According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs each year, with one in five bites requiring medical attention. Out of those attacked every year, children between the ages of 5 and 9 are the most at risk.
The CDC recommends that parents teach their children the following basic safety tips and review them regularly:
Unfortunately, even if you or your child takes every precaution around a dog there are some dog owners who fail to control their dogs and fail to warn others away from their dogs. In Texas a dog owner can be charged with a third degree felony if their dog attacks someone and they had reason to know that the dog may attack. See Texas Health and Safety Code Sec. 822.005.
If you or a loved one has been attacked by a dog, you owe it to yourself and your community to report the attack to the authorities and to consider hiring a personal injury trial attorney to help you hold the dog owner responsible.
The CDC recommends that parents teach their children the following basic safety tips and review them regularly:
- 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
Unfortunately, even if you or your child takes every precaution around a dog there are some dog owners who fail to control their dogs and fail to warn others away from their dogs. In Texas a dog owner can be charged with a third degree felony if their dog attacks someone and they had reason to know that the dog may attack. See Texas Health and Safety Code Sec. 822.005.
If you or a loved one has been attacked by a dog, you owe it to yourself and your community to report the attack to the authorities and to consider hiring a personal injury trial attorney to help you hold the dog owner responsible.
