Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Man Fears Rabies After Vaccinated Dog Causes One Puncture Wound

I don't know how else to describe this story except hyperbolic.

A man was picking up a car on a friend's property. It was next door to a house where a Pit Bull lived. The dog jumped over the fence and approached the man aggressively. The man whips out a knife and stabs the dog in the chest.

According to the man, he's bleeding profusely from what sounds like fifty million bite wounds. Except he wasn't even bitten during the "attack" - he was jumped on and he reacted by stabbing the dog.

He goes next door to report the "attack" (also know as not-biting) and when the door is opened, he starts swinging wildly at the dog who bites him once.

His wounds?

Well, according to the man himself, he was gushing blood (b/c he's on blood thinners) and when he showed the wound, it was one puncture wound. Superficial, at best.

The owner was cooperative when animal control arrived and presented the officers with updated license and vaccination information. He brought the dog out, who appears to be a pretty calm, confident dog, not a rampaging menace to society.

I'm not going to say the dog wasn't being aggressive. He was. But he showed incredible self-restraint in the face of a biped who was willing to jam a knife in his chest. He showed incredible bite restraint when he bit down once- the wound was so minor, the man doesn't need a band-aid to cover it. This is not a dog who bites uninhibited. He is not a dog who goes around mauling people. He is a dog who reacted to a threat inappropriately, but in such a manner as to cause the least amount of physical damage.

Yes, the dog should be re-trained on how best to interact with irate or highly emotional people. It behooves all of us dog guardians to encourage appropriate behavior, even in the face of inappropriate human behavior. But this dog is not the crazed beast the irate "victim" wants him to be. And, for once, animal control and police recognize that.

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