Kelly Sullivan

photo by Bryan Harrison, Harrison Promotional Services

A few weeks ago, we got two puppies for my boyfriend’s kids. I cannot deny that I relish every minute we spend together, even though my hands are now full of niks and scratches from playing with them. I’m learning quickly that puppy teeth, while small, are very sharp.

It’s no secret that I am an avid animal lover; dogs, especially. In my earlier days as an adjuster, I knew very little about dogs and temperament and often operated on the assumption that all dogs were playful and harmless...kinda like my new puppies.

I remember one of the first homeowner dog-bite claims I went out on; it involved a little child. The dog had bitten him in the face causing some significant injuries. My investigation revealed that the child had been eating a hot dog and upon learning this, I found myself mentally excusing the dog’s actions because there seemed to be a logical explanation; the dog simply wanted a bite of the hot dog and got too close. Fortunately, my own analysis of liability had no bearing on the outcome of the case, since California is a strict liability state.*

*Strict liability provides that the owner of any dog is liable for the damages suffered by any person who is bitten by the dog...California Civil Code section 3342.

I kept my opinion about the innocence of the dog to myself along with my naïve philosophy that most animals that behaved aggressively were just misunderstood.

The widely publicized San Francisco incident involving the death of a college Lacrosse coach at the hands of two Presa Canario’s with their owner standing nearby may have influenced my opinion slightly, but in general, I still wanted to open my arms wide to all the dogs in the world. I approached strays on the street and snuggled right up to them. I fed them my table scraps at cafés and knelt down at ‘dog-level’ upon meeting a new canine without ever giving it a second thought. The dog bite claims I investigated weren’t much different; dogs were my friends and I was theirs and they knew it. Until one day...
As they say, all good things must come to an end: The assignment was to investigate allegations that an insured’s 100 pound Chow mix had bitten a neighbor. The facts were in dispute. The insured’s dog had attacked the neighbor’s Pug while he was walking it and the Pug underwent emergency surgery as a result. The Pug’s owner said that the insured’s dog bit him on the hand as well. Animal Control had concluded that they could not substantiate the neighbor’s contentions and therefore classified the insured’s dog a danger to other animals, but not to people.

The insured was a dog lover, just like me. We shared our love of our own canine companions and compared stories. Her dog sat right next to my chair while I took her statement. He even rubbed up against my leg and I eagerly scratched his head in response. The insured felt her dog could do no wrong and couldn’t understand why he went after the neighbor’s Pug. He must have perceived some sort of threat, she’d said, because there was no way he would ever behave in such a way without one. He had spent time around babies as well as the elderly, she’d bragged, as I nodded my head sympathetically in agreement.

The time came for me to take a few pictures of my new friend for the claim file. The insured was sitting in an easy chair in the living room and the dog was sitting at her feet. I knelt down with my camera and snapped a shot. I got a little closer and snapped another. Finally, I took a close up of his face and as I went to give him a belly-rub to say goodbye, he suddenly let out a loud growl and a snarl. Alarmed, I instinctively pulled my hand back and he lunged forward, snapping his mouth shut around my arm, sinking his teeth deep into my skin. Things happened very quickly and I had no time to react. He began shaking my arm back and forth while still in the grips of his bite and I simply began to stand up very slowly, afraid to jerk my arm away for fear that he might rip it off. “He’s not letting go,” I stammered.
The insured was screaming hysterically and I was somewhat frozen in place, halfway between a kneeling position and standing fully upright, with the dog’s jaws clamping down even harder with every effort on my part to stand up straight.

The dog’s owner finally gave her dog a swift kick in the mouth and he let go of me. Somehow, the insured was then able to get him out the door and into the backyard.

We were both in shock and my arm was bleeding badly. The insured called 911 because neither of us knew what to do. Within minutes, two squad cars, an animal control truck, an ambulance and a fire engine pulled up in front of the house. With things a bit calmer, it seemed like overkill. The paramedics tended to me while Animal Control tried to apprehend the dog in the backyard.

We didn’t see what happened but heard it all; growling and aggressive barking, a male voice saying, “Easy, no, no, NO!” Then two shots fired and it was over. The police shot the dog with a pistol. They later said he charged the Animal Control officer and they had no choice; that he just seemed out of his mind.
At the emergency room, my arm was debrided and sutured. I was given a tetanus shot and a bunch of antibiotics. When I told the nurse how things played out, she said I was lucky, and frankly, I felt pretty lucky.

I have some scars now, but they were worth every piece of the valuable lesson I learned. I found out that some aggressive tendencies are breed-specific, and that the Chow, in particular, can become very protective of its owner. Was there something I could have done differently? Perhaps.

I play with my new puppies with a newfound respect for the unknown; for the fact that animals can’t speak and they aren’t human no matter how much I would like them to be. They have judgments and perceptions that may make no sense to me but can seem very real to them. Consequently, it will be some time before my puppies give me kisses, but I will sleep a lot better each night.
General advice regarding dealing with dogs:

1) Don’t approach a strange dog, especially one which is tied up or confined.
2) Before you attempt to pet a dog, ask permission from the owner. Let the dog become familiar with you by allowing him to see and sniff the back of your closed hand.
3) Never leave children unsupervised with any dog, no matter how trustworthy.
4) Do not get down on an even-level with the dog. Children who often get down at the dog’s level to play are perceived as playmates and not superiors.
5) If a dog is not be trusted with children or visitors to the home, then consider muzzling it. Modern muzzles allow free air passage and drinking, and do not frustrate the dog.

If threatened by a dog:

1) Stand still
2) Don’t scream
3) Avoid eye contact with the attacking dog but don’t lose sight of him either. Try to remain motionless
4) Keep your hands reasonably high. Moving hands tend to be the first part of your body to be bitten
5) If you have anything in hand, like a briefcase or shopping bag, use it to block the approach of the dog.
6) If you are knocked down, lie still, curl into a ball and play dead - this is especially important for children.
7) If you are carrying food, use it to distract the dog.
8) If these things are not getting the dog away from you and you cannot see the owner, then shout ‘sit’, because most dog owners have trained their dog to sit and many dogs will obey this command automatically.
9) Don’t ever turn your back on the dog and never, ever run. The dog’s natural instinct is to chase and catch prey. Most dogs do not have the courage to confront someone who is still, but they may bite someone’s backside if they are on the run.

Have you learned a lesson you’d like to share? If so, please forward your story to publisher, Bryan Harrison, at: harrisonpromo@yahoo.com, and we will keep this column in our monthly newsletter.