My son got bit by a dog!!!

[SandyRN]

If it's not one thing it's another and frankly I can't deal with much more with this surgery on Friday. Anyway, he was walking up to his father's house in our neighborhood to walk his dad's dogs when this boxer mix came out of nowhere and stalked him, lunged at him, and finally bit him on his wrist and finger. Then the dog wouldn't let him go. So he finally backed away, walking backward til he felt he was safe then ran to his dad's and called us. Tom went and picked him up, took a picture of the loose dog and we called animal control at 1:20...it is now 6:30!!! I called and was told an officer was assigned at 4:45!!! WHAT??

At any rate I am so angry that these people let their dog run...I've seen it out before and I WILL NOT have my children afraid to walk up the street to the bus stop while I am laid up post op and can't drive. They better get the ticket for no leash and they better get some sort of fine for their dog biting my child. It's not a bad bite, but it still broke the skin and THAT worries me....I wonder if they have proof of rabies vaccinations, etc.

I AM ONE MAD MOM RIGHT ABOUT NOW!! Not only at the careless people who let their dog run time after time but at the county for taking so blasted long to get here!

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[leelee88]

Sandy, I am sorry for you and your son.. I think this dog should be picked up.. I do love dogs and animals but he should not be able to run loose and just bite people..If he done this to your son he will bite again! I feel bad you have added stress on you now. Hopefully this dog will be picked up so he will be off the streets.. (((hugs)))

[callie0767]

i am so sorry that happened to your child. thats all you needed right how. thats awful that someone lets their dog loose in your neighborhood so irresponsible !!! makes me so mad!!!!!

[Bessie]

Oh Sandy, I am sorry to hear about your son being bitten. I would be upset too. Why can't people be responsible for their pets? I agree with you, they should be fined and they should have to show proof that their dog is up to date on his shots, etc. I hope they are punished with a huge fine!!! I am sorry you are having to deal with this along with your surgery coming up this week. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers :pray::pray::pray:

[ICNDonna]

My suggestion is to take your son to a doctor. He may need a tetanus booster --- plus the doctor's office will report the dog bite so that's some assurance that something will be done about the dog.

Donna

[charmedx3]

I Would Also Call Your Local Police Dept And File A Complaint. I Would See What You Can do To See If There Have Been Any Other Complaints.

[ICNDonna]

If your son isn't seen by a doctor, you will have absolutely no proof of the bite.

Donna

[motherof4]

Sorry about your son,my son was also attacked by a dog a few months ago.I took him to the doctors and they put him on antibiotics because it broke his skin and he needed a stitch.I also called the police and reported it and then I reported it to the animal control.They went to the house were the dog lived and made sure it was up to date with it's shots,this way it's on record if it should god for bid happen again..Good luck I hope he is not going to be like my son and be afraid of dogs now.........

[SharonA]

Sandy...I am so sorry this happened. It is very irresponsible to allow a pet run loose. We have a leash law in my town, but that does not stop people from getting up in the morning, going outside to pick up the paper and letting their dog out to do their morning business all over the neighborhood while the owner goes back inside to have a cup of coffee and read the paper. Shameless!!!! That is one reason we use a big walking stick when we go out for a walk.

Please take him to the doctor. You need proof that this happened.

[monica78]

My grandmother was bitten by a bulldog earlier in the summer. The dog had not had any rabies shots so the animal control locked the dog up to make sure it wasn't showing any signs of rabies. They also gave the owner a ticket and a court date for not following the leash law. We were instructed to have her seen by a doctor to make sure she was okay and also to show proof at court. My grandmother was knocked down on the street during the attack and even broke her tailbone. The owner of the dog was held responsible for all the medical bills also. So your son really needs to be seen by a physician. I hope he is feeling better and I am so sorry that you have to deal with this. I was furious when my grandmother was bitten and knocked down, she is 83 years old and is just a tiny little thing. Let us know what happens.

[SandyRN]

The animal control people showed up around 7:30!!! I was livid, but held it in and told him what had happened. My son was up at his dad's by this point but we'd taken a picture of his hand and a picture of the dog running loose. The animal control guy said he didn't need to see Adam's hand as long as I knew the story, so told him about this dog coming out of nowhere, lunging at Adam, then circling him and biting him. Adam backed away from the dog so he could keep an eye on it and ran like h*ll to get to his Dad's house which was closer by that point.

