U.S. Fatal Dog Attacks Continue to Rise from Previous Years (January 1, 2014 to August 13, 2014)

Snapshot Summary Report
DogsBite.org - In the first 225 days of this year, 28 Americans were killed by dogs. On average, a fatal attack was inflicted by a canine every 8 days in the U.S. since January 1. Pit bulls and their mixes are responsible for 71% (20) of these deaths. Pit bulls alone have an average kill rate of every 11 days during this period. Followed by two other large molosser breeds, rottweilers (7%) and bullmastiffs (7%), each inflicting 2 deaths. Four dog breeds each inflicted one death.1

In contrast, by August 13, 2013, there were 18 fatalities. In the same period for 2012 and 2011, there were 20 and 18 deaths, respectively. If the current rate persists, an estimated 46 fatal attacks will occur in 2014.

During the recent 3.5-week period of July 19 to August 13, pit bulls killed 6 Americans. 83% (5) were children ages 6 and under and 67% (4) involved a babysitter watching the child, including one case where a babysitter was brutally killed in front of a 2-year old child. Of all fatal attacks since January 1, babysitters were present in 21% (6) of these attacks and 29% (8) involved the victim either visiting or living temporarily with the dog's owner when the fatal attack occurred.2

During the first 225 days of 2014, Texas led all states in fatalities with 21% (6); regionally, the Southern United States led with 61% (17). Alabama, Florida and Ohio followed, each with 3 fatalities. In the 9-year period of 2005 to 2013, Alabama had 6 total recorded dog bite fatalities; 3 so far in 2014 is a substantial rise. In Ohio, all 3 fatal dog attacks occurred in the southwestern part of the state (25-miles apart) in a 6-month period and 2 deaths occurred in the city of Dayton.

Regarding criminal charges, Harris County, Texas stunned DogsBite.org followers in July after finally bringing charges under the state felony law that was enacted in 2007. More notably, in what may be the most watched and analyzed fatal dog mauling trial since the death of Diane Whipple in 2001, prosecutors in Michigan filed second-degree murder charges and a felony count of possessing an animal causing death against a couple after their two dogs brutally killed a jogger.

Snapshot Summary Report

Located centrally, the snapshot shows the Large Molosser Breeds group. This small group has inflicted 93% (26) of attacks resulting in death during this period and includes: pit bulls, rottweilers, American bulldogs, mastiff/bullmastiff, presa canarios and cane corsos. Dog breeds displayed in the first two rows of the snapshot are based upon the top killing dog breeds of the last 9-years (See related chart). Thus, not all fatally attacking breeds in 2014 are shown in the snapshot.3

Photographs of six dogs from the Large Molosser Breeds group that killed a person in 2014.

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1Responsible for one death so far in 2014: cane corso, catahoula leopard, German shepherd and a mastiff-mix.
2When "reverse" scenarios are included this number is much higher, 39%. So far this year, 3 cases involved the dog temporarily living at the victim's home when the attack occurred, including the deaths of Je'vaeh Mayes (Texas), Dorothy Hamilton (Texas) and Cindy Whisman (Ohio).
3The snapshot represents a small portion of a much larger Excel data set.

7 thoughts on “U.S. Fatal Dog Attacks Continue to Rise from Previous Years (January 1, 2014 to August 13, 2014)”

I used to follow both Dogsbite and a nationwide network for rescue pets on a social media site. More than once, I'd see a Dogsbite update on the latest fatal mauling, and then right below it, a photo of a pit bull with a description like, "Cuddles is such a sweet pibble! She wants to be your pal! Won't you take her home?"

It really started getting to me. I had to unfollow the pet page.

Pet rescue is one of the biggest shams going. It's rapidly turning into pit bull pimping.

YQN, so true. I fostered a nice greyhound/shepherd cross with a local organization. They specialized in hounds and hound mixes but still had a few pit mixes they could not turn down. I was warned not to let my foster get too close to one of the pit mixes, because, a while back it had gotten ahold of a really sweet hound and caused about 2,000 $ worth of injuries. When I asked why this happened the volunteer shrugged her shoulders and said: ' it's a pit bull, that's why.' This seemed ludicrous that an organization that was 100% volunteers and begged for funds would allow a stupid pit bull mix to waste so much of their money. Yes the hound was sweet and worth saving, but it should not have happened in the first place!!! If they'd not taken in a stupid pit mix, that never would have happened. After I got my foster adopted out to a nice couple, I quit fostering. I also stopped donating money to animal organizations. Now I give my donations to children that have been attacked by a pit. Sorry for the length of this post, I'm in a talkative mood I guess.

