NOTE: This blog references the deaths of two very young children following their interaction with dogs. Some of the content may be disturbing to some readers. Look at the images below of children interacting with dogs. What do you see? Do you see a cuteness overload? These images make me cringe because I see potential danger in the body language of the dogs and the proximity of the children's faces to the dogs' mouths. Two local tragedies related to children does within a period of a week in my area have brought me back to the subject of our unequivocal responsibility to protect dog bite related fatalities. I have written on this subject many times before and believe we just cannot talk about this enough. On February 26, 2024, 4-year old Beau Clark went into a neighbors yard where he was critically injured by a dog. The boy's father tried to intervene and was injured himself. The dog was originally identified by the Morgan County, Alabama Sheriff's Office as a "pit bull." It was later identified as an Olde English Bulldog. The dog was euthanized. The Facebook page for the sheriff's office posted that no charges were filed after the Investigation revealed that:
On March 1, 2024, a 2-year old boy who has not yet been identified entered a fenced yard by opening a gate. He was critically injured by two dogs, a Siberian Husky and a Labrador/Golden Retriever mix, after he was bitten in the face. Details about his prior interaction with the dogs is not yet know. The owner of the dogs (who were taken from the scene by animal control authorities) said they were in their fenced yard, had no prior history of violent or aggressive behavior and had never been out of the yard. He was not home at the time of the incident. Members of the Madison County, Alabama, Sheriff's Office will conduct the investigation into the child's death. These two locations are less than an hour apart. These are compounded tragedies - for the children, for their families, for the owners of the dogs, for the dogs, for the law enforcement community and for the region as a whole. I feel terribly for everyone involved. Local news stations covering these stories have focused mostly on the topic of "aggressive dogs" and what adults can to to keep themselves safe. I saw a story this morning in which a dog trainer was explaining how to use dog repellent spray and how to get into a fetal position to protect your head. I have yet to see any coverage that addresses the issue of keeping children safe around dogs to prevent tragedies like these even though that should be the immediate focus. It is up to all of us to make sure children are safe around dogs - that includes family dogs with whom we share our homes and dogs who belong to others. I've shared information from the CDC and American Veterinary Medical Association about dog bite prevention before but it bears repeating.
The effects of deaths like this are far-reaching and touch even people who do not have children in their home. If you see interaction between a child and dog you feel is unsafe, please intervene before the situation gets out of hand. It is better to anger the dog owner or the adults responsible for the child than to risk serious injury or death. The National Canine Research Council tells us that dog bite related fatalities are extremely rare because they ordinarily are. Not this week in northern Alabama.
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AuthorI am an animal welfare advocate. My goal is to help people understand some basic issues related to companion animals in America. Awareness leads to education leads to action leads to change. Categories
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image courtesy of Terrah Johnson
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