Got bit by a dog on the morning ride. What shots should I expect at the docs

[regularguy412]

Originally Posted by Dead Man

This is why I have pepper spray on the bike now. F'ing dogs, man. F'ing dogs and their stupid f'ing owners.

Very small thread drift:

I don't use pepper spray. I use a mixture of one part water and 2 parts sudsy ammonia in an OLD WATER BOTTLE. The finer stream/mist from an aerosol can blow right back on you if it's windy out. (+1 for the dogs in that case) The water bottle makes a larger stream and is less affected by wind. A plus is that the defense fits right in a cage and is ready in short order. The stuff really only works on mucus membranes, think: eyes, nose, mouth. And it's not lethal or even permanently debilitating-- so the dogs get over it. If you get a little on your skin, it's no big deal.

WRT the dogs themselves, here in my area there is a vicious dog law. One of my buddies was descending a hill at over 20 mph and was 'attacked' by 4 adolescent pit bulls and their old b!tch mom. He was not bitten, but went down hard, severely spraining both wrists. The county sheriff was summoned and the owners were required to remove the dogs from the premises. Which they were.

Hope you heal quickly.

Mike in AR

[rwsaunders]

While you're at it, get a copy of the police report, call an attorney and have him/her file a claim with the dog owner's insurance company unless you're comfortable doing it yourself. One and done where I live in terms of dog bites and insurance coverage for the dog owner.

I had to stop and get off of my bike last Sunday morning as some jerk was walking his unleashed dog on a city sidewalk. The dog charged at me from the sidewalk into the street and rather than steer into a car, I went towards the dog until he turned and ran. Owner's comment..."he's never done that before." My comment..."he won't do it again, right?" Something tells me that he will.

[Tony]

Years ago while working swing shift and riding home around 1:00 am I came across several dogs regularly that would rush at me in a full on assault.
I learned that a small item like a shop towel dropped in front of the chasing dog while in pursuit would get their attention enough to outrun them.
Carried a shop towel loosely tied around my stem.

[VTCaraco]

Got bit on the hand today, riding a route I've done dozens of time.

2 dogs came around to the front yard and one, a pointer if I had to guess, kept looping closer and closer. He seemed to have a hefty collar on and my hunch is that the family had an underground fence. Nevertheless, the pup seemed to venture further and further onto the road with each pass. He sure did seem to be getting close to my legs, so I put my hand down and said "it's okay". He immediately grabbed hold of my hand and made two small punctures ~ one on my pointer and one on my middle finger. The other dog, an older yellow lab, seemed perfectly content to watch from the corner of the house.

I didn't stop. It was starting to rain and my ride yesterday was HORRIBLE and I was riding better and hoping to keep feeling good and to complete the loop at a better pace.

I got home about 40 minutes later and reported all to my wife and she was ADAMANT that I notify the family. So I immediately hopped in the car and drove over. The dogs were still out and roaming their yard, so opted to NOT get out of my car. I would have felt pretty foolish getting bit a second time.
I beeped half a dozen times and rolled my car fore and aft hoping someone would come out or at least peak out a window. Nothing.
So I rolled to the end of the driveway and called the county sheriff's office.
Dispatch wasn't terrific initially. He asked if I wanted a deputy to come to the property. I said I simply wanted to follow an appropriate protocol and told my story. I said that I wasn't looking for strong repercussions, but that I would like assurances that the dog was vaccinated, that I felt there should be some record of the incident, and that I wanted the family to be advised to change their habits around the control of the dog. He put me on hold for a few minutes and came back to share that an officer would be calling.

A few minutes later I got a call from a Sergeant who was terrific. He empathized, took careful notes, and asked me to send the pictures I had taken (one of my hand, one of the dogs, one of the house in general, and one that was exactly where the incident occurred). By the time I was home ~ about 10-minutes later ~ I had a call from the Department of Health that did a similar check-in. I was assured that they were available 24/7 and that if ANYTHING seemed off (redness, swelling, increased discomfort) to go directly to the hospital.

As I understand it, the family was to be notified (expecting a call within the next 30-40 minutes for the update on that as the Sergeant starts his night shift tonight). The dog will be home-quarantined for 10 days with the animal control confirming good-health today and 10-days from now. If the dog displays any symptoms ~ regardless of vaccination record ~ I'll be informed and should seek medical care. The sergeant said that based on my story, his hunch was the family was acting responsibly and it would simply be a conversation and the assurance that the dog is not sick.


I've felt pretty terrible about causing so much commotion as I really think it was simply a skittish and over-energetic act and not an act of maliciousness. On the other hand, this is a fairly popular route (I do it at least 1x per month), I think it's important that there be some sort of record, and I think a smaller rider could have been more seriously injured (child or small woman).

I think I'm posting just for the catharsis of venting, but I would also suggest a similarly civic posture if anyone else has an incident like this From skimming the original post, I think that my actions are consistent with what was recommended.

I rambled like crazy to both the police and the representative from the health department that my motive was NOT to instigate a consequence....

For dog owners ~ my family included ~ be sure that your pet is under control.
And for riders ~ be safe.

[tctyres]

Originally Posted by VTCaraco

Got bit on the hand today, riding a route I've done dozens of time.
...
I got home about 40 minutes later and reported all to my wife and she was ADAMANT that I notify the family.
...

A few minutes later I got a call from a Sergeant who was terrific. He empathized, took careful notes, and asked me to send the pictures I had taken (one of my hand, one of the dogs, one of the house in general, and one that was exactly where the incident occurred).

You did the right thing. Your wife could have saved you from a lot of tests and shots at the doctor's office. I'm glad the LEO was good and gracious. I'm sure that they would rather have to deal with this over the phone than show up in a squad car.

