Another Pitbull attack victim as a patient, this one a 10 year old. The dogs involved in the attack were family pets. The kid was in the back yard when the two dogs decided to attack, the mother heard a commotion, and went outside. They drove the kid past the hospital that was 5 minutes from their house, and came to mine, which is located 30 minutes further away.
The child’s mother told me that this isn’t the first time these dogs have bitten a family member. While working on the report to animal control (which we are required to file for all animal bites) no one in the family could remember their address. They all claimed to not know it because they had just moved. Out of the four adults and 7 children who lived in the house, not one of them knew their address.
When we went to administer the nasal Versed to begin the stitches, the kid refused and fought us. The mother told us that the kid has a right to refuse, and told us to do it with just a local. So we started. We did the stitches in one arm, and the kid screamed and thrashed the entire time, with me holding down the arm. It took 12 stitches and a good amount of Lidocaine. There were still bites to the other arm, a leg, the neck, and the fact that a 6 inch wide segment of his scalp had been mostly ripped off to deal with.
It was at that point that I told the Doctor that we needed to do moderate sedation. She agreed, and I told her that it would take me 5 or 10 minutes to get all of the prep work done. There is paperwork, consents, an IV that needs to be obtained, and calling respiratory therapy to get done. While all of that was going on, I called CFS and reported the family. Too many red flags, and I didn’t think it was safe for the kid at home. Nurses are mandatory reporters. CFS told me that the family had a thick file, filled with stories of drug abuse, neglect, and physical abuse. I have no problems making a call to protect kids. Any comment to this that takes me to task for making that call will go into the trash bin.
In all, it took more than 80 stitches and 30 staples to put this kid back together. When the family found out that I had called CFS, they were furious and began making threats.
Pitbulls are vicious, dangerous animals. Every animal bite that I have ever treated where the damage was more than a puncture or two has been a Pitbull. Every one. This is my second patient this month who has been attacked by one of those dogs. I know that there are readers of this blog who tell you “Not my pittie. It’s all in how you raise them, mine is a gentle sweetheart.” They mostly are, until they aren’t. Then you have a mutilated kid. It’s a living thing, it has a mind of its own, and pitbulls are known to be vicious.
The facts are what they are: despite being only 6% of the dog population, Pitbulls are responsible for 69% of fatalities caused by dogs.
- During the 15-year period of 2005 to 2019, canines killed 521 Americans. Two dog breeds, pit bulls (346) and rottweilers (51), contributed to 76% (397) of these deaths. 35 different dog breeds were involved in the remaining fatal dog maulings.
- In 2019, pit bulls (33) accounted for 69% of all dog bite-related deaths.
- Mixed-breeds had the second highest death rate in 2019, involved in 6 deaths; with 50% of these being pit bull mixes.
In a move that makes me feel like I am working on a scholarly paper for an evidence based medicine project at work instead of a blog, there are demands that I provide scholarly sources. I hope no one minds that they are not in APA format:
“Unlike an ordinance which generally prohibits the keeping of a ‘vicious dog,’ enforcement of which involves questions of fact whether the particular dog is vicious or known by its owner to be vicious,” the
breed-specific ordinance in question relies “on the subjective understanding of . . . officers of the appearance of an ill-defined ‘breed,’ leaving dog owners to guess” at the prohibited appearance, breed, or conduct.”
- It is this confusion that allows Pitbull enthusiasts to cloud the issue.
- In American Dog Owners Ass’n v. Dade County, the court settled on breed standards being descriptions of the ideal phenotype or physical appearance of a dog and that the American Kennel Club (AKC) breed “standards at issue describe the pit bull dog” (or rather the American Staffordshire Terrier or Staffordshire Bull Terrier) “as well as words can do.”
- For the above reasons, the legal definition can be vague: Pit bull means a Pit Bull Terrier, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, an American Staffordshire Terrier, and American Pit Bull Terrier or a member of a class of dogs that have an appearance and physical characteristics that are substantially similar to dogs referred to in this definition.
- However, we all know what a Pitbull is.
- Dog fatality statistics were obtained from the CDC Wonder Database.
- Breed Specific information was obtained here
- There is also a Forbes article
- Incidence of Dog Bite Injuries Treated in Emergency Departments, From JAMA 1998
- There are also my anecdotal observations that EVERY dog bite in the ED that I have seen over the past 30+ years that resulted in serious injury has involved a Pitbull
