Wildlife Preservation

» wildlifelaw - Death by dog attack accuracy?

In your March 19, 2007 article titled "Black Bear Attacks not so Common, you state, "on the average, 45 people a year are killed by dogs in the United States alone."
Do you recall where this statistic came from? From my research, that seems FAR to high (see http://www.dogexpert.com/FatalDogAttacks... ). I think you will find the actual number about one half of what you report.

It might also be considered relevant that dogs outnumber black bears by over 100 to 1...

Brad Neff
Attorney at Law

-- posted by wildlifelaw

» Dawn M. Smith - Death by dog attack accuracy?

Dear Mr Neff,
I do not have the document I got that statistic from at hand. Having looked at your reference site, I would be willing to reduce the number in the article upon failing to find my corroborating data.
And while I appreciate your point about relative numbers of the two species, my intent was to put the hype about bear attacks in perspective, not to vilify dogs. As an RVT I worked in small animal practice for many years and maintain a deep respect for canines.
Regards
Dawn Smith