c. 1950:   "Sugaring" with a Collie dog, Shurtleff Farm, North Bridgewater, Vermont.

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Through the years, people in Vermont have relied on dogs to assist and accompany them in their everyday lives.

While dogs continue to serve in many of their traditional functions, they have also taken on new and unique tasks that enhance the lives of their owners and the community.  Therapy, medical assistance, and search and rescue are only a few of the many services dogs provide to the people of Vermont.

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 lowering the number of reported dog-related injuries nationwide.

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 has only been one dog bite-related fatality in Vermont.

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.

The single fatality in Vermont occurred in 1993, after a three-year-old boy wandered away from his caretaker and over to a female wolf dog who had recently given birth. She attacked the boy as he approached.

There is no recorded incident of a domestic dog killing a person in the state of Vermont.

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Recognized risks in Vermont:

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

In a single year, 2007, three (3) Vermont children died from maltreatment (abuse, neglect).

Over the past 45 years, not a single child has been killed by a domestic dog in the state of Vermont.

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

National Canine Research Council