[reuben]

Yup. Notify owner and police ASAP. Get to doctor/ER/24 hour clinic ASAP.

Take pictures if you can, even after the fact.

[VTCaraco]

Originally Posted by tctyres

You did the right thing. Your wife could have saved you from a lot of tests and shots at the doctor's office. I'm glad the LEO was good and gracious. I'm sure that they would rather have to deal with this over the phone than show up in a squad car.

In the context of "defund" and such, have to say that this officer was superbly professional and neighborly and such.

He followed-up last evening. Started by saying that there must have been something in the air as he started his evening shift responding to a HORSE bite. Went on to confirm my intersection with the DOH, urge a prompt and immediate response if I saw any health-complications, then shared some of the interactions with the family. They were horrified to hear of it, asked if I was okay, and are taking responsibility ~ per his account. No sense of malice in either direction.

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by VTCaraco

I've felt pretty terrible about causing so much commotion as I really think it was simply a skittish and over-energetic act and not an act of maliciousness.

I think you were 100% on target in your actions, and I'm glad the Sheriff's Dept. acted accordingly even after a bit of a false start.

[Peter P.]

I'll be the contrarian and say you did the wrong thing(s).

You stuck your hand down near the dog?! I get what you were trying to do, but as far as I'm concerned, you were providing lunch.

You should have stayed at the scene. If you had a cell phone, call from the scene of the incident. Calling some time after the incident reduces the impression the incident was serious enough to warrant a police response. If you didn't have a cell phone with you, it's understandable.

You should not diminish the seriousness of the incident-I get not wanting to blow the incident out of proportion and having a cast of thousands descend on the site or approach the homeowner, but let the LEO's decide that. From your description, I get the impression the dispatcher detected the tone of your call and reduced the severity of the response.

In the end it all worked out for both parties which is a good thing. I'm not trying to beat you up on your response, but oftentimes we try to "be kind" to the other party and it bites us in the azz.

[VTCaraco]

This is PRECISELY why I felt so much guilt yesterday.

If I had swerved towards the center, the whole thing could have been avoided. If I had simply kept my line and continued pedaling, there's a good chance that nothing would have happened.

That's why I waited and needed my wife's response. And that's why I advocated for careful consideration and no explicit "consequences" beyond what was normal. It took some coaxing for me to get others involved and, to my mind, the direct interaction was the right course of interaction. If the family was as hospitable as the LEO officer describes, I'm not sure that I would have grown the circle as I did.


Planning my ride today.
I'm half-inclined to take the same route to touch-base with the family and equally inclined to avoid that route for a while.


Suffice to say that your perspective is exactly what had me tangled up yesterday. The reality is that the dog WAS in the road and bit/punctured my hand. And I stand by the notion that this was NOT exceptional behavior for the pup ~ for whatever reason. I've got a stout, athletic build and I'm fairly unflappable and a dog-person. Change any of those factors or add a passing car and it could have been a much worse situation ~ so I think that the family being notified and taking more precautions is the right approach.

Onward and forward...

Originally Posted by Peter P.

I'll be the contrarian and say you did the wrong thing(s).

You stuck your hand down near the dog?! I get what you were trying to do, but as far as I'm concerned, you were providing lunch.

You should have stayed at the scene. If you had a cell phone, call from the scene of the incident. Calling some time after the incident reduces the impression the incident was serious enough to warrant a police response. If you didn't have a cell phone with you, it's understandable.

You should not diminish the seriousness of the incident-I get not wanting to blow the incident out of proportion and having a cast of thousands descend on the site or approach the homeowner, but let the LEO's decide that. From your description, I get the impression the dispatcher detected the tone of your call and reduced the severity of the response.

In the end it all worked out for both parties which is a good thing. I'm not trying to beat you up on your response, but oftentimes we try to "be kind" to the other party and it bites us in the azz.

[Dead Man]

theres no call for criticism or reason for guilt in any of that, VTC. i think your response was just fine.

[Likes2ridefar]

I’m in the the land of lawlessness Right now in Eastern TN where there are no leash laws in the counties. I see random dogs nearly every ride, some chase me, others could care less I exist.

I’ve found ringing my spur bell like a madman and Last resort screaming at the dog regardless it’s a tiny dog or the more common big gnarly mutts resets something in their heads and they decide I’m not worth it.

My father was bit a year or so ago in the same area and it cost a fortune to fix and kept him off the bike for a few months.

[VTCaraco]

Rang that a few times on first sight...didn't rewire the pups thinking or seem to instigate things either.

Again, I think it was an is an over-zealous skittish dog.

[jm714]

Originally Posted by VTCaraco

Rang that a few times on first sight...didn't rewire the pups thinking or seem to instigate things either.

Again, I think it was an is an over-zealous skittish dog.

The dogs were off their property. The owners are wrong, but dont blame the fur babies.

No one should get bit riding their bike in the street. Stop already.

[robt57]

Not reading all this.

Pics of house and addy, unless you can get a call to sheriff/cop etc and wait for them. PERIOD! They broke the law, and you will want the triple damages for their negligence off leash pet stuff for your pain and suffering and bills for the rabies shots!

If it turns out you don't need the shots, even better. They have a legal record for the next poor bite-tee...

>>>>Not to mention watching the animal control take their dog into the truck is gratifying standing there. You are entitled to at least that for someone that can't be bothered to follow laws to keep the public safe from such BS.

I know this last one, as I was standing behind a cop with his taser out with an aggressive dog, bike between me and dog 1st, then bike/cop/dog. No bite that time.. I actually thought the cop pulled his 9mm at first...