The Red Notebook - A Fictional Memoir About Unresolved Trauma After a Dog Attack Based Upon a 1980s Incident

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We Created the Protagonist's Voice; Claude AI Created the Story Beats

The Red Notebook - Unresolved Trauma After a Dog Attack
Margarita "Margie" Benedetti sees her reflection in the kitchen window.

The Red Notebook
DogsBite.org - Earlier this year, we received a letter that contained a 250 word account of a vicious dog attack that occurred in the 1980s.1 She was a substitute mail carrier. It was her first time in that neighborhood. She found a warning card the regular carrier had placed between letters indicating that a problem dog, a large German shepherd named "Monster," lived at the next address. She saw no sign of the dog. As soon as she started to climb the steps, the dog crashed through the front storm door.

The dog knocked her down the steps backward. Monster landed on top of her, baring his "gigantic teeth" in her face. A man in motorcycle clothing with lots of tattoos, yelled, “Monster, get off that lady!” Then the man laughed at her. Still laughing, he said, “Monster, you broke through two storm doors this time!” Monster had been in the backyard. When he heard the letter carrier, he smashed through the back storm door, ran through the house and crashed through the front storm door to attack her.

It is a chilling account that she still vividly recalls from 40 years ago. Many dog attack victims respond to vivid and subtle memories long after a vicious attack. Such as having a panic attack upon hearing the sounds of keys or coins rattling; sounds that mimic a dog's collar or chain, like Michael Palmer experiences. What evoked panic for this mail carrier after her attack? In the early 80s, post-traumatic stress was barely known. How could she deliver mail to a home with a storm door again?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was first recognized as a distinct psychiatric diagnosis in 1980 after researching Vietnam War Veterans.

We did not ask her. We decided to take another journey in AI storytelling. Unlike our first story, Echo Chamber, where we performed almost no intervention, this time we heavily intervened. We created the protagonist's voice, based on a 2005 short story by the founder, created her character background -- a woman who immigrated from Italy and grew up with her mother's war stories -- and set up the memoir structure that reflects upon three different time periods: her childhood, the 1980s, and 2024.

Why Did We Do This?

Because this is based upon a true story of a letter carrier in the 1980s. Also, there are few stories or memoirs about the post-traumatic effects of a vicious dog attack. The Scar Dance is one, which we highly recommend, but that is only one book. There are countless books that glorify dogs (Amazon has a 400 page listing), a handful of books about how to survive a dog attack, some of which falsely claim, "breed does not matter," but even fewer books about the post-traumatic effects of a dog attack.

We are also captivated by the account's raw elements: Monster, the motorcycle man, the substitute letter carrier, the glass storm door, and the 40-year time span. We had to create an event in her life the dog attack trauma was linked to. The sounds of coins rattling or a glass door breaking are tangible sounds from these attacks. But trauma also causes previous unresolved trauma to re-emerge -- such as a childhood event. An adult dog attack victim may not even be able to pinpoint the earlier event.

Most importantly, we are exploring AI storytelling before direct victim use. We are currently looking at several use cases where AI can help dog attack victims, including: summarizing and organizing case information and drafting necessary documents. Every time we take another journey in AI storytelling, it becomes clearer how AI can assist victims. This exploration is also critical because we are finding AI biases that affect dog attack victims. We had to correct several glaring ones in The Red Notebook.

The Red Notebook

Dragon Teeth

I am 74 years old. My hands are spotted now but they still work. I sit at my kitchen table every morning at seven. This is what I do with my time.

The red notebook sits in front of me. Forty years I have been writing in it. Mostly since I stopped carrying mail in 2014. All those years I carried other people's words in bags. Now I carry my own words in this book.

The cover is soft from handling. Like old leather. Like the mail satchels I carried for thirty years. The corners are worn down to the cardboard underneath. This is what happens when you touch something every day for years.

I open to the first page. My handwriting was steadier then. The letters stood up straight. Now they lean to the right like they are tired.

Entry: March 15, 1984

"Substitute route on Elmwood Street. Sunny day. Dog warning card for 'Monster.' Did not see dog. Went up steps anyway. This was a mistake."

Under the words, I drew teeth. Many teeth. Sharp as broken glass. They fill up the rest of the page. I do not remember drawing so many. But there they are.

I flip pages. More entries. More teeth.

Entry: March 16, 1984

"Could not sleep. Drew more teeth. They look bigger on paper than they did in his mouth. This makes no sense."

The teeth on this page are different. Longer. Sharper. Like dragon teeth. Like the monsters from the stories my mother told me when I was small.

Entry: March 20, 1984.

"Requested different route. Supervisor said okay. Did not ask why. Good."

No teeth on this page. Just words. I was trying to stop drawing them. But on the next page, there they are again. Filling up the margins.

I turn more pages. Different handwriting now. Older. In pencil, not pen. The letters are smaller. More careful.

Entry: 1943 (copied from my mother's telling)

"Mamma Rosa heard tanks coming down Via Garibaldi. Metal scraping stone. Like giant claws. She said the sound split her chest open."

My mother told me this story when I was small. She told it many times. About the war. About the tanks that came through her village. About the sound they made on the cobblestones. I wrote it down years later because I understood why she told it. Some sounds break you. Some sounds you carry forever.

The tanks made a sound like crashing. Like breaking. Like the sound Monster made when he came through the glass door.

I close the notebook. The kitchen is quiet. The coffee has gone cold. Outside, the mail truck drives by. I do not look up. I have not looked at mail trucks for ten years.

Today I will walk to Elmwood Street. The house is for sale. I saw it in yesterday's paper. The advertisement was small. Just an address and a price. But I know that address. I have known it for forty years.

After forty years, I will finish what I started. I will walk up those steps again. I will look at that door. I will see what is real and what is not.

Some things you carry until you choose to put them down. Today I choose.

The red notebook goes in my coat pocket. I can feel its weight against my ribs. Like carrying mail. Like carrying something important that needs to be delivered.

I am 74 years old. My legs are not what they were. But they still carry me where I need to go.

Yellow Warning Card

I walk to Elmwood Street. I have walked many miles in forty years. Mail routes. Grocery stores. To the bank. To the doctor. Walking is what you do when you are still alive.

The red notebook is in my coat pocket. I can feel its weight. Like carrying a stone. Like carrying something that needs to be put down.

The sidewalk cracks are the same. The mailboxes are newer. Some houses have different colors. But the street remembers me. I remember it too.

I stop at the corner. This is where I stood forty years ago, reading the route sheet. Substitute carrier. New neighborhood. I was 34 then. I thought I knew what I was doing.

The morning was bright. March 15, 1984. I had my satchel full of mail. Other people's letters. Other people's lives. I was carrying them where they needed to go.

I pulled the yellow warning card from my satchel. The regular carrier had left it for me.

"Monster. Very big dog. German shepherd. Caution."

I looked at the house. Quiet porch. No dog visible. The warning card was old, soft from handling. Maybe the dog was gone. Maybe the regular carrier forgot to remove it.

I climbed the steps. One. Two. Three.

The storm door reflected the morning sky. Clean glass. Nothing behind it.

But in the glass, I saw movement. A shadow. Large. Behind me.

I turned around. Nothing there.

I looked back at the glass. The shadow was still there. Low to the ground. Waiting.

My mother's voice came to me then. She used to tell me about Nonna Rosa. How before the nazista tanks came, she always saw their shadows first. In windows. In puddles. She said danger casts shadows before it arrives.

I turned around again. Still nothing behind me.

I let out my breath. Maybe I was seeing things. Maybe there was no danger.

I turned to leave the porch.

Monster exploded through the storm door behind me. Glass flew everywhere. He had run from the backyard, through the house, and burst through the front door just as I turned away.

The shadow in the glass had been right. The danger was real. It just came from where I wasn't looking.

He knocked me down the steps. Backward. My body hit the concrete. Letters flew everywhere. White envelopes scattered like scared birds.

The shadow in the glass had been right. The danger was real. It just came from where I wasn't looking.

He was on top of me. Heavy. His face right above mine. His teeth were so big. Bigger than any dog's teeth should be. Like teeth from a story. Like teeth from a nightmare.

I could not move. I could not breathe. All I could see was his mouth. All I could hear was his breathing. Hot and loud.

Then I heard laughing. A man's voice. "Monster, get off that lady!"

But he was laughing. Like it was funny. Like seeing a woman pinned under a dog was something to laugh about.

"Monster, you broke through two storm doors this time!"

The man was not sorry. He was proud. His dog had broken through glass to get to me. This was what Monster did. This was what he was made for.

I was shaking. Even after Monster got off me. Even after I collected the letters. Even after I finished my route. I shook for the rest of the day.

I shook remembering Monster's eyes, black and unblinking. Like the dogs my mother described, guarding the gates of prisons where people disappeared.

I stand on the same sidewalk now. The same corner. I am not 34 anymore. I am 74. I have delivered mail for thirty years after that day. I finished routes even when my hands shook. I delivered mail in rain, snow, heat. I did my job.

But I never forgot Monster's teeth. I never forgot the sound of glass breaking. I never forgot how the man laughed.

Some things you carry because you have to. Some things you carry because you choose to.

Today I choose.

The Red Notebook - The dog named Monster

Monster explodes through the glass storm door and pins the letter carrier down.

The Storm Door

The house sits quiet. A "For Sale" sign leans against the mailbox. The storm door is new. Clean glass. No cracks.

I climb the steps. Same steps. Same porch. But I am not the same person.

My reflection looks back at me from the glass. Gray hair. Lined face. But steady eyes. I am 74 years old. I have lived forty years since Monster knocked me down these steps. I have survived everything that came after.

I see the shadow again. Behind me in the reflection. Large. Waiting.

I do not turn around this time.

"I see you," I say to the glass.

The shadow grows larger. Darker. It fills up the reflection behind me. Like it is trying to swallow me whole.

I reach into my coat pocket. Pull out the red notebook. The pages are soft from handling. I open it to the page with the teeth I drew forty years ago. Dragon teeth. Monster teeth. Teeth that were too big for any real dog.

"This is what I thought you were," I tell the shadow.

