Chained-Dog Attack Summaries

Clay County, Mississippi/June 12, 2024: A man was reportedly seriously injured while trying to protect his own dog from two attacking pit bulls. At the time of the attack, the dogs were running loose, but they are typically kept tethered with three other pit bulls on the property next door to that of the victim.

Salem, Ohio/June 1, 2024: A child was reportedly bitten by a chained dog while on a sidewalk. The victim sustained a small cut and received medical care.

Girard, Ohio/May 9, 2024: A mail carrier was reportedly forced to “shelter in place” on a porch after a chained dog broke loose from a nearby property and tried to attack him. The man said that he had not been harmed but that the dog had bitten his mailbag. The dog’s owner arrived home shortly after the incident and claimed that her kids must have let the dog out while she was gone. Neighbors reportedly told police that the dog had “come after some of them” before.

Crockett County, Tennessee/March 1, 2024: County sheriff’s deputies and local police officers responded to a call for assistance by emergency medical personnel who were attempting to help a child being attacked by a dog. Medics reportedly couldn’t get to the victim because two dogs, including one who’d broken loose from a chain, were acting aggressively. When law enforcement arrived on the scene, the dogs’ aggressive behavior reportedly escalated, and a police officer fatally shot one of them. Medics were then able to access and treat the child.

January 23, 2024/San Antonio, Texas: A couple were bitten by a pit bull who had gotten loose from his chain and attacked their small dog. When the woman intervened, the pit bull attacked her. When her partner tried to protect her, the pit bull attacked him. Firefighters at a nearby firehouse heard screams and ran to help. It took several firefighters with tools to separate the pit bull from the couple and their dog. The man was treated for his injuries at the scene, and the woman was taken to a hospital for treatment for the bite wounds to her hand and leg. Animal control officers took the pit bull into custody.

December 17, 2023/Frailey Township, Pennsylvania: A man was bitten while trying to stop his neighbor’s dog from attacking his own dog. The aggressive dog had broken loose from his chain and entered the adjacent property. The man was bitten on his hand, and the attacking dog’s owner was cited.

October 14, 2023/Mount Sterling, Kentucky: A 10-year-old boy was attacked by a pit bull who was tied to a tree. The victim was with his father in a parking lot near a local festival when the dog charged at him. He was rushed to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery for the injury to his arm, which required 30 to 40 stitches and a drainage tube. The attack apparently caused nerve damage.

October 10, 2023/Hastings, Nebraska: A 55-year-old man was bitten by a loose dog described as a large brown pit bull with a chain or leash attached to the animal’s collar. The pit bull ran off after the attack, and police asked the public for help with identifying the dog’s owner.

August 22, 2023/Grand Island, Nebraska: A postal carrier delivering mail was attacked by a dog whose tether “failed,” according to animal control officials. The victim was rushed to the hospital, and the dog was seized by authorities, held briefly at the Central Nebraska Humane Society shelter, deemed a “dangerous animal,” and returned to their owner.

July 23, 2023/San Leon, Texas: A delivery driver was attacked by a chained Belgian Malinois as he attempted to flee from the sound of a growl and “the chain rattling.” A neighbor who ran for help reportedly told the victim that the dog “attacks people constantly.” The dog apparently bit off the man’s “whole calf,” but the owner was not charged because the animal was on his property and he willingly surrendered the dog to animal control. Authorities planned to euthanize the dog.

July 16, 2023/Birmingham, Alabama: A firefighter responding to a structure fire was bitten by a dog who was chained underneath the house. Initial reports indicated that several pit bulls were on the property and that animal control was called out to the scene. The firefighter was treated at a local hospital.

June 6, 2023/Tarrant, Alabama: Two stray dogs attacked a man in his 70s exercising at a public park in the early morning. A woman tried to help him, but the dogs turned on her. A bystander called the police, who responded and shot both animals. One died near the scene, but the other—an intact adult male pit bull—remained at large until animal control officers located and safely secured custody of him a few hours later. There was a padlocked chain around the dog’s neck, leading officials to suspect that he had been kept tethered before breaking loose.

May 9, 2023/Los Angeles, California: Officers responding to a complaint about a dog attack in South Los Angeles found a woman lying in a roadway, bleeding from an apparent dog bite to her leg, and a man also lying in the roadway, struggling to restrain a large male pit bull. A third person was standing nearby, keeping a wooden broomstick in the dog’s mouth to prevent him from fully closing it. After nonlethal methods failed to rescue the man, an officer fired one round at close range and killed the dog. News footage shows that the dog was apparently chained to a pole. The dog’s remains were taken to the nearest animal shelter. The dog’s owner was not immediately identified.

April 21, 2023/Killeen, Texas: A Bell County sheriff’s deputy responding to a call for assistance from Texas Child Protective Services (CPS) was approaching a residence when a pit bull began acting aggressively toward the officer. The dog was tethered near the front door of the residence but lunged hard enough to break loose and charged at the deputy, who fired a single shot at the animal to protect himself, another deputy, and the CPS worker. The dog’s owner was notified and transported the injured animal to a veterinary clinic.

April 9, 2023/Sumter, South Carolina: Law-enforcement officers responded to a call regarding a dog attack. They found two emaciated dogs, one of whom had a chain attached to his collar, attacking a woman in a roadside ditch. When an officer yelled, one of the dogs ran away, but the other turned to attack the officer, who then shot the animal in self-defense. The woman, who was severely injured, was taken to a hospital. The second dog was later caught.

March 7, 2023/Gainesville, Florida: When law-enforcement officers responded to a domestic violence call, a man brought a large pit bull outside, who was reportedly taking an aggressive stance and barking at the officers. The man released the pit bull, who attacked one of the officers, biting him multiple times and latching onto his arm. The officer fired his weapon, hitting the dog in the ear. A neighbor later said that she had frequently seen the dog chained in the front yard and that she had never noticed that the animal displayed aggressive behavior.

March 1, 2023/Columbus, Georgia: A woman and her coworker were inspecting the outside of a house when the woman was attacked by a pit bull who was chained in the yard next door. The victim was transported to an area hospital and then to a larger hospital, where her leg was partially amputated. The dog was seized by local animal control.

February 24, 2023/San Antonio, Texas: While visiting a nearby home, an 81-year-old man was fatally attacked by two dogs who had broken free from their fenced-in yard, where they had been tethered. The victim’s wife and a bystander were both injured during their attempts to intervene. When first responders arrived, three firefighters attempted to fight off the dogs using pickaxes and pike poles, and one firefighter sustained injuries. The dogs’ owner arrived home and contained the animals, who were later seized and euthanized. The owner was arrested and received felony charges of attack by a dangerous dog causing death and injury to an elderly person. His wife later received the same charges.

January 24, 2023/Wilcox County, Georgia: A 66-year-old woman was fatally attacked by a dog her husband kept chained on their property. She was able to escape and retreat to her car but was later found dead there.

January 9, 2023/Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: A security camera captured footage of a dog running from a yard and attacking four teenagers who were walking nearby. Neighbors said that this incident was not the first time that the dog had gotten loose and attacked passersby. They cited an incident several months earlier in which the dog had broken free after being tethered to a tree.

December 20, 2022/Port Isabel, Texas: A woman was visiting a family member when their cocker spaniel escaped and approached a neighbor’s chained husky. When the woman leaned down to retrieve the cocker spaniel, the husky lunged and attacked her. The woman was transported to a hospital, where she received 30 stitches for injuries sustained to her face and hands. Animal control seized the dog, who was ultimately euthanized.

December 18, 2022/Charleston, South Carolina: A tethered mixed-breed dog broke free and attacked a 10-year-old boy walking nearby. The youth sustained serious injuries, and animal control seized the dog.

December 8, 2022/Pender County, North Carolina: A 70-year-old woman entered her neighbor’s backyard and was attacked by two tethered dogs. The victim was taken to the hospital, where she later died.

October 25, 2022/Sunderland, Massachusetts: An 80-year-old man entered a neighbor’s yard to visit a tethered dog and give him a ham bone. When the man turned to leave the yard, the dog attacked him, inflicting injuries on his arms and face.

October 9, 2022/Rocky Mount, North Carolina: A dog kept tethered in a yard broke free and attacked a 78-year-old woman, who had been walking nearby. When the woman’s husband attempted to intervene, the dog attacked him, too. The couple was rushed to a hospital, where the woman’s foot required amputation and the man was treated for serious injuries to his hands. The dog also attacked a responding animal control officer, who also required hospitalization. The dog, who had attracted animal control’s attention previously, was later euthanized. The dog’s owner was cited for violating a city ordinance for having an unrestrained animal.

September 30, 2022/Indianapolis, Indiana: An Akita jumped over a fence and attacked a 3-year-old boy and his mother, who were playing in their backyard. The boy sustained serious injuries to his face, back, neck, and shoulder. The dog had a 4-foot chain around his neck and appeared to have broken free from his restraint. Animal control seized and euthanized him.

September 22, 2022/Hyattsville, Maryland: A large white dog tethered to a post in a yard broke free and attacked a nearby dog and dogwalker. The canine victim had to be treated by a veterinarian, and the dogwalker received minor injuries. The aggressive dog had a history of at least one prior attack.

September 22, 2022/Montague, Massachusetts: A large pit bull named Titan, who had been tethered to a tire in a backyard, broke free and attacked someone running nearby. The dog bit the runner’s elbow, causing “a couple of puncture wounds” and possible road rash. Law enforcement seized the dog, who had been involved in a previous attack in December 2021.

September 22, 2022/Aliceville, Alabama: A 3-year-old child was waiting for a school bus when a pit bull kept chained nearby broke loose and attacked him. The boy sustained several injuries to his head before his family and neighbors could intervene. A bystander stopped the dog by fatally shooting him. The child was transported to the hospital with severe injuries but was expected to survive.

September 9, 2022/Benton, Tennessee: A tethered dog broke his cable and fatally attacked his owner before he was seized and euthanized by law enforcement.

September 7, 2022/Fryeburg, Maine: A tethered pit bull snapped his tether, got loose, and attacked a local man who was walking nearby, breaking his arm.

August 31, 2022/Indianapolis, Indiana: A woman was walking her dog when another dog jumped over a fence and attacked her. The victim sustained injuries to her leg and was transported via ambulance to an area hospital. She later said that she had seen the dog several times before and that he was typically kept on the porch in a cage or tethered to a stake in the yard.

August 25, 2022/Searcy, Arkansas: Two pit bulls (who were typically chained in a backyard but were temporarily being kept inside) got loose and approached a 17-year-old, who was walking his dogs nearby. When the teenager intervened to prevent the pit bulls from attacking his dogs, one of the pit bulls jumped up and bit him on the face. The teenager was rushed to the hospital, where he received several stitches around his eye. The pit bulls’ owner had a history of issues with the animals, including incidents in which they got loose and attacked passersby. The local Animal Control Appeal Committee later voted unanimously to remove the pit bulls from the city.

July 2022/Sebewaing, Michigan: A large, chained pit bull attacked a 5-year-old girl who was playing nearby. The girl sustained several injuries to her face and neck and was taken to the hospital for reconstructive surgery. Shortly afterward, the same dog attacked an adult skateboarder, knocking him to the ground and injuring his arm. The man was able to defend himself and get away, and the dog was seized by law enforcement.

June 29, 2022/Holland Charter Township, Michigan: A 9-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy were playing in an inflatable pool outside when a loose pit bull approached. The dog attacked the girl after she slipped and fell, and when the boy intervened to defend her, the dog began attacking him instead. Both children were able to escape, and the dog—who lived nearby and was typically either confined to a porch or chained in the yard—was seized by animal control. The boy needed 21 stitches, and the girl needed more than 100.

June 10, 2022/Warsaw, Indiana: A 4-year-old girl sustained injuries to her head after a tethered Akita attacked her. The girl reportedly petted the dog and then turned to knock on a nearby neighbor’s door—after which the dog attacked her. A witness reported that the dog clamped down on the child’s head and then flipped her body around “like a rag doll.” The injuries required both stitches and staples, and the girl has reported experiencing psychological trauma, including anxiety attacks and memory loss.

May 20, 2022/Belfast, Maine: While responding to a report of vicious dogs, a police officer shot one of three dogs who leaped to attack him. The three dogs were typically tied up but regularly got loose, and law-enforcement officials reported that they had received several calls about vicious dogs at this property. Most recently, law enforcement was called on May 7 after one of the dogs allegedly killed a neighbor’s cat. The dogs’ owner was charged with “nuisance dog at large” and keeping a dangerous dog. The dog survived.

May 18, 2022/Kansas City, Kansas: A woman was injured and her dog was killed after a neighbor’s pit bull jumped a fence and attacked them. The woman said that she thought the dog was chained to the fence, but he knocked her to the ground and then went after her small dog, ultimately killing him. The woman sustained long-term damage to her hand. The owner of the pit bull received four citations for the incident, and animal control returned the dog to his owner until a pending court date.

February 2, 2022/Aniak, Alaska: A child was attacked by dogs while visiting a friend’s house. The friend’s unchained dog attacked and dragged the child to where another dog was tethered, and both animals bit the victim. State troopers confirmed that the child received medical care and was released the same day. A spokesperson said that federal privacy laws prevented him from disclosing further details about the child and that no criminal charges had been filed, stating that there’s no state criminal statute prohibiting a dog from biting someone unless a person directly orders the animal to attack.

January 27, 2022/Fairacres, New Mexico: A 56-year-old man died after he was attacked by his neighbor’s German shepherds, with whom he was friendly. The animals’ owner suspects that the man freed the chained dogs when he found one dog hanging from the fence and possibly choking after having jumped it and the other pushing through a hole in the fence. Once loose from their chains, the dogs attacked him. A witness said that he helped get the dogs off the victim by repeatedly hitting one on the head with a walking cane and estimated that the dog attack lasted nearly 20 minutes. The victim sustained deep wounds to his legs and died from blood loss, even though he was rushed to the hospital. The dogs were taken into custody by local animal control.

November 24, 2021/Livingston Parish, Louisiana: A sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a dog who was acting aggressively toward law-enforcement officers executing a search warrant. There were two dogs on the property: one chained by the front door and a second who had enough slack on his chain to run out from underneath the house and lunge at deputies. The deputy fired a shot at this dog “to protect those on location.” The animal died while receiving medical attention. The search of the property resulted in the arrest of a man for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm with controlled substances, possession of drug paraphernalia, and a bench warrant tied to a traffic violation.

October 27, 2021/Charlotte, North Carolina: A 10-year-old boy was attacked by his neighbors’ chained pit bull after the dog’s owners invited him to pet the animal. When the dog started acting aggressively, the boy tried to run away, but the dog’s chain was long enough for the animal to grab him. The child later explained that the dog “started growling and … grabbed me and pulled me down by my face and like started ripping me … ripping my face off. I was just hoping I wouldn’t die and I was going to get home quick. I was about to give up but that’s when I hit the dog with my book bag and kicked to get away.” He ran home and said, “Mama, take me to the hospital, take me to the hospital because I don’t want to die.” The boy had surgery to repair his face, and the dog’s owner surrendered custody to animal control.

July 25, 2021/Raleigh, North Carolina: A 10-year-old boy was attacked by two Rottweilers who had a history of being chained and biting people. The boy was playing outside his home when a neighbor saw the dogs nearby and told him to go inside, but they ran and jumped on the child before he could get in the house. The boy’s father came outside and was bitten by at least one of the dogs. The man stabbed one, and both ran from the area. Responding officers secured the animals, who were held for bite quarantine and then euthanized. The dogs’ owner was arrested, charged with attack by a dangerous dog, and cited with animal at large. Local news reports confirm that he’d been cited for dogs at large and unlawful biting in February 2019, when the dogs broke loose from their tethers and pulled a neighbor from his own vehicle—letting go only when their owner called them back. The dogs were held at the local animal shelter for a 10-day bite quarantine and returned. Later that month, they were chained on their own property when someone was petting them and they began acting aggressively. Following that incident, authorities allowed their owner to hold them for quarantine at home.

June 16, 2021/Cheraw, South Carolina: A 6-year-old boy was riding his bike when he was attacked by a pit bull. He thought the dog was chained when he rode past the animal, but the dog broke loose and mauled the boy’s lower body. It took several people to get the dog off the child. Authorities took custody of the dog, and the animal’s owner consented to euthanasia. The boy required surgery to repair the injuries sustained during the attack.

April 24, 2021/Victoria, Texas: A 2-year-old boy was attacked by a dog chained to a tree in a neighbor’s yard when he wandered across the street to pet the animal. The dog bit the boy several times on his back and legs.

February 3, 2021/Augusta, Georgia: A dog broke loose from his chain and attacked a neighbor as she was taking out her trash. He bit her in several places across her body and broke her wrist.

November 22, 2020/Morgan County, Georgia: A Chihuahua broke loose from a chain and attacked a neighbor.

November 12, 2020/Cortez, Colorado: A dog broke loose from a chain and attacked two people.

July 10, 2020/Fort Bend County, Texas: A Comcast employee was bitten repeatedly when he tried to help a pit bull mix who was hanging from a tangled wire tether. The man had been working at a nearby house when he saw the dog, who became aggressive out of fear when the man attempted to intervene. The man called the police, but the dog had died by the time officers arrived. They discovered that the dog’s three owners had not checked on or fed the emaciated animal in three days. They were charged with misdemeanor cruelty to a non-livestock animal. An investigator for the county animal crimes task force stated, “The dog got tangled up in the wire so that it was around his back legs and ended up suspending him from the wire so he couldn’t touch the ground.”

June 19, 2020/Lore City, Ohio: An 11-year-old girl was attacked by a Rottweiler who had broken loose from his or her chain. The dog’s owner was also bitten when he intervened. A neighbor responding to the screams and shouts for help shot the animal with a handgun to stop the attack. The dog died as a result of the gunshot. The girl sustained bite wounds to her lower leg, and the dog’s owner sustained several injuries, including one believed to be from the gunshot.

April 28, 2020/Detroit, Michigan: A 1-year-old boy and a 47-year-old man, a friend of the boy’s family, were attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull. The dog was chained before somehow escaping the owner’s backyard, running into the front yard where the toddler was playing, and biting the boy’s neck. The man intervened, picking up the child and punching the dog, who then mauled the man’s arm and attacked the boy again. The dog’s owner was taken into custody by the police, and the animal was taken into custody by animal control. The boy was rushed to the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, and the man was taken to Sinai-Grace Hospital.

April 24, 2020/Greenfield, Ohio: A 10-year-old girl had to climb on top of a vehicle to escape an attacking pit bull. The dog’s owner wasn’t home and couldn’t be reached. The girl’s mother called the police, and a responding officer tied the barking and growling dog to a stone bench using a length of chain that was attached to the animal’s collar. As the girl’s parents were filing statements and the officer was contacting dispatch, the dog began to bark and lunge, breaking free from the bench and running toward another child down the street. The officer yelled to warn that child’s family and sprinted after the dog, who turned around and charged aggressively at him. The officer shot the dog twice. Shortly after backup officers arrived, the dog’s owner came home and shouted at the officer, claiming that the dog had not been loose or dangerous. The dog survived, and the owner was charged with having a vicious dog. A judge ordered that the dog must remain in the home and be under control on a leash outside the home.

March 10, 2020/Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania: A man was reportedly attacked by a neighbor’s dog, who had gotten loose. He was treated at the hospital for injuries to his hand. When local media went to interview the dog’s owner, they found the animal chained outside. Other residents of the neighborhood reported that the dog was known to be aggressive.

January 30, 2020/Attala County, Mississippi: A 76-year-old man was found dead on his property by someone checking on his welfare. His body was discovered near a chained dog and in an area where another dog had also been chained before breaking loose. Two stray dogs were running at large nearby. He appeared to have been dragged from his wheelchair by the dogs. The man’s nephew owned the two chained dogs and agreed to have them euthanized. An autopsy confirmed that the victim had died from the dog attack.

January 18, 2020/York County, South Carolina: A 71-year-old woman was attacked by a family member’s chained pit bull, who had broken loose while she was caring for the relative’s dogs. Responding officers found her on the ground, surrounded by chained dogs. A good Samaritan driving past, who happened to be a nurse, stopped and offered to help until emergency services arrived. The victim was transported by helicopter to a hospital in Charlotte. Sheriff’s deputies found a total of 14 dogs, most of whom were chained and aggressive. The dogs were seized from the property. The incident prompted an investigation that resulted in these charges for the dogs’ owner: animal fighting, ill treatment of animals, violations of the county tethering ordinance, violations of the county spay/neuter ordinance, and charges for failing to provide dogs with proper shelter, adequate water, and rabies vaccinations.

