Dog bite dangers: What you need to know

Pleasanton: Couple arrested after dog bites son twice in the face

       "One of the biggest signs we misread is the wagging of the tail," said Alford.  "That does not always mean that a dog is friendly.  That just means that a dog wants to be engaged." Alford says when most people see a dog, they automatically reach out to pet it-- not picking up on clues that they need to back off.  Growling, lowering or turning of the dog's head, and breaking eye contact are signs, she says, that it's time to step back.   In fact, dogs communicate much of how they're feeling with their eyes. So, if they're anxious or uncomfortable, they may turn or break eye contact. "And especially if they're giving you that side eye, where you can see the whites of the eyes, the eyes are very big-- that means that a dog is scared," said Alford.  "So you don't keep going in to pet that dog. You want to kind of back away and give that dog its space." Every year, about 4.7 million Americans are bitten by a dog. When it happens, the dog that's doing the biting isn't a dog we don't know.  It's the one we do.  That makes it critical for children to learn the warning signs to leave a dog alone.
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Dog Bites Can Raise Your Insurance Premiums

Various organizations have been publicizing dog bite information because of National Dog Bite Prevention Week, the third full week in May. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say 4.7 million dog bites occur each year, and more than half of the victims are children. The Postal Service says roughly 5,900 postal carriers were attacked by dogs last year. Los Angeles topped the list of cities based on dog attacks on letter carriers, with 69 attacks reported in fiscal 2012. A nonprofit organization called Prevent the Bite offers tips for helping people, especially children, to avoid dog bites, based on the "W.A.I.T." principal for approaching unfamiliar dogs: –Wait to see if the dog is with its owner and if it looks friendly. –Ask the owner for permission to pet a dog. –Invite the dog to sniff you, while you stand with your hands curled at your side. –Touch the dog gently to pet, never at its face or tail.
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Attorney Ivo Labar Says Dog Bites Can Make Insurance Premiums Skyrocket

The timing of this New Jersey Appellate Court decision is interesting in light of the fact that a sizeable number people have recently been forced to relocate due to hardships caused by Superstorm Sandy. Many of those folks have dogs that find themselves in new and unfamiliar surroundings, a situation which causes animals stress. The likelihood of uncharacteristic canine behavior often increases under such circumstances. It is against this backdrop that we review this recent Appellate Court decision in the overall context of New Jersey dog bite liability law. In a decision dated December 21, 2012, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, found that a paid pet sitter can recover for damages due to injuries suffered from being bitten by a dog that was in her care. In Hillary Aiges, Plaintiff-appellant, v.
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New NJ Rulings on Dog Bite Liability Favors Injured Pet Sitters

Indeed, The New York Times notes that "the actual number of dog-bite claims fell 1.4 percent in 2012, to just under 16,500," but also that "the cost of settling claims rose 1.2 percent, so the total cost was essentially flat. The average cost paid per claim was $29,752 last year, compared with $29,396 in 2011." "Some of these statistics are somewhat inflated, as insurance companies will sometimes include instances where a dog jumps on a person and scares him, or other instances in which the dog has not really hurt anyone or done anything wrong," Labar continues. "Nevertheless, from a statistical and a monetary standpoint, insurance companies see dog bites as a huge problem, so it should come as no surprise that a biting dog can make a homeowner's premiums skyrocket." Labar also explains that these claims are paid from a homeowner's liability insurance, which typically covers the homeowner in the case of a dog biting a visitor to the home, or of a dog biting a neighbor while out on a walk. Notes The New York Times, "Homeowners' insurance generally covers dog liability as part of the policy's standard coverage, with limits of up to $100,000 or $300,000." The article also notes that, in many cases, homeowners never think to ask their insurance carrier about coverage for dog bites. Nevertheless, when an incident occurs, the insurance company might increase premiums by a considerable amount--or else exclude the dog from coverage altogether. "It depends on the company and on the severity of the bite," Ivo Labar explains. "My advice for homeowners who also have dogs is to ask the insurance company about dog bite policies, up front, and also to ask if there are certain breeds that the insurance company is particularly wary of," Labar says.
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2 charged after dog bites boy - twice

The most recent bite occurred May 19 at an apartment in Pleasanton, said Jeff Bretzing , a lieutenant in that city. Officers and paramedics reported finding the boy with facial injuries after he had been left in a room with the 96-pound, 6-year-old dog named Boston. Marc Kornberg , who owned the dog and lived in the apartment, was home at the time along with the boy's mother, 27-year-old Myrvete Lila of Dublin. The boy was treated for his wounds at a hospital, Bretzing said, and the dog was seized. An investigation then revealed that the Presa Canario had earlier bitten the boy in the face after the two were left alone in a room on March 6, an attack that also required hospital treatment, Bretzing said. The dog was at that time temporarily placed on home quarantine at Kornberg's request. After the second incident, the dog was found to be vicious at a public hearing and was sent to a rehabilitation and training facility in Ohio, police said.
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The pair face charges of child neglect and endangerment after their son, who has not been identified, was bit in the face dog bite attorney twice by his father's dog, a 96-pound Presa Canario, once in May and once in March. Bretzing said Pleasanton police were called to the apartment on Bernal Avenue on May 19 to investigate the dog bite; officers soon discovered the previous biting incident, on March 6, which had gone unreported to police. Kornberg's son suffered multiple facial injuries in the May 19 incident; he was transported to a hospital and later released. On March 6, he had been treated for similar injuries and released. Police said that in both cases, the child had been left alone in a room with the dog.
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