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

Austin and San Antonio Severe Injury Dog Bite Data Pre- and Post-Covid 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 bi… [Read full blog post]

2020 Edition: 125 Behavior Terms for Shelter Dogs Decoded that Mask Aggression in Dogs Available for Adoption

Coded Language and Shelter Jargon that Camouflage Aggression 2020 Edition: 125 behavior terms for shelter dogs decoded that mask aggression. Recent Investigation DogsBite.org - Since 2016, we have been examining how taxpayer-funded shelters conceal aggressive behaviors from adopters in order to achieve the single metric 90% "save rate" of no-kill. Today, that goal has been upped to a 98% "save rate". In the last 4 years, there have been multiple investigations by news… [Read full blog post]

2019 Dog Bite Fatality: Volunteer at Humane Society of St. Lucie County Dies After Pit Bull Attack

A volunteer died after being attacked by a pit bull at the Humane Society of St. Lucie County. Violent, Traumatic Attack UPDATE 05/15/19: Police released new details about a vicious dog attack that left a shelter volunteer of the Humane Society of St. Lucie County "mutilated" and "dead" last week. Christine Liquori, 52, was killed by a pit bull-mix named "Amos" that had been found wandering the streets a month earlier, not eight days earlier, as previously reported. Police c… [Read full blog post]

Unmasking a Con: How a Sudden Pit Bull Activist Parleyed Role into Top Job at No-Kill Humane Society in El Paso

Luke Westerman, a Self-Appointed "Animal Welfare Expert" Luke Westerman, 37, is facing 19 felony counts of securities law violations and theft. Westerman Pleads Guilty UPDATE 10/04/21: On October 4, 2021, Jeffery Luke Westerman pleaded guilty to 19 securities-related fraud and theft charges during a hearing in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. Westerman is scheduled to be sentenced on November 18. The prosecution and defense jointly recommended to the Court… [Read full blog post]