January 14, 2020/Cherokee County, Oklahoma: While attempting to break up a fight between two dogs, a woman was bitten on the leg by a third dog, who ran up behind her. One of the animals’ collars had a chain still attached to it, which had become entangled in trees. The responding officer found the other dog who’d been involved in the fight lying dead nearby.

 January 7, 2020/Spring Valley, New York: A 1-year-old boy and several other people were attacked by a chained pit bull who had broken loose. The dog, dragging a length of heavy chain still wrapped around his neck, first pulled the toddler’s older sister to the ground, causing a minor injury to her leg. Then he grabbed the boy and tried to take him away, but a bystander intervened and cut the boy’s clothing to release him from the dog’s grip. Another good Samaritan also attempted to help and was attacked, sustaining several deep bite wounds to his hand and arm. It took several people to subdue the dog until police arrived and transported him to an animal shelter for quarantine.

 January 3, 2020/Victoria, Texas: A 7-year-old boy was attacked by his neighbor’s chained dog. The child was playing in the backyard unsupervised when he approached the dog, who bit him in the face. Reports indicated that, although his injuries were not life-threatening, the boy would likely require surgery.

November 15, 2019/Olive Hill, Tennessee: A 4-year-old boy was attacked by his family’s chained dog while he was outside unattended playing with the animal. The boy’s grandmother, who was supposed to be watching him, was indoors at the time of the attack and reported that the dog’s chain had wrapped around the child’s neck. First responders determined that the boy’s injuries were caused by being attacked by the dog. He was airlifted to a hospital for treatment of serious injuries and was expected to survive.

November 14, 2019/Durham, North Carolina: An 11-year-old girl walking home from the bus stop was attacked by a bull terrier who had broken free from his chain. A woman who lived nearby heard the child screaming and ran outside to intervene. She pulled the dog away from the girl, and the dog redirected, attacking the woman. She was able to confine the dog to a neighbor’s van until animal control could take custody of him.

September 28, 2019/Bennington, Oklahoma: A man died in the hospital after he was attacked by two pit bulls and a mixed-breed dog who had gotten loose. The owner of the dogs wasn’t home at the time of the attack and said that he believed he’d tethered them in his yard. The dogs acted aggressively toward responding officers, who fatally shot one of them, causing the other two animals to flee. The dogs had a history of aggression: They had attacked a young girl a month prior and a 14-year-old boy a few days before the fatal mauling.

September 18, 2019/Fayetteville, North Carolina: A 19-month-old boy was attacked by his grandmother’s chained pit bull. The child’s grandmother left him unattended in the yard near the dog. When she came back outside, the boy was pinned to the ground, wrapped in the dog’s chain. The child was airlifted to a hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries to his face and neck. The grandmother also sustained bite wounds and surrendered the dog to animal control to be euthanized. The dog had a history of aggression, including an attack on a different child in 2017.

September 16, 2019/Blacksburg, South Carolina: A 2-year-old child was attacked by a chained pit bull after wandering away from home and into a neighbor’s yard.

September 15, 2019/Detroit, Michigan: A 3-year-old girl was attacked by a chained pit bull after wandering into a neighbor’s yard.

September 9, 2019/Ellsworth Township, Ohio: A runner was chased and attacked by a dog whom she recognized from previous runs, when the dog was chained. The dog’s owner was also attacked while attempting to restrain him and put him back on the chain. Responding officers unsuccessfully attempted to use a Taser on the dog, who tried to attack them. The dog’s other owner arrived home and confined the animal to his truck. According to the Mahoning County Dog Warden’s Office, the dog was scheduled to be euthanized, and the runner was hospitalized for injuries sustained during the attack.

September 1, 2019/Appomattox County, Virginia: A man reported that his child was bitten by a chained dog. He fatally shot the dog and was charged with misdemeanor cruelty to animals for killing an animal in an inhumane manner.

July 24, 2019/Detroit, Michigan: A police officer responding to a domestic violence complaint was attacked by a pit bull who had broken loose from his chain.

July 15, 2019/Detroit, Michigan: A 56-year-old man was attacked by three pit bulls who were known to be aggressive and break loose from their chains. He was later reported to be in critical condition.

June 12, 2019/Spartanburg, South Carolina: A man was attacked by a loose pit bull while walking down the street. He stabbed the dog near the mouth, causing the animal to retreat, and a woman who lived nearby came outside to get the dog. She had been keeping him or her tied up outside and told police that the animal’s owner was a friend who couldn’t have the dog at her apartment. The dog was surrendered to police to be euthanized.

June 11, 2019/Taylors, South Carolina: While attempting to save his own chained dog, a 78-year-old man was bitten by his neighbor’s pit bull, who had broken free from a chain. The pit bull was declared “dangerous,” and the dog’s owner was cited for allowing the animal to run at large. The dog who was attacked was reported to be in critical condition and could require up to $7,000 worth of veterinary care to save his life.

June 10, 2019/Kenosha, Wisconsin: A 4-year-old boy was attacked by a pit bull who was tied to a front porch. The dog belonged to acquaintances of the child’s family, and he was trying to pet the dog when he was mauled. The boy’s father rushed him to the hospital, where he received surgery to treat wounds to his face. The dog’s owner blamed the child for the attack, claiming that he was unsupervised and that the dog was wagging his tail until the child made eye contact and the animal felt threatened. The dog wasn’t licensed with the city or up to date on his rabies vaccination. Health officials reported that his owner had taken him to an unknown location and that they had issued an order to declare the dog vicious.

June 2, 2019/Taymouth Township, Michigan: A 10-year-old boy was attacked by his neighbor’s 70-pound Weimaraner–pit bull mix. The victim was playing with another child in the yard when he went by the dog, who lunged, chased, jumped on, and bit him. He received nearly 40 stitches at the hospital. The dog had been tethered with a clothesline wrapped around his neck and attached to a cinder block. His owner surrendered him to animal control to be euthanized.

April 25, 2019/Browns Summit, North Carolina: A woman, her boyfriend, and their three dogs were attacked by several loose pit bulls while walking in their neighborhood. Upon arriving at the property where the attacking dogs lived, animal control officers found one of them chained in violation of county ordinance.

April 6, 2019/Hamilton, Ohio: A 5-year-old girl was attacked by her neighbor’s dog when he broke loose from his chain. The child was hospitalized for treatment of bite wounds all over her body and required surgery to implant a metal plate in her jaw and wire her mouth shut. The dog’s owner agreed to have him euthanized.

January 29, 2019/Ozark County, Missouri: A volunteer firefighter was bitten by a dog while attempting to rescue the animal’s elderly owner, who had become lost in the woods while searching for two German shepherd mixes who had broken loose from their chains.

January 21, 2019/Stuttgart, Arkansas: An 11-year-old boy riding a scooter was attacked by a pit bull who broke loose from his chain. The child was taken to the hospital and received stitches for an injury sustained to his foot. The dog’s owner could face fines for having a pit bull who wasn’t registered, vaccinated, or properly confined.

November 29, 2018/Ironton, Ohio: A 6-year-old boy walking down a road was attacked by a German shepherd who broke loose from his chain. The child was hospitalized because of the severity of injuries to his head and leg. The dog was shot and killed by his owner, who was cited for failing to confine a vicious or dangerous dog.

November 23, 2018/West New York, New Jersey: A 5-year-old boy walking to school with his mother and younger brother was attacked by a pit bull who was running loose from a nearby construction site. The dog had been tethered at the site “for security.”

November 7, 2018/Chandler, Arizona: An animal control officer responding to a call to impound a Rottweiler was attacked by the dog and required emergency surgery. The dog was supposed to be impounded to await a court date because he had previously attacked a nursing home resident, who had to be hospitalized. Before that attack, in two separate incidents, the dog had attacked a veterinary technician on a mobile vet clinic and a passerby while he was running at large. Neighbors reported that the dog had also broken free from a heavy chain in order to attack a 13-year-old boy. Police officers fatally shot the dog in order to stop the attack on the animal control officer.

November 4, 2018/Belmont, Ohio: A man was walking his dog when a chained German shepherd broke loose and attacked them. The man sustained a bite to his hand, and his dog required emergency surgery to repair a severed artery. The German shepherd had previously broken loose and attacked another dog who was being walked nearby.

October 29, 2018/Sanford, North Carolina: A 12-year-old girl was attacked by her neighbor’s dog as she was getting off the school bus. The dog was normally kept chained but was running at large that afternoon. When the child’s mother arrived home, she found her daughter covered with blood and surrounded by people, but no one had called 911. The girl was taken to the hospital and later released.

October 23, 2018/St. George, Utah: A police officer responding to a call around 3 a.m. was attacked by a pit bull who had been chained. The dog was barking while chained in the front yard and was taken indoors by his owners but escaped from the house through an open window and went straight for the officer, who was still in the yard. The man attempted to avoid an attack, but when the dog bit him, he drew his weapon and fired several shots into the animal, who let go and ran away. The dog returned home after a few hours and was taken to a veterinarian for treatment.

October 8, 2018/Grambling, Louisiana: A 7-year-old boy was attacked by a family member’s chained mastiff when he ran past the dog to get a ball. The child was airlifted to a hospital, where he underwent surgery for his injuries. The dog was euthanized, and the dog’s owner was issued a criminal summons.

September 5, 2018/Warren Township, Ohio: A 90-year-old woman was attacked by her neighbor’s dog, who broke loose and ran after her as she walked to her porch. The dog bit her face, abdomen, leg, and throat—one of the bites punctured her trachea. She was flown by helicopter to the hospital for treatment.

August 28, 2018/Anderson Township, Ohio: A 4-year-old girl was attacked by a husky-shepherd mix when she wandered too close to the dog, who was tied to a tree. The animal’s owners weren’t cited because he wasn’t loose at the time of the attack, and they blamed the child for getting near him. A neighbor who witnessed first responders tending to the child reportedly told local news media, “These cops would have to take me away. I said I would have to come out here with my gun and shoot that dog in the head. It’s just that simple.”

July 29, 2018/Brownstown, Indiana: A woman was attacked by a pit bull mix when the dog, who was tied to a porch, broke loose from his collar. Because it was the third time in a year that he had attacked someone, the town council voted unanimously for him to be euthanized.

July 4, 2018/Denver, Colorado: A 10-year-old boy was attacked by a dog during a family barbecue. When the child found a soda in the cooler and turned around to tell his mother, the dog broke free from his chain, jumped a fence, and ran after the boy. The victim’s mother claimed that whenever the dog had acted aggressive, his owner would kick or hit him.

July 1, 2018/Valdosta, Georgia: A 10-year-old boy was attacked by a pit bull he had previously interacted with in a way that the dog’s owner claimed “[made his] dog aggressive.” The animal was running loose at the time of the attack but was usually kept tethered. He acted aggressively toward a responding officer, who fatally shot him.

June 13, 2018/Harrison County, Mississippi: A process server was bitten by a pit bull chained at the home where he was attempting to serve papers.

May 16, 2018/Statesboro, Georgia: A 57-year-old woman was walking through her backyard when a neighbor’s chained pit bull slipped out of his collar, ran onto her property, and attacked her. An elderly woman who was nearby beat the dog with a chair to stop the attack. The victim was flown to a hospital in Savannah, and first responders reported that the animal had ripped “large chunks” of flesh from her body. The dog was one of seven pit bulls chained on the property, and the owner “was cited for having a dangerous animal, several counts of no rabies vaccinations, and having a dog at large.” The dog was seized by animal control for 10-day quarantine and euthanasia.

May 13, 2018/Oakley, Kentucky: An 8-year-old boy was attacked when a family member’s chained pit bull broke free. The victim needed surgery for injuries sustained to his leg, and the dog was reportedly “put down” by a family member.

May 12, 2018/Princeton, Indiana: A woman walking home from her mother’s house with her puppy was attacked by a dog who had broken free as she passed the property where he was chained. The police chief called the attack a “mauling.” The victim required surgery to repair injuries to her leg.

May 7, 2018/San Diego, California: An 8-week-old baby was attacked by a family friend’s chained pit bull. The child was on the ground between her mother’s legs when the dog grabbed her by the head and shook her, causing multiple fractures to her skull. The dog was taken into custody by animal control and later euthanized. The child sustained a puncture wound to her brain and an injury to her eye.

May 6, 2018/Mishawaka, Indiana: A police officer responding to a report of a domestic dispute was attacked by a chained pit bull. The dog grabbed the officer’s boot heel, but no injuries were reported. One shot was fired but didn’t hit the animal.

April 4, 2018/Ambridge, Pennsylvania: Two people were attacked by a pit bull who had broken loose from her tether. One of the victims, who needed 11 stitches in his leg, reported that the dog was running up to houses in the neighborhood, trying to attack people through their doors. Responding officers locked down the area while they searched for the animal and were forced on top of their squad cars to avoid being attacked themselves.

March 29, 2018/Fairfield, Connecticut: A 59-year-old man was walking to the train station when two loose pit bulls, Zeus and Sugar, ran after him and Zeus bit his leg. The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment, and witnesses told police that the dogs are always loose. Their owner told police that he keeps them chained. According to the police report, Zeus had a history of biting people.

March 25, 2018/Bexar County, Texas: A 4-year-old boy was playing in his backyard when he was fatally mauled by his family’s chained dog. The local sheriff reported that a relative looked into the backyard and saw that the dog had his mouth around the child’s neck and was shaking him. Although the boy was already dead by the time they got to him, family members attempted to administer first aid and he was airlifted to the hospital.

January 6, 2018/Avon, Maine: The local sheriff’s office received a complaint that a child had been bitten by a pit bull on January 6. Two days later, another complaint was received that the dog had been left chained outside in a snowbank in subfreezing temperatures. The responding deputy had an occupant bring the dog indoors and charged the owner with cruelty to animals.

December 24, 2017/Bell County, Kentucky: A 66-year-old woman was fatally attacked in her yard by her neighbor’s pit bulls, who had gotten loose from their chains. Her husband was attacked by one of the dogs when he walked outside his house to find his wife. His brother, who lived nearby, disrupted the attack long enough for the husband to retrieve his gun. He shot both dogs, killing one and injuring the other. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, and responders took her husband to the hospital for treatment of injuries to his head and arm. The dogs’ owner, who was already in jail on a bench warrant and charges of second-degree assault, domestic violence, and unlawful imprisonment, pleaded guilty to harboring a vicious animal and was sentenced to one year in county jail.

December 5, 2017/Finney County, Kansas: A 10-year-old boy was playing with another child in his neighbor’s yard when he was attacked by a chained German shepherd–pit bull mix. He was flown to a hospital in Colorado for treatment and faced several months of reconstructive surgeries.

October 24, 2017/Texarkana, Texas: A 1-year-old girl was attacked by a pit bull chained in her backyard. The responding officer shot and killed the animal to stop the attack, and the child was taken to the hospital, where she was reported in critical condition with a fractured skull.

October 8, 2017/Tiffin, Ohio: A 61-year-old man sustained puncture wounds when he was bitten by a dog chained to a porch as he walked by the house.

September 26, 2017/Emmetsburg, Iowa: A woman was attacked by a loose dog as she walked past the yard where the animal was normally kept chained.

August 1, 2017/Newaygo, Michigan: A 12-year-old boy was riding his bicycle when two St. Bernard mixes broke their tethers and chased him down to attack him. He sustained at least 250 puncture wounds, bites, and scratches as well as damage to a major artery.

August 1, 2017/Hartwell, Georgia: A 20-month-old boy died after he was attacked by two pit bulls who belonged to his grandmother, who was babysitting him. Following the attack, she drove him to meet his mother, and then they took him to an urgent-care facility, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The dogs had a history of aggression and complaints reported to animal control, including several instances when responding officers found them chained outside without access to food, water, or shelter. The grandmother was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and second-degree cruelty to children.

July 21, 2017/Taney County, Missouri: An 11-year-old girl was attacked by two pit bulls, normally kept chained, who belonged to her friend’s family. She was approaching the property to see if her friend was home when the loose dogs ran up and attacked her. Although her friend wasn’t home, a neighbor heard her screaming and came to help. The girl was rushed to the hospital, where a surgeon stitched, stapled, or sutured 48 different wounds. The doctor said that the dogs had nearly fractured her skull. “You could see the teeth indention in her skull from how hard they bit her,” she said. The girl had previously met the dogs while they were chained and hadn’t had problems with them before.

July 17, 2017/Denison, Texas: A 4-year-old boy was attacked by his family’s chained pit bull while playing with other children in the backyard. He sustained serious injuries to his face and skull, was transported to the local hospital, and then flown to a Dallas hospital for treatment.

June 18, 2017/Farmersville, Texas: A 5-year-old boy was attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull while he was riding his bike in the yard where the dog was tethered. The animal became agitated, broke the tether, and bit the boy’s arm. The child was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

June 17, 2017/Cumberland County, North Carolina: An animal control officer was attacked by a Cane Corso when she responded to a complaint that the dog was tethered without food, water, or shelter. The dog had become tangled around an outdoor cooking appliance, and the dog’s owner had difficulty untangling the animal. When the owner was taking the dog into the house, the dog broke free and attacked the officer, who sustained bite wounds to her lower body, including a leg. Responding police officers found her taking refuge on top of a car to get away from the dog. She was taken to a hospital, and the dog was signed over to be euthanized.

June 8, 2017/Bessemer, Alabama: A man was attacked by his neighbor’s pit bull when the dog broke loose from his tether. The victim had been talking to his neighbor while the dog was acting aggressive and lunging toward him until the cable snapped. The dog ran up to the man, bit his leg, and knocked him to the ground. The neighbor tried to stop the attack by hitting the dog with a two-by-four until it broke and the man was able to get away from the animal. An ambulance soon arrived, and the victim was treated for wounds to his leg, feet, and arm. The dog was impounded for mandatory quarantine.

May 28, 2017/Grand Rapids, Michigan: A 2-year-old was attacked by a pit bull who had broken loose from a tether. The child was being walked in a stroller at the time and was bitten in the face, but the injury wasn’t considered life-threatening.

May 26, 2017/Bunker Hill, Indiana: A woman was attacked by her neighbor’s chained Rottweiler as she was walking away after petting the dog. He bit her leg and dragged her onto the ground. She received 12 stitches as a result of the attack.

May 11, 2017/Kingston, Oklahoma: An 8-year-old boy was attacked by a chained 6-month-old puppy. He’d interacted with the dog before and told the local news station, “I always hear [him] whine and I always go back there to pet [him].” The boy required reconstructive surgery to repair the damage to his face.

May 2, 2017/Tulsa County, Oklahoma: A 7-year-old boy was attacked after wandering too close to a pit bull who was chained to a tree in his babysitter’s backyard. When a sheriff’s deputy arrived, the animal broke the chain and attacked him, causing several puncture wounds and breaking his finger. The deputy shot and killed the dog in self-defense. According to reports, the dog had a history of aggression: Neighbors and the boy’s mother said that they knew he was dangerous. The boy, part of whose scalp was completely detached in the attack, required emergency surgery for injuries to his head, face, and throat.

April 26, 2017/Waynesboro, Virginia: A 3-year-old girl was attacked by a pit bull when she wandered into the yard where the dog was chained. She was hospitalized with injuries to her arm and face.

April 25, 2017/Dallas, Texas: A little boy was attacked by a dog who belonged to his friend’s family after he hugged his friend. Neighbors reported that the dog was usually kept tethered and barked at passersby. The boy, who sustained injuries to his back and face, was rushed to the hospital.

April 25, 2017/Dayton, Ohio: Officers responding to a 911 call reporting screams for help and dogs barking in an alley around 4:40 a.m. found a 60-year-old man being attacked by a pit bull. According to officers on the scene, the dog had broken loose from a chain. When they weren’t able to contain the dog safely, they fatally shot him. The victim was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Three other dogs were turned over to authorities—all four were believed to be from the same property. A neighbor told the Dayton Daily News, “I was wondering when something like this was going to happen, because he’s been tethered for years.”

April 24, 2017/Glynn County, Georgia: A 7-year-old boy was mauled by his babysitter’s pit bull when the child wandered, unattended, into the backyard where the dog was chained. The boy, who incurred severe head wounds, was taken immediately to the hospital. The dog, who was still chained when officers arrived, was removed from the property and taken to the county animal shelter for quarantine. Officers had to use bolt cutters to free him from his chain. When asked by a local media outlet if the dog has ever attacked anyone before, a neighbor stated, “No, no, he always keeps his dog tied up, always. His dog never runs.”

