Media Being Reported On
"If you only know what you hear or read in the media, you really don't know much."
After one too many slanted, misleading, grossly inaccurate or just plain dishonest dog bite reports in the media, we thought it high time to 'pull back the curtain on the wizard' and prove 'the emperor has no clothes.'
The headlines screamed: another ghastly 'pit bull' attack in Ontario. In this case, a Shih Tzu was the intended victim. It's owner, a hapless casualty.
Pretty much every media agency in the region covered the following story. ...Repeatedly. ...Ad nauseam.
"Those awful 'pit bulls'; attacking innocent people and dogs. You never hear of a Labrador or a Golden Retriever involved in these kinds of incidents."
On February 14, 2006, Tarra Barnett was walking her 'pit bull' along Danforth Rd. in Scarborough, when it bolted and attacked a Shih Tzu being walked by its owner. The Shih Tzu didn't survive. Its owner also suffered minor injuries in the attack.
According to neighbours, Ms. Barnett's dog was known to be aggressive. According to witnesses, the 'pit bull' may have been off-leash and unmuzzled prior to the attack.
March 11, 2006, Ms. Barnett was charged with 'unlawfully causing bodily harm' and 'common nuisance', in relation to this incident.
Sounds alright, huh? An important story that deserves reporting.
Well...it would be...if the media was truly unbiased. It is obvious that, like so many stories before it, this one was headline news for some time, because it involved a 'pit bull'. Want proof?
March 2, 2006, two Labrador Retriever mixes, known to be aggressive, were again "terrorizing the neighbourhood" in Port Colborne, Ontario. The two dogs attacked and killed a Pomeranian chained in its yard, then moved on to attack a 'pit bull' before being corralled.
Only two local (Welland area) newspapers carried this story...once. Only a muzzle order for the dogs and talks of a fine were mentioned as possible punishments for the owners. No headlines. No criminal charges. No media blitz.
So, do you still think the media is a reliable source for information? If so, we have a lovely bridge that might interest you.
These two stories are nearly identical. They both involved unprovoked attacks that led to the death of a dog. They both involved dogs with a known history of aggression. They both involved negligent owners. The story involving the 'pit bull' was headline news. The one involving the Labs? Well...it never made any headlines, and is all but forgotten, just a few days afterwards.
The media picks and chooses its stories, not for their "newsworthiness", but for their ability to attract readers/viewers/listeners which, in turn, allows them to claim higher ratings, and charge more for advertising space. It's business. Plain and simple. We've been told outright,
"If it doesn't involve a 'pit bull', it's not 'news'."
In reality, non-'pit bull' dogs are responsible for 90-100% of bites, attacks, and fatalities in Canada. ...But you'll never hear that on the evening news.
In order to provide a more balanced view of dog biting incidents, below is a sampling of stories you probably didn't see reported in the media:
1. March 10, 2006, a Jack Russell Terrier was ordered to attack a man, nearly severing his penis, which was successfully reattached by doctors.
2. March 8, 2006, a 17-month-old was mauled by the family’s Labrador Retriever.
3. March 7, 2006, a police officer shot a Ridgeback mix dog after it attacked another dog and menaced the officer. There was a brief report in the media, in which the owner-confirmed “Ridgeback mix” was described as a “pit bull look-alike”. (Good grief!!!)
4. March 6, 2006, a man and woman were sent to hospital after being attacked by their German Shepherd Dog.
5. March 4, 2006, two Labrador Retriever mixes killed a chained Pomeranian, then attacked a ‘pit bull’, during a neighbourhood wide rampage in Port Colborne, Ontario. The dogs were frequently at-large, and known to be aggressive. No penalties against the dogs’ owner has been announced since the attacks, despite provincial law allowing up to $10,000 in fines, or six months in jail for this kind of offense.
6. March 2, 2006, a 6-year-old girl underwent surgery to repair injuries suffered in an attack by her grandparents’ Husky/Chow mix.
7. March 2, 2006, a Great Dane killed its owner and severely injured her relative, while he was chained to the porch, in a small Texas town.
8. March 1, 2006, a 16-month-old girl was attacked by her family’s St. Bernard.
9. March 1, 2006, a Springer Spaniel suffered severe injuries after being attacked by a mixed-breed, off-leash dog in a conservation area. The owners of the attacking dog refused to identify themselves or offer assistance before fleeing the scene.
