My Dog Doesn't Bite: The Parents' Guide to Dangerous Dogs

By Mark S. Mathusa DVM

DR. Mark S. Mathusa has practiced veterinary medicine for over 28 years and has witnessed the horrors associated with vicious dogs and canine attack. The majority of dog attack victims are children. These kids can be maimed, disfigured, or killed. The author knows many of the 4.7 million dog bites that occur annually in the U.S. could be prevented if parents were better informed.

My Dog Doesn't Bite, by way of multiple sources and references, lists the dogs most likely to attack, maim, and kill. Readers will learn the myths and excuses used by owners of dangerous breeds in an effort to deflect criticism. There is also a discussion of little known diseases that humans, especially children, can contract from pets and wildlife. These diseases can be found in unexpected places and can cause severe illness, including blindness and death.

There are a number of patterns associated with canine attack. These observations, along with veterinarian's unique perspective, are used to educate readers on how to avoid becoming a canine attack victim. Read accounts from persons who were mauled by vicious dogs. Witness the frustration of canine attack victims, or their survivors, as lives are shattered in a matter of minutes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781682229293

Book preview

References

FOREWORD

The book was pretty much finished. I had vented and carried on for over six months. Hopefully, people would find a book concerning dangerous dogs as one worth reading. That being said, it was time to write a foreword. I sat in front of the computer screen and typed out 750 words, but it wasn’t any good. I was gassed. I didn’t have any juice left. It was only a couple of pages. I thought I would crank out something by the numbers on another day. It was time for a couple of Yuenglings. The cold ones hit the spot but did not quiet the bug in the back of my brain.

It was getting late. I needed to start cleaning and organizing piles of notes, references, and other documents that had accumulated over the course of the project. Somewhere in the stack, I spotted a couple of textbooks from the animal clinic. These were the same books that I pored over twenty-five years ago in veterinary school. Seeing them on my desk brought back memories of long nights and solitude. These were not fond memories. As I piled up these texts, one of them had some yellowed newsprint hanging out of the binding. Stuffed inside were a number of newspaper clippings that were once posted at the clinic. These articles referred to dog attacks that had occurred over the last seventeen years. Most were yellowed, and some were stuck together by Scotch tape. At the clinic, they’d hung on the inside doors of exam room cabinets for so long that you hardly noticed them. I decided to look at some of these forgotten victims of canine attacks. Other than the people and families who were victimized, I was probably one of the few persons to have kept copies of these articles.

Reading these clippings, some of them only a few inches long, was like reading ancient history. Some of the victims likely still suffer from having been attacked. It isn’t ancient history to them. I only have the clippings and none of them have dates. I will plan better next time. Here are some of the titles and locations of these attacks.

Dog Attack Kills Newborn, Tampa, FL

Two-Year-Old Attacked by Dangerous Pit Bull, Lake Wales, FL

Pit Bull That Attacked Girl to be Killed, Palm Bay, FL

Pit Bull Bites Ten-Year-Old in the Face, Jacksonville, FL

Officer Fires Taser at Lunging Pit Bull, Melbourne, FL

Pit Bull Kills Toddler; Forced Off With Fire Extinguisher, Huntington, W.Va.

Teenager Survives Pit Bull Attack, Needs 900 [not a misprint] Stitches, Gainesville, FL

Mom Tosses Baby Over Fence to Thwart Pit Bull, Cocoa, FL

These were horrible stories. There were about twenty-five articles in all. Most of them concerned attacks carried out by Pit Bulls or Rottweilers. I would use these articles in an attempt to educate clients when they came to the clinic with a dangerous dog of any breed. By and large, it was a waste of time. Still, I thought the folks who were attacked needed to have their side of the story told. I hoped that sharing the stories might help others avoid inflicting a future tragedy on an innocent victim. Unfortunately, most owners of dangerous dogs feel that a similar occurrence would never happen with their dog. Their dog is a good dog. That is how almost all owners of dangerous dogs think. And why not? There is, in most cases, little ramification should the worst occur.

So this is it. This is for all of the dog attack victims whose stories have made a brief splash in the news, only to become a passing footnote. Your stories have not gone unnoticed. There are those of us who sympathize with your situation and know when it comes to justice, many of you have been sold short. You and your families are not the only ones who are angry at the inaction by public officials when it comes to dangerous dogs. You are not the only cynics who are tired of excuses made by dog owners harboring vicious breeds. It is time to bring the problems associated with canine attacks into the daylight. People need to see the suffering and fear that you have dealt with. If the public takes an in-depth look at canine attacks, maybe these cases will no longer be swept under the rug.

Nearly everyone I know has a tale to tell when it comes to dangerous dogs. It may concern them, a family member, or someone they know. I experienced an incident just two days ago when a toddler was bitten in the face as his mother was transporting a friend’s dog to our clinic. Incidents like this happen frequently. Most people are not informed as to why they occur and how to avoid them. The topic of dangerous dogs has been smoke screened and smoothed over for so long there is little reliable information on how to protect yourself and your family from canine attack. A study in 1994 estimated there are 4.7 million dog bites every year in the U.S. (44). Odds are the number is greater in 2009.

