What do you do when you get bitten by a dog?
I get this question about once a year.
Today the question came from a friend via a phone call. He explained that he was just out walking by himself, minding his own business. He walked by a dog on a leash and the dog jumped at him and bit him on the leg. He did nothing to provoke it. He didn't pause, or turn, or make any gestures. He wasn’t talking to the dog or the owner. The dog was on a leash. He was just walking by. After the dog bit him another person who witnessed the incident came up to him and told him that the dog had previously also bitten that same dog.
He called me shortly after. " I don't know what to do?"
Every bite has a cause. A dog is as complicated and unique as any of us. They bite for a whole host of reasons. The secret is to unpack whatever is causing them to think that a defensive action is the appropriate response to a stimuli. The question is why do some of us react to a stressful, or fearful experience and decide to act upon it with a dangerous response?
The question is what do you do when you are bitten by a dog and what does the person responsible for that dog need to consider?
1. Make sure everyone is ok. Call the police if there is an injury that might be considered severe, or life threatening. If you do not think it is life threatening seek medical care as soon as able. Be warned every animal bite will be mandatory for the medical provider to report it.
2. Collect information from everyone involved. You should get a picture of their id. Exchange each others information. Should this be something require legal action you will need that information for insurance, etc.
Most of the bite cases that I hear about come to see me typically because their dog got in a dog fight with another dog/animal and then the owner jumped in the middle and they were bitten inadvertently.
The difficulty is that once the police get involved lots of things can happen that people are not prepared for. One of them is that if this dog has any previous bite histories then the law can step in. I have been given a court order before to euthanize a dog for excessive bite history. The pet parent had fought in court to try to save her dog. She fought hard. She lost. Her dog had to be put down. I struggled with the decision. The reality was that this dog was going to be put down regardless of how much it crushes me to euthanize a healthy animal. If I didn't do it the shelter would. His mom couldn't be with him there. He would be scared and they would not handle him the same way we could. We sedated him calmly and peacefully and we all sat around him on a big blanket in the back field where he was peaceful. It was awful but,, well,,,, it was the least awful I could make it. This has played out 3 times in my career. There are times where I want to surrender my euthanasia license to save a piece of my soul that struggles so hard.
I believe that there are no "bad dogs" there are dogs who are desperately uncomfortable and do not know how to react appropriately when they are stressed. This case, like all of them, had warning signs. The worst cases of bites are when pet parents try to manage the situations by blaming others, or changing the environment to try to avoid a trigger. The problem is that the triggers change and evolve, and a dog who will react with aggression will likely do that for other scenarios and situations you cannot foresee. The other issue is that not every bite is going to happen on an adult in an area that is not visible. I have seen people have their faces bitten. Their nose or mouth removed. Requiring years of surgeries. I have also know of examples where children and adults did not survive.
I always talk to people about that. I have to ask; what are you prepared to do? Sometimes my own dog has been on the leash and growled at another dog passing by and then the other dog responded with the same kind of tough-guy attitude. Then I get myself in the middle of it by reminding him to not be such a jerk. He is always on a short leash right beside me, and, I am always watching him. If there was a dog off-leash who acted like he does, came over to us with the same big-dog-sassy attitude, I am sure I would end up in the middle of a dog fight. He is just an insecure moron about some other dogs. I will never fully trust him and he is never allowed off leash because of this. I am his mom and I have to face the fact that in his head he thinks it is appropriate to be defensive and protective. But in your case, you weren’t doing anything and a dog bit you. There was something that happened in that dogs' head but the problem is you didn’t illicit it. You weren’t one of those obnoxious people that walks up to a dog and sticks your you know, hands and face in their face and kind of violates their privacy just assuming that every dog is happy to meet a total stranger who oversteps their presumed welcome. You were just walking along. So the difficulty for me with your scenario is that if this was completely unprovoked and you already know somebody else has been injured then you probably have a responsibility as a citizen to report it because although you didn’t get hurt, you’re also a big strong, healthy guy and you’re not a child who you know might’ve really had significant injuries. I always kind of start with what’s the worst case scenario how would I feel if I didn’t address the worst case scenario? We all also have a civic responsibility to other people in the community.
"I know who this person is," he said.
.... wait what?
"You know the person you know the person with the dog?" He did. They are a friend of a friend.
Then I would say the best case scenario is to start with the olive branch right like this visit at the end of the day is a dog who’s struggling with something right and if this is a responsible owner and I really am happy to talk to her. She needs to understand that her dog is struggling with something and she’s ultimately responsible for it and if she doesn’t address it, the court is going to step in and she will have to literally flee the state she will she will she will be given a court order to have that dog euthanized. They probably won’t cross state lines, but that’s what she’s gonna have to do and that’s what people have done and I’m not saying that’s what you should do but that’s what has to happen. She needs to understand that her dog is struggling with something and doesn’t know how to deal with it and is redirecting that aggression on somebody else if that means that she medicate her dog while she goes into training and that dog never leaves the house without a muzzle on. She should also have a vest put on it that says "do not approach, in training." Something that gives a visible warning. Then that dog is never let outside without a muzzle on. She can get a basket muzzle, which is not difficult or prohibitive with their ability to pant, eat and drink, but she needs to do something or she is one going to have to put her dog down. That will go on her record and she may not ever be able to adopt a dog again.
"Thank you."
People get defensive,, but there is a problem. And it will repeat and someone will be hurt.
Disclaimer time. I am not a lawyer or behaviorist. This is my opinion based on decades of vetmed.
Photos above are the dogs of the Ukraine. I still think about them, and that place, every single day.
