Young Child Suffered From Dog Bite
Dog bite incidents are sadly not uncommon especially in a rural community. A lot of the dog bite issues come from pit bull owners who don’t love their dogs and use them for malicious activity.
Patty Hanenberg was probably terrified when she saw her grandson covered in blood.
Patty’s Statement:
My grandson came back with his whole face bloody.
Patty says that her six year old grandson, Emerick was just being a normal kid and was playing with the other kids next door. The next thing she knows, the neighbor’s pet dog launches at the young boy’s face.
Patty Describes the Dog Bite Incident:
He was petting the pitbull and then it attacked him, bit him and knocked him back.
Talk about a scary situation for all involved. Patty says that Emerick ran home and she was able to see the two deep puncture wounds on his cheeks and the one on his jaw.
She says that was “terrified” and that just two weeks earlier to this attack, a dog had killed an adult. She claims that this happens all of the time.
Emerick’s mother, Samantha Sparks claims that this wasn’t the first time that her family has had to deal with the aggressive pit bull. She claims that they have reported the animal to animal services in the past.
Samantha Sparks Statement:
He’s just a very violent dog. He’ll pin you to the corner he’s not a nice dog to have in this community with young children living next door.
Sparks says that they have tried to ask the other neighbors about the dog, but they wouldn’t open the door to talk to them.
The young boy is luckily okay and is recovering from his terrifying injuries. He was transferred to JFK Memorial to the Eisenhower Medical Center.
For now, the dog is staying in the custody of animal services.
Sparks says that she hopes the violent dog never comes back. She’s asking that the pit bull be removed.
Patty shares a similar belief, saying that she hopes that the dog is put down. She claims that the dog can’t be trusted around children.
Ways to Help Your Dog Become Less Likely to Bite
Of course there is no guarantee that your dog will never bite someone. However, you can help his or her chances by taking a few precautions.
- Spay or neuter your dog. This will help with your dog’s need to roam and fight. Which will make it easier for you to keep him or her home. Also, studies show that spayed or neutered pets are three times less likely to bite. It’s worth a shot.
- Make sure your dog is getting out, in other words make sure to socialize your dog. Get them around as many people and as many different types of animals as soon as you can. That way he or she is used to the change.
- Train your dog. Of course training can sometimes be a little time consuming and hard but it’s worth it. Take your dog to a training class. It helps socialize the dog and helps you both learn proper techniques.
- Teach your dog how you want it to behave. You can’t expect the dog to know what you want if you’re not working with it. Don’t play aggressive games.
- Always be a responsible dog owner. Keep a license on your dog and provide it with it’s routine visits to the vet. Dogs need vaccinations just like children. And for everyone’s safety, don’t allow your animal to go roaming all over the place.
- If you’re introducing your dog to a new situation, do so with caution. Learn your dog’s faults. If he’s not good in crowds leave him at home for that outing. Having a dog is a constant workout. You have to know what works and what doesn’t And you have to know how to fix what’s not.
A lot of people ask “What should I do if my dog bites someone?” Well be responsible. Take full responsibly for it’s actions. Make sure to always confine your dog as soon as it happens, then quickly go check on the victim. Of course if the person needs an ambulance get one. Make sure to give the victim the information about your dog and his or her shot vaccinations.
Make sure to always work with the animal control officer. Accidents happen and no one is trying to be mean to you or the animal, but the situation has to be dealt with.
Animal attacks can of course happen, but that doesn’t mean that they should go un-punished. Just because your animal bites someone doesn’t mean it’s an automatic death sentence for it’s one time mishap you both just need to work harder. Of course sometimes, a child or adult can just simply scare the animal and then of course the animal would likely be more amp to bite someone in self defense. Those cases are understandable and you just have to be more careful around people and who is allowed around your animal.
Animal Bite
So in short, just because your dog has one accident doesn’t mean that it’s automatically put to sleep. Just work on your training and be cautious of you surroundings. However, if your dog is a repeat offender then maybe it’s time to think of different things to do. Maybe keep your dog in a fenced in yard so he or she still gets exercise. Always keep the pet on a leash. Maybe even get special training from a professional.
Or maybe your animal is just violent and as sad as it is, maybe it’s time to send them to a better place. Animals can’t just keep attacking innocent people. You have to be held accountable for your pet’s actions. You wouldn’t want an innocent child or person to get severely injured, or worse just because you love your pet too much.
Daniel A. Gibalevich
DAG Law Firm