This is a book about dangerous dogs. They populate our society in large numbers. They are in places that you would never expect. There are a lot of people who will say the problem of dangerous dogs does not exist or is exaggerated. I invite the doubters to read the chapter concerning canine attack and homicide statistics and tell me there is not a problem. I hear of bites, attacks, and fatalities on a regular basis. Often, your only defense is knowledge as there may be little protection in written statutes. Too many owners of vicious dogs are apathetic toward the dangers their pets present, until some innocent is attacked. Most of these attacks are on children.

This book goes a long way in arming you with the knowledge and healthy skepticism needed to protect yourself against dangerous dogs and their irresponsible owners. I have practiced veterinary medicine for more than twenty five years and have heard every excuse, B.S. story, and cliché in the book. If you could see what I see in a veterinary clinic, you would know the problem of dangerous dogs is vastly understated.

In addition to the danger presented by canine attack, there are a number of parasites and diseases which can be passed from dogs to people. When I speak to clients at the animal hospital, almost none are familiar with these pathogens. As we see with dog bites, the most likely victims of these diseases are kids. A discussion of these diseases is included in the chapter on zoonoses.

So read on. Get a take on the world of pets that you may not have seen before. If you agree that there is a dangerous dog problem, hit the Internet and do a little research. I encourage you to do so. There are more dog attack stories all the time.

The goal of this book is to keep you, or a member of your family, from becoming one of these stories. As with any danger, knowledge of the threat is essential to protecting oneself. This book may not be the end all and be all on the topic of dangerous dogs, but it is a very good start. When finished with this reading, you, and those who rely on you for their safety, will be less likely to fall victim to a canine attack. If that is not worth a few bucks and a little time, I don’t know what is.

INTRODUCTION

I cannot remember when I first wanted to be a veterinarian. It was probably around the age of five. When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, being a veterinarian was my reply. I was a nut about animals, be they domestic, wild, or exotic species.

As a kid in New York’s Adirondack Mountains, I would pore over the latest copies of National Wildlife magazine or National Geographic. There was no Internet or Discovery Channel during the sixties. For many years, we received only one television channel. To keep busy, I would catch and release wild animals just to get close to them. Once, a trapper friend came to our door with an adolescent raccoon in a burlap sack. The animal’s face was full of porcupine quills and his temper was most foul, but the idea of owning this exotic pet had me looking past all of that. We removed the quills, but the animal’s coarse personality was another matter. With time, I realized that the raccoon’s demeanor was essential for survival and he had no intention of changing. After six weeks, the little fellow was released, sans porcupine quills, and he never looked back. He wasn’t meant to live under a roof.

Over the years, we had a number of dogs in our home. Beagles were the family favorite. The Adirondack area was a perfect playground for both kids and dogs.

My first exposure to aggressive dogs began when I took a summer route for the local newspaper. It was probably the thinnest newspaper that I have ever seen. There is not a lot of news in upstate New York. Life there is simple and largely free of crime. It doesn’t make for extensive local copy.

In May and June of each year, our area had a massive influx of summer residents. This was typical for the entire Adirondack region. Scant as it was, many of these visitors wanted the local paper. At the age of fourteen, I would load my bag with 25 to 40 papers per day and haul them by bicycle to nearby homes.

By today’s standards, my situation was only somewhat hazardous. Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and Akitas had not yet become fashionable, and fortunately in the sticks, we were years behind most social trends. There were, however, a few breeds of concern. The most feared were German Shepherds. The behavior that I saw in Shepherds many years ago mirrors what I see in them (as well as some other breeds) today. Their behavior is either very sweet or very aggressive. There is little middle ground for this breed. While not all of the Shepherds I encountered were nasty, there were a few, and one aggressive Shepherd could ruin your day. While many of these Shepherds might bite or scare you, they did not want to kill you. A well-placed bicycle between me and the dog was usually sufficient along with a hearty, Get out of here!

During two years of delivering papers, I was bitten once by an ill-tempered Brittany spaniel. I tried to outrun the dog, which was probably my first mistake. The bite was not severe, but I did not risk going back to notify the owner. If the aggressive breeds we currently see were prevalent in the sixties, running the paper route would have been impossible. The risk would have been too great. One would need to pack a concealed weapon to safely carry out such a business today.

I did my two-year tour with the paper and left with a few dollars in my pocket. I also had on-the- job training in aggressive dog management. The dogs I encountered did not cause me to fear for my life, but even in the sixties, there were cases where children were mauled or killed. I remember two such child maulings. One involved a Malamute, and another case involved a Saint Bernard.

After graduating high school, I worked for many years in the automotive field. The childhood ambition of becoming a veterinarian had faded over time. It would be five years and a move to the south before getting on track to become a veterinarian. In 1987, after eight years of study, I graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in veterinary medicine.

