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Tragedy in Camden, New Jersey

May 01, 2008, 12:22 MT

By Jennifer S Hayes

Unneutered, chained dog attacks child.

Unneutered, chained dog attacks child.

By Jennifer Hayes, Best Friends Staff

Emmanuel Cruz felt sorry for Cain, the dog living next door, who remained chained every day until around 8:00 or 9:00 in the evening. He would take time to pet the dog, give him treats, and would always buy an extra bone when shopping for his own dogs. “It’s just the way they brought him up, not so much attention and always outside in the yard, so he tends to bark at everybody who goes by,” noted Cruz.

The barking would attract the neighborhood children who would antagonize Cain by throwing eggs and trash at him. Cruz noted that Cain had broken free of his chain previously; however, this time when the dog got free a young boy went to go retrieve him. Cruz was outside and saw Cain jump up once as though he was trying to play; but then bit the child. Cruz intervened and separated the two. The nine-year old child required hospitalization and over 100 stitches

“I was shocked,” said Cruz who said that Cain had never showed signs of aggression. Yet, this type of story happens all too often with chained, unneutered dogs.

A press release issued only last month by Mothers Against Dog Chaining stated, “Dogs that spend their lives on chains often become neurotic, aggressive and pathologically protective of the patch of dirt where they spend their lives. Frustrated and unsocialized, chained dogs pose a year-round danger to unsuspecting children who approach these dogs. However, children are especially vulnerable in the springtime.”

Carla Anderson, his guardian, is unaware of what caused Cain’s reaction, though admitted it was “Maybe from the teasing, little boys sometimes they teased him and messed with him. Maybe that could have triggered something, I don’t know. I’m sorry, I just don’t know. I feel very, very bad.”

An animal lover with two dogs of his own, Cruz stated, “It’s a really sad thing, I’m happy that the kid is okay and I’m happy that I was there to stop it from becoming a worse situation. I wouldn’t want to see something bad happen to Cain over something that could have been avoidable.”

Education is the key
Cynthia Bathurst is the Principal Director of Safe Humane Chicago and Best Friends Animal Society National Director of Project Safe Humane, a program which is based on “understanding animal behavior and getting people and animals to interact well.”

Bathurst notes that according to the research done by Karen Delise, author of Fatal Dog Attacks and The Pit Bull Placebo, there are three factors that contribute to fatal or severe dog attacks;
1. The reproductive status of the canine – intact dogs tend to be more aggressive than those who are spayed or neutered. They are responsible for 97% of the canine caused fatalities (the other 3% had other issues, including medical conditions).
2. Function of the dog – was the dog treated as a pet or did he serve another purpose, such as guard, breeding stock, or a yard dog? 75% of the dogs who caused fatal attacks on people were not kept as pets.
3. Interaction between guardian and dog – does the dog get much socialization with people? 84% of guardians of dogs who caused a fatality kept the dog chained, penned, or allowed them to roam, either neglected or abused them, or allowed unsupervised interaction with children.

In Cain’s case, Bathurst noted, “It was an unneutered dog and that means it’s also going to want to roam. It was chained; therefore it wanted to get out of that situation. It was being attacked and wanted to protect itself. The fact that the dog ran away means that the dog was trying to get out of the situation. Then all of a sudden it became animal behavior, it was being chased or it was going to have to stop and to protect itself. So then it became a matter of socialization too, because it’s not used to being around children and being suddenly free, and was also being attacked itself.”

She further notes that “part of Project Safe Humane is to teach people how to approach dogs, how to behave around dogs, how you interact safely and humanely.” Children are taught to:
• Never approach a chained dog
• Never tease a dog
• If an unfamiliar dog comes toward you, never approach the dog, but instead immediately tell an adult
• If a dog continues to approach, “stand still like a statue” and be boring, without turning your back or looking the dog straight in the eye
• If a dog attacks, never run, instead “get round like a rock” and protect your neck, face, stomach and limbs

“The real point here is not that it was a pit bull, but that it was an unneutered, chained dog, that had no socialization during the day and was being taunted and then was being chased and this was a horrible, sad situation,” summarized Bathurst. “What we need to learn about this is that everyone needs to be educated about interacting safely and humanely with animals and also how animals interact and see us as people.”

“The dog was not being protected from awful things that continued to happen,” noted Sherry Woodard the Best Friends Animal Society Animal Behavior and Training Manager. “In those situations where people are injured and people die, if you look at all of the causes, the animal is being an animal, and people who are supposed to be responsibly caring and managing behavior are not ….The overall reasons are human error.” She went on to say, “Hopefully if the situation is that the dog can be saved, or even if the dog can’t, that the people have learned a lesson that they failed that life and please don’t do it again.”

