Dogs are even used to encourage automobile safety. Buck, the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department dog pictured above, reminds motorists to "buckle up."

New Jersey has been home to a number of dogs that gained national attention for their service, their antics, or simply because Americans have always taken delight in the companionship of dogs.

"The Seeing Eye," headquartered in Morristown, is the oldest guide dog school in the nation.  Since 1929, it has matched more than eleven thousand trained guide dogs with visually impaired men and women.

In 1938, the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Campbell adopted a mixed-breed puppy. The dog, appropriately named Sinbad, sailed on board the Campbell throughout World War II; and Coast Guard officials commented the dog saw "much action, both at sea and at port."  Sinbad served faithfully for eleven years before  retiring to the Barnegat Light Station.

Above and beyond their place as family companions and  in traditional service occupations, dogs in New Jersey 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.

Today, dogs contribute more to the welfare of individuals and society than perhaps at 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, 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 nationwide.

 Sinbad with his shipmates

National Canine Research Council

What is a dog bite?

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

Over 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 lowering the number of reported dog-related injuries nationwide.

National Canine Research Council

Over the past 45 years (1965-present) there have been eight (8) dog bite-related fatalities in New Jersey,  an average of one fatality every five to six 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 five (5) different breed/types of dogs have been reported to be involved in these incidents.*

The victims were 1 adult and 7 children.

More than half (n=4) of the children were infants left unattended with unfamiliar dogs.

Number of dog bite-related fatalities per decade in New Jersey:

• 1970-1979:           3
• 1980-1989:           1
• 1990-1999:           2
• 2000-2009:           2
• 2010-present:       0
•  

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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 negligent ownership practices of some dog owners and parents, dogs still pose an incredibly low risk for causing a fatality in New Jersey:

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

In 2007, thirty-three (33) New Jersey children died as the result of maltreatment (abuse/neglect).

In the single year 2007, more than four times as many New Jersey 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 New Jersey routinely accept far greater risks from ATVs, bicycles and swimming pools than any that are associated with companion animals.

National Canine Research Council