Posted on July 9, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

New Canadian Study Shows Pit Bull Bans in Province of Manitoba Result in Fewer Hospitalizations

Injury Prevention, June 2012
Canada - Last week, the National Post published an article about a new Canadian dog bite injury study by University of Manitoba-affiliated authors that shows that breed-specific pit bull laws lowered the overall rate at which people were hospitalized with serious dog bite injuries over a 23-year period. The study focuses on the province of Manitoba and jurisdictions within it that banned pit bull-type dogs and jurisdictions that did not from the years 1984 to 2006.

Effectiveness of Breed-Specific Legislation in Decreasing the Incidence of Dog-Bite Injury Hospitalisations in People in the Canadian Province of Manitoba

Background: The city of Winnipeg was the first among several jurisdictions in Manitoba, Canada, to introduce breed specific legislation (BSL) by banning pit-bull type dogs in 1990. The objective of the present work was to study the effectiveness of BSL in Manitoba.

Methods: Temporal differences in incidence of dog-bite injury hospitalisations (DBIH) within and across Manitoba jurisdictions with and without BSL were compared. Incidence was calculated as the number of unique cases of DBIH divided by the total person-years at risk and expressed as the number per 100 000 person-years...

Results: A total of 16 urban and rural jurisdictions with pit-bull bans were identified. At the provincial level, there was a significant reduction in DBIH rates from the pre-BSL to post-BSL period (3.47 (95% CI 3.17 to 3.77) per 100 000 person-years to 2.84 (95% CI 2.53 to 3.15); p=0.005). In regression restricted to two urban jurisdictions, DBIH rate in Winnipeg relative to Brandon (a city without BSL) was significantly (p<0.001) lower after BSL (rate ratio (RR)=1.10 in people of all ages and 0.92 in those aged <20 years) than before (RR=1.29 and 1.28, respectively).

Conclusion: BSL may have resulted in a reduction of DBIH in Winnipeg, and appeared more effective in protecting those aged <20 years.

Two key tables within the study illustrate the lowering of hospitalizations for serious dog bite injuries by comparing the pre-implementation and post-implementation period of pit bull bans in Manitoba. For instance, Table 3 depicts all Manitoba jurisdictions combined in the years 1984 to 2006, which showed an -18.1% change in hospitalization incident rate and jurisdictions that implemented BSL sometime during the same years showed a -21.5% change in incident rate.

Table 4, which focuses on ages 0-20 years, depicts an even greater reduction in the hospitalization incident rate. In this table, all Manitoba jurisdictions combined in the years 1984 to 2006 showed a -25.5% change in hospitalization incident rate and jurisdictions that implemented BSL sometime during the same years showed a -27.4% change in incident rate. Thus the conclusion that BSL appeared more effective in protecting those aged 20-years and younger.

Lead researcher, Dr. Malathi Raghavan, who also authored Fatal Dog Attacks in Canada, 1990-2007, said that she was surprised by the results and that the pit bull bylaws left her with a "positive impression." If one reviews Dr. Raghavan's fatality study, it is clear that this Manitoba study was a logical next step. The earlier study states that future studies should be designed to "evaluate the effectiveness of dog-bite awareness campaigns and dog-control legislation."

Combination of Three Studies is Compelling

In a subsequent article, Dr. Raghavan defends the Manitoba study by saying that it is a combination of three recent studies showing similar results that provides compelling data: The 2012 Manitoba study; the 2011 Texas study, which showed that pit bulls are associated with higher morbidity rates and higher hospital charges; and the 2010 Catalonia study, which showed a -38% change in hospitalization incident rate after jurisdictions enacted breed-specific laws.

Notably, Canada's most vocal anti-pit bull regulation advocate, Calgary's chief Animal Services officer Bill Bruce, dismissed the Manitoba study and reminded readers that border collies can "grab the role as top attack villain" too.1 After years of preaching pro-pit bull propaganda, however, Mr. Bruce saw a doubling of dog bites in his jurisdiction in 2010 as well as pit bulls biting more than all other dog breeds and overall dog bites in his jurisdiction continuing to rise in 2011.

