New Jersey Accident and Injury Law Blog : New Jersey Injury Lawyer & Attorney : The Grossman Law Firm : Serving Monmouth County, Bergen County

There’s been yet another attack involving pit bulls in New Jersey.

Earlier this month, a group of children at a complex in Atlantic City were chased by two pit bulls. The dogs were being extremely aggressive, frightening the children who cowered on a bench. Police officers responded to the scene, and tried to chase the two dogs away. They were not successful. While one dog ran off, the other remained at the scene. Animal control officers then came up to the site. One of the dogs charged at an officer, but he managed to avoid injuries. The situation was brought under control when the police officers fired at the dog, and killed it.

The children were extremely fortunate that they were not injured in this attack. Any New Jersey dog bite lawyer will tell you that pit bulls and certain other breeds of dogs can attack with a great amount of ferocity. This isn't to say that pit bulls are the only breeds of dogs that are involved in attacks, but a dog bite incident involving pit bulls or pit bull mixes tends to be extremely serious. These dogs can be very strong and their natural instinct is to be very aggressive when they are uncomfortable, stressed or threatened.

Pit bulls need a lot of exercise, and it takes loving dog owners to take on the responsibility that comes with caring for these breeds. Unfortunately, very often pit bulls and other pit bull mixes are seen as macho status symbols, and are taken in by people who have no idea what it takes to rear these animals. Many dogs are simply discarded, and find their way into local animal shelters, to be ultimately euthanized.

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A recent spate of dog bite attacks in San Bernardino County in California has had local authorities passing an ordinance to crack down on pit bull owners. The San Bernardino County Board Of Supervisors this week approved a measure that would require owners of pit bulls to have their animals spayed or neutered, or face fines.

The ordinance comes in response to a spate of dog bite attacks. Over the past five years, San Bernardino County has had four fatal dog attacks. The most recent attack occurred in May when a two-year-old boy was mauled to death by the family’s pit bull dogs. In January this year, a three-year-old child met a similar fate, mauled to death by the family's pit bull.  

Also since January, there have been at least four other serious dog bite attacks in San Bernardino County. In April, three children were severely bitten by a pack of five pit bull mixed breeds that attacked the children as they were walking with their mother. The children suffered serious injuries that required stitches. According to County authorities, out of the 686 reported dog bites between 2008 and 2009, 137 involved pit bull breeds.

The ordinance that was passed this week requires that owners of pit bull and pit bull mix breeds have their animals spayed or neutered. Dogs that are more than four months old must be spayed or neutered. Owners that fail to do so are likely to be slapped with a $100 fine for a first offense. Subsequent offenses will be met with more severe fines. In July, the ordinance will head into a final vote.

Obviously, pit bull owners are not too happy about the new ordinance. They believe they are being unfairly punished for the irresponsible actions of other pit bull owners. They also believe that the new ordinance will do nothing to coax irresponsible dog owners into getting their dogs spayed or neutered.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey dog bite lawyer, representing injured victims of dog bites in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties, and across New Jersey.

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Concerned at a high number of dog bite incidents involving unleashed dogs in Washington State Parks, authorities have begun to crack down harder on off leash dogs. The announcement of this stronger crackdown was made during National Dog Bite Prevention Week earlier this month.  

In 2009, there were a total of 22 dog bite incidents recorded in Washington State, and of these, seven were serious enough to require professional medical attention. In 2008, there had been 31 such incidents and out of these, eight had been severe enough to require professional medical attention. 

After the high number of incidents in 2008, park rangers stepped up their enforcement efforts, and began talking to dog owners about the importance of keeping their dogs on leash. However, that didn't do much to cut down the number of dog bite incidents in these parks. This year therefore, authorities are going to issue infractions even for first-time offenses.

Under Washington state law, dogs must be on leashes that are no longer than 8 feet. Dogs must be under the owner’s control at all times, and are not allowed into buildings and natural reserves. They are allowed on campgrounds, trails and picnic areas, however.

Obviously, not many dog owners visiting these parks have been able to keep their animals under control. This has meant that several persons including children, have been bitten by dogs. These parks attract a large number of families with children, and these are not likely to visit if they have reason to fear dogs, roaming around off leash.

As a Freehold dog bite lawyer, I would like more public areas in the country to enforce stronger dog bite prevention laws, and to give this problem the serious attention it deserves.

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A dog attack can not only be physically painful but also emotionally scarring. According to a Rush PR News article there are several ways to prevent a dog attack and how to handle your self if involved in one. “Avoid making eye contact with the dog. Dogs perceive eye contact as a challenge and a threat. Look slightly down or aside of the dog, but keep him in your vision. Avoid smiling at the dog. You may be putting on a friendly face, but an aggressive dog sees you baring your teeth for a fight. Look for warning signs. Most dogs are not aggressive but rather just curious or defending what they perceive as their territory. It is important to be able to tell if a dog is just playing or is being truly aggressive. If the dog approaches you with its head held high or low, it is probably not going to attack. A dog whose head is level means business.” There are many more tips on how to prevent a dog attack and what to do after involved in one in the article.

            As a dog bite attorney lawyer covering Freehold, Manalapan, Marlboro, Howell, Jackson, Paterson and all of central and northern New Jersey and know how physically painful and emotionally traumatizing a dog bite can be. The article cited above provides a lot of good information on how to handle dog bite attacks and how to care for the injury afterwards. Some important statistics cited are “In the US alone, nearly 5 million people are attacked by dogs per year, and 1,000 people go to emergency rooms per day as a result of a dog attack; many of them are children, and about half of them have been bitten in the face.” Dog attacks are a serious problem throughout the country and New Jersey is no different. I suggest reading the article several times so you can be well informed on what to do if a situation arises. I hope this information can be useful to your family and friends in helping to prevent dog bite attacks.

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