This situation may have been prevented, had his guardian taken the following conscientious steps to responsibly care for Cain:

1. Do not leave dogs on chains
According to the Dogs Deserve Better website, “Chaining is not only inhumane for dogs, but has taken a severe toll on this nation’s children as well. In the period from October 2003 through March 2008, there were at least 200 children killed or seriously injured by chained dogs across the country. Chained dogs, unsocialized with humans, can become very territorial of their tiny space, and any two year old who wanders into this space can be attacked and killed before adults can intervene.”

Woodard notes that a free-standing run is a better solution than a chain although she commented, “Certainly in a situation where children are coming to tease and taunt that might not be enough, but it is up to us to take care of the animals that we take responsibility for.”

2. Spay or neuter your dog
Woodard stated the fact that Cain was not neutered “does add to everything because then you throw in hormones on top of being frustrated at the end of a chain, on top of possibly being afraid sometimes. It certainly wasn’t pleasant for him to be tormented by kids. His hormones just make it harder for him to have self control and certainly if you look at statistics, most dogs that hurt or kill are unneutered male dogs; that’s just a fact.”

The Animal Welfare Association, located in nearby Voorhees, New Jersey, has offered spay and neuter services since 1975. Their clinic performed 8,061 sterilization surgeries in 2007 and is already at 2,758 in 2008. While offering low-cost options to everyone, Camden residents are eligible to have their dogs fixed for only $25; male or female, regardless of size. In addition, the clinic is featuring a 10,000 Paws in 2008 campaign with a goal to fix 2,500 Camden cats free of charge. To make this program more accessible to their clients, they offer weekly pickup service from multiple Camden locations and even collect animals from people’s houses if transportation is not available.

“We’re doing everything possible to make it accessible and easy for Camden residents, both to afford and to reach them, so we can really help make a difference in the lives of animals,” noted Animal Welfare Association Executive Director, Susan Cosby. “We want to make it so that there’s not any kind of a barrier for Camden residents to be able to help their animals.”

The Camden County Animal Shelter also offers low-cost spay and neuter services. The shelter hosts clinics three days per week which are open to anyone. Canine neuter prices start at $65 and increase dependent upon the weight of the dog. That fee includes both rabies and distemper vaccinations. The shelter also offers special “Spay our Strays” clinics, where Camden County residents are eligible for $35 feline sterilizations, vaccinations, and various other services.

Cain is now being housed at the Camden County Animal Shelter, where he will remain for a 10 day quarantine period. “After that everything always depends on if the dog is part of a court case and might need to be legally held and the dog’s temperament evaluation,” noted Adrienne Christatos, President of the Board of Directors for the shelter. She further stated that the animal control report listed Cain as vicious, but specified that “The vicious [designation] was made based on the incident, not on a temperament test.”

“This is not a pit bull thing,” added Christatos. “The biggest problem that we run into is that somebody hears the breed pit bull and all of a sudden, ‘oh that’s an aggressive dog and that dog is not a safe dog’ and that is not the case. It’s all how a dog is raised. That’s the biggest, biggest thing because we have so many of the most loveable friendly pit bulls in the shelter that are not aggressive and they are not dangerous. They are as loving as a poodle and people don’t understand that and it’s unfortunate.” She concluded with “It’s not fair that all the pit bulls are stereotyped based on some. They’re not given a fair chance because of their breed, even if they’re a friendly dog, and that’s not really right to them because they make great pets.”

THREE WAYS YOU CAN HELP:
Do your part for both your community and your pet.

1. Remember, a dog is a living, breathing and feeling being, not a lawn ornament. Please bring your pet inside and encourage others you know to do the same.

2. Spend quality time with your dog to ensure good socialization. Consult a trainer or online resources to learn about positive training techniques good for your dog and your family.

3. Fix your pets. Spaying and neutering will help prevent a tragedy like this and other undesirable behaviors, and also protects your pet from certain medical issues, and eliminates the chance of unwanted litters.

For more information:

Animal Welfare Association Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic
509 Centennial Boulevard
Voorhees, New Jersey 08043
Phone: 856-424-2288 extension 105

Camden County Animal Shelter
PO Box 475
125 Barnsboro Road
Blackwood, New Jersey 08012
Phone: 856-401-1300

• Community Safety Program
• Spay/Neuter Fever! community
• Dogs Deserve Better – No Chains! community
• Preventing Dog Bites on Children
• Dogs and Aggression
• What Dogs Need to Be Happy
• Improving a Dog’s Social Skills

Photo credit: photos of friendly bully breed dogs, available for adoption from the Camden County Animal Shelter. Shown in order from the lead photo down are Mark, Darla, Joey, Gina, Wilma. Photos provided courtesy of Heather Speeks of the Camden County Animal Shelter.

