Cities of Strays

Revised: July 20, 2015; 15:22 GMT
Revised: July 21, 2015; 05:14 GMT
Revised: July 22, 2015; 14:42 GMT

Estimates indicate there could be more than a million stray dogs in Houston, Texas.
USA Today; March 24, 2015

* * * * *

It became the story that wouldn't die.

In January, 2011 the Detroit Film Office blocked a $1.4 million proposal from the Discovery Channel. Journalist Chris Christoff, writing for the Detroit Free Press, said the proposed docudrama would capture life from the perspective of Detroit's feral and abandoned stray dogs.

Two weeks after Detroit rejected the movie proposal Dan Carlisle¹ and Monica Martino posted a five-minute video to YouTube. The video included scenes of stray dogs and, incredibly, a starving American Bulldog eating the carcass of a dead pit bull puppy.

Carlisle's video announced that Detroit was home to 50,000 feral or abandoned strays. The number jolted the animal welfare community. A year later, in March, 2012, Rolling Stone brought the story of Detroit's stray dogs to national attention with City of Strays.

Questions began to surface about Carlisle's figure of 50,000 stray dogs. By late summer of 2013 Tom McPhee, director of the World Animal Awareness Society, decided to put an end to the speculation. In a landmark survey, forty teams of observers would count Detroit's stray dogs on September 21st and 22nd, 2013.

(Image courtesy of American Strays; click to expand)

By this time Chris Christoff had moved from the Detroit Free Press to Bloomberg Business News. In August, 2013, a month before McPhee's planned survey, Christoff reprised his 2011 Free Press stray dogs article. The Bloomberg publication of Abandoned Dogs Roam Detroit in Packs as Humans Dwindle hit Detroit and the national animal welfare community like a firestorm. Newspapers around the globe picked up the story.

In his new article Christoff doubled down on the image of Detroit as a ruined city:

 It was almost post-apocalyptic, where there are no businesses, nothing except people in houses and dogs running around.²

A year later, when McPhee's survey was completed and the data tabulated and released, the number of Detroit strays was revised dramatically downward. McPhee determined there were between 1,000 and 3,000 "loose dogs" in Detroit. But the two-and-a-half year drumroll of stray dog news insured that Detroit would never shake the perception of a city occupied by armies of stray dogs.

* * * * * 

There are an estimated 600 million stray dogs spread across the globe, living in nearly every city. According to Merritt Clifton, editor of Animals 24-7, there are approximately 5,000 stray dogs in the US on any given day.³

The global stray dog problem is largely identified with cities in developing countries of the global south. The majority of the world's strays are unbred landraces or village dogs, fawn-colored dogs of the kind that existed before man began selectively breeding Canis familiaris.

Many of the global strays live openly in their communities, and are supported either directly or indirectly by the community. Strays in Moscow reportedly know how to use the complex subway system, boarding and getting off at various stops along with their fellow commuters.

America's strays, on the other hand, are a largely invisible population, hiding during the days and foraging for food in the early morning hours. When we talk about American stray dogs, Detroit's in particular, we are talking primarily about pit bull type dogs.

* * * * *

In 2014 the US stray dog news front moved to Saginaw. Throughout the summer and fall packs of strays attacked both companion animals and humans. Trail cameras caught eerie night vision images of dog packs, roaming like zombie dogs along hunting tracks. After one pack was eliminated the county discovered another night-roaming pack, and warned citizens to remain vigilant. In 2015 the cities of Flint, Michigan, and Little Rock, Arkansas reported neighborhoods overrun by stray dogs.

The stray dog problem in Houston is of a different order of magnitude: headlines claimed there were 1.2 million stray dogs in Houston. Unlike Detroit's figures, which were the product of Dan Carlisle's fertile imagination, the 1.2 million figure came from BARC, the city's Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care.

After the initial shock of the headlines wore off people realized that 900,000 of those stray animals were cats, allowing for 300,000 stray dogs. BARC had arrived at the number by using "a math formula hodgepodged from a couple of sources."⁴ McPhee believes Houston's numbers may also be inflated and is now at work surveying Houston's stray dog population.

It would be pointless to compare the stray dog problems in Houston and Detroit. Detroit is a rustbelt city; Houston is a sunbelt city. Detroit is contracting; Houston is expanding. Detroit is 20th-century urban; Houston is 21st-century suburban. Detroit's economy is a shambles; Houston's is booming.

And the dogs are different.

The problems in the two cities aren't comparable but they point to similar failures in each city. The failures can be attributed to both civic institutions and animal welfare organizations. NGO's in Houston, working in concert with BARC, spend a small fortune to ship stray dogs out of state rather than euthanize them. Houston's wealthy animal welfare benefactors have purchased a fleet of specially equipped transporters that are constantly ferrying strays to far-away cities.

Detroit is the end of the line for stray dogs; there's nowhere to ship Detroit strays. Instead the region's numerous pit bull rescue organizations endlessly recycle the breed of obsession, insuring that many pit bulls end up on the streets a second or even a third time.

Rescues could be accused of dog laundering,⁵ sometimes renaming and moving dangerous dogs from one location to another to hide their history, rather than working for the benefit of all our society's companion animals. Some rescue organizations act with impunity because the state provides little or no oversight. There is a simple solution to Detroit's problem of a runaway rescue system: the state legislature should pass legislation mandating that every dog passing through a licensed Michigan rescue organization or shelter must be entered in a special registry for stray, abandoned, feral, and rescue dogs.