10. A police dog, a Belgian Malinois, was accused of excessive force after refusing to let go of a suspect in 2003, only to go on to attack a police officer in October of 2005. In that incident, the dog simply attacked the officer unprovoked while she was guarding evidence at a crime scene. When the officer was unable to shake free, she pulled her weapon and shot the dog. Still, the dead dog’s jaws had to be pried off the officer’s arm.
11. February 26, 2006, an Edmonton boy was mauled by his family’s Golden Retriever, leaving him in serious condition in hospital.
12. February 24, 2006, a St. Bernard/Mastiff mix attacked an American Eskimo dog and its owner.
13. February 22, 2006, an Alabama girl had to undergo hours of surgery to close the gaping wound that exposed the victim’s jaw bone. A Labrador Retriever attacked the girl while she was petting it at a pet expo.
14. February 17, 2006, a third grader required 68 stitches to repair the damage caused by a Golden Retriever that attacked the girl on her way home from school.
15. February 9, 2006, a six-year-old was knocked to the ground and attacked by a roaming Labrador Retriever.
16. February, 2006, a 4-year-old boy had to be placed in a drug induced coma in hospital after being attacked mauled by stray dogs in Waswanipi, Quebec.
17. February, 2006, a man was bitten by one of two Weimaraners being walked by their owner.
18. After several biting incidents, a man’s Border Collies have been deemed “dangerous”. No charges have been filed against the owner.
19. An Alameda County Deputy District Attorney’s mixed breed dog (Lab/Shepherd mix) may be ordered destroyed after numerous biting incidents.
20. A 2-year-old was left with cuts and puncture wounds to the face after being attacked by a Jack Russell Terrier in February, 2006.
21. In February, 2006, an 18-month-old girl was seriously bitten by a relative’s Australian Cattle Dog tied on the property.
22. In February, 2006, a five-year-old boy required 190 stitches to repair damage to his throat after being attacked by 2 German Shepherd Dogs on the owner’s property.
23. February, 2006, a Garden City, Idaho, police officer had to shoot the police dog he was training, after it attacked him and another officer.
24. In early February, 2006, a 2-year-old girl was left with a 15cm long gash after being attacked by her grandmother’s Border Collie.
25. January 26, 2006, a 2-year-old had her jaw broken and most of her lower face torn away in an attack by a dog described only as “a large dog”, in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
26. After no penalties were laid following a biting incident involving a 10-year-old girl and a Chow/GSD mix in December, 2005, the dog bit a second child in January, 2006; disfiguring the boy’s face by tearing away a portion of his lip.
27. In December, 2005, a 90-year-old woman suffered bite wounds and a broken bone in her back while attempting to defend her own dog from attack by a Dalmation.
28. An infant suffered severe head injuries after being attacked by the family’s Golden Retriever in November, 2005.
29. In January, 2006, a woman was critically injured in Del Rey, California, after being attacked by a German Shepherd and a Chow. Police shot and killed the dogs. The owners were not charged.
30. In January, 2006, an 11-year-old girl was savagely attacked in the face, by an Alaskan Malamute, while visiting her friend’s home.
31. A 5-year-old girl was left with severe gashes and 4 missing teeth after being attacked by her grandmother’s chained, mixed breed (non-‘pit bull’) dog.
32. February, 2006, an RCMP police dog has been involved in its second attack, this time the victim was radio host, Paul McMullen.
33. In Boston, in December, 2005, two Boxers mauled a woman so severely, authorities believe she narrowly escaped death, thanks to the assistance of a good Samaritan.
34. In 2004, an Ontario family's Chesapeake Bay Retriever savagely attacked one of their children, leaving over 140 stitches in the child's head and face.
35. In May of 2005, a family's 5-year-old daughter was mauled to death by their two Siberian Huskies.
36. While visiting her grandparents, a 3-year-old girl was mauled by their Golden Retriever.
37. In Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, a child was bitten severely in the face by a non-descript "small dog" she was petting in 2005.
