The pressure of deadlines and the urge to be "first on the story" creates situations where the media may publish stories before critical facts can be correctly reported.

For example, a newspaper may report causes of death prior to a preliminary autopsy or findings of the coroner. Since 2002, there have been at least eight (8) deaths reported in the news as caused by dogs which were later, following an autopsy, attributed to causes unrelated to dog bites.

Our 2010 Preliminary Report on dog bite-related fatalities also illustrates that accuracy takes time and should not be forced by newspaper deadlines.

The most sensational "dog bite-related fatality" that was not a dog bite-related fatality was the 2007 case of actor Ving Rhames' dogs and the death of his friend Jacob Adams. Here are NCRC Special Reports for two such cases that occurred in 2010:

Special Report on Case Originally Reported as Dog Bite-Related Fatality (SC).

Special Report on Case Originally Reported as Dog Bite-Related Fatality (OH).

Diane Whipple Case

The 2001 dog bite-related fatality involving Diane Whipple in San Francisco was a widely-reported dog bite-related fatality. Had this incident not attracted such keen public interest, as well as resulted in murder charges against the dogs' owners, it is very probable that the dogs involved would have been permanently misidentified.

On January 27, 2001, in its initial reporting, the San Francisco Chronicle identified the dogs as Bullmastiffs. Compounding their error, the Chronicle ran a sidebar to the lead story that introduced that morning's readers to the history of the Bullmastiff, including its function, weight, appearance and disposition.

New developments kept Diane's Whipple's tragedy on the front page. Media outlets across the country picked up the story, including their own identifications of the dogs. The breed identification of the animals migrated through the news cycles: from Bullmastiff to Presa canario / mastiff mixes; and from Presa Canario/mastiff mix to Presa Canario.

The identification even made a brief stop at "pit bull" dog, though it moved on quickly from there, as it labored along the path to a final destination. Nevertheless, the "pit bull" dog stop was remembered by one Illinois paper four years later, when it covered a local incident involving a dog identified as a "pit bull" dog. The Morris Daily Herald went to the trouble of reminding its readership of the Whipple case, and misidentifying the dogs involved as "pit bull" dogs.