April 16, 2017/East Ridge, Tennessee: An 80-year-old woman was attacked by a neighbor’s medium-size, mixed-breed dog when she took a small dog she was dog-sitting outside early in the morning. The loose dog knocked her down in an attempt to attack the small dog. The woman sustained bites to her hands and extensive bruising. The loose dog had been chained but had slipped out of a collar. 

April 13, 2017/Carroll County, Indiana: An 8-year-old boy was attacked by a neighbor’s dog who was running loose. According to a witness, the injuries to his arm penetrated to the bone. When a deputy arrived to find the dog still acting aggressively, the law-enforcement officer shot the animal in the chest. The dog survived the gunshot and was taken to a veterinary clinic before being quarantined. Neighbors reported that they’d never seen the dog attack anyone else but that the animal was always kept chained outside without food, water, or shelter. 

April 12, 2017/Elmwood Place, Ohio: A 3-year-old girl was attacked by a chained dog who broke loose while she was playing with other children in the yard where the animal was confined. A neighbor speculated that the dog was chasing after a ball that the kids were playing with. The dog’s owners allegedly fled the scene with the animal and were later charged with tampering with evidence, a felony, and obstructing official business, a misdemeanor.

April 10, 2017/San Angelo, Texas: A woman was attacked by a neighbor’s German shepherd as she walked to her local convenience store. The dog had been tethered with a rope but broke loose and attacked her leg. When a responding officer grabbed the rope to pull the dog away from the woman, the animal bit the officer, who then shot the dog. The woman required surgery to repair torn ligaments as well as 38 staples in her leg.

April 5, 2017/Jersey City, New Jersey: An 8-year-old boy was attacked by a pit bull while playing outside with other children. The dog had been tethered in an adjacent yard but broke loose. After the initial attack, during which the dog bit off the boy’s ear, the dog’s owner pulled the animal off the child, but the dog attacked a second time, biting his thigh and calf. The boy survived and was facing multiple surgeries as well as the possible need for a prosthetic ear.

March 29, 2017/Russellville, Ohio: A 6-year-old girl was attacked when she got too close to a neighbor’s chained German shepherd. She sustained bites to the head and neck, including a bite that came within centimeters of a major artery. A 13-year-old boy hit the dog with a baseball bat to stop the attack.

March 9, 2017/Paducah, Kentucky: A police officer was attacked by a chained dog who had broken loose from the chain. The officer was standing by his cruiser when the dog, who was chained in the front yard of the property where the officer was heading to follow up on a case, broke free and attacked his leg. He fired one shot from his weapon but missed the dog, hitting the pavement instead. The dog ran back home, and the officer was taken to the hospital for treatment.

January 25, 2017/Marion, North Carolina: A 2-year-old girl was attacked by a chained dog when she and a 4-year-old girl wandered too close to the animal, who lived in a family member’s backyard. A neighbor heard the girls’ screams and ran over to pull the 2-year-old away from the dog. She was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The older girl wasn’t harmed. 

December 29, 2016/El Dorado, Arkansas: A man was attacked by a neighbor’s dog who had broken loose from her chain. The victim said that the dog had climbed under a fence, run up to him, and bitten his leg. He kicked her until she let go, and then he jumped on top of his car to get away from her. Responding officials weren’t able to restrain her with a containment pole, so they shot her with a tranquilizer dart—but that still wasn’t enough to restrain her. When she seemed about to attack, two officers shot her a total of three times, killing her. A neighbor who witnessed the incident said that “the dog panicked and wanted to protect her puppies.”

November 20, 2016/Coffee County, Alabama: A 5-year-old boy was attacked by a chained dog while he was playing outside near the animal unattended. His mother had been with him but went inside the house to answer the phone. She came back out when she heard him screaming. She tried to get the dog off him and told her daughter to get a knife from the kitchen. They stabbed the dog until he let go of the boy’s leg, and according to officials, a “family friend finished putting the dog down” before law enforcement arrived. The boy was rushed to the hospital. His uncle said that the dog was “good-natured” but that his owner hadn’t been paying much attention to him lately.

October 5, 2016/Brockton, Massachusetts: A 75-year-old woman, a 44-year-old man, an animal control officer, and a firefighter were attacked by a husky after he broke loose from his tether. Three of the victims were taken to the hospital for their injuries. The elderly woman required skin-graft surgery for a wound to her arm. The dog had previously been found running loose at a day-care center.

September 18, 2016/Westby, Wisconsin: A 2-year-old girl was mauled by a 150-pound Great Dane when she ran too close to where the dog was tethered. The dog’s owner was nearby and witnessed the attack—she immediately ran to intervene, but the dog already had the child. It took several people to get the animal away from the girl, who was then rushed to the hospital.

September 12, 2016/South Bend, Indiana: A 4-year-old boy who was at a child-care center run out of a private home was attacked by a pit bull who was tethered in the backyard. Details of the attack vary as reported by the boy’s father and the dog’s owner, but footage from a surveillance camera showed that the boy was playing in the yard unsupervised at the time of the attack. He received 27 stitches at the hospital.

August 19, 2016/Bulloch County, Georgia: A young girl approached a chained dog, who then bit her finger off. The dog’s owner knew that the animal was aggressive while on the chain, and the girl admitted to officials that she knew she wasn’t supposed to be near the dog but thought he “looked lonely.” The finger couldn’t be reattached because it hadn’t been recovered at the scene. It’s suspected that the dog swallowed it.

August 15, 2016/Algona, Iowa: A Kossuth County deputy was serving civil papers when he was attacked by a chained pit bull. The dog was on the porch, and the deputy didn’t think the animal would be able to reach him because the chain was tangled. Following the attack, the dog was declared “vicious” under a local ordinance. In reaching that decision, the city council took into consideration that the dog was kept chained about two blocks from an elementary school.

August 3, 2016/Lorain, Ohio: A 31-year-old woman was on a walk with her husband when a pit bull ran up to them and bit the woman on the arm. The dog’s owner claimed that the animal had been chained but had broken loose.

July 17, 2016/Payson, Arizona: A 4-year-old boy was playing near his family’s pit bull, who was chained to a tree, when the dog attacked him. The family believes that the dog became agitated when someone walked past with another dog and that the pit bull turned on the child because he was within reach. The boy was rushed to the hospital for treatment of injuries sustained to his face and head.

July 8, 2016/Odessa, Texas: A 67-year-old woman was attacked by two dogs as she was taking the trash out behind her house. The dogs had been chained in a nearby backyard but had managed to escape. According to witnesses, the animals had a history of aggression. The victim was hospitalized, and the dogs’ owners were arrested and charged with “attack by dog,” a third-degree felony.

June 29, 2016/Klamath County, Oregon: A sheriff’s deputy was bitten by a chained dog when he attempted to help the animal, who was hanging by the collar. He was treated at a nearby medical center, and the dog, along with another chained dog from the property, was impounded by animal control.

June 27, 2016/Fresno, California: A 3-day-old baby died after she had been bitten by two dogs in the family house. The baby’s mother had left her on the couch briefly when she went to use the restroom, and she returned to find that the baby had been bitten by her brother’s shar-pei–pit bull mixes. The door to the house had been left open to let in cool air, and the dogs were normally kept chained in the backyard.

June 19, 2016/Maxton, North Carolina: A 3-year-old boy was playing with other children in his grandmother’s backyard when he was bitten in the face by a pit bull chained in the yard. The boy was flown to a hospital in Chapel Hill for treatment.

June 18, 2016/Lumberton, North Carolina: A 2-year-old girl was outside playing with other children when one of two chained pit bulls at the residence “lashed out and attacked [her] without provocation.” She was taken to a hospital for treatment.

June 4, 2016/Corinna, Maine: A 7-year-old boy visiting his father was playing unsupervised in a backyard when the family’s chained dog attacked him. The pit bull bit his throat, and he died at the scene. The dog, who reportedly had a history of aggression, was euthanized following the attack.

May 23, 2016/Raeford, North Carolina: A 2-year-old was attacked by his family’s dog while playing in the backyard. The dog bit him on the head and neck, and he was flown to a hospital in Chapel Hill for treatment. When deputies arrived, the dog was chained in the yard, although it was unclear whether the animal had been chained at the time of the attack.

May 13, 2016/Page County, Virginia: A 5-year-old boy was attacked by a pit-bull mix and endured an eight-hour surgery to repair injuries to his face. His family says that the neighbor’s dog attacked him while he was playing with another child. According to the dog’s owner, the dog was chained at the time and the boy was antagonizing the animal by throwing rocks.

April 17, 2016/Tucker, Georgia: A 77-year-old woman was walking her small dog on her own property when a neighbor’s pit bull attacked her and her dog. The woman tried to push her dog to safety under a vehicle, but the pit bull dragged the woman out from underneath it and pulled her down the driveway. The pit bull reportedly took a “chunk” out of the woman’s leg, and her dog died shortly after the incident. The victims’ family reported that they had previously seen the pit bull chained in a neighbor’s front yard.

April 8, 2016/Paris, Illinois: A young girl walking to school was attacked by a pit bull who had broken free of his chain and run after her. A man passing by saw the dog pin the child to the ground and intervened to help her. When she escaped, the dog turned on the man and bit him as well. 

March 26, 2016/Lumberton, North Carolina: A 4-year-old boy was bitten in the face by his family’s dog, who was chained in their backyard at the time. The boy was rushed to the hospital for treatment of his injuries.

February 1, 2016 / Mobile, Alabama: A 6-year-old boy was playing outside with his family when their chained dog broke loose and latched onto the child’s throat. The boy was in critical condition at the children’s hospital in Birmingham at the time of the news report.

October 20, 2015 / Richmond, Michigan: A Richmond Mobile Home Park employee was bitten by a chained dog when he approached a home to speak with a resident. The bite broke the skin, and the incident was reported to local police and animal control.

October 16, 2015 / Corpus Christi, Texas: A code enforcement officer was performing a home check when he was bitten by a dog chained on the property. The officer was treated for a bite wound to the leg at the scene.

September 28, 2015/Berkeley County, West Virginia: A 2-year-old boy was attacked by a dog when he wandered into a neighbor’s backyard where the animal was chained. Both he and the dog were unattended at the time of the attack. The dog’s owner found the child lying in the backyard, although it’s unclear how much time had elapsed since the attack. The boy was transported to a local hospital and then flown to a trauma center in Baltimore, where he died late that night.

September 27, 2015/Detroit, Michigan: A 2-year-old boy was attacked by a dog when he wandered into the garage where the dog was chained. He was hospitalized, and the dog’s owner blamed the boy’s parents, claiming that he was being a responsible owner by keeping the dog chained and the parents shouldn’t have allowed the boy onto the property. The owner’s car windows were found smashed following the attack on the boy. Previously, the dog had attacked the boy’s family’s puppy, and the family’s tires were slashed.

September 16, 2015/Tate County, Mississippi: A man was out for a walk when his neighbor’s dog broke loose from a chain and attacked him. The same dog had attacked the man’s father the previous year. According to local authorities, there are no laws that would allow the dog to be seized from the owner, regardless of how many times the dog has bitten someone.

September 14, 2015/Dayton, Ohio: An 8-year-old girl was chased and attacked by a dog who had broken loose from a chain. She sustained scrapes to her palm and knee when she fell to the ground and broken skin on her back from the dog bite.

September 2, 2015/Jackson, Michigan: A 7-year-old girl was attacked by a chained pit bull while she was petting another dog nearby. She sustained severe lacerations to her face and a torus fracture to her left arm before she was able to crawl away from the dog. The girl required plastic surgery with as many as 75 stitches to repair her face as well as rabies post-exposure vaccinations because the dog hadn’t been vaccinated. About 90 minutes before attacking the girl, the dog had attacked a 12-year-old boy, after which his owners had chained him up.

August 24, 2015/Danville, Virginia: A woman was bitten on the foot by a neighbor’s dog, who was normally kept chained but had gotten loose. A passerby stopped to help, but the dog went after him as well, attacking the tires of the man’s car when he retreated into the vehicle. The victim was transported to the hospital and later was faced with dialysis as her body fought an infection from the bite wounds.

July 29, 2015/Hogansville, Georgia: A man, his dog, and his neighbor’s dog were attacked by another neighbor’s pit bull. The pit bull had been kept chained for months and broke loose when a child tried to walk him on a leash. The man is now facing thousands of dollars in medical expenses for his own injuries as well as his dog’s.

July 15, 2015/Waynesville, Missouri: A Pulaski County sheriff’s deputy was attacked by a German shepherd while serving an arrest warrant for the dog’s owner, who was being charged with child molestation and statutory sodomy. The dog broke loose from a chain, attacked one deputy, and attempted to attack several other deputies at the scene. Neighbors reported that the dog had a history of aggression.

July 13, 2015/Chardon, Ohio: A 7-month-old girl was severely injured when she got in the middle of two dogs fighting in her home. Neighbors claimed that they had called the dog warden several times about the aggressive dog, who was usually kept chained outside. “[The dog will] break its chain barking at us, trying to get to us,” a neighbor said. “One day, it did break its chain, but it didn’t attack anyone only because its chain got stuck.” The little girl was hospitalized for the severe injuries that she sustained to her head.

July 12, 2015/Shaker Heights, Ohio: A 71-year-old woman died after she was attacked by a pit bull who was usually kept chained. The attack happened in front of her house, and several neighbors, alerted by the woman’s screams, came to her aid. One neighbor shot the dog in an attempt to stop the attack, and the dog ran into the backyard until police arrived. Responding officers fatally shot the dog, and paramedics performed CPR on the woman before transporting her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Initial reports indicated that the victim was the grandmother of the person who owned the dog.

July 1, 2015/Hamilton, Ohio: A 9-year-old girl was playing with other children in a backyard when a chained pit bull who lived on the property bit her face. The children had been spraying the dog in the face with water from the hose, provoking the animal to break loose and attack. The girl was airlifted to a hospital for treatment.

June 27, 2015/Clay County, Florida: A teenage boy and a young girl were bitten by a pit bull whom the girl’s older brother had found as a stray and then chained up. The dog, described as a “skinny, sick-looking gray pit bull,” had just been given food and water when the girl approached to pet him. She was bitten under her arm and on her chest. When the teenage boy intervened, he was bitten on the hand. The older brother took his sister in the house and then punched the dog in the head, hit him with a metal pole, and shot him with a neighbor’s shotgun. The dog had no history of veterinary care, so the two bite victims needed post-exposure rabies vaccinations.

June 24, 2015/Pittsburg, Kansas: A 5-year-old boy was riding his bike alongside his grandmother when a stray dog grabbed his foot and dragged him off the bike. The dog then attacked the child’s head. A neighbor heard the boy’s screams and dialed 911. The boy was airlifted to a hospital and will require several more surgeries to repair his face, reconstruct his ear, and graft skin onto his foot. The dog had been chained in a backyard but had somehow gotten loose and jumped the fence.

June 22, 2015/Tulsa, Oklahoma: A postal worker was attacked by a dog when a child let him off his chain because he was whining. The dog’s owners had previously moved their mailbox closer to the street after another postal worker had stopped coming to the property for fear of the dog. The victim was hospitalized for injuries sustained to his side and his face.

June 11, 2015/Rocky Mount, North Carolina: A 2-year-old boy was attacked by a family dog. The boy was being watched by his aunt at her house, and her dog, who was allegedly chained inside the house, attacked the toddler and dragged him outside, where a bystander rescued the boy and kept him inside a van until help arrived. The child was hospitalized for bites to his face, head, and ear. The dog’s owner surrendered that dog as well as two others on the property.

June 6, 2015/Beaver Creek Township, Michigan: A 69-year-old man was out for his morning run when a neighborhood dog attacked him. The dog was usually tethered in the owner’s backyard but was running at large, with the heavy chain still wrapped directly around the animal’s neck in lieu of a proper collar. The victim was hospitalized for injuries sustained all over his body.

June 1, 2015/Hillsborough County, Florida: A 4-year-old boy was bitten by his family’s dog in his own backyard. The boy was following his father to the shed, near where the dog was chained, when the dog jumped on him. The child was hospitalized for injuries sustained to his face and neck. The dog, who had been described as “hyperactive,” was euthanized.

May 27, 2015/Port Angeles, Washington: A 73-year-old woman was attacked by her neighbor’s American bulldog while walking to her mailbox. The bulldog had been tethered, but the tether separated from the spike that his owner, a sergeant in the local sheriff’s office, had put in the ground to anchor it. The dog was tethered because he had previously tried to bite the elderly neighbor. The woman was hospitalized for severe injuries sustained to her arms, hands, fingers, and legs.

May 25, 2015/Unalakleet, Alaska: A 7-year-old girl was attacked by two dogs, one chained and one loose, when she was petting the chained dog on a “dog lot.” The girl sustained severe injuries to her face and neck, and she was flown to Anchorage for treatment. The dogs’ owner reportedly killed them later that day.

May 3, 2015/Gum Springs, Arkansas: A 7-year-old boy was attacked by a chained Labrador when he approached the dog on his family’s property. The boy was hospitalized for injuries to his face, head, and neck. The dog was “put down” by the owner, and the body was to be tested for rabies.

April 27, 2015/Atlanta, Georgia: A woman was attacked by her neighbor’s bulldog and pit bull. She had gone into the neighbor’s yard after noticing that puppies were being attacked. The bulldog had been chained but had become unchained and attacked her. Another dog on the property, a pit bull, escaped a chain-link pen and joined the bulldog in attacking the woman. The woman was hospitalized for her injuries.

April 16, 2015/Lee County, Florida: A 10-year-old boy was bitten by his neighbor’s dog after the dog broke loose from a chain. The boy received stitches on his lip and may have sustained nerve damage to his face.

April 7, 2015/Bartlesville, Oklahoma: A 6-year-old boy was bitten by a pit bull who was chained to a pole in a neighbor’s backyard. The boy was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for wounds to his face and arm.

March 11, 2015/Athens, Georgia: A woman was bitten by her neighbor’s dog after the animal broke loose from a chain attached to the neighbor’s porch. The dog’s owner had gotten the animal from a coworker, and the dog had already tried to bite the new owner’s daughter. So the man had abandoned the dog near a restaurant. The dog went back to the home, and the owner chained the animal to the porch. The owner had no proof that the dog had had a rabies vaccination.

March 4, 2015/Fayetteville, North Carolina: An elderly woman was attacked as she walked by a boxer–pit bull mix who was chained to a front porch a few feet from the street. She sustained injuries to her hand, face, and head and lost part of a finger in the attack.

January 28, 2015/Norfolk, Virginia: Two women were attacked by a pit bull after the dog broke loose from a tether. The women were arguing in the front yard of the property, and the dog was tethered in the backyard. The dog broke loose and ran after them. The animal bit one woman as she ran away. The dog then bit the other woman, who owned the property, when she attempted to return the animal to the backyard. Both women were treated at the hospital for bite wounds.

January 25, 2015/Burgaw, North Carolina: A 7-year-old boy was attacked by a pit bull while at his friend’s house. The dog was tethered in an outdoor pen but somehow got loose and attacked the boy, who was playing with other children outside. The boy was hospitalized for severe head trauma sustained during the attack.

January 25, 2015/Culpeper County, Virginia: A 6-year-old girl, her aunt, and a 6-year-old boy were hurt in two separate attacks by a pit bull who broke loose from his chain. The local director of animal control stated that the dog had been living in “deplorable” conditions. The dog first attacked the girl, who lived at the property where the dog was kept, and then her aunt, who tried to help the child. The dog ran off, and while sheriff’s deputies were searching for him, the dog bit the boy elsewhere in the neighborhood. A member of that boy’s household shot and wounded the dog, who then ran off again. About 20 deputies, animal control officers, Virginia State Police, and local fire and rescue volunteers searched for the dog until midnight and then resumed the search at dawn the next day. They finally located the dog in a wooded area, and the dog was fatally shot when he aggressively charged at a deputy. The victims of the dog’s attacks were treated at local hospitals for non–life-threatening injuries.

January 5, 2015/Johnson City, Tennessee: A 4-year-old boy was attacked by a dog his family had captured as a stray and tied up in their yard. The dog was scared by a loud noise and grabbed the boy, who was standing close to the animal, by his cheek.

December 18, 2014/Vardaman, Mississippi: After a neighbor told a group of children to stop harassing a chained dog, the dog broke loose and then attacked the neighbor while he tried to return the dog to the owner’s property. The victim needed 35 stitches to close the wound on his arm.

November 30, 2014/New Port Richey, Florida: A 4-year-old boy was playing in the backyard near his family’s chained dog. When the child stood up to go into the house, the dog attacked him. The boy sustained a severed ear, among other injuries.

