"Luke" is part of the Iowa City R.E.A.D. Program, which encourages
children to read.

Photo: Adina Hemley/The Daily Iowan

Therapy, medical assistance, search and rescue, and reading-assistance are only a few of the many services dogs such as Luke provide to the people of Iowa.

Unfortunately, as Luke and so many other dogs like him perform their valuable, life-enhancing functions, the media spotlight on a dog attack can create the false impression that dogs pose a significant threat to the community. This type of sensationalized publicity, combined with a lack of knowledge about the infrequency and causes of dog attacks, has resulted in reactive and uniformed policies directed against certain types of dogs.

More than 50 counties, cities and towns in Iowa, more communities than any other state, have banned or restricted at least eleven (11) different breeds/ types of dogs, in the profoundly mistaken belief that the appearance of a dog governs its behavior . . . or the behavior of its owner.

There have only been three fatal dog attacks in Iowa over the past 45 years. Clearly, no dogs of any breed or type have ever been a significant cause of mortality in Iowa.

Today, dogs contribute more to the welfare of individuals and society than perhaps any other time in the history of the human-dog bond. Additionally, over the past three decades, increased awareness humane care and control, the enactment and enforcement of leash laws, and dog bite prevention education, have all been instrumental in drastically lowering the number of reported dog-related injuries in Iowa and throughout the nation.

Unfortunately, many communities in Iowa have chosen to decide the value of dogs, and their fate, based solely on appearance, without regard to the significant contribution they make to our lives.

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Iowa Dog Who Saved Farmer's Life Enters Hall of Fame

Loren and Dianna Engelbrecht of Fredericksburg always thought their dog, H.J., was a pretty good dog

When Loren Engelbrecht had a heart attack, his pup came to the rescue

June 2, 2009 By Dennis Magee / Courier

It's known as a "widow maker" — a 100 percent blockage of the coronary artery that generally leaves its victims with a 50 percent chance of survival. Unless you happened to be the proud owner of a Weimaraner named H.J., short for Herman Jr.

Two years ago Easter Sunday, Loren Engelbrecht, 61, woke up in the middle of the night feeling ill, so he took a walk through his house, joined by his constant companion, H.J. While watching TV, he suddenly collapsed. "It was 1 a.m., my wife was sleeping and I had a heart attack and couldn't move, couldn't speak," Loren, a Fredericksburg, Iowa, farmer told PEOPLE Pets.

Enter the 105-lb. H.J. "He went into the bedroom and hit my wife with a paw, and when she didn't wake up, he whacked her again," said Engelbrecht, chuckling. Dianna finally awoke and noticed her husband wasn't in bed but that the lights were on in the other room. She then found Loren struggling to survive and called 911 for help.

H.J. followed his owner until medics put him in the ambulance and sped off. "I surely would have died right there without H.J.," says Engelbrecht.

Last month the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association recognized the devoted dog with an induction into the Iowa Animal Hall of Fame. "He did his part," wife Dianna told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier of H.J.

Four years ago, it was a twist of fate that led the Engelbrechts to H.J. They had lost their other pet Weimaraner, Herman, when after he was left accidentally in a locked truck by an employee and was asphyxiated. At the time, their veterinarian urged the despondent farmer, "Don't go home without a dog." That's when the Engelbrechts got H.J. "It turned out to be a blessing," says Loren. Now H.J. rides with him in his truck, his paw resting on his master's shoulder, and he has taught himself to open the doors in the house. "We're like buds," says Engelbrecht.

Nowadays, H.J. can't get enough of the attention, which included a catered awards ceremony last month attended by 500 people. All the admiration has left him "a pampered pup," says Engelbrecht jokingly. "He's losing his hair he's getting petted so much!"

National Canine Research Council

What is a dog bite?

While the question seems simple enough, the answer is often not what we imagine.

Dog bite numbers offer little useful information about canine behavior. Dog bite numbers are simply a tally of the number of people who sought medical treatment and/or reported a break in skin after exposure to a dog's nail or tooth – or in other words, the number of people injured interacting with a dog. The interaction may or may not have involved aggression on the part of the dog.

If dog bite numbers offer little useful information about canine aggression, then what can Iowa dog bite numbers really tell us about canine / human interaction?

Most importantly, dog bite numbers reveal that there is no "dog bite epidemic" in Iowa. On the contrary, the available evidence indicates that dog-related injuries in the state have steadily decreased over the past three decades.

Increased awareness of the importance of humane care and control, the enactment and enforcement of leash laws, and dog bite prevention education, have all been instrumental in drastically lowering the number of reported dog-related injuries in Iowa, and nationwide.

Despite significant increases in the human and dog population, health department data shows a significant decrease in dog-related injuries in recent years as compared with the 1970s:

Source: Des Moines-Polk County Health Department

National Canine Research Council

Over past 45 years (1965-present) there have been four (4) dog bite-related fatalities in Iowa, an average of one fatality every 10+ years.

NCRC's 2011 Preliminary Report on Dog Bite-Related Fatalities illustrates the challenge of accurately reporting on these extremely rare, tragic events. Our mission of preserving the human-canine bond obligates us to be as accurate about these emotionally charge incidents as we can, so that they are calmly, correctly and, therefore, usefully understood. Accuracy takes time.

Different breeds/types of dogs were reported to be involved in these incidents.*

The victims were: 1 adult and 3 children.

In 1990: A 7-year-old girl was killed by her grandfather's farm dog.

In 2002: A two-year-old child entered a pen where a dog was chained.

In 2010: A 79-year-old Ida Grove woman was attacked and killed inside her home by her guard dog.

In 2011: A 3-year-old girl was killed by two dogs in Delaware County.

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*Note: In recent years, scientists have established that visual identification of dogs of unknown origin is extremely unreliable; therefore, while we can be sure these listed incidents involved varied types of dogs, we cannot be certain of the accuracy of most breed identifications.

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Dog attacks are a negligible cause of mortality in Iowa:

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

In 2007, five (5) Iowa children died as result of maltreatment (abuse / neglect).

In the single year of 2007, more Iowa children died from maltreatment than the total of all children killed by dogs in the state over the past 45 years.

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Fact is, people in Iowa routinely accept far greater risks from ATVs, bicycles and swimming pools than any that are associated with companion animals.

National Canine Research Council