It’s been a newsy day for pit bulls and other “vicious” dogs. A change in Ohio’s approach toward vicious dogs and the announcement of a rise in dog bite liability payouts were two that topped the list. Since May is National Dog Bite Prevention month, I suppose you could say these are quite timely.
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| Photo courtesy Purr Photography |
Ohio has now reversed its breed specific legislation, where it had labeled pit bulls as “vicious dogs”. Under previous law, a pit bull was automatically considered a dangerous dog; now, though, it must first be proven that a dog is dangerous – regardless of its breed.
This is a great step forward, at least from the backward stance the state previously took. BSL does not work, offers a false sense of security, and is wholly discriminatory without merit. Ohio’s new law regarding dangerous dogs is based on evidence, not theory.
There are still plenty of people, though, who consider pit bulls inherently dangerous. I am one who will not argue that point – quite frankly, I think too many people forget that a dog is a dog. Never mind the breed, any dog has the potential to react in a way that may be harmful to someone in its presence. It is dogs’ nature to bite, even to attack, for various reasons.
It’s up to us humans to realize this, learn how to train our dogs well, how to treat dogs properly and how to read a dog’s body language. While larger, stronger dogs may be more apt to cause serious injuries, all dogs – any dogs – are capable of biting someone.
As for dog bites, the newly released figures showing that liability payouts increased to $479 million in 2011 are quite frightful. No doubt, the soaring costs of medical care accounts for a good portion – ask anyone who’s been hit with a doctor or hospital bill lately. Moreover, our litigious culture seems to keep feeding upon itself, cultivating both overzealous pursuits of legal remedies and illogical assumptions that insurance policies make for cash cows.
A friend of mine has a neighbor who isn’t tolerated well by her dogs. When the man is out in his yard, her dogs bark ceaselessly at him. (As the saying goes, if a dog doesn’t like someone, you probably shouldn’t, either.) My friend resolves this issue by bringing the dogs inside whenever the man is out.
One afternoon, the dogs began barking, and before she could call them in – one of them allegedly bit the man. Now, mind you, there is a fence between the yards. The neighbor obviously had to insert his arm into my friend’s yard in order for it to be bitten. He wasted no time in alerting her to what allegedly happened, and reminded her of her responsibility as the dog’s owner.
She’s a nurse, so her first instinct was to examine the wound and explain to him the best way to treat it. She also encouraged him to have it checked by a doctor, and that she would reimburse him for that expense. His first question to her was whether she had insurance. As it turned out, he wanted to collect as much as he could from the insurance company.
In the end, she realized the game he was playing and refused to take part. He was more than welcome to file a police report, and she was more than willing to pay for a doctor’s examination. When he saw that he wasn’t going to get very far with it, he backed off. The dog by the way, is pictured below. He’s a small guy, definitely not a pit bull.
Unfortunately, between our greed and our ignorance, we’ve created quite a convoluted, tangled mess for ourselves when it comes to behavior issues with dogs. It’s going to take a lot to straighten our heads about it, and to understand how to proceed properly in the future.
The good news is that there are plenty of knowledgeable people who have the information we need and are willing to help. And there are communities that are indeed taking a sensible approach to “dangerous dogs” occurrences – in San Francisco, the accused canines get their day in court with a dog judge. (Thanks to Pamela at Something Wagging This Way Comes for alerting us to this great article!) Mel from No Dog About It Blog says the city of Minneapolis has a similar approach.
In honor of National Dog Bite Prevention Month, why not take a few moments to learn something new about dog behavior, training, and how to prevent bites? Then just pass along your newly-acquired information to someone you know. We can make this a kinder, gentler society – and one that’s more understanding of our dogs, too!
If I was your friend, I’d make additions to my fence so that it could not be easily reached through…maybe stapling chicken wire over the gaps? Something like that. I would not tolerate that kind of nonsense from a neighbor, and even file a report myself, that he was harassing my dogs and tampering with my property and its safety. That’s scary stuff, and there’s no excuse for that kind of behavior.
I was very happy to read about Ohio’s reversal of BSL!
Sure is scary stuff, Jen. Great idea about the chicken wire, although I suppose he could still reach over the fence. It’s a shame he even considered such tactics, but I think my friend handled it well (considering this is a neighbor she has to live by!) I don’t know that I’d have been so civilized with him.
Ohio’s news is fantastic, a real cause for celebration!
I agree with Jen – it sounds like your neighbor is being harassed and it seems like a preemptive strike is something she ought to consider, as well as making some modifications/enhancements to the fence so that there is no way the neighbor can stick his hand or arm through it to antagonize the dogs. This is scary!
Makes you wonder, think twice, every time you hear about a dog bite incident once you’ve heard this kind of thing. And in the MSN article about dog bites, it mentioned how not all insurance companies are even covering dog bite liabilities any more.
So…a heads up to check your insurance policy!
You’re friend’s experience definitely makes you wonder about these dog bite statistics. How many are just people out looking for a payday? What a sad state of affairs. On the positive side, Ohio’s new stance is much to celebrate. A lot of people have worked really hard to change the image pit bulls have unjustly received and their efforts are paying off. Even United airlines reversed it’s breed discrimination policy!
Sure is much to celebrate about Ohio’s new approach – we’re doing the happy dance for our Ohioan friends!
That’s right – even United Airlines – and you covered that issue for us so well…http://gopetfriendlyblog.com/tag/pet-friendly-airlines/
Many good things happening on behalf of our pet friends, we just have to speak up if something’s not right – Ohio and UA are proof it makes a difference!
And it’s not just greedy people we have to worry about. It’s the stupid as well.
My beloved childhood dog bit someone. He was at the end of a chain attached to his dog house (yes, I know, I didn’t come from an enlightened doggy family) when a friend of my parents decided to say hello.
They told their friend not to approach Duchess because he would bite and the man insisted that he knew how to handle dogs. As soon as he got within reach, Duchess bit him in the arm.
Luckily the man wasn’t hurt too badly. Duchess was strong enough to do major damage but didn’t. The “victim” insisted Duchess be put down as vicious. Fortunately, my parents managed a compromise. Duchess was traded for a German Shepherd who was a poor watch dog at a local store. We lost Duchess to an auto parts store and gained Duke, the gentle German Shepherd.
I’ve never gotten over the sense of loss. Duchess was my best friend. I never knew what happened in his life or how he was treated. And I don’t think I’ve ever forgiven that man for behaving so ignorantly to get bitten.
Dog bite prevention is important on so many levels. It’s always a terrible thing for a person to suffer a bite. It’s terrible for the dog who often pays the ultimate price for his actions. And it’s terrible for someone who loves a dog that bites.
Thanks for the shout out. And thanks for letting me process 40 years of grief over losing Duchess.
Oh, Pamela, horrible story, and so sad – needlessly so. Hopefully Duchess was treated well. No doubt, that man never learned what he’d done wrong. And you – hugs to you, it must have devastated you!