Share your dog bite stories

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I was bitten at age 2 in the face, removing half of my upper lip. It was a dachsund (sp?)… how embarrassing is that? Weiner dog, for god’s sake! I have been bitten twice since then, once by a mixed breed who was about the size of a labrador, and once by an Anatolian Shepherd which are freakin’ huge dogs–110 to 150lbs.

He was my neighbor’s dog and had gotten out of the yard (we shared a duplex) and I caught him and tied him to my tree to wait for his owner to get home. I figured he’d just get out of the gate again if I put him back there. Well he got free and noticed my cats lined up in the doorway while I was trying to re-tie him and went berzerk.

He started trying to tear his way through my screen door. I was pulling him off, which was really hard, because he was huge and I was 5’2" and 115lbs soaking wet. Well he didn’t mean to bite me, I’m sure. He was caught up in the moment. He clawed my leg, but that wasn’t serious, though it bled a lot. He bit into my finger almost to the bone, though, and it was spurting blood. It needed a few stitches. When the owner arrived at the hospital she was in tears and shaking, apologizing up one side and down the other and offering to pay the bill, etc. So she took care of the bill and I didn’t hold the dog bite against her (or the dog, who was a big sweetie most of the time).
(I started this thread after this thread seemed to have a lot of dog bites in it)

2

My best friend’s mom got bitten by a homeless man’s pit bull, while walking her terrier. The guy tied the pit bull up while going to get a hot dog (very irresponsible) and it just leapt at her. It would’ve been much worse if it wasn’t for Cohir (the terrier), who fought off the pit bull until the man got back. The man didn’t really do anything to help her, which really pissed me off at the time. She got the bites stitched up and she was okay in a week or two, but she’s got a scar to show for it.

3

OK, here are the details from the scar I mentioned in the other thread:

I can’t remember if my mother and my sister and I had just returned from church or were getting ready to leave. It was a Sunday morning though. My mom would get these soup bones for the dog. He was a bigger, hunting breed and he would chew on these bones. He was very defensive when he was working on one, but usually he was just a sweet dog. He liked to carry them around with him too. I was sitting in a chair either waiting to leave for church or having just returned. The dog was sitting at the bottom of the chair with a bone in his mouth. My younger sister was sitting on the floor next to him and flat out took the bone away from him. He turned his head and lunged at me and bit my mouth.

I could feel his teeth grind against mine. It was just one bite and I was able to push him off of me so I don’t think he was going for the jugular, if he wanted to hurt me worse he could have. I ran to the bathroom and my mom started scolding the dog. My mom didn’t realize that the dog had really got me. I came out of the bathroom holding a wet washcloth on my lip. My mom asked to get a look at it and when I pulled the wash cloth away my lip was hanging open so off we were to the emergency room. She said there was a lot of blood and that it was hard for her to keep from fainting en route to the hospital. Luckily I think it was a pretty clean bite. It was just split, not chewed up too bad.

Of course I wish my sister hadn’t taken the bone away from our dog in the first place, but I’m happy he got me instead of my sister. She was on the floor, right by his face and smaller than I was, so I hate to think the damage she might have suffered. Plus I think it’s easier for a guy to have a scar than a girl/woman.

4

while i was never bitten by dogs, i was attacked twice.

when i was four, my next door neighbors had this huge friendly dog. i went to their house one day, and, being four, i didnt bother using front doors, i just walked from one back yard to the next. the dog was out romping in their yard (i think i must have climbed a fence, i moved a year later so it’s hard to remember) and wanted to ‘play’. i ended up with scratches all down my back.

the neighbors felt bad and bought me a barbie doll and wrote an ‘im sorry’ letter from the dog. a little while after that, they had him tied up on their deck one day when they were out and he hung himself by his leash when he tried to jump off. i didnt actually find that out until a year or two ago…but anyway i was petrified of dogs for a while after that.

then my family decided to get a dog. i was not happy, but we got a bichon frise, and there’s just no way this dog could ever do much damage. he’s too lazy and puffy. that was when i was 6.

when i was probably around 11 or 12, i was swimming in my friend’s pool. she had a chocolate lab that was a puppy but was already very big. not grown into himself, didnt know his own strength, etc etc. my friend was throwing a tennis ball into the shallow end of the pool that the dog would chase after rabidly and bring it back. but one time she threw it in a little too deep and when he got the ball and realized that he was in deep water, he freaked out and tried to use me as a raft. much near-drowning and screaming ensued, with me finally managing to make it to the ladder and climbing out. scratches/bruises down my arms all summer.