These dogs just scare me. An older woman lived in the house behind us and allowed her two daughters, their children and boyfriends/husbands to live with her. I don't know why because neither daughter worked or lifted a finger to help out around the house (I heard plenty of screaming matches about that). They couldn't be bothered to watch their children, whom I extracted from my yard on several occasions. Only one of the men worked and that was part time. Most of the time they were out doing stupid stuff like huffing spray paint cans or riding four wheelers around on the street. One of the men had a pitbull puppy and just let her wander around unleashed in the yard. She snapped at even him, even though he was the one who fed her and gave her affection.

None of this behavior is what you'd expect in a nice neighborhood. We're mostly respectable people here. I'm an attorney, my next door neighbor owns a plumbing business. The rest of the block is made up of three retired widows who have lived here forever, a nurse and a businessman, and a dentist to name a few.

We're on a corner lot. Our house faces south, the house behind us faces west. We have no real backyard because of the shape of the lot. My kids have to play in the side yard, which the city has ordinances against fencing. It was my fear this dog could just come roaming over at any time into the area where my children played. The only thing shielding them from that animal was the privacy fence along the back property line and that had to end at the sidewalk.

The police wouldn't do a thing to help, even when I reported the huffing, the loose dog and the four wheelers being raced on the street. I finally complained to city council, which did nothing either. We got a nasty email from the police chief telling us we complained too much and any further complaints would be ignored. I know there's not much I can do about it because the police are legally allowed to pick and choose whom they protect.

But we're stuck in this idiotic town until our kids graduate. Our youngest had to switch elementary schools when they built a new one. That was two years of hell because she's so painfully shy. I can't imagine what uprooting her again would do. She'd be back in therapy.

So, here we were, stuck in this house until we could find another one in our daughter's elementary district to buy and I was afraid to let the kids outside, even with supervision. What would this dog do to them if it got the chance?

For a year we lived like that while we searched for an appropriate new home, as not much came up on the market that was even worth looking at. I took them over to my parents so they could play outside. I also arranged my work schedule so I could pick them up every day at their bus stops. If I couldn't, they would ride the bus to my parents' house. My flower gardens went to weed because I was afraid to be outside with that pitbull roaming around. My husband got a handgun and a permit to carry it. He never mowed the lawn without it on him. It felt like a prison sentence for my family.

Then one winter day those neighbors were suddenly gone. We never even saw any evidence they were moving. Their vehicles just disappeared and a large pile of junk appeared on the front porch. I believe a bank owns it now, even though it's still listed in the old lady's name on the assessor's website. A yard care company comes by once a month to mow. I wish they would haul the junk away, but there's no point complaining about it. The city will ignore me.

I've never been so happy to see a house abandoned. That's how worried I was about living next to a pitbull.

Thank you for this site. I'm so sick of the sites touting pitbulls as wonderful pets. I would love to challenge this proponents of the bully breeds to try living next to one who's not controlled and see how they enjoy being prisoners in their own house.

These people are often temporary, like drug dealers. They often move from place to place to avoid paying rent, paying collectors and to avoid warrants (or being caught for other illegal activities). Just like you say, they leave a pile of junk in their aftermath, but at least they are gone! An abandoned house is still a bad thing, however. While the city might be ignoring you, your homeowners or neighborhood association might be able to help you with the "junk yard" abandoned house issue. It is a serious blight and eventually will cause new problems. It brings the property value down for all nearby houses too. A sending off gift from the pit bull owners.

Happened next door to me too. Pit bull owners literally moved away under cover of darkness. And, interestingly enough, they began moving two days after there was a police welfare check at their corner. I didn't call the cops, but I'd love to thank whoever did.

Dear Dogsbite.org – thank you so much for collecting and providing the statical rich data regarding this blog topic. Numbers don't lie!

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Packhorse on August 22, 2014 at 3:32 pm said:

I used to follow both Dogsbite and a nationwide network for rescue pets on a social media site. More than once, I'd see a Dogsbite update on the latest fatal mauling, and then right below it, a photo of a pit bull with a description like, "Cuddles is such a sweet pibble! She wants to be your pal! Won't you take her home?"

