A particular female dog was due for her vaccinations, came in to the
clinic, but was not very friendly. With all confidence I approached
her and attempted to place a slip leash around her neck. In a
fraction of an instant she turned her head in direction towards my
hand and, without obvious warning, managed to bite my right hand,
leaving a puncture wound in three distinct fingers.
I immediately washed my hand twice, applied a bandage around
each finger, and made a report of the incident. The technician verified
that this patient was up-to-date on her rabies vaccination, and the
animal was assigned to home quarantine and observation for the next
10 days. My wounded hand was appropriately treated at an urgent
care clinic, and I received a Tetanus booster and antibiotics. I'm sure
I'll survive to see another day.
There are instances when our pets do not act or respond the way we
want them to while in public. In an extreme event one of those pets
will attack another animal, or worse, a person. There are many
factors that may contribute to animals attacking other living beings,
which may be out of our control. However, there are some factors
that we do control, and it is our responsibility to make sure we have
done all that is required of us to reduce the severity of an attack or its
consequences. In my experience today, the owner had been
responsible in keeping her dog up to date on her rabies vaccine, which
was quite the relief for me. On the other hand (no pun intended), the
owner did not warn us about the dog's aggressive behavior, and did not
tell us that her dog had acted in a similar fashion the previous time she
received vaccines. Further, this dog had received no previous training
and was not well socialized.
My only invitation today is for all to be responsible pet owners with
our pets and with the public, such that in cases when animals bite,
we may reduce possible consequences.
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