Nina In New York: I Don't Like The 'One Bite' Rule Either, Frankie
A lighthearted look at news, events, culture and everyday life in New York.
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By Nina Pajak
While I cringe to read stories of any dog attacking a person, let alone a child, I am especially sensitive to those involving pit bulls.
As anyone who knows me or reads my column regularly knows, I am the owner of a pit bull mix and a staunch defender of the breed. I am vehemently against any law which ghettoizes the pit bull as a whole into some untouchable, vicious, "mad dog" category. It's obtuse and unfair and leads to the suffering of many innocent animals who will never wind up coming close to biting a person.
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So when I started to read about Frankie Flora, the little boy who survived a horrific attack by a family member's pit bull, I was apprehensive. But I found myself moved by his mission—not to ban the breed, not to declare anything broadly based on his experience with one dog, not even to avoid dogs for the rest of his life.
In fact, his story no longer has anything specifically to do with pit bulls at all. Rather, he wants to challenge New York State's "one bite" rule, which means that an owner is not financially or otherwise liable if his or her dog bites someone for the first time. Meaning, the owner wouldn't have known the dog was capable of such an act until it happens once. After that, you should know better.
I have to say, I completely agree with Frankie. Owners should be liable if their dogs bite people. Once, twice, five times, it doesn't matter. And I think this is an important point towards understanding why breed hysteria and media-stoked fear is narrow-minded in such a way that it benefits nobody. Dogs aren't children, and as much as we love them and treat them like family members, there's no changing that fact. Regardless of the type or size of dog you acquire, when you decide to become a dog owner, you're agreeing to care for an animal. An animal who can't talk or express itself in a way that we always understand, who can do things that seem unpredictable to the average pet owner. Who has the physical capability to cause damage to a person. To me, it seems as simple as that.
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If Frankie gets his way, not only will people be protected against the type of financial trauma his family has suffered on top of his own physical ordeal, but there ceases to be a reason to call out specific breeds as being particularly inherently worrisome. It will mean that we agree that all canines of any sort could theoretically bite someone. Even if she's your little snookums and she's never done anything like it before. We're all in the same boat. Or kennel, or something. If any dog owner finds this troubling or doesn't think that's fair, it seems to me that person already realizes his or her dog could bite someone. In which case, maybe that person should get a cat.
Dear Readers: While I am rarely at a loss for words, I'm always grateful for column ideas. Please feel free to e-mail me your suggestions.
Nina Pajak is a writer and publishing professional living with her husband on the Upper West Side.
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