Breeds of dogs (purebred and cross bred) involved in human bit fatalities 1979-1998
Pit bull-type - 76
Rottweiler - 44
German shepherd - 27
Husky-type - 21
Malamute - 15
Wolf-dog hybrid - 14
Mixed breeds - 12
Chow Chow - 11
Doberman - 10
Saint Bernard - 8
Great Dane - 7
Labrador Retriever - 5
Akita - 4
Sled-type - 3
Bulldog - 3
Mastiff - 3
Boxer - 3
Collie - 3
Bullmastiff - 2
Hound-type - 2
Retriever-type - 1
Chesapeake Bay Retriever - 1
West Highland Terrier - 1
Terrier-type - 1
Japanese Hunting Dog -1
Newfoundland - 1
Coonhound - 1
Sheepdog - 1
Australian Shepherd - 1
Rhodesian Ridgeback - 1
Cocker Spaniel - 1
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Registered pit bulls by city/zip code
HAMILTON/45011/45013/45015
361 *
MIDDLETOWN/45044
174**
TRENTON/45067
40
WEST CHESTER/45069
35
OXFORD/45056
27
FAIRFIELD/45014
14
OKEANA/45053
4
MONROE/45050
4
Source: Butler County Dog Warden’s Office
*includes portions of Liberty and Fairfield townships
**includes portions of Liberty Twp.
Since 1979, pit bulls have accounted for more disfiguring and deadly attacks in the United States than any other breed of dog, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A recent string of serious dog bitings and maulings in southwest Ohio, including three fatalities, have some residents and lawmakers debating whether pit bull ownership should be prohibited in Butler County municipalities and townships.
State and most local dangerous dog laws are non-breed specific; Fairfield is the only Butler County city with a law on the books banning pit bulls. But after a 59-year-old Madison Twp. woman was attacked and killed Monday by the family’s pit bull-Presa Canario mix, Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, who is also the county’s dog warden, said the dangerous dog law “needs to be looked at very seriously.”
Meanwhile, pit bull advocates have passionately defended the breed, saying irresponsible owners are the problem and not the dogs themselves. They argue that pit bulls are being “singled out” by the news media, while other breeds of dogs that may bite people rarely, if ever, make headlines.
Danny Kaiser, founder of Adore-A-Bull — an advocacy and rescue group for pit bull breeds, said breed-specific laws haven’t worked in the past and won’t work if adopted again.
“Because the people who are creating this problem with the breed don’t obey the law anyway, you just penalize responsible owners with happy healthy dogs and set the breed up for failure,” Kaiser said.
‘Anything with teeth will bite’
According to a study published in 2000 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that analyzed fatal dog attacks between 1979 to 1998, pit bull-types, German shepherds and canines mixed with those breeds, were responsible for the majority of those deaths.
Specifically, pit bulls and their crossbreeds were responsible for 76 deaths and Rottweilers and their crossbreeds were responsible for 44 deaths. Rounding out the top five are German shepherds, 27; Husky-type, 21; and malamute, 25. Those numbers included purebred and crossbred dogs in the breeds.
While most of the dogs on the list are larger breeds that are often known for their power, the study also includes a one-bite death from a cocker spaniel and several from retrievers, including the Chesapeake Bay retriever.
The CDC’s study concluded that non-breed specific dog laws rather than breed-specific legislation was preferable. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also advocates that position.
“There is no credible evidence that breed determines or predicts dangerousness,” the ASPCA said in a statement. “Dangerous dog laws should be narrowly drawn to define dangerous dogs as those who have either attacked a person or another animal without justification, causing injury or death, or those who exhibit behavior that strongly suggests the risk of such an attack.”
Currently in Butler County, there are about 30 “dangerous dogs” listed on a registry kept by the county dog warden’s office, meaning they have bitten and caused injury to another person. That list includes plenty of pit bulls, but also retrievers, collies, and a dachshund.
Not long ago, the trend in the state was to ban pit bull breeds in many area cities and townships. But that changed in the mid-2000s, not long after the CDC study.
“Because of the difficulties inherent to determining a dog’s breed with certainty, enforcement of breed-specific ordinances raises constitutional and practical issues. Fatal attacks represent a small proportion of dog-bite injuries to humans and, therefore, should not be the primary factor driving public policy concerning dangerous dogs,” the CDC said in the report’s conclusion.
“Anything with teeth will bite,” said Kurt Merbs, Butler County’s assistant dog warden supervisor. Merbs spent much of the past week chasing pit bull incidents, including the Madison Twp. mauling, a Hamilton woman who was bitten by a pit bull during her daily walk through the neighborhood, a Middletown police officer who shot a pit bull in the muzzle while executing a drug search warrant at a local home and a foot pursuit of a pit bull that had “ripped the ear off a black Labrador two weeks before and was running lose again.”
Change in local dog laws unlikely
The exact number of pit bulls in Butler County is unknown. According to county records, there are 694 pit bulls registered in the county, meaning their owners have gotten the animals licensed legally. There could be untold hundreds in the county without a license that aren’t registered, as was the case in most of the incidents Merbs investigated this past week.
There are 361 pit bulls registered in areas with a Hamilton zip code, which could include portions of Liberty and Fairfield townships. The Middletown area, which includes portion of Liberty Twp., had the next highest concentration of pit bulls with 174.
Even Fairfield with its ban had 14 pit bulls registered with the county, meaning their owners had officially licensed the animal.
Leaders in Middletown and Hamilton said a periodic review of laws is always good, but specifically changing the existing dangerous dog laws is not on the horizon.
Mayor Pat Moeller said while Hamilton’s dog law is not breed specific, the city does have a leash law and stronger enforcement is needed. Moeller said the city is planning to add signage along its bike path and other locations about keeping all dogs on a leash.
“It is a balancing act. We do want to make sure the public is safe,” Moeller said. “But do we have to pass legislation to protect people from themselves.”
Middletown Law Director Les Landen said as a charter city, if council wanted to change he current law that mirrors the state’s dangerous dog law, it certainly could. Several years ago, Middletown did ban pit bulls, but a strong movement by veterinarians and dog lovers led to a change in that law.
The recent dog attacks involving pit bulls have “certainly got people talking,” Landen said. But he added there has been no one asking to reinstate the ban.
“A dog who is big enough and strong enough can kill or seriously injure someone, not so sure that has to be a pit bull,” Landen said.
Middletown Mayor Larry Mulligan said he has not been contacted by anyone about changing the law, but would be up for reviewing it if they received input or a request from police or city administrators.
“We had a bigger outcry with the neglect cases,” Mulligan said.
Kaiser, of Adore-A-Bull, said no two pit bulls are the same and that the big, powerful dogs are not for everyone.
“Training is a key, socializing … teaching right from wrong, and not by hitting that creates fear,” Kaiser said. “Fearful dogs of any breed are more likely to bite.”
Kaiser said he has rescued hundreds of pit bulls from shelters in the Greater Cincinnati area and placed them in loving homes.
“Those are not the dogs or the owners you are seeing in the news,” Kaiser said. “The problem is over population, poor breeding and ignorance.”
A pit bull who is a loved pet will greet people happy, licking and wiggling, Kaiser said.
“Not with its head tucked between its tail and a spiked collar around it neck.”
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