This is the second installment in my series of blog articles examining specific instances of dog-caused deaths.
This past November, a man adopted a Rottweiler from a Tennessee animal shelter. That afternoon, his wife found him dead, apparently killed by the dog. The dog had been picked up as a stray, and held for five days before being adopted. It was reported as showing no signs of aggression while at the animal shelter.
This is another one of those stories where there is simply not enough detail to draw universally applicable conclusions. The past history of the dog is not known, and it was not at the animal shelter long enough for them to get a good understanding of its temperament or issues.
And there were no eyewitnesses or videos of the actual attack.
So we just don't know why this happened..
There are, however, a few statistically relevant details.
1)The dog and man were strangers to each other. Yes, the man was now the dog's owner. But he'd only adopted it a few hours earlier.
2) The dog was in a new, unfamiliar environment, with unfamiliar people. This is scary to a dog. Dogs can do well and be happy in unfamiliar environments, but only if they are with their owner, with whom they have a bond. (This dog didn't know this guy was his owner, and hadn't had time to form a bond).
3) The dog was a male. This is one of those statistics that you don't hear about. But almost all dog-attacks and dog-caused deaths are from a male dog.
This past November, a man adopted a Rottweiler from a Tennessee animal shelter. That afternoon, his wife found him dead, apparently killed by the dog. The dog had been picked up as a stray, and held for five days before being adopted. It was reported as showing no signs of aggression while at the animal shelter.
This is another one of those stories where there is simply not enough detail to draw universally applicable conclusions. The past history of the dog is not known, and it was not at the animal shelter long enough for them to get a good understanding of its temperament or issues.
And there were no eyewitnesses or videos of the actual attack.
So we just don't know why this happened..
There are, however, a few statistically relevant details.
1)The dog and man were strangers to each other. Yes, the man was now the dog's owner. But he'd only adopted it a few hours earlier.
2) The dog was in a new, unfamiliar environment, with unfamiliar people. This is scary to a dog. Dogs can do well and be happy in unfamiliar environments, but only if they are with their owner, with whom they have a bond. (This dog didn't know this guy was his owner, and hadn't had time to form a bond).
3) The dog was a male. This is one of those statistics that you don't hear about. But almost all dog-attacks and dog-caused deaths are from a male dog.
