Media Hype and Let's KILL the DOGS - Police Dog Wyatt

It is no surprise to anyone involved in animal welfare that one of the most prevalent, vindictive and pervasive influences on the public mindset and perception of dogs is the media hype that accompanies almost every story which deals with these companion animals. Studies have shown repeatedly that particularly with respect to pit bulls, dogs that might be pit bulls, dogs that somewhere in their genetic history had some pit bull, dogs that have a pit bull living next to them and thus by proximity are pit bulls ... well you get the picture. Often wrongly, the headlines bleat and cry and shout "Pit Bull slaughters ...."


But that aside, the media loves to hype dog bite stories. It attracts readers, shapes public perception and sells papers.  If the breed involved is NOT a pit bull, it is highly likely that the incident will be relegated to a minor story whereas if a "pit bull" (or a dog perceived to be a pit bull - it is astonishing how many dogs that have no relation to pit bulls get labelled as such - it seems if you have a whippy tail, short hair and a big head, you're one of "those dogs") it is hyped through every form of media.

However, if there are no pit bulls to revile and denigrate, any dog bite will do.

A recent article in The Toronto Star REALLY pissed me off - story is here.  Note the headline: Dog bit police employee before attacking student

Now, first, I feel for the kid that got bitten - dog bites are painful and the experience itself must have been terrifying. BUT, then look at the FIRST paragraph:

A Peel police dog that bit an innocent woman twice during a search for robbery suspects on June 28 has bitten people 14 times — including a civilian police employee earlier the same month.

But let's look at the FACTS here.  The dog had bitten 14 times - 13 of which came in the course of his duties, Saliba told the Toronto Star.  In other words, the dog was doing his JOB. Further, the one other bite which involved a civilian police employee was investigated and determined that it was a training issue with the dog handler, which has since been addressed, Saliba said


But what is the overall thrust of the article? What will strike MOST people who read it? That this dog is visicious, out of control and should be destroyed - and in fact several commentators say exactly that!

What BULLSHIT.

This dog has been involved in 73 police occurrences, 46 of which resulted in apprehensions and ONLY 13 of which involved BITES.  This is not a litany of mayhem and horror by an out of control dog. This is an admirable record of a hard-working, highly trained POLICE dog.

The fact that Wyatt bit the girl is unfortunate - it is also very clearly based on the reported facts, a HANDLER issue:

According to the SIU, the dog only released its grip on Rosales after repeated commands from its handler. Seconds later, the dog again bit Rosales, who was taken to hospital with severe cuts.

Whether the handler was inexperienced, whether he failed to reaffirm and keep Wyatt's training current is unknown.  Certainly, there had been already a previous incident that was handler-related.  From the actions themselves, it tells me this is a dog that was trying to do what it perceived as its job with a "partner" that it neither trusted nor completely respected (which is not to say Wyatt doesn't love his handler, but respect and love in a dog's eyes are two very different things). 

Wyatt does not sound like an out-of-control dog that needs euthanizing.

Wyatt sounds like a dog trying to do his job and perhaps getting conflicting demands from his partner.

I bloody hate the media at times. Wyatt has already been tried and convicted in the public forum - with inflammatory language, biased reporting and a very obvious propensity for hype, a mis-step on the part of a hard-working dog has resulted in his public pilloring.

Read the facts and draw your own conclusions - I've drawn mine.