Feivel,
Don’t compare this bizarre and horrifying case with dogs. There are 70 – 80 million dogs in the US and there are about a dozen fatalities annually. By comparison there are about 10 times as many fatalities due to lawnmowers. Also by comparison, there are about 800 bicycle fatalities per year in the US (and 33,000 automobile deaths per year). Moreover, serious dog related injuries come overwhelmingly from a very small number of breeds (pit bulls and rottweilers).
Like anything else (such as lawnmowers), it pays to be careful.
My real safety concern when I walk my dog are the frum people who walk into traffic to avoid being within 50 feet of a dog on a leash. Sheesh. For some reason, nonfrum and nonjewish people have no problem passing a dog on a leash.