5

I went to a birthday party when I was a toddler. Actually, the hosts were babysitting me, my parents had to take care of some family emergency. The birthday kids were older than me so I was bored and doing my own thing.

The hosts had twin cocker spaniels. One was friendly. One was not. I asked if I could pet the “nice doggy,” and the hosts said “yes.” Little toddler Crayons hugged the wrong doggy. Bit my face under my eye. Somehow I survived without a scar. It coud have been much, much worse.

The hosts chastized me. They told my parents that they had warned me that the one dog was a grump and that I should only play with the “other one”. I remember being really pissed (even as a wee toddler) that they didn’t take the precaution of doing something like putting a blue collar on the “nice doggy” and a red collar on the “bad doggy” – or anything that would have made it possible for visitors to tell them apart.

Only the family members knew which dog was which. I had asked for permission, and the owners were right there in the room as I walked up to the dogs. The dogs had been sitting side by side, I hesitated a moment and chose to pet the one that had the friendliest body language.

To this day I still feel “cheated” because they blamed me when it was impossible to tell the two dogs apart. They made me feel “stupid” for going up to pet the dangerous dog. (Apparently it had a long history of biting.)

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to prejudice me against dogs as such early childhood events often do. And I didn’t even hold it against the dog either. Right from the start I was just pissed at the owners.

My bitterness may be silly and irrational, I confess, but that’s the indignant impression I got as a toddler. I guess I felt “tricked” somehow.

6

Because of my job, I have been bitten a few (many) times by dogs. Usually it’s little dogs, but every so often a big dog will get me on the hand or arm. I got bit bad on the foot once, when I kicked at an akita mix that lunged at me, I was just lucky that while he has ripping at my foot/shoe (which he shredded) I was able to grab a catch pole and pull him off.

I have had two bites that were pretty bad. Once was a shep x lab. He went after another dog, and for some reason I grabbed his neck (which was very stupid), he turned around a bit my cheek, and ripped a hunk off. I got to the hosptal for stitches for that one. I deserved that bite.

Second one hurt a lot more, but the damage wasn’t as bad, I didn’t even need stitches. I was talking to another shelter worker, and a volunteer opened up the back door, and this springer spaniel ran out. For no reason at all that I can figure out, the dog ran at me (I was closest to the door, and turned around to face it when the volunteer opened it), jumped up, and bit down hard on the side of my boob. I cannot even describe the pain, the dog was growling and snarling, and I was pounding him on the top of the head, finally the other gal manageed to pull his jaws apart.

7

Opal, my brother was bitten by a dachshund while he was only an infant, so you’re not alone.

As for my dog bite story… We have a large akbash named Ziya. We got her from some breeders in Kansas. She’s been one of the sweetest dogs our family has ever known. Well, a year or two after getting her, the breeders contact us and want to know if we’ll take Nokta, her older half brother, as they were having trouble finding homes for many of the dogs. We finally decided we would, and before long we have this beast of a dog in our house. It took a while, but we finally got him house-trained. But… He never seemed to like me or my dad very much. Oftentimes, when I walked into a room, he’d start growling at me, baring his teeth. This should’ve set off warning bells, but we figured he just needed more time to get used to the family.

Well, one day, he finally snapped. I never did anything to him; all I did was bend down to pet Ziya. Suddenly, I feel like I’ve been hit with a bag of cement. The whole kitchen is now filled with noise, and the room is spinning. After a few minutes I learn that Nokta attacked me. My dad fought him off me before he could do any more damage. I couldn’t see how bad my face was, and thanks to adrenalin I never felt any pain, so I was thinking, “Alright, ok, I’ll need a band-aid. One of the big ones, of course. And some neopsorin. Then I’ll be fine.”