The teeth on the page look small now. Like drawings a child would make. Like scribbles from someone who was scared and did not know what else to do.

I tear out the page. The drawing of teeth that I made when I was 34 and shaking. The paper comes away clean. No ripping. Like it was ready to go.

"But you are not real anymore."

I fold the paper. Put it in my pocket.

The shadow in the glass disappears.

My reflection looks back at me. Just me. An old woman on a porch. Alone but not afraid.

I have carried mail through neighborhoods full of dogs. I have faced barking, growling, jumping dogs. Big dogs. Small dogs. Dogs that wanted to bite. Dogs that just wanted to scare. I learned to read their warnings. I learned to protect myself.

Monster was different. Monster was the shadow I could not see coming. The danger that came from behind me. The fear that knocked me down when I was not looking.

But shadows are not real. They are just the shape that fear makes. They are just the dark that light leaves behind.

I look at the storm door. New glass. Clean. No cracks. No teeth marks. No sign that Monster ever lived here.

The house is quiet. Empty. Whatever lived here is gone now. Whatever happened here is over.

I am still here. I am 74 years old. I have gray hair and lined face and spotted hands. But I am still here. I am still walking. I am still carrying things where they need to go.

Today I carried my fear to this porch. Today I looked at it in the glass. Today I tore out the page with the teeth.

Some things you carry until you choose to put them down. Today I choose to put this down.

The shadow is gone. The teeth are folded in my pocket. The glass shows only my reflection.

I am ready to go home.

Mother to Child

I sit on the porch steps. The same steps where I fell forty years ago.

The wood is gray now. Weathered. Like my hands. Like everything that has lived long enough to show its age.

I open the red notebook to a blank page. My pen feels heavy. But my hand is steady.

Entry: October 15, 2024

"I am 74 years old. Monster is dead. The war ended before I was born. I have carried mail for thirty years. I have lived through worse than a dog attack. I am still here."

I look at what I wrote. Simple words. True words.

The pen moves again.

Entry: October 15, 2024 (continued)

"Fear is not the same as danger. I confused them for forty years. Today I know the difference."

A car door slams down the street. My body tenses. Then relaxes.

Some sounds will always startle me. This is how I am made. My mother was the same way. The war sounds never left her. Tank treads on cobblestones. Glass breaking. Metal scraping stone.

She passed these sounds to me. Not on purpose. But fear travels from mother to child like eye color. Like the shape of hands.

I understand now. The dog attack woke up the fear my mother carried. The suddenness. The crashing. The feeling of being small and helpless while something large and destructive came for me.

But I am not my mother. I did not live through a war. I lived through a dog attack. I survived it. I went back to work. I delivered mail for thirty more years.

My pen moves across the page. The letters are small but clear.

Entry: October 15, 2024 (continued)

"I have carried this notebook for forty years. I have drawn teeth and written about fear. Today I carried it to the place where I was afraid. Now I can carry it home."

I close the notebook. The cover is soft in my hands. Worn smooth. Like everything I have touched for years.

The afternoon sun warms my face. I am sitting on a porch in Oregon. Not running from tanks in Italy. Not hiding from monsters in my dreams.

I am just a woman on some steps. Writing in a book. Remembering things that happened. Letting them be what they were.

Monster was a dog. A big dog. A mean dog. But just a dog.

The war was my mother's war. Not mine.

She passed these sounds to me. Not on purpose. But fear travels from mother to child like eye color. Like the shape of hands.

The fear was real. But the danger is over.

I have carried mail through rain and snow. I have lived alone and paid my bills. I have buried my mother and kept going.

I am still here.

This is what time does. It shows you the difference between what happened and what you thought happened. Between what you carry and what carries you.

I stand up. My legs are stiff but they work.

The red notebook goes back in my coat pocket. Light as a letter. Ready to be delivered home.

Elmwood Street

A woman comes out of the house. About my age. Carrying a box of old things.

She has gray hair like mine. Pulled back in a ponytail. She wears jeans and a sweater with paint stains. Her hands are spotted too.

"Are you interested in the house?" she asks.

Her voice is friendly. The voice of someone who talks to strangers at grocery stores. Who waves at neighbors.

"I used to deliver mail here," I say.

She sets down the box. I can see what is inside. Old dishes. A lamp with a broken shade. Things that belonged to someone who is gone.

"I'm helping my son clean it out. The old owner passed last year."

I nod. People die. This is what happens. We all carry mail until we stop. We all live in houses until we don't.

"There was a dog," I say. "German shepherd named Monster."

Her face changes. She smiles the way people smile when they remember something nice.

"Oh yes. My son told me about him. He said the dog was very gentle. Just protective."

I have heard these words before. Many times. Thirty years of delivering mail. Thirty years of dog owners saying the same thing after their dogs bite, chase, or attack postal workers.

"He broke through two glass doors to get to me," I say.

The woman looks uncomfortable now. She shifts her weight. Looks at the box. Looks at me.

"Well, I'm sure he was just—"

"Scared," I finish. "They always are."

She does not know what to say to this. People never do when you tell them the truth instead of the story they want to hear.

I pick up my purse. The red notebook shifts in my pocket.

"Mail delivery stopped on Elmwood Street after that. I changed routes too. The Postal Service doesn't negotiate with dangerous dogs."

This is the truth. Not the comfortable truth. The real truth.

The woman watches me walk away. Her mouth is open a little. Like she wants to say something but doesn't know what.

She understands now that some stories do not have happy endings. Some stories just end.

"Mail delivery stopped on Elmwood Street after that. I changed routes too. The Postal Service doesn't negotiate with dangerous dogs."

I walk to the sidewalk. Turn back once.

She is still standing there. Still holding the box of old things. Still trying to understand how the gentle dog in her son's story became the monster in mine.

Both stories are true. This is what she will learn. Dogs can be gentle with their families and dangerous to strangers. People can remember the same animal in different ways.

I do not need her to understand. I do not need her to believe me.

I know what happened. I wrote it down. I carried it for forty years.

Now I am walking away from it.

This is enough.

Reflections and Shadows

I walk home. The same route I walked forty years ago. But today I am not shaking.

My legs are steady. My hands are steady. The red notebook sits quiet in my pocket.

The street looks different in the afternoon light. Softer. The shadows are just shadows. The reflections in car windows are just reflections.

I stop at the corner where the bus stops. Pull out the red notebook one more time. I write:

Entry: October 15, 2024 (final)

"I faced the house today. I saw the shadow in the glass. I told it what I know now. Shadows are not real. They are just the shape that fear makes. I am real. I am 74 years old. I have delivered mail, paid bills, buried my mother, lived alone, and survived everything that came for me. This is enough."

I close the notebook. The cover is warm from my hands.

Some things you carry because you have to. Some things you carry because you choose to. Some things you carry until you choose to put them down.

I will keep the red notebook. But I will not carry it like a weapon anymore. I will carry it like what it is: the record of a woman who survived.

A dog barks somewhere behind me. My shoulders tense. Then relax.

This is how I am made. Some sounds will always startle me. But startling is not the same as breaking. Being afraid is not the same as being in danger.

The shadows on the sidewalk are just shadows. The reflections in windows are just reflections. The sounds that startle me are just sounds.

And I am just a woman walking home. A woman who knows the difference between fear and danger. A woman who has faced both and is still here.

Some sounds will always startle me. But startling is not the same as breaking. Being afraid is not the same as being in danger.

The mail truck drives past. I look up this time. Wave at the driver. She waves back.

Thirty years I carried other people's words. Now I carry my own.

This is what I know now. This is what I carry forward.

I am 74 years old. My legs still work. My hands still work. My heart still works.

I am still here.

This is enough.

The Red Notebook - The Elmwood Street scene

The letter carrier confronts her past by going to Monster's old home on Elmwood Street.

The Red Notebook images were created by Reve.art and stylized by DogsBite.org and BeFunky.com

Discussion

Inherited Trauma

The Red Notebook is a story about inherited trauma that becomes linked to a vicious dog attack decades later. The sounds of the Nazi tanks -- crashing and breaking -- and the suddenness of their destruction, were stories her mother told her. Margie does not connect them until forty years after the attack. "The dog attack woke up the fear my mother carried. The suddenness. The crashing," she wrote. Her mother passed these sounds down to her. "Fear travels from mother to child like eye color."

The story is also about intuition. In 1984, Margie's intuition was right. The shadows indicated a danger behind her. Once Margie turned away from the storm door, Monster exploded through it. "The shadow in the glass had been right," she wrote. "The danger was real. It just came from where I wasn't looking." Trauma interferes with intuition by folding it into fear, making the two indistinguishable. "Fear is not the same as danger. I confused them for forty years. Today I know the difference," she wrote.

The breed of dog, German shepherd, is also connected to her inherited trauma. Nazi Germany used this breed widely during World War II. As a symbol of "imperial aggression," German shepherds where heavily associated with the SS and were trained to attack and intimidate prisoners in concentration camps. The dogs were also used by Nazi Germany as sentries, messengers, scouts, and aiding in search and rescue missions. "This was what he was made for," Margie reflected about the dog.

As Margie connects the sounds and memories of her mother's war stories to her dog attack in 1984, she begins to separate and resolve them. Woven in between is the metaphor of carrying mail -- the weight of carrying other people's words and other people's stories. Sometimes they need to be delivered. Sometimes they need to be put down. She acknowledges all that she has been through and survived. But recalls, "Monster was different. Monster was the shadow I could not see coming."2

Claude AI Biases

Building the inherited trauma into the story was a two-way street. Claude AI did not know about inherited trauma linked to post-traumatic stress after a dog attack until we explained it. There were several "Aha!" moments with Claude that were charming. Another was when Claude wrote the dog's owner, "said the dog was very gentle. Just protective," and Margie accepted this response. Claude did not know this is a decades old cliche by owners of dangerous dogs. DogsBite.org had to explain this.3

We also had to explain that a dog busting through two storm doors is dangerous, not "just protective" and that USPS has specific dangerous dog policies. USPS stops delivering mail on the block until there is a resolution. Claude rushed to the Internet to verify this and returned by rewriting parts of the story, making it stronger. Nevertheless, there was an AI bias. Monster was presumed to be "very gentle" and "just protective," despite the dog's name and crashing through two storm doors to attack Margie.

