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Woman Severely Injured in Dog Bite Case
Jul 10, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: Buckingham, Florida, 7/10/07 – On July 9, 2007, a 76 year old woman was attacked by a dog while walking on Neal Road in Lee County. According to a witness statement the attack occurred in the early afternoon (around 3:30 p.m.) by a reddish hound/cur dog while the owner was in his yard. The passing motorists stopped to aid the woman that was being attacked about the head, arms and legs. The dog's owner got the dog back to the property and provided immediate assistance while a motorist called E911. Lee County Animal Services responded to the report along with the Lee County Sheriff's Department. The owner was issued citations by Animal Services. He also surrendered the dog to Animal Services and it was euthanized upon return to the shelter. Arrangements are being made to send the dog to the State Lab for rabies testing. This tragic situation highlights the need for both children and adults to be trained how to best survive a bite situation. Everyone should be advised that in a potential bite situation they need to roll into a ball covering their head. This limits access to any vital areas for the dog to bite and provides less surface area for the dog to grip. The most severe bites occur when a dog can get to limbs, vital areas, or around the head and neck. Another lesson to be learned from this incident is the false sense of security created by invisible fencing. The dog was supposedly confined to its property by means of an electronic fence at the time of the attack. There is no indication if the dog went through the active electronic invisible fencing or if it was not functioning properly. Lee County Animal Services' spokesperson stated, "Animal Services has always been opposed to the use of invisible fencing as a means of containing a dog on one's property. In Florida there are too many power surges and brief outages based on weather and usage to make these fences reliable. If the power fails even briefly the dog can get off the property and once off property it may not be able to return if the power is restored. There have also been a number of reports of dogs going through a properly functioning invisible fence." Invisible fences also pose a threat to the animal on the property because they do not keep other animals from coming on to the property to attack the confined pet. Finally, invisible fences can create a real problem for animal control officers and public safety. If the officer does not know if the animal is contained by an invisible fence, he may assume it is at-large. If the officer sees an invisible fence sign and a dog on the property, he may assume it is the dog that is supposed to be on the property. More information on Lee County Animal Services is available online at www.leelostpets.com or by calling 432-2083. Lost pets and pets for adoption may also be viewed online.
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