Hi All,

For my undergraduate dissertation my topic is the news coverage of dangerous dogs and whether or not the tabloid papers contributed towards a moral panic.

What I need is 5-6 solid case studies on memorable or high profile dangerous dog cases were HUMANS have been attacked and/or killed by dogs.

I have a few already but just wondered which ones in particular stood out in your minds?

Josh

There was the case I think in London last year possibly where a persons guide dog was attacked. It happened going down to either train or tube station, that was high profile..
You'll find that the high profile cases will always have a certain type of dog because as we know a breed like a Goldie for instance won't make headline news.. Is this what you mean they target certain breeds and types?

Josh you may want to contact my ex husband as he was one of the canine journalists at the forefront of the DDA when it was brought in, he was writing for both dog papers, was interviewed on radio and TV about it, knew the people involved in all the high profile cases (owners and solicitors and witnesses) etc. Contact me privately if you want his e-mail address.

Oh and as for attacks on humans that stands out -it was Frank Tempest and Rukshana Khan that directly led to the DDA being brought into being.

This is one story that's always stayed in my mind, the parents were bitten and the youngest son was about to be attacked when his dog jumped in front of the pitbull.

This may be of help.

It's a list of publicised attacks on people, inlcuing fatalities, by dogs. It doesn't appear to be a complete list, but may give some starting points for you. It contains snippets from press reports, photos, dates & names.

^ that is a harrowing link ML, I haven't seen it before, I couldn't even make it half way down the page, all those kids with horrific injuries :(

there was one i used for my sperlist project in to the DDA its was a case of an elderly owner who's rotti attacked him, all the papers were throwing about the devil dog kills owner titles but acording to the witnesses the man fell and the dog was licking and pulling at him and the man could only wave the one arm. Someone even said it looked like the dog was trying to get his owner up off the floor. The owner died in hospital and later on a post mortum results came back that the owner had had a stroke and that was what caused it all not the dog sudenly turning on him.

Heres a site on it with the story from a few diffrent papers. at the end is the one story about the post mortum results.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/27612569/Man-Killed-by-Rottweiler-Did-the-media-report-fear-or-facts

Like that link very much JoStockbridge.

I'm sorry chaumsong, I should have warned that the photos were graphic.

As josh is doing a paper on the way the media portray these attacks, I felt I should point out somthing.

In the link I put up, there is one attack "Dog savages girl outside school gates". I know who that girl is and the school is the one my own children whent to. That girl is the reason I stopped taking Buster there for socialisation.
The report of her attack states 'she approached the dog' which seems innocent enough, but if you see how the girl really 'appraoches' dogs, it's suprising she has only been attacked once. She was attacked by the collie cross before I started taking Buster to the school, so one would have hoped she had learned a lesson from her horrible experience, sadly that is not the case.
I would take Buster with me to pick up my boys. We'd wait outside the gate, which opened onto a road. Kids & parents would walk out of the gate and follow the path, I would wait the other side of the narrow road with Buster, so we weren't in anybodies way. The little girl came out of the school, spotted Buster and ran over the road, screaming in delight, arms outstretched, and before I could do anything about it, she had flung herself at Buster and bear-hugged him around the neck. I told her that she should never approach a dog like that, but she tried to do the same thing the following day, again with her drippy mother ahead of her giving little correction. Buster didn't appear bothered by it, but I stopped taking him as it seemed too likely that being repeatedly greeted like that may end up giving him a bad/wrong association with children.

I do wonder how many of these poor children that have been mauled, despite it being reported that they didn't do anything wrong, actually have actively provoked the attacks (eg. OTT behaviour that is completely unsuitable behaviour to be dealing with a dog). Don't get me wrong, a child can't be held responsible for thier behaviour, even if they know how they should behave around dogs, thay are impulsive and tend not to think of consequences. It's very much down to the adults around them to ensure they are safe. But, I really don't think the press put enough emphasis on where the blame may really lie in these cases and so the press never manage to educate the readers into how to avoid thier own children being attacked.

Another thing I note is that the only owner that has been killed by thier own dog (in the list I linked to), was the elderly chap that was not actually killed by his dog, his rottie was trying to revive him and then seemed to go too far and maul him. Us owners can behave in ways with our dogs that other people - even other family members for some things- may not be able to do safely. I think too many people see how thier dogs behave with them and think that behaviour automatically translates to every other person the dog may meet, when that is simply not the case.

ETA Also not enough people realise that thier dog can act very differently when the owner is not present.

When i was a kid my mother would tell me off if i aproached a dog liek that mastifflover, that was a story in wales where a girl got bitten by a collie but she had actualy caused the attack, the first news story was that the kids did nothing and th edog went up to them and bit them but it later came out that the dog was tied up and the kids were teasing it but putting fishing nets over its head, the owner told them to stop and the dog bit one of them. Poor dog got put down for it.


What gets me is that rotti that was trying to help its ower was branded a devil dog yet the lab that rip half its owners face off no one seemed cared about, it was in the papers because she recived the worlds first partial face transplant and the fact that her dog did it was only mentioned in a sentance. Im think one said it was a simmaler thing, she has stopped breathing propperly and the dog started biting her face. But still a lab does it and it gets a sentance in an artical and a rotti does it and its frount page news of the evil dog.

I might need to dig for it (but can supply newspaper name etc) but I did see one very neutral news repost about a dog attack not long ago in my local. It really stood out as being so.

A child was bitten by a dog at a local fete and did need stitches (paper said possible plastic surgery). The dog (springer I think) was tied to a fence near a bouncy castle at a village event and was left there for 2 hrs. Allegedly earlier on the child with mother had gone up to the dog and child had stroked it. It seems that later on, child with mother present tried the same again and the dog bit child's face.

Police did not press charges at all, it was very much a subdued and non-sensationalist report. Sensible reporting, sensible policing, insensible dog owner and insensible parent. Won't make any headlines.

Didn't of course explain WHY same dog reacted later on - WE all know why - but it would have been the icing on the cake of a fair assessment of the event if so, and given less dog-savvy readers some food for thought.

Idiots do still abound, in droves. Only yesterday I saw a woman with a Staffy, a nice easy-going friendly dog giving out all the right signals - take it over on lead to another dog tied up outside a shop. Tied up dog appeared friendly (appeasing) at first, but of course the inevitable happened - brief nose sniff with tails wagging, then the tied up dog ferociously launched itself at the Staff.

Owners withdrew.... and I could clearly see by THEIR body language that they hadn't got a clue why that had happened, were genuinely upset, and of course they'd go away blaming it on the poor defenceless, tethered dog unable to escape, thinking it was "vicious" and should be wearing a muzzle or at least reported as dangerous.

*sigh*

[And as an aside, I don't even really want to comment on the student on the bus this afternoon - while my dog was happily being fussed by his friend, he suddenly decided to say TSSSST! for no reason at all. The fact my dog ignored it is irrelevant - this is something that has seeped into the collective consciousness, and it gives me the willies!]

Hi All,

This has really helped as I need to narrow down my research to coverage of five or so cases and the only ones I could think of were John Paul Massey, the lady who was attacked by the Anatalonian Shepherd dogs (A breed I met at DD this year and fell in love with) and the recent elderly lady who was 'attacked' by her daughters pack of dogs.

Marianne, I'm really grateful for the offer but my research really doesn't allow for any 'qualitative' research (interviews etc) it is going to be a news analysis of key words and phrases etc. If I ever take my research further I will get in touch, though.

Josh

I have no idea where I read this story but it has stuck in my mind as an example of dogs and children. The family dog "turned" and bit the child. When it was put down they found a pencil in its ear.