It really started getting to me. I had to unfollow the pet page.
Your Quiet Neighbor on August 22, 2014 at 6:57 pm said:

Pet rescue is one of the biggest shams going. It's rapidly turning into pit bull pimping.
Dayna Hamilton on August 23, 2014 at 3:27 am said:

YQN, so true. I fostered a nice greyhound/shepherd cross with a local organization. They specialized in hounds and hound mixes but still had a few pit mixes they could not turn down. I was warned not to let my foster get too close to one of the pit mixes, because, a while back it had gotten ahold of a really sweet hound and caused about 2,000 $ worth of injuries. When I asked why this happened the volunteer shrugged her shoulders and said: ' it's a pit bull, that's why.' This seemed ludicrous that an organization that was 100% volunteers and begged for funds would allow a stupid pit bull mix to waste so much of their money. Yes the hound was sweet and worth saving, but it should not have happened in the first place!!! If they'd not taken in a stupid pit mix, that never would have happened. After I got my foster adopted out to a nice couple, I quit fostering. I also stopped donating money to animal organizations. Now I give my donations to children that have been attacked by a pit. Sorry for the length of this post, I'm in a talkative mood I guess.
Poppy on September 2, 2014 at 8:44 am said:

These dogs just scare me. An older woman lived in the house behind us and allowed her two daughters, their children and boyfriends/husbands to live with her. I don't know why because neither daughter worked or lifted a finger to help out around the house (I heard plenty of screaming matches about that). They couldn't be bothered to watch their children, whom I extracted from my yard on several occasions. Only one of the men worked and that was part time. Most of the time they were out doing stupid stuff like huffing spray paint cans or riding four wheelers around on the street. One of the men had a pitbull puppy and just let her wander around unleashed in the yard. She snapped at even him, even though he was the one who fed her and gave her affection.

None of this behavior is what you'd expect in a nice neighborhood. We're mostly respectable people here. I'm an attorney, my next door neighbor owns a plumbing business. The rest of the block is made up of three retired widows who have lived here forever, a nurse and a businessman, and a dentist to name a few.

We're on a corner lot. Our house faces south, the house behind us faces west. We have no real backyard because of the shape of the lot. My kids have to play in the side yard, which the city has ordinances against fencing. It was my fear this dog could just come roaming over at any time into the area where my children played. The only thing shielding them from that animal was the privacy fence along the back property line and that had to end at the sidewalk.

The police wouldn't do a thing to help, even when I reported the huffing, the loose dog and the four wheelers being raced on the street. I finally complained to city council, which did nothing either. We got a nasty email from the police chief telling us we complained too much and any further complaints would be ignored. I know there's not much I can do about it because the police are legally allowed to pick and choose whom they protect.

But we're stuck in this idiotic town until our kids graduate. Our youngest had to switch elementary schools when they built a new one. That was two years of hell because she's so painfully shy. I can't imagine what uprooting her again would do. She'd be back in therapy.

So, here we were, stuck in this house until we could find another one in our daughter's elementary district to buy and I was afraid to let the kids outside, even with supervision. What would this dog do to them if it got the chance?

For a year we lived like that while we searched for an appropriate new home, as not much came up on the market that was even worth looking at. I took them over to my parents so they could play outside. I also arranged my work schedule so I could pick them up every day at their bus stops. If I couldn't, they would ride the bus to my parents' house. My flower gardens went to weed because I was afraid to be outside with that pitbull roaming around. My husband got a handgun and a permit to carry it. He never mowed the lawn without it on him. It felt like a prison sentence for my family.

Then one winter day those neighbors were suddenly gone. We never even saw any evidence they were moving. Their vehicles just disappeared and a large pile of junk appeared on the front porch. I believe a bank owns it now, even though it's still listed in the old lady's name on the assessor's website. A yard care company comes by once a month to mow. I wish they would haul the junk away, but there's no point complaining about it. The city will ignore me.

I've never been so happy to see a house abandoned. That's how worried I was about living next to a pitbull.

Thank you for this site. I'm so sick of the sites touting pitbulls as wonderful pets. I would love to challenge this proponents of the bully breeds to try living next to one who's not controlled and see how they enjoy being prisoners in their own house.
maultalk on September 2, 2014 at 2:45 pm said:

These people are often temporary, like drug dealers. They often move from place to place to avoid paying rent, paying collectors and to avoid warrants (or being caught for other illegal activities). Just like you say, they leave a pile of junk in their aftermath, but at least they are gone! An abandoned house is still a bad thing, however. While the city might be ignoring you, your homeowners or neighborhood association might be able to help you with the "junk yard" abandoned house issue. It is a serious blight and eventually will cause new problems. It brings the property value down for all nearby houses too. A sending off gift from the pit bull owners.
Your Quiet Neighbor on September 3, 2014 at 9:08 pm said:

Happened next door to me too. Pit bull owners literally moved away under cover of darkness. And, interestingly enough, they began moving two days after there was a police welfare check at their corner. I didn't call the cops, but I'd love to thank whoever did.
Cat and Daisy Lynn Rudert on September 6, 2014 at 3:56 pm said:

Dear Dogsbite.org – thank you so much for collecting and providing the statical rich data regarding this blog topic. Numbers don't lie!

Please donate to support our work

7 thoughts on “U.S. Fatal Dog Attacks Continue to Rise from Previous Years (January 1, 2014 to August 13, 2014)”