Supplemental letter: Effectiveness of breed-specific legislation in decreasing dog-bite injury hospitalizations in Manitoba--what it means to researchers, policy-makers and the public, by Raghavan et al., Injury Prevention, September 2012

1According to Dog Attack Deaths and Maimings, U.S. & Canada, September 1982 to December 26, 2011, by Merritt Clifton, editor of Animal People, border collies inflicted one fatal dog attack and two maimings in the 29-year period versus pit bulls, excluding their named mixed-breeds, that inflicted 207 fatalities and 1093 maimings.

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: Man Killed by Pit Bull in Washoe County, Nevada

UPDATE 12/15/12: On November 25, our nonprofit filed a public records request to obtain a copy of the police report. We received a redacted copy on December 10. Kevin Latz, 50-years old, was fatally attacked by a pit bull on June 27, 2012. The male pit bull, named Apollo, had bitten two people prior to killing Latz, but officials had never declared the dog vicious or dangerous. "Apollo bit Kevin in the throat crushing his trachea, when he eventually succumbed," states the report.

The dog was euthanized on July 10, 2012 after its quarantine period. Below is our summary:

Kevin Latz, 50-years old, was discovered dead at a home on the 17300 block of Bear Lake Drive after being attacked by a male pit bull, according to the Washoe County Sheriff's Office report. The victim was with a man who resided at the home who had invited him over to barbecue. While the man was in the backyard lighting the grill, Kevin stepped onto the back porch. The dog, also on the back porch, immediately attacked, according to the report. Latz retreated into the laundry room, where the dog continued biting him up and down his legs until he dropped to the ground. The dog then bit into his neck. Kevin Latz died "due to asphyxia due to compression of the larynx and trachea by a canine with other significant conditions: multiple blunt force injuries inflicted by the canine," states the report. The manner of death was determined accidental. - DogsBite.org

07/04/12: Victim Identified
Cold Springs, NV - Last week, multiple news agencies reported that a man may have been killed by a dog. A canine of an unidentified breed was subsequently quarantined. The Washoe County Medical Examiner's Office continues to try to determine the cause of death. Today, Kolo TV identified the victim as 50-year old Kevin Latz who had gone to his neighbor's house to borrow a BBQ. Latz was attacked by the neighbor's "protective" dog and bled to death before help arrived.

COLD SPRINGS, Nev. (KRNV & MyNews4.com) -- Washoe County Sheriff's Office is investigating a suspicious death of a white male on Wednesday at approximately 5:12 p.m. in the 17300 block of Bear Lake Drive in the Cold Springs area.

As part of this investigation, a male canine has been quarantined in a safe and healthy environment in accordance with the Washoe County Sheriff's Office policies and procedures. - KRNV & MyNews4.com, June 28, 2012

View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: Nevada Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: 2-Year Old Boy Killed by Dogs in West Virginia

Dogs Euthanized
UPDATE 06/27/12: In a disturbing update about the death of 2-year Jack Redin, killed by two dogs on a property adjacent to his home, NewsandSentinal.com reports that the Sweeney brothers, David and Daniel, are the sons of Third Judicial Circuit Court Judge Timothy Sweeney. Daniel Sweeney is allegedly the owner of the two dogs, but his brother David Sweeney installed an underground invisible fence around his property so that he could care for his brother's dogs.

The article also points out that the Pleasants County Sheriff's Office cannot confirm the breeds of the dogs, as apparently they have not asked the local veterinarian who had been keeping them in quarantine. The typical mislabels for pit bull-mix dogs were offered up by the sheriff's office: lab-mix and boxer-mix. Both dogs were put down over the weekend. An autopsy report on the child's death has not been released. No charges have been filed nor are any expected.

06/16/12: Community Mourns Loss of Child
On Friday, MetroNews published an update about the fatal dog mauling of 2-year old Jack Redin. Sheriff's Deputy Steve McFarland said that Jack and three other children had been playing in the family's yard that day. Jack had been riding around on a battery-powered four wheeler when he wandered away from the group into the neighbor's yard. When family members realized he was missing, they began to search adjacent properties with the help of neighbors.

"The whole incident happened quickly," said McFarland.