November 6, 2014/Titus, Alabama: A 3-year-old boy was mauled by his family’s pit bull while the dog was chained in the backyard.

November 5, 2014/Clackamas County, Oregon: A woman was attacked by an American Staffordshire terrier mix near her home as she was walking to her car. The dog’s owner claims that someone must have unlatched the gate to his yard and unchained the dog in order for him to get loose. The victim’s mother had previously called local authorities twice regarding her fear of the aggressive dogs on that property, where the owner has nine dogs.

October 20, 2014/Valle Vista, California: A 61-year-old woman was out walking when a pit bull broke loose from his chain, escaped from his yard, and attacked her. The victim was hospitalized for wounds sustained to her head, arms, and stomach. The dog’s owner had previously been cited by the sheriff’s office when the dog charged at a little girl riding her bicycle down the street.

September 29, 2014/Mount Pleasant, Tennessee: A 64-year-old woman had been sitting on her front porch when her son’s pit bull mix broke loose from his chain and attacked her. The dog dragged the woman from the porch into the front yard.  The woman’s two grandchildren witnessed the attack and tried to help. A neighbor also intervened, hitting the dog with a baseball bat until he retreated. The woman’s daughter-in-law said the dog hadn’t been aggressive until recently but that he had once bitten her daughter.

September 11, 2014/DeLand, Florida: A 6-year-old girl and her mother had been waiting for the school bus when a dog approached them and tried to attack the woman. She hit the dog with her daughter’s backpack, and the dog bit the little girl. The dog’s owner claims that the animal had been chained to the fence and didn’t attack anyone. Animal control records show that the dog had a history of aggression.

September 8, 2014/Bellefontaine, Ohio: A 7-year-old boy was attacked by a 1-year-old German shepherd mix after the dog broke his chain while lunging at the boy. The dog, who had been purchased from a breeder, had a history of aggression, having previously attacked two other children.

August 28, 2014/Greer, South Carolina: A 6-year-old boy was cutting through a backyard near his school bus stop when he was attacked by a pit bull who was chained in the yard. The bites from the dog were so severe that the boy’s arm was broken in three places. The owner, who’d purchased the dog off Craigslist, had no veterinary records or proof of vaccination for the dog. The boy was rushed to the hospital, where he was treated for his broken arm and bite wounds.

August 21, 2014/Columbus, Ohio: Two people were walking in the Columbus area when they were attacked by two loose pit bulls. The dogs, a male and a female who’d just had puppies, had been chained in their owner’s backyard but somehow got loose. The owner said the male dog was likely being protective of the puppies.

August 18, 2014/Bellefontaine, Ohio: A 2-year-old boy was allegedly bitten in the face by a dog named Rocket who belonged to his neighbor. The boy’s family states that the dog was loose and outside the neighbor’s fenced yard when the boy was bitten, while Rocket’s owner insists that the dog was chained and the boy entered his yard.

August 17, 2014/Grand Rapids, Michigan: An 11-year-old boy was walking down the street when a chained pit bull broke loose and attacked the boy. The victim was hospitalized with injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

July 28, 2014/Blount County, Tennessee: A 7-year-old boy was attacked by his cousin’s pit bull, who broke free from a chain that the victim’s mother said could “hold a horse” and bit his face, arm, and ears. One ear was slightly torn, but surgeons were able to reattach it right away. The second ear was ripped completely off and had to be attached to a blood vessel in the boy’s arm to allow blood to circulate for a few weeks before it can be reattached properly.

July 26, 2014/Bradley County, Tennessee: An 8-year-old boy was mauled when he tried to pet the family dog, who was chained at the time. The pit bull mix had been a stray not long before the family chained him in the yard. The dog hadn’t been vaccinated against rabies and had been sick the week before the attack. The boy sustained serious injuries that required stitches on his face as well as 22 staples in his head. Witnesses, including two other children, saw the boy’s scalp pulled back from his skull.

July 18, 2014/Thermal, California: A 5-year-old boy was playing outside with other children when the German shepherd–Shar Pei mix who lived at the property attacked him. The dog, who was normally kept chained, was running loose on the property at the time of the attack.

July 15, 2014/Cottonwood Heights, Utah: A 14-year-old girl was attacked by a pit bull who was chained to a tree. The girl sustained injuries to her face and leg.

July 13, 2014/Commerce City, Colorado: A 19-month-old boy was attacked when he attempted to hug a 90-pound pit bull who was tethered to a pole. The child sustained serious injuries. The dog, who was reportedly aggressive when law-enforcement officers seized and took the animal to the Adams County Animal Shelter, died from asphyxiation while being restrained.

July 9, 2014/Perry County, Missouri: A 7-year-old girl was attacked by a chained pit bull in a neighbor’s yard. The dog, who had bitten another child a year earlier, was attached to a 40-pound tow chain at the time the girl was bitten. The owner was charged with a Class A misdemeanor for possessing or owning a dog who bites a person.

July 3, 2014/Lindale, Texas: While delivering packages, a UPS driver was attacked by a pit bull after the dog broke loose from his chain and escaped from the pen that he was confined to. The woman sustained bite wounds to her arm, which became infected.  Despite being on heavy pain medication for her injuries, she also experienced nightmares and flashbacks of the attack.

July 1, 2014/Nakina, North Carolina: An 8-year-old boy was injured in an attack by three pit bulls on a neighbor’s property. The boy’s mother found him and managed to stop the attack and dial 911. Officials report that the boy’s mother had warned him to stay away from the dogs, who were normally kept chained behind an electric fence.

June 30, 2014/Union County, South Carolina: A woman and her small dog were attacked in their own backyard by a neighbor’s pit bull mix. The neighbor had gone on vacation and left the dog tied up outside, but the animal somehow got loose. The woman’s dog, named Munchkin, didn’t survive the attack.

June 30, 2014/Bluefield, West Virginia: A 7-year-old boy was bitten in his own backyard by a neighbor’s chained dog. It was reported that the dog’s tether was long enough to allow the animal to crawl underneath a fence, across an alley, and into the boy’s  yard. The boy’s father rushed him to the hospital, and an animal control officer seized the dog. The owner was reportedly facing a charge of felony negligence. Law-enforcement officials said that they had previously  received calls about the nine dogs living on that property.

May 29, 2014/Waco, Texas: A 2-year-old girl was attacked by a dog who was chained in a neighbor’s yard. She sustained injuries to her head, face, shoulder, and arms and was rushed to the hospital for treatment, where she received 38 stitches on her head alone.

May 24, 2014/Horizon City, Texas: A young boy was attacked by a chained pit bull after he went into his neighbor’s yard to pet the dogs who live there. The dogs’ owners were not home at the time. The boy was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

May 24, 2014/Ogemaw County, Michigan: An 8-year-old girl was walking past a neighbor’s cabin carrying a small dog when the neighbor’s pit bull broke loose from his chain and attacked her and the small dog. The girl’s mother and the pit bull’s owners were able to stop the attack. The girl was taken to the hospital, and the small dog was taken to a veterinarian for surgery.

May 24, 2014/Covington, Georgia: A 2-year-old boy was attacked by two stray dogs in his own backyard. One of the dogs was dragging a 7-foot chain, and when the boy got tangled in it, the dogs began to maul him. The boy’s ear and cheek had to be stitched back together by a plastic surgeon. His parents think that the dogs belong to someone in their neighborhood, but no owner was found.

May 23, 2014/Decatur, Michigan: A woman who uses a motorized wheelchair was attacked by a pit bull who broke loose from a chain. Two witnesses intervened and helped get the dog off her. The dog’s owners claim that it was not an attack, but neighbors say they have had close calls with the dog before.

May 19, 2014/Madison County, Tennessee: A 4-year-old boy was walking with his mother and their dog when a chained pit bull broke loose and attacked the child. The pit bull’s owner couldn’t provide proof of rabies vaccination, so officials kept the dog under quarantine for observation. Officials deemed the dog’s chain “acceptable” and didn’t plan to issue charges.

May 14, 2014/Aliquippa, Pennsylvania: A 4-year-old girl was playing outside when a Shar-Pei–beagle mix who was chained in the yard broke loose and bit her. The dog had bitten another person several weeks before. The little girl spent the night in the hospital, and the owner was charged with harboring a dangerous dog and not having a license for the animal.

May 11, 2014/Hilda, South Carolina: A 4-year-old girl was playing in a family friend’s yard when she was attacked by a pit bull who was tied to a tree with an industrial chain about 3 feet long. The dog’s owner claims that the child provoked the attack by pulling the dog’s ears, but the child’s mother says the girl never touched the dog. The child required plastic surgery to reconstruct her face.

May 4, 2014/Caldwell County, North Carolina: An 18-month-old boy was killed by his family’s 100-pound Rottweiler in his grandfather’s backyard. The toddler and his 5-year-old cousin were playing unsupervised in the backyard when they approached the dog, who was chained at the time. The animal grabbed the little boy by his head, and the child also sustained serious injuries to his chest. He was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.

April 28, 2014/Yankton, South Dakota: A 12-year-old girl was mauled by a neighbor’s pit bull as she was walking to the school bus. The dog had a history of lunging at passersby and this time broke loose from a chain. In 2012, the dog had bitten another girl walking past at a local park.

April 26, 2014/Franklin County, Kentucky: A woman was attacked by at least three dogs while standing in her backyard. Two men driving past saw her as she was being mauled and stopped to help her. When deputies arrived, they found three dogs, who were suspected to have been involved in the attack, chained on a neighbor’s property. The resident claimed that he had been keeping the dogs there since their owner went to prison. The resident was charged with three counts of harboring vicious animals, three counts of permitting a dog to run at large, and three counts of failure to vaccinate a dog for rabies.

April 26, 2014/Martins Ferry, Ohio: A woman was attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull in her backyard. She had let her small dog into her yard when the neighbor’s dog broke loose from a chain and chased the small dog under the woman’s porch. She chased the pit bull away and retrieved her own dog, but the pit bull returned and bit her on the leg. When police officers arrived at the scene, the pit bull was “hovering” over the woman and turned toward one of the officers. Each officer fired one shot at the dog, killing the animal.

April 23, 2014/Pontiac, Michigan: A 3-year-old boy sustained severe injuries to his head, neck, and face when he was attacked by his family’s dog. The boy and an 8-year-old neighbor were playing with the dog, who was tied to a tree in the backyard when the attack happened. The neighbor sustained injuries to his hands when he tried to pull the dog away from the younger boy. The older boy received stitches, while the younger one is facing multiple surgeries and may lose his left eye.

April 17, 2014/Deltona, Florida: A woman was out walking her Chihuahua when a pit bull jumped a fence and attacked them. The woman’s brother, who was walking with her and the small dog, had a knife and stabbed the pit bull to stop the attack. The pit bull’s owner normally kept the dog chained, but on that day, the dog was loose in the backyard.

March 5, 2014/Vian, Oklahoma: A 65-year-old man and his dog were attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull in the man’s backyard. The man’s granddaughter had unchained the family’s boxer mix in order to fix the chain, when the other dog came onto the property and attacked the boxer mix. The man was bitten when he tried to break up the attack, and responding police officers had to use a Taser on the pit bull in order to give the boxer mix a chance to break free. The pit bull ran off and had not been located.

February 28, 2014/Paterson, New Jersey: Two teenage boys were walking down the street when a 115-pound bullmastiff broke loose from a chain and jumped a fence. The dog attacked both boys, who then ran in opposite directions away from the dog. One boy sustained bite wounds to his hands and survived after being treated at a local hospital. The other boy apparently died from the attack—his body was found near an icy stream later that night.

February 21, 2014/Cincinnati, Ohio: A woman was attacked by a dog who broke free from a chain. A mail carrier tried to help the victim, but the dog wouldn’t let go. A passerby then fatally shot the dog and kept walking. The victim was treated at the hospital, and the passerby wasn’t identified.

February 20, 2014/Phoenix, Arizona: A 4-year-old boy was attacked by a chained pit bull when the child tried to take a bone away from the dog. The dog tore most of the flesh off the boy’s face and fractured his jaw. The boy survived and is facing extensive reconstructive surgeries to fix the damage to his face.

February 20, 2014/Tampa, Florida: A 14-year-old boy was attacked by a dog who broke loose from a chain and cornered him along with a group of high school students. A police officer responded and shot the dog, who survived and was seized by Hillsborough County Animal Services. The boy and a passerby who intervened to help the students were taken to the hospital for injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

February 17, 2014/Temple, Texas: A 2-year-old girl was fatally mauled by a pit bull who was chained in her family’s backyard. The family was watching the dog for a friend, and the toddler somehow got out of the house without being noticed.

February 14, 2014/Perris, California: A 68-year-old woman was attacked by her son-in-law’s pit bull. The dog was chained in the backyard, and the man is unsure how the dog was able to attack his mother-in-law. The victim was taken to the hospital, and the man was cited for having his dog tethered, failing to have his dog neutered, failing to have a proper dog license, failing to have the dog microchipped, and failing to get a current rabies vaccination for the dog.

February 12, 2014/Salt Lake City, Utah: A 6-year-old boy was playing soccer in his neighbor’s yard when the neighbor’s dog’s chain broke and the dog attacked him. The boy required extensive reconstructive surgery to treat the wounds to his face, and he’ll need speech therapy.

January 31, 2014/Arab, Alabama: An elderly woman was attacked by her son’s dogs in her own backyard. A witness said that at least 10 dogs were involved in the attack. The victim was hospitalized and required skin-graft surgery.

January 28, 2014/Springfield, Missouri: A 2-year-old boy was attacked by a chained dog. The child was hospitalized for bites to his foot, leg, and hands. The male pit bull was unregistered, which is a violation of a city ordinance requiring that all pit bulls be microchipped and registered.

January 2, 2014/Altus, Oklahoma: A 7-year-old girl was bitten by a chained dog while she was playing in the owner’s backyard with his children. The girl was taken to the hospital, and the dog’s owner was charged with cruelty to animals for having the dog on a chain shorter than the legal minimum. The owner was also cited for not having the dog vaccinated against rabies and for having a vicious animal. Police noted that the dog didn’t have any water, and the owner had been cited in the preceding months for not having a dog vaccinated against rabies and having a dog running at large.

December 31, 2013/Carlsbad, Texas: A boy was riding his bike when a chained Labrador retriever broke free and attacked him.

December 31, 2013/Tupelo, Mississippi: A woman was bitten by a dog who broke a chain and jumped a fence to attack her as she walked past the fenced yard. The dog also bit a police officer who was taking the animal to his truck. Animal control officers reported that they had been to the property numerous times to check on the welfare of the dogs there as well as how close they were chained to the street, where they posed a threat to public safety.

November 25, 2013/Knoxville, Tennessee: A 13-year-old girl was attacked by two dogs identified as boxer mixes while she was walking to her school bus stop. The owner of the dogs insists that the animals aren’t vicious, but he attached locks to their tethers in an effort to keep them from getting loose again.

November 17, 2013/St. George, Utah: A 6-year-old boy was attacked by a pit bull after he and his friend took a shortcut through the backyard where the dog was chained. He sustained bites to his cheek, chin, torso, and leg, where the wound exposed the bone.

November 8, 2013/Rockdale County, Georgia: A 7-year-old boy was bitten by a pit bull when he tried to pet the dog as two women were putting the animal back on a chain after the dog had gotten loose. The pit bull belonged to a neighbor who had left the animal outside without any food or water.

October 23, 2013/Bluffton, South Carolina: A 62-year-old woman was riding her bicycle when a dog lunged after her. The dog had broken free from a chain and attacked her bike. The woman fell, hurting her leg, and the dog tried to bite her but didn’t break the skin.

October 14, 2013/Oconee County, Georgia: A sheriff’s deputy was bitten by a chained dog after he found the dog running loose and returned him to his owner. The owner was trying to reconnect the chain when the dog escaped and bit the deputy’s leg.

October 9, 2013/West Palm Beach, Florida: A 3-year-old girl was outside playing when she was attacked by a pit bull who was tethered to a truck. The girl’s mother had gone inside her house for a moment, and the girl crossed the street to where the dog was tied without supervision. The woman’s other children witnessed the attack. The victim was hospitalized for the injuries that she sustained to her face.

September 23, 2013/Faulkner County, Arkansas:
A 3-year-old child was attacked by his grandfather’s pit bull, who was usually kept chained but had broken loose. Responding sheriff’s deputies shot and killed the dog, and the child was flown to a hospital with serious injuries to his head.

September 1, 2013/Kansas City, Kansas:
A woman walking down an alley was attacked by a pit bull who had broken free from a chain. A witness called 911, and the victim was taken to the hospital for her injuries.

August 28, 2013/Youngstown, Ohio:
A letter carrier was attacked by a Rottweiler-Doberman mix after the dog broke free from a chain. The victim was rushed to the intensive care unit of the local hospital. The dog’s owner reportedly said that he didn’t care that the man had been attacked. The owner could face federal charges because the attack was on a postal worker as well as charges for obstruction of official business because of his behavior toward police.

August 23, 2013/Jasper, Alabama: A 5-year-old girl was attacked by a neighbor’s dog when the dog broke free from a chain. The girl, who had just started kindergarten, was taken to the hospital, where several teachers went to visit her while she was recovering from her injuries.

August 18, 2013/Shady Side, Maryland: Three women were attacked by an aggressive pit bull/Labrador mix. The first woman attempted to pet the dog, who was tethered in a front yard. The dog bit both her and another woman who tried to intervene. A third woman was also injured before the dog ran off. The first woman was taken to a hospital, and the other two were treated at the scene.

August 13, 2013/Albion, Indiana: A dog was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy when the animal charged at him. The deputy was responding to a complaint that the Rottweiler had broken loose from his chain and was running at large, chasing children in the neighborhood.

August 9, 2013/Flint, Michigan: A woman was walking down the street when she was attacked by a small dog. The dog had broken free from his or her chain and bit right through her pants, breaking skin on her leg. The woman drove herself to the hospital for treatment, and the dog’s owner said that he would take care of her medical bills.

July 25, 2013/Irvington, Alabama: A woman was attacked by a pit bull after the dog broke free from a chain.

July 13, 2013/Peoria, Illinois: A 5-year-old boy sustained a minor leg injury when he was attacked by a chained border collie. The dog was eating when the boy tried to play with the animal, who then bit him.

July 1, 2013/Hoisington, Kansas: A 4-year-old boy was riding his bike in his family’s backyard when a neighbor’s pit bull jumped the fence and attacked him. The boy was rushed to the hospital, then flown to Wichita for plastic surgery for his injuries. The dog had a history of jumping the fence, although the boy’s mother said the animal was usually on a chain or supervised.

July 1, 2013/San Diego, California: A 24-year-old man and his dog were attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull who broke loose from a tether. The man was standing outside talking to a pizza delivery person when the pit bull attacked the man’s husky. He punched the pit bull several times to get him to stop attacking his own dog, but the pit bull then bit him in the leg. When the pit bull focused his attention back on the other dog, the man ran into his house and retrieved a shotgun. He hit the pit bull several times with the butt of the gun, but it didn’t phase the attacking dog, so the man fatally shot the animal. The pit bull had previously attacked the man’s husky, and he had warned his neighbor that if it happened again, he would shoot the dog. The pit bull had also attacked a bichon frisé who was being walked on a leash in May 2012.

June 28, 2013/Bridgeton, New Jersey: A 17-year-old boy was fleeing police officers when he entered a backyard, where he was attacked by a chained pit bull. The dog let go of the suspect and charged the pursuing officer, who fatally shot the animal. The juvenile was apprehended and charged with possession of a handgun. He was taken to the hospital for treatment of his wounds and then to the juvenile detention center.

June 25, 2013/Effingham, South Carolina: A 5-year-old girl was attacked when she approached a chained pit bull in her family’s backyard. She died on the scene, and officials seized three dogs from the property, including the one who attacked. A neighbor said that the girl had grown up with the dogs. Officials said the owner, the girl’s aunt, was in violation of the county’s tethering ordinance, which prohibits the continuous chaining of dogs and that she could be charged with cruelty to animals.

June 24, 2013/Stonewall, Louisiana: A 13-year-old boy was attacked when he got too close to a chained pit bull in his friend’s backyard. He received more than 300 stitches in his arm. His father claimed that the dog had previously attacked his other son, but the dog’s owner maintains that he had not.

