I was bit by a stray

@inu1711 (5285)
Romania
July 2, 2012 2:53pm CST
All who know me might say this is a joke. Everybody knows I love dogs and it may sound hard to believe that a dog bit me. But it did. I was walking with my dog, Binne, when two stray dogs popped up from under a car. They were barking furiously but this didn't intimidate me. I talked to them calmly and it worked. The female dog stopped barking, she put her ears back on her head and came to me wagging her tail. She recognized a friend in me and she didn't have any intention to do any harm. She came to me to be pet. But the male dog, a huge black mongrel, continued to bark, pretending that he was barking at some dogs from the other side of the street. I ignored him, as he seemed determined to attack those dogs but, once he got behind me, he suddenly turned back and grabbed my left leg. I had no time to react. I only had time to shout at him "Hey! Leave it!" and he did left my leg. But the damage was already done. I could hardly use my leg on the way home. I stopped at the chemist's to buy something for the wounds that were bleeding down to my shoes. Once I got home, I cleaned the wounds with warm water and soap, then poured a bottle of peroxide on them. Only then I realized the gravity of the wounds. I never knew a dog can bite so hard! I got sick and I called a friend to take me to the hospital. Three days I wasn't able to use my left leg. It hurt a lot, and so did the antirabies injections. Even after six weeks the wound marks haven't disappeared. Some people say I shouldn't be around dogs after this experience but I can't help myself. I still love dogs even if accidents like this happen. How about you? Have you had a similar experience? Have you been bit? How did it happen?
7 people like this
27 responses
@freymind (1351)
• Philippines
5 Jul 12
I got bitten numerous times by our own dogs but it didn't deter me from loving them still. I've been bitten by our family dogs and even the dog of our neighbor when I was a kid. For me it was just I guess self defense for them though the bite I sustain from our family dog is due to him accidentally biting my hands while I'm hand feeding him some dog biscuits. I still love dogs and still own one to this date and I don't think I can live without them. They are loving but can be also deadly especially the stray ones.
2 people like this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
5 Jul 12
It's nice to hear that, even if you've been bit many times, you still love dogs. That's a true dog lover's opinion. But, considering what the previous responders said, what would you do if the dogs had bit your child and not you?
1 person likes this
@sjvg1976 (41281)
• Delhi, India
5 Jul 12
Hello Inu, I was bitten by a dog when i was 4~5 years old yes it pains a lot and it takes time to recover. I remember i put a foot on the tail of a stray dog who was sitting on the road side.The reaction was very fast he grabbed my left leg and it was bleeding in seconds and did not leave it till people came to save me.That was a horrible.I took 7 anti rabies injection in stomach in those days, and it was more painful than the wounds.
2 people like this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
5 Jul 12
Oh, I'm sorry you had to suffer all that at such a young age! Nowadays the anti rabies injections are not so painful. They don't give the shots in the stomach any more and they don't hurt too much. I was also afraid to go to the hospital to have my shots done but, after the first injection, I wasn't afraid anymore.