With the recent cessation of efforts to standardize microchipping,⁶ an alternate registration system must be developed. This would enable law enforcement to determine responsibility for any attacks by rescued dogs, and help public officials track a growing public safety issue. Shelters and rescue organizations would be more inclined to act responsibly when placing fighting breeds in homes, if they knew attacks would be traced back to them.

Before Detroit, out-of-control dog population was associated primarily with third world countries. Detroit, with the assistance of a prolific pit bull advocacy and rescue network, has demonstrated that even a first-world city can make the mistakes that lead to a third-world animal welfare tragedy.

The stray dog problems in Houston, Dallas, Detroit and other American cities is a tragedy created not by nature or by neglect; it is a tragedy created by humans. These humane tragedies were created by the determined, on-going policies of pit bull rescue organizations, and by the passivity of the government institutions that allow them to continue.

Postscript:
As this post was being prepared the Henderson County, NC Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the pit bull who killed six-year-old Joshua Phillip Strother in Hendersonville, North Carolina on July 7 had been adopted from the Asheville Humane Society three weeks before the attack. The dog had been brought to AHS as a stray by the Buncombe County Sheriff's office. It was then monitored by the AHS for 30 days, after which it was adopted by Joshua's neighbors. The Sheriff's Office said no charges will be filed. Joshua was the third fatal pit bull attack in a seven-day period. [Ed. A fourth fatal pit bull attack occurred several days later.]

Joshua Phillip Strother, 6 yo; d. July 7, 2015

Fort Worth Addendum:
FORT WORTH — A skinny brown pit bull sits in a parking lot watching traffic on Berry Street.

Nearby, two more pits — a male and female — roam free. No collars.

A third rounds the corner behind them, dragging his leash down Sydney Street.

Fort Worth has plan to deal with stray dogs
   March 3, 2015; WFAA ABC 8

* * * * *
Notes:
¹   Mr Carlisle, a local Detroit celebrity and entrepreneur, is also a hip-hop artist who records under the name Hush.
²   Amanda Arrington of HSUS; Bloomberg Business News, Aug 20, 2013
³   This figure does not include semi-owned dogs who run at large, as on Native American reservations and in parts of the rural South.
⁴   Houston's problem is not 1.2 million stray dogs; Houston Chronicle, March 27, 2015
⁵   See Dog Laundering, SRUV
⁶   As this post was readied for publication we learned that microchipping has no preventive value. See Entrepreneur finds pet microchip problem unsolvable. States are urged to develop an alternate, reliable registry for identifying and tracking rescue dogs across state lines.

Stray Dog Resources:
Stray Dog Population Management
    World Animal Protection
Stray Dog Population Control 2015
   Terrestrial Animal Health Code Chap 7.7
   World Organization for Animal Health (OIE Home page)
Animal welfare: why dogs are a development issue
   May 2, 2014; The Guardian
600 Million Spay and Neuter Cookies
   600 Million Dogs
Stray Dogs Around the World - How Big Is The Problem
   World Animal Awareness Society
[This page includes an extensive list of resources]

International Stray Dogs:
Stray dogs targeted after attack on governor Kilpatrick
   July 24, 2015; Cayman Compass
Number of stray dogs put down 'double the national average'
   July 22, 2015; Telegraph & Argus (UK)
7,700 Stray Dogs Found in West Last Year
   July 22, 2015; Western Morning News (UK)
Huge bill for re-homing stray dogs
   July 15, 2015; Uttoxeter Advertiser
Indian state's plans to cull stray dogs hits opposition
   July 13, 2015; CNN
   The WHO reported in April 2014 that India has about 18,000 to 20,000 cases of rabies a year and 36% of the world's deaths from the disease are found in the country.
Bitten and bruised by stray dogs, Kerala cracks down
   July 9, 2015; Hindustan Times
End your stray dog cull, UK tells Romania
   June 21, 2015; Daily Mail
Dozens injured in stray dogs’ attack in eastern Turkey
   June 11, 2015; BGN News
Istanbul’s stray golden retrievers taken to US for adoption
   May 12, 2015; BGN News
Stray dogs interrupt flights at Istanbul airport
   April 22, 2015; Hurriyet Daily News
Iranians protest killing of stray dogs
   April 20, 2015; AL-Monitor, Iran Pulse
Turkish woman dies due to attack by stray dogs
   March 16, 2015; Hurriyet Daily News
What happened to the 51,000 stray dogs captured in Bucharest?
   January 16, 2015; Romania Insider
Where Streets Are Thronged With Strays Baring Fangs
   August 6, 2012; New York Times
Man’s Best Friend or the World’s Number-One Pest?
   July 18, 2012; The Smithsonian
With perhaps 600 million strays skirmishing for food on the fringe of the human world, street dogs are a common element of travel just about everywhere

Moscow's Subway Strays
The Search for Moscow's Train-Riding Dogs
   September 12, 2013; The Moscow Times
Moscow's Metro Dogs
   July 8, 2013; New Yorker
Stray Dogs Master Complex Moscow Subway System
   March 19, 2010; ABC News
Moscow's Stray Dogs Evolving Greater Intelligence, Including a ...
    January 21, 2010; Popular Science

Feral, Abandoned, Loose, and Stray (FALS) Dogs in the United States:
Police dog killed by stray dog in Roan Mountain
   July 27, 2015; Johnson City Press (TN)

Gunner was attacked by a stray dog he had not seen around the area before. He said the stray dog was a silver pit bull mix.

