A fascinating aspect of 19th and early 20th century newspaper articles about dog attacks is the perception and portrayal of dogs as emotional beings. Dogs were described as jealous, treacherous, lonely, depressed, enraged, frustrated, angry, brave, heroic and noble. Although 19th century media reports could be dismissed by some as being anthropomorphic, doing so would be narrow-minded and counterproductive. Indeed, modern-day science is just coming to prove what has been obvious to dog lovers for centuries— ***that dogs are indeed emotional beings*** The media of the day understood the complexities of canine behavior and used emo- tional terms in an attempt to understand the motivations and reasons for dog attacks. At times, dogs involved in attacks on humans were simply described as savage or vicious, but other times the media in the late 1800s showed great insight and understanding of canine behavior. This apparent desire to understand the cause and effects of dog attacks led the media to reveal details of dog attacks not seen in more modern, sterile accounts. While some accounts may have been a bit dramatized, nonetheless the underlying cause of the dog attack was clearly presented and appears to be a reasonable explanation of the forces contributing to the attack.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 16:47:29 +0000
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