It’s a good thing they didn’t let me see myself in a mirror. It was enough to make my brother nearly faint. We rushed to the emergency room (somehow getting there in 10 minutes, when it takes 20 when travelling at 65mph), and I then had to wait for over an hour to get seen. The plastic surgeon did do a great job though.

Later, we contact the breeders who gave us the dog and tell them what happened. They immediately blame us for being a bad household. We’ve had dogs in our family for years! There has literally been no period of my life when we were without a dog. And they’ve always been the most wonderful sweeties we’ve ever known. Turns out, as we learned yet later, that Nokta had a history of attacking the very sheep it was supposed to be guarding. They pawned him off on us because he was a problem dog, and they never told us a thing about his temperament.

We gave the breeders an ultimatum: they can come get the dog, or we have it put to sleep. They chose the former, still believing we’re “bad people.” But, of course, they were too busy to come get it themselves. So, we finally arranged it so that a group of circus clowns would take him back (don’t ask me how we got this arrangement. I still don’t get it). They were in our area, and were going through Kansas, so they agreed to it (yes, we did warn them about the dog). And that was the last I saw of Nokta.

Ziya, on the other hand, is still the friendly little pup she’s been for the last 7 years.

8

My dad was on a class picnic once, when he was in 4th grade. (I think.) There was someone’s dog tied to a tree near where they were eating, so he went to give it a pat. It was perfectly nice until he got up to leave–and the dog lunged at his face.

It got him on the nose. He has a scar across the bridge of his nose and down the side. He didn’t have to get stitches, and his scar isn’t that noticable.

9

I was about 6 years old, I was petting the neighbor’s dog (I forget what type it was - it was a large dog, though). It had never been a problem before, but on this occasion, it decided to get up and take a chunk out of my face. They put the dog down. Just over a decade later, I have a funky little scar beside my chin. I don’t have any residual aprehension or fear around dogs at all. Ah, childhood on the farm.

10

I was mistaken for a tasty snack by a senile teckle (sp? Catish size dog) at the age of 11.

I wasn’t unfamiliar with that dog (saw her about twice a week) and didn’t have any problem with before or after the incident, but somehow that day she decided it might be a good idea to take a sampling of my juicy limb. Fortunatly for me the impulse didn’t last long. All I got out of the experience was the ability to identify the dog in case of heavy mutilation and a stiff leg from the rabies shot.

11

I’ve been bitten on many an occasion in handling rescue dogs, but the only bite I remember as particularly painful was administered a few months ago by my neighbor’s Rat Terrier.

The neighbor kids came knocking on my door frantic because their little terrier was “down the street” fighting with another dog and their mother wasn’t home to help them. Fearing the kids would get hurt trying to break up a fight, I told them to stay put and I would drive down and try to retrieve the dog.

I found him by himself on another neighbor’s lawn, called him to me, and then tried to pick him up by his halter. It was really, really stupid of me. The Rat Terrier whipped his neck around and sunk his teeth into my wrist, holding on with tremendous force. He tried to crush my wrist while I struggled to get him off.

I finally got my knee up and kind of kicked him, causing him to yelp and let go of my wrist. He broke a blood vessel, making it bulge out, and caused some swelling, but he didn’t actually break any bones. I still have two little tooth shaped marks on my wrist.

12

Well I was bitten at the age of 6 by a huge black doberman that our neighbors let run lose. They were ones who believed that animals were happiest when they were running free. At least that is what they told the police when they showed up. Don’t remember who they blamed though…me or themselves.

Around here, alot of the guys at my university have mean dogs as they feel this will make up for the defects in their personalities. One guy I know owns a sweet dog…but that dog is trained to be nice (and well trained I might add). he wanted a friendly dog who was just adorable. And this dog loves everyone!

