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74 Fordham L. Rev. 2847 (2005-2006)
Attacking the Dog-Bite Epidemic: Why Breed-Specfic Legislation Won't Solve the Dangerous-Dog Dilemma

handle is hein.journals/flr74 and id is 2863 raw text is: ATTACKING THE DOG-BITE EPIDEMIC: WHY BREED-SPECIFIC LEGISLATION WON'T SOLVE THE DANGEROUS-DOG DILEMMA Safia Gray Hussain* INTRODUCTION In 2001, Diane Whipple was attacked and killed by her neighbors' two dogs just steps from her front door.1 With a combined weight of 233 pounds, the dogs overpowered their owner and mauled Whipple for five minutes before their owner was able to pull them off and into her neighboring apartment.2 The severity of the attack was evidenced by the scene: Police and paramedics found Whipple lying naked in a pool of blood, with bloody handprints covering the walls and bits of clothing and leash littering the floor.3 Whipple died seventy minutes after surgeons attempted to repair torn arteries and lacerations up to one and one-half inches deep in her throat.4 The horrendous mauling made headlines across the country and brought public attention to the threat posed by dangerous dogs.5 Such serious dog attacks are not uncommon. In Illinois, two children were critically injured when three pit bulls escaped from a home and attacked them.6 In Oklahoma, a three-year-old boy lost his arm to four pit bulls after reaching through a chain-link fence to pet the dogs.7 Death * J.D. Candidate, 2007, Fordham University School of Law. Many thanks to Professor James Kainen for his guidance. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their support and patience, and especially for their willingness to listen to numerous accounts of dog attacks. 1. Michael Pefia et al., Powerful Dogs Maul Woman, Kill Her: S.F. Neighbors' Pets Lunged Down Hallway, S.F. Chron., Jan. 27, 2001, at Al, available at http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f-/c/a/2001/01/27/MN 1 39736.DTL. 2. Id. 3. 1d. 4. Id. 5. See Marco P. della Cava & Anita Manning, Killer Dogs and the Human Factor, USA Today, Feb. 1, 2001, at ID; Ron Harris, Fatal Mauling Has Dog-Loving City in Uproar, Chi. Sun-Times, Feb. 4, 2001, at 7, available at 2001 WL 4611281; Stephanie McCrummen, Senseless: Manhasset Native Mauled to Death by 2 Dogs in California, Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.), Jan. 29, 2001, at A3; Evelyn Nieves, A Bizarre Dog Attack Shakes San Francisco, N.Y. Times, Feb. 1, 2001, at A14. 6. Marauding Pit Bulls Attack Six, CNN.com, Nov. 6, 2005 (on file with the Fordham Law Review). 7. Mick Hinton, Pit Bull Ban Proposed: Lawmaker's Idea Draws Quick Opposition, Tulsa World, July 17, 2005, at A13. 2847

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