Mulling some stuff over...

I've been reading some discussions elsewhere about BSL, media reports on dog attacks, etc etc...

1. I decided to contact the city here for records of reported dog bites/attacks, specifically the nature of the attack and the breeds involved. I was told it would mean me proceeding with an ATIP request...is that normal?

2. If you google "dog attack" you almost always come up with page after page of stories involving pitbull-like dogs. Of course there are non-bullies involved in some stories but they're few and far between. I know that it's very easy to point a finger at the media and blame them for unfair overrepresetnation of certain breeds in dog attack stories (because it's "sexy", to use a term recently used in the political spectrum). I have no doubt that this is the case. But now I'm wondering...

how many dog attacks/bites go completely unreported because of the breed involved? I would be very interested in a study where people were shown pictures of different dog breeds and asked, "if this dog bit you, but not hard enough to break skin, would you report it?" You could also ask "if it chased you/bit and broke skin/barked at you/you saw it running loose in your neighbourhood etc. etc." I'm very willing to bet that breeds commonly perceived as non-aggressive or non-"dangerous" i.e. labs, goldens, toy breeds etc. would get a Get Out of Jail Free Card from most people. It's probably not just the media's fault that bullies are getting a bad rap...

what do others think? has anyone seen any evaluations of this kind? Just curious, it's been bothering me for a while...

I have found the media is really bad for unfairly blaming pits for attacks and the you later find out it was some other breed. But I think there are a lot of misinformed people out there that only hear what the media and government want them to hear. Yes pits attack but so will any other dog. 90% of the time I would say the owner is most likely to blame. I have been bitten by a Bichon and yes the dog broke skin and I reported it, only to find out it was not the first time this dog had bitten someone. I also had a rescue Bulldog that bit a friend (9 stitches) and I also reported it. If people would report all these incidents there would be accurate statistics. I really do not believe that pits bite any more then any other dog.

Yes pits attack but so will any other dog. 90% of the time I would say the owner is most likely to blame. If people would report all these incidents there would be accurate statistics. I really do not believe that pits bite any more then any other dog.Agree. Mist was attacked by a black Lab but I did not report it for fear of him being pts. It didn't end here but it's still way sensitive to talk about. However this irresponsible owner is aware if ever he's unleashed again she better run. This dog is friendly just sometimes possessive of her :frustrated: so basically everyone is at risk including children because he needs exercise :loser:

I'd say bendyfoot many dog attacks or bites are not reported but almost always it's the owners fault, whatever the breed.

If you go one step further, how many dog bites reported actually describe the dog correctly? Many times a "pit-bull" is blamed for the attack, yet you come to find out at a later time it was a dog that may have been similar in size or features, like a lab mix or a boxer mix. The news needs to do a better job at reporting and getting their facts instead of just blaming one particular type of dog for the bites.

I had to look up what ATIP was. Found this site

http://www.desmogblog.com/a-how-to-guide-to-canadas-access-to-information-act

Sounds like it is basically something similar to Freedom of Information Act in the states.

In my opinion that's really really stupid to make someone go through all that just to get a public record of dog bite reports.

This all should be easy public record, available at some library or university somewhere, where they keep statistics. It's not like you're asking for something that was once top secret and now declassified. You are not asking for names and addresses of those involved! You are only wanting the statistics. It doesn't make any sense to me they would ask you for ATIP first.

Silly government.:crazy:

Well I just found this copy of an article supposedly from the Gazette. Maybe you can contact the reporter and ask? It's from 2008 so not very current.

http://montrealcaninecoalition.blogspot.com/2008/02/gazette-ville-marie-calling-dog-owners.html

Police issued a total of 43 tickets for unruly pet behaviour - including dog bites - across Ville Marie in 2007, Duthel said, more than double the 2006 total of 18.

More than 200 dog complaints were phoned to the Access Ville Marie service between last April and October, Duthel said, either about unruly dogs or absent owners.

I'm not sure if there has been any updates on this proposal ... but this borough major Labonte :loser: no doubt, political gain. I think people were banning together to petition this, not sure though.