In Texas, Protect Your Children From Dog Bites

City of El Paso, Nov 13, 2006

The El Paso City-County Health and Environmental District’s Animal Regulation and Disease Control Program is currently investigating the fatal mauling of a two year old girl by a Rottweiller early this afternoon in a County area close to Horizon.

Responsible dog ownership along with teaching children how to act around dogs are proven ways to prevent dog bites. Annually more than four million Americans, approximately half of them children, suffer dog bite injuries. Many of these injuries are from dogs they know and interact with regularly. Injury rates are highest among children between the ages of five and nine years old, with boys being bitten more often than girls in the same age group. The number of dog bite injuries increases during the months of April through September with the peak occurring in July. According to the CDC, as many as 800,000 people require medical attention for dog bites each year. Of those, 368,000 are treated in hospital emergency departments and about a dozen die each year from dog bite injuries. In El Paso in 2005, there were 1,550 dog bite investigations. This year there have been 1,011 dog bite investigations. Many of those victims are under the age of 13, and children are at least 3 times more likely than adults to sustain a serious injury. In 2004, an 18 month old El Paso girl was mauled to death by a family dog.

B.I.T.E Prevention

• B - Baby-sit your child. Never leave small children or infants unsupervised with any dog.
• I - Introduce your family dog to your infant or child. Teach your child never to pet or touch strange dogs.
• T - Train and socialize your dog.
• E - Express extra attention toward your dog.
• S - Spay or neuter your dog. It will reduce aggression but not protectiveness. Dogs who have not been spayed or neutered are up to 3 times more likely to bite as those who have been sterilized. Your dog must be vaccinated against rabies.