During the Elmwood Street scene, Claude left ambiguity about who the dog owner was. Was it the motorcycle man "who passed last year," or the mother's son? It could not be her son. In 1984, Margie and the mother would have been 34 years old; the son a teenager. Claude handled the scene nicely by only interacting with his mother, who was not aware of the seriousness of the attack. She was the right person for Margie to declare to, "The Postal Service does not negotiate with dangerous dogs."4

AI Use Cases

It's not by chance that we are using AI for writing purposes. We hope that by exploring different AI tools, and finding their biases, we can help victims. There are multiple documents a victim prepares for a civil lawsuit, including an Impact Statement, Narrative of Damages and Statement of the Attack. Each document has a different objective and tone. The best use of AI is its ability to (1) summarize long texts, (2) repackage into a specific format, and (3) provide a consistent voice throughout.

Victims are always overwhelmed after a vicious dog attack. Given the right AI prompts, and a voice style (one of the victim's own emails), what if a victim only needed to capture emails and documents related to the attack, scan in a bite report, upload them to AI then instruct AI to create a detailed chronology and character list -- a list of involved individuals and their roles? From this point, a second prompt could direct AI to create a 1,000 word Impact Statement in the victim's own voice.

"My attorney, Paul Ayan of Ayan Law Office, hinted for weeks at my necessity to complete the piece [my impact statement]. Still though, I put it off as long as possible. Then one day, it erupted onto 18 pages." - Founder of DogsBite.org

A starting point is essential. By time the founder of DogsBite wrote her personal impact statement in 2009, she had several hundred pages of case documents, including Word docs, Excel docs, medical bills, photographs, a 20-page bite report and more. It would have been a dream to have Google NotebookLM back then, which accepts many document types, as well as audio files (911 call). Just upload the materials and ask for a detailed summary and timeline, a character list and more.

We also receive fragmented accounts of dog attacks, and ones immersed in post-traumatic stress, where they skip from point A to point M then back to point C. Unless you have read several thousand accounts of dog attacks like we have, a reader would be unable to follow. With the right prompts, AI can not only rewrite everything in chronological order, but it can also interpret these fragments. It is critical for victims to have a detailed timeline of events before, during and after the dog attack.

The Red Notebook - The letter that inspired this short story

This is the envelope that was sent to us that contained the dog attack account. We colorized the white envelope and background in pinks and golds, but all of the stamps are original. What a treasure to receive such a wonderfully creative envelope from a retired letter carrier.

1Or thereabouts. We just know it was years ago. The rest is fictional storytelling.
2Most dog attack victims would agree. They never saw it coming. They never imagined the speed or forcefulness of an unprovoked vicious attack. In Margie's case, a 100 pound German shepherd burst through a glass door, shattering it, and threw her backward. "The fear that knocked me down when I was not looking," she wrote.
3This was a bad error by Claude AI. But, what did we expect, given the jillions of owners of dangerous dogs that have obfuscated their dog's aggression for decades in news articles, social media and online forums?
4Claude had several areas of time ambiguity, including confusing "thirty and forty" years a few times. The attack occurred forty years ago. Margie was a mail carrier for thirty years.

Related articles:

04/28/25: Echo Chamber: A Fatal Dog Mauling Short Story Written by AI; Prompts by Nonprofit
02/10/23: Elderly Man Shares Account of Having His Lip Ripped off in a Pit Bull Attack
01/20/21: Victim Shares Account of Vicious Pit Bull Attack on Christmas Day at Seahurst Park in Burien
11/30/18: The Scar Dance - A Couple's Journey of Rebuilding Their Lives After a Dog Attack

Macro-Level Forces Report: Covid Impacts of 2023 U.S. Dog Bite Fatality Capture Rate of Nonprofit

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Dog Bite Fatalities Leveled Off in 2023; Nonprofit Capture Rate Rose

2023 Macro Level Forces Report

DogsBite.org - In October, we published the 2022 Macro-Level Forces Report for U.S. dog bite fatality data. Current data shows that during 2022, the third Covid year, our nonprofit had a 42-victim deficit compared to CDC Wonder underlying cause of death (UCD) data, a 55% difference in the number of deaths. The victim deficit during the fourth Covid year, 2023, is an improvement. CDC Wonder data shows there were 96 dog bite fatalities in 2023. Our nonprofit recorded 63 deaths, a 42% difference.

96 fatal dog attacks in a single year is down slightly from the record high of 98. This is still a 100% increase from 2019 and a 174% increase from 2018.

Prior to the pandemic (2005 to 2019), the largest deficit of unreported deaths our nonprofit had compared to CDC data was 4 each for the years 2005 and 2010. During 2023, there was a deficit of 33 unreported deaths. Without our FOIAs, the deficit would have been 38. The disparity during 2023 signals the first reversal of the deficit trend since the onset of Covid. The average number of citations captured per victim in 2023 fell 31% (15.7) from the pre-Covid baseline year of 2019 (22.7).

A regional breakdown of dog bite fatalities in 2023 shows the Midwest and South had the most unreported deaths. According to CDC Wonder data, 68% (65 of 96) of the victims in 2023 were ≥ 45 years old. Our nonprofit captured 60% (39 of 65), up from 47% in 2022 and 51% in 2021. Historically, the ≥ 50 age group has been underrepresented in media reports. We discussed this disparity in our 2020 discussion notes (Comparing 15-Year Data Sets - DogsBite.org Data and CDC Wonder Data).

Related report:
2023 Macro-Level Forces Report: CDC Dog Bite Fatality Data Compared to Nonprofit

2023 dog bite fatalities, census age group

Chart A: U.S. dog bite fatalities during the fourth Covid year, 2023, by Census region and age.

Characteristics of Unreported Fatal Dog Attacks (2005 to 2024)

Since 2011, we have uncovered 39 unreported deaths by FOIAs or other means. Most of them, 64% (25), occurred after March 2020. The most likely unreported fatal dog attack is an adult ≥ 40 years old, 74% (29), killed by a single or pair of pit bulls, 66% (19 of 29), in an urban area, 83% (24 of 29), within a state that prohibits or limits breed restriction laws. Of the 39 total deaths, 72% (28) involved pit bulls, and of that, 64% (18 of 28) involved a single or pair of family pit bulls killing a household member.

72% (28) of the total unreported fatal attacks involved family dogs killing a household member, and 64% (25) involved a single dog attacking.

During 2023, the 5 unreported deaths we uncovered included three adults, ≥ 40 years old and two young children. Two deaths were not discovered until this year. Estela Manteca was identified after a federal lawsuit was filed in Texas. Amya Jeffery was identified after Ohio news organizations released a 4-part investigation into the state's weak dangerous dog laws. Of the 9 total unreported child deaths since 2011, 89% (8 of 9) were killed by a bull breed: pit bull (4), American bulldog (3) and mastiff (1).

dog bite fatalities chart showing covid impact 2005-2023

Chart B: CDC dog bite fatality data compared to DogsBite.org data over 19 years (2005-2023).

Discussion

Initially, Chart B appears to reflect the pandemic kicked off a visible increase in year-to-year deaths. However, the largest increase is from 2018 to 2019, a 37% rise, which occurred pre-Covid. From 2019 to 2020, there was a 29% rise in deaths, from 2020 to 2021, a 31% rise, from 2021 to 2022, a 21% rise, and in 2023, deaths leveled out. Between 2018 to 2023, there was a 174% rise in dog bite fatalities. After Covid-19 macro-forces erupted in 2020, our capture rate declined each year after until 2023.

Currently, provisional data from CDC shows that dog bite fatalities rise to 113 deaths in 2024. Apparently, the leveling off is 2023 is an anomaly.

The chart also shows that between 2005 and 2018, the average number of deaths per year captured by our nonprofit was 33.79, compared to CDC Wonder data of 33.64. The annual number of deaths during that 14-year period gradually increases but otherwise shows slight variation. After four years of Covid conditions, between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2023, the average number of deaths per year captured by our nonprofit rose to 54.75, and CDC Wonder data shot up to 84.25.

Thus, one must ask what trends shifted between 2018 and 2023, when the number of deaths per year rose by 174% (from 35 CDC death data to 96). The number of dog bite fatalities increased during that period much faster than the 14-year period between 2005 to 2018. After years of annual deaths in the 30s range, CDC data suddenly skips deaths in the 50s and 70s ranges. CDC data shows that in 2019, there were 48 deaths; in 2020, 62 deaths; in 2021, 81 deaths, in 2022, 98 deaths, and in 2023, 96.

Pre-Covid Trends

In our nonprofit's data, several trends were seen prior to 2019. Between 2005 to 2018, the ages and genders of victims between the first and third periods (2005-2009 and 2015-2018) show that the percentage of fatal dog attacks involving adults 45-64 years old rose 56%. This was largely driven by females, 45-64 years old, which rose 96%. Male deaths declined overall, but the 45-64 year old male age group rose 20%. During this period, the percentage of fatal attacks involving pit bulls rose 29%.

While the number of "actual" rescue/shelter dogs involved in fatal dog attacks is unobtainable, our data shows the percentage of people killed by rescue dogs jumped from 2.7% during the first period (2005-2009) to 15.9% during the third period (2015-2018), a rise of nearly 500%. Owner-directed fatal dog attacks rose from 10.7% to 17.2% between the two periods, a 61% rise. Those were some trends heading into 2019, which began the steep ladder increase in CDC data from 2019 to 2023.1

Pre- and Post-Covid (2018 to 2023)

Our nonprofit's data established that some trends began prior to the first Covid year, namely the percentage of victims ≥ 45 years old were rising, as well as deadly attacks inflicted by pit bulls and rescue dogs. From 2018 to 2023, the number of fatal dog attacks we captured rose from 36 deaths to 63, a 75% increase. CDC data -- which contains no dog breed, ownership or attack information -- rose from 35 deaths to 96, a 174% increase. CDC data also shows that victims ≥ 45 years old were rising.

