In the past two weeks, a woman died from infection caused by a dog bite, and an infant was mauled by death by a pit bull. The public needs to learn that while both of these incidents were unlikely, they both were foreseeable and preventable.

The infection:

Dolly Newell, an 80-year-old California woman, died on March 24, 2009, several days after she was bitten in the hand by a dog while feeding it. For some reason, she told the hospital staff she injured her finger while gardening. They stitched the bite closed and she went home, to die of infection.

Ms. Newell contributed to her own death because she was feeding a strange dog, lied to the hospital staff about her injury, and did not obtain follow-up care for the infection. Nevertheless, her death was initiated by the bacteria in dog saliva, and therefore she was killed by a dog even though she contributed to the accident.

All dog bites that break the skin should be seen by a doctor because of the danger of infection. Forget about protecting the dog or its owner. Doctors generally know that dog bites should be left open, unstitched, because this bacteria thrives in the airless dark.

The fatal mauling of the infant:

On March 26, 2009, a 2-year-old Texas boy was fatally attacked by a female pit bull. His parents had been caring for the dog and apparently thought it to be harmless. The boy's first name was Tyson but his last name and important details about the attack have not been released.

For some reason, details about the death of little Tyson are being withheld from the public. (See the poor coverage at KVUE and KEYETV, and note that the deficiencies probably are the fault of law enforcement and not KVUE or KEYETV.) For example, the name of the dog owner is being suppressed, preventing witnesses from coming forward with information that might justify criminal prosecution or a civil suit. Texas has Lilian's Law, which is the harshest criminal statute in the nation pertaining to dog owners. (See the Texas page of Dog Bite Law.)

No less than three, and possibly four, danger signs were present in the attack upon Tyson: (1) dog in its own yard and no master present, (2) pit bull, (3) chained or tethered, and possibly (4) newness, in that the dog was there on a temporary basis. (See the Dog Attack Danger Scale on the home page of Dog Bite Law.) This made the attack foreseeable.

No less than 19 American states rely on English dog bite laws, despite the fact that the UK is almost hopelessly backwards when it comes to dealing with dog attacks.

I am referring to the reliance upon the one-bite rule. (See the home page of Dog Bite Law for more; click the button at the top of this blog.)

In modern England, there is one member of Parliament who is trying to give dog bite victims some recourse when they are mauled at the dog owner's residence. As it happens, if you are a guest in a person's home, or a mailman who is delivering the mail, English law says you are out of luck if you are mauled by the owner's dog. (Click here to read the article.)

The USA is far more serious than England when it comes to taking dangerous dogs off the streets. How is it, then, that so many states continue to rely on the 17th-century one-bite rule? It makes no sense whatsoever. The one-bite rule needs to be eliminated throughout America. (See Model Dog Bite Laws.)

The story today is about an Ohio pit bull owner whose dogs killed two miniature horses and mauled a third. Law enforcement officials are recommending two counts of improper confinement of a vicious dog, and two counts of failure to have the required liability insurance for such animals. Each count is a misdemeanor with a possible penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. (Read the article.)

There are greater civil and criminal penalties for attacks on horses and farm animals than attacks on humans, in many cases. When considering what to do after such an animal is attacked by a dog, do not get confused by the one-bite rule or anything else that applies to attacks on humans. You should review the codes of your state that pertain to agriculture, food and game, and provisions of the civil code relevant to animals other than dogs and cats. Furthermore, check the county codes and even the city codes too.

Our laws pertaining to animals originated in 17th century England. In such times, the courts were more concerned about property rights in general, and income-producing (and life-sustaining) animals such as sheep, goats, cows and the like. Injuries to any of those animals could severely impact the finances of their owners. Consequently, a dog that "worried" sheep, for example, could be killed without fear of civil or criminal liability.

The human race had not invented pit bulls yet. People were not participating in the sport of watching dogs kill other dogs. There was no utility or financial advantage in having a killer dogs, in those days. Accordingly, society was intolerant of them. Worry a sheep, die. Hurt a sheep, die. We have come a long way since then. Whether up or down, you decide.

The father of a three-month-old Florida girl blamed his dog after a medical examination last week revealed the infant had numerous broken bones.

The child's doctor did not support the man's story. She believes that the child’s arms had been grabbed “with a lot of force” and “torqued” until they broke. The doctor also told officers she found skull fractures, bleeding beneath the scalp and broken ribs.

The man was arrested and faces felony charges for child abuse. (Click here to read the article.)

The public outcry against dangerous dogs has led to civil cases against animal control agencies who are perceived as not doing their jobs. A noteworthy case involving the death of Dorothy Sullivan has just gone to the jury in Virginia.

In 2005, Sullivan and her small dog, Buttons, were mauled to death outside her home by three roaming pit bulls. Authorities said the dogs belonged to Deanna Large, who lived about a mile from the Sullivan residence. Large was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and two misdemeanor charges for allowing her dogs to run loose. She received a sentence of three years in prison.

Today a civil jury is deliberating whether to award $5 million to Sullivan's family. One of the defendants is the animal control department. The family produced evidence at trial that animal control officers are at least partly to blame for Sullivan's death because they had been told of the threat of the neighbor’s roaming pit bulls. Lawyers for the animal control officers said they did respond to Sullivan’s calls. (Read the article.

In Tennessee, attorney Wayne A. Ritchie II and I are representing the family of Jennifer Lowe in a similar case. Jennifer was fatally mauled by pit bulls on November 12, 2007. The same dogs had been declared dangerous by the animal control department and, after that, had to be shot at when they attacked a police car. For these and other reasons, we contend that the animal control department contributed to Jennifer's horrifying death because of their failure to confiscate the dogs. One week ago, the judge ruled that our case against animal control was solid on paper (i.e., the court ruled in our favor when government lawyers tried to have the case dismissed prior to the production of evidence at a hearing or trial).

The lesson to animal control agencies throughout the USA: doing your job means taking dangerous dogs off our streets. If you do not do your job, you will be held accountable when people are injured or killed.

A dog owner wrote to me about the terrible behavior of the children who live next door. These are 5 boys who lean over the fence and taunt the man's dog. He fears that his dog is going to bite one of these kids, and wonders what he can do to avoid liability and prosecution of his dog.

For his question and my answer, click on Read More, below.