As we all know, community safety is largely impart the responsibility of the residents in the community. When choosing a pet the owner has a responsibility to make it so there acquisition doesn’t directly affect the people around them. Lately the choice for a pet in the black communities is the pit bull. Pit bulls are distant relatives of English bull-baiting dogs, which were “bred to bite and hold bulls, bears, and other large animals around the face and head,” per the ASPCA. When baiting large animals was outlawed in the 1800s, the English bull-baiting dogs were bred with smaller terriers to produce a fighting breed.
All pit bulls aren’t aggressive or fighters, but they do have the capability to inflict damaging and even fatal attacks at random. In an article published by coloradoinjurylaw.com June of 2021 it states that 32% of the 480 fatal dog attacks were of children under the age of 4 years old. It’s also recognized that 80% of the severe attacks with children involves head and neck wounds of the victims. An interesting fact is a dog bite happens every 75 seconds in the United States.
What Can Communities Do?
Owners and residents of neighborhood have to make a conscious effort to keep any danger that can be created by these potentially vicious pets at a low. We can make sure the your pet has the proper license and insurance following the City of Milwaukee’s Code of Ordinances. Properly kenneling and fencing your pet will extremely reduce the risk of your dog leaving your property unsupervised. As a community we need to take care of our residents, from young to old to our neighbors with special needs, giving them the freedom to grow with the neighborhood they live in safely. For more information regarding pit bull requirements the City of Milwaukee offers a brochure cover everything you need to know on this topic at https://city.milwaukee.gov/rottweilerpitbull. Their Rottweiler and Pitbull Brochure (DNS-360) covers all the necessary requirements to have a Rottweiler or pit bull in your household or care.
Recent Bite Statistics
81% of dog bites cause no injuries or very minor ones. These require no medical attention.
In 2015, 28,000 people had to get reconstructive surgery due to dog bite injuries.
We saw an 86% increase in dog bite-related hospitalization stays from 1993 to 2008
2020 Dog Attack Fatalities by Age
Out of the 430 fatalities
32% were age 0-4
13% were age of 75+
10% were age 5-9
5.5% were 60-64
5% were 50-54
Frequency of Bites
A dog bite happens every 75 seconds in the United States.
1,000 people seek emergency care for severe dog bites every day.
Each year, 9,500 people are hospitalized for dog bites.
Surviving a Dog Attack
If a dog has a tensed body, stiff tail, pulled back ears, flicking tongue or an intense stare, it may attack. Here are some that will help you through the ordeal:
Don’t scream or run.
Remain motionless.
Once the dog loses interest back away.
Put something in between you and the dog.
If you fall protect your hands face, neck and throat.
For a “family pet”, there are still some risks involved with owning a dog that has 235 psi of biting pressure. Having a commitment to care for the people around you as well as the animal is understatement. As we saw, infants and young kids make up the majority of victims, it must be understood that dogs are territorial, so keep your dog in a kennel at night or any time they are unattended with your kid, elderly or individuals with special needs.The 2nd most common age for fatal dog attacks is the elderly. If you have elder visitors, keep your dogs put up, and goes the same for individuals with special needs. Some behavior can startle the animal making it think the movement is an act of aggression.
Pit bulls are beautiful pets, but they can be a danger to your home, neighbors and community if they’re not properly trained and taken care of. Let’s have a pleasant pet experience.
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