dog bites go up, and they give the man the dog warden of the year award because he is targeting 'pit bulls'.   Does that sound like the resume of an award winner for a group advocating for public safety to you? Me neither.

Within a year of them issuing the "award",  Skeldon stepped down from his position under significant public pressure. The actual citizens who had to put up with Skeldon's behavior, outrageous shelter kill rates and lack of improved public safety actually forced him out of office. 

But nothing may be worse than a fairly recent post (you can click on the picture to the left to read a screen shot of it) actually claiming that parents shouldn't be expected to teach their children to be respectful around dogs even though major, well-respected, dog training groups recommend otherwise.  If you can teach a young child to not touch a hot oven, then they can at least understand "caution" around dogs.  It is this type of irresponsibility that is making people LESS safe, not more safe.

Oh, there are other greivences. There is the reality that they claim dogs of even distantly-related breeds -- including Boxers, Bulldogs and Mastiffs - to all be 'pit bulls' in their "statistics".  They consistently claim that all of the professional organizations that oppose BSL are only doing so because they are supported by dog fighters*. They sensor all comments on their website that even come remotely close to disputing anything they post -- even if it is someone who is providing acutal data that is correcting something they misspoke about -- again, censoring other types of thinking isn't exactly something you'd expect from a "public education" website.

* The all of these organizations are opposed to BSL because they are supported dog fighters  and dog breeders is a particularly funny notion. Many of the organizations that oppose BSL spend literally millions upon millions of dollars trying to shut down dog fighting operations, and all of the orgs oppose dog fighting in principle, even if they aren't actively working to shut the groups down. And as for breeding, several of the groups support breeders and several are working very hard to end breeding and spend countless dollars arguing amonst themselves on the breeding issue - -so the idea they would agree on this subject because they are supported by breeders is baseless too -- to the point that it's kind of comical.

And this doesn't even include their inaccurate use of case studies to support their point of view vs reporting the actual data. Or the reality that one city that allowed them to influence their policy-making, Omaha, has had a disasterous year.

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So, the question then remains, how is it that an organization that has so few real credentials continues to get quoted by media outlets out there?

One of the things that journalism schools around the nation teach is the importance of providing both sides of a story. There are always two sides, and they teach the importance of providing both. So when it comes to the argument about whether or not to ban 'pit bulls', dogsbite.org ends up being THE ONLY 'organization' in favor of banning 'pit bulls'. So the media almost has to use them, because they are the only ones with the alternative viewpoint.

And that folks, is the sad truth about dogsbite.org. They are the only one(s) that favor BSL. And they do so based on having a website and google -- not with any real expertise in working with dogs.

And that's very telling.

Oh sure, they will likely retort with criticisms of me, and what are my true credentials. It's true, that even though I've worked in rescue, and I've worked with hundreds of dogs that would be considered 'pit bulls', I have no credentials after my name. I'm not a certified trainer, or a vet. However, I will say this. My opinion is the same one shared by the national organizations that speak for veterinarians, animal control officers, dog trainers and rescuers throughout the nation. So my ideas and point of view is supported by pretty much everyone that has knowledge of canine/human interactions.

Their support group is a city attorney in Denver and an animal control officer that was forced out of his job in Toledo. That's it.

And that's the truth about dogsbite.org.  Fine, give them the "other" voice. But let's not mistake them for an organization that has any form of expertise, or any unique knowledge. Let's not mistake them for anything more than a person, with a website, that is seeking revenge for an incident that happened to her. No more, no less.

On one final note to Ms. Lynn. I am sorry that you were attacked by a dog. And I do hope the owner of the attacking dog was held appropriately accountable for the actions of their dog. But it was one dog -- and is not reflective of the millions of dogs out there of this type -- and I would encourage you to go to your local shelter and meet some more of the dogs that you seek to destroy. And I hope that pushing for ordinances that actually improve public safety, and that pushing for educating parents on how to introduce pets and children, will trump your desire for personal vengeance so that we can actually create a safer society. 

Comments

[EmilyS]

thumbs up, Brent! I'm going to disagree on one point.
"There are always two sides, and they teach the importance of providing both." This is actually the problem with modern "journalism". Sometimes there are NOT two sides (ex: creationists, birthers, "death panels" etc). By blindly following the archaic "2 sides" notion, modern journalists actually are victimized by propagandists and perpetuate the falsities that are rampant in our society. The use of dogbite.org as a source is an example of this. Journalists don't feel the need to verify whether her information is accurate. It's "the other side" and that's all that matters to them. They can pretend they are being impartial, when what they are doing is helping vicious people lie.

