Group Warns: Spring Will Bring Increase in Chained Dog Attacks on Kids

Group Warns: Spring Will Bring Increase in Chained Dog Attacks on Kids

Advises Parents to Socialize Dogs with Children;
Urges Not to Leave Children Alone with Chained Dogs

(Altoona, PA - 15 April 2007) April 2006 brought a record 11 chained dog attacks on children in the U.S., a stat kept by the Mothers Against Dog Chaining initiative on their mothersagainstdogchaining.org website. The group attributes the annual rise in spring attacks to an increase in spring play and outdoor activity by our nation's youth. This, coupled with a winter of pent up energy and missed socialization on the part of the dogs is a combination that proves all too often to be deadly.

This year the group has already recorded 8 chained dog attacks since March; a return to wintry weather seems to have staved off an April surge, for now.

But Tammy Grimes, founder of Dogs Deserve Better and leader of the Mothers Against Dog Chaining initiative, fears that as soon as spring weather hits the count will again climb. "I am very alarmed by the trend I'm seeing in spring chained dog attacks, and I dread reading about yet another. I feel we need to warn people about this very real danger to their children. These are just the attacks serious enough to make headlines...I wonder how many are going unlogged because they do not make local news and find their way to the internet."

From October 2003 through April 2007, there have been at least 123 children seriously injured or killed by chained dogs. Chained dogs, unsocialized with humans, can and do attack and kill small children who come into their territory. The trend toward anti-tethering legislation continues, with currently almost 100 cities, counties, and states in the nation banning or limiting chaining.

Grimes continues, "In March 2-year-old Carolina Sotello lost her life in Texas, at a home where the family kept an unneutered male and a female with puppies on chains in the backyard. Chaining 'man's best friend' for life is not the answer, for the dog or the innocent child who may wander into its path. Dogs are responsibilities that must be taken seriously. We ask all caretakers to fence their yards, train their dogs to become part of the family, and never leave a child alone outside for even a moment with a dog on a chain. We must work together to protect both our children and our pets."

For more information, to see a breakdown by month and state, and the latest updates on attacks and the efforts of Mothers Against Dog Chaining, please visit the website at mothersagainstdogchaining.org.