Our 18-month investigation into the near tripling of severe injury dog bites in Austin (193%) and San Antonio (169%) during the same period, 2018 to 2023, shows a similar rise. Both cities also showed a significant rise in victims ≥ 40 years older, 433% in Austin and 396% in San Antonio.2-3 Pit bulls were disproportionately involved in these attacks, responsible for 47% of severe injury bites in Austin and 31% in San Antonio. From 2018 and 2023, severe bites inflicted by pit bulls in Austin rose 533%.4

Fatality data we collected pre-Covid showed that attacks by rescue dogs jumped nearly 500% between two periods that ended in 2018. During the more recent period, 2019 to 2023, Austin Animal Center (AAC), which bills itself as a top "no-kill" shelter, recycled over 350 dogs with a moderate or severe bite history back into the community. The city admitted that some of the rehomed biting dogs attacked again, contributing to the 193% rise in severe bite injuries in Austin from 2018 to 2023.5

Rehomed biting and aggression prone dogs from public and private no-kill shelters are contributing to the rise of fatal and severe injury dog attacks.

All four areas of dog bite data -- CDC fatalities, our recorded fatalities and analysis of severe injury dog bites in Austin and San Antonio -- show a disproportionate rise of victims in the ≥ 45 age group. This is true when rate is measured too, per population 10 million, in CDC data. In Chart C, all four age groups in CDC data rise between the two periods (2012-2017 and 2018-2023), but combined into two groups, victims ≥ 45 years old, largely driven by females, is rising faster than victims ≤ 44 years old.

CDC rate of dog bite fatalities by age group 2006-2023

Chart C: CDC data shows rate of dog bite fatalities by age group, per population 10 million, divided into 3 year sets (2006-2023). Also shows rate of male/female ≥ 45 years old.

Covid 2023 Conditions

The CDC Museum Covid Timeline ends in July 2022. In May of 2023, the WHO declared an end to the public health emergency. But "long Covid" and post-Covid conditions persisted. Nationwide, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "from a jobs and growth standpoint, the economy was essentially healed by the end of 2023."6 The toll of Covid by the end of 2023 was on track to reach $14 trillion dollars, according to the USC Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service.7

Possible Covid conditions contributing to the disparity of 33 unreported dog bite fatalities in 2023 continues to be the eroding landscape of the news industry. Media companies slashed over 20,000 jobs in 2023, of which nearly 2,700 were in the news industry. This is higher than news media job losses in 2022 and 2021. There are now more "news deserts" -- counties without a local news outlet -- than ever. Up until Covid, we primarily relied upon news reports to document dog bite fatalities.

As our victim deficit shows in comparison to CDC data, relying on news reports to gage an accurate dog bite fatality count is no longer viable.

In 2023, Google had not started using the "AI Overview," which stops traffic referrals to websites, including news publishers. The overview launched in May 2024. Between 2022 and 2025, major news publishers lost up to half of their referrals from Google. Industry leaders are now bracing for when "traffic from Google will drop toward zero." Google isn't a search engine today, it's an answer engine. "Generative AI is now rewiring how the Internet is used all together," states the Wall Street Journal.

Summary

During 2023, there was a 31% (15.7) reduction in the number of citations per victim compared to the pre-Covid baseline (22.7). The deficit of unreported fatal dog attacks fell to 33 deaths. CDC data shows that dog bite fatalities leveled off in 2023, dropping to 96 deaths from 98 deaths in 2022. This is still a 100% increase from 2019 and a 174% increase from 2018. Victims ≥ 45 years old accounted for the most unreported dog bite fatalities, and most attacks occurred in the South and Midwest regions.

Provisional CDC data for fatal dog maulings in 2024 shows there were at least 113 fatal attacks. It will be months before that number is finalized.

There was a significant increase of fatal dog attacks during the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Covid years, but the growth began in 2019. The largest rise occurred between 2018 and 2019, with a 37% rise in dog bite fatalities. What drove that growth likely continued through the Covid years, combined with being impacted by Covid conditions, along with new research showing a "sustained effect" post-Covid:8 the rate of fatal and severe injury dog bites rose considerably after Covid restrictions ended.

After examining pre- and post-Covid data between 2018 to 2023, including CDC fatality data, our fatality data and analysis of severe injury dog bites in Austin and San Antonio, several trends emerged. (1) Fatal and severe injury dog bites increased in frequency, (2) there was a disproportionate rise of victims ≥ 45 years old, (3) data showed that pit bulls were the chief perpetrators of fatal and severe bites, and (4) rehomed biting dogs from shelters contributed to the rise of these serious injuries.

4 data sources show steep rise in fatal and severe dog bites post-Covid lockdowns

Chart D: Four different data sources show a steep rise in fatal and severe dog bite injuries post-Covid lockdowns (2023), compared to pre-Covid conditions (2018).

1Since the publication of the revised pre-Covid data (2005-2018) in 2024, we shifted our 20-year age groups from one format (10-29, 30-49, 50-69, 70+) to another (0-24, 25-44, 45-64, 65+) to align with CDC age groups.
2Dog Bites by Severity and Age Groups (2012-2023) (PDF), Austin Animal Center, DogsBite.org.
3Dog Bites by Severity and Age Groups (2012-2023) (PDF), San Antonio Animal Care Services, DogsBite.org.
4Severe Bites: Top-Biting Dog Breeds & Severity (2012-2023) (PDF), Austin Animal Center, DogsBite.org.
5Proposed Changes Related to the Austin Animal Services Office, City of Austin Council Work Session, Page 10. January 30, 2024.
6Chart Book: Tracking the Recovery From the Pandemic Recession, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, April 3, 2024 (cbpp.org).
7COVID-19’s Total Cost to the U.S. Economy Will Reach $14 Trillion by End of 2023, By Jakub Hlávka, PhD, Adam Rose, PhD, USC Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service, May 16, 2023 (schaeffer.usc.edu).
8Dog Bites Are Increasing in Frequency and Severity - A Sustained Effect Following the COVID-19 Pandemic, by O'Hara N, J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg., 2024 Aug:95:21-23.

Related articles:
03/21/24: Review: Five Dog Bite Fatalities Between 2017-2022 in the U.S. Unreported by Media
01/25/24: Review: Three Dog Bite Fatalities Between 2022-2023 in the U.S. Unreported by Media
02/30/24: 2023 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs - DogsBite.org

Macro-level forces reports:
Macro-Level Forces Report: Covid Impacts of 2022 U.S. Dog Bite Fatality Capture Rate of Nonprofit
Macro-Level Forces Report: Covid Impacts of 2021 U.S. Dog Bite Fatality Capture Rate of Nonprofit
Macro-Level Forces Report: Covid Impacts of 2020 U.S. Dog Bite Fatality Capture Rate of Nonprofit

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Rising Dog Maulings in Two Central Texas Cities (2018-2023): What Public Safety Policy Got Wrong—and How to Fix It

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Austin and San Antonio Severe Injury Dog Bite Data Pre- and Post-Covid

Severe injury dog bite data central texas 2018 to 2023, Austin and San Antonio

Austin, TX - Since 2022, we have been reporting a steep rise in dog bite fatalities in CDC Wonder data during the Covid and post-Covid years. In October, we published our 2022 Macro-Level Forces Report. We discussed the rise in the total number of deaths to 98 -- the highest ever recorded in CDC Wonder data -- and a 180% rise since 2018 (from 35 deaths to 98). Our hypothesis quickly became that if Covid-era dog bite fatalities have almost tripled since 2018 then severe injury dog bites have too.

98 fatal dog attacks in a single year are the most ever recorded by CDC data. This is a 104% increase from 2019 and a 180% increase from 2018.

In 2024, we obtained dog bite injury severity data over a 12-year period (2012-2023) from two Central Texas cities, Austin, where DogsBite.org is located, and San Antonio. By January 2024, news reports showed that severe bites had nearly tripled in both cities since 2018. Over the course of 2024, we spent months examining this data to see if specific trends stood out. Several do, including: the rising number of victims ≥ 40-years old, the breed of dog involved, and no-kill animal shelter polices.

"Sustained Effect"

Last August, the first paper was published showing that dog bite injuries are increasing in frequency and severity, demonstrating a "sustained effect" post-Covid. The UK study analyzed dog bite injuries in a plastic surgery department at a trauma center before and after Covid lockdowns, 2018 and 2022, respectively. The study showed that dog bites have increased in frequency and severity with a clear increase in "deeper tissue injuries, tissue loss and muscle, nerve, vascular or bone involvement."

The increasing frequency and severity of dog bite injuries from 2018 to 2023 is also reflected in the Central Texas dog bite data that we obtained.

Data from Austin and San Antonio are also ripe to be examined because they both collect injury severity data (Minor, Moderate and Severe), which is rare among cities. We examined the years 2012 through 2023 of both cities with an emphasis on 2018 to 2023, which shows the "sustained effect" post-Covid. In the Austin data set, we examined injury severity, age of victims, the top-biting breeds, and multi-dog bites. In the San Antonio data set, we examined injury severity and age of victims.

Austin Dog Bite Data (2012-2023)

Background

In September 2023, the city released an audit of the Austin Animal Center (AAC), which bills itself as one of the top "no-kill" shelters in the country. The audit states the "Council-mandated" live release rate of 95% has come at the expense of animals under AAC's care and negates AAC's ability to serve as an open-intake shelter for the community. AAC is routinely over-capacity and closes intake of new animals due to overcrowding and failing to euthanize for behavior, which affects public safety.

In January 2024, AAC released data about the steep rise in Severe Bite Injuries (SBI) -- from 2018 to 2023, SBIs nearly tripled.1 AAC also reiterated the audit's data showing that AAC adopted or transferred out 352 dogs with a "Moderate" or "Severe" bite history since 2019. "Unfortunately, AAC has experienced several instances where a dog with a known significant bite history has caused severe injury to members of the public after the dog was released," states the January report.2,3

The SBI data from AAC and the data from the audit -- showing that AAC has recycled hundreds of dogs with moderate and severe bite histories back into the city -- resulted in the city adopting the Ian Dunbar Bite Scale, which evaluates bite severity from Level 1 to 6, Level 6 being death. Dogs that have inflicted a Level 4 bite or higher can no longer be adopted to the public and "may be euthanized" without making them available to a rescue group. The city adopted this policy in February 2024.

