Rusty is a Red Nose and also weighs about 45 lbs (and this pic does him NO justice…he’s GORGEOUS!). He was found wandering and when his owners were found they just didn’t want him anymore. Poor Rusty! Rusty did absolutely nothing to deserve this. He has just been neutered and brought up to date on all of his shots. He gets along with other dogs and also has not yet met someone that he didn’t like.

World Trade Center
New Yorkers love dogs. In New York City alone, an estimated 500,000 dog owners share their lives with 1.4 million dogs. The City has created over 40 dog parks where dogs can exercise and socialize.

While “man’s best friend” has not always been treated kindly by man, New York has the honor of being the state in which the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) was founded.
The first animal fighting laws were written by ASPCA founder Henry Bergh in 1867. These laws made all forms of animal fighting illegal in New York State.
From “Owney,” the unlikely mascot of the Albany Post Office, to the dogs that assisted in the aftermath of World Trade Center bombings, dogs have played many parts in the lives of New Yorkers.

Dogs in New York also serve in an ever-widening spectrum of therapeutic roles. The physical and emotional benefits to humans that come from relationships with dogs are now recognized and utilized by psychiatric facilities, assisted living centers, hospitals, schools . . . even prisons.
Today, dogs contribute more to the welfare of individuals and society than perhaps any other time in the history of the human-dog bond. Additionally, over the past three decades, increased awareness of the importance of humane care and control of dogs, the enactment and enforcement of leash laws, and dog bite prevention education, have all been instrumental in drastically reducing the number of reported dog-related injuries in New York and throughout the nation.
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Larry, a 4-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever, is a therapy dog at the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center.
In 2008, the Center, which investigates incidents of child sexual abuse and provides support services to victims, became the first such facility in the state to adopt a therapy dog. Based on the effect Larry has had so far in child abuse cases, center officials are encouraging other counties to consider bringing similar therapy dogs on board. The dog creates a friendly atmosphere for the children; and investigators have noticed that Larry already has helped young victims talk about their abuse.

National Canine Research Council

Dog Bite Fatalities
Over the past 45 years (1965 – present) there have been 26 fatal dog attacks in New York State, an average of one (1) fatality every one to two years.
At least 14 different breeds/types of dogs have been identified in these attacks.
The victims were 9 adults and 17 children.
Nearly half (n=7) of the children killed were infants left unattended with unfamiliar dogs. A number of these infants had been left with dogs that were severely undersocialized, abused or had been encouraged to be aggressive:

In 1976, a woman left her East Harlem apartment, leaving her 4-day-old infant on the floor along with a severely emaciated, starving dog. (See photo above)
Also in 1976, a 14-day-old was left unattended at his grandmother’s home with a dog named “Satan.”
In 1984, a 2-month-old infant was left unattended in a New York City apartment with an intact male dog. The parents/owners admitted the dog was a “trained guard dog.”
Of the other nine (9) of the other children killed , four (4) were unsupervised children encountering chained dogs. For example, in 2007, a young boy wandered out to feed his father’s newly acquired, chained dog. The dog, preposterously described in the media as a “family pet,” attacked and killed the child. (The photograph below shows that dog and where he was chained.)

A Boy and his dog: A New York tragedy
In spite of the negligence and inhumanity of some dog owners (and/or parents), dogs still pose an incredibly low risk for causing a fatality in New York:
New York: Recognized Risks Year 2005
Tobacco-related fatalities 25,500
Total (alcohol & non) traffic deaths 1,434
Alcohol-related traffic fatalities 580
Bicycle-related fatalities 48
ATV-related fatalities 44
Persons drowned in tub or swimming pool 29
Death after contact w/bees, hornets, wasps 5
Persons killed by lightning 1
Persons killed by dogs 0
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:
In 2005, seventy-five (75) New York children died as the result of maltreatment (abuse/neglect).
In a single year, 2005, more than four times as many New York children died as a result of maltreatment than the total of all children killed by dogs in the state over the past 44 years.
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Fact is, people in New York State routinely accept far greater risks from ATV’s, bicycles and swimming pools than any that are associated with companion animals.
National Canine Research Council