June 23, 2013/Sikeston, Missouri: A Sikeston Humane Society worker was attacked by a dog who had been impounded after attacking another man 10 days earlier. The Akita, who had been kept on a chain continuously by his owner, got loose in the shelter building and attacked the worker. He was finally able to run outside and jump into the bed of his pickup truck to escape the dog. Each man who was attacked lost a fingertip.

June 9, 2013/Athens, Georgia: A man was out running when three dogs ran from a nearby yard and attacked him. Shortly after the attack, the dogs’ owner chained them behind a shack, where they are normally kept chained. Police found the victim lying on the sidewalk, bleeding profusely from about 20 bite wounds all over his body. He remained hospitalized the following day. A witness who saw the attack told police that the owner regularly lets his dogs loose when people go by the property. The dogs were involved in a similar attack in August 2012.

June 6, 2013/Stockton, California: A man was attacked by his brother’s two pit bulls after he unchained them and let them loose into a yard enclosed by a low fence. The dogs escaped the yard and went on to attack both him and a woman who was walking her own dog nearby. She took the brunt of the attack in an effort to protect her poodle, and a witness, who helped her fend off the dogs, was also bitten by the pit bulls.

June 3, 2013/Greeneville, Tennessee: A 2-year-old boy was attacked when he approached a tethered dog. The child was airlifted to a hospital.

June 2, 2013/Council Bluffs, Iowa: A 10-year-old boy was walking down the street with his older brother when an aggressive dog broke from his chain and attacked the younger boy. He was rushed to the hospital, where he received 13 stitches in his left arm.

May 31, 2013/Gwinnett County, Georgia: A 10-year-old girl was attacked by a tethered pit bull when she tried to pet the dog. She received 26 stitches in her lips and a round of rabies shots because the dog’s owner didn’t immediately surrender the pit bull to animal control for quarantine and could not provide proof of rabies vaccination.

May 13, 2013/Summerville, South Carolina: A 3-year-old boy was playing with other children when a chained pit bull attacked him. The child was rushed to the hospital, where he was treated for his wounds. The dog’s owner was not at home when the attack occurred, but he told police that children play at his house every day and “they all know not to go into the backyard,” where the dog lives on a chain. The owner admitted that the animal had previously bitten another child.

May 12, 2013/Wausau, Wisconsin: A 7-year-old girl was playing in her backyard when she was attacked by a chained pit bull. The girl and her mother live in the upper unit of the duplex on the property, while the dog’s owner lives in the lower unit. The child, who lost most of her upper lip in the attack, had to undergo reconstructive surgery to repair the damage to her face. Her mother said that the dog had also attacked her son last year but that it had been a minor incident.

May 11, 2013/Johnston, Iowa: An 8-year-old girl was bitten by a dog who broke free from his chain. Police responded, and the owner was charged with having a dog running at large.

May 10, 2013/Big Lake, Alaska: A 2-year-old girl was with her family at a kennel run by Jake Berkowitz, a well-known Iditarod musher, when a dog attacked her. Her mother was walking one of the family’s own dogs through a yard of about 50 chained dogs when another dog broke free from a tether and attacked the little girl. She was unresponsive when emergency workers arrived on the scene but was in stable condition at the hospital the next day.

April 26, 2013/El Cajon, California: An 8-year-old girl was playing outside and chased a ball into a neighbor’s backyard, where a husky was tethered. The girl got too close, and the dog attacked, puncturing her windpipe. She was rushed to the hospital, where she was put on a ventilator in order to breathe.

April 26, 2013/Johnson County, Kentucky: An 8-year-old girl was outside playing after school when a neighbor’s tethered pit bull broke his chain and attacked her. She was hospitalized for her injuries. The dog had attacked another child in February. The dog’s owner reportedly told officials that if kids go on his property, they are “fair game.”

April 22, 2013/Toledo, Ohio: Four North Toledo residents, ranging in age from 14 to 50 years old, were bitten by a dog named Tank. The victims claim that the dog was running loose, but Tank’s owner says that he was chained in her yard and that the victims broke the chain by throwing bricks at it. He was loose when police arrived. Police said that the dog was vicious, and they shot him. He died at the scene.

April 18, 2013/Farmingdale, Maine: A 3-year-old girl wandered too close to her grandmother’s boyfriend’s Rottweiler, who was tethered to a barn about 25 yards from her family’s house. Officials believe that the dog broke through the choke collar around his neck. The girl’s grandmother threw herself on top of the child to protect her from the dog, but he kept attacking, and police had to shoot him to get him to stop. The girl was rushed to a local hospital, along with a large piece of her scalp, which was found near the scene of the attack. She was then flown by helicopter to a hospital in Boston, where she was treated for serious injuries.

April 4, 2013/Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: When a neighbor’s dog broke loose from a tether and went after two students as they walked home from the bus stop, a teenage boy intervened and protected them from the attack. The boy sustained minor bite marks to his thigh.

March 29, 2013/Monroe, Louisiana: A 5 year-old boy was playing with other children when he was attacked by their family’s pit bull. He got too close to the dog, who was chained in the backyard, and the dog bit him in the face, crushing the boy’s jaw.

March 22, 2013/Miami-Dade, Florida: A 4-year old girl was chased and attacked by two of her grandfather’s dogs. The American bulldog-Mastiff mix and the Boxer mix got loose when the rope that was holding them snapped. The girl was taken to the hospital and officials seized the two dogs, as well as three other dogs inside the house.

March 20, 2013/Clinton, Washington: A 19-year old woman was house-sitting for an acquaintance who had two puppies and one adult dog chained in the backyard. The woman went to help the two puppies whose chains had become tangled when the adult dog broke loose from the runner he was chained to and attacked her. She crawled across the yard to the road, where two strangers came to her aid. She suffered serious wounds to her head, back, and arms.

March 2, 2013/Galesburg, Illinois: A 7-year-old boy was attacked by a chained pit bull in a family friend’s backyard. After police officers disengaged the dog from the boy, the dog tried to attack the officers, who shot the animal in self-defense. The boy was rushed to the hospital but later died from injuries sustained during the attack.

February 16, 2013/Uvalde County, Texas: A 2 year-old boy was outside playing with his sister when the wind took his balloon into the neighbor’s yard. The boy went to fetch the balloon and was attacked by a pit bull who was chained in the yard. The dog’s owner allegedly watched the attack from inside the house without attempting to intervene. The boy’s father was nearly attacked when he rescued his son from the dog. The boy was rushed to the hospital but died from his injuries.

January 27, 2013/Raleigh County, West Virgina: An elderly woman and her poodle were attacked by a pit bull who had gotten loose from his chain. Witnesses said it took four grown men, a sledgehammer, and finally a gun to stop the attack.

January 22, 2013/Montgomery County, Texas: An 18 month-old boy was attacked by a chained pit bull in his family’s backyard. His mother was outside with him; she went inside the house to get a glass of water and returned to find the dog attacking the child.

January 19, 2013/Montgomery County, Texas: A 4 year-old boy was fatally attacked when he climbed the neighbor’s chain link fence and got too close to a pit bull who was chained in the yard. The boy’s 9 year-old sister pulled him to safety and called for help, but the boy later died at the hospital.

December 29, 2012/Worth County, Georgia: A 39-year-old man was touring a property when three bulldog mixes from an adjacent property attacked him. The dogs had been tied up outside, along with four others, and officers believe that they chewed through their tie-outs. Animal control officers said that all seven dogs seemed to be malnourished. The man sustained serious wounds to his arms, legs, and hands.

December 6, 2012/Effingham County, Georgia: While responding to a call about a dog running at large, a sheriff’s deputy was attacked by a pit bull who had broken loose from his chain. The deputy fired two rounds into the dog in self-defense, and the dog was euthanized after the incident. The deputy is expected to make a full recovery.

November 28, 2012/Monticello, Arkansas: A 5-year-old girl was attacked by her neighbor’s pit bull. The dog may have been chained to a boat on the owner’s property, although not all witnesses agree on whether that was the case. The police chief, though, thinks that the animal was chained at the time of the attack. The girl sustained a broken ankle and bite wounds along her lower leg and thigh.

November 25, 2012/Dallas, Texas: A 63-year-old man was attacked by four pit bulls while he was walking to the store near his home. He was hospitalized for bites to his forehead, right eye, both hands and arms, and both feet. He had seen the dogs before, at least two of whom were chained in a nearby yard.

October 20, 2012/Berlin, Maryland: An 11-year-old boy was attacked by a chained pit bull. The boy was playing with the dog when the animal bit him in the face.

October 15, 2012/Elmira, New York: A pit bull chained to a tree broke free and bit a passerby.

October 5, 2012/Hubert, North Carolina: A man was walking his border collie when a pit bull who had broken free from a chain attacked them. The border collie received veterinary care and survived, but her guardian, who has cancer, worries that this attack may derail her training to become a service dog.

September 30, 2012/Stockbridge Township, Michigan: A 6-year-old boy was riding bikes with his brother when he was attacked by a loose pit bull. Police shot and killed the dog, who was acting aggressively when they located him. Relatives of the owner said that they hadn’t had problems with the dog before and that he should have been chained up.

September 24, 2012/Mount Dora, Florida: A 100-pound Labrador–German shepherd mix chewed through his tether and attacked an elderly man. The dog then attacked the responding police officer, who tried to use his Taser on the dog but missed. The officer also fired several missed shots at the animal. The dog fled, was hit by another officer in a patrol car, and continued to run until the second officer shot the dog twice. The dog then crawled to a nearby porch and died.

September 20, 2012/Muskogee, Oklahoma: A 3-year-old boy was attacked by a chained pit bull in his family’s backyard. The mother had left the child unattended outside while she went into the house for a few minutes. The boy wandered too close to the dog and was attacked.

September 17, 2012/Jonesboro, Arkansas: An 8-year-old boy was attacked by a pit bull while playing on the owner’s front porch. The dog was tethered to a “run line,” according to officials, which is illegal in Jonesboro if the dog is not spayed or neutered.

September 15, 2012/Newton, Iowa: A police officer shot and killed a dog who reportedly was acting aggressively toward a passerby and the officer. The dog was spotted running loose and  dragging a chain near an elementary school and had tried to bite someone.

August 28, 2012/Beaumont, Texas: A pit bull broke loose from a chain and attacked a mail carrier, who sustained multiple puncture wounds and lacerations to her hands, legs, torso, and face.

August 28, 2012/Groton, Connecticut: A 74-year-old man sustained serious injuries when he tried to protect his 8-pound silky terrier from an attacking pit bull who had broken free from a  chain. The small dog died from her injuries. The elderly victim’s wife said that the same pit bull had attacked her husband and dog in the past, but her husband had not notified police because he was “too nice” to file a report.

August 28, 2012/Cloverport, Kentucky: A 59-year-old deaf and mute woman was attacked by a pit bull who was tethered and broke free from his post. Witnesses heard a scream and saw the dog dragging the woman down the street. They scared off the dog by hitting him with a baseball bat and a machete.

August 26, 2012/Longview, Washington: A 5-year-old boy was riding his bicycle on the sidewalk when a pit bull tethered to a 15-foot rope attacked him. The same dog had also bitten an adult male neighbor in April.

August 20, 2012/Stephenville, Texas: A pit bull broke loose from a chain and attacked a disabled man, estimated to be 50 to 60 years old, in a motorized wheelchair. The man sustained bites to his right forearm and left leg.

August 16, 2012/Austin, Texas: When police officers arrived at a home to file a report about an earlier break-in, they were confronted by an aggressive pit bull tethered on the front porch. When the pit bull attacked one of the officers, the officer shot him twice. The dog died on the way to the animal shelter.

August 7, 2012/Jackson, Tennessee: A Jackson Energy Authority employee was attacked by a dog chained to a pole when the dog pulled the pole loose.

July 30, 2012/New York Mills, Minnesota: A 14-year-old girl was attacked when a chained dog broke free. The girl sustained bites to her head, legs, and torso. The animal’s owner said that this incident was the second time within 24 hours that the dog had attacked someone.

July 29, 2012/Pitt County, North Carolina: Three-year-old Yadirc Suavo was bitten on the ear by a chained pit bull when the child wandered into a neighbor’s backyard.

July 25, 2012/Jasper County, Mississippi: A 4-year-old boy was put on life support after he wandered into a neighbor’s backyard and was attacked by a chained pit bull.

July 25, 2012/Clovis, New Mexico: Animal control seized a dog after the animal bit someone while chained in a backyard.

July 25, 2012/Silver City, New Mexico: When police went to assist Children, Youth and Families Department officials with the removal of four children from the home of Anastasia J. Morones, the woman argued with officials and allegedly unleashed the pit bull she had kept on a chain outside. The animal immediately charged at the police officers, and one officer shot the dog to death in self-defense.

July 25, 2012/Johns Island, South Carolina: A pit bull broke free from his chain and attacked a 38-year-old woman who was walking down the street. The woman sustained 37 lacerations to her body.

July 24, 2012/Casey County, Kentucky: A 9-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital after a pit bull got loose from a log chain and attacked him.

July 19, 2012/Scottsburg, Indiana: A mail carrier was attacked by a pit bull who had earlier broken loose from a chain.

July 19, 2012/ Fulton, Mississippi: A 13-year-old boy was attacked by his family’s chained pit bull while the child attempted to fill a pool with water.

June 26, 2012/San Antonio, Texas: A 3-year-old girl was attacked by a Labrador mix who was chained up in the Texas summer heat. The dog bit off the girl’s cheek, and she had to have plastic surgery to repair her face.

June 22, 2012/York, South Carolina: An 8-year-old boy was bitten by his neighbor’s chow chow, who was tethered in the backyard. A neighbor heard the boy’s screams and beat the dog with a baseball bat to help the child break free.

June 15, 2012/Pulaski County, Arkansas: An 8-year-old girl was attacked by a pit bull, who broke the girl’s arm. The dog was restrained by a tether, but the girl was within reach when she was attacked.

June 12, 2012/Tabor City, North Carolina: A toddler wandered into a neighbor’s yard and was attacked by a chained shepherd mix. The child sustained bite wounds to his head. 

June 9, 2012/Memphis, Tennessee: A toddler was attacked by a pit bull named Cannibal after the child wandered into the backyard where the dog was chained. Cannibal’s owner claimed, “He chained up, locked up, fenced in.”

June 4, 2012/Savannah, Georgia: James Harris Wrenn was knocked down and bitten on the hand by a chained pit bull. He then went to his truck, got a pistol, and shot the dog to death.

June 4, 2012/Palm River, Florida: A 3-year-old girl was attacked by a chained pit bull when she got too close to the dog in her apartment complex. She was rushed to the hospital for the injuries sustained to her face.

June 4, 2012/Westwood, New Jersey: A woman was attacked by a dog on a chain when she got between the dog and his owner. The owner had previously been in a standoff with police officers when they tried to remove her dog from the condo where she was legally not allowed to keep him.

May 31, 2012/Rock Hill, South Carolina: An 11-year-old boy was attacked by a pit bull when he went to his neighbor’s house to borrow a kitchen utensil. The dog broke free from his tether and bit the boy, injuring his arm and hand as well as tearing off a piece of his scalp.

May 28, 2012/Columbus, Ohio: A 77-year-old woman lost a finger when she was attacked by two Cane Corso mastiffs on her morning walk. One of her friends pulled a gun and fired multiple shots at the dogs, although neither of the dogs was hit. The dogs have often been seen chained to a tree.

May 25, 2012/Buffalo, New York: A 63-year-old man was attacked by a dog while walking down the street. Three dogs were seized by authorities—one was still chained up.

May 24, 2012/St. Paul, Minnesota: An 18-month-old child was bitten by a 175-pound Presa Canario mastiff. The dog was kept chained in an unfenced yard and had previously bitten a child in March 2010 and January 2012.

May 18, 2012/Belfast, Maine: A mother and her child were attacked by a German shepherd who escaped from a house in which the dog was usually kept chained to the kitchen floor.

May 15, 2012/Hobbs, New Mexico: A boy was riding his skateboard when he was chased and attacked by a pit bull who broke loose from a chain. The boy, who is already battling cancer, was hospitalized for bites to his left arm and had to undergo a series of rabies vaccinations because the dog wasn’t vaccinated.

May 15, 2012/San Antonio, Texas: A man was walking on a sidewalk when a pit bull broke loose from a chain and attacked him. The man was hospitalized for bites to his ankle and thigh.

May 15, 2012/Mason, Michigan: A police officer was attacked by a chained dog while wrestling an unruly suspect to the ground. He was treated at a hospital for dog bites on his leg.

May 8, 2012/Plantersville, Mississippi: A middle school was put on lockdown after a pit bull broke free from a chain and was seen roaming the area near the school. Police fatally shot the dog.

April 20, 2012/Bardstown, Kentucky: A pit bull broke loose from his chain and attacked a small dog who was being walked by a woman in an alley next to the house. The small dog was killed, and the woman was injured.

April 15, 2012/Parma, Ohio: A woman was bitten on the foot by a chained German shepherd. She was picking up her son from a residence, and when she walked into the backyard, the dog attacked her.

April 13, 2012/Marietta, Oklahoma: A 15-year-old girl was walking home from school when she was bitten on the leg by a pit bull who had gotten loose from his chain.

April 10, 2012/Victorville, California: Hayleh Harger, 3, was attacked by a mastiff and sustained cuts to her face that required 100 stitches. A friend of her family’s had brought the dog to her home and secured him in the backyard. The dog was only a few feet from Hayleh’s playhouse, and when the child ran out to play, the dog attacked her.

April 4, 2012/St. Helena Island, South Carolina: A 3-year-old boy sustained severe lacerations to his head and legs after he went from his home to his aunt’s house next door and was mauled by her bull mastiff, who was chained in her yard.

March 31, 2012/Salt Springs, Florida: A 9-year-old boy was bitten in the face by a pit bull who was chained in the backyard of his babysitter’s house.

March 26, 2012/Victoria, Texas: Kylar Johnson, 4, was found mauled to death by a chained pit bull. Kylar had gone missing around 8 p.m. the night before and is believed to have wandered into a neighbor’s yard less than a half-mile away from his own, where several dogs, including the one who killed him, were chained.

March 23, 2012/Knoxville, Tennessee: Sydney Gilreath, 11, was playing on a relative’s deck when the relative’s pit bull, kept on a 15-foot chain, walked up to her and bit her two or three times on the left thigh.

March 19, 2012/Ringgold, Georgia: Tanner Eaves, 11, was bitten on the face and groin by a Staffordshire bull terrier who was on a runner (attached by a leash to a line) at the time of the attack.

March 9, 2012/Jacksonville, Florida: Seventeen-month-old Dylan Andres was mauled to death by a Rottweiler when the boy wandered away from his mother, who was unloading groceries, and into a neighbor’s yard where the dog, who was chained to a pole, attacked him.

March 5, 2012/Louisville, Kentucky: A 10-year-old girl was playing outdoors with the children next door when their pit bull puppy, who was chained on the front porch, became agitated. The neighbors took the dog inside, but the animal then broke through the front door of the house and attacked the girl, grabbing her face and pulling her to the ground.

February 21, 2012/Osgood, Indiana: A 5-year-old boy was playing in a yard with some friends when he got too close to a chained bullmastiff-boxer and was mauled by the dog. The boy sustained bites to his neck, arm, and thigh.

February 7, 2012/Jasper, Texas: A 2-year-old boy was attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull, who was chained in the front yard of the home, and had to have stitches in his chin.

January 6, 2012/San Ramon, California: A 4-year-old girl incurred severe facial injuries when she attempted to pet and was attacked by a pit bull tethered to a skateboard ramp outside a home.

December 29, 2011/Titusville, Florida: An 11-year-old girl sustained two broken arms (seven fractures) and deep bite wounds when she was attacked by a pit bull who had been chained to a tree in a neighbor’s yard and had broken free of his collar.

December 17, 2011/Walterboro, South Carolina: Four-year-old Christopher Ranly was attending a Christmas party at a relative’s home when he walked into the backyard and was attacked by his uncle’s chained pit bull. The boy received about 30 staples to close the wounds on his scalp.

December 15, 2011/Bradenton, Florida: Richard Rucker, 52, was walking his dog when a pit bull who had been chained to a tree at a domestic residence broke free, attacked his dog, and then turned on him. Rucker drew his pistol and shot the pit bull, who ran off into the woods and was later found and euthanized.

December 10, 2011/Valdosta, Georgia: Misti Wyno, 40, was killed by a pit bull who was chained in her neighbor’s backyard but broke free when Wyno went over to borrow some food.

