Thumper & Tom Clements: Dog Disc Entertainers

The famous saying,

"A man's best friend is his dog" originated in Missouri.

Above and beyond their place as family companions and in traditional service occupations, dogs in Missouri serve in an ever-widening spectrum of therapeutic roles. The physical and emotional benefits to humans that come from relationships with dogs are now recognized and utilized by psychiatric facilities, assisted living centers, hospitals, schools and even prisons.

While serious attacks by dogs are very rare, the intense media coverage that may accompany such an incident can mislead the public and/or lawmakers into imagining that dogs pose a significant threat to the community. Sensationalized publicity, combined with a lack of understanding of the infrequency of dog attacks, and of their causes, has resulted in reactive and uniformed policies directed against certain types of dogs.

Over 20 communities and cities in Missouri have banned or restricted eight 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.

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 of the importance of humane care and control of dogs, the enactment and enforcement of leash laws, and dog bite prevention education, have all been instrumental in drastically reducing the number of reported dog-related injuries in Missouri and throughout the nation.

A Man's Best Friend: The Story of "Old Drum"

Tribute to "Old Drum" in front of the County Courthouse

The now-famous saying "a man's best friend is his dog" originated in Warrensburg, Missouri.

In 1870, Senator George Graham Vest, in his closing argument on behalf of his client Charles Burden, delivered a "eulogy to the dog." Burden's favorite dog, Old Drum, had been shot by a neighbor, Leonidas Hornsby, who had sworn to kill any dog that came onto his property. Although Hornsby knew Old Drum and acknowledged him to be one of the best hunting dogs he had ever seen, he nevertheless carried out his threat, shooting Old Drum when he roamed into his yard.

Burden sued Hornsby for damages, and the trial quickly become one of the strangest in Missouri. Each man was determined to win. The appeals process carried the case all the way to the state's Supreme Court. Burden was awarded $50 in damages for the loss of Old Drum. Vest's closing argument to the jury, which has resulted in a trial verdict in Burden's favor, is reprinted in part below. It is a fitting tribute to all dogs.

Gentlemen of the Jury:

"The best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it the most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog.

A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that encounters the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens."

"If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies. When the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death."

Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce, with the assistance of dog lovers from across the country, immortalized Old Drum in a statue on the Johnson County Courthouse lawn in Warrensburg, on September 23, 1958.

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; in other words, the number of people that have been injured interacting with a dog, whether or not the interaction involved aggression.

So, if dog bite numbers provide little useful information about canine aggression, then what can Missouri dog bite numbers really tell us about canine / human interaction?

Dog bite numbers reveal that there is no "dog bite epidemic" in Missouri, and that all types of dog-related injuries have dramatically decreased in the past 3 decades.

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

Despite significant increases in the human and dog population, cities and counties in Missouri have seen steady decreases in the number of reported dog bites from the early 1970s:

Source: 1975 Public Health Report, The Ecology of Dog Bite Injury in St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Louis Animal Regulation Center

National Canine Research Council

Over the past 45 years (1965 - present) there have been 14 dog bite-related fatalities in Missouri, an average of one (1) fatality every three (3) years.

NCRC's 2010 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 charged incidents as we can, so that they are calmly, correctly and, therefore, usefully understood. Accuracy takes time.

At least nine (9) different breeds/types of dogs have been reported to be involved in these incidents.*

The victims were 4 adults and 10 children.

All ten (10) children were unsupervised or alone when they were attacked by a dog(s).

Half the child victims were killed by dogs maintained on chains or inside pens.

None of the dogs involved in dog bite-related fatalities in Missouri had been spayed or neutered by their owners.

In 2001, a 10-year-old boy was attacked and killed by loose dogs in Ivory Perry Park. His mother had seen him leave the house at 5:00 p.m. and did not "notice" he never returned home until police arrived at her doorstep the next morning to notify her that her son had been killed.

In 2002, a 5-year-old Lebannon boy was visiting a neighbor's home and wandered into the backyard. He approached a chained, intact male dog and was attacked and killed. Although the media reported the dog to be a "pit bull," animal control identified the dog as a mixed breed.

In 2003, T. Swindler received a 1-year sentence for endangering the welfare of a child after her 3-year-old son climbed into the pen of the resident dog, which attacked and killed him. Autopsy results revealed the child had both human and canine bite marks on him.

In 2007, a St. Louis woman was killed by her son's dog that she had taken into her home. The dog had severely injured her several months prior to the fatal attack.

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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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In spite of the abusive and dangerous ownership practices of some dog owners and parents, dogs still pose an incredibly low risk for causing a fatality in Missouri:

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

In 2007, 50 Missouri children died as a result of maltreatment (abuse/neglect).

In the single year of 2007, 5 times as many Missouri children died from maltreatment as the total of all children killed by dogs in the state over the past 45 years.

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

National Canine Research Council