Police officers in Ohio entered a man's home at the invitation of the man's wife, who was not sure whether the man was inside. She had seen that the back door was unlocked, and therefore asked the officers to check whether he was there.

The man had gone to bed -- it was after 10 PM -- and he was upstairs, sleeping. When he heard officers talking downstairs, he walked to the top landing, still in his pajamas, and properly identified himself to the officers.

And then was attacked by the police dog! The officer in charge of the dog could not control it, and the man was injured.

He gave me permission to share his story on the Dog Bite Victim Log. To read his own words, click on the link below.

On January 3, 2007, 8-month-old Andrew Stein of Brooklyn, New York, was killed in his home by his parents' Doberman pinscher.

New York is a "mixed" dog bite statute state, in that the statute provides strict liability for medical bills, but substantially adheres to the British "one-bite" rule. (For more about the ancient and unfair one-bite rule, see the post which follows this one.)

The first canine homicide of the year came early in the month, following a year in which there were 32 human fatalities throughout the country. Such incidents have been on the rise since the 1980s, when annual deaths by dogs numbered in the teens.

In 2007, the USA saw 32 fatal dog attacks on people. For details and a month-by-month breakdown of the recent canine homicides, see Dangerous and Vicious Dogs.

20 of these took place in the 18 "one-bite states" and 3 "mixed dog bite statute" states (referring to Georgia, Tennessee and New York, which have statutes that substantially embody the "one bite rule"). 12 were in the 29 statutory strict liability states.

These statistics support the view that the one-bite rule needs to be replaced in the 21 states that continue to rely upon it. The one-bite rule actually protects dog owners from their own negligence, even if it results in the death of another person. This old English law demands little or no vigilance on the part of dog owners. A single dog owner can own one biting dog after another, without fear of civil liability, because every dog gets that one free bite, mauling or killing. To learn more about the deadly "one-bite rule," click here.

The one-bite rule should be rejected throughout the United States. The children in one-bite states like Texas, North Carolina and Maryland are no less important and deserve no less protection than kids in strict liability states.

After a little girl was attacked by a pack of abandoned dogs, WRAL TV did a story about it. To see it, click here.

My Dog Attack Danger Scale (on the home page of Dog Bite Law) focuses on five elements that have played a part in the most serious of the recent dog attacks. The scale will enable you to recognize situations that should be avoided. If you have not familiarized yourself with the five factors, take a moment to do so now.

One of the factors is the pack mentality. A pack of dogs presents a danger to people. When you view this video by WRAL, you will hear that the attack happened in a field where people often abandon their dogs. Know that if you abandon your dog, the combination of necessity and the pack mentality could create a killer.

On December 25, 2007, in Yermo, California, 45-year-old Kelly Caldwell was killed by up to five dogs. The dogs were running at large on the street where the victim was walking. The dogs were pit bulls and at least one belonged to a neighbor. Click here to read the news account.

From my Dog Attack Danger Scale, the following two factors were present in this attack: the dogs were pit bulls, and the pack mentality was evident. At least one of these dogs was individually vicious: as paramedics were trying to save the woman's life, one of the pits had to be shot to death to keep it from getting at the victim again.

December 17, 2007, 77-year-old Blanche Broduer was attacked in Clayton, Georgia, by a pit bull in the home that the victim was house-sitting. (Read about it here.)

This is the 31st canine homicide in the USA in 2007. It is the 7th in states having "mixed" dog bite statutes which substantially confirm the one-bite rule. While 20 human deaths-by-maulings have taken place in the 18 one-bite and 3 "mixed" states, only 11 have taken place in the 29 statutory strict liability states.

On the home page of Dog Bite Law I state that there is an obvious link between the one-bite rule and dangerous dogs. This is because the one-bite rule does not require that a dog owner be careful to prevent dog bites. Every dog gets that one "free" bite, mauling or killing. I believe that the one-bite rule should be elimitated throughout the USA.