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:

• the dog was securely maintained on its own property;
• the dog had no history of violent or aggressive behavior;
• the child was riding his bike but for unknown reasons entered the yard he had been in numerous times before;
• the child was familiar with the dog and had been around it numerous times in the past; and
• the families are friends and have routinely shared many life events together.

The community has rallied around both effected families. An annual scholarship in Beau's name will be awarded to a local high school student annually to honor his life.  A GoFundMe account seeking $15,000 to help the family has raised more than $102,000 in less than a week.

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.

• Dogs bite for a variety of reasons, but most commonly as a reaction to something. If the dog finds itself in a stressful situation, it may bite to defend itself or its territory.
• Dogs can bite because they are scared or have been startled.
• They can bite because they feel threatened.
• They can bite to protect something that is valuable to them, like their puppies, their food or a toy.
• Dogs might bite because they aren't feeling well. They could be sick or sore due to injury or illness and might want to be left alone.
• Dogs also might nip and bite during play. Even though nipping during play might be fun for the dog, it can be dangerous for people.
• Almost 1 in 5 people bitten by dogs require medical attention.
• Children are the most common victims of dog bites and are far more likely to be severely injured.
• Most dog bites affecting young children occur during everyday activities and while interacting with familiar dogs.
• Any dog can bite: big or small, male or female, young or old. Even the cuddliest, fuzziest, sweetest pet can bite if provoked.

This page from the AVMA is full of very important information on this topic, including information about how parents can educate their children to keep them safe. In the case of these deaths, it is likely the children were too young to appreciate the risks of interacting with the dogs making this the most important focus:  keep infants and young children away from dogs unless there is direct and constant supervision. Older children can and should be educated on how to interact with dogs with age-appropriate materials.

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.

I’ve always had a soft spot for abused and neglected animals. I see us as stewards of the companion animals we domesticated and for me, there is just no excuse for treating them poorly. When it comes to owned animals, my position is that if you don’t really care about that animal and are not prepared to treat him or her as a member of your family or a valued partner in some way, you should not have animals at all. In doing so, I make no distinction based on income. I am aware of homeless people who take better care of their pets than do some celebrities who treat animals like furry accessories or as some status symbol, only to discard them when caring for them calls for too much responsibility.
 
The topic of chained dogs is one I’m particularly passionate about. It all goes back to our dog, Snake, for me. She had been living chained to a tree with a heavy logging chain in Northern California when Rich rescued her years ago with the help of a game warden. She was not socialized to people and we will never know how she was treated in her developmental months as a young dog. She had no fur on her neck due to the chain and she “pancaked” in the early days when Rich took her home. She was simply terrified. The veterinarian Rich took her to said her hair may never grow back. It did and she thrived in time with the help of the man who is my own personal dog whisperer and who, in all likelihood, is really part dog.

Every time I see a dog on a chain or a tether, forced to live outside 24/7/365 with no meaningful human contact, I ask myself one simple question:  why?  Why even have a dog if that animal is essentially imprisoned to a patch of dirt? It makes absolutely no sense to me and it is considered inhumane by every reputable animal welfare organization in our country.  Dogs who are forced to live outside and confined to a limited space are not protective of the people who live inside a home near them. They become protective of the space in which they are forced to live. They do not make good living security systems who will bark when an intruder comes near. They are apt to either bark at everyone and every other animal or they do not bark at all. Dogs who live this way are considered “resident dogs” by subject matter experts like Karen Delise of the National Canine Research Council. They may not be aggressive towards the people who own them, but they can be incredibly dangerous to other people, with children and the elderly being most at risk of being bitten or fatally attacked.
 
February is Unchain a Dog Month. The second week in February is Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week. In honor of this week and month, I am happy to report that a dog ordinance I have been advancing in the city where I live was approved by my city council last night. It is now illegal to keep a dog confined by direct-point chaining or tethering to a stationary object in our city. Dogs may be contained inside a residential structure, inside a fenced yard, in a pen or with a run or trolley line. In addition to containment methods, our ordinance has provisions for adequate shelter and nutrition and prohibits dogs being kept outside during dangerous conditions. This particular part of the ordinance is intentionally vague so it can relate to either extreme temperatures or weather events like tornado warnings. I would have liked to have the ordinance prohibit perpetual penning of dogs, but we could not find a way to include a provision like that and have it enforceable at this point.

A lot of people presume I advanced the ordinance due to my love for dogs and while that is absolutely true to a degree, it is not the whole story. I work in the legal field and one of the most gruesome cases I ever dealt with was in 2014 when we defended a dog bite fatality case. WWII Veteran Donald Thomas went to check his mail in September of 2012 and was attacked and killed by two dogs who belonged to neighbors. His wife came home from the store to find the dogs attacking her husband. She was unable to get the dogs to stop and called the police. An officer arrived within minutes and shot both dogs. It was too late. Mr. Thomas was dead. It was later discovered that the people who owned the dogs had 33 other dogs chained in their backyard. They were convicted of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.  Mrs. Thomas later sued the city for wrongful death. So yes, this issue is about animal welfare. But it is even more about public safety and about ensuring dogs are cared for in ways which keeps them from being weaponized.

If you keep your dog chained or tethered in your yard, please. Find another way to make that dog part of your family and keep him or her from becoming a public safety risk. If you are an animal advocate like me and you want to advance legislation in your own area to help keep your community safe and ensure dogs receive better care, have no fear. Take a chance and speak out for what you believe in. Dogs cannot speak for themselves and in the end, you are their voice.