"Sheepherder Inside his Wagon with Dog"

Courtesy: Buffalo Bill Historical Society, Cody, WY. *

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Throughout the years many people in Wyoming have relied on dogs to assist in everyday life and to provide companionship.

While dogs continue to serve in many of their traditional functions, dogs 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 Wyoming.

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.

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* Photo by Charles J. Belden (1887-1966). The image of a sheepherder and his dog listening to a radio inside a covered wagon conveys the close relationship humans and dogs have shared in Wyoming. In this case, a herding dog offers companionship to his owner after a day's hard work.

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 three (3) dog bite-related fatalities in Wyoming; an average of one (1) fatality every 15 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 three (3) different breeds/types of dogs were reported to be involved in these incidents.*

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

All three cases involved owner negligence or abuse, and/or unsupervised children.

In 1979, two loose roaming dogs attacked a 5-year-old boy playing in an alley in Cheyenne.

In 1985, a two-month-old Evanston infant was left unattended with a dog inside a trailer.

In 2001, a 1-year-old girl wandered over to a visibly emaciated, chained dog. The owners were charged with involuntary manslaughter. In addition to the intact male dog which attacked the child, there was also a female with puppies on the site. (Photo below)

The male dog had weighed 110 lbs. when he was obtained by new owners in August 2001. Three months later, at the time he attacked and killed the unsupervised toddler, he had lost nearly half of his body weight and was chained to the side of a trailer with a choke collar. His food and water bowls can be seen in this photograph. Both are empty and upside down in the dust.

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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/or reckless behavior of some dog owners, dogs still pose an incredibly low risk for causing a fatality in Wyoming:

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

National Canine Research Council