The health dept called the next day, told me these people did not have current shots on the dog so they picked up the dog for a mandatory 10 day hold to watch for rabies symptoms. They also got ticketed for the leash law. The lady at the health dept told me since the bite isn't really bad to keep it clean, covered with antibiotic ointment, etc...and it's looking better. Now I've been trying to get in touch with the pediatrician and get his recent shot records. I don't have a copy from his last visit to the doctor which was about 2 years ago for a checkup for camp. I think he got a tetanus shot then but can't be sure til someone calls me back. I can't stand waiting on a call like this, so I called again today to see if someone would please let me know if he is current as I am having surgery on Friday and need to have this taken care of ASAP. His father can do it if need be, but I'm mommy, ya know?

So, I'm waiting on the call.....we don't need to see the doctor since we have a picture of his wound and the proper authorities saw it. It really looks like nothing happened at this point, but the point is is that my kids have to walk up and down this street all the time and will have to much more after my surgery and I will NOT have them afraid of walking by that house. That dog comes after them again and I will take drastic measures....don't have a clue what that would be yet, but hopefully this won't happen.

So......hopefully he's current....they said within 5 years for a dog bite, normally 10, but since it's a different circumstance it needs to be within 5 years. :(

At least they took that dog away for a while. OH, Tom ran out that night to get some things at the store and there was a COP at their house along with animal control. I guess things got nasty, eh? Too bad.... I make sure I know where my dogs are 24/7, they can do that too!

[JenAZ07]

Sandy, I am so sorry you are having to deal with this right now. Glad that your son seems okay, but I am sure he is a little shaken up by it still. As for the shots.....don't they need a tetanus to get into school? Was that within the last 5 years? if you don't hear back from the dr's office, can you call the school nurse and ask her? Or just take him to a urgent care to make sure he gets the shot? Again, so sorry you are having to deal with this.

Sad, but where I live, dogs don't always get second chances.....once they bite, the person who they have bitten has the chance to request that the dog be put down. My father used to be a mailman, so we were all keenly aware of the animal laws in our state. Oddly enough, he was only ever bitten by our neighbor's golden retriever!! He did not request that the dog be put down, but it did put quite a strain on our relationship with that neighbor. Thankfully he had all his shots.

If you ask me, the owners of the boxer are getting off way too easy. Leash ticket is nothing, they should also be getting a ticket for their dog not being up on its shots!! Such irresponsible pet owners! If you don't have the time or money to take care of them, don't get the dang dog!! :rant: Okay...rambling over.

Good luck for Friday. I will be thinking of you tons.

[SandyRN]

Jen, I did request his records from school but they were outdated...just the shots he had to have to get into school, but no updated tetanus. Luckily in 2006 he went to camp in June and had to have a tetanus shot and something else then...I have the nurse sending me a current copy of his records so I have it for future reference.

I kind of feel bad for the dog being locked in a cage for 10 days, but ya know, it's not the dog's fault, it's the owners and I swear if I see that dog loose one more time I WILL report it because there are too many kids in this neighborhood that could be in danger. Adam said it really was mean, scared the crap outta the poor boy. He tried to laugh it off, said he learned something from watching the Dog Whisperer, by walking backward to keep an eye on the dog....

These people have other dogs too...I don't know if they got fined for the shots or not, the health dept lady didn't tell me that.

But, we got lucky that he's current on his shot and his wound is healing...now we'll just have to wait out the 10 days and make sure the dog doesn't show signs of rabies! I doubt he is rabid, but you never know.

I agree...if you can't take care of the animals DON'T get them!!!!!!!!!! I totally agree with your rant. I have 3 dogs that have all their shots, and I know where they are every single minute of the day...period!

Seems like we missed a big one here...it could have been much worse. I just hope they learned a lesson from this!

[monica78]

I am so glad that your son is doing better today. I hope that the pet owners learned a lesson. I will be thinking of you on friday and hoping that all goes well.