Dog Bites on the Rise in Minnesota

Greg Owen

Attorney

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According to epidemiologists with the Minnesota Department of Health's Injury and Violence Prevention Unit, stray dogs do not account for the majority of dog bites.

In Minnesota, dog bites are on the rise. However, a periodical published in "Minnesota Medicine" stated that when scientists studied the dog bites that were treated in hospitals, the rate of dog bites had increased by a staggering forty percent between 1998 and 2005.

What is evident from the study is that roving packs of dogs were not the cause of this problem. In fact, many of the bites occurred in and around the home. The fact is that out of 238 dog-related human deaths pit bull-type dogs and Rottweilers were involved in half.

Critics of a proposed statewide ban on specific breeds, claim that statistics reflect a particular breed's popularity. Although, it is difficult to ignore that data pertaining the tendency of certain breeds to be more aggressive than others.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Premises Liability / Slip & Fall.