Dangerous, Uncontrolled and Uncontrollable

Surreptitiously parents and grandparents inventory every newborn baby. Ten fingers. Ten toes. Two eyes. Two ears. Two feet. Two hands. Two legs. Two arms. Erin Ingram of Lithonia had two arms to hug her mother around the neck and wish a Happy Mother’s Day for seven years. Then in March, she was attacked by two dangerous, uncontrolled, and uncontrollable dogs, which dragged her down the street. Neighbors tried to help, but DeKalb County Police Officers had to shoot one of the dogs, before the child could be pulled free. Erin lost most of one arm and the hand and five fingers that came with it. She remains in the hospital, eight weeks after the attack. Other recent Atlanta area dog attacks included a 12-year-old permanently disfigured, a 69 year old woman hospitalized, and a newborn killed--by dangerous, uncontrolled and uncontrollable dogs, pitbulls in each of these cases.

The owner of the two dogs that attacked Erin Ingram has been charged with reckless conduct, a misdemeanor under current Georgia law, and could face a maximum jail sentence of one year. South Georgia Rep. Gene Maddox, a retired veterinarian, has proposed legislation to require the owners of dogs qualified as vicious or dangerous to pay for victim's medical expenses and for those dog owners to carry insurance policies to help cover those expenses. His bill in the Georgia legislature never made it out of committee this year, but he plans to introduce it again next year. "If you don't restrain your dog the way they're supposed to be restrained, whatever they do, you need to be held accountable for it," Erin Ingram’s father said. The State of Georgia will not allow you to drive a car without insurance, just in case your stupidity or negligence crashes into or runs over somebody else, kills them or ruins them for life. Or their children.

According to the CDC, more than 16,000 people were bitten or attacked by dogs in 1994, “a good 6% of the victims needed one or more forms of reconstructive surgery. In 2001, that number rose to an alarming estimate of about 80,000 people nationwide, and 22% of the those needed extensive hospitalization and reconstructive surgery. And from that 22%, one-third of the victims were always children 7 years and younger. Infants or children who have not yet learned to walk are the most vulnerable, constituting almost all of the cases of the victims who were under 7 years of age.” In 2005, 82% of all the dog attacks in the country involved Pit Bulls, the CDC reports, with Rottweilers ranking as the second most dangerous dog. Other known dog breeds that have a lengthy record of dog bites and attacks are: Akitas, Alaskan Malamutes, Chow Chows, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, Great Danes, Huskies, and Saint Bernards.

People will argue about dogs and dog owners. Who’s to blame? Dangerous dogs or irresponsible dog owners? While you are arguing, think about the victims, born with 10 fingers, two hands, two arms. My wife, who loves dogs, loves children more. She says, “When I go outside, the sky to me looks very blue. Does it look blue to you?”