[Jennifer Brighton]

I'm SO glad you posted another blog on Dogsbite.org, Brent. I recently wrote Colleen Lynn a lengthy letter (which I'll email you a copy of) because I have had it with them. No reply, of course, as expected.

I post on Dog Bite Law and there is a man whose sole purpose in life is to kill all pit bulls and probably their owners too. In fact, when I recently posted that the Axe Man was an irresponsible owner, he disagreed with me, first slamming pit bulls, which had nothing to do w/ that incident, before going on to say that an owner who gives up his dog to be euthanized after an attack is a responsible owner. I guess it's okay for your young child to be killed as long as you release the dog to authorities after the act. Unless, of course, it's a pit bull and then you shouldn't have had it in the first place because it's a given that it will kill.

This guy cites dogsbite.org over and over, along with pitbull-attacks-by-state. They are the only sources he cites.

I note that dogsbite moved from Washington State where I live to Texas. Sort of telling, I think.

[Rinalia]

I agree with EmilyS. There aren't always two sides. Or at least there aren't always two sides in which both are grounded in the reality based world.

Colleen Lynn is a fear-monger. She is a person with an opinion who has become the god of the anti-dog zealots. How unfortunate she happened to have web design skills! Apparently that is all it takes!

[Carianne]

Brent, great write up again! I love it.

I actually have a personal story with this web site. I sent an email to her web site contact some time ago asking why another attack from a differing breed was not on there. I never heard back from dogsbite.org. Instead, months later I did a Google search on my name and found that she copied and pasted my email with a response to an alternate website and then classifed me as a pit nutter. In addition, she stole my Facebook photo and added it to this web site. To me, this proves pure craziness, and lack of rational thinking. The good part for all of us is that the more people probe into her and her agenda, they find it is not well researched and very one sided (think the Debra Bresch versus dogsbite.org interview where she stated that there is not DNA tests and many other lies...

I can't wait to see all of us on her alternate ego web site from this post :-)

[Valerie]

Thanks for a great article. We have recently had some inflammatory articles about dog bite incidents in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and lo and behold, a link to the dogsbite site is in the sidebar. That kind of irresponsibility really serves no one. One such incident, in which a child was bitten, took place in Cobb county. The article said that the 'pit bull' would likely be 'euthanized'. Cobb county is one of GA's remaining gassing pounds (with a chamber installed illegally in 1996, 6 years after the Humane Euthanasia Act). Dogsbite thus promotes animal abuse with its fear-mongering. No one is served if dog bite incidents are treated as anything else but an owner problem. No one except those whose egos are fed by fear-mongering and killing dogs.

[Jacqueline]

Another winner! Thanks for all your great posts.

[Karen]

Colleen Lynn is plainly unwell and her sidekick Kory Nelson is a sad dog-hater.

We should really feel sorry for them. It must be very difficult going through life without the ability to apply reason, or never having known the love of a dog.

[Becky]

This is huge, Brent.

First, Carianne, that is really scary. I'm certain I wrote them some kind of hate letter couple of years ago. Very frustrating that I'll now have to do a lengthy search on my name. (amongst hundreds of others, there's a mom working against teen addiction to cough meds, a professor, and some literary supposed genious who all share my name...)

Brent, I thank you for this. WE've got to spread this info far and wide. WE cannot allow this woman and her group to succeed at anything. This is not 'another side'. It's propaganda, hate mongering, fear mongering, lies, and pure irrationality. It needs to stop. It's dead serious. It's killing thousands of innocent dogs. It's breaking up families, it's causing heartache and sorrow for thousands of people. It's posing a true threat to our companionship w/ dogs.

Did I miss Cesar Milan in all this? I always add him to my list of experts because regardless of whether you like him or agree w/ him, he is viewed as today's 'Dog guru' by the GP. He lives w/ pits and rehabs them all the time. He personally knows far more pits than dogsbite and his experience with them is vast.

And Brent, you have PLENTY of credentials, you have not even been able to list them all. All of us can pit you against these liars ANY day! What can we do to discredit this heresy. (yes, heresy, not heresay)??

[Social Mange]

Excellent article! I'm so glad you went into the why's and wherefor's of how these rabid nutters keep getting quoted.

[Stephanie Feldstein]

Excellent post. It's about time someone exposed Dogsbite. I've also noticed the disturbing trend recently of the site being quoted as "expert."