Prior to adopting the Dunbar Bite Scale, AAC was subject to a "Right to Rescue" ordinance passed in October 2019, pushed by extreme "no-kill" activists to stop AAC from performing most "behavior euthanasia" for public safety purposes.4 Seven months earlier, in March 2019, no-kill zealots pushed the city to pass a 95% "save rate" resolution, above the arbitrary 90% "save rate."5 Thus, by the end of 2023, AAC had recycled hundreds of biting dogs back into the city and SBIs had nearly tripled.

Coinciding Timeframe

The timeframe of these no-kill shelter policies coincides with the sharp rise of SBIs in Austin. The volume of serious bite dogs AAC adopted or transferred back into the community, 352, also coincides with the sharp rise of SBIs in Austin during this period. The city admitted that some of the biting dogs bit again and contributed to the 193% rise in severe bite injuries from 2018 to 2023. No-kill policies enacted in 2019 directly correlate to the increasing frequency of severe bite injuries in the city.

"Dogs that have a bite history of level 4 or higher on the Dunbar bite scale may be euthanized without making them available ... This recommendation is borne from a public safety perspective, namely the number of known bite dogs that have caused the public severe injuries after having been released from the AAC." - City of Austin Council Work Session, January 30, 2024

Austin Animal Center adopted out dogs with bite history 2019 to 2023

The Austin City Auditor's report showed that AAC adopted or transferred out 352 dogs with moderate or severe bite histories over the 5-year period of 2019 to 2023.

Austin Dog Bites: Severity & Age Groups

From 2018 to 2023 (nonfiscal), SBIs increased 193% (45/132) in Austin. By comparison, minor injury bites -- the most frequent injury level -- fell by 27% (1463/1062), and moderate injury bites -- the second most frequent -- only rose by 49% (326/485). The chart shows that severe and moderate bites rose the most during the Covid years of 2021 to 2023. Among age groups, severe injury bites rose the most in ≥ 40 years old, 433%, followed by, 1-9 years old, a 275% rise, and 10-39 years, a 117% rise.

Page 2 of the Severity & Age Group report, which extends the charts back to 2012, shows the rise of severe bite injury victims ≥ 40 years old began in 2019, before the pandemic. Within this subset, 40-49 years rose the most over the 12-year period, nearly doubling in the number of severe bites between the two 6-year periods (2012-2017 to 2018-2023) from 39 to 77, a 97% rise. Followed by ≥ 70-years, which also had a nearly a doubling of incidents between the two periods from 12 to 22, an 83% rise.

Download: Report: Austin Dog Bites - Injury Severity & Age Groups (2012-2023)
Austin, Texas: Severe injury dog bite data by age group 2018 to 2023

Dog bite injuries by severity and age group (2012-2023) before, during and after Covid, emphasizing the rise in severe injury dog bites in the city of Austin between 2018 to 2023.

Austin Dog Bites: Top-Biting Breeds & Severity

The Biting Breeds & Severity report shows the top-biting breeds of (1) all severity levels and (2) severe bite injuries alone between 2012 and 2023.6 Among all severity levels, pit bulls were responsible for 22% (4888/21911), over twice as high as any other dog breed. Among severe bite injuries, pit bulls were responsible for 42% (357/842), over 4 times higher than any other dog breed. Among the years we are primarily focused on, 2018-2023, severe bites inflicted by pit bulls rose 533%, from 12 to 76.

Thus, the near tripling of severe bites in Austin from 2018 to 2023 points to pit bulls as the chief perpetrator, responsible for 47% (234/494), combined with the total number of dogs with significant bite histories that AAC recycled back into the city, and the "sustained effect" post-Covid. Among severe bites inflicted by the other top-biting breeds over the 12-year period, there is little variance. As Chart G shows, there is an explosion of severe bite injuries inflicted by pit bulls from 2018 to 2023.

Page 2 of the Biting Breeds & Severity report shows the top 10 biting breeds for each severity level over the 12-year period. Pit bulls inflicted 42% of severe bites, over 4 times more than the next breed, Labrador retrievers, 10%, and German shepherds, 5%. Pit bulls inflicted 27% of moderate bites, over 2 times more than the next breed, Labradors, 12%, and German shepherds, 8%. Pit bulls inflicted 20% of minor bites, over 1.75 times more than the next breed, Labradors, 11%, and Chihuahuas, 10%.7

Download: Report: Austin Dog Bites - Top-Biting Dog Breeds & Severity (2012-2023)
Austin, Texas: Severe injury dog bite data by breed 2018 to 2023

Top-biting breeds of severe injures by year (2012-2023), emphasizing the rise in severe dog bite injuries by the top-biting breeds in the city of Austin between 2018 to 2023.

Austin Dog Bites: Multi-Dog Bites & Severity

We also examined if bites involving multiple dogs ("multi-dog bite") significantly added to the rise of SBI events from 2018 to 2023. For example, in 2022 a 41-year old Austin man was killed by 6 pit bulls. This was recorded as 6 severe bites. From 2012 to 2017, multi-dog bites comprised 29% of all severe bite injuries. This fell to 24% from 2018 to 2023. Severe multi-dog bites involving pit bulls comprised 37% during the 2012 to 2017 period. During the second period, 2018 to 2023, that rose to 70%.

From 2018 to 2023, pit bulls were disproportionately involved in severe bite injuries, 47% (234/494), and severe multi-dog bite injuries, 70% (85/121).

If only unique SBIs are counted -- meaning the Austin fatality would count as 1 SBI event instead of 6 -- unique severe bites from 2018 to 2023 still nearly tripled. Instead of rising 193% (from 45 to 132), unique SBIs rose 190% (from 41 to 119). As Chart K illustrates, multi-dog bites are always a portion of severe bites, but that portion actually fell slightly during the 2018 to 2023 period. Severe injury bites involving multiple dogs did not abnormally impact the overall rise of SBI events from 2018 to 2023.8

This is also true in our dog bite fatality data, perhaps because owning a pair of dogs is common. Yet, there has been a sharp rise in deaths involving 3 or more dogs -- from 5 deaths in 2018 to 22 in 2023, a 340% rise. While all dog bite fatalities have risen annually since 2018 -- from 36 deaths in our data to 61, a 69% rise -- deaths are rising slower than attacks involving ≥ 3 dogs.9 Austin data only tracked if "multiple dogs" were involved, not the "actual number" of dogs, so we could not measure this factor.

Download: Report: Austin Dog Bites - Multi-Dog Bites & Severe Bites (2012-2023)
Austin, Texas: Multi-dog bites and severe injury dog bite data by breed 2018 to 2023

Severe injury multi-dog bites and unique bites (2012-2023), emphasizing the influence of multi-dog bites on all severe injury bites in the city of Austin between 2018 to 2023.

Austin Dog Bites: Summary

Over the 6-year period of 2018 to 2023, minor bites fell in Austin by 27%, moderate bite injuries rose by 49%, and severe bites rose by 193% -- indicating a disproportionate increase in severe bites. Victims 40 years and older had the greatest increase in severe bites, 433%, especially those aged 40-49 and 70 and older. Over the 12-year period, pit bulls were responsible for 42% of severe bites, over 4 times more than any other breed. From 2018 to 2023, severe bites inflicted by pit bulls surged 533%.

Multi-dog attacks involving severe injuries did not distort these results. From 2018 to 2023, unique severe bites rose 190%, similar to the escalation in all severe bites, which rose 193%. This period directly correlates with the 95% save rate mandate and a "Right to Rescue" no-kill ordinance, both adopted in 2019, which led to AAC recycling hundreds of biting dogs back into the city. In 2024, the city adopted the Dunbar Bite Scale to stop rehoming dogs with a Level 4 or higher bite history.

San Antonio Dog Bite Data (2012-2023)

Background

After a series of five brutal dog attacks in 2023, including the fatal pit bull maulings of Ramon Najera, 81, and Paul Striegl, 47, local media began scrutinizing San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) data, including dog bite severity data, owner citations, repeat offenders, and more. This is when it became known that both San Antonio and Austin sustained a near tripling of severe injury bites from 2018 to 2023, but only a minor difference or a reduction in the number of minor and moderate bites.

The death of Najera resulted in criminal charges, the owners pleading guilty and a punishment phase proceeding. Christian Moreno and Abilene Schnieder, a married couple, were each sentenced to lengthy prison terms in connection to his death, 18 and 15 years, respectively. Najera's wife then filed a federal lawsuit against San Antonio, alleging the city's "misfeasance, and gross misconduct" for failing to declare the couple's dogs dangerous after inflicting three attacks prior to killing her husband.

After Najera's death, the city launched a strategic plan to increase responsiveness to bites and dangerous dog investigations. By the end of fiscal 2024, increases in budget and staffing led to a critical call response rate of 81%, up from 46%; dangerous dog compliance rose to 82% from 55%; and criminal citations increased 221%. Today, any dog picked up by ACS is subject to spay or neuter to reduce roaming dogs, and victims can sign a dangerous dog affidavit under a pseudonym program.

Despite these improvements, severe bite injuries have increased 54% so far this year. When asked why, ACS Director Jon Gary said, "We don't know."10

San Antonio operates on a similar dog bite injury scale as Austin. The three severity levels in San Antonio are Mild, Moderate, and Severe. We did not obtain breed data because it is already known from 2017 data that pit bulls inflicted 47% of severe bites in San Antonio, over 3 times more than any other breed. In 2023 data, pit bulls inflicted at least 31% of injuries resulting in "hospitalization or death" -- a separate severity designation11 -- which is over 4 times more than any other dog breed.

We also did not obtain records of bite dogs adopted from the city shelter. What is known is that ACS had an 88% "save rate" in 2022, and an 81% rate in 2023, both fall short of the 90% requirement for no-kill. In 2024, under the new leadership of Gary, the save rate rose to 87%, apparently due to a new incentive for rescue partners to pull animals from the shelter at $200 per animal, up from $84. Maintaining a 90% save rate is a priority for San Antonio, but their public safety priority is higher.