Pack of stray dogs intimidating a Little Rock community
   June 29, 2015; THV 11
Petition fights stray animal hold ordinance in Chicago
   April 13, 2015; Columbia Chronicle
Fort Worth has plan to deal with stray dogs
   March 3, 2015; WFAA ABC 8
Stray dogs have guardian angel in Chicago area
   Feb 9, 2015; Chicago Tribune
7 Years After Katrina, New Orleans Is Overrun by Wild Dogs
   August 24, 2012; The Atlantic
When residents fled the city, many left their pets behind. Today, those animals and their offspring are roaming the streets in overwhelming numbers.
The secret lives of feral dogs
   by Will Doig
   January 14, 2012; Salon
The Ecology of Stray Dogs: A Study of Free-Ranging Urban Animals
   by Alan M. Beck
   June 30, 1973; Purdue University Press (e-book)

Houston & Dallas Stray Dogs:
Winnetka Heights dog attack: scary reminder of why strays issue must be fixed
   August 19, 2015; Dallas Morning News
See where Dallas residents rank stray dogs problem
   July 20, 2015; Dallas Morning News
Residents terrorized by wild dogs
   June 12, 2015; MyFox Houston
No solutions in sight for southern Dallas’ abandoned dogs
   June 5, 2015; Dallas Morning News
Houston's problem is not 1.2 million stray dogs
   March 27, 2015; Houston  Chronicle
‘Loose’ or ‘abandoned’ dogs? The city doesn’t have a clue which are which
   March 25, 2015; Dallas Morning News
Drones  Being Used to Track Houston's Stray Dogs
   by Marcelino Benito, KHOU-TV, Houston
   March 24, 2015; USA Today
There’s only one way Dallas will solve its stray dog crisis
   March 19, 2015; Dallas Morning News
Rather Than Fix the Problem, Houston Officials Ship Stray Animals Off to Other States
   by Craig Malisow
   Houston Press; February 17, 2015
Stray Dog Complaints on the Rise on East End
   October 6, 2014; ABC 13 Eyewitness News

Michigan Stray Dogs:
Detroit gets first no-kill dog shelter
   July 28, 2015; Detroit News
Detroit Dog Rescue says its animals are safe after meeting with Mayor Mike Duggan
   June 18, 2015; MLive
Thousands Sign Petition To Shut Down Detroit Animal Control, Claiming It Kills 95 Percent Of Dogs
   June 18, 2015; CBS Detroit
Flint residents say stray dogs are making neighborhoods unsafe
   June 14, 2015; MLive
Rescue groups seek Detroit Animal Control reform
   June 13, 2015; Detroit News
MSU researchers want to figure out how many stray dogs are really roaming Detroit
   January 26, 2015; Michigan Radio
Search for wild dogs in Saginaw continues as deputies install trail cameras
   October 17, 2014; Saginaw News
Trail camera captures dog images in terrorized southwest Saginaw neighborhood
   October 13, 2014; Saginaw News
Detroit's stray dog population is likely 1,000, includes 10 packs; get an expert's analysis
   October 10, 2014; MLive
Sheriff's department warns Saginaw residents to watch for another pack of wild dogs
   October 8, 2014; Ann Arbor News
Pack of wild dogs still linger in Saginaw neighborhood
   October 6, 2014; Ann Arbor News
Detroit students will learn pet care along with the 3 R's
   August 31, 2014; Detroit Free Press
Fourth dog shot and wounded as search for roaming pack in Saginaw winds down
   July 22, 2014; MLive
Wild dog pack continues to strike fear in community
   July 18, 2014; WNEM
Pet Pomeranian attacked and carried off by wild dogs in southern Saginaw County, woman says
   July 18, 2014; Saginaw News
Trail camera photographs pack of dogs roaming southwest Saginaw
   July 3, 2014; MLive
Saginaw sheriff to seek Michigan State Police help to track pack of dangerous dogs
   July 3, 2014; The Saginaw News
Dog pack roaming southwest Saginaw kills 65-pound domesticated dog; police say beware
   July 1, 2014; Saginaw News
Detroit's stray pets overwhelm rescue workers
   February 3, 2014; MSU Global Urban Studies Program
New study: Nowhere close to 50,000 stray dogs in Detroit
   January 21, 2014; Michigan Radio
Michigan: Study Disputes Stray Dog Numbers
   January 20, 2014; New York Times
American Strays: Canine Survey & Treasure Hunt (FaceBook)
   September 21, 2013; World Animal Awareness Society
The truth about Detroit: Are there 50,000 abandoned dogs in the city?
   August 22, 2013; Detroit Free Press
No, Detroit Is Not Beset By Wild Dogs (Blog)
   August 22, 2013; Jalopnik Detroit
Packs of starving stray dogs swarm Detroit as people flee . . . 
   August 22, 2013; Daily Mail
'Post-Apocalyptic:' Detroit Wild Dogs Article Resembles Horror Film Pitch
   August 21, 2013; Deadline Detroit
Abandoned Dogs Roam Detroit in Packs as Humans Dwindle
   August 20, 2013; Bloomberg
City of Strays: Detroit's Epidemicof 50,000 Abandoned Dogs
   March 20, 2012; Rolling Stone
Duo exposes Detroit's stray dog problem after city rejects reality series
   February 2, 2011; MLive
Detroit won't bite on TV show about stray dogs
   By Chris Christoff; WZZM ABC
   (Originally published in the Detroit Free Press, Jan 13, 2011)

