Dogs chomp on more than four million people a year
Dogs chomp on more than four million people a year.Megan Boger of La Belle, Pa., returned from shopping with her mother and ran into the yard to greet the family pet, a part-cocker mutt named Blaze. Seconds later, her mom, Elena Boger, heard a snap and then shrieks from three-year-old Megan. There was blood all over her face from tooth punctures under an eye and around her mouth, she recalls. Elena and her husband rushed their sobbing child to a local hospital. But the injuries were severe enough that the Bogers were sent to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, where a plastic surgeon stitched the gashes. Little Megan is far from alone in having been the victim of a dog bite. According to a 1994 survey (the most recent) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, some 4.7 million people were bitten by dogs. About 800,000 required medical treatment. Many bites are to children, and most are from family pets or familiar dogs, not strays. Many bites are treated at home or in a doctor's office, and as a consequence are often not reported to authorities. Meanwhile, there is no ongoing national system for counting dog bites, says the CDC's Dr. Jeffrey Sack
That's why local laws banning specific breeds won't solve biting problems, say dog experts. "She's very hesitant around all dogs," reports her mom. Carolyn Boatner of Signal Mountain, Tenn. The Insurance Information Institute says that dog-bite-related medical treatment costs $1 billion a year. Contact your veterinarian, who might refer you to a trainer or behaviorist. Stand still with your arms at your side. A mother in Charlotte, NC, had a plumber walk into her house unannounced. "That just naturally incites a dog's basic predatory instincts. "Dogs always like me," the plumber protested before making a hasty exit. Hubbard says many people make the mistake of putting up with puppy rambunctiousness because they think it's charming. " Her dog, she says, is gentle and has never exhibited any tendency to bite.
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