By William Hageman | Tribune reporter
August 2, 2009

Emergency rooms across the U.S. treat more than 1,000 dog bite victims a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So what should you do if you’re a victim, or if your dog bites someone?

“The No. 1 thing to do is to wash it immediately with soap and water,” says Dr. Marty Becker, a veterinarian and frequent contributor to ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America.” “Lots and lots of running water. You want to flush the wound out.”

Sherry Woodard, an animal behavioral consultant with Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah, agrees. “If it is a serious bite, it’s medical attention first,” she says. “And have someone who knows what they’re doing wash the wound. Go to a medical facility.”

Next, report the incident to animal control. Because the vast majority of bite victims are acquainted with the perpetrator, there’s usually no reason to try to capture the culprit. The victim knows where Pluto lives. Let animal control handle it. If the attacker is a stray, more reason to call animal control.

“If it’s a strange dog, report it as soon as someone’s getting medical attention,” Woodard says. “In fact, if people see dogs at large at any time, report them. We don’t want a stray population running the streets.”

Animal control will want to look at medical records — another reason to keep your dog up-to-date on its rabies inoculation.

But if your dog isn’t current, it could be taken away by animal control to be tested for rabies.

If it’s your dog that did the biting, let the victim know that you want to stay involved. Get details of the incident, and piece together what happened. Did a child pull the dog’s ear or tail? Did someone try to take away its food? Once you have that information, visit the vet for a checkup; there may be an underlying condition (age, pain or illness) that prompted your pet to bite.

Both parties may want to exchange insurance information; there may be medical bills.

Of course, a lot of misery can be avoided with a few precautionary steps, whether it’s training your animal, teaching your kids how to interact with dogs or learning to avoid potentially dangerous situations.

bhageman@tribune.com