Totals of all fatal and disfiguring dog attacks since 1982, by breed, appear in the tables below. Absent late reports, such as the belated discovery of a 2014 dog attack victim in early 2015, the dog attack body count for the U.S. and Canada in 2014 is complete, with new record tolls in every category […]
Pit bulls, Ann Landers, & Dr. Laura
by Barbara Kay My first, and arguably most influential, journalistic role model was advice columnist Ann Landers. I discovered her in 1955, when I was a teenager. I liked her crisp, dryly humorous “voice” that radiated moral clarity and common sense in equal measure. Our culture changed dramatically over the years, but Ann remained faithful […]
Pit bull proliferation hits “Indian country”: fatal dog attacks double
Two deaths in ten days COARSEGOLD, California; FORT WASHAKIE, Wyoming; PINE RIDGE, South Dakota––Two fatal dog attacks and one nearly fatal attack within 10 days in November 2014 underscored a marked surge in dog attacks in “Indian country,” and the inefficacy of the methods currently used by Native American tribes and humane societies to try […]
Attempt to repeal pit bull ban crushed in Colorado
Nearly 68% of Aurora voters endorsed pit bull ban AURORA, Colorado––Advocates for pet, livestock, and human safety in Aurora, Colorado claimed a resounding win with the November 4, 2014 defeat of a well-funded attempt to repeal the nine-year-old Aurora pit bull bylaw. Asked Aurora ballot question 2D, “KEEPING OF PIT BULLS––Shall the people of Aurora […]
When are alleged fighting dogs not pit bulls?
When the Humane Society of the U.S. sends the media release SEVIERVILLE, Tennessee––When are 50 pit bulls seized from an alleged fighting dog breeding kennel in rural Tennessee not pit bulls? When the Humane Society of the U.S. helps with the bust, writes the press release about it, and distributes it to media nationwide, while […]
Aurora, Colorado: reject risk-taking pit bull advocates’ attempt to gamble with your lives and the lives of your animals
News analysis by Beth Clifton Holding signs mingling patriotic imagery with silhouettes of pit bulls, displaying ear-to-ear crocodilian grins for media, pit bull advocates on October 11, 2014 gathered near Bicentennial Park in Aurora, Colorado, to urge Aurora voters to repeal an alleged pit bull ban. The “ban,” in effect since October 2005, actually just […]
Three pit bull stories to chew on
News analysis by Barbara Kay The news cycle of the last two weeks has turned up two remarkable pit bull-related stories in North America, both worthy of editorial mastication, so to speak. There is a third story, also noteworthy and included below, which didn’t make the mainstream news, but should have. The first story, out […]
“Don’t bully my breed, but we will bully the victims.”
by Beth Clifton A tribute art memorial entitled “Out of the Blue,” honoring 30 recent victims of fatal dog attacks, was unveiled on September 24, 2014 in Grand Rapids, Michigan by Wyoming, Michigan resident Joan Kowal as an entry in ArtPrize, an annual outdoor art contest attracting upward of 1,500 entrants and more than 400,000 […]
32 years of logging fatal & disfiguring dog attacks
David Glass, 51, of Lamar, Mississippi, was the 300th person to be fatally mauled by pit bulls in 32 years by Merritt and Beth Clifton David Glass, 51, of Lamar, Mississippi, on September 21, 2014 became the 300th person to be fatally mauled by pit bulls in the 32 years that I have logged fatal […]
Three convicted & seven facing trial in death-by-dog cases
Murder by dog LITTLE ROCK, Ark.; LOS ANGELES, Calif.––A jury in Saline County, Arkansas late on October 8, 2014 convicted Brande Coy, 50, and Emily Coy, 25, of Hot Springs Village of misdemeanor negligent homicide and participating in an unlawful dog attack, respectively, for the November 21, 2013 fatal mauling […]