December 9, 2011/Bossier City, Louisiana: Two boys were bitten by a pit bull who broke free from an animal control officer who was attempting to take the dog into custody. The dog had been tethered in a backyard, but his chain was long enough for him to get through his owner’s fence and into a neighbor’s garage. The neighbor had called animal control to remove the dog.

December 6, 2011/Pueblo, Colorado: A woman in her 50s or 60s was out for a walk when she was attacked by two pit bulls after one broke free from his chain and the other escaped from her pen. The woman was dragged at least 15 yards and had part of her scalp torn off. She also incurred serious bite marks to her back and arms.

November 2, 2011/Trenton, New Jersey: An 18-year-old man was bitten by a friend’s dog as he was walking up his friend’s driveway. The chained dog circled the man’s legs, and when the man attempted to untangle himself from the chain, the dog bit his right foot through the shoe, which required him to have two stitches.

October 13, 2011/New Orleans, Louisiana: Larry Maxwell, a Humane Society of Louisiana officer, was investigating a complaint of animal neglect when a pit bull broke free of his chain and bit Maxwell on the legs.

October 8, 2011/Welch, West Virginia: A 3-year-old girl, her mother, and her grandfather suffered injuries when the family’s pit bull, who had been chained, broke free.

October 6, 2011/Seattle, Washington: A girl was bitten on the shoulder, and a friend’s dog, whom the girl was walking, was bitten by a pit bull who had been chained to a tree and broke free.

September 25, 2011/Brownsville, Texas: A 2-year-old girl was bitten in the face when she wandered up to a chained collie mix in a stranger’s yard and tried to hug him.

September 23, 2011/Thomasville, North Carolina: A 7-year-old boy who was waiting at his bus stop was bitten on his arm and leg by a 9-month-old pit bull who had escaped from his chain. A neighbor shot and killed the dog.

September 22, 2011/Madison, Georgia: A woman was bitten by a Chow who was chained to a tree as the woman walked by the dog.

September 22, 2011/Milford, Massachusetts: A 14-month-old girl and her 25-year-old mother were bitten by a pit bull who had been tethered outside a neighbor’s house and broke free of his collar.

September 13, 2011/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: George Smith, 6, was bitten on the leg by an Akita mix as he walked by his neighbor’s yard. Reports conflict on how the dog got to the child. According to the dog’s owner, the dog was chained, and according to the boy’s parents, the dog was able to get out of the yard by crawling under a fence.

September 10, 2011/Savannah, Georgia: Bill Gillespie, a Savannah City Council candidate, was out campaigning and was bitten in the face by a homeowner’s dog (possibly an Australian blue heeler) when he reached for the dog’s collar. The dog was an indoor dog but had previously spent years chained to a tree. When the dog had been rescued from the chain, the flesh around the dog’s neck had grown over his collar, and the collar had to be surgically removed.

September 9, 2011/Fort Valley, Georgia: A 23-year-old woman and her young daughter were bitten by a neighbor’s pit bull while they were sitting on their front porch. The dog had been chained in a neighbor’s yard but had been let off the chain.

September 6, 2011/Union City, Tennessee: A 13-year-old boy was bitten by a boxer when he went to pet the chained dog.

August 30, 2011/Tyler, Texas: A young boy was bitten on the arm by a neighbor’s German shepherd mix. The dog had broken away from a chain when the boy surprised him.

August 28, 2011/San Diego, California: A 6-year-old girl was bitten on the face, hand, and arm by a pit bull, reportedly before or after she threw candy at the chained dog while playing in a friend’s yard. The dog’s guardian was also bitten when he tried to help the girl.

August 9, 2011/Richmond, Virginia: Nathaniel Ray Phelps, a young boy, was bitten by a dog kept chained on his neighbor’s rented property.

July 20, 2011/Lorain, Ohio: Adam Ehrke, a police officer, was responding to a call about a loose pit bull who was normally chained up when he was bitten in the leg by the dog. He shot and killed the dog.

July 19, 2011/Terre Haute, Indiana: Two boys were bitten by an Alaskan malamute when they opened the privacy gate to the yard of a neighbor and were met by the chained dog. One boy required 50 stitches in his back and also needed surgery.

June 22, 2011/Pottsville, Pennsylvania: A 13-year-old girl and her two siblings, both under 10, were bitten by their pit bull, who was normally kept chained in the backyard. The older child suffered serious injuries. Media reports indicate that the dog had previously bitten another family member. The dog was tazed, shot, and eventually euthanized.

June 19, 2011/Omaha, Nebraska: Brandon McGraw, 11, suffered severe lacerations to his legs when he was bitten by a Rottweiler who had been chained to a chair in the yard of a house the boy was passing and who broke free.

June 7, 2011/Andalusia, Alaska: A 4-year-old girl suffered extensive injuries to her head, face, and arms when she was attacked by a mixed cur in her neighbor’s yard after she had ventured too close to the chained dog.

June 13, 2011/Filion, Michigan: A 12-year-old boy who was riding his bicycle suffered injuries when he was attacked by a pit bull/boxer mix who had broken free of a chain.

June 3, 2011/Anderson, South Carolina: Shelbra Freeman, 72, suffered injuries to her ear, face, back, and arm when she was attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull as she went to inform another neighbor across the street who had children that the dog had gotten off the chain.

May 27, 2011/Scott County, Mississippi: A 5-year-old boy was bitten on the arm by a dog, possibly a pit bull, when he was playing with a ball in a trailer park and went to retrieve the ball, which had rolled close to the chained dog.

May 22, 2011/Sumter, South Carolina: A 2-year-old boy suffered serious injuries when he rode his tricycle into a neighbor’s yard and was attacked by their pit bull, who was chained. The boy lost both his ears and hearing in one ear, and he also suffered other head trauma.

May 11, 2011/Lorain, Ohio: A 5-year-old boy suffered injuries to his neck and right eye as well as a bone fracture above the eye after he was attacked by a Rottweiler when he went to pet the dog, who was tied up in the backyard of his grandmother’s house.

May 10, 2011/Taft, California: A sheriff’s deputy was providing back-up support for officers on a case when he was bitten by a pit bull who was chained behind a trailer. The deputy shot and killed the dog.

May 10, 2011/Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: A man walking down a street was bitten on the arm and leg by a pit bull who had broken the chain he was kept on.

May 6, 2011/Muskegon Heights, Michigan: A 3-year-old boy suffered injuries to his face when he was bitten by a pit bull who was chained in a fenced yard.

May 6, 2011/Fulton, Missouri: A 12-year-old boy was walking home from school when he was bitten on the back of his thigh by a pit bull who had been chained and had broken free.

April 29, 2011/Chattanooga, Tennessee: An 8-year-old boy was bitten when he got in between two feuding pit bulls who were chained in the backyard of his cousin’s home. He suffered lacerations to his head, neck, and arms.

April 25, 2011/Burgaw, North Carolina: A 4-year-old girl suffered multiple bites and other injuries when she attacked by a chained pit bull.

April 22, 2011/Ardmore, Oklahoma: Virgil A. Cantrell, 50, was killed by a pit bull chained to a porch. Cantrell suffered severed arteries, a fractured jaw, and a broken vertebra in his neck. The dog was shot and killed so that medics could attend to Cantrell. News reports indicate that police had responded to two prior complaints of dog bites at the residence.

April 13, 2011/Beverly, Ohio: A 6-year-old boy suffered a deep laceration on the bridge of his nose and a bite on his cheek that required plastic surgery when he approached and was bitten by a neighbor’s dog who was chained in the yard.

April 9, 2011/Chattanooga, Tennessee: Andrew Bearden, 8, was attacked by a neighbor’s chained pit bull when he got too close to the dog. He needed dozens of stitches and plastic surgery to repair punctures to his right eyelid and the skin around his lower eye.

March 30, 2011/Mansfield, Massachusetts: A woman riding her bike was attacked by a German shepherd. She required 11 stitches for wounds to her calf and thigh. She also broke her ankle in three places when she fell. A postal worker helped the woman and was familiar with the dog, whom he had seen before chained in a neighborhood yard.

March 23, 2011/Jacksonville, Florida: Amy Williams, a pregnant woman, was bitten in the neck by a pit bull who had been chained to a tree in a neighbor’s yard and had escaped his collar.

September 28, 2010/Fairview Park, Ohio: A 40-year-old woman was bitten on her side and right arm by a chained pit bull who had pulled up a stake and gotten loose.

September 25, 2010/Braddock, Pennsylvania: A 10-year-old girl trying to feed crackers to a chained dog suffered bites to her leg, arm, and face after the dog’s collar broke.

September 17, 2010/Wayne County, Kentucky: A 9-year-old boy suffered injuries to his face and mouth from a tethered dog when he got too close.

September 16, 2010/Florence, South Carolina: A 7-year-old girl suffered injuries to the back of her neck by a chained dog who had slipped his collar. The dog was first Tasered and then shot dead by police.

September 16, 2010/Tulsa, Oklahoma: A little girl was attacked by a chained pit bull.

September 8, 2010/St. Petersburg, Florida: Arkies V. Thomas, 54, suffered bites to her face, arm, and ankle from a pit bull who had been kept chained but broke free.

August 25, 2010/Iron Ridge, Wisconsin: A 4-year-old girl was attacked and killed by a chained dog.

August 11, 2010/Warren, Michigan: A 7-year-old boy was attacked by a pit bull who had broken loose from a chain and chased after a group of children.

August 11, 2010/Toledo, Ohio: A 10-year-old boy was attacked by a pit bull who had broken his chain.

August 2, 2010/Shelby, North Carolina: A man was bitten by a dog who was chained to a porch.

July 20, 2010/Memphis, Tennessee: William Parker, 71, was killed by two pit bulls who were normally kept chained. The dogs also attacked four other people.

July 9, 2010/Houston, Texas: Three dogs who were normally kept chained attacked Jaime Garcia while he was unloading wood from his truck. Police officers responding to the attack shot the dogs, killing two of them, when the dogs charged at them.

July 8, 2010/Charlotte, North Carolina: A chained pit bull bit a police officer who was chasing a drug suspect through the dog’s yard. The officer fatally shot the dog.

July 6, 2010/Houma, Louisiana: Benny Rhodes, a 55-year-old postal carrier, suffered severe injuries to both legs after being attacked by a pit bull who had gotten loose from a chain.

July 6, 2010/Danville, Kentucky: Teresa Shely was attacked by her tenant’s chained pit bull, who bit down to the bone in her leg.

June 21, 2010/Youngstown, Ohio: A 2-year-old boy was treated for bites to his face and the back of his neck after being attacked by a neighbor’s chained dog.

June 7, 2010/Corbin, Kentucky: While visiting family, a 9-year-old boy suffered lacerations to his face after being mauled by a pit bull who was tied to the front steps of a home.

June 2010/Fort Mill, South Carolina: A dog who was padlocked to a chain attacked 3-year-old Trenton Myers after he got too close, tearing off part of the boy’s ear and leaving him with extensive facial injuries.

May 24, 2010/Cleveland, Ohio: A 6-year-old boy was attacked and bitten on the head by a chained dog.

May 20, 2010/Coal Center, Pennsylvania: While working on his girlfriend’s car, Kevin Shetterly was attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull who had broken free from a chain.

May 20, 2010/Napaskiak, Alaska: Krystal Brink, 3, was killed by chained dog after she wandered into a neighboring yard where seven dogs were chained.

May 16, 2010/Warren, Ohio: Destiny Turner, 12, required more than 100 stitches after she was attacked by a neighbor’s chained dog.

May 12, 2010/High Point, North Carolina: Elizabeth Ann Payne, 4, was hospitalized for laceration and puncture wounds to her face and damage to her eye after she was attacked by her grandmother’s chained dog.

May 12, 2010/Lynchburg, Virginia: A 3-year-old boy required stitches on his head after he was bitten by his babysitter’s dog who had gotten loose from a chain.

May 9, 2010/Franklin County, Ohio: Ryan Fuller, 12, underwent two hours of surgery after he was attacked by a dog who had broken free from a chain. According to a news story, the dog had previously gotten loose and attacked a neighbor’s dog.

May 6, 2010/La Porte, Indiana: While taking out his garbage, George Cummings, 83, was bitten on the arm by his neighbor’s pit bull, who broke free from his chain. According to a news story, the same dog had attacked Cummings a month before.

May 5, 2010/Champaign, Illinois: While responding to a noise complaint, police officer Jeff Thomas was bitten on the arm by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

April 30, 2010/Thomasville, North Carolina: While trying to retrieve a ball, a 5-year-old boy was attacked by a chained pit bull and suffered severe lacerations.

April 21, 2010/Fremont, Ohio: A 6-year-old boy was attacked by a pit bull who was chained to a porch.

April 21, 2010/Sherwood Township, Michigan: Joshua John-Allen Hicks, 13, was attacked by a pit bull who had broken free from a chain. The boy suffered multiple bite wounds to his arms, chest, and face.

April 19, 2010/Hurricane, Utah: A 5-year-old girl received serious injuries to her face and head from a neighbor’s chained dog.

April 14, 2010/Norwalk, Ohio: A 7-year-old girl was bitten on the leg after a neighbor’s dog reportedly broke loose from a chain.

April 12, 2010/Toney, Alabama: A 2-year-old boy was playing with his family’s chained dog when the dog suddenly attacked him. The boy was hospitalized for bites on his face, arms, and legs.

April 8, 2010/Shelby County, Tennessee: While inviting a friend to her birthday party, Hailey King, 8, was attacked by a pit bull who had broken loose from his chain. She was hospitalized for a severe shoulder injury.

April 5, 2010/Safford, Arizona: Gunner Nichols, 6, was bitten on the left check and eyelid by a neighbor’s chained pit bull.

February 21, 2010/Henderson, Texas: Elijahjuan Jimison, 5, was attacked and bitten on the arm and the head by a neighbor’s dog who had broken loose from a chain.

February 20, 2010/Ocala, Florida: A 3-year-old girl was fatally mauled when she wandered into a pen where four dogs were kept chained to trees and became tangled in a dog’s chain.

February 16, 2010/Marietta, Georgia: A 7-year-old girl suffered serious leg injuries after she was attacked by a chained pit bull.

February 5, 2010/Crawford County, Missouri: A 7-year-old girl was attacked by a chained dog. She was hospitalized for facial injuries.

January 31, 2010/Macon, Georgia: Melanie Rutland, 49, was attacked by a pit bull who had broken loose from a chain. She received treatment for bite wounds on her face.

January 19, 2010/Youngstown, Ohio: While walking home from school, Cory Davis, 10, was bitten and dragged by a dog who had broken loose from his chain. The boy’s arm wounds were severe enough to expose the bone.

January 13, 2010/Rock Hill, South Carolina: Ravion Cunningham, 7, needed more than 100 stitches after he was attacked by a dog who was normally kept chained.

January 2, 2010/Forestdale, Alabama: Takera Chandler, 5, was attacked by a dog who had broken free from a chain. She received treatment for lacerations to her face and arms.

January 1, 2010/Watsonville, California: A woman, 64, was walking in her neighborhood when she was bitten on the leg by a dog who had broken free from a tether. The woman was hospitalized for her injuries.

December 26, 2009/Orange County, Florida: A 6-year-old boy was rushed to a hospital because of wounds inflicted by a dog who had broken free from a chain and jumped a fence to attack him.

December 24, 2009/Trumann, Arkansas: Ollie Lawless was attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull who was normally kept chained. Prior to attacking Lawless, the dog also attacked a young girl.

December 19, 2009/Yadkinville, North Carolina: An 8-year-old boy was attacked by his family’s chained dog. Both parents were also bitten when they pulled the dog off the boy.

December 19, 2009/Lithonia, Georgia: Twelve-year-old A’lexus Zachary was attacked by a pit bull who was normally kept chained. She was taken to the hospital, where she underwent surgery to repair injuries to her face.

December 12, 2009/New Port Richey, Florida: While at a family member’s birthday party, 20-month-old Dallas Walter was killed by a dog who was normally kept chained in the backyard.

December 2, 2009/Pepperell, Massachusetts: A 10-year-old girl was bitten on both of her arms when she was attacked by a neighbor’s dog, who had broken free from a chain.

November 30, 2009/Flora, Illinois: While walking her dog, Rosie Humphries, 85, was attacked and killed by a pit bull, who had broken loose from a heavy chain that had been attached to a log. Humphries’ dog was also mauled by the pit bull, and another person was bitten while trying to help catch the dog.

November 23, 2009/Nutley, New Jersey: Two people were attacked and bitten by a dog who had broken free from a chain and escaped from a fenced-in yard. According to a news story, the police had received multiple complaints in the past year because the same dog had attacked other dogs.

November 8, 2009/Quincy, Massachusetts: A 77-year-old woman was bitten on the arm and the leg by a dog, who had chewed through a leash in a nearby neighbor’s yard.

November 6, 2009/Tulsa, Oklahoma: A 1-year-old girl suffered head wounds and severe blood loss after she was attacked by her family’s chained dog. According to a news story, the dog was kept chained all the time.

November 5, 2009/New Albany, Mississippi: Destiny Knox, 1, was killed by her babysitter’s dog, who had escaped from a chain.

November 4, 2009/Monroe, Georgia: A 3-year-old boy was found unconscious and covered with blood after he was attacked by his family’s chained dog.

October 30, 2009/Mount Vernon, Washington: A railroad worker was bitten by a chained dog.

October 29, 2009/Indianapolis, Indiana: Steve Conway, a firefighter, was attacked by a dog, who was tied to a tree. Conway received treatment for a bite on his leg because the dog’s teeth had punctured his firefighting pants and boots.

October 20, 2009/Pierceton, Indiana: Janet Hartman, 63, was attacked by her son’s dog, who was tied to a tree. According to a news story, the dog bit her arm and chewed it to the bone.

October 28, 2009/Prescott, Arkansas: A 2-year-old boy was killed by a neighbor’s chained dog.

October 26, 2009/West Valley City, Utah: A 5-year-old boy was attacked by his neighbor’s pit bull, who had escaped from a fenced pen inside which the dog was normally tethered. The boy suffered severe facial injuries and a piece of his cheek was torn off in the attack.

October 22, 2009/Miami, Florida: A 10-year-old boy was bitten on the arm and torso by a neighbor’s dog, who was chained.

October 19, 2009/Zephyr Hills, Florida: Dylan Medlock, 4, was attacked by his family’s dog, who had broken loose from a chain. The boy’s leg was broken in the attack and, according to a news story, the boy may walk with a permanent limp.

October 16, 2009/Madison County, Georgia: A 5-year-old boy spent the night in the hospital with a head wound from an attack by a neighbor’s Akita, who had broken loose from a steel cable.

October 1, 2009/Gilchrist County, Florida: A 3-year-old boy suffered extensive injuries after he was mauled by his family’s chained dog.

September 30, 2009/Bainbridge, Georgia: Destiny Johnson, 3, was bitten multiple times by a pit bull who had broken free from a steel cable that was tethered to a tree. A man who tried to keep the dog away from the child was also bitten. According to a news story, Destiny required so many stitches that the doctors lost count.

September 29, 2009/Charlotte, North Carolina: A 17-year-old girl was attacked in a public park by a dog who had escaped from a chain.

September 27, 2009/Orange County, Virginia: A 23-month-old girl was killed by her family’s pit bull, who was chained outside.

September 10, 2009/Kansas City, Missouri: While coming home from school, a 7-year-old boy was attacked by a dog who had gotten loose from a chain. He suffered severe facial injuries.

September 8, 2009/Tupelo, Mississippi: An 18-month-old girl required dozens of stitches after being attacked by a dog who was chained to a post.

September 7, 2009/Fullerton, California: A 3-year-old girl suffered multiple injuries to her neck and face after being attacked by a chained dog.

September 2, 2009/Glade Spring, Virginia: While playing with his family’s chained dog, a 4-year-old boy was attacked, leaving him with serious head wounds.

August 31, 2009/South Bend, Indiana: Several people, including a police officer, were bitten when a pit bull broke free from a chain.

August 29, 2009/Santa Fe, New Mexico: While trying to retrieve her toy, a 2-year-old girl was attacked by a chained dog. She was hospitalized and underwent several surgeries for severe head and neck injuries.

August 27, 2009/Lake City, Florida: A 7-year-old boy received stitches after he was bitten multiple times by a dog who was chained to a tree. A police officer was also bitten as he was trying to pull the boy away from the dog.

August 6, 2009/Apopka, Florida: A 3-year-old boy suffered multiple lacerations and punctures after being attacked by his family’s dog, who was reportedly tied to a tree in the front yard. According to a news story, the same dog had attacked the boy almost a year earlier.