San Antonio Dog Bites: Severity & Age Groups

From 2018 to 2023 (fiscal), severe bite injuries rose 169% in San Antonio. By comparison, mild injury bites -- the most frequent -- fell by 2% (1750/1708), and moderate injury bites -- the second most frequent -- only rose by 18% (710/835). The chart shows that severe and moderate bites rose the most during the Covid years of 2021 to 2023. Among age groups, severe injury bites rose the most in ≥ 40 years old, 396%, similar to Austin, followed by 10-39 years, a 138% rise, and 1-9 years old, a 117% rise.

Page 2 of the Severity & Age Group report, which extends the charts back to 2012, shows the rise of severe bite injury victims ≥ 40 years old began in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. Within this subset, ≥ 70 years rose the most over the 12-year period, more than doubling in the number of severe bites between the two 6-year periods (2012-2017 to 2018-2023) from 29 to 71, a 145% rise. Followed by 60-69-years, where SBIs also more than doubled between the periods from 30 to 61, a 103% rise.

Download: Report: San Antonio Dog Bites - Injury Severity & Age Groups (2012-2023)
San Antonio, Texas: Severe injury dog bite data by age group 2018 to 2023

Dog bite injuries by severity and age group (2012-2023) before, during and after Covid, emphasizing the rise in severe injury dog bites in San Antonio between 2018 to 2023.

San Antonio Dog Bites: Summary

The similar trends in San Antonio and Austin cannot be ignored. Each experienced a sharp rise in the number of severe bites, 169% and 193% respectively. Each also experienced a sharp rise in the number of victims ≥ 40 years old, 396% and 433% respectively. Among the ≥ 40 age groups, the ≥ 70 age group rose the most in San Antonio, and the 40-49 age group rose the most in Austin. According to Census data, San Antonio has a higher number of people ages ≥ 65, 13.1% versus 10.1%.

After five brutal dog attacks in 2023, the city committed to a strategic plan to increase dangerous dog investigations and owner compliance. The results have been encouraging. Key public safety metrics have sharply risen, and the fine for a first offense for owning a biting dog is now $1,000. To combat the city's "enduring roaming dog" problem, any dog ACS finds roaming will be spay or neutered before being released to its owner. But an alarming increase in severe bite injuries continues to persist.

Summary & Discussion

Injury & Breed Data

In two Central Texas cities, Austin and San Antonio, Severe Bite Injuries (SBI) nearly tripled between 2018 and 2023. Moderate injury bites grew more modestly, 49% and 18%, respectively, and minor injury bites fell, -27% and -2% respectively. In both jurisdictions, dog bite victims in the ≥ 40 years age group increased dramatically, 433% in Austin and 396% in San Antonio. The top-biting breed in both cities -- pit bulls -- disproportionately inflicted the greatest number of severe and fatal bite injuries.

In Austin, severe injury bites inflicted by pit bulls shot up 533% from 2018 to 2023. No other breeds had a significant rise. In 2023 alone, pit bulls inflicted 58% of severe and life-threatening bites in Austin, over 9 times more than any other dog breed. In San Antonio, pit bulls inflicted 31% of injuries resulting hospitalization or death during 2023, over 4 times more than any other breed. In both cities, a single breed of dog, pit bulls, heavily contributed to the near tripling of SBIs over the last 6 years.

No-Kill Policies

In Austin, at least two no-kill shelter polices adopted in 2019, the "Council mandated" live release rate of 95% and the "Right to Rescue" ordinance, contributed to the rise in SBIs between 2018 to 2023. Over the same period, AAC recycled hundreds of high-risk dogs with bite histories back into the city. By the end of 2023, SBIs had nearly tripled. A course correction included the city adopting the Dunbar Bite Scale. Dogs with a Level 4 bite history or higher can no longer be adopted to the public.

We also know that in Austin, dog owners became more tolerant of keeping dogs that lack bite inhibition in their homes. From 2012 to 2017, 81 severe injury bites occurred on properties where the "same" dog had another recorded bite by AAC. From 2018 to 2023, that number more than doubled to 173, a 114% rise. Also, during the first period, 390 moderate injury bites occurred on properties where the "same" dog had another recorded bite history by AAC. That rose to 624 in the second period, a 60% rise.12

Severe Bites Keep Rising

In San Antonio, despite implementing a strategic plan to increase responsiveness to bites and dangerous dog investigations and achieving strong results between fiscal years 2023 and 2024, it was announced in May that severe bites increased 54% from the same period in fiscal 2024. Bites of all severity levels rose 11% -- indicating, again, a disproportionate increase in severe bites. If this rise continues at a 54% increase through the end of fiscal 2025, this will result in a 314% rise since 2018.

The surge in severe bites in San Antonio may be linked to more families keeping a biting dog, and more owners who lack the know-how and resources to manage a biting dog. The ACS director hypothesized the rise in severe bites might be linked to a rise in the number of free-roaming dogs. In our nonprofit's research, Covid exacerbated the free-roaming dog problem across the country, as spay and neuter services were slowed or halted and animal control agencies only responded to high priority calls.

National and International Trends

The 2024 UK paper, which is the first to show that dog bite injuries are increasing in frequency and severity following the pandemic, identified the trend as a "sustained effect" post Covid. Their analysis showed a 47% increase in dog bites after lockdowns ended compared to before, and a significant increase in the need for operative management. Covid changed various aspects of society, including patterns of human-animal interactions. More people became dog owners during this period as well.

On a state-level, two states have released comprehensive pre- and post-Covid dog bite injury data for emergency room visits. In California, the number of ER visits for dog bites increased 12% from 2021 to 2022. Additional data from the California Department of Health Care Access and Information shows that from 2018 to 2023, the number of ER visits for dog bites increased from 42277 to 54682, a 29% rise. 2023 marks the highest number of ER visits for dog bites in California in the last 19 years.

Data from the Florida Department of Health shows an even higher rise. From 2021 to 2022, the number of ER visits for dog bites increased 19%. From 2018 to 2023, the number of these ER visits increased from 24001 to 32557, a 36% rise. 2023 also marked the highest number of ER visits for dog bites in Florida in the last 19 years. The rate of these ER visits differ between the two states. In 2023, the rate of ER visits for dog bites in Florida was 179 per population 100,000. In California, the rate was 139.5.

Nationally, the number of U.S. households that own a dog is growing, the American Veterinary Medical Association reports. Our research indicates public tolerance for keeping a biting dog is also growing. According to a national no-kill organization, 57% of U.S. shelters achieved a 90% or higher save rate in 2022.13 Many no-kill shelters practice "managed intake," and avoid behavior-based euthanasia. These dogs are then recycled back into the community, just like AAC had been doing before the audit.

Mitigation Strategies

A powerful method of unbiased inspection is an audit. In Austin, the auditor's office underwent an extensive examination of AAC data that led to the discovery that AAC had placed over 350 dogs with moderate and severe bite histories into the city since 2019, contributing to a steep rise of severe bite Injuries. As a result, the city adopted the Dunbar Bite Scale, an objective injury scale, stating that dogs with a bite history of Level 4 or higher cannot be adopted to the public and may be euthanized.

Another mitigation strategy is for state legislators to enact a mandatory bite disclosure law, forcing animal releasing agencies to disclose the animal's bite history to the adopter -- California and Virginia already have. The combination of a bite disclosure law and a city adopting the Dunbar Bite Scale is even better. When Austin adopted the scale, the terms "provoked" and "unprovoked" were removed from the ordinance, because the city decided "to move to an objective measure of bite severity."

Owners with a biting dog must candidly consider its "management," because the best predictor of a bite is a previous bite. The degree of injury in each new bite often escalates. Can the biting dog and its legal liability be "managed" or not? If the answer is no, or is cost prohibitive, what is the next step? Prior to no-kill sheltering policies, responsible owner management of a serious biting dog was to surrender it to the local pound for euthanasia. Many no kill shelters turn away these owners today.

The Last Word

By Attorney Kenneth M. Phillips

After reviewing our report, the nation's most prominent dog bite attorney and the author of dogbitelaw.com offers additional findings and conclusions by providing the last word.

There are many reasons why more people are being seriously injured by dogs today, but the primary cause is the growing number of pit bulls in the United States. Although pit bulls make up only about 6% of the nation’s dog population, they are responsible for a disproportionate number of severe and fatal attacks.

When I refer to a pit bull, I include not just the American Pit Bull Terrier, but all breeds and mixes with the same fighting-dog background and behavioral traits—such as the Bully, Staffy, Amstaff, Blue Nose, and Red Nose. These dogs share a common genetic heritage and physical characteristics that make them more likely to inflict serious injuries when they attack.

Meticulous research supports this conclusion. For example, Colleen Lynn's analysis of dog bite records in Austin, Texas, revealed a 533% increase in severe attacks by pit bulls. In my own legal practice, which is exclusively focused on dog bite cases, pit bulls are involved in the vast majority of the catastrophic injuries and deaths. When I review a fatal attack, the dog responsible is almost always a pit bull.

The rise in pit bull ownership in the USA has brought with it more attacks, more physical trauma, longer recovery times, and higher medical expenses. Numerous hospitals and researchers have documented this trend. One dramatic statistic is that pit bulls are currently responsible for approximately 75% of fatal dog attacks in the United States.

Shelters and rescues have contributed to the crisis by rehoming large numbers of pit bulls. Families who come to a shelter looking for a safe, friendly pet are often misled into adopting a dog with a history of aggression. I’ve recovered millions of dollars for clients injured in such cases—only to see the same shelter continue placing aggressive dogs into other homes. This is why I have called for all states to adopt a “Truth in Pet Adoption Law” that would require shelters and rescues to disclose a dog’s bite history in writing before adoption. No reasonable parent would knowingly bring a dangerous dog into their home.

No-kill shelter policies have made matters worse. Nearly every day in my practice, I receive calls from adopters, fosters, shelter workers or volunteers who have been bitten by dogs that should have been euthanized. All across the country, aggressive dogs—especially pit bulls—are being returned to the same neighborhoods where they previously injured people.

