The common denominators

So, the past week or so has been a particularly hazzardous week when it comes to toddlers, and dogs. In the US, there have been now three young children killed by dogs in just the past 7 days. 

It's awful.

And while there are people out there who seem to want us to be very fearful of dogs and are trying to create hysteria, they seem to miss that there is a major, common denominator in these cases.

So, in order of their happening, here are the cases: 

Jordon Reed

Kotzebue, AK: 5 year old Jordon Reed was out playing in his front yard on Saturday night when his family reported him missing after he wandered off unsupervised. Local fire, police and search and rescue personel searched for the young boy only to find him dead in a field at 4 am on Sunday morning on the outskirts of town. The boy was determined to have been killed by dogs.

Police captured several free roaming dogs in the area -- one of which was believed to be involved in killing the boy. 

Authorities report that packs of loose dogs have been an increasing problem in the small community. The dog involved in the attack was said to be a loose fugitive from a sled dog "musher's lot". The dog believed to be put down was said to be a "Husky mix".

Earlier this year, the city council passed an ordinance that required people who owned "vicious breeds" to carry insurance for their animals and keep them secured in penned yards. I don't have clarification on what breeds were a part of that ordinance, but it sure seemed like some type of leash requirement may have been in order (although leash laws tend to not be popular in rural settings).

Kotzebue is a small community of about 3200 people. The poverty rate of Kotzebue is about 16% -- about 33% higher than the state average. 

"Daniel"

Gilbert, AZ - An unnamed 2 year old boy was tragically killed by multiple dogs in his babysitter's home. The details of the event are still a little scarce, but according to the reports, the child was a specail needs child that was being babysat along with his four sibblings. There were also four dogs in the home.

At some point, it's being reported that a dog fight broke out among 3 of the dogs, and somehow, the young toddler ended up getting in the middle of the attack.  The 28 year old babysitter was injuried trying to break up the fight between the dogs and the young toddler ended up suffering life-threatening injuries.

While authorites say that they may press charges on the sitter, it may also have been a case of the toddler being in "the wrong place at the wrong time."

Neighbors report that the dogs were usually kept outside.  

The dogs are being described as 'mixed breed pit bulls" although from the visuals, they look more "mixed" than "Breed".

 It's unclear at this point how closely the child and dogs were being supervised, however, I'd contend that no one person can fully supervise 5 children and four dogs by themselves....especially considering that all five of the children were apparently special needs. 

Samuel Zamudio

Colton, CA  - Two year old Samuel "went missing" at around 5:00 on Monday afternoon. After about a 30 minute search, the family found the toddler dead in the back yard of the home apparently killed by one or more of the five dogs that were in the back yard. 

The dogs are being described as "pit bull mixes" -- although the dog in this picture is a mixed breed at most. Neighbors had often complained that the dogs were often kept in a stench an that they seemed "restless and starved for attention".

The boy was visiting some family members. The boy's uncle and grandmother have been arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment for not properly supervising the 2 year old toddler.

Colton, CA has a poverty rate of 28% -- nearly double the national average -- and poverty does seem to be an influencing factor in this case.

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As you read through the the stories, common denominators arrise. In three of the cases, the toddlers were out in their yard unsupervised. In one case the amount of supervision is undetermined, but 5 special needs children and 4 dogs is a LOT for any one person to adequately supervise.

In all 3 cases there were multiple dogs involved. In all three cases the children were not well-socialized with the dogs. And in all three cases it appears the dogs were not terribly well socialized in the first place. 

Two of the three cases happened in low socio-economic settings, where often dog issues are a symptom of larger social issues that exist in the area.

In all three of the cases the dogs were described as mixed breed dogs. One involved a "husky mix" the other two involved "pit bull mixes" -- although the dogs are very different in appearances and it is highly unlikely that they shared much, if any, genetic lineage.

As much as some sources might like to make this about different breeds of dogs, or dangerous dogs, or whatever, it's not. If we want to solve dog bite issues in this country we should focus on the circumstances, not the "breed" of dog. 

For one, it is most likely that the attacks occurred by mixed breed dogs (which quickly dilute breed traits).  

For another, there clearly other factors involved -- including, most importantly - -the need to adequately supervise children. When young children and toddlers are allowed to roam outside, they quickly become potential victims to a whole host of dangerous things in the world that they are not equipped to understand how to avoid. Meanwhile, it's also important that dogs get socialization -- and not be abandoned in back yard, or allowed to roam freely in packs. 

My heart goes out to all of these families. These are true, tragedies, and all were avoidable.