Other Michigan Pit Bull News:
Ahead of pit bull change, Hazel Park woman says dog attacked for second time
   July 6, 2015; MyFoxDetroit
Girl bitten by dog [pit bull] at Grand Haven splash pad
   July 6, 2015; WOOD TV8
Farms looks to add teeth to dog, animal control ordinances
   July 1, 2015; C&G News
Mother Asks For Help After Dog [pit bull] Bites 14-Month-Old Son
   June 30, 2015; 9 & 10 News
Man Attacked By Dog [pit bull] Speaks Out About 'Terrifying' Ordeal
   June 19, 2015; 9&10 News
Pit bull attacks jogger on roadway
   June 17, 2015; Crawford County Avalanche
Pitbull shot dead after fatal attack
   June 9, 2015; Hometown Life
Pit Bull Mix Attacks Edwardsburg Michiagan Woman, Becomes Victim Of Cyber Bullying
   June 8, 2015; The Inquisitr
Pit bull attacks postal worker
   June 6, 2015; Monroe News
Bay City pit bull-boxer mix bites police officer, owner fighting to keep dog alive
   June 5, 2015; MLive
Pit bull attack (Canton, MI)
   June 2, 2015; Hometown Life
Northern Mich. girl hospitalized after pit bull attack
   May 21, 2015; Detroit Free Press

. . . emergency crews took the girl to McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital, and she later was airlifted to DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids.

$100 million 'symbolic' judgment entered in dog attack case
   May 19, 2015; Houston Chronicle
3 injured by pit bull after breaking up fight with other dogs
   May 10, 2015; WDIV Detroit
Hazel Park set to lift ban on pit bulls
   May 8, 2015; Daily Tribune
Hazel Park lifts pit bull ban
   May 7, 2015; WDIV Detroit
Hazel Park lifts pit bull ban after dog saves domestic abuse victim
   May 7, 2015; Fox 2 News
Flint Police shoot, run-over dog with history of biting people
   May 7, 2015; MI NBC News
Mail Carrier Bitten By Dog
   May 5, 2015; WBKB Fox TV (Alcona County, MI)
Family dog shot and killed by neighbor in Canton
   May 5, 2015; Detroit Free Press
Hazel Park plans on denigrating the local veterans Memorial Day parade with pitbull promoters and their dogs allowed to walk in the parade (Letter)
   May 1, 2015; Oakland Press
Pit Bull Put Down After Biting Teenager
   April 24, 2015; WLNS (Ingram County)
Woman seriously injured by dog attack in Grosse Pointe Farms
   April 9, 2015; WDIV Detroit
The Hazel Park pit bull ban
   March 15, 2015; Fox News (Discussion/interview panel)
Two more pit bulls face removal as Hazel Park's breed-specific ban controversy rages
   March 12, 2015; Daily Tribune
Hazel Park neighbors, pitbull owners working together to repeal breed ban
   March 10, 2015; Fox News Detroit
Animal rights group intervening to help hero Pit Bull
   March 10, 2015; Fox News Detroit
Pit bull bites Newaygo Co. sheriff’s deputy
   March 9, 2015; WOOD TV
Hero pit bull saves owner during domestic violence, faces removal from home due to city ordinance
   March 7, 2015; Oakland Press
Pitbull credited for saving owner, but will be removed from Hazel Park home
   March 6, 2015; Fox 2 Detroit
Man runs animal shelter out of Hazel Park home
   February 25, 2015; Click on Detroit
Clinton Township man ‘fights for his life' in dog attack on Clinton River Trail
   February 4, 2014; Oakland Press
Man bitten by pit bull while shopping at PetSmart in Southfield
   January 7, 2015; Oakland Press
Pit bull owners praise breed, fight Waterford ordinance
   February 24, 2013; Oakland Press
Pit Bull: Family Pet or Dangerous Animal?
   July 6, 2010; Fox2 Detroit
In the second video, a panel of guests joins Huel Perkins to debate pit bulls during a special edition of "Let It Rip". Joining him are Michele Watts, whose dog was killed by a pit bull, Terry Hodskins, who is a pit bull owner, and FOX 2 Legal Analyst Charlie Langton.
Protesters voice outrage over pit bull euthanasia
   November 15, 2009; Oakland Press

Other Sources:
Senate Bill 239 (2015) Legiscan
Senate Bill 239 (2015) MI Legislature
Senate Bill 239 (2015) Text

Statistics:
Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the nation's authoritative source for current dog attack statistics, the 30+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada.
View or download the current PDF

2014 Year-end report of dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; January 3, 2015
32 years of logging fatal & disfiguring dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; September 27, 2014
How many other animals did pit bulls kill in 2014?
   Animals 24-7; January 27, 2015

This page may also include information from Dogsbite &Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

2014 Dog Bite Related Fatalities on Daxton's Friends
Index of canine fatalities on Daxton's Friends

Definitions:
SRUV uses the definition of "pit bull" as found in the Omaha Municipal Code Section 6-163. As pit bulls are increasingly crossed with exotic mastiffs, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and other breeds, the vernacular definition of "pit bull" must be made even more inclusive.

Sources cited by news media sometimes refer to "Animal Advocates" or sometimes "Experts." In many cases these words are used to refer to single-purpose pit bull advocates who have never advocated for any other breeds or species of animals. Media would be more accurate to refer to these pit bull advocates as advocates of fighting breeds.

