Dogs and Fear

Bane and Hera. They are symbols of everything fearsome about large, mean dogs. The animals are dead now, and their owners, Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller, were convicted Thursday of manslaughter and murder in the grisly mauling death of Diane Whipple outside her San Francisco apartment.

Testimony at the trial included tale after tale of people threatened, chased or bitten by one or both of the dogs. But the defense pointed to the fact that no one filed a complaint: not to animal control, not to the building’s landlord, not to police. The defense tried to argue, obviously unsuccessfully, that such incidents are part of the normal run of dog- human interaction. The fear and dread that neighbors felt upon seeing those dogs weren’t normal. But there were, and continue to be, social pressures against lodging official complaints about vicious pets.

That’s because, rightly or wrongly, people see dogs as extensions of their owners. Why would one own an aggressive, 100-pound dog unless the owner was happy to see other people intimidated? And the intimidation often works. Those bothered by threatening dogs often grumble privately but do nothing more, thinking there is nothing more they can do.

Animal control agencies exist to help with problem pets and strays. But anyone who has tried to make a report knows the story: Animal control in major cities is typically underfunded and unable to handle more than a fraction of the demand for its services. Only a serious dog bite brings a fast response. Fear barely registers with authorities; if a would-be complainant fears the dog’s owner and hesitates to file a complaint, animal control can’t do much because dogs are private property and can’t be seized without just cause.

Los Angeles has six shelters citywide and perhaps two officers on duty at each at any one time. There is one special enforcement unit for rounding up strays, down from two because of budget cuts.

The truth about dog bites is that most of them--there are about 70,000 reported in Los Angeles alone each year--are inflicted by family pets and most of the victims are children under 12. Nationwide, 10 to 20 people a year are killed by dogs, and again most are children attacked by family pets. But it is the unknown dog that inflicts the most concern.

It’s satisfying that Noel, convicted of manslaughter, and Knoller, convicted of second-degree murder, may end up in prison. Owners of vicious or unpredictable dogs who fail to muzzle or contain them deserve both jail time and lawsuits.

Neighborhoods are safer when people help police their own streets. Report any dog bite, no matter how minor. Report packs of strays. If the threat seems immediate, call 911; a request from police often gets a faster response from animal control. And never, ever leave a small child unattended around dogs, even if you are sure that Fido would never hurt even his own fleas.

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To Take Action: Los Angeles city animal control, (888) 452-7381. Special unit for packs of strays, (323) 276-5024. In other cities or counties, see animal control listing in the blue government pages of the phone book.