When pit bull-type dogs are seized in an investigation of organized dogfighting, heavily scarred dogs are often assumed to be highly dog aggressive due to a history of fighting. These dogs may be deemed dangerous and euthanized based on scarring alone. We analyzed our existing data on dogs seized from four dogfighting investigations, examining the relationship between the dogs’ scars with aggression towards other dogs. Scar and wound data were tallied in three body zones where dogfighting injuries tend to be concentrated. Dog aggression was assessed using a model dog and a friendly stimulus dog in a standardized behavior evaluation. Scarring and dog aggression were significantly related, more strongly among male (Fisher’s Exact p < 0.001) than female dogs (Fisher’s Exact p = 0.05). Ten or more scars in the three body zones was a reasonable threshold with which to classify a dog as high risk for dog aggression: 82% of males and 60% of females with such scarring displayed dog aggression. However, because many unscarred dogs were dog aggressive while some highly scarred dogs were not, we recommend collecting behavioral information to supplement scar counts when making disposition decisions about dogs seized in dogfighting investigations.

Communities with well-developed animal response plans, along with trained and equipped animal response teams, are typically better able to protect resident livestock and companion animals during a disaster, with fewer animals lost, higher human evacuation compliance rates, and a greater percentage of pets staying with their families. The NCARE Study is a cross-sectional descriptive survey designed to assess, among US states and counties, the level of preparedness for managing animals in an emergency. Overall, 65% of participating states (31/48) reported having a State Animal Response Team (SART), while 48% (16/33) of counties with >1 million population (large counties) and 23% (131/565) of a random sample of counties with <1 million population (small counties) reported having a County Animal Response Team (CART). Only 50% of small counties reported having plans for collocated or cohabitational emergency shelters, compared to 73% of states and 80% of large counties. In stratified analyses, the proportion of counties with a CART ranged from 2% in FEMA Region X to 69% in Region II. Our results demonstrate that many regions of the US have taken some important initial steps towards establishing the capabilities necessary for managing animals in a disaster, while other regions have areas for improvement.