As a letter carrier for a decade, William Brown was attackedby dogs seven times. But it wasn't until his 6-year-old son, Danny,was bitten in the face by the next-door neighbor's friendlyDalmatian that Brown saw dog bites as a serious concern.
'Most {of my dog bites} were just a nuisance,' said Brown, nowa communication programs specialist for the U.S. Postal Service wholives in Chantilly. 'When your own child gets attacked by a dog itreally hits home.'
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)recently reported that the number of attacks requiring medicalattention rose by 37 percent nationwide over eight years (from585,000 in 1986 to 800,000 in 1994), in part because more people arebuying vicious dogs for protection. The CDC estimates that in 1994dogs bit 4.7 million people, nearly 2 percent of the U.S.population.The 800,000 figure translates to one person every 40 secondsgetting a serious bite, said Jeffrey Sacks, medical epidemiologistat the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, who hasdone research on dog bites. 'That to me is a problem worthy of awhole lot more attention.'Health officials are particularly concerned about the dangerthe attacks pose for children. In 1995 and 1996, at least 25 peoplein the United States died as a result of dog attacks, according tothe CDC. Twenty of the victims were children, including threesleeping babies. In addition, more than 2 million children receivenon-fatal dog bites each year, the Humane Society of the UnitedStates estimates.The CDC, the Humane Society and the U.S. Postal Service havesaid the best way to reduce bites by the more than 55 million dogsin this country is to teach owners to be more responsible and toeducate the public, particularly children, on how to avoid beingbitten.People are keeping more ferocious dogs for protection, andRottweilers and pit bulls are the most likely to kill, according todog experts and CDC figures. But the fault lies not so much with thebreed, experts say, as with owners who do not properly train andrestrain their animals.'There is a shift in the number of dogs being kept . . . asweapons rather than as companions,' said Randall Lockwood, theHumane Society's vice president for training. 'In D.C., we see aproliferation of dogs being kept for personal protection.'William Brown, the former letter carrier, says he knows frompersonal experience that preventing bites is a two-way street; it isthe responsibility of dog owners and of anyone who approaches a dog.In his most serious attack as a mail carrier in Minneapolis, Brownwound up on crutches for two days because owners had not properlychained a vicious dog, which only the week before had bitten achild. He also holds owners to blame for bites he got from dogsrunning loose or jumping through a screen door.But in the case of his son's bite, the neighbor's dog wasasleep in its owner's living room in Chantilly when Danny came upfrom behind and startled it. The dog jumped up and sank its teethinto Danny's brow, just above the eye; stitches were needed torepair the wound.'It's a good example of what kids need to understand, that thedog needs to know you're coming,' Brown said.Insurers and employers are also concerned about dog bites,because of the costs in medical care and time lost at work.One-third of all homeowners' liability claims paid by U.S.insurance companies in 1996 were for dog attacks, according to theInsurance Information Institute, a group representing 350 largeinsurers. The claims last year totaled a record $1 billion, a number'that has made insurance companies sit up and take notice,' saidMichael Erwin, the institute's spokesman.'More and more insurance companies are looking at dogs andtrying to figure out what they need to do,' Erwin added. Thatincludes requiring homeowners to declare any dogs when they get apolicy. Already, most insurers will refuse to renew a homeownerpolicy if the owner's dog is a known problem, according to theinstitute.The Postal Service said that the 2,795 dog bites sustained byits employees in fiscal 1996 cost the agency $25 million in medicaland labor costs.According to the Humane Society and the CDC, puttingrestrictions on certain breeds would not be effective in reducingdog bites. They say the fault lies with improper training andhandling.While the number of dog bite fatalities has remained fairlystable over the past 25 years (about one a month), the breedsresponsible for them have changed, said Lockwood. At one time,German shepherds, Great Danes and Saint Bernards were the mainculprits. In the 1980s, pits bulls became the top killer, and nowRottweilers have surpassed pit bulls.'It's primarily a problem of the people who breed, raise,train and acquire the animals' if they encourage aggressive behavioror don't properly restrain their animals, Lockwood said.What can be done? According to dog experts, responsible ownersshould:- Spay or neuter their dogs; the unneutered ones are far morelikely to bite.- Properly train dogs and make them familiar with different typesof people and situations.- Not play aggressive games, such as wrestling, with dogs.- Not leave dogs chained outside for extended periods; they canbecome bored and aggressive and chains can break.- Keep dogs inside or properly restrained when necessary, withspecial care taken around children.- Never leave infants or young children alone with any dog.- Seek professional advice if a dog develops aggressive orundesirable behaviors.'The dog bite problem,' the CDC concluded, 'is a preventableepidemic.'
