Dog Bite Fatalities from 2009

Please check out this posting from the KC Dog Blog if you are interested in knowing the details (as reported in the media) of the dog bite fatalities in the US in 2009. There were 33 dog bite fatalities in 2009, 20 of them children. Fatal attacks are very rare (considering that there are reportedly 73 million dogs in the US), but the circumstances tend to be reported, providing an opportunity to learn about the conditions that result in dog attacks. It is very likely that many unreported bites also occurred under similar circumstances and that many children are at risk, even if a bite has not yet occurred. The information we gain from the circumstances of the fatal attacks can help us learn what needs to be done to prevent both fatal and non-fatal attacks.

Here are some of the circumstances of the attacks on children:

• Child left unsupervised with the dog ("for just a moment" in most cases): 11/20
• Dog chained: 9/20 (we will talk more about this in a future post)
  

There are doubtless many other factors involved, including training and living conditions of the dogs, which if improved could result in significant risk reduction. However, two recommendations are clearly supported by the available evidence:

We must continue to urge parents never to leave a child unsupervised with a dog even for a moment.

We must continue to educate people on the danger of keeping a dog on a chain and to urge parents to teach children to keep away from chained dogs.