The Dog Bite Blog

^{Photo from http://finance.yahoo.com/news/crash-test-dummy-dogs-seat-231900414.html}

Recently, the nonprofit center for Pet Safety in Reston, Va., joined forces with Subaru to test 11 pet safety belts to find out which restraints work well enough to earn a seal of approval from pet-advocacy groups and to help establish a standard for pet restraints.

In a government product testing lab in Virginia, the pet harnesses went through various crash tests using some of the world's first crash-test dogs, simulating a 25-pound terrier mix, a 45-pound border collie and a 75-pound golden retriever.

The results were not promising. Only one harness consistently kept a dog restrained in the seat: Sleepypod's Clickit Utility Harness.

Subaru said it will soon offer the Sleepypod's Clickit Harness as an accessory in its vehicles, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Why is this necessary?

Unrestrained pets can create a safety hazard. “Pet advocacy group Bark Buckle Up argues that unrestrained pets act like missiles in accidents, endangering passengers and themselves. In one calculation by motorist-advocacy group AAA, even a 10-pound unrestrained dog in a crash at only 30 miles an hour will exert roughly 300 pounds of force,” said The Wall Street Journal.

Injured or disorientated pets thrown from a car crash may become violent or obstruct rescue.

“Nearly 90% of U.S. pet owners say they travel with their pets, but few strap them in, despite recommendations from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and others. Some 17% of drivers surveyed in a 2011 AAA study admitted driving with a pet on their lap,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

For more information on Sleepypod's Clickit Harness visit:http://sleepypod.com/safety

Click here to watch a video of the testing. 

^{Photo from Channel 5 News}

Recently, a Connecticut lower court ruled that horses are naturally vicious animals in a case involving a boy that was bit on the cheek by a horse in 2006.
 

The boy was visiting the farm with his father who was buying plants, when he reached up to pet a horse name Scuppy and “the animal stuck his neck out from behind a fence and bit the child on his right cheek, removing a large chunk of it,” says an article on examiner.com.

The boy's father sued the farm's owner in 2010 but lost. The court concluded that there was no evidence that the horse had ever been aggressive in the past and the family could not positively say which horse had actually bitten the boy. 

Later, a Connecticut Appellate Court overturned that ruling; finding that Scuppy, as a horse, was vicious and steps should have been taken to prevent injury.

Now, the case will be reviewed in Connecticut's Supreme Court, and if the decision is upheld, Connecticut would be the first state to consider horses a dangerous and vicious species.

What could this mean?

If this ruling sticks, it would make owning horses much more difficult. Insurance to own horses would become extremely expensive and would severely hurt the state's horse industry.

An article on Channel 5 News states, “Horse farmers and equine enthusiasts, who cite 2005 statistics saying that the horse industry contributes about $221 million a year to the state's economy in boarding, training, lessons and breeding businesses, are asking the state Supreme Court to overturn the Appellate Court's decision. The Connecticut Farm Bureau and Connecticut Horse Council filed a friend of the court brief saying that under common law viciousness generally is judged individually according to age, breed and gender, not as an entire species.”

The Superior Court judge said the horse's owner testified that neither he nor anyone else had ever seen Scuppy bite a person before and that in 28 years, none of the horses at the farm bit or injured anyone.
 

"Cats have a tendency to scratch and horses have a tendency to bite, but the plaintiffs have failed to show, as they must, that the defendants were on notice that Scuppy specifically, and not horses generally, had a tendency to bite people or other horses," the judge ruled.
 

• Refrain from using cell phones while driving.
• Put your cell phone on silent or in the glove box to avoid temptation.
• Safely pull over and put the vehicle in park to take or make a call.
• Always wear a safety belt – every trip, every time.
• Make sure every passenger is wearing his or her safety belt before you begin your drive.
• Have children sit in the back and use the proper child safety seat or booster seat.
• Never leave a child or pet unattended in a vehicle, especially during hot weather.
• If you plan to drink, designate a non-drinking driver.

• Always supervise a barbecue grill when in use.
• Never grill indoors – not in your house, camper, tent, or any enclosed area.
• Make sure everyone, including the pets, stays away from the grill.
• Keep the grill out in the open, away from the house, the deck, tree branches, or anything that could catch fire.
• Use the long-handled tools especially made for cooking on the grill to keep the chef safe.
• Never add charcoal starter fluid when coals have already been ignited.
• Always follow the manufacturer's instructions when using grills.

• Never allow young children to handle fireworks – older children should use fireworks only under close adult supervision.
• Light fireworks one at a time, in a clear outdoor area away from onlookers, houses and flammable materials.
• Do not aim fireworks at another individual and never place any part of your body over a firework.
• Keep a bucket of water nearby to fully extinguish fireworks that don't go off or in case of fire, and do not try to re-light or handle malfunctioning fireworks.

Here are additional tips from the Red Cross:

• Never give fireworks to small children, and always follow the instructions on the packaging.
• Make sure the person lighting fireworks always wears eye protection.
• Light only one firework at a time and never attempt to relight "a dud."
• Store fireworks in a cool, dry place away from children and pets.
• Never throw or point a firework toward people, animals, vehicles, structures or flammable materials.
• Leave any area immediately where untrained amateurs are using fireworks.

1. Stop.
2. Fold in your branches (hands folded in front).
3. Watch your roots grow (look at your feet).
4. Count in your head to the highest number you can and then start back at one until help comes or the dog goes away.

• A strange dog comes near you (even if he seems friendly).
• Any dog is making you feel uncomfortable, worried or scared.
• A dog is chasing you.
• Your own or a friend's dog is acting too frisky or excited.

• Do not approach an unfamiliar dog.
• Do not run from a dog or scream.
• Remain motionless (e.g., "be still like a tree") when approached by an unfamiliar dog.
• If knocked over by a dog, roll into a ball and lie still (e.g., "be still like a log").
• Do not play with a dog unless supervised by an adult.
• Immediately report stray dogs or dogs displaying unusual behavior to an adult.
• Avoid direct eye contact with a dog.
• Do not disturb a dog that is sleeping, eating, or caring for puppies.
• Do not pet a dog without allowing it to see and sniff you first.
• If bitten, immediately report the bite to an adult.