Little Rock Animal Control’s service data reveals just how frequently dogs attack in the Arkansas capital. One local trailer park had 71 incidents in less than two years.
An animal attack is something everyone fears, but most of us comfort ourselves with the belief that it probably won’t happen.
Dogs are all around us, after all, and animals of any kind can make their way into the city. We can’t let the fear of being bitten control us. Besides, dogs are man’s best friend, and most seem friendly enough.
But dogs do bite — friendly ones, even — and it happens more often than you might realize.
Just how often?
We were wondering that ourselves. We’ve helped a number of dog bite victims claim the financial compensation they deserve after an unexpected animal attack. Given how many victims we hear from, we had a hunch that Little Rock might have an aggressive animal problem.
To find out, we went straight to the source, pulling data from the Little Rock Animal Control’s service request records. Using that data, we were able to determine how often people in Little Rock are calling 311 to complain about aggressive animals, where those calls tend to come from, and which parts of the city pose the biggest threat of dangerous or out-of-control animals.
We share our findings in the sections below.
Why Does This Data Matter?
At the outset, you might wonder why this information is important. Do you really need to know about all the dog attacks in Little Rock? Will this data help to keep you safe?
We think it can. First, realizing just how frequently animals attack in Arkansas can help us all remember to be careful whenever we’re around animals we don’t know. Assuming a strange or stray dog is friendly can be dangerous. Many otherwise well-behaved dogs have been known to attack strangers, often because the dog misinterprets a signal or mistakes a friendly stranger for a threat.
Second, if there are parts of Little Rock where dog bites and aggressive animal incidents are especially common, we think you and your family should know about it. The point isn’t to blame the homeowners or residents in these areas, nor are we suggesting that fault lies with Animal Control.
On the contrary, 311 is a valuable service to the people of Little Rock, and we applaud the city and county for their efforts to address the aggressive animal problem (though the allocation of additional resources to that end would not be unwelcome). And while homeowners are sometimes at fault when their pets attack, the data we share below is not sufficient for assigning blame to the homeowners or residents in these areas. Based on the 311 call data alone, we don’t necessarily know who owned the animals in these incidents (if anyone) or who was ultimately responsible for these specific attacks.
Rather, we’re sharing this information so that you know where to take extra precaution, where to ask local leaders to direct their attention, and which areas you might want to avoid (especially when walking alone or with vulnerable people, such as small children or the elderly).
This Map Shows Where Dog Attacks in Little Rock Happen Most Often
We pulled a list of every single service request that Little Rock Animal Control has received from 2016 to the present day — a period of fewer than two years. We then filtered the calls to focus only on “aggressive animal” incidents (usually pertaining to a dog).
In that narrow time period alone, Little Rock residents had to call Animal Control regarding an aggressive animal 663 times.
While the attacks are spread throughout Little Rock, they tend to be most common in a few specific areas. To help you visualize where Little Rock dog attacks are happening most often, we created a heat map, with darker red colors indicating a greater concentration of aggressive animal incidents.
One Little Rock Mobile Home Park Logs 71 Animal Control Service Requests
As we dug deeper into the data, we found that a single location in Little Rock was responsible for 71 Animal Control service requests in under two years.
Where? The Southern Pines Mobile Home Park, located at 9500 South Heights Road, Little Rock, Arkansas 72209. On the heat map we shared in the previous section, it’s located within the deepest red-colored cluster in the southern part of the city. Indeed, this mobile home park is the reason that area is so red.
Given the large number of animal-related calls in this area, we decided to broaden our search beyond “aggressive animal” reports and look at all Animal Services requests for this address from 2016 to the present day. Here’s what we found:
- 13 Aggressive Animal reports
- 17 Animal Abuse reports
- 33 Stray Animal reports
- 8 Trap Requests (typically pertaining to dangerous animals, protected animals, or nuisance wildlife requiring specialized catching or trapping services)
Together, these reports paint a picture of an area where many aggressive animals may be roaming about freely — a combination, perhaps, of aggressive dogs and stray wildlife, all of which can pose a serious threat to your safety.
We strongly urge you to exercise abundant caution in this area. We also hope that our report will alert city, county, and state leaders to the severity of this problem such that additional resources might be allocated here in the near future.
Other Common Sites of Dog Attacks / Animal Issues in Little Rock
In addition to the Southern Pines Mobile Home Park at 9500 South Heights Road, the following locations each received 15 or more Animal Services requests from 2016 to present.
Knollwood Mobile Home Park. 12109 Stagecoach Rd, Little Rock, AK (map) — 36 incidents
- 3 Aggressive Animal reports
- 9 Animal Abuse reports
- 3 Barking Dog reports
- 13 Stray Animal reports
- 8 Trap Requests
Whispering Hills Mobile Home Park, 11500 Chicot Rd, Little Rock, AK (Mabelvale) (map) — 36 incidents
- 3 Aggressive Animal reports
- 6 Animal Abuse reports
- 22 Stray Animal reports
- 5 Trap Requests
Watson Elementary School, 7000 Valley Dr, Little Rock, AK (map) — 18 incidents
- 3 Aggressive Animal reports
- 13 Stray Animal reports
- 2 Trap Requests
27 Montvale Dr, Little Rock, AK (map) — 17 incidents
- All 17 calls were for Trap Requests
19 Wellford Dr, Little Rock, AK (map) — 17 incidents
- 4 Aggressive Animal reports
- 9 Stray Animal reports
- 4 Trap Requests
Walmart, 8801 Baseline Rd, Little Rock, AK (map) — 15 incidents
- 6 Animal Abuse reports
- 9 Stray Animal reports
Bitten by a Dog in Arkansas? Contact Alan Levar for a Free Consultation ASAP.
Unfortunately, Arkansas has not enacted the robust dog bite statutes found in many other states. This yields a complex situation for dog bite victims who wish to claim compensation for their injuries.
Nevertheless, if you or your loved one has been injured or killed by a dog or an aggressive animal in Little Rock, you might be entitled to substantial financial compensation.
The Little Rock personal injury lawyers at the Levar Law Injury & Accident Lawyers have extensive experience in handling these claims. We understand how serious a dog bite or animal attack is, and we are prepared to fight vigorously to advance our clients’ best interests. We do not charge our clients a fee unless we are able to recover compensation on their behalf.
Please be careful when walking in public areas in Little Rock. Never approach an animal you don’t know. Teach your children to be cautious around animals. Take extra precaution in the dangerous areas we’ve highlighted here. And if you’ve been injured by an aggressive animal, please call our office to talk about your options. Call (888) 220-7068 or contact us online right away.
