Dog Bites: Maintaining a perspective.

T.E. Houston, PhD.

Keeping a perspective of how the risk of a dog bite fits into our daily life is important, not only for public and personal safety, but for that of the dogs as well. Compared to other types of non-fatal injuries that might occur in our life, dog bites are the least likely to happen to the extent that they cause serious injury. Dogs contribute much to our lives primarily as companions. There are times however, when that relationship can have its challenges, as do all interactions with another being, human or canine. Dog bites are in essence part of having a dog; it is likely to happen at sometime, someplace. Most dog bites are very minor, scratches, or saliva contact and possible mild bruising. This type of bite happens with almost any dog-human encounter, like playing, taking food or a favorite toy away. Roughhousing around the dog is the most common reason boys 5-9 years old are most likely to get bitten. A comment by a dog owning friend: “with the way I see how children interact with dogs, I am surprised there are not more bites than there are.”

Injuries are a serious public health problem; they take a toll not only on the individual, but on the social and economic costs incurred in the community. Injuries are accidents, the unintentional happenstance, like falls, sports injuries, cuts, firearm discharge, and natural/ environmental injuries, which include dog bites, among the few sources. In the United States nearly 40% of self-reported injuries occur during sports or leisure activities and 40% occur in or around the home.

In San Francisco for 2003, there were 4,447 unintentional injuries that resulted in hospitalization based on data from the California Department of Health Services. Table 1 lists the sources of all injuries and the top causes of unintentional injuries. Of these injuries, falls are the leading and the most common causes of death, not only in the City of San Francisco, but in the United States. Of the 2,481 falls reported, nearly 70% were in the age group of 65 and older, children 12 and under comprised only about 3%. It is likely that many more falls occurred that resulted in only abrasions and bruising, requiring no medical attention, and no hospitalization, hence there are probably a lot of underreported fall incidents. Tripping on stairs or while walking, slipping on a ladder step, are among the many number of ways of causing injury. Motor vehicle related injuries, including as an occupant, pedestrian, motorcyclist, bicyclist, are the next most common cause of hospitalizations. Adults, 21 and older, are the most identified in these types of accidents. Natural and environmental accidents include floods, earthquakes, animal bites, and venomous bites (stings from bees, plants) to name a few. Dog bites that required hospitalization are estimated to be 20 based on information from the San Francisco Animal Care & Control data. As a whole, serious injury from a dog bite is far less than other injuries we usually face in our daily life.

Fatalities from dog bites are even rarer. There have been only 2 cases in recent memory of fatal dog attacks in San Francisco, Diane Whipple in 2000 and Nicholas Faibish in 2005. Table 2 lists the fatal injuries by intent and the unintentional injuries by cause.

In 2003 alone in San Francisco, there were 400 deaths from injuries. Unintentional injuries, including falls, poisoning, and motor vehicles comprised 228 of these fatalities. The balance of these deaths was from self-inflicted/suicide (101), assault/homicide (56), and other intents (15). Of the 2,481 falls, 58 were fatal or 2.3%. Of the 20 dog bites, none were fatal.

In the United States for 2002, there were 82.3 million outpatient visits for medical treatment for injuries. Emergency department visit comprise 33 million visits. There were 161,269 deaths from injuries. With respect to dog bites, the vast majority are minor, requiring only home treatments. There are approximately 18 deaths per year in the US from dog bites. That is about 0.01% of the number of deaths from all injuries. Banning or severe restrictions on any breed is not going to change this number. The reduction in dog bites comes from using simple commonsense and practicality. If your dog is a pet within the household, then make certain the dog is neutered. Take the time to do some training and follow the leash laws. Supervise dogs and children and involve the children in the training of the dog. Give your child the tools to be safe around dogs, familiar or not. And encourage your community to adequately support and fund animal control. By and large, dog bites are not the greatest cause of injury in our life, but dogs are one of the greatest contributors to our lives.

Table 1: Nonfatal hospitalized injuries in San Francisco for 2003

*Dog bites estimate based on information from reported bites, these would actually be included in the category of natural/environmental injuries; shown separately for comparison.

Table 2: Fatal injuries in San Francisco for 2003.