Let sleeping dogs lie

Just this past Saturday (Feb. 20), animal advocates rallied outside a courthouse in Newmarket against a court application by the OSPCA to euthanize twenty-one pit bulls seized from an alleged dog fighting ring in Chatham-Kent. The OSPCA argue that the pit bulls must be euthanized due to behavioural issues. The advocates, citing previous examples of similar situations, argue that most of the dogs can be rehabilitated and sent out of the province. Pit bulls are consistently portrayed negatively in the media, though many who have interacted with these breeds paint an entirely different picture. Because I’m a huge animal lover and just love pit bulls, I decided to look at some statistics on vicious dog attacks and why pit bulls are consistently the number one dog found in dog attacks.

The most recent and cited report is “Dog Attack Deaths and Maimings, U.S. & Canada, September 1982 to December 31, 2014” by Merritt Clifton. For this study Clifton compiled press accounts since 1982, covering only attacks “by dogs of clearly identified breed type or ancestry.” He clearly defines “Attacks doing bodily harm” and “maimings”, but muddles his numbers within the various categories in his table. Since some attacks include multiple dogs and/or multiple victims with varying degrees of injury, he spreads his numbers around to suit the categories. He also notes that not all victim ages are released in press reports, which will alter his numbers, yet he does not include a list of unknown ages to balance the statistics. In terms of the number of dogs included, he averages the number into a percentage of the total dog population. While his study of dog attacks ranges from 1982 to 2014, the percentage per dog breed is taken from “65,658 classified ads listing dogs for sale and adoption at websites during July 2013, screened to eliminate duplicates.” He states that numbers for June 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 do not differ from the percentage he has derived, yet these numbers would fluctuate over a 32 year period and do not properly represent dog populations for that span of time. He has also combined the percentages of the three most ostracized dog breeds, Pit Bulls, Rottweiler, and German Shepherds, to include mixes, unless otherwise stated.

Two of my biggest issues with this study is his use of “pit bull” and the sources of his statistics, media accounts. Briefly, in studies such as this, the term “pit bull” refers to three distinct dog breeds that are lumped together, the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. And so, he increases the total dog population of “pit bulls” by combining these three breeds plus the various mixes.

Clifton states that media accounts are legitimate because they include police reports, animal control reports, medical reports, witness accounts, etc. However, a study conducted by the National Canine Research Council showed that similar dog attacks over a four-day period involving different types of dogs had significantly different media exposure. They issued a report in 2007 explaining how there has been a general shift in the type of information contained in media reports on dog attacks. Because we live in an age of info-glut, reporters are seeking quick information via the internet rather than interviewing those directly related to the case. The author, Karen Delise, states, “seeking out alternate sources of information due to scarcity of details in modern-day media sources has demonstrated that the very absence of these details has led to a general hysteria about certain breeds” Now I'm not saying all dogs are good. Like people, there are dogs with severe behavioural issues. Plus, while Pit Bulls are a higher risk breed, so are their owners who typically get that specific breed in order to train them to be aggressive. Yet because of the ease of access to information like media reports, “researchers” can create statistics to suit their purposes and draw inaccurate conclusions about certain dog breeds and dog attacks in general. When looking at research, we must critique the sources they use to ensure accuracy of the information. If someone is making a claim and using poorly created statistics to support it, we must look at their research to determine how they came to their conclusion, and not just accept the argument because they used numbers. 

Works Cited:

Clifton, Merritt. "Dog Attack Deaths and Maimings, U.S. & Canada, September 1982 to December 31, 2014." Animals 24-7, December 31, 2014. Accessed through: http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-study-dog-attacks-and-maimings-merritt-clifton.php. 

Delise, Karen. The Pit Bull Placebo: The Media, Myths and Politics of Canine Aggression. Ramsey, NJ: Anubis Publishing, 2007. http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/uploaded_files/publications/230603563_Pit%20Bull%20Placebo.pdf. 

Wilson, Sara Logan. "Dog Bite Statistics." Canine Journal. Updated August 26, 2015. http://www.caninejournal.com/dog-bite-statistics/