Letters to the Editor
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Fatal Dog Attack Statistics
http://www.pbrc.net/misc/PBRC_stats.pdf
Fatal Dog Attack Statistics
• Unchain your dog. From 1965-2001 25% of all fatal attacks were inflicted by
chained dogs.
• While 25% of all fatal dog attacks (all breeds) are inflicted by chained dogs, 36%
of the fatalities caused by Pit Bulls involved the dog being chained.
• Never leave your child unattended with any pets. 79% of fatal dog attacks are
children under 12.
The age group with the highest number of fatalities was children under the
age of 1 year old; accounting for 19% of the deaths due to dog attack. Over
95% of these fatalities occurred when an infant was left unsupervised with a
dog(s).
The age group with the second-highest number of fatalities were 2-year-olds;
accounting for 11% of the fatalities due to dog attack. Over 87% of these fatalities
occurred when the 2-year-old child was left unsupervised with a
dog(s) or the child wandered off to the location of the dog(s).
• Overwhelmingly, the dogs involved in fatal dog attacks were unaltered males.
• From 2000-2001 there were 41 fatal dog attacks. Of these, 28 were attacks by a
single dog and 13 fatalities were caused by multiple dogs.
Of the 28 single dogs responsible for a fatal attack between 2000-2001;
26 were males and 2 were females. Of the 26 males, 21 were found to be
intact (the reproductive status of the remaining 5 males dogs could not be
determined).
• Of the 448 cases of fatal dog attacks from 1965 - 2002, there is NO documented
case where a single, neutered, American Pit Bull terrier was the cause of a human
fatality.
MALE DOGS MUST BE NEUTERED!!!
NEVER LEAVE CHILDREN ALONE W/ ANY DOG!!
NEVER LEAVE YOUR DOGS ROAM!!
Pit Bulls should be house dogs, not chained up outside where children or other dogs can get near them. Or where lowlifes will steal them & use them as bait dogs.
Mandatory training/education, mandatory neutering & hefty licensing fees to pay for it will go a long way to help promote dog safety.