Every year millions of children under the age of 10 are bitten by dogs. Canine attacks on children range from a small pinch that barely penetrates the skin to bites requiring reconstructive surgery. Some attacks even cause death. A total of 4 million people suffer from dog bites each year. Children are at higher risk for dog bites and attacks, especially children between the ages of 5-9, statistics show. Most canine attacks against children are caused by domestic dogs which are familiar with the child, however, there are also cases where the attacks are caused by dogs of other owners. When dogs attack children, the child may suffer minor or severe injuries, which require emergency medical attention leaving permanent scars. Sadly, many children die as a result of these etaques. In fact, in the first 6 months of 2014, 22 people died from canine bites in the United States, 10 of whom were children between 10 months and 5 years old.
Stop Canine Attacks
Some types of canine attacks, such as pit bulls, use their powerful jaws to catch and restrain their victim. In the case of young children, the dog can shake them abruptly and repetitively. The best strategy to force a dog to release a child is to keep his jaw open with the help of a stick. In some cases where time is of paramount importance and there is no stick available, then try to subdue the dog by means of a blow with any object at hand. In this way it is achieved that the dog releases the child or simply divert the attention of the dog away from the child, perhaps towards you. There have been incidents where the dog has been euthanized by the police or someone else in order to save the victim.
Teaching your child how to react to an attack could save his or her life and reduce the chances of serious injury. The first reaction of most people is to run as soon as a dog heads towards them. That is exactly the opposite that should be done in those cases. Instead, the child should remain completely rigid and avoid any kind of eye contact with the dog. In such a way that the dog remains calm. If the child is knocked down by the dog, then what should be done is to remain in fetal posture without moving and make sure to cover the face. Even if the dog bites, it will be very difficult to bite crucial areas such as the abdomen and hips that if perforated could mean a great loss of blood.
Medical Care
A brutal canine attack can result in serious injuries to an infant. Deep injuries cause significant blood loss in a short period of time. A canine bite in the abdomen can result in organ damage and significant internal bleeding. Of course, even a relatively minimal injury can cause pain. For these reasons, immediate intervention and medical attention is of vital importance regardless of whether the bite is minimal as the child is at risk of infection. If the dog is foreign and you do not know whether or not you have received your vaccines, anti-rabies therapy may be necessary.
Canine Bite Liability
If your child has been the victim of a dog attack, the dog owner could be cicompetously responsible for their child’s injuries. This means that the dog owner could be forced to pay their child’s medical expenses as well as pay damages.