July 28, 2009/Eden, North Carolina: A 15-month-old boy required stitches after being bitten on the jaw, nose, and shoulder by a dog who was chained.

July 20, 2009/Sparta, Tennessee: While out for a morning walk, 79-year-old Gretta DeMarco was attacked by a neighbor’s dog who had apparently broken free from a chain, leaving her with multiple injuries to her head, arms, hands, fingers, legs, and backside.

July 15, 2009/St. Petersburg, Florida: Police officer Kenneth Sharp, 45, was bitten on the hand by a dog who had been let off her chain. A neighbor also claimed that the dog had bitten her while she was walking.

July 10, 2009/Danville, Virginia: Rian Maguire, 8, was bitten multiple times on his arms, back, and legs by a dog who had gotten loose from a chain earlier in the day. Rian was in the dog’s yard, trying to tell the dog’s guardians that the dog was running loose, when the dog attacked him.

July 7, 2009/Benton Township, Michigan: Tyler Seeley, 5, suffered facial injuries and head wounds after he went to retrieve a ball that rolled near a chained dog and the dog attacked him.

June 29, 2009/Ardmore, Oklahoma: Two pit bulls—one of whom apparently broke free from a chain—attacked a 19-year-old woman and her dog in her home, leaving the woman with injuries to her hands, arms, and knees.

June 29, 2009/Chincoteague Island, Virginia: Carol Groff was attacked by a chained dog and required 48 stitches for her injuries.

June 27, 2009/Abilene, Texas: Victoria Hindman, 44, suffered extensive damage to her face and needed more than 200 stitches after she was attacked by a chained dog in her neighbor’s yard. The dog had reportedly previously bitten another neighbor on the finger.

June 25, 2009/Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Nakaylah Smith, 6, needed 16 stitches after being bitten several times by her neighbor’s pit bull, who broke free from a chain and attacked her as she rode her bike.

June 19, 2009/Ambridge, Pennsylvania: Jamie Goerman, 12, was walking with his mother when a dog broke free from a chain and attacked him, biting so deeply into his arm that the bone was visible. The dog’s guardian said that the dog had bitten another boy two years earlier.

June 15, 2009/Virginia Beach, Virginia: A pit bull who was normally kept chained broke loose and attacked two teenage boys and an adult at a nearby playground. 

June 13, 2009/Springfield, Missouri: A dog who was chained to two cinderblocks (which he could drag) bit a 5-year-old girl when she got too close to him.

June 11, 2009/Fort Payne, Alabama: U.S. postal carrier Steven Lynn McCay, 32, was bitten on the chest while delivering mail near a pit bull who broke free from a chain.

June 5, 2009/Sioux City, Iowa: A man was bitten on the arm after a dog broke free from his chain.

May 31, 2009/San Angelo, Texas: A 100-pound pit bull named Cain broke free from a chain at a family cookout and attacked 3-year-old Estrella Soria and 18-year-old Ashley Rios. Estrella suffered a broken nose and injuries to her tear duct, eyebrow, and scalp during the attack, and Ashley was bitten on the elbow while trying to protect the child.

May 26, 2009/Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania: A man suffered lacerations on his leg after being chased and attacked by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

May 18, 2009/Marion, Tennessee: Lisa Starnes, 45, was bitten on the shoulder after a neighbor’s dog, who was normally kept chained, wandered into her yard.

May 17, 2009/Bay Village, Ohio: A chained dog broke free and bit a 5-year-old boy. After police arrived, the dog broke free again and chased the boy’s family. Police said there had been past complaints about the dog.

May 13, 2009/Coraopolis, Pennsylvania: A 5-year-old boy suffered deep bites to his head, jaw, face, and neck after he was attacked by his family’s chained dog, whom he was trying to feed.

May 12, 2009/Jackson, Tennessee: Eight-year-old Christean Simpson was bitten on his foot and under his arm and dragged down the street by a dog who had been temporarily released from his chain.

May 4, 2009/Oelwein, Iowa: A U.S. postal carrier was bitten on his head and shoulders by a mixed-breed dog who broke free from a chain while the postal worker was delivering mail on his route.

May 2, 2009/Rowan County, North Carolina: A 3-year-old girl was bitten in the face after she apparently got between two dogs who were tethered in her family’s back yard. The girl was airlifted to the hospital and suffered at least three one-inch cuts near her right cheek and holes and tears beside her left eye.

April 29, 2009/Canaseraga, New York: Lois Harvey, 81, was attacked by a dog who was reportedly always kept chained but had gotten loose that morning. The dog had reportedly harassed other people previously and had a similar incident with another woman later the same day.

April 29, 2009/Greenwood, New York: A teenage boy named Michael Gerbs suffered damage to his nose, lips, and teeth after a bull mastiff mix who had broken loose from his chain attacked the boy as he was trying to reattach the dog to the chain.

April 20, 2009/Newport Beach, California: Two-year-old Connor Errington was bitten in the face by a dog who was tied to a tree. The boy required stitches, and doctors couldn’t determine whether his nose was broken because his face was so swollen.

April 15, 2009/Yorkville, New York: A 7-year-old boy was attacked by a chained pit bull after he entered a fenced-in yard where dogs were kept tethered.

April 14, 2009/Kinston, North Carolina: While taking out the trash, Lamb H. Clemmons, 69, was attacked by his neighbor’s two pit bulls after they broke free from their chains. Clemmons required 30 stitches on his face.

April 2009/Fergus Falls, Minnesota: A dog who was normally kept chained bit a neighbor who was retrieving his mail. The dog, who could reach the front door of his guardian’s house when chained, bit the same man again when he came onto the property of the dog’s guardian to discuss the bite with her three days later.

April 2009/Conyers, Georgia: Four-year-old Nathaniel Stafford was airlifted to the hospital and required skin graft surgery after a dog who was kept chained to a running line in his back yard attacked the boy, ripping off his scalp and ear.

March 28, 2009/Eustis, Florida: While jogging, 22-year-old Tracy Lindsey was mauled by two pit bulls who had broken free from their chains. She underwent a three-hour surgery, during which doctors assessed the nerve damage in her leg and estimated that she would need six more reconstructive surgeries.

March 28, 2009/Ross County, Ohio: A 10-year-old girl who was playing in a neighbor’s yard was bitten on her wrists and ankles by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

March 26, 2009/Washington, D.C.: Patrice Langley suffered a deep gash on her wrist after being bitten by a chained pit bull who had gotten loose and charged her and her 3-year-old daughter.

March 23, 2009/Franklin, North Carolina: A 2-year-old boy was airlifted to the hospital with facial injuries after his family’s pit bull, Goliath—who had broken free from his chain—attacked him.

March 23, 2009/Luling, Texas: Eighteen-month-old Tyson Miller was killed after wandering outside while his mother slept and being attacked by a pregnant pit bull who was kept on an 18-foot chain behind his family’s home.

March 20, 2009/Indianapolis, Indiana: Twelve-year-old Jeremy Lee was bitten by a chained dog after pulling a toddler who was trying to pet the dog out of harm’s way.

March 20, 2009/Raleigh, North Carolina: Eight-year-old Isaiah Hardy suffered 42 lacerations and spent three days in the hospital after being attacked by two pit bulls who had broken free from their chains in a neighbor’s back yard.

March 8, 2009/Malaga, Washington: While jogging, Val Kesterson, 45, was bitten repeatedly by a dog who was normally chained. The woman suffered bites to her left forearm and right thigh—including a 4-inch gash to her arm that penetrated to the bone—and had to return to the emergency room four times because of the severity of her wounds.

February 24, 2009/Martinsville, Virginia: Two first-graders were bitten at an elementary school by a dog who had broken free from a chain. At least one of the children underwent rabies treatments because it could not be verified whether the dog, who had disappeared, was up to date on rabies vaccinations.

February 21, 2009/Kansas City, Missouri: A female postal carrier sustained serious injuries, including injuries to her head and face, bites on both arms, and a bite over her right eye, after two dogs–one of whom was chained–attacked her.

February 19, 2009/Sylva, North Carolina: Seven-year-old Dalton Mathis suffered 60 bites to his neck, throat, and face and was left unable to speak because of a punctured voice box after a chained dog broke free and attacked him.

February 11, 2009/Kannapolis, North Carolina: Six-year-old Brian Lemus and his mother, Marcela Bravo, were attacked after a neighbor’s pit bull broke free from a chain. The boy required plastic surgery on his face and neck for his injuries.

November 11, 2008/Deltona, Florida: A 4-year-old boy was bitten on the head and chest and was air-lifted to the hospital. The dog involved in the attack was chained at the time of the incident.

November 10, 2008/Keene, Texas: A chained dog broke free from his chain and attacked a 6-year-old girl, ripping off a section of her scalp 13 inches in diameter.

November 5, 2008/Brevard County, Florida: A woman was attacked by a dog as she walked her 4-year-old son to school. The dog had broken free from his chain.

October 23, 2008/Apopka, Florida: A 6-year-old boy was attacked by a dog and flown by helicopter to the hospital. In a local news story, the dog’s owner was quoted as saying, “The little boy that I know of used to go back every day and untie him when I’m at work.”

September 24, 2008/Bryan, Texas: An 11-year-old boy was bitten on the chest by a 9-month-old chained dog.

September 12, 2008/Dalton, Georgia: A code enforcement officer suffered from at least eight puncture wounds on his hand and arm when he was attacked by a chained dog.

September 11, 2008/Waukegan, Illinois: A 19-year-old woman had part of her ear ripped off and suffered severe bite wounds to her arms and legs when two chained dogs broke free and attacked her.

September 1, 2008/Bryan, Texas: An 8-year-old boy suffered at least four bite wounds when a dog who is always chained attacked him.

August 14, 2008/Bellaire, Ohio: A 12-year-old girl suffered cuts and wounds to more than a dozen places on her body when a dog broke his chain and attacked her.

August 13, 2008/Edinburg, Texas: A 2-year-old girl was attacked by her family’s dog who was kept tethered. The toddler lost sight in one eye and the left side of her face is paralyzed―she will need dozens of reconstructive surgeries.

August 11, 2008/Upper Darby, Pennsylvania: A 12-year-old boy suffered serious bite wounds to his face when he was attacked by his family’s dog―the dog was chained when he attacked.

August 11, 2008/Fort Pierre, South Dakota: A 7-year-old-girl and her grandmother were attacked by a chained dog who had broken free.

July 29, 2008/Charlotte, North Carolina: A 15-year-old girl was attacked in her yard by her neighbor’s dog after he broke free from his tether.

July 24, 2008/Itta Bena, Mississippi: A woman was attacked by a dog who broke free from his chain as the woman walked by. Her injuries required 1,600 sutures.

July 22, 2008/Jackson, Mississippi: A 3-year-old boy was fatally mauled by a dog who was “always kept chained,” according to the dog’s owner, quoted in local news sources.

July 18, 2008/Skokomish Nation, Washington: A dog freed himself from his chain and attacked a woman who was carrying groceries outside her home. She suffered deep bite wounds to her shoulder, waist, and hip.

July 9, 2008/Gulfport, Mississippi: A 3-year-old girl was attacked by a chained dog in her neighbor’s yard; requiring 32 stitches on her face.

July 3, 2008/Johnson City, Tennessee: A 9-year-old girl was attacked by a chained dog. She was admitted to the hospital for injuries sustained to her ear, face, and neck.

July 2, 2008/New York, New York: A 3-year-old boy was mauled by a dog who was “always on the chain,” according to a family friend and local news sources.

July 1, 2008/Omaha, Nebraska: A chained dog broke free and attacked a man who was mowing a nearby lawn.

July 1, 2008/New York, New York: A 90-year-old Staten Island man was severely mauled by two dogs who had often been chained. His leg was amputated because of the injuries.

June 18, 2008/Weslaco, Texas: A 5-year-old boy was mauled to death by a dog. Neighbors told deputies that the dog was always chained up.

June 10, 2008/Lubbock, Texas: A tethered dog attacked a 10-year-old boy. The boy required stitches on the front of his leg and on his back.

May 15, 2008/Omaha, Nebraska: A chained dog broke free and attacked an Omaha woman as she walked near a city street.

May 12, 2008/Omaha, Nebraska: An 11-year-old boy was bitten when a tethered dog broke free and attacked the boy. The boy received stitches in two places on his right arm as well as his left wrist and hand.

May 9, 2008/Alton, Illinois: A 9-year-old boy suffered 20 puncture wounds when a dog chained to the porch broke free and started viciously biting him.

May 5, 2008/Clarksville, Tennessee: A 7-year-old boy was attacked when a chained dog broke free. The boy suffered bites to his head, shoulder, and arms.

April 30, 2008/Fort Yukon, Alaska: A toddler was killed when he wandered into a neighbor’s yard and was attacked by a chained dog.

April 29, 2008/Camden, New Jersey: A 9-year-old boy was mauled by a chained dog and required hundreds of stitches to his face.

April 17, 2008/Springfield, Ohio: A mail carrier was attacked by a chained dog.

April 6, 2008/Evanston, Indiana: Two young boys, ages 8 and 9, were attacked by a chained dog in their neighborhood. Both boys sustained serious injuries.

March 29, 2008/Robins, Iowa: A chained dog broke free and bit a man walking by the dog’s house, crushing part of his hand.

March 24, 2008/Lugoff, South Carolina: A 5-year-old girl suffered injuries to her head after she approached and was attacked by a neighbor’s chained dog.

February 6, 2008/Concord, North Carolina: A chained dog attacked a 6-year-old boy, leaving him with injuries that required hours of surgery.

January 13, 2008/Frankston, Texas: An 8-year-old boy was bitten by a chained dog after walking into a neighbor’s yard to retrieve a ball.

January 5, 2008/Knoxville, Tennessee: A 9-year-old Knoxville girl was hospitalized after being attacked by a chained dog who broke free.

December 24, 2007/Canton, Mississippi: Two women and their children were attacked by a chained dog who had broken loose.

December 24, 2007/Riviera Beach, Florida: A chained dog broke free while eating and attacked a 6-year-old, Tacarra McCray, severing part of her ear.

December 10, 2007/Charlotte, North Carolina: A chained dog broke free and attacked two people, including a 10-year-old boy.

November 29, 2007/Denham Springs, Louisiana: A 12-year-old boy was mauled by a dog who had been let off his chain to be fed.

November 21, 2007/Prattville, Alabama: A chained dog broke free and attacked two boys who were walking near the dog’s residence.

November 19, 2007/Gibsonville, North Carolina: A chained dog left a woman in critical condition after she approached the area in which he was tied.

November 12, 2007/La Porte, Indiana: A 13-year-old La Porte boy was attacked by a chained dog who had broken free.

November 11, 2007/Forth Worth, Texas: A Fort Worth man and his dog were attacked in a church parking lot by a chained dog who had broken free.

November 8, 2007/Birmingham, Alabama: A fire official was attacked by a chained dog while responding to a report of smoke at the residence.

October 4, 2007/Greece, New York: Eight-year-old Scott Carney was attacked by a dog who broke free from his rope and attacked the child from behind.

September 30, 2007/Chester, South Carolina: A 7-year-old child was bitten in the face by a chained dog.

September 30, 2007/Middletown, Ohio: A Middletown girl was bitten and dragged across the porch by a dog who broke free from a chain.

September 29, 2007/Raven, Kentucky: A chained dog broke free and mauled a 3-year-old Knott County boy.

September 25, 2007/Boger City, North Carolina: A 2-year-old boy died after he wandered into a neighbor’s yard where two dogs were chained.

September 25, 2007/Lincolnton, North Carolina: A 2-year-old Lincolnton boy died after he was mauled by two chained dogs.

September 7, 2007/New Lebanon, New York: Columbia County District Attorney Beth Cozzolino approached a house and was attacked by the resident watchdog.

September 4, 2007/Carbon Hill, Alabama: A 4-year-old boy was mauled by his family’s dog, who was chained to a tree. The boy suffered a broken jaw and a broken collarbone.

September 2, 2007/White Swan, Washington: A family’s dog broke free from his chain and attacked two young girls, their mother, and their grandfather.

August 2007/Milwaukee, Wisconsin: A chained dog broke free and attacked a man walking his dog.

August 31, 2007/Sayreville, New Jersey: A New Jersey woman was walking her dog when the two were attacked by a chained dog who had gotten loose.

August 31, 2007/Knoxville, Tennessee: A chained dog attacked a police officer.

August 31, 2007/Mouterie, Georgia: A 9-year-old boy was injured when a chained dog attacked him at a car dealership.

August 21, 2007/Gig Harbor, Washington: After breaking loose from their chains, two dogs entered a home through a dog door and severely injured a woman while she slept.

August 21, 2007/McMinn County, Tennessee: Elijah Rackley, 15 months, was fatally mauled by his grandfather’s chained dog.

August 16, 2007/Minneapolis, Minnesota: Zack King Jr., 7, was fatally mauled by a dog kept chained in the basement of his family’s home.

August 14, 2007/Pennsville, New Jersey: A 3-year-old boy suffered three lacerations to his head and required 26 stitches after being attacked by a chained dog who had broken free.

August 7, 2007/Slocum, Texas: Destaney Till, 4, was attacked by a neighbor’s chained dog while reaching out for a toy near the dog. She sustained severe lacerations to her shoulder and a broken arm.

July 29, 2007/ Bath, New York: Sabin Jones-Abbott, 6, was killed by a chained dog whom he allegedly was trying to feed.

July 12, 2007/Atlanta, Georgia: A 5-year-old girl was fatally mauled by a neighbor’s chained dog after she allegedly tried to pet him.

July 5, 2007/Crown Point, Indiana: A 7-year-old boy was bitten by his neighbor’s chained dog after trying to retrieve a toy airplane.

July 1, 2007/Montague Township, Canada: Korie Lyn Edwards, 2, was fatally mauled by her grandparent’s chained dog.

June 20, 2007/Tyler, Texas: Jacie Konrad, 2, suffered deep puncture wounds, a torn scalp, and a punctured skull after being attacked by the family’s chained dog.

June 12, 2007/Moss Point, Mississippi: An 8-year-old boy who was riding his bicycle was bitten in the back by a chained dog who had broken free.

May 31, 2007/Lincoln, Nebraska: A 3-year-old boy was bitten in the face by a chained dog in his yard.

May 26, 2007/Waterloo, Iowa: A chained dog broke free and attacked three horses carrying police officers.

May 24, 2007/Dover, Kentucky: Two children and their grandmother were attacked by a dog kept chained in the family’s yard.

May 19, 2007/Detroit, Michigan: A chained dog broke free and attacked a 5-year-old boy at a gas station.

May 18, 2007/Kearneysville, West Virginia: A teenager was bitten on the face and leg after a chained dog broke free and attacked him.

May 18, 2007/Hesperia, California: Two dogs—who had previously been chained—mauled a 2-year-old boy. He was bitten so viciously on the head and neck that one of the dogs broke a tooth.

May 14, 2007/Crookston, Minnesota: An 8-year-old boy received 450 to 600 stitches on his face, neck, and arms after being attacked by a chained dog. The same dog bit the boy’s 6-year-old sister just two weeks earlier.

May 13, 2007/Waynesburg, Pennsylvania: Diamond Spencer, 9, was bitten on her face after she approached a chained dog.

May 10, 2007/Pineville, Kentucky: A young boy was bitten seven times by a neighbor’s chained dog.

May 8, 2007/Loraine, Ohio: A chained dog chewed off a 7-year-old girl’s finger and ear and left her with bite wounds all over her face.

May 3, 2007/Las Cruces, Texas: A toddler was mauled by a chained dog and sustained serious injuries.

May 2, 2007/Pearl City, Hawaii: Three women were attacked by their dog as one of them was preparing to secure him to a short chain, on which he was routinely kept, outside their home.

April 29, 2007/Great Falls, Montana: A chained dog broke free and attacked a 2-year-old boy.

April 28, 2007/Tuttle, Oklahoma: Larry Williams, 3, was attacked by a neighbor’s dog who was restrained with a 6-foot chain. 

April 28, 2007/Deming, New Mexico: A 21-month-old boy was bitten by his uncle’s chained dog.

April 20, 2007/Minneapolis, Minnesota: Huyen Phan, 4, was attacked and severely injured by a neighbor’s dog, who was kept tethered.

April 19, 2007/Hauraki, New Zealand: A chained dog broke free and attacked Graeme Adams.

April 18, 2007/Van Buren, Arkansas: A chained dog broke free and attacked Nina Arlene Irvan, 62, and her small dog in their yard.

April 18, 2007/Hollywood, Florida: Two teenagers were attacked and injured by a neighbor’s dog, who was kept chained in their back yard.