Similarly, in many cases pit bull advocates refer to themselves as "dog lovers" or "canine advocates" and media often accepts this usage. The majority of these pit bull advocates are single-purpose advocates of fighting breeds.

-->-->
-->

Wisconsin People Problems

Revised: July 16, 2015; 06:19 GMT

Out-of-control dog attacks, kills small dog

WSAU, Wausaw, WI
Tuesday, July 07, 2015 4:22 a.m. CDT

Humane Society of Marathon County Executive Director Mary Kirlin said not all pit bulls are bad.

“Just like people, dogs have their own issues and their own likes and dislikes. Not every person likes every other person, not every dog likes every other dog,” Kirlin said. “There can be a lot of things that happen." 

* * * * * 

On July 3, 2015, a poochon named Snowball was attacked and killed by a pit bull named Krayze in Wausau, Wisconsin. Krayze had attacked a husky puppy the week before he killed Snowball. That tells you just about all you need to know.

But then Mary Kirlin, the Executive Director of the Humane Society of Marathon County, commented on the attack, and it became manifestly more interesting. Every time a pit bull attacks Ms Kirlin can be counted on to say something infuriating. On this occasion she uttered the thoughtless, insensitive, cruel comment above about likes and dislikes.

Ms Kirlin is mindless of the grief suffered by the human companions of our more vulnerable animal companions. Her first thoughts are of the pit bulls, and how to mitigate the damage to their reputations.

Ms Kirlin suggests that the killing of Snowball is equivalent to a minor snit between teen-aged girls; that Snowball was killed because she was "disliked." Her comments have become so casual, so routine, so dismissive of the suffering and loss that they are simply repugnant. What is of greater importance, in this case, are the reader comments below the story, which are copied in their entirety below.

The councilmen, legislators, other public servants and "animal welfare" professionals in Wisconsin would be wise to note the responses of their constituents.

Apricot Poochon Puppy from Chevromist Kennels
(Wikimedia Commons, Hockey252)

* * * * *
Reader Comments:

Jeff Duranso
If that happened to me, by the time my lawyer got done with the dog's owner they`d be living under a bridge.

Cindy >Jeff Duranso
Well it happened to me. I was attacked and still suffer from the injuries and my Chihuahua was killed by this monster. The skank owner complained that she is on welfare and foodstamps and didn't have much money. So I get a big 750. for my murdered little companion and my pain and she only pays 40. a month. She continually tries to skip out on paying and I have to go to the courthouse and file papers. She was legally allowed to get another pit bull. She couldn't be sued for more because my attorney said she didn't have anything. So too bad for me. She should be in jail or beat up! Maybe this pit will attack her!

Heidi S
That is hilarious -- that some have been trained to attack... I thought that's what they were bred for.... Humane Society always looking out for society as a whole, great job! This time a puppy next time an infant...

Robert Parent
Oh look, a 'pit bulls are a menace' thread!!

Denise >Robert Parent
Oh look, it's an unfeeling, uncaring about any other breed of dog other than a pit bull obsessed jerk!!

Travelmate
What the hay is the humane society doing promoting pit bulls? They KILL pets and people with impunity. Are they suggesting that the owner in this case trained his dog to break containment to kill innocent puppies? is that what they're suggesting. Humane societies are supposed to be HUMANE. It is not humane to promote the kind of dog that kills more than ALL OTHER KINDS OF DOGS COMBINED. That is highly irresponsible and just disgusting. They are becoming merchants of death.

Animals 24-7

Humane societies, in their zeal to save every dog, have abdicated their moral duty to protect the public and other animals from dangerous dogs, most whom have been bred specifically to be dangerous. The history is worth recalling.

There were two fatalities involving shelter dogs from 1858 through 1999, both involving wolf hybrids, one in 1988 and one in 1989.

There were three fatalities involving shelter dogs from 2000 through 2009, involving a pit bull, a Doberman, and a Presa Canario.

There have been 37 fatalities involving shelter dogs from 2010 to present, involving 29 pit bulls, seven bull mastiffs, two Rottweilers, a Lab who may have been part pit bull, and a husky.

Also of note, there were 32 disfiguring maulings by shelter dogs from 1859 through 2009, 19 of them involving pit bulls.

From 2010 to present, there have been 136 disfiguring maulings by shelter dogs, 97 of them involving pit bulls. 17 shelter dogs have killed or disfigured people thus far in 2015, all of them pit bulls.

For every human killed, hundreds of animals have been--about 6,500 animals killed by shelter dogs per year in 2013-2014, more than 90% by pit bulls.

Only 26 fatalities associated with exploding Ford Pinto gas tanks, over seven years, were sufficient to kill the sales of what had been the top-selling car in history, ahead of even the Volkswagen beetle.

Ultimately, what shelters are doing in focusing on adopting out pit bulls instead of drastically curtailing the pit bull birth rate & discouraging acquisition of "bully" breeds is flirting with the same sort of disaster that killed the Pinto: persuading the public that shelters are not a good place to get a dog.

ban pit bulls
I say go after the humane society for not doing anything with that dog after the first attack!

teejk >ban pit bulls
In Jackson County Wisconsin the offending dog is apparently given a "3 strike" rule. After the second bite (on my wife and son...two different incidents with two different "shelter dogs" owned by our neighbor) we were advised by the director of the county humane society to "move". We were also advised by the county sheriff that I couldn't shoot them even if on our property. Two weeks before Christmas we lost the most interesting little dachshund to the neighbor's wolf mix (was in our yard...snow on the ground so we knew what happened) while she was "doing her business" after dinner. We now have 2 dachshund puppies. And I have a new H&K 9mm handgun. If it comes to it, these puppies will be defended. I'll go to jail but I am not going to relive that December thing again.

