Variable Mechanisms of Dog-Related Deaths

As the literature has tended to focus on injuries and deaths due to active dog attacks, the following review was undertaken to examine the range of circumstances and mechanisms that may be associated with all types of fatal encounters with dogs. A search was undertaken of the literature and the Forensic Science SA, Australia, autopsy database for cases where deaths had been caused by dog-related activity. Only 2 cases were found in the autopsy database over a 15-year period from 2005 to 2019. The first was a 55-year-old man who bled to death from a large degloving dog bite to his forehead exacerbating underlying cardiovascular disease. The second was a 40-year-old previously splenectomized man who died of Capnocytophaga canimorsus sepsis shortly after being bitten by his dog. Dogs may be involved in vehicle crashes if drivers swerve to avoid them or if pedestrians attempt to rescue dogs that have strayed onto roads. In the literature, trauma has also occurred from "non-bite dog-related injuries" where individuals have been pulled over by, or tripped on, dogs. Dogs may also be responsible for specific types of infections such as echinococcosis and C. canimorsus, which may have potentially lethal consequences. Thus, the types of cases of injuries, illnesses, and deaths associated with dogs encountered by pathologists in a forensic context may be extremely diverse and not always straightforward.