April 5, 2007/Watsonville, California: A chained dog broke free and attacked and injured a 7-year-old girl. The dog chased the girl, her 2-year-old sibling, and their dog into their family’s home before mauling the girl.

March 25, 2007/Columbus, Ohio: A 2-year-old girl was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s dog, who was kept chained to a lawnmower.

March 17, 2007/East Moline, Illinois: Allura Mourning, 7, was attacked and injured by a dog who was kept tethered and had long been teased by children in the area.

March 12, 2007/Oneida, Illinois: Gayla Holmes, 60, was attacked and severely injured by her family’s dog, who was kept tethered.

March 6, 2007/Durham, North Carolina: Jaida Riviera, 3, was attacked and severely injured by a dog who was kept chained in her family’s yard.

March 2007/Pueblo, Colorado: Abreann Trujillo, 8, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s dog, who was kept chained.

March 2007/Combine, Texas: A 2-year-old girl was fatally mauled by one of her family’s dogs, who was kept chained.

March 2007/Tulsa, Oklahoma: A chained dog broke free and attacked Lee Ingram.

March 2007/Jacksonville, Florida: A 5-year-old girl was attacked and injured by her neighbor’s dog, who was kept tethered.

February 28, 2007/Plant City, Florida: Ian Keo, 2, was attacked and severely injured by Mongo, one of three dogs who were kept chained on his family’s property.

February 21, 2007/Orange County, Florida: Sahdariae Franklin, 11, was attacked and injured by Fatal, a dog who had broken free from a chain. Boys were reportedly throwing rocks at Fatal before he escaped the tether and leapt through an open car window to attack Franklin.

February 19, 2007/Erie, Colorado: Josh Jolliff, 9, was attacked and severely injured by his family’s dog, Gordie, who was kept chained in their yard.

February 18, 2007/Hastings, Florida: A 9-year-old boy was attacked by his grandfather’s dog, who was kept chained.

January 28, 2007/Madison, Georgia: A 15-year-old boy was attacked by a dog who was kept chained. The boy and his cousin had been teasing and aggravating the dog when the animal attacked him.

January 28, 2007/Brewton, Alabama: Taylor Kitlica, 1, was mauled and killed by a dog kept chained in her family’s yard. The dog also attacked and injured Taylor’s 2-year-old brother.

January 15, 2007/San Antonio, Texas: A man was attacked and seriously injured by a dog normally kept tethered on his property.

January 12, 2007/San Antonio, Texas: Amber Jones, 10, was attacked and killed by her neighbor’s dog—who was sometimes kept chained—as she attempted to free him from a fence he had hanged himself on.

January 4, 2007/Luce County, Michigan: A 3-year-old girl was attacked and critically injured by a dog kept chained in her family’s yard.

January 2007/St. Joseph, Missouri: A chained dog broke free and attacked a woman.

December 31, 2006/Modesto, California: A chained dog mauled and seriously injured a 3-year-old girl.

December 24, 2006/Moultrie, Georgia: A chained dog broke free and attacked and injured NyRicky Nelson, 5.

November 9, 2006/Saginaw, Michigan: A chained dog attacked a police officer.

November 4, 2006/Bamberg, South Carolina: Allen Young, 1, was attacked and killed by his father’s four dogs, who were typically kept chained.

October 11, 2006/Cleveland, Ohio: A chained dog broke free and attacked and severely injured Jack Smith, a postal worker.

September 27, 2006/Canyonville, Oregon: A 7-year-old girl was attacked by a dog who was kept chained in a family friend’s yard.

September 5, 2006/Boise County, Idaho: Raymond Slice, 1, was attacked by a dog who was kept chained in a family acquaintance’s yard.

September 2006/Branch County, Michigan: Eighteen-month-old Jacobe Vanderwall was attacked by a dog who was kept chained in a neighbor’s yard.

September 2006/Hillsborough County, Florida: A chained dog escaped and attacked Danielle Wilson, 20.

September 2006/Middleton-on-Sea, United Kingdom: Harvey Lawrence, 2, was attacked by a dog who was kept chained in his grandparents’ yard.

August 27, 2006/Kapahi, Hawaii: Larry Earl was attacked by a dog who was kept chained in a neighbor’s yard.

June 22, 2006/Horizon City, Texas: A 2-year-old girl was attacked and killed by a dog who was kept chained near her babysitter’s home.

June 15, 2006/Conehatta, Mississippi: A 15-month-old girl was attacked and injured by one of two dogs who were kept chained in her family’s yard.

April 23, 2006/Des Moines, Iowa: A chained dog broke free, attacking and injuring a 7-year-old girl who was playing in her family’s yard.

April 22, 2006/Newark, Ohio: A 5-year-old girl was attacked and injured by a dog who was kept chained in her family’s back yard.

April 14, 2006/Lake Station, Indiana: A 5-year-old girl was attacked and injured by one of three dogs who were kept chained on her neighbor’s property.

March 20, 2006/Jameson, Missouri: A 3-year-old boy was fatally attacked by a family member’s dog who was kept chained on his parents’ property.

March 2, 2006/Lumberton, North Carolina: A 6-year-old girl was attacked and injured by a dog who was kept chained on her grandparents’ property.

February 27, 2006/Shafter, California: A 3-year-old girl was attacked and injured by a dog who was kept chained on her family’s property.

February 16, 2006/James City County, Virginia: An 11-year-old boy was attacked and injured by a dog who was kept chained in a neighbor’s yard. The dog broke free from the chain and jumped a fence before chasing and biting the boy.

January 24, 2006/Kansas, Oklahoma: A 2-year-old girl was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s dog who was kept chained.

December 27, 2005/Nullica, New South Wales, Australia: A 2-year-old girl was attacked and killed by her family’s chained dog.

December 2005/Batesville, Texas: A 2-year-old boy was attacked and injured by his family’s chained dog.

November 26, 2005/Limestone County, Alabama: An 11-year-old boy was attacked and injured by his babysitter’s dog, who was kept chained.

November 15, 2005/James City County, Virginia: A 2-year-old girl was injured and mauled by one of multiple dogs who were kept chained in her family’s yard. The dog broke free from the chain and tore one of the girl’s ears off.

November 12, 2005/Clermont County, Ohio: Delbert Preston, 6, was attacked and injured by a chained dog.

October 6, 2005/Waterville, Maine: Ethan Agosta, 3, was attacked and injured by a family friend’s chained dog.

October 3, 2005/Suffolk, Virginia: Jonathan Martin, 2, was fatally mauled by one of his family’s two dogs, who were normally kept chained.

August 22, 2005/Rapid City, South Dakota: A 2-year-old girl was attacked and injured by a family friend’s dog who was kept chained in her back yard. The dog had previously attacked another person.

August 16, 2005/Marion County, Ohio: A 1-year-old girl was attacked and injured by her cousin’s chained dog.

August 15, 2005/Fergus Falls, Minnesota: A 2-year-old boy was attacked and injured by a dog who was kept chained on a neighbor’s property.

August 14, 2005/Plainfield Township, Illinois: An 8-year-old boy was attacked and injured by his cousin’s chained dog.

July 28, 2005/Battle Creek, Michigan: A 12-year-old boy was attacked and injured by a dog who was kept chained next to a family member’s home.

July 25, 2005/Los Lunas, New Mexico: A sheriff’s deputy was attacked and severely injured by one of several chained dogs on a property where she was conducting an investigation.

July 3, 2005/Corbin, Kentucky: A 16-year-old girl was attacked and injured by a chained dog. The animal had attacked another child seven days earlier while chained.

July 2005/Bowling Green, Kentucky: A 9-year-old girl was attacked and injured by her cousin’s chained dog while playing in her grandparents’ yard.

June 30, 2005/Madison, North Carolina: A 2-year-old boy was attacked and injured by one of three dogs who were kept chained on a property bordering his grandmother’s yard.

June 28, 2005/La Junta, Colorado: A 4-year-old boy was attacked and injured by a dog who was kept chained on a neighbor’s property.

June 26, 2005/Corbin, Kentucky: An 11-year-old girl was attacked by a chained dog.

June 20, 2005/Charlotte, North Carolina: A chained dog broke free, attacking and injuring a neighbor’s 7-year-old boy.

June 4, 2005/Salisbury, Maryland: A woman was attacked by a dog who was kept chained to a tree on a neighbor’s property.

June 1, 2005/Kansas City, Missouri: A boy was attacked and injured by a chained dog.

May 18, 2005/New Athens, Illinois: Mike Kilgore, 1, was attacked and injured by a chained dog. The dog had attacked a woman two weeks earlier.

May 17, 2005/Kansas City, Missouri: A chained dog broke free, attacking and injuring a man.

May 17, 2005/Augusta County, Virginia: A woman was attacked and injured by one of as many as five dogs who were kept chained on her property.

May 15, 2005/Winfield, Kansas: Lucy Redman was attacked and injured by one of two abandoned chained dogs while she was giving the dogs food and water.

May 11, 2005/Jones County, North Carolina: A 1-year-old boy was attacked and injured by a chained dog. The dog then attacked the boy’s mother when she tried to separate him from the animal.

May 10, 2005/North Long Beach, California: A chained dog broke free, attacking and injuring a 45-year-old man.

May 8, 2005/Chicago, Illinois: Akina Jackson, 3, was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

May 6, 2005/Portland, Oregon: A 1-year-old boy was attacked and injured by one of two dogs who were kept chained in his family’s back yard.

May 3, 2005/Knightdale, North Carolina: Thah Tyndal, 5, and Asia Brantley, a fourth-grader, were mauled by a dog as they waited for a school bus. The dog had broken free from a chain.

May 2, 2005/Spartanburg County, South Carolina: Asia Turner, 4, was attacked and killed by her family’s two dogs, one of whom was chained to a tree at the time of the attack.

April 30, 2005/Sanford, Florida: Shawn Michniewicz, 12, was attacked and injured by a chained dog.

April 26, 2005/Orange County, Virginia: A 3-year-old girl was attacked and injured by her family’s chained dog.

April 18, 2005/Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina: Skylar Finney, 2, was attacked and injured by a dog who was kept chained in a relative’s back yard.

April 15, 2005/Dempseytown, Pennsylvania: Zachary Smith, 5, was attacked and injured by his grandmother’s chained dog.

April 11, 2005/Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Jesse Head, 12, was attacked by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

April 10, 2005/Orange County, Virginia: Robert Shafer, 4, was attacked and killed by his family’s chained dog.

April 5, 2005/Huntington, West Virginia: A 22-year-old man was attacked by a chained dog.

April 2, 2005/Muskegon Heights, Michigan: A 12-year-old boy was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain. The boy had been trying to help the dog, who had become entangled in the chain and was choking.

March 31, 2005/Muskegon Heights, Michigan: A Muskegon police officer was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

March 24, 2005/Heflin, Alabama: Pharis Fish, 4, was attacked and injured by a chained dog.

March 15, 2005/Fredericksburg, Virginia: A Fredericksburg resident was attacked by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

February 26, 2005/Bessemer City, North Carolina: Kendra Odums, 5, was attacked and injured by a chained dog.

February 4, 2005/Lanett, Alabama: Barbara Pilkington was fatally mauled by a neighbor’s dog who was normally kept chained.

February 2005/Jacksonville, Florida: Kaylin Flowers, 4, was attacked and injured by her family’s chained dog.

January 10, 2005/Buckley, Illinois: Tamra Kuester, 8, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s dog who had broken free from a chain.

December 16, 2004/Fincastle, Virginia: Sam Reid was attacked and injured by a dog who was normally kept chained.

December 12, 2004/Shoreline Park, Mississippi: Kamryn Billingsley, 34 days old, was fatally mauled by a dog who was normally kept chained.

December 8, 2004/Orlando, Florida: Myles Leakes, 4, was fatally mauled by at least one of a relative’s three chained dogs.

December 2004/West Valley, Utah: Spencer Claflin and Travis Ellis were attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

December 2004/Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada: A 3-year-old boy was fatally mauled by four dogs, including one who was normally kept chained.

November 17, 2004/Woodbury, Tennessee: Breel Thomas, 1, was attacked and injured by one of her neighbor’s three chained dogs.

November 15, 2004/Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Craig Planidin, 40, was attacked by his dog, who was normally kept chained.

November 2004/Boston, Massachusetts: Kathleen Rehs, 82, was attacked and injured by one of her neighbor’s chained dogs.

November 2004/Arrowwood, North Carolina: Ronnie Huffman, 31, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s chained dog.

September 19, 2004/Westphalia, Iowa: Logan Rogers, 10, was attacked and injured by a relative’s chained dog.

September 17, 2004/Wichita Falls, Texas: Clara Young, 85, was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

September 2004/Scott Township, Pennsylvania: A woman was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

September 2004/McGehee, Arkansas: Robert Fowler, 5, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s chained dog.

September 2004/Greer, South Carolina: Isaiah Calandis, 1, was fatally mauled by one of his grandfather’s four chained dogs.

September 2004/Oquawka, Illinois: Kaylee Chewning, 5, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s chained dog.

August 28, 2004/Devils Lake, North Dakota: Jasmine Sharbono, 2, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s chained dog.

August 19, 2004/Costa Rica: Mayra Jose Chavez, 5, was fatally mauled by her family’s chained dog.

August 2004/Rice Hill, Oregon: A man was attacked by a chained dog.

August 2004/Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania: Summer Baumgardner, 9, was attacked and injured by a friend’s chained dog.

August 2004/North Platte, Nebraska: Jessica Haws, 20, was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

August 2004/Keswick, Ontario, Canada: Karen Jones was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

July 2004/Denver, Colorado: A man was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

July 2004/Harlingen, Texas: A man was attacked by a dog who was normally kept chained.

July 2004/Charlotte, North Carolina: A 7-year-old boy was attacked and injured by his neighbor’s chained dog.

July 2004/Angelina County, Texas: Erica Lybarger, 5, was attacked and injured by a chained dog.

July 2004/Spaniard’s Bay, Newfoundland, Canada: Johnathan Mahoney-Marsh, 2, was attacked and injured by a chained dog.

June 28, 2004/Eastfield, Maryland: Christina Eckert, 6, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s chained dog.

June 27, 2004/Reserve, Louisiana: Koi Taylor, 9, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s chained dog.

June 21, 2004/Terre Haute, Indiana: Alexa Marshall, 18, was attacked and injured by a dog who was normally kept chained.

June 16, 2004/Moss Point, Mississippi: Kennedy Robinson, 1, was attacked and injured by a relative’s dog who had broken free from a chain.

June 2004/Los Chavez, New Mexico: Emma-Leigh Chambers-Allen, 4, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s chained dog.

June 2004/Earl, North Carolina: Brandon Ivie, 7, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s chained dog. The dog attacked the boy’s mother as well when she came to his aid.

May 2004/San Antonio, Texas: Gabriel Gutierrez, 3, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s chained dog.

April 30, 2004/Cochrane, Ontario, Canada: A 4-year-old girl was attacked and injured by her grandfather’s chained dog.

April 28, 2004/Hodgenville, Kentucky: Emily Paige Stinnett, 4, was attacked and injured by her family’s dog, who had broken free from a chain.

April 14, 2004/Charleston, South Carolina: Dennis Nobili, 38, was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain. The dog then attacked and injured police officer Matthew Frey, 25, while he was investigating the attack.

April 2004/Crève Coeur, Illinois: Mark Wilson, 8, was attacked and injured by a chained dog.

March 2004/Apple Valley, California: Nick Stowers, 9, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s dog who had broken free from a chain.

February 22, 2004/Bridgeton, North Carolina: Meradith Bell, 8, was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain. The attack occurred while Bell was trying to pull the animal off a 3-year-old girl.

February 21, 2004/Kipu, Hawaii: Truston Heart Liddle, 1, was fatally mauled by a chained dog.

January 13, 2004/Grenada, Mississippi: Kaitlin Matthews, 5, was attacked and injured by a local animal control officer’s dog, who had broken free from a chain.

January 13, 2004/Harnett County, North Carolina: Nathan Roy Hill, 3, was fatally mauled by his neighbor’s chained dog.

October 13, 2003/Nelson House, Manitoba, Canada: A 3-year-old boy was fatally mauled by as many as six of his grandmother’s 15 chained dogs. The animals who attacked him had broken free from chains.

October 2, 2003/Roebuck, South Carolina: Makayla Paige Sinclair, 2, was fatally mauled by as many as nine of her neighbor’s chained dogs.

October 2003/Seven Points, Texas: Jonathan Shane Ivey, 4, was attacked and injured by a chained dog.

September 2003/Akiachak, Alaska: Sheldon Phillip, 4, was fatally mauled by his family’s chained dog.

September 2003/Lithia, Florida: Matthew Martin, 1, was attacked and injured by a relative’s chained dog.

August 3, 2003/Winston-Salem, North Carolina: An 8-year-old boy was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain. The boy had reportedly shot rocks and marbles at the dog that day.

August 2003/Hertford, North Carolina: Zelene Bunch, 44, was attacked and injured by four dogs who were normally kept chained.

July 19, 2003/Lincoln County, Mississippi: Anfernee Clair, 6, was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain. Clair and other children were reportedly throwing rocks at the dog earlier that day.

July 2003/Kununurra, Australia: A woman was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a tether.

June 2003/Longwood, Florida: Clyde Ray, 78, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s two dogs who had broken free from chains.

June 2003/Cocoa, Florida: Ken Shedrick, a police officer, was attacked by a dog who had broken free from a chain. Shedrick had been investigating the dog’s chase of an 8-year-old girl minutes earlier.

April 23, 2003/Burlington, Iowa: Deb McCann was attacked by a chained dog.

April 20, 2003/Toledo, Ohio: Bailey Sleesman, 2, was attacked and injured by a chained dog.

April 11, 2003/Rockford, Illinois: Marco Washington, 19, was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

March 4, 2003/Orlando, Florida: Daniel Decembre, 8, was attacked and injured by a dog who was normally kept chained.

January 31, 2003/Augusta, Georgia: Gage Wright, 3, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s dog who had broken free from a chain.

January 27, 2003/Kihei, Hawaii: Trevor Sifton, 5, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s dog who was normally kept chained.

December 16, 2002/Roxboro, North Carolina: Samantha Fuller, 2, was fatally mauled by a neighbor’s chained dog.

October 11, 2002/Kennesaw, Georgia: A 1-year-old girl was fatally mauled by one or both of her family’s two chained dogs.

August 2002/Ottumwa, Iowa: A 2-year-old girl was fatally mauled by a neighbor’s chained dog.

June 24, 2002/San Francisco, California: A 4-year-old boy was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from—and was dragging—a chain.

June 7, 2002/Wickliffe, Kentucky: T.J. Adams, 5, was fatally mauled by a dog who was kept chained in a yard neighboring that of his grandmother.

June 2002/Salisbury Township, Pennsylvania: Two people were attacked by a dog who was kept chained at a business.

April 23, 2001/Knoxville, Tennessee: Keeley Johnson, 15, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s dog who had broken free from a chain. The dog had attacked Johnson’s cousin three months earlier.

April 7, 2000/Gainesville, Georgia: Amber Cannon, 9, was attacked and injured by a neighbor’s chained dog.

February 17, 2000/Mechanicsville, Maryland: Belinda Lynn Quade, 25, and her 2-year-old son were attacked and injured by a neighbor’s dog who had broken free from a chain.

February 2000/Hampton, Virginia: Darryl Sanders, 8, was fatally mauled by his family’s chained dog, who neighbors said had been acting territorially.

February 16, 1999/Hernes Oak, Victoria, Australia: Leon Tarasinski, 75, was fatally mauled by a chained dog. The dog also attacked a police officer investigating Tarasinski’s death.

1999/Sampson County, North Carolina: Kimberly Arriola, 2, was fatally mauled by her neighbor’s chained dog.

October 1996/Rothbury, Michigan: A 12-year-old girl was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

November 23, 1995/Brisbane, Queensland, Australia: Lance Stanley Collins, 37, was attacked and injured by a chained dog.

January 1995/Black Hawk, South Dakota: Russell Evans, 2, was fatally mauled by a chained dog.

March 1990/Otisville, Michigan: Tanya Elliot, 2, was fatally mauled by a chained dog.

January 1990/Mead, Washington: Melonie Honodel, 4, was attacked and injured by a dog who had broken free from a chain.

March 1986/Anchorage, Alaska: Nicola Martin, 2, was fatally mauled by a chained dog.

September 1981/Wayne, Michigan: Eric Turner, 2, was fatally mauled by a chained dog.