Cindy >teejk
I was told by the previous manager of the humane society in Marathon co. that the lady who runs it now is evil and keeps the pits there longer than she is supposed to and then crys to the city for more money!

Sharon Savage Yildiz
This is why I broke all ties with humane societies and shelters. They are NOT dog experts, and they certainly have not researched the 500 year history of the pit bull as genetically-modified killing machine (known for jumping fences and killing kids even in the 1500's). 1:20 pits sends a pet or human to the hospital each year, compared to 1:3,000 for other breeds. Pit bulls last year killed 18,000 American dogs, including 5 killed at Petsmart alone. Pits kill more humans, more pets and more livestock that all other 300 dog breeds combined, and have since records were first kept in the 1850's. It has NOTHING to do with training, and is 100% genetic. If killing other dogs was about "training," how strange that every dog fighter uses only pit bulls, rather than training Goldens, Great Danes, German Shepherds or any other breeds to fight...

Denise
Pit bulls are all genetic ticking time bombs, use at your own risk. You never know when one might go off. Why would any sane human want to take that risk when there are so many other dog breeds? What's up with the Humane Society's ignorance on this subject? They should be more concerned with protecting humans and ALL other dogs and pets than worrying about offending the ignorant pit bull advocates.

Jaloney Caldwell
so great of the worthless media to contact the humane society folks that make money by keeping the pitbull overbreeding fiasco alive and keep the world safe for dog fighting with their promotions of the breed. The people and pets killed and mutilated by New GOD: The pitbull.. is what the tax payers are paying to promote. SICK. http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/...

Irene LOBAIDO
Get legally armed America! Don't be dead victims of Dangerous dog Attacks!! When they Attack, they get Whacked!! Its just that simple!


* * * * * 
Sources:
Out-of-control dog attacks, kills small dog
   July 7, 2015; WSAU
Pit Bull kills small dog in Wausau

   July 6, 2015; ABC 9 WAOW

Statistics:
Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the nation's authoritative source for current dog attack statistics, the 32+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada.
View or download the current PDF

2014 Year-end report of dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; January 3, 2015
32 years of logging fatal & disfiguring dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; September 27, 2014
How many other animals did pit bulls kill in 2014?
   Animals 24-7; January 27, 2015

This page may also include information from Dogsbite & Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

2014 Dog Bite Related Fatalities on Daxton's Friends
Index of canine fatalities on Daxton's Friends

Definitions:
SRUV uses the definition of "pit bull" as found in the Omaha Municipal Code Section 6-163. As pit bulls are increasingly crossed with exotic mastiffs, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and other breeds, the vernacular definition of "pit bull" must be made even more inclusive.

Sources cited by news media sometimes refer to "Animal Advocates" or sometimes "Experts." In many cases these words are used to refer to single-purpose pit bull advocates who have never advocated for any other breeds or species of animals. Media would be more accurate to refer to these pit bull advocates as advocates of fighting breeds.

Similarly, in many cases pit bull advocates refer to themselves as "dog lovers" or "canine advocates" and media often accepts this usage. The majority of these pit bull advocates are single-purpose advocates of fighting breeds.

-->-->
-->

Sgt. Stubby

Revised: July 10, 2015; 19:09 GMT

But back to Stubby, a stray Pit Bull from Hartford, Conn., smuggled by a soldier onto a ship bound for France. Stubby started out as a mascot, the main role dogs played in the Great War, providing companionship and boosting morale for U.S. troops.

Stubby went from mascot to war hero somewhat instinctually. He warned a group of sleeping soldiers of an impending gas attack, giving them enough time to put on their masks. He once acted as a sentry for the soldiers he was with, standing guard and biting a German infiltrator, detaining him long enough for soldiers to capture him. And he was wounded by shrapnel, but continued on with the 102nd, surviving several battles, according to Michael G. Lemish, a war dog historian and author.

The above excerpt is from an article by Sarah Kershaw published in the Washington Post on July 3, 2015. The article, a moving tribute to war dogs, includes a glaring error that could have been avoided with a few minutes of research. The comment copied below is one of several reader comments which corrected Ms Kershaw's error:

Merritt Clifton

7/3/2015 2:59 PM PDT

Sergeant Stubby was introduced to the world by the Boston Globe on April 8, 1919, about halfway through an article entitled “Heroes Aplenty On Agamemnon,” profiling the soldiers and animals aboard a recently landed troop transport ship. “The reporter was just taking down the names of some of the men,” the anonymous author recounted, “when from the dock came a faint, small sound. There, sniffing inquiringly at the reporter, was a small but unmistakeable bulldog…The small ‘bull’ can justly be called a Yale bulldog," i.e. Boston terrier--much smaller than a pit bull. "Corporal J.R. Conroy of New Britain, Connecticut is the dog’s official keeper," the Boston Globe account continued. "He explained that Stubby was adopted by the old 1st Connecticut Regiment when it was training at Yale field. When the regiment was merged into the 102nd, Stubby went along. Corporal Conroy and the rest of the company managed to smuggle him on board the ship which took them overseas. Stubby has been with the men ever since. He was wounded during the Seicheprey fight, and wears every conceivable sort of decoration on his blanket. He took part in the fight at Marchville, Corporal Conroy being regimental observer on that occasion, and the company believes that he alone held at least one German division at the time.” From that jocular claim, the Stubby myth expanded with every retelling. His remains, taxidermically mounted and displayed at the Smithsonian, are unmistakably those of a Boston terrier.