2 people like this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
2 Jul 12
Oh no, I am so glad you were able to get help. I know you love dogs and you know I do too, but this dog seems dangerous and need to be off the street before someone or even a child is seriously hurt or worse. I only been bitten by two dogs in my life. The first one was a friend's dog. she was a neighbor and this dog has bitten or tried to bite every other kid in the neighborhood but me. One day I was over at my friends and we went into the backyard where her dog was running up and down the fence line barking at someone. When I went out, I called the dog over, (remember, this dog has let me pet him and has never even growled at me before), and he came over all right, jumped up, (he was small) and bit right above my knee. I still have the scar, but this didn't effect me on being afraid of dogs, but more aware that some can turn on me. The other time was also a friend's dog and I dog I respected because she was a retired police dog, (German shepherd), and my friend and her dad told me to be careful around her and I believed them because years before, another neighbor, (not a friend this time..lol) kept their retired police dog, (German shepherd again) in an outdoor kennel and that neighbor warned everyone that the dog was dangerous, so I never went near it. But one day when they were gone, another little girl, younger than I, went over into the backyard and for some reason opened the kennel and this dog attacked her. So as you can see, I already had a healthy respect for this breed of dog...until I was walking my dog, a small mixed breed and this dog went after my dog. I was a child and in the heat of the moment, I tried to break them up, (or in reality, tried to get the shepherd off my dog who was on her back getting the you know what bitten out of her)and so when I reached down to pull the dog off, she bit my arm. Fortunately the owner was right there and got his dog back int he house. It wasn't bad, just a couple stitches, but from that time on, I was terrified of shepherds. Oh I thought they were beautiful, but I never went near one if I could help it. Then, I don't know if you remember the story of Zoe, a beautiful white dog my husband brought home who was a stray and smelled worse than an outhouse. My daughter and I bathed her and I hugged on her and loved on her and my 4 y/o son and this dog played together and I had no fear of her for myself or my child...then when we were able to take Zoe to the vet, he confirmed she was a "White German shepherd" Now I saw that shepherd tail, but never considered that is what she was and I never heard of a white shepherd before. We couldn't keep her because of a disorder she had and we didn't have 60 plus dollars to spend every month on the enzymes she needed, but she does have a good home now and I think she was brought into my life to show me that not all shepherds are bad, but I still need to respect them to the point that unless they were brought up as a family dog, they really can't be trusted. Hope you are feeling better after your ordeal, and that this dog is taken off the street.
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
4 Jul 12
When I read about the shepherds that bit you, I was wondering how come you owned Zoe after all the fear? Then I read forward and it made sense. Unfortunately the dog that bit me is still on the street. I don't want to face him again so I went to see him only by car. I feel safer in the driver seat than face to face with the beast. He is still aggressive - he barked and attacked even the car, trying to bite the tires. I had to go see the dog for 6 weeks after the attack, to be sure he has no rabies. As he still looks healthy, this means the risk has passed.
2 people like this
@mobhomeir (7558)
• Philippines
4 Jul 12
Hi Inu, I think we have one thing in common..for being really a dog lover. Yes, I had also an experienced like yours but it was from our own dog's fang... We have lots of dogs in our house and the other female could not go along with some other dogs since the day she was pregnant on her first puppies. One day this female happened to had a fight after her opponent accidentally went out from our home and they met outside. I immediately separated them with my bear hands and my female who was very very angry thought that my right hand that separated them was her opponent. My female dog bit my right palm that almost pierced from my right palm to the back of my right hand. My anger erupted that I would had bitten my dog should my wife stopped me for kicking my female dog. I knew my female dog unintentionally bitten me. I was shocked looking my bear right hand with full of blood. I got two shots of anti-rabies medicine of two sessions. That was not my first or second time being bitten by dogs. I was already bitten several times but still I keep on loving dogs... Mobhomeir here 070412 1410hrs
2 people like this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
4 Jul 12
This is something all the dog lovers must do: never start hating dogs for accidents like mine or yours. Because we love dogs, we can understand their behavior and we can realize their actions have an explanation in canine behavior. As your female dog accidentally bit you, thinking your hand was a limp of her opponent, the dog that bit me was probably thinking I was going to harm her female dog friend. I was about to pet her when he turned toward me and bit my leg.
2 people like this
• United States
2 Jul 12
Oh no, I am so sorry to hear that this happened to you. That is a very scary experience, but I am glad that it has not made you scared of all dogs, which I know can happen. I am not sure how I would react in your situation. I would love to say that it would not make me wary in the future, but I really am not entirely sure, especially if my little one were with me at the time. I have been bitten but not anything serious ... more like just nipped, even though it did break the skin. Fortunately, I didn't have to seek medical treatment as it was not serious, but I did make sure to treat it with antibiotic and keep an eye on it just in case it got infected.
