Read more: Local, Community, Pit Bull, Lucas County Dog Warden, Puppy Kill
TOLEDO -- The latest statistics on dog bites for Lucas County, once again show that Pit Bulls are in the lead for the number of bites and for most serious attacks on humans. One source is the Toledo Lucas County Health Department which tracks all bites in the county and through November 8th, their data shows that there were 380 dog bites reported and of those bites, 65 of them were the result of Pit Bull attacks. That accounts for about 17 percent of all bites, with Pit Bull breeds accounting for less than 5 percent of the county's dog population.
The second most common breed for dog bites was the Lab and Lab mix, which accounted for about 36 bites, but their numbers are much higher than the Pit Bull breeds. The dog bite numbers also suggest that there is at least one dog bite per day in Lucas County. Some more serious than others, but the health department keeps records of all.
The Lucas County Dog Warden's office keeps track of the more serious bites and they show that in the county so far this year, there have been about 150 more serious dog bite cases. Once again, the pit bull breeds and mixes were at the top of the list of biters, accounting for 42 of the bites. In 18 of the cases, the victims were under 18 years of age. Children are traditionally the most frequent victims of dog bites and those bites often involve the face and head area.
Toledo attorney, Charles Boyk, who specializes in dog bites litigation says recent efforts by some groups to allow the dog warden to adopt out Pit Bulls or their puppies is "foolish". Boyk likens Pit Bulls to loaded guns that can go off an anytime. He says his experience as an attorney handling these cases, convinces him that Pit Bulls are far too dangerous to be around children and says" who would want to have a neighbor who has a pit bull" He says most people who have children would be terrified is their neighbors had pit bulls. Boyk's contention runs counter to the growing chorus of Pit Bull defenders who say that their breed is unfairly getting a bad reputation and that how a dog behaves is more a case of how it is trained as apposed to its breed.