Stephen Wood, age 6, with his Boston Terrier "Peggy"

Long Neck, LI, New York, 1940

Pit bull advocates have cultivated the belief that Sgt Stubby was a pit bull. Ms Kershaw's error was to believe the misinformation published by many pit bull advocacy websites. The misidentification of Sgt Stubby as a pit bull is only one of many fantastic deceptions circulated by advocates of fighting breeds.

We encourage the Boston Terrier Club of America (BTCA) to lodge a formal objection to the Washington Post, whose fact-checkers failed to note and correct Ms Kershaw's error. The BTCA should also write to the AKC, who must acknowledge that Sgt Stubby was indeed a Boston. Aficionados of the valiant little Boston Terrier breed must object to the repeated misidentification of one of their own, and reclaim their own little hero, Sgt Stubby, as a Boston Terrier.

"The Mayor" (Boston terrier) 1917,  by Harry Lyman

* * * * *
Source:
Here’s a short history of the American war dog starring ‘Sergeant Stubby,’ a canine hero who served during WWI
   July 3, 2015; by Sarah Kershaw, Washington Post

Statistics:
Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the nation's authoritative source for current dog attack statistics, the 32+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada.
View or download the current PDF

2014 Year-end report of dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; January 3, 2015
32 years of logging fatal & disfiguring dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; September 27, 2014
How many other animals did pit bulls kill in 2014?
   Animals 24-7; January 27, 2015

This page may also include information from Dogsbite & Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

2014 Dog Bite Related Fatalities on Daxton's Friends
Index of canine fatalities on Daxton's Friends

Definitions:
SRUV uses the definition of "pit bull" as found in the Omaha Municipal Code Section 6-163. As pit bulls are increasingly crossed with exotic mastiffs, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and other breeds, the vernacular definition of "pit bull" must be made even more inclusive.

Sources cited by news media sometimes refer to "Animal Advocates" or sometimes "Experts." In many cases these words are used to refer to single-purpose pit bull advocates who have never advocated for any other breeds or species of animals. Media would be more accurate to refer to these pit bull advocates as advocates of fighting breeds.

Similarly, in many cases pit bull advocates refer to themselves as "dog lovers" or "canine advocates" and media often accepts this usage. The majority of these pit bull advocates are single-purpose advocates of fighting breeds.

-->-->
-->

First X, Then Y, Then Z

        . . . Then Pit Bulls

In the 1980s, Doberman Pinschers were associated with 'tough guy image,' tarnishing that breed's reputation . . . in the 1990s it shifted to Rottweilers, then into the 2000s it became pit bulls.

Leon Davis
BC SPCA Nanaimo & District Branch Manager

* * * * *

At one point it was German Shepherd dogs that were considered to be potentially dangerous or inherently dangerous. Then it was Rottweilers, then it was Doberman Pinschers. For the last 20 years or so it's been pit bulls. . . . 

Nicholas Gilman
Executive Director, Montreal SPCA

* * * * * 

The dogs used as examples vary and the order is random. But according to advocates of fighting breeds, pit bulls are simply the latest in a line of maligned, though innocent, victims of bad press.

The XYZ motif has been so overused south of the 49th parallel that it has, for the most part, fallen out of use. But Canadian advocates of fighting breeds haven't yet realized that this tired cliché has outlived it's usefulness.

Perhaps the reason the XYZ motif has been abandoned, by even the staunchest US advocates, is that it was never true. When the 30-year summary of Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada¹ was released it became obvious that Dobermans and German Shepherds were never as dangerous as pit bull advocates make them out to be.

A recent article in the National Post puts the issue to rest:

In my youth, people used to think the Doberman Pinscher was a dangerous dog. But from 1955 to 2015, Dobermans have killed only 11 people. That is about as many as pit bulls kill in any given four-month period. Seventy percent of dog bite-related fatalities and extreme damage to humans are inflicted by pit bull type dogs, who represent four percent of the breed population. Surgeons testify to the especially horrific damage their peculiar biting method – hold and rend – does to human flesh and bone. Pit bulls are also responsible for the deaths of virtually 100% of domestic animals (including cows and horses) killed by canines.

Pit bull bans work
by Barbara Kay
June 19, 2015; The National Post

Advocates of fighting breeds would have us believe that pit bulls are simply the latest in a line of wrongly-maligned dogs. In reality they are unique. Pit bulls are the first, and only, dogs intentionally selected and inter- and cross- and outbred for centuries for their capacity to fight other dogs to the death, while ignoring pain and life-threatening injuries to themselves.

* * * * *
See Also:

Carnival of Madness: Canada
Canada (Index of posts and resources)

Notes:
¹   2012. See Statistics, below.