The pit bull advocacy movement has added to the problem by promoting the idea that these dogs are simply intelligent, friendly, loyal, and misunderstood. But advocates often fail to mention that when pit bulls attack, their victims are frequently their own owners, their owner's family members, or visiting children. This incomplete narrative leads to real harm:

  • People adopt pit bulls without understanding the risks
  • Owners of small dogs do not take steps to protect them
  • Pit bull owners fail to protect themselves or their families
  • People and pets suffer maulings that could have been prevented

A recent attack in Manhattan highlights another serious issue: the failure of law enforcement to act. In that case, a Chihuahua named Penny was mauled outside a sidewalk café. The NYPD refused to take action, falsely claiming it lacked the authority to impound two clearly dangerous pit bulls owned by irresponsible individuals. When animal control laws are ignored, people and pets suffer avoidable injuries.

Are all pit bulls alike? No. But every pit bull poses a level of risk that is simply too high for the average household. The only effective way to reduce that risk is to reduce the number of pit bulls overall. Public shelters and rescues should stop or greatly reduce the rehoming of pit bulls. Breeders should stop producing them.

The focus should not be on the breed’s image, but on public safety. And that means fewer pit bulls in our communities.

Kenneth M. Phillips
dogbitelaw.com

Chart Key - Severe dog bite injuries

Chart Key: Rising Dog Maulings in two Central Texas Cities, Austin & San Antonio (2018-2023)

Download report files:
Report: Austin Dog Bites - Injury Severity & Age Groups (2012-2023)
Report: Austin Dog Bites - Top-Biting Dog Breeds & Severity (2012-2023)
Report: Austin Dog Bites - Multi-Dog Bites & Severe Bites (2012-2023)
Report: San Antonio Dog Bites - Injury Severity & Age Groups (2012-2023)
See: Full news release

1Proposed Changes Related to the Austin Animal Services Office, City of Austin Council Work Session, January 30, 2024 (services.austintexas.gov).
2Previously, the City Auditor's audit of the Austin Animal Center (AAC) showed that 479 dogs with moderate or severe bite histories were adopted by AAC over the 4.5 fiscal year period of 2019 to midway 2023. In January 2025, this was revised and is noted in the revised version of the audit -- "January 2025 correction to the audit of the Austin Animal Center: In December 2024, our office identified inaccuracies in Exhibit 3 titled, “AAC regularly adopts and transfers animals with moderate and severe bite histories.” As a result, we revisited the methodology and updated the exhibit. The revised numbers continue to support our conclusion in the report that the Austin Animal Center regularly adopted and transferred animals with moderate and severe bite histories."
3The Del Rio case provides even more details. On Christmas day 2021, two children were delivering Christmas cookies to their next-door neighbor "when Stanley, who the neighbor had adopted from AAC in August 2020, 'escaped and barreled toward and into Noelle,' leaving her with a concussion, broken arm, and puncture wounds and lacerations to her head." According to the lawsuit, "Stanley had been repeatedly aggressive while housed at AAC and was twice involved in biting incidents in early 2020." The Del Rios argued "the City was not entitled to governmental immunity because its 'operation of its [NKP] is not animal control, is ultrahazardous, and is proprietary.'" | Stephani Del Rio and Andrew Del Rio, as Next Friends of “Noelle” and “Luke,” Minors, Appellants v. The City of Austin, Appellee, Court of Appeals of Texas, Austin, Case No. 03-24-00344-CV, Decided: January 31, 2025 (caselaw.findlaw.com).
4Ordinance No. 20191017-025, October 17, 2019, City of Austin, Texas (municode.com).
5Resolution No. 20190328-034, March 28, 2019, City of Austin, Texas (austintexas.gov).
6The “Breed Group” was determined using these rules (1) Breeds listed under two or more names (“Alaskan husky” and “Siberian husky”) were combined into one breed, (2) Breeds with multiple size distinctions (“giant” and “miniature”) were combined into one breed, and (3) Breeds with coat distinctions (“Chihuahua long coat” and “Chihuahua short coat”) were combined into one breed. Other examples include: (a) The “Australian cattle dog” breed group combines: Australian cattle dog and Queensland heeler. (b) The “Pit Bull” breed group combines: American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire, and pit bull.
7Austin does not have licensing data. The city ended its Pet Licensing Program in 2008. There is no way to gauge dog breed populations. We reported this in 2012: Dog Bites Increase 35% in Austin After the Adoption of 'No-Kill' Policy.
8The unique SBIs are actually higher too. Our method of extracting all duplicate victim IDs did not account for the uncommon victim who sustained two severe bites in separate attacks. We manually located 6 victims. Half (3) were volunteers at APA or AAC; one victim was severely bitten by her own pit bull twice; one victim was severely bitten by two different dogs a year apart; and one victim was a child severely bitten by the same family dog on two occasions.
9U.S. Dog Bite Fatalities Report (2018-2023), May 2025, Dogsbite.org.
10Garrett Brnger, "Animal bite reports up in San Antonio, ACS director says," KSAT, May 19, 2025 (ksat.com).
11Mariza Mendoza, "San Antonio's dog bite crisis: Over 3,000 cases reported, pit bull look-alikes top the list," News 4 San Antonio, October 31, 2023 (news4sanantonio.com).
12In some of the repeat-biting dog households, two or more bites occurred in one incident involving different victims (a single dog attacked more than one person in the home). 7% (83/1268) of repeat-biting dogs with a Moderate or Severe bite record occurred at the facilities of AAC, Austin Pets Alive, or Austin Humane Society. We did not exclude them.
13Best Friends Animal Society’s Annual Report on U.S. Pet Sheltering Reveals No-Kill Shelters at All-Time High, Despite 378,000 Pets Killed Nationally, Best Friends Animal Society, May 31, 2023 (bestfriends.org).

Related articles:
Macro-Level Forces Report: Covid Impacts of 2022 U.S. Dog Bite Fatality Capture Rate of Nonprofit
Macro-Level Forces Report: Covid Impacts of 2021 U.S. Dog Bite Fatality Capture Rate of Nonprofit
Macro-Level Forces Report: Covid Impacts of 2020 U.S. Dog Bite Fatality Capture Rate of Nonprofit

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Quincy Man Co-Authors Documentary Short After Surviving Near Fatal Pit Bull Attack; Retraces Steps & Discusses Legal Issues

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Moneyback Joe is a documentary short about surviving a vicious pit bull attack.

Quincy, IL - On March 17, 2024, three pit bulls viciously attacked Jerod Welker, 36, as he walked through a park. The dogs ripped off his clothes, tore off part of his scalp, and inflicted lacerations and crush injuries all over his body. The documentary short starts with dramatic police bodycam footage as officers arrive at the scene. They find Welker lying face down in the grass, naked, and covered in wounds. Dr. Dan Liesen later states, "It looked like you were whipped with some type of Roman whip."

The names of the three attacking pit bulls, all female, were, "Moneyback Joe," the title of this documentary short, "Bailey" and "Basely."

Welker was transported to Blessing Hospital, where he was hospitalized for five days and spent three days on a ventilator. In the documentary, Welker retraces what happed on the day of the attack. He interviews Dr. Liesen and the ER practitioner, who treated his injuries. "We were really worried about your left arm," Dr. Liesen said, and if it was getting enough blood flow. "We were deciding whether or not to open your arm up to allow the fluid to weep out," so that you could keep your left arm.

The ER practitioner, LJ Helmke, said it was the worst dog attack he had ever witnessed. "To see somebody come in with, like I said, the hundreds of lacerations that you had from multiple dogs, it catches you off guard," he said. "We prepare ourselves for car accidents and stabbings and shootings," but dog attacks are typically one bite. "This was a whole different category of animal attack," he said. "I mean, where do you look first?" he asked, referring to which injury to treat first.

Excerpts: Dan Liesen, MD

"When we evaluated you, you were just mauled from head to toe. The attack appeared to occur where most of the injuries were kind of on the skin and then into the deep soft tissues. Skin lacerations simply in and of themselves usually don't cause life-threatening problems if you're getting bit, but when you have a crush injury associated with it, now you're injuring all of the soft tissues underneath of it. You're causing this inflammation and swelling everywhere in the body, and you're damaging the tissues as well.

* * *

"So, the skin over your head, where your hair attached into, that scalp was just multiple lacerations. We were really worried about your left arm. We thought that it might have created enough swelling that you weren't getting enough blood flow to your arm in order for it to live. So, we were deciding whether or not to open your arm up to allow the fluid to weep out, so you were going to keep your left arm. It's just all that crush injury to the soft tissues in your arm. It looked like you were whipped with some type of Roman whip. It was just top to bottom.

* * *

"I would say this, if somebody didn't see him and removed the animals that were attacking him, he would not have been alive much longer, maybe it was less than 20 minutes would be my guess because they were going to finish him off.

In my mind, and just from what I understand from the incident, if he didn't come in, in short order he was not going to be alive. He was going to lose his airway within probably 15 to 20 minutes and then then you would have died."

Excerpts: LJ Helmke, NP

"It was definitely the worst animal attack I have ever witnessed. To see somebody come in with, like I said, the hundreds of lacerations that you had from multiple dogs, it catches you off guard. Because you don't think about these things. These aren't a one bite kind of injury. These are massive life-threatening injuries that can really end your life pretty quick if not intervened.

* * *

"We prepare ourselves for car accidents and stabbings and shootings, but animal attacks are, usually they're smaller children that were messing with the family dog and the dog snipped and cut the child's cheek. This was a whole different category of animal attack. I mean this was very distracting ... I mean, where do you look first?"

Harsh Legal Realities

Welker also interviewed State's Attorney Gary Farha. It is a grim dialog, given that there are few laws in Illinois to hold owners of vicious dogs criminally liable. This is due to pit bull lobbying forces, namely Ledy Vankavage. In 2003, these forces pushed through legislation that prohibits municipalities from enacting restricted breed laws,1 made it more arduous to declare a dog "vicious" or "dangerous" and solidified that a previous classification of either is required for the owner to face a felony penalty.2

The owner was charged with dogs running at large. "It's not a criminal act. It's a quasi-criminal action, where there's no chance of going to jail for that type of ordinance violation," Farha said. Yet, had this same off-property attack occurred in Texas or another state with a felony dog attack statute, charges might have applied. Farha believes these types of attacks need to be strict liability. "We're not saying you can't own an animal like this, but if something happens," you're going to be on the line, he said.

