Girl Afraid To Go Home After Dog Bite - Dog Serving 10-Day Quarantine At Home

koat ^

[chance33_98]

Girl Afraid To Go Home After Dog Bite
Dog Serving 10-Day Quarantine At Home
Posted: 6:49 p.m. MDT July 1, 2002

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- An Albuquerque girl who survived a vicious dog attack said Monday she is too scared to return home.

Melissa Orozco, 5, was attacked Thursday by her neighbors' German shepherd in southwestern Albuquerque.

Neighbors said the dog was apparently trying to protect its newborn puppies.

Orozco had to undergo major reconstructive surgery to treat the lacerations on her face.

The German shepherd that attacked her remains at the house across the street, where the attack happened. According to city law, a dog must undergo a 10-day rabies quarantine after a bite. The quarantine can be with the owner or at a shelter.

If the animal control investigation finds any wrongdoing, the owner will receive a citation and a judge will decide what happens next.

Animal control officials can only seize the dog with a court order.

Despite the law, the Orozco said she is terrified to go home.

"I just want the dog out of the house, or some other place where I can't see it," she said.

[SouthernFreebird]

I understand that dogs will protect their young but usually just growl and snap perhaps even bite but,a dog who will shred a 5 yr old like that should be exterminated.

[Sungirl]

I hope they don't let a 5 year old dictate what should be done.

[AppyPappy]

The DOG dictated what should be done when it attacked.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Depends what the 5 year old did. If the dog issued a warning growl/snap, and the child decided to go ahead and try to pick up a puppy anyway or not put the puppy down, the dog was just doing its job -- protecting its young, and the child lacks basic survival instincts. It would only take one good bite for a dog that size to do serious damage to the child's face -- which, if the child was sitting on the ground, holding a puppy, may have been the only place the dog could bite without hurting its own puppies.

What I'd like to know is where the adults were (the adult humans that is -- the adult dog was right where she was supposed to be, doing what she was supposed to do). A 5 year old should not be allowed unsupervised access to a large dog which is not part of her own family, and which has just had puppies and so is naturally on edge. The dog was doing a great job of protecting her puppies, but the humans weren't doing so hot at protecting their children.

[TightSqueeze]

If that were my daughter, those puppies would no doubt be orphans by now.

[SteamshipTime]

I agree and wouldn't blame anyone who did, though the dog was only doing what bitches with litters will do. GS makes some good points: children and bitches with litters should be kept apart.

[Drammach]

I have to agree, as much as I regret having to kill any animal.
Dogs are intelligent enough to be trained that attacking a human is absolutely forbidden.
None of my dogs have ever been allowed to even THINK that attack is an option.
I have observed 8 month old children poke, pull, bite, and explore teeth, ears and eyes, and take the food right out of the mouth of my dogs, without more than a whine of "help me" from the dog.
But they were trained from birth what a "baby" is, and would suffer death before harming any child. ( We also try very hard to teach the kids the same about how to treat animals, but they take a little longer.)

No animal that seriously injures a child should be allowed to live.
That's common sense.

[wheezer]

I have observed 8 month old children poke, pull, bite, and explore teeth, ears and eyes, and take the food right out of the mouth of my dogs, without more than a whine of "help me" from the dog.

IMHO, it's extremely irresponsible to "observe" an 8 month old doing any of those things you have described, to a dog...even to your own well trained ones.

Unless of course you are also teaching the 8 month old that what he/she is doing to the dog is absolutely wrong and extremely dangerous.

You would of course agree that all dogs aren't as well trained as yours?

[wheezer]

We also try very hard to teach the kids the same about how to treat animals, but they take a little longer.)

Oops, missed this prior to my previous comments. But I will maintain the position that it is reckless for adults to observe a 8 month old abusing a dog.