The Safety Council is beginning an effort to carefully audit dog bites. However, not everyone sees the German response as knee jerk. Lisa Stone, a housewife in Buffalo Grove, IL became a breed specific activist when she helped to successfully encourage breed specific limits in the Chicago suburb in 1997. Stone first became alarmed because a neighbor purchased a Rottweiler puppy. While Stone does not condone the violence occurring in Germany, she applauds the government's solid stand.
Facts are facts.
While I admit not every individual dog of these breeds are dangerous, there is serious potential for harm. According the CDC, in the U.S. in 1995 and '96, there were 25 fatalities attributed to dog attacks. The numbers for 1996 and '97 have yet to be published. However, an exclusive preview for this column has determined little change from the previous figures. Stone says those numbers prove her point.