1 person likes this
• United States
4 Jul 12
Actually, rabies has not been eradicated on my side of the world, and it is still a very big threat, especially with wild and/or stray animals. However, the ones that bit me fortunately were up to date on their shots, and they could be observed to make sure they did not have any signs of rabies, so I did not have to have the shots. My oldest daughter was bitten by a stray cat, and she almost had to have the rabies shots - we didn't think to try to catch the cat after it had bitten her, so they couldn't observe the cat or do tests on it or anything. The doctor was concerned and didn't want my daughter getting sick, but she was still so young that he didn't want to have to give her the shots unless it was absolutely necessary, either, especially since they are so painful. He decided that it was best to just monitor her closely and see, and we were fortunately enough that she was fine, although she did have to take the antibiotics not just on the wound but also by mouth.
2 people like this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
4 Jul 12
I thought you don't have rabies any more! I am sorry for your oldest daughter's accident. You took a big risk by not giving her the shots, knowing that rabies has no treatment. I didn't want to take any risk. Even if I monitored the dog every week I still continued the rabies vaccines. Did you eventually adopt that cat?
3 people like this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
4 Jul 12
I wasn't too mad at that dog. But if he bit Binne instead of my leg, I think I would have killed him! And Binne is only a dog, not a child. I imagine what a parent can do to protect his/her children! I didn't take any antibiotics (though the doctor told me to) because I hate to take pills if there isn't anything serious. But I had to have 6 antirabies shots. You were lucky you didn't need those injections, as rabies was eradicated in your side of the world.
3 people like this
@echoforever (5180)
• United States
2 Jul 12
Dog bites are really horrible! I was bit once when I was around 10.. I got too close to a dog on a chain whom either thought I was dangerous or thought I was playing. He bit the back of my leg, basically my butt and it left a mean looking scar. I had to go in and get a tetanus shot and some stitches. I'm sorry for your unpleasant experience.
1 person likes this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
2 Jul 12
Now that I read your story I remember I was bit when I was about 8 years old. I was visiting a cousin and she said her dog do not bite so I walked along with her inside the garden. The dog came from behind and bit the back of my leg. But there were only some superficial scratches, so I didn't need any shots or stitches. You say you still have the scars after all that time? You scared me! This means I will wear those horrible scars for all my life?
2 people like this
• United States
2 Jul 12
I hope yours will not last that long. Mine is still there but it is smaller compared to what it used to be. I think that it will probably last my lifetime but I do not know...
2 people like this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
2 Jul 12
Grr! I hate the idea of wearing those scars. Lucky you yours are not visible. Mine are right above the ankle and they look quite ugly. Maybe I should design a tattoo to hide them?
2 people like this
@raghwagh (1527)
• India
6 Jul 12
Hi friend, It is bad to hear that you got bitten by a stray dog.I can understand your pain. I was also bitten by one of my pets. He bite my finger and I took about 3 weeks to completely recover. Stray dogs are some times dangerous. Actually my dogs veterinary doctor had told that some people hurt stray dogs. So id those dogs see something similar to by which they were hurt they run and bark on those things. I am also a dog lover and will suggest we should have dogs as pet, but at the same time we should be careful when dealing with stray dogs. From my experiences female dogs are generally calm and become friendly easily. Male dogs are not so calm and one must be careful with them.
1 person likes this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
15 Jul 12
That's exactly how happened in my case. The female dog became friendly when I talked to her, while the male continued to bark, pretending that he was chasing some dogs on the other side of the road. You are right, we have to be careful with stray dogs, especially with the ones we don't know. You may never know what experiences the stay had in the past, and you can't know when he wants to attack you. I hope you won't be bitten by any dog!
1 person likes this
@TazRes (827)
• United States
6 Jul 12
Wow!...so sorry for your dog bite, I was very young around 10. I was bitten twice, once was I was teasing my dog with a barbecue bone (NOT A GOOD THING TO DO) and he jumped up and bit my hand and I still have the scar. the second time again from my own dog he