[Jennifer]

Great post, Brent! And you came up with some additional organizations whose position statements I need to add to my list. Thank you!

[Amber]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this excellent article. Even supposed dog lovers like Terrierman quote dogsbite.org. It's very disturbing that one person - an expert in NOTHING - holds so much sway in the BSL issue and whether dogs live or die.

[EmilyS]

Amber: Terrierman is not a dog lover, and he hates pit bulls. He quotes dogsbite because it confirms his prejudices.

[Pibble]

Thank you, Brent, for this post.

It's incredible that people will believe anything they read without researching just a tiny bit to determine its reliability.

I would love to see someone like Ms. Lynn in a situation where a rescue dog is needed. Imagine the look on her face when a Pit Bull greets her as the debris is cleared. Although, with people like this, even a PB saving her life wouldn't change her mind.

[H Houlahan]

NADOI -- the oldest dog trainers' professional society in the US, and the only one that requires credentialing for membership, has a strong position on BSL:

http://www.nadoi.org/position2.htm

[Luisa]

Glenn Greenwald:

"It would be as if someone created a website for the purpose of posting every story of every actual crime committed by African-Americans, or by Jews, or other minorities, but no others. There are such sites, of course, but one never hears about them, because they are white supremacist sites outside of the mainstream."

And those websites exist only to incite hatred and violence. Fine company whatshername is in.

http://lassiegethelp.blogspot.com/2009/04/greenwald-on-hate-mongering.html

[Dancingdogblog]

When I read Carianne's response it reminded me of an article I posted on the truth about pit bulls, listing facts w/links to actual experts (what a concept for these folks)about how pits are damned everywhere they turn, being fought to the death by criminals on the one hand, and killed by the State on the other through no fault of their own. It also ran on the Examiner where Dogsbite and friends showed up to spew their garbage for days on end, with a couple people slapping them down.

They play heavily on fear. Unfortunately, fear is the weapon wielded by the black helicopter crowd and other fringe groups from politics to dogs. It works. They know this. It makes generally intelligent people get stupid, fast. And then the fringe folks scream "unfair" if they don't get on tv.

I agree with EmilyS that journalists who refer to organizations with opposing views just for the sake of presenting one are irresponsible. I thought the journalist's principle intent was for opposing *credentialed* experts to air their views, not to lend a platform and credibility to someone with a website and a grudge. This may be the reason so many people now disrespect experts and believe opinion is just as good as fact. Instead of educating the public with opposing views, they just help to cripple critical thinking.

[Karen Delise]

Brent, Please do not forget to add the National Canine Research Council to your list of organizations that oppose breed specific legislation.

Karen Delise

[Laurie Stinson]

Way to Brent, EXPOSE THEM ALL. There's a SPECIAL place in HEAVEN for people like you my friend! Keep up the good work. The ignorance just goes on and on. OH AND THERE'S A SPECIAL PLACE FOR ALL THESE ANIMAL KILLERS TOO! I'm sorry to say I have given money to PETA in the past because I thought they were a good organization but you and others have opened my eyes. I wrote them a nasty letter and rest assured They will NEVER see my money again! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

[Sarah A]

No, she won't question your credentials, she'll either call you a dog fighter, or claim that you are making money off of pit bulls in some way.

[Josh]

Great article. I wish more people would realize how full of poo that "source of information" truly is. The two most-quoted sources of "information" against pit bull type dogs are from dogsbite and the Clifton report, which are both extremely flawed.

Thanks, and looks like you have a great pair of dogs :D

[MaryH - The Real Pit Bull]

GREAT post, Brent. Awesome. That's all I can say.

[Jan]

This is a great blog and nice to have a place where dogsbite.org is exposed in detail. It's sickening that some people consider them and Kory Nelson "experts" when the truth is that they are really extremely prejudiced, close-minded, and have no reasoning and logic skills whatsoever.

Carianne, I can't believe that dogsbite did that to you. For them to take your picture and put a response without you knowing should not be legal.

[Brent]

Thanks all for the comments. Sarah A - I chuckled when I read yours because you're likely right. The idea that I make money helping rescue dogs and writing this blog is pretty funny -- because it actually couldn't be more opposite from the truth as I end up spending a small fortune (to me) on this as opposed to making $$, LOL

[Fayclis]

Excellent article, once again Brent YOU ROCK. I can't for the life of me understand how "they" get press but I have noticed that they are quoted. As soon as I see them quoted I know the writer has not clue one.