Canada Sources:
Vancouver needs to get a grip on pit bulls
by Mia Johnson (Opinion)
July 10, 2015; Vancouver Sun

We're not the answer to U.S.'s pit bull problem
by Naomi Lakritz
July 3, 2015; Calgary Herald

Adopters of imported rescue dogs must consider liability
by Dr Rebecca Ledger
June 29, 2015; Vancouver Sun

Love your pit bull, but pay the price
June 26, 2015; Calgary Herald

Dogs rescued from the U.S. causing problems in B.C.: animal advocacy group
June 23, 2015; Vancouver Sun

17 bully breed dogs on 'death row' in California sent to Calgary
June 22, 2015; Calgary Herald

Wings of Rescue takes Bakersfield pit bulls to Canada
June 22, 2015; Bakersfield Now

Pit bull accused of biting 5-year-old girl won't be put down
June 19, 2015; CBC News

Pit bull bans work
by Barbara Kay
June 19, 2015; The National Post

Membertou pit bull ban working
June 17, 2015; Cape Breton Post

Pit bull dog breed is a danger to general public
by Mia Johnson
June 16, 2015; The Alberni Times

Enforcement needed for pit bull-type dogs in city
June 16, 2015; Nanaimo Daily News

Pitbull seized after attack
June 15, 2015; Castanet Times
Her insides were all over, my two friends were covered in blood.

Use data, not anecdotes to judge pit bull problem
June 12, 2015; Nanaimo Daily News

St. Michel man and dog attacked by pit bull terrier
June 8, 2015; CRV News Montreal

Pit bulls will always be a bit of an easy target
June 2, 2015; Nanaimo Daily News (Editorial Opinion)

This is not a pit bull issue
by Rosie Mullaley
May 30, 2015; The Telegram (Montreal)

Number of incidents with pit bulls a concern
by Mia Johnson
May 30, 2015; Nanaimo Daily News

Nanaimo woman says pit bull attack caused death of small dog
May 29, 2015; Nanaimo Daily News

Central Alberta judge orders pit bulls destroyed after attack
May 28, 2015; Canadian Press

Newfoundland teen terrified by pit bull attack
by Rosie Mullaley
May 27, 2015; New Glasgow News (Pictou County, NS)

“If this wasn’t a pit bull, it would’ve been put down right away. They’re only concerned about giving (the breed) any more of a bad name than what they have now. If it was a German shepherd, a Shih Tzu or a beagle, do you think people would be coming forward fighting to keep it alive? No, they wouldn’t.

Pit bull owner charged after two attacks on teenagers
May 26, 2015; NTV

Pit bull controversy reignites after boy is mauled by two dogs
May 22, 2015; Global News

Pit bull ban is logical next step
by Naomi Lakritz (of the Calgary Herald)
May 20, 2015; Vancouver Sun

Paul Johnston mourning Copper killed by pit bull cross
May 19, 2015; CBC News

Owner of dog killed in attack weighs in on Calgary breed debate
May 18, 2015; MSN News

Recent dog attacks has bylaw services suggesting policy changes
May 13, 2015; 660 News

Calgary teen taken to hospital after 'pit bull-type' dog bites her legs
May 13, 2015; CBC News

Pit bulls are inherently high-risk dogs
By Barbara Kay
May 13, 2015; Montreal Gazette (Opinion)

Time to debate pit bull ban
May 13, 2015; Calgary Herald (Editorial)

Canada, Get Rid Of Pit Bulls Once And For All
By Jesse Ferreras
May 13, 2015; Huffington Post

Dog attacks in Calgary under investigation
'Aggression from animals will not be tolerated,' says animal services manager after 3 separate attacks
May 11, 2015; CBC News

Questions raised about London, Ont., coyote attack on girl, 14
May 11, 2015; Calgary Sun

Two small dogs are dead following two unrelated, but nearly “identical” attacks by two other dogs over the weekend
May 10, 2015; Calgary Herald

Debert woman mourns pet pit bull that attacked her
April 29, 2015; Chronicle Herald

Small dog fatally attacked while stunned owner holds leash
April 22, 2015; CTV News
“My dog was just laying limp on the ground and I cuddled him. Of course I started crying because I knew he was dead.”

No charges against owner whose pit bull killed therapy dog in Vancouver
April 16, 2015; Vancouver Sun

Pit bull shot by OPP after attack on mother and child in Rockland
April 13, 2015; CBC News

Kelowna judge orders pit bull destroyed after ‘savage attack’ on its owner
April 9, 2015; Edmonton Journal

Pit bull attacks nine-year-old Penticton girl
April 9, 2015; Global News

Pit bull shot after it attacks police service dog
April 8, 2015; Edmonton Journal

A Gruesome Attack by a Pitbull Lands in Kelowna Court
April 1, 2015; Kelowna Now

Statistics:
Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the nation's authoritative source for current dog attack statistics, the 32+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada.
View or download the current PDF

2014 Year-end report of dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; January 3, 2015
32 years of logging fatal & disfiguring dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; September 27, 2014
How many other animals did pit bulls kill in 2014?
   Animals 24-7; January 27, 2015

This page may also include information from Dogsbite & Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

2014 Dog Bite Related Fatalities on Daxton's Friends
Index of canine fatalities on Daxton's Friends

Definitions:
SRUV uses the definition of "pit bull" as found in the Omaha Municipal Code Section 6-163. As pit bulls are increasingly crossed with exotic mastiffs, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and other breeds, the vernacular definition of "pit bull" must be made even more inclusive.

Sources cited by news media sometimes refer to "Animal Advocates" or sometimes "Experts." In many cases these words are used to refer to single-purpose pit bull advocates who have never advocated for any other breeds or species of animals. Media would be more accurate to refer to these pit bull advocates as advocates of fighting breeds.

Similarly, in many cases pit bull advocates refer to themselves as "dog lovers" or "canine advocates" and media often accepts this usage. The majority of these pit bull advocates are single-purpose advocates of fighting breeds.

-->-->
-->