Dogsbite.org Dogbite "Statistics" - The Fox Guarding the Henhouse?

Dogsbite.org Dogbite "Statistics" - The Fox Guarding the Henhouse?

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Category: Dogsbite.org

Published on Monday, 26 March 2012 18:01

Written by Jo Staats

Dogsbite.org A "Victim" Advocacy Group

Special Interest Adocacy Groups Statistics Objective? 

Dogsbite.org is a "victim" advocacy group founded by Colleen Lynn.  Its goal is to advocate on behalf of Breed Specific Legislation by lobbying legislators, aggressive internet advocacy, and most importantly, creating dog bite statistics that meet their agenda. PBLN previously highlighted the overall lack of objectivity at dogsbite.org here. This article will discuss why dogsbite.org statistics lack scientific basis, and how mainstream organizations have discredited attempts to create breed specific dog bite data.  Relying on dogsbite.org bite statistics, is like allowing the fox to guard the henhouse.

CDC Says Breed Dog Bite Statistics Cannot Be Measured

Since the late 1990's the Center for Disease Control ceased tracking dog bites by breed/type, as it was their determination that such studies do "not identify specific breeds that are most likely to bite or kill, and thus is not appropriate for policy making decisions related to the topic....There is currently no accurate way to identify the number of dogs of a particular breed, and consequently no measure to determine which breeds are likely to bite or kill." Makes a little sense; if you don't know the total number of dogs in a breed, you can't create a percentage of the number of dog bites per breed.

So where are recent statistics generated from that are often published in news stories today? More importantly, how are they obtained? Is there any science behind the methodology of compiling these bite statistics by breed/type?

Who is Merritt Clifton And What Are His Credentials?

Most news stories obtain their Pro-BSL statistics from dogsbite.org. As noted above, Colleen Lynn started this anti-pitbull blog in 2007 as a result of what she decribed as a vicious pit bull attack.  PBLN has previously reported on the evolution of this preventable accident into the myth of vicious pit bull attack.  Initially, Lynn compiled her dog bite data from a study done by Merritt Clifton. Nobody has any idea what his raw data was, and none of his statistics are consistent with what independent peer reviewed research shows. He has no qualifications to do scientific research into dog behavior. Out of all the dog bite reports and information available in 2008, including the CDC and AVMA, Lynn chose Merritt Clifton's self published unscientific and uncredentialed report? Yes. It is the only report that agrees with the agenda of DBO.

DBO Fatal Dog Attack List Number Conflicts With CDC

Lynn has complied a Fatal Dog Attack list which includes 130 fatal dog attacks in the United States between 1900 - 2004. The problem with this list?  The CDC shows 300 human dog fatalities between 1979 - 1996. Thus the 100 year DBO list has less than half of the total number of bites than the CDC 17 year list.  Which list comes from a more objective source?

Identification of A Pit Bulls In Attacks Misrepresented

Lynn admits she has no expertise in dog behavior, identification, or dog bites. She is simply a web designer. So how does she decide what dog to put in the pit bull category? As many as possible?

PBLN has already exposed the Philadelphia case where news sources unanimously agreed they had initially misrepresented the breed involved in a fatal attack: it was not a pit bull but a Cane Corso. DBO's response? The ASPCA conspired to change the breed to Cane Corso.  Did this attack end up as a fatal pit bull attack in the statistics?

This is not the only case of misrepresenting the breed of dog involved in an attack.  In looking at DBO's historical attack list linked to actual media stories, one can quickly find stories that list the breed of dog as English Bull Dog, Boxer, or Boxer mix. Others fail to list the breed of dog at all, other than to identify it as a mixed breed.  Yet all of them are classified under the pit bull breed.

There are numerous examples of editorialization by Lynn when the breed of dog does not support her agenda. "It couldn't be more clear that Harrison is dealing with a pit bull owner and his dog" after a Hyannis ME resident reported he was bitten by a black lab.

In another story, Lynn reports a 2 year old child was air-lifted after a pit bull attack stating, "Pit bulls were selectively bred to attack; they do not need a reason." Yet the child was attacked by shepherd mix dog, not a pit bull.  

Historical List Mistaken or Intentionally Slanted?

PBLN made a  cursory effort to confirm the information contained in the "historical list." There were errors. Were they simple mistakes or an intentional slanting of the facts to support an agenda?

• Court documents proved that an attack on an Illinois jogger in 2003 did not involve a pit bull dog;
   
• A New Jersey resident did not die as a result of a dog attack according to a medical examiner's report and the dogs who were initially suspected of killing the resident were returned to their owner;
   
• A 2001 account of a pit bull actually involved English Bulldogs according to a report from Animal Care and control;
   
• A young victim that DBO says was killed in a pit bull attack in 2001 actually strangled by the tether of the dog, not the dog itself;
   
• A Florida case from 2000 involving a toddler is on Lynn's list. According to the Alachua County Sheriff incident report obtained by PBLN, "the dog which bit the victim, a Labrador/mastiff/rottweiller mixed breed name RED, was in fact NOT a pit bull."
   
• A case of a young child in California involving an unchained Rottweiler was incorporated by Lynn on her list based on Merritt Clifton's report;
   
• A fatality for SC was listed by DBO as a pit bull. In fact, a report issued by the Fairfield County Sheriff's office, the Clemson Veterinary Diagnostic Center conducted a necropsy on the dog and clearly described it as a mixed breed;
   
• Alexandria Reeves, a 4 day old infant, is on the list as the victim of a fatal dog attack. However, the San Jose Mercury News and Houston Chronicle Archives stated the victim was treated for cuts and bruises at a nearby hospital and released, according to Lt. Robert Armstrong.
   
• Let's not forget the Cane Corso classified as a pit bull in conspiracy with the ASPCA discussed above.

In all, more than 17 cases were confirmed not be be a pit bull or inconclusive as the breed or type of dog.  In one case the victim did not die from the dog attack, and in one instance, the attack was not related to the dog at all.

Conclusion: If The CDC Can't Do-Neither Can DBO

PBLN's investigation was not intended to be exhaustive or complete.  It was an effort to illustrate that major problems exist in the methodology of DBO regarding correctly identifying the dog breed involved and the cause of the incident. 

Further, the discrepancy between the CDC report of the total number of incidents compared to the DBO list, shows a major shortcoming in the reliablity of the list. The CDC is a major governmental agency with no interest in the outcome. How is it that DBO can scientifically and reliably state the number percentage of pit bull related attacks, when nobody knows how many pitbulls or the total number of any breed of dog? 

The CDC has concluded it can't be done.  Not even worth tracking.

If the Center for Disease Control can't do it, what special expertise does Colleen Lynn and DBO have that the CDC doesn't? How can they scientifically and reliably compete with the resources of the CDC?

When DBO adequately answers this question, they might make a step toward credibility.