Fatal dog attack in Cincinnati -- and more evidence why the breed haters are wrong

Earlier this week, a 40 year old man was killed by his own dog in the neighborhood of Avondale in Cincinnati.

Because the man was alone, there is little knowledge of what happened to lead up to the attack, but the man was apparently on a dialysis and had a device in his forearm that was ripped out causing a huge wound in his arm. The man, Ronald Brown, called 911 and said he was bitten and thought he was going to pass out -- but he bled to death by the time authorities arrived.

Authorities found "bags" of marajuana in the victim's home and the dog was shot by police as it was acting very aggressively toward them when they arrived.

The dog is being called an Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog -- a rare breed of dog that looks a lot like an American Bulldog/Mastiff mix that is often described as tenacious and aloof (aloof is a trait often sought in guarding breeds).

The story is tragic, as all fatal dog bite incidents are (although I note that dog bite-related fatalities are exceedingly rare -- with only 30 or so happening per year in a dog population that exceeds 70 million dogs -- so when someone says dog attack fatalities are one in a million, they're wrong, it's actually 1 in 2 million), but is interesting or a variety of reasons.

First, only a couple of months ago, the city of Cincinnati repealed its ban on 'pit bulls'. The dog in this story would not have been illegal under the city's  ban -- which further indicates that if someone wants an aggressive dog, there are ALWAYS other breeds of dogs they can turn to to make aggressive if that is their desired intent.

Second, the neighborhood of Avondale is a rough neighborhood in Cincinnati. It was the area that had the race riots in the late 60s and like these areas in similar cities, have yet to recover from the violence during that period. In Avondale, 41% of residents live below the poverty line (nearly 3x the national average). Brown appears to have had enough Marajuana to have been selling it out of his home ("bags" would indicate more than what someone would have for personal use) and likely had the dog as a guard dog in his tough neighborhood and to protect his stash. Function of a dog is extremely important in analyzing dog bites because dogs that are owned for an aggressive function (like guarding) are more likely to inflict injuries than ones that are pets. '

Third, many of the breed haters out there are still insisting on calling the dog a "pit bull type" dog -- because noting factual information about dog breeds, and attacks, isn't their motivation. They seem more content to just skew their year-end data to try to convince people that different types of dogs are more aggressive than others so they can push their dog-killing agendas while ignoring the circumstances surrounding these rare attacks.

 

 

Comments

[Lynda]

Well written and factual, as usual. I enjoy your blog, thanks for posting this.

[Cathy Grace]

I feel there is much more to this story than what we KNOW!

[Brent]

Thanks Lynda.

Cathy -- completely agree -- but given that there are no witnesses we may never know more than we do now.

[John Richardson]

Very sad case, but very good, critically important info, Brent. But one thing that I take away from this is that cases like this point clearly to why we should NOT use catch all terms like 'pit bull type dog' to describe a wide variety of breeds and mixes that may have little to NO relationship to actual Pit Bulls (other than being dogs).

[Brent]

Agreed John. And the term "pit bull type" continues to get more and more broad it seems...

[H. Houlahan]

I think you mean to say that 41% live *below* the poverty line.

[Brent]

Yes, yes I did. Fixed.

[EmilyS]

AFF has rescinded their promotion of the phrase "pit bull type dog" which they seemed to be the primary source of, so perhaps others will follow their lead.

Their formulation is now " "pit bull" dog " (quotes around the "pit bull")....... if that's better. I dunno. I still favor "American pit bull terrier" if known and "apparent pit bull mix" if not.

There is NO legitimate sense in which an American bulldog is a "pit bull"... but the haters have always included as many dogs as they could for their purposes.

This is one of those cases where Karen Delise's persistence in getting the actual autopsy could yield some interesting information..... months from now, when the haters have already made their propaganda point.

[Adrianne Lefkowitz]

I have been putting "pit bull" in quotes for about ten years now. Because "pit bull" only exists places where it is legislatively defined, in places such as Prince George's County, Maryland, where I live. Otherwise, "pit bull" is a made up term. I was never comfortable with buying into the "lumping" together of breeds.

[SocialMange]

I don't believe in using "pit bull" at all, unless it's in quotes. It's a slang term descriptive of a dog's shape, not a name for a breed. That shape can encompass dozens of pure breed, thousands of cross breed and tens of thousands of mixed breed dogs. It could be a lab/boxer crossbreed or heaven only knows what else. It's a description of shape only.

[EmilyS]

well, I certainly understand that NOW "pit bull" or "pit bull type dog" or "pit bull" dog.. all have no meaning.

But historically (before, say, yesterday), it has always been a legitimate shorthand for "American pit bull terrier" in the same way that "Lab" is shorthand for "Laborador retriever". Some of us still insist on using it that way, and insist that there is indeed something called a "pit bull". And if it's not.. it's a "mixed breed" or a "possible pit bull mix"

[Brent]

I guess I use "pit bull" in the same way I would "lab mix" -- in the way of saying "it could be anything because we don't really know so this is what they're going to call it.

[Atlanta'sfinest]

Awwww man that is so sad but a true story. I use to live in Cincinnati. An I know it can be a little ruff my heart goes out to the breed and i hope more people see the good side to pitbulls and not so much the bad side everyone claims they have. All dogs can be aggressive as you see in this blog. No matter the breed any dog will bite