Comments

[Julie Eyrich]

Tell that to insurance companies. Now I get why many landlords can't rent to people that have pit bulls and other type of dogs: Homeowners and renters insurance policies typically cover dog bite liability, as long as your dog is disclosed to your insurance company. Insurers may charge more or even deny your application if you own specific types of dogs. These are determined by the frequency of dog bites for the breed, how many claims & how much money has been awarded against the breed of dog & whether they are large dogs that can inflict a lot of damage. Some of the breeds that raise red flags for insurers are Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies, Malamutes, Doberman Pinschers, Chow Chows, Great Danes, Saint Bernards, and Wolf Hybrids. According to the Insurance Information Institute, dog bites made up more than a third of homeowners insurance liability claims in 2011 and cost insurance companies a total of $478.9 million. That was up 16.1 percent from 2010 and 47.7 percent from 2003. The average cost per claim in 2011, the Institute said, was $29,396. Sixty-two percent of U.S. households -- or 72.9 million -- own a pet, according to the American Pet Products Association. Of those, 46.3 million own a dog. http://www.insweb.com/home-insurance/dog-bites-homeowners-insurance.html or http://www.nolo.com/.../free-books/dog-book/chapter11-8.html

[Brent]

Julie, the fear-mongering is ridiculous.

I've called multiple insurance companies over the year and they all have said they don't track dog bite data by breed. So their requirements aren't based on data at all.

And yes, dog bites make up a full 1/3 of all homeowners insurance LIABILITY claims. That sounds REALLY scary. Except it's not.

Liability claims make up only 6% of all insurance claims. So dog bites make up a whopping 2% of all insurance claims, while 37% of people own dogs. So you know what's more dangerous than dogs? Virtually everything. When I tracked this a couple of years ago, (link below), .03% (1 out of every 3,000) of the nations dog owning households had a dog bite liability insurance claim.

And interestingly, the costs of the claims has gone up less than the average cost of insurance claims over the past decade. The problem isn't that dog bites are getting worse, it's that medical expenses are rising astronomically for everything.

Please. Stop. Nonsensical. Hysteria.

http://btoellner.typepad.com/kcdogblog/2009/10/dog-bites-and-insurance-the-science-of-fear-part-5-of-8.html

[Madam Jinx]

It seems to be that these children should have been better watched, and unless it's a certified therapy dog, no dog should be around a special needs kid. My dogs, one of which is a pit, stay inside with me, and have met and gotten along with every stray I have fostered without so much as a grumble about food dishes. This includes dogs, cats, birds and even reptiles.

[valerie]

My sister has a red bone hound and shar-pei mix and that dog looks like a pit bull mix..no "terrier" in that dog..but she will bite if my sister is not present, maybe. I have the staffordshire terrier, catahoula x. She is the ONLY people friendly dog in the house.
It's about the dog and environment. Dogs do what dogs do..if you want nice, soft, people friendly dogs..expose them. But consider WHO they are. It's not about RAISING THEM, IT'S ABOUT MANAGING THEM.
The owner is the problem 100 percent of the time. I admit it..I made my dog a problem when left alone. She is alot of dog, but she won't bite you.

[Gail L Rosbach]

Lets start with the truth, the kids were not killed by "dogs" all three were killed by a specific breed of dog..Pit Bulls.
It is not the childrens fault, it is not the owners fault. It is not the environment. It is the Pit Bulls. There must be at least 1000 attacks this year alone by Pit Bulls, and people are still blaming everything but the Pit Bull. Pit Bulls have killed 23 people this year alone..38 last year I believe. The dogs are genetically hardwired to attack and kill, and our society is trying to make common household pets out of game bred fighting dogs. Obviously it is not working, people are getting killed and severely injured by these dogs in alarming numbers. Get rid of the Pit Bulls End of problem./

[Brent]

Gail,

Don't let facts get in the way of a good argument.

Read the first story, Jordan Reed again. Carefully.

So far this year there have been 22 fatal dog bites. The bites have involved pit bulls, Bull Mastiffs, "Lab Mix", German Shepherd, Husky mix and mixed breed dogs.

Last year, 36 people lost their lives to dog attacks -- and 15 different breed classifications involved.

Read here for all the details: http://btoellner.typepad.com/kcdogblog/2013/01/dog-attack-fatalities-2012-final-report.html

You are certainly entitled to your own opinion. But when you have to make up information to support your point of view, maybe your on the wrong side of an argument.

Universally, experts in the field of canine behavior (and those who have their facts straight) point to human behaviors that lead to the circumstances surrounding major dog attacks. It is the people, not the dogs.