Fatal dog attacks
Fatal dog attacks are human victim's deaths caused by dogs. The study of fatal dog attacks can lead to prevention techniques which can help to reduce all dog bite injuries, not only fatalities. Dog bites and attacks can result in pain, bruising, wounds, bleeding, soft tissue injury, broken bones, loss of limbs, scalping, disfigurement, life-threatening injuries, and death.
Causes of death in dog bite related fatalities
There are several ways a person can die from a dog bite or a dog attack, including:- Air embolism
- Blunt force trauma, usually to the head, is more common with infants or small children
- Cervical fracture of the spine
- Decapitation, the removal of the head or brain from the rest of the spine
- Heart attack brought on by exertion during a dog attack, from loss of blood pressure due to bleeding, from the stress of an attack, or resultant injuries
- Hemorrhage/exsanguination, loss of blood through severing an artery or vein, or from bleeding out from multiple wounds, or bleeding for an excessive time before victim is found
- Sepsis from bite wounds
Risk factors
- An attack by more than one dog. A person attacked by multiple dogs will have more difficulties to defend themselves effectively against the dogs, increasing the likelihood of sustaining severe injuries. In addition, the behavior of a pack of dogs differs significantly from that of a solitary dog; if one dog within a pack initiates an attack, it is more probable that others will join in. Furthermore it is more challenging for bystanders or first responders to intervene and stop an attack involving multiple dogs, especially if the dogs are highly aggressive or in a frenzied state.
- Victim is alone at the time of the attack.
- Lack of awareness that dogs can see infants as prey.
- Responsible ownership, including proper care, socialization, training, and supervision of dogs, plays a crucial role in preventing fatal attacks. Owners who fail to fulfill these responsibilities increase the risk of their dogs posing a danger to others. Fatal attacks often occur when dogs are left unsupervised or improperly restrained.
- Certain characteristics of a victim may increase the risk of a fatal dog attack, such as age or physical condition. If an older person is pushed over by a dog and sustains serious injuries such as fractures, head trauma, or internal injuries, these injuries can be life-threatening, particularly if they are not promptly treated or if the individual has underlying health issues that complicate their recovery.
- Dogs with a history of aggression, whether towards humans or other animals, are at a higher risk of being involved in fatal attacks. Past incidents of aggression should be taken seriously and addressed through appropriate training and management.
- The type of dog involved in the attack. Large and heavily built dogs are more prone to inflict severe injuries that lead to the death of the victim. Moreover, certain dog types exhibit distinct biting styles and prove exceptionally challenging to intervene once an attack has commenced. If the victims survives, extensive surgery and lifelong treatment often becomes necessary. Small dogs generally have less physical strength and lower bite force, which may lead to less severe injuries and a lower risk of mortality.
- People with asplenia, hyposplenia or people suffering from alcoholism have a higher risk of developing fulminant bacterial sepsis caused by a dog bite injury, a minor dog bite injury, a scratch or even just the contact with a dog's saliva and the bacteria capnocytophaga canimorsus.
Forensic investigation
Whether a dog owner is legally responsible for a fatal dog attack depends on various factors, including the jurisdiction's laws and the circumstances surrounding the incident. In many places, dog owners can be held liable for injuries or fatalities caused by their dogs. Proving that a specific dog attacked can be necessary to hold someone legally responsible. Physical evidence such as saliva, fur, or skin cells left behind at the scene of the bite can be collected and analyzed for DNA matching to determine if it matches the suspected dog. Experts may examine the bite marks on the victim's body to assess characteristics such as size, shape, and pattern, which can sometimes be matched to the dental impressions of a specific dog. Since this methods can't always be applied, researchers from Italy suggested an additional method to prove the involvement of a specific dog. They suggested to detect the victim's profile in the dog's mouth through buccal swabs on the suspected dog. Further methods to identify an offending dog include witness statements, CCTV footage, 3D modelling to show matches between the wound and a specific dog's dental arches or genetic analysis of the dog hairs.
Published research
Scientists, scholars, medical personnel, veterinarians, and lawmakers have been documenting the societal problem of fatal dog attacks for several decades in an effort to identify causes and come up with solutions.South America & India
2023 research: AMBIO A Journal of the Human Environment
are very common in India and other countries with a high population of free-ranging dogs. Since these attacks frequently lead to deaths, governments are under pressure to address the problem. Researchers from Argentina and India looked at problems related to free-ranging dogs in exemplary regions in South America and India. Free-ranging dogs can carry and transmit diseases such as rabies, which can be fatal to humans if not treated promptly. The researchers argue for evidence-based legislation and consensus-building, among other measures, to mitigate the negative impacts of free-ranging dogs, thereby reducing potential harm to humans and other animals.Brazil
2022 study: Frontiers in Pediatrics - General Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Care
Researchers looked at the epidemiological profile of dog attacks to patients under 14 years old assisted at the pediatric referral emergency unit of a tertiary hospital in Campinas, Brazil. This study did not find any death records at this hospital, but made a note on the age of the victims of fatal dog attacks: "Some accidents might be serious and result in death, while accidents, even if not so serious, might result in irreversible consequences. There is some evidence that 56% of casualties related to dog bites occur with children under 16 years old."Europe
2023 study: Bitten or struck by dog – an increasingly common diagnosis
The Swedish scientists looked at the consequences of dog bites and deaths caused by dogs. Fatal dog attacks are rare in Sweden, but as in other European countries, there is an increasing trend. The severity of the damage caused by dogs ranges from scratches to loss of limbs. Attacks by several dogs and by certain types of dogs are described as particularly dangerous. The researchers came to the conclusion that certain types of dogs cause particularly serious injuries due to their way of biting, holding and shaking the victim. The Rottweiler, American Bulldog, Cane Corso, Japanese Tosa and Pit Bull are named as dogs that can kill an adult human without difficulty. Breeds such as the American Staffordshire Terrier, the Rottweiler and the German Shepherd caused the most serious injuries in the studies mentioned. The Swedish deaths in 2018 and 2019 were caused by a dog of the American Bulldog breed and a dog of the American Staffordshire Terrier/Rottweiler crossbreed.The researchers recommend that physicians treating minors with injuries from a dog attack notify the competent social authorities, as they consider the risk of further incidents to be increased. In 2022, a dog owner in Sweden was killed by her American Staffordshire Terrier. The same dog had attacked and severely bitten her two-year-old grandson two years earlier, but the police stopped the investigation and no report was made to the relevant authorities.
The authors see a change in the way people keep and interact with dogs, as well as a higher proportion of high-risk breeds in the population, as a possible explanation for the increase in fatalities. Strongly built and "hard biting" dogs are very popular in Sweden and, according to the authors, pose a serious risk when kept in families with children. Older people are also considered to be particularly susceptible to attacks by powerfully built dogs. The scientists refer to an Australian study which states that the risk of injury from being pushed by a dog is particularly high in older people. The authors see imported and smuggled dogs as a further health risk, as they often appear in cases of assault and carry the additional risk of rabies infection.