Within a few years, I opened a companion animal practice and experienced an awakening to the dangers of aggressive dogs. I saw many victims of canine attack, including animals and people. The behavior pattern and breed of attacking animals was almost always the same. In nearly every case, flags of aggression preceded the attack. These flags were usually ignored by dog owners. I could not understand why so few people understood this phenomenon. Canine attacks are similar to the movie Groundhog Day where the same events occur over and over.

I see the same patterns as a volunteer on the Brevard County Dangerous Dog Commission. The commission hears appeals from dog owners whose pets have been declared dangerous by our Department of Animal Services. These dogs are classified as dangerous for a number of reasons; the two most common being unprovoked attacks on people or their pets.

Having recently sold my practice, it was time to write about a disturbing trend that I, and others whose opinions I respect, have observed between people and animals. Nationwide statistics show an increased number of dog attacks. There is also an increase in the number of large dogs which are considered aggressive. Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Akitas, and Mastiffs are commonplace. To be sure, there are other breeds of dogs that can be labeled as aggressive. These breeds might escape scrutiny as their numbers are small, but they can do plenty of damage. There are exceptions with some of the more family friendly breeds as well. Not all Retrievers are sweet, and an aggressive Boxer, while uncommon, can show a bad attitude with the best of them.

Any dog can bite and not all aggressive dogs belong to the larger breeds. When discussing the topic of dangerous dogs, I will hear people rail, There are plenty of small dogs that bite, too! These people are correct. There are some small breeds in which almost every member will try to bite. The difference between nasty small dogs and their larger counterparts is significant.

A bite from a Chihuahua is painful. I had an unfortunate experience with one hanging off of my thigh by his teeth. They can be spiteful and aggressive. The difference between a mean Chihuahua, Yorkshire terrier, or Miniature Pincer, and an aggressive Rottweiler is that a small dog is not likely to kill or disable you for life. Little guys can hurt you, but they will not grab a two-year-old child by the abdomen and shake him until there is nothing left for the surgeon to work with. Large aggressive dogs can and do things like this. Small dogs will rarely kill a human. Because of this fact, one can put the direct comparison of nasty small dogs with large aggressive dogs to rest. The argument is like comparing apples with oranges.

The facts surrounding aggressive dogs are important. If people were aware of these facts, many canine attacks could be avoided. I visited the local Barnes and Noble, and there are shelves filled with books pertaining to dogs. They discuss various breeds and inform dog owners about proper training and care. All of these books concentrate on the positive side of dog ownership. This is good. By and large, dog ownership is a positive experience. However, there are aspects of the dog world that are less than positive. When dogs are bad, people can get hurt. More often than not, these people are children. Many canine attacks occur because of ignorance or naiveté; sometimes because of apathy and irresponsible ownership. A major reason for the public’s ignorance of dangerous dogs is because little information is available in printed form. There are excellent Internet sites on canine attack (dogsbite.org and dogbitelaw.com) which I encourage the reader to visit.

Finally, there will not be a discussion on dog fighting as opinions on this topic are almost universally negative. Dog fighting is in its own universe, and it is one I have chosen to stay out of. It might sound perverse, but when Pit Bulls were limited to the dog fighting community, they were not much of a problem for the rest of us. Their owners preferred to keep a low profile and many (not all) of these animals were isolated from the community at large. This isolation did not make the practice socially acceptable, but the problem of having half of the neighborhood owning Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, or other aggressive breeds was not the problem that it is in some places today. Putting dangerous breeds in the hands of the inexperienced is a disaster waiting to happen. In addition, many critics of dog fighting are fans of dog and horse racing. These animals usually end their days on the wrong end of a euthanasia syringe.

The dog fighting topic is for another author at another time. This book is about dogs that are a danger to kids. These dogs are not exclusively Pit Bulls. If you want a chapter on the world of fighting dogs, you will have to wait for the release of Michael Vick’s autobiography.

The previous pages have been less than complimentary to a number of dog breeds. There are plenty of good reasons for this. Unfair, you say? We’ll see. Let the argument begin with statistics.

STATISTICS

Today in the United States, the dog population is estimated at 62 million (43). This translates into one dog for every five people. The purposes for dog ownership can vary. They are used to hunt wild game, guard our property, sniff out drugs, and help the disabled. The occupations that dogs fill are many, but the majority of dogs in the U.S. are companion animals. Americans love their dogs and these animals fill a greater role in peoples’ lives than ever before. One can find evidence of this quite readily. Doggie day cares, pet superstores, restaurants, and even airlines catering to pets are relatively new phenomena.

Veterinary care employs the use of advanced medical devices including ultrasound, acupuncture, MRI, and CT scans. There are veterinary hospitals specializing in every field including ophthalmology, orthopedics, oncology, and internal medicine. The monies that owners spend on pets’ medical care can run in the thousands or tens of thousands for severely ill patients. Advanced veterinary care that was an exception 25 years ago is more commonplace today. In general, Americans have a higher regard for their dogs (and cats) than ever.

The downside of the canine phenomenon is that dogs can be a source of injury to humans. As people have more interaction with dogs, there is an increased likelihood of canine related injury. These incidents can be broken down into two categories. Bites are a broad category that can involve an insignificant nip from an overzealous pet taking a treat, or an