Farha also discussed violent breeds. "As we proceed into the future, I don't know what's going to happen. You fear that we're just going to get more and more violent breeds of animals. We have more and more extreme people," he said. This is an astute observation. The XL and XXL bully -- the largest pit bull breed variant -- is today's most extreme breed. Built from fighting bloodlines, weighing up to 130 pounds, and having inflicted enough fatal attacks the UK government banned them.

Excerpts: State's Attorney Gary Farha

"Dogs running at large. That was an ordinance violation. It's basically the dogs not being on a leash or are outside their yard. It's not a criminal act. It's a quasi-criminal action, where there's no chance of going to jail for that type of ordinance violation. Fine only. There are some things that could happen to the animal if it bites. In your case, the three animals were euthanized by the consent of the owners.

* * *

"My hopes would be that some legislator would take this case, and it takes three or four years sometimes to get a bill enacted but that somebody would do something to make it easier for prosecutors to deal with that. Because I do think, like I was saying, these type of cases need to be strict liability. We're not saying you can't own an animal like this, but if something happens, you have to understand you're going to be on the line.

* * *

"As we proceed into the future, I don't know what's going to happen. You fear that we're just going to get more and more violent breeds of animals. We have more and more extreme people. We have more and more mental health issues. I think that all that factors into getting more exotic pets, more dangerous pets, more dangerous breeds. I think that inherently means we're going to get more human beings injured.

Welker next spoke to Sally Westerhoff of the Quincy Humane Society. "Before this happened," Welker said, "I didn't know very much about pit bulls or what to look out for with dogs. I'm really glad it didn't happen to one of my kids." Westerhoff replied, "We had a very serious situation, and it seems like once the animals are euthanized, 'problem solved.' Well, it's not," she said. "We need to figure out how do we prevent that going forward rather than waiting for the result of just the animal being euthanized."

This past January, Westerhoff and Vankavage lobbied the Illinois legislature to pass HB 1603, which prohibits "a landlord or lessor from refusing to rent to, deny housing to, or impose conditions on a lessee or tenant based on the breed of a dog." The bill stalled in the House Rules Committee on April 11. There were 180 proponents, mainly pit bull defenders -- including, Zach Mackowiak, lobbying on behalf of USA TODAY -- and 125 opponents, primarily landlords and property management groups.

Given the solid pit bull defender lobbying block in Illinois, of which no animal activist (like Westerhoff) would break from, there is little chance that a criminal law after a "first attack" by a loose dog that inflicts serious or fatal injuries could pass. There is one reason why: the law would disproportionately affect pit bull owners because pit bulls disproportionately inflict these attacks. The pit bull block would fiercely fight the bill. In the case of Welker, the dogs' owner was given two citations, each for $250.3

Clothes Held as "Evidence"

Towards the end of the video, Welker sees the clothing he wore when the dogs attacked him for the first time. He holds up a big plastic see-through sack he retrieved from the Quincy Police Department. Inside, each article of clothing is wrapped and sealed with yellow evidence tape. He opens each article on camera. His sweatshirt is blood-stained; his sweatpants are ripped to shreds. Seeing his clothes, he said, "It does bring up feelings. I've never actually screamed for my life before, but I did then."

He said he'd like to understand the deeper meaning behind the attack. He may never know, "but I am left to think about it now," he said. Welker plans to meditate to try to get as close to the meaning as he can. One obvious meaning is that he survived; many would not have. Moreover, he appears to have physically healed faster than most victims after one year. Welker also contracted rhabdomyolysis, which is a rare muscle damage condition caused by the extensive crush injuries he sustained.

Excerpts: Jerod Welker

"They pull me down to the ground and they're starting to just like pull my clothes off and rip into my clothes. I was yelling. 'Somebody please help me I'm going to die' I was yelling something like that over and over as loud as I could for a while.

"I eventually decided I was going to try to get up. So, I got up. I think I had like my underwear and my sweatpants like kind of pulled down my legs, and I still had my shoes on of course, so I tried to really quickly get my sweatpants and underwear and shoes off and went running down the hill -- like full speed -- and they start they were following me."

* * *

"I think this might have been where they got part of my ear off ... I remember they were really on me. I had my face really in the ground ... I was like kind of eating the ground because I don't want them to get on my face.

* * *

"When I got up and opened my eyes, everything looked white, like literally white. So, I could see in front of me, but like everything had thick white tint to it. I've never experienced that before. I don't know what that is. I feel like I am just going to sound crazy."4

Additional Discussion

Welker, who co-authored the documentary short with Andrew Sheeley, created a powerful account of a victim reencountering a vicious dog attack after physically healing from it. Having to watch and edit the police bodycam video -- perhaps dozens of times -- would mean reliving the attack and his vulnerability each time. By interviewing the medical practitioners, the audience learns of the severity of his injuries through the authoritative lens of the two people who treated him. This is very compelling.

Reencountering the clothing he wore when the dogs attacked him was also forceful. Even though no criminal charges applied to the attack, police bagged and sealed his bloody clothing as evidence and held them in lockup. Police had treated the scene of the attack as a potential crime scene. So, it must have been a cruel irony for Welker to pull each clothing article out of the "evidence bag" knowing that the brutal attack he endured was nothing more than a "civil" issue. No crime had been committed.

This disturbing irony is perfectly reflected in the sullen face of former Adams County State's Attorney Gary Farha during his interview. We call this expression, "Defeated Prosecutor Syndrome." When a prosecutor's face shows a "a particular grimness, even ashen quality, upon realizing there are no legal options to criminally charge the owner of a pit bull after his dog savagely" kills or injures a person. Because "it’s hard to bring charges without prior adjudication of these animals as dangerous animals."

Most serious criminal dog attack charges require the owner (1) having knowledge of the dog's vicious propensities, and/or (2) demonstrated recklessness or a negligence. State laws like Illinois, which require the dog to be previously adjudicated as "vicious" or "dangerous" prior to criminal charges, are futile. As Welker's case shows, the dogs were declared "vicious" afterward and the owner euthanized all three dogs to avoid the "vicious" dog requirements. Thus, reinforcing the vicious dog owner loop.

Farha states, "these type of cases need to be strict liability," referring to criminal liability after a vicious attack by a loose dog causing serious bodily injury or death. On this website, we frequently use the term "strict liability" when referring to civil liability. But strict liability also exists in criminal law. Dog bite attorney Kenneth Phillips, and the author of dogbitelaw.com explains: "Technically speaking, strict liability offenses are crimes that do not require proof of the defendant's mental state (mens rea)."

"Although we might not know it by its name, every one of us is already familiar with criminal strict liability. We see it all around us every day," Phillips said. Examples include criminal laws against drunk driving and selling alcohol to a minor. "It doesn’t matter how good your intentions were," Phillips said, or "how hard you tried to keep this from happening." Criminal strict liability laws are aimed at conduct that’s intolerable, he said. "Do it and there are no excuses. Do it and you go to jail. That's strict."

documentary short pit bull attack

Left: Jerod Welker, Dr. Dan Liesen, and Former Adams County State's Attorney Gary Farha.

documentary short pit bull attack

From Moneyback Joe, a documentary short about recovering from a vicious pit bull attack.

1Part of what propelled the lobbying forces was the January 2003 fatal mauling of Anna Cieslewicz, who was attacked and killed by two pit bulls while jogging in Dan Ryan Woods forest preserve in Chicago..
2Declaring a dog "dangerous" under the 2003 bill, HB 0184, increased the burden of proof level from no specified level to "clear and convincing evidence." Declaring a dog "vicious" under HB 0184 required the animal control or law enforcement agency to "make a detailed report recommending a finding that the dog is a vicious dog and (1) give the report to the State's Attorney's Office and the owner. (2) The complaint must be filed in a circuit court in the "name of the People of the State of Illinois to deem a dog to be a vicious dog," and (3) "The petitioner must prove the dog is a vicious dog by clear and convincing evidence." In the previous version of the Act, numbers 1-3 were not required. It only required an investigation by animal control or law enforcement agency, and a declaration in writing the dog to be a "vicious" dog as defined in the Act. Also in the previous Act, a determination by a court was an option, not mandatory.
3In 2006, HB 4367 attempted to overturn parts of the 2003 Act. The bill would: (1) "establish the Vicious Dog Attack Victim Relief Fund Program to reimburse victims and their families for medical bills, lost wages, and other damages resulting from serious physical injuries caused by a vicious dog attack," and (2) "provides that if an owned animal is found to be a "vicious animal", the owner shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony." In other words, if a first attack by a dog results in serious or fatal injuries, meeting the definition of a "vicious" dog, the owner would face a Class 4 felony. HB 4367, introduced during the 94th General Assembly, never got a hearing. The bill was DOA -- dead on arrival.
4We do not know what caused everything to turn white, but it is indicative of a "white out." This can be caused by standing up too fast, overexertion, becoming dehydrated, and/or physical stress. Yet another cause, apparently, is the life-saving measure of "standing up" after being dragged to the ground and repeatedly mauled by three pit bulls. After getting up, he didn't make it too far before the dogs caught him, taking him down again. He told Muddy River News, at that point, “I gave up on yelling for help. It seemed like the more I did that, the more fierce the dogs would get with me. And also, I was really exhausted. I was starting to accept that really, this is going to be it. I was just accepting that I was probably going to die. Maybe that’s why by the time the police got there, (the dogs were) circling me.”

Related articles:
03/24/25: The "Vicious Dog Owner Loop" – Explained Simply by the Author of Dog Bite Law
03/24/25: Ohio's Weak Dangerous Dog Laws: 4-Part Investigation by News Organizations
02/03/25: Man Facing Felonies, Including Assault with a Deadly Weapon for His Attack Dogs
06/13/24: San Francisco Man Scales Tall Fence to Escape Violent Pit Bulls Captured on Video