13

I was bitten in the forehead at the age of 2 or so by the dog we had then. I don’t remember what kind he was, but I think his name was Silver. I don’t remember the incident, being 2, but I have this lovely little scar, about a half an inch long, just kind of an indentation in my forehead near the inside of my left eyebrow. I think my dad shot the dog, or we took him to get put down. Don’t remember. We had another dog for awhile, but eventually my mother couldn’t stand it anymore, and we’ve been a cat household ever since.

My best friend from high school, though, almost got her nose ripped off by her dog in about 8th or 9th grade, I think. She’s still got a big scar there, probably had a bunch of stitches, IIRC. Her father believed that the dog could do no wrong, and as far as I know, the dog was never even punished and I think they’ve still got it.

14

Apparently the breed has a tendency to be nippy.

15

I was bitten by my uncles doberman while delivering a Christmas pie.

My son was bitten by a cocker spaniel. Much like Opal’s dog bite it took off a bit of his upper lip. The scare 13 years later is only visible if you look very closely or if he’s very angry.

16

So the moral of your story is… when come back, don’t bring pie?

17

I worked at Petsmart about 3 years ago as a groomer’s assistant (bather/brusher). I was getting ready to bring a pit bull out of the lobby into the actual grooming area and had beant down to fix her collar ,it was on in a way the dog could have squirmed backwards out of it, therefore being able to run out the door, and she was nervous so that was a possibility. Anyhow, I think the dog just got scared because I was touching near her head and I was a stranger, but next thing I knew it felt like I had been head butted by the dog.
I said, "ow’ and straightened up for a second. Another groomer looked over at me and asked if the dog had “got” me. I said that I didn’t think so, but she asked if I was sure, so I reached up and touched my face and my hand came back really bloody. It turns out the dog had snapped down and bit all the way through the bottom of my cheek (right near the chin) and left a probably about 2 inch hole. It went all the way through into my mouth but luckily stopped before it got to my gums or anything.
I didn’t feel any pain until the 2 days later. The dogs owners sent flowers and my groomer associates pitched in to get me soft food,etc. I love those guys.

18

When I was 9 years old I saw a dog I thought was friendly, so I approached him to pet him. As I got to close to him he suddenly bit my arm. It hurt badly, of course, and I cried running to my mother. I had to go to the hospital to get a shot. I never really cared for dogs much, but I thought this might have been an opportunity to change my perception of them. Since then I have always been mistrusting of strange dogs.

This is one of the reasons I’m a cat lover instead.

19

I’ve been bitten by 2 dogs in my life, and for the number of weekly hours I devote to being around dogs, I think that’s a pretty damn good record.

The first bite took place when I was about 4 years old. We had a Cocker Spaniel/Poodle mix that was a bit of a nasty creature, and she bit my lip when I approached her when she had a bone. That one left a scar that I have to this day.

The second one took place last summer. I was walking my on-leash dog past a house, when a Lab broke out of his yard to attack us. The Lab launched himself at my dog, and I intervened, even though I knew I would get bitten before I did it. It was worth it to me to get bitten to defend my dog. So the SOB Lab nailed me, breaking the skin a bit but mostly leaving a really deep bruise that was sore for weeks.

20

In 1979, I was about 5 years old and my mom was hosting a Tupperware party in our house. I stayed and hung out because one of the women had brought her Cockapoo dog that she insisted loved kids.

Nobody was really paying attention to what I was doing and I was playing with the dog in a corner of the room. At one point I kind of leaned down toward the dog to pet it and it lunged at my face. I didn’t scream or cry because I was worried my mom would think I had provoked it after all her lectures on how to play with and approach a strange dog. I guess after I turned around and had blood running down my cheek my plan was foiled, and I remember much freaking out and crying by everyone. I had to have 10 stitches just below my right eye and had a visible scar for quite a while. It’s a tiny bit noticable now but usually once I’ve put a little makeup on it’s almost invisible.

Funny thing is I never developed any kind of fear towards dogs, even right after that incident, and nobody sued the owner of the dog and the owner didn’t sue my mom for not watching me every second while the dog was in our house. My times have changed :wink: