Nearly 5 million bitten by dogs each year
POSTED BY: Geezer
UPDATED: Thursday, August 28, 2025 08:30
VIEWED: 2946
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Quote:
WASHINGTON - It's a biting statistic: 4.7 million people -- half of them children under 12 -- are bitten each year by a dog.
The result is costly for both victim and owner. There are 70 million dogs in the United States and, according to the Insurance Information Institute, insurance companies pay out $489 million a year in bite claims.
Add in medical costs for victims not covered by insurance, as well as emotional and physical scars, and biting dogs become more than a simple nuisance.
May 19 to May 25 is National Dog Bite Prevention week, and there are ways to cut down on bite incidents.
Veterinarian Bonnie Beaver from the American Veterinary Medical Association says dogs should never be left near children unsupervised.
"Children do strange things from the dog's perspective and the dog may not necessarily understand what's going on," Beaver says.
She says dogs bite because they are afraid, and advises getting dogs used to people when they are puppies and not isolating the animals.
Some other dog bite statistics:
•There were 2,752 reconstructive procedures in 2012 because of dog bites.
•Of the children bitten, approximately 400,000 every year need medical attention.
• Postal carriers were bitten 5,879 times in 2012, an increase of 274 from 2011.
http://www.wtop.com/1226/3323611/Millions-bitten-by-dogs-each-year
Half of those bitten are under 12. Time for some serious dog control. Think of the children.
Not to mention...
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2013/05/pit_bull_attack_death_littl
erock_palmdale.php
and...
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57572965/boy-dies-after-pit-bull-a
ttack-in-wisconsin/
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CDC
Man and woman's best friend bites more than 4.7 million people a year ... Each year, 800,000 Americans seek medical attention for dog bites; half of these are children. Of those injured, 386,000 require treatment in an emergency department and about 16 die.
4.7 million bitten
800,000 seek medical attention
386,000 treated
16 die
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Over 400,000 who SEEK medical attention don't get treated??
I sure hope Obama-Care fixes THAT discrepancy !
[/sarcasm]
Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen
Resident USA Freedom Fundie
" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall
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Damn, maybe we oughtta register, regulate,control and license dogs...
Oh, yeah, wait, we do, don't we? Maybe we need a Constitutional Amendment assuring our right to keep and bear DOGS, before OBAMA confiscates them ALL.
(Watch out , NIki, he's gonna start with Huskies...)
Or maybe we need a leash law for gun owners...
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Thanx, NewOld, for putting it in perspective. I didn't need toread the initial thread, it's easy enough to figure this is just another "but SWIMMING POOLS...", "but CARS..." from Geezer. "Desperately seeking...something."
Actually, some breeds won't be covered by insurance companies (Sibes and Mals among them), or the homeowner is charged higher rates because they own them--gawd forbid any such thing should happen with guns!
And yeah, we register dogs, limit the number people can have, require they be kept on a leash, etc., but of course the comparison completely defeats people like him. And of course, yes, only a miniscule fraction of injuries from dogs result in death, but--see above sentence.
It's a game, and a very silly one, nothing more.
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Quote:
Originally posted by NewOldBrownCoat:
Damn, maybe we oughtta register, regulate,control and license dogs...
Oh, yeah, wait, we do, don't we?
Yep. Because dogs can act on their own. They can also contract rabies if not vaccinated. Dogs not under the control and supervision of their owners can be dangerous. Dogs whose owners use them for illegal purposes can also be dangerous, even when they are not with their owners.
Compare and contrast with, say, a chain saw, or a drill, or a gun. When left by themselves, they are a danger to no one.
"When your heart breaks, you choose what to fill the cracks with. Love or hate. But hate won't ever heal. Only love can do that."
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Dog breeds banned because they pose too much danger to people.
http://listverse.com/2011/08/23/top-10-banned-dog-breeds/
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Quote:
Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
Dog breeds banned because they pose too much danger to people.
http://listverse.com/2011/08/23/top-10-banned-dog-breeds/
It's not quite confiscation, as I joked about above, but here in L A county, when animal control gets a pit bull or pit bull mix, it gets euthanized routinely as too dangerous to let back out. Not exactly sure what they would do with a licensed stray if the owner tried to reclaim it. Which isn't ALWAYS right-- 2 pit bull mixes are guard dogs at the muffler shop around the corner, and they are the sweetest dogs, if a burglar got in there, they might kill him , but it would be by licking and slobbering all over him, and beating him to death by wagging their tails.
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Quote:
Originally posted by NewOldBrownCoat:
Damn, maybe we oughtta register, regulate,control and license dogs...
Oh, yeah, wait, we do, don't we? Maybe we need a Constitutional Amendment assuring our right to keep and bear DOGS, before OBAMA confiscates them ALL.
(Watch out , NIki, he's gonna start with Huskies...)
Or maybe we need a leash law for gun owners...
" bear DOGS "
Oh man...can you imagine trying to raise one of THOSE ???
Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen
Resident USA Freedom Fundie
" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall
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Legislation that is not without controversy either.
Quote:
A new law was implemented in Victoria, Australia last week that will lead to the seizure and killing of any dog fitting the criteria for an unregistered restricted breed found after the law goes into effect.
Targeted breeds include the American pit bull terrier, perro de presa canario, dogo Argentino, Japanese tosa and fila Brasileiro. Anyone with a look-alike will need will need to show papers or a certificate from a veterinarian as proof.
In addition to registering their dogs, owners will have to prove that their dogs are spayed/neutered, microchipped, kept in an inescapable enclosure, muzzled and leashed off of their property and accompanied by someone at least 17 years old. Owners may also be fined up to $4,885 if they lose control of their dog and $2,442 if their dog escapes, or they move without notifying authorities, according to the AP.
The new law was spurred by recent attacks but has many worried, including the Australian Services Union, that targeting specific breeds will not only be ineffective in preventing attacks, but will also increase the risks to those who are responsible for identifying, seizing and destroying the dogs.
Others, including the union, raised concerns about the legal issues that could arise if a dog was misidentified and destroyed. Take this neat little test to see if you can pick the pit bull.
The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) also spoke out against the legislation, with a “ban the deed, not the breed,” stance.
“Our thoughts go out to anyone who has suffered from a dog attack, and the death of a child is particularly distressing,” said Dr Susan Maastricht, Victorian President of the AVA.
“The AVA believes the legislation proposed in Victoria is not a long term solution. The risk is this could lull the community into a false sense of security and do little to address the overall problem of dog bites. We are very concerned that innocent families and family pets will become scapegoats when they’ve done nothing wrong.”
While this new law is only in Victoria, expansion may be supported by other officials.
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Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/new-australian-law-deadly-for-pit-bulls.ht
ml#ixzz2TVcrkSrI
i think the arguments around legislation ARE very similar to gun law debate, with people arguing that its irresponsible owners that are to blame rather than the dogs themselves.
Me, I don't see things in absolutes. Some animals (and guns ;) ) are too dangerous for backyard suburbia and I have no problem with some limits around what you can and can't keep.
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