No one actually saw the attack, but witnesses did see the boy's father find his son's lifeless body. The two dogs did not belong to the property owner David Sweeney; the animals belonged to his brother Daniel Sweeney. An invisible fence was dug beneath the ground to keep the dogs contained. It's unknown how long David had been caring for the dogs.1 David was not home at the time of the attack. Funeral services for the boy took place Saturday afternoon in Parkersburg.

06/14/12: Child Identified in Fatal Mauling
Pleasants County Sheriff's officials have confirmed that 2-year old Jack Redin was killed Wednesday after he wandered into a neighbor's yard and was attacked by two pit bull-mix dogs. The dogs had been confined by an "electric fence" buried beneath the ground, but acted as no barrier to a child coming onto the property. The dogs have been removed from the home and quarantined pending legal proceedings. The name of the dogs' owner has not been released.

06/13/12: Child Killed by Neighbor's Dogs
St. Marys, WV - In a developing story, a 2-year old boy was attacked and killed by two dogs after he walked into his neighbor's yard while playing. West Virginia State Police and Pleasants County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene around 1 pm after the boy's father made an emergency call. The dogs were described as "mixed-breed." The boy's father discovered him in the yard behind the neighbor's residence, according to police. More details are expected Thursday.

1The dogs have also been called mixed-breed and boxer-mix -- common names used to describe pit bull-mix dogs. It is very likely the dogs are pit bull-boxer mixes, as the cross of the two breeds is not unusual.

Photo: MetroNews.com

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Colleen Lynn

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: Pet Pit Bull Kills Infant in Lemon Grove, San Diego County

Tyzhel Latella McWilliams seen next to Zulu, which later killed the baby.

The Nanny Dog
UPDATE 06/19/12: The mother of an infant killed by a family pit bull last week called the baby's death a "tragic accident" and expressed disbelief that the very Nanny dog pit bull that seemed to "watch over the infant like a protective parent" would fatally bite her baby. "Never in my life I thought that would happen," the mother said in an interview Monday. The 27-year old mother moved into the single-story apartment 2 years ago with a girlfriend who owned three male pit bulls.

After Tyzhel was born, the mother said she had no worries about letting the dogs interact with her son. "They loved him from the beginning," she said. The fatal bite occurred as baby Tyzhel was playing in a room across from his mother. When he crawled into the bedroom, where his mother and roommate were, a pit bull named Zulu suddenly bit him on the head. "It just happened so quickly," she recalled. Sheriff's detectives continue to investigate the baby's mauling death.

Notably, all three male pit bulls, Blue and his two offspring Hercules and Zulu, were separated at the time of the fatal attack. One was fenced in the backyard and the other was in a crate in a different room. The owner of Zulu agreed to put the dog down; it was euthanized Tuesday. The other two pit bulls were released back to their owner. Outside of killing two cats that entered the fenced backyard, the animals had been friendly and well behaved, according to both women.

06/15/12: Details Still Remain Unclear
Authorities have not yet released the circumstances of the attack or how the baby boy was being supervised at the time. It is also unclear if the boy's mother or her roommate is the owner of the three pit bulls. A woman who works with a nonprofit that helps struggling women knows the mother and her son, baby Tyzhel. Anika Grothe, a case manager, said the mother has had "nothing but hard times, and here she is trying to redo her life and something like this happens."

A separate article by 10News.com reports that the same social agency is working with the Lemon Grove branch of U.S. Bank to set up a fund to help with funeral expenses and provide counseling for the mother. The agency also told 10News that it was "just one of the dogs that attacked the boy in his crib." Currently, all three male pit bulls are being held at Chula Vista Animal Care Facility. Sheriff's homicide officials continue to investigate the case; criminal charges may be pending.

06/15/12: Infant Killed by Pet Pit Bull(s)
Lemon Grove, CA - In a developing story, an 8-month old boy was mauled to death by up to three pit bulls Thursday. The attack happened just before 5 pm in Lemon Grove. When deputies arrived to the scene, a woman was holding the injured boy. By Thursday evening, officials confirmed the infant died after being transported to Rady Children's Hospital. Authorities also confirmed that animal control officers seized three pit bulls from the scene. More details are expected soon.

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: California Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.

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