38. In Bedford, it took 3 attacks before a Poodle was declared "vicious" by municipal standards.
39. In 2005, every local media station covered a scuffle between two dogs (one of them being a 'pit bull') yet not one media agency covered an attack that occurred within hours of the doggie dispute, involving the family's own Golden Retriever, and their child left with over 20 stitches to the head and face.
40. A Pomeranian was declared to be a "Dangerous Animal" under municipal statutes, after several aggression incidents.
41. A veterinarian testified, in 2005, that not one of her 'pit bull' patients is aggressive, but several other patients, including several Chihuahuas, are required to be muzzled before they're permitted to enter the clinic.
42. November, 2005, French woman is recipient of world’s first face transplant, after being attacked by a Labrador Retriever.
43. A 2-year-old boy was mauled so viciously by his grandfather's Labrador Retriever in December 2004, he required treatment at two Ontario hospitals. (One television station carried this story in just one broadcast.)
44. A 19-month-old toddler was sent to hospital with injuries to the face and head, after being attacked by her grandmother's Pointer.
45. A neighbour's Labrador Retriever and Dachshund attacked an elderly woman, leaving her in a coma in hospital.
46. Paris Hilton's Chihuahua was involved in an unprovoked bite that witnesses called, "Not a little nip. It was a very nasty bite."
47. The New Mexico politician that called for stricter penalties against the owners of dangerous dogs was mauled by his own dogs, a Boxer and two English Bulldogs.
48. A 4-year-old Nevada girl was attacked late in 2005 by a roaming Labrador Retriever.
49. In 2005, in Georgia, a Jack Russell Terrier so severely damaged its owner's 2-month-old infant's foot in an attack; the poor child's foot had to be amputated.
50. A Golden Retriever was finally put down after a second savage attack on a child. In the first case, the victim was the owner's own child. In the second case, the victim was a child visiting the owner's home, leaving wounds to the cheek and back of the head.
51. In Denver, in late 2005, a police officer was treated for bite wounds after having been bitten by a Miniature Pinscher. The owner was only charged with allowing the dog to be 'at large'.
52. In Rhode Island, in the summer of 2005, a family's Siberian Husky killed their week-old infant in an attack.
53. A two-and-a-half-year-old boy needed 65 stitches to close the gaping wounds caused to his face and cheek, after being attacked by a neighbour's Golden Retriever.
54. A Trenton police officer suffered several bite wounds after being attacked by a German Shorthair Pointer, in July 2005.
55. A family's Great Dane attacked their 2-year-old child, leaving minor wounds to the head and body.
56. In May, 2005, a 7-year-old Colorado girl was killed by her family's Alaskan Malamute.
57. Despite their valiant efforts, doctors were unable to repair the severed nose of a 5-year-old after he was attacked by a neighbour's Dalmation.
58. A 6-week-old infant was in critical condition after being mauled by the family's Dachshund.
59. A neighbour shot a rampaging Lab/Chow mix dog, after it escaped its yard and threatened the public early in October, 2005.
60. Several children were bitten, and one has to undergo rabies shots, after being bitten by a Chihuahua mix that wandered into a schoolyard.
61. In March 2005, postal workers couldn't deliver mail, and residents were afraid to retrieve their mail in one Indiana neighbourhood, where a vicious Chihuahua was allowed to run loose, and terrorize residents. After numerous incidents, and once the dog's conduct had halted mail delivery, the owner was finally cited for allowing the dog to be 'at large'.
62. A 2-year-old boy wandered into his neighbour's yard in mid-August 2005, and was bitten in the face and neck by the Collie/mix chained there.
63. A woman received bites requiring stitches, after being attacked by a Catahoula Leopard Dog.
64. A chained Briard killed an 8-year-old child visiting the owner's property.
65. After his second attack by the same Dalmation, a postal worker described the dog as "the most aggressive dog" he'd come across in 16 years.
66. In July, 2005, a boy finally admitted that his report of being attacked by a 'pit bull' was false. He had actually been attacked by a friend's German Shepherd. He says he filed the false report because he wanted to protect his friend.
67. April, 2005, a 6-year-old boy in St. Joseph, Saskatchewan, had to undergo plastic surgery to repair the damaged caused when he was mauled by a neighbour’s German Shepherd dog.<
Source: GoodPooch.com independent research, asst'd news services, reader input, & understand-a-bull.com
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