Photo credit: Sophia Hall / WCBS 880

"Rescue Dog Saves Family From House Fire in Levittown"

February 24, 2012 – (Levittown, NY)

Shortly after being adopted from a local shelter, Lily the dog saved her family from a house fire. Three family members and a friend were asleep in the home when a fire began in the early morning. The smoke detectors had not yet gone off when Lily woke up all four people in the house and oversaw their escape, delaying her own exit of the home until after everyone else was outside. While the children suffered from minor smoke inhalation, no other serious injuries were reported. Lily’s owner, Timothy Argento, said “the dog saved a life…it was incredible.”

(Prepared in part from a report by CBS New York)

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World Trade Center

New Yorkers love dogs. In New York City alone, an estimated 500,000 dog owners share their lives with 1.4 million dogs.  The City has created over 40 dog parks where dogs can exercise and socialize.

While "man's best friend" has not always been treated kindly by man, New York has the honor of being the state in which the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) was founded.

The first animal fighting laws were written by ASPCA founder Henry Bergh in 1867. These laws made all forms of animal fighting illegal in New York State.

From "Owney,"  the unlikely mascot of the Albany Post Office,  to the dogs that assisted in the aftermath of World Trade Center bombings, dogs have  played many parts in the lives of New Yorkers.

Dogs in New York also 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 . . . even prisons.

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 New York and throughout the nation.

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Larry, a  4-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever, is a therapy dog at the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center.

In 2008, the Center, which investigates incidents of child sexual abuse and provides support services to victims, became the first such facility in the state to adopt a therapy dog. Based on the effect Larry has had so far in child abuse cases, center officials are encouraging other counties to consider bringing similar therapy dogs on board. The dog creates a friendly atmosphere for the children; and investigators have noticed that Larry already has helped young victims talk about their abuse.

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, irrespective of whether or not the interaction involved aggression.

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

First, dog bite numbers reveal that there is no “dog bite epidemic” in New York, 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 drastically lowering the number of reported dog-related injuries in New York and throughout the nation.

In spite of significant increases in the human and dog population, cities and counties in New York have realized extraordinary decreases in the number of reported dog bites from the early 1970s:

Source:  All statistics on NYC reported dog bites:  New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Source:   DH NYC Report:   dog-bites-nyc-1950-19741

Source:  DHNYC Report:  nyc-dh-report-1960-20021 (dog bite numbers, page 5 of document)

National Canine Research Council

Over the past 45 years (1965 - present) there have been 26 dog bite-related fatalities in New York State, an average of one (1) fatality every one to two 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 charged incidents as we can, so that they are calmly, correctly and, therefore, usefully understood. Accuracy takes time.

At least fourteen (14) different breeds/types of dogs have been reported to be involved in these incidents.*

The victims were 9 adults and 17 children.

Nearly half (n=7) of the children killed were infants left unattended with unfamiliar dogs. A number of these infants had been left with dogs that were severely undersocialized, abused or had been encouraged to be aggressive:

• In 1976, a woman left her East Harlem apartment, leaving her 4-day-old infant on the floor along with a severely emaciated, starving dog. (See photo above)
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• Also in 1976, a 14-day-old was left unattended at his grandmother's home with a dog named "Satan."
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• In 1984, a 2-month-old infant was left unattended in a New York City apartment with an intact male dog. The parents/owners admitted the dog was a "trained guard dog."
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Of the other nine (9) of the other children killed , four (4) were unsupervised children encountering chained dogs. For example, in 2007, a young boy wandered out to feed his father's newly acquired, chained dog. The dog, preposterously described in the media as a "family pet," attacked and killed the child. (The photograph below shows that dog and where he was chained.)

A Boy and his dog: A New York tragedy

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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 negligence and inhumanity of some dog owners (and/or parents), dogs still pose an incredibly low risk for causing a fatality in New York:

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

In 2007, ninety-six (96) New York children died as the result of maltreatment (abuse/neglect).

In the single year 2007, more than five times as many New York children died as a result of 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 York State routinely accept far greater risks from ATV's, bicycles and swimming pools than any that are associated with companion animals.

National Canine Research Council