A surprising report has surfaced that says nearly 4.5 million Americans were attacked by dogs over the last year. Even more shocking is that 2 million children make up the 4.5 million Americans that suffered from dog bites.
The survey was done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , as they calculated that the dog attacks make up for 5 percent of all emergency room visits. This report was announced right before National Dog Bite Prevention Week which, for those who aren’t aware, is a campaign that tells owners about the importance for accepting responsibility to help fight the country’s most reported public health issues. The elderly and children make up most dog attacks.
Just yesterday we reported on a video of a dog attack averted by a house cat . In the video 4-year-old Jeremy Triantafilo was playing in his drive way when a dog attacked him. Luckily his house cat Tara saw this and hurled herself at the dog to save the child and the canine was chased away.
The US Postal Service reported that within the 4.5 million people attacked by dogs, there’s 5,581 victims that work for the post office that were bitten over the last year.
Postal Service Manager of Safety Linda Decarlo explained the increasing problem of dog attacks:
“There’s a myth we often hear at the Postal Service, ‘Don’t worry — my dog won’t bite.’ Dog attacks are a nationwide issue and not just a postal problem. Any dog can bite and all attacks are preventable through responsible pet ownership.”
Here’s a few bite-inducing numbers as reported by The Associated Press :
“Sixty-three letter carriers were bitten in Houston last year; 61 in Los Angeles; 58 in Cleveland; 53 in San Diego; and 47 in Chicago. Sixty-two cities are in the top 30 because of ties. Seven cities came in 30th with 11 bites each.”
In addition, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons said that there was 26,935 cases where people came in for reconstructive procedures due to their injuries in 2013 from dog bites.
The Los Angeles Times suggests that California is the largest dog bite capital in the United States due to their numbers. According to the report, the claim does in fact list California as the state with the most claims, as they have reported 449 of dog attacks in the last year.
In the end this tweet says it best:
When a dog bites a human, it’s not news. When the bites cost half a billion dollars, it is. http://t.co/iIpZBdI3Gh
— Bloomberg News (@BloombergNews) May 14, 2014
[Image via Verkhovynets Taras / Shutterstock]