Comments

Posted May 03, 2008, 2:28 by rescuerCalifornia

I think animals need to be protected and kept away from certain people. No one wants to say this but but there are people in this world who are not able to feel for animals or people for that matter. They are sociopaths and they don't have the ability to have empathy and compassion for anyone or anything. Some pet owners will start treating their animals better once they are taught but there should be some kind of law that if an owner continues to mistreat an animal, even chaining it, we should be put the wellbeing of that animal before anything else. I know someone who goes around trying to educate pet owners and get them to take their dogs off chains and also feed them properly. Some of these people act like they are greatful for her help and their dog is taken off the chain and finally given enough food and water but when she checks back with them later on the dog is once again living on a chain and it's food and water bowls are empty.

Posted May 04, 2008, 12:39AM by flyjengirl

No matter what kind of dog it is,it doesn't deserve to be on a chain all day and night. They need to make laws for owners who do this. There seems to be too many idiots in this world that don't need to have dogs at all.

Posted May 04, 2008, 9:19AM by jennifer

Jennifer - thanks for a very sad, but very educational story - especially with all the great links. I've always thought that a companion animal is that - a companion, and is meant to live in the house. What really saddened me about the story - aside from the fact that it was entirely preventable, is that the 'owner' KNEW that kids were teasing the dog, and still did nothing. That's just so sad!

Posted May 01, 2008, 10:11 by missydog

I can never understand why people have dogs and chain them in the yard. Why bother having one? Poor Cain tormented and chained, not even neutered. These people should not have a dog.

Posted May 01, 2008, 11:14 by tamarad

I can testify to how chaining can totally and maybe permanently aggravate a dog. One of my dogs, Mindy was chained for the 1st 2 years of her life at a drug house (then they moved and left her). While 2 years is not a long time compared to some dogs who are chained for years and years, sometimes their entire lives, it was her formative years.

While she is not aggressive to humans, she is highly anxious, has very poor dog skills and has not been able to totally relax in her entire life, even with the use of medications. She will be turning 10 this August and as her owner for the past 5 1/2 years, it makes me sick to think how stressed her life has been--in a way, she is still chained, but now to her anxiety.

I will never understand the chaining of a dog, and hope that more and more communities and states outlaw it as it is seen and proven the damage it does. To the dogs and to our society.

Posted May 04, 2008, 3:9 by pcanimalcoalition

What a sad story for everyone involved.

You gotta wonder though. Where were the parents of these children who had been teasing this dog? Do parents now just let their "little boys" run around like little animals and not wonder what kind of trouble they are getting into?

Parents need to start taking more responsibility for where their children are and exactly what they are doing. The next little boy might not be so lucky.

Posted May 01, 2008, 5:35 by southerndogmom

While I feel badly for the child who was hurt, I do hope Cain can be saved. I read stories like this over and over and wonder why in the world people have a dog, only to keep the animal chained outside all day with no socialization, left in a position where it cannot escape taunting. I would not be suprised to find that Cain's other basic needs were not being met.

A dog is not a lawn ornament. A breed is not bad by nature. It is how we treat them and how we fail to care for them which leads to disaster.

Posted May 02, 2008, 1:58 by knf106

I can also testify to the fact that chaining a dog all day long can make any dog, regardless of breed, aggressive toward humans and other dogs. When I was a child growing up in PA, there was a Rottweiler mix who lived next door to the neighbor who took care of my sister and I after school. This poor dog was chained up outside all day, regardless of weather, with no food or water. One hot summer day, my six-year-old sister filled up her sandbox bucket with some water, and brought it over to the dog. As she bent down to set the bucket on the ground near him, the dog attacked her, biting off the top of her left ear and leaving severe punctures all over her body. If it hadn't been for the heroism of another neighbor who somehow leapt over a 6ft stockade fence to come running to the rescue, my sister may not be with us today.

Following this incident, my sister got reconstructive surgery and still managed to grow up into a beautiful woman. The owners of the dog, however, refused to alter their habit of chaining the dog up outside, and eventually the dog did break free and attacked another child. After the second incident, the dog was declared vicious and euthanized. My family has always felt rather badly about this, because the fault was not with the dog, but with the owners. It should be common sense not to leave your dog outside all day with no shelter and no water -- you'd go crazy too, if someone did that to you! It's just such a shame that the dog was euthanized instead of the humans.

Posted May 02, 2008, 9:41 by rmlamasney25

Get a security alarm system to protect your home. A living being is NOT a commodity. Dogs need shelter, socialization, food, healthcare and love. Alarm systems just need electricity. Otherwise, someone's life may be forfeit, probably the dog's, possibly a child's.