The joy of having pet animals is hard to put into words, and especially when it comes to dogs, they are some of the most precious companions you will meet in your life. However, you have to remember that they are hunters with instincts that we may never comprehend on a primal level.
Imagine those half-inch teeth biting through a plank of wood as if it was a piece of paper. Dogs can and often turn on their owners or others by specific environmental triggers that can make them snap and, in extreme cases, kill a human being very easily. If you’re lucky, you can get away with just a bite. However, suppose a hound is out for blood. In that case, even the most physically intimidating individual may not stand much of a chance.
This article will be addressing what you need to do if you get bitten by a dog. We will be going through a step-by-step to-do list to ensure that you cover all your bases after a bite.
Table of Contents
Get the owners details
The first thing you should do is find out where the dog lives and if it is vaccinated. You may want to get the owner’s details and find out why this dog behaved this way. Is it being mistreated? Is it locked up the entire day? Or was this an accident in which you were in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Your civic obligation allows you to gather this information. And, of course, while you may be in a hurry to get to the hospital, have someone else check-up and collect the information. You may perhaps want to consider pressing charges as well and may wish to contact a dog bite lawyer to gauge whether you have grounds for a lawsuit.
If you don’t hold the owner accountable, others might fall victim to the animal and not get away with just a bite. In extreme cases, the local government can intervene and help rehabilitate the dog to a better place. However, sometimes the dog may be put down, which is a bitter pill to swallow, but that’s the only way to deal with the situation. Imagine if that dog had attacked a child!
Seek first aid
If there is a lot of blood, use bandages and stop the bleeding as soon as possible. The items in a first aid kit should do the trick. Create a blood-restricting tie to ensure that you don’t lose too much hemoglobin from the bite. Extreme blood loss can be tough to deal with before you get to the hospital. Moreover, suppose you lose too much blood too fast. In that case, you are probably going to faint, and things may become considerably more complicated.
No one tells you how painful dog bites are. The unique thing about dog teeth is that they aren’t pointy like a cat. They’re rounded, which can severely hurt when it tears your skin, but painkillers should also help.
Go to the doctor
The first thing that the doctor will ask you is whether the dog was vaccinated for rabies. Now you wouldn’t know that information unless you asked someone to check with the owner, as we mentioned earlier. It would be wise to have someone with you so that they can tend to the intake form. Filling it in an already confused and delirious state can cause issues with the documentation and record-keeping process.
The doctors will tend to the wounds, give you painkillers, and probably a tetanus shot. If the dog wasn’t vaccinated, then you have a significant issue on your hands. Rabies can be deadly if you don’t tend to it quickly. Moreover, the course of rabies shots is relatively difficult to go through. You will be in and out of the doctor’s office for a few weeks after the bite. Moreover, the injection is said to be extremely painful so prepare yourself for some unpleasantness ahead.
Most people would skip out on the follow-ups. PLEASE don’t. You need this course of medicine, or you may succumb to the rabies virus.
Aftercare
It would help if you kept the wound clean after you got home. Replace the dressing every day and make sure it doesn’t get wet. Use anti-septic when cleaning the wound and surrounding areas. You would be shocked to learn how quickly infection can seep into a wound and worsen a bad situation.
Moreover, the doctors will probably prescribe anti-biotic for a few weeks, which you need to follow religiously.
Conclusion
Dogs are incredible animals that deserve all the respect you can give. However, remember not to push their boundaries as they are apex predators deep down. A dog bite doesn’t always mean that it’s a bad dog, and you don’t have to sue the owner. 9/10 times it’s not that serious. However, that 1/10 needs attention when the time comes. It’s a judgment call that you need to make. Ensure that you make the right one because a dog’s life also hangs in the balance.