We all bear the costs of pit bull advocacy

We came across this article and found the subtitle worthy of note:

"THE ATTACK HOSPITALIZED EMILY RUCKLE FOR 32 DAYS, LED TO 12 SURGERIES OVER TWO YEARS AND CAUSED $3 MILLION IN MEDICAL BILLS."

We've all been bombarded with the smarmy, well known pit bull propaganda talking points, which use faulty logic, non-sequiturs and emotionally charged civil rights terminology in an attempt to make us all feel guilty for not wanting to expose our children or our pets to unpredictable canine IEDs.

To the average man, who doesn't know anything about the bloody and violent genesis and history of the bull-baiting and pit fighting breeds, this may all sound plausible, and invoke some sort of sympathy, but what the narcissistic pit bull activists don't tell us is that we all, as a society, pay the price for their delusion.

This poor girl, one of many innocents whose lives have been touched by pit bull violence, is a solid argument for the need for change in our laws. It's time to start holding the perpetrators strictly accountable.

Do we blame pit bulls for being and doing precisely what they were designed and bred for centuries to be and to do? That's irrelevant. The blame must be placed on those who lie about the facts, who attempt to obfuscate, shift the blame and hide the danger, and traffic pit bulls into unsuspecting neighborhoods.

If we were placed in charge, this would be the policy: In the event of a pit bull attack, the pit bull is to be put down, immediately. If a citizen at the scene of the crime is able to disable or kill the pit bull to save the victim, that citizen shall be held blameless. The pit bull owner or responsible party shall be charged with the attack, and punished accordingly - not token fines, but jail time and/or serious financial penalties.

Feel free to weigh in with your feedback on our thoughts, as well as the article in the link below -

Pit bull mauling launches Newark 8 year old on 2 year trek to save her arm

Serious dog attacks: 34 full years of data

In September of 1982, animal advocate Merritt Clifton first began logging and tracking disfiguring and fatal dog attacks on humans, collecting information on the type of attacking dog in each case, and the circumstances surrounding each attack.

Now, after 34 years, we are more well informed as a result of his undertaking, especially in the light of the CDC decision in 1998 to suddenly cease the collection or tracking of any data whatsoever pertaining to the attacking breed.

Despite this, and owing to the careful collection of such data by Merritt and other NGOs, it has become clear to anyone who examines that relevant data, that of all possible criteria to be considered in the question of dangerous dogs, the breed of dog is the single most significant determinant of risk, outweighing all other factors combined by a considerable ratio.

Prior to the 1980s, pit bull attacks were rare, as pit bulls were for the most part owned only by dog fighters. But during the 1980s, we began to see pit bulls cast as "victims" and re-branded as "family pets". The results have been bad for human victims, and absolutely disastrous for animal victims of pit bull violence.

The collected data reveals clear trends, including the fact that violence from pit bull outpaces all other breeds combined, and it has gotten worse over time. 

Before the 1980s, fatal dog attacks were extremely rare. Since then, during the period where pit bulls were still rare in normal communities, the numbers of attacks from pit bulls were growing, but the number of serious attacks from other breeds e.g. Rottweilers, were also of concern. After some 3 decades of relentless, extremely well financed pit bull advocacy, pit bulls are fairly common, and as a result, we are expected to accept the daily occurence of disfiguring and fatal pit bull attacks as the new normal.

Here are the top 5 offenders over the past 34 years, by breed:

Top 5 offenders by breed, 1982-2016

One significant trend is not immediately obvious from the 34 years of accumulated data, but if one looks strictly at the past 5 years, it appears with startling clarity. In terms of harm done to humans, pit bulls easily top this list, and Rottweilers are the 2nd breed. But a simple ranking does not convey the scope of the difference: over the past 5 years, pit bulls have committed 25 times as many serious attacks as Rottweilers, killed over 12 times as many people as Rottweilers, and permanently maimed over 34 times as many people as Rottweilers.

Here are the top 5 offenders over the past 5 years:

Top 5 offenders by breed, 2011-2016

One can't help but be alarmed at the fact that pit bulls continue to widen their lead over not only Rottweilers, but all other breeds combined.

And bear in mind that the problem of pit bull violence against animals is much, much worse - thousands of times worse. Watch this space for future reports on that unfortunate state of affairs.

The level of tolerance for purpose bred torturers in our communities is growing thin, despite the nonstop propaganda from the pit bull lobby, who are unwilling and/or unable to take responsibility for this growing problem, and at some point it's all going to blow up.

May you live in interesting times.

You may examine the full 34 year report here

Dog attack report - mid year 2016

Since this site last reported on serious dog attack cases at the beginning of the year, the vast majority of dog breeds have committed a grand total of zero disfiguring or fatal attacks on humans. Zero.

If only that were the whole story - but, as the discerning reader might well suspect, serious, life altering dog attacks have unfortunately continued.

In the first half of 2016 there were 484 serious attacks, 15 fatal attacks and one freak accident resulting in a death.

Of the 16 canine induced deaths in the US so far, 15 (94%) were attacks committed by pit bull type dogs or derivatives. The remaining death was an unfortunate incident where a dog picked up an unattended infant by the head, to move it, and the infant perished as a result of head injuries.

While the dog attacks continue, the eternal attempt to place the blame continues unabated. The pit bull advocates claim that breed has absolutely nothing to do with the risk of an attack, but when one simply looks at the data and considers all factors, one fact stands out in stark relief: Of all factors involved in disfiguring or fatal dog attacks, one factor towers so far above all others as to render them practically irrelevant, and that factor is the breed, or type, of attacking dog. To argue otherwise is to deny the obvious.

The Current citizen watchdog compiled report is available here
The animal people report as of 6/5/2016 is available here

Other resources -

daxtonsfriends.com
fatalpitbullattacks.com
nationalpitbullvictimawareness.org
safetybeforebulldogs.blogspot.com
thetruthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com

Dog attack report - year end 2015

The serious dog attacks in North America and Canada for the year 2015 have been tallied by the hard working analysts at animals 24-7, and the results are presented here for your consideration. What with the availability of cell phone cameras everywhere, leading to more and better information, the trends we've seen have become more pronounced.

The bottom line: There are over 330 dog breeds which did not kill a single person last year. Of those few breeds that did, the vast majority of fatal attacks were committed by one particular type of dog, the pit bull.

This report covers the US and Canada, but the first fatal attack of 2016 served as a grim reminder that other countries have growing pit bull problems as well - including the UK, where pit bulls are ostensibly banned. However the loopholes and exemptions, along with selective enforcement, have effectively nullified the pit bull ban, thus facilitating the sort of horrific cases like the UK man who was attacked and mauled to death by his girlfriend's pit bull while suffering an epileptic seizure on new year's day. The full US report can be seen in the link below, which also provides some information on dog attacks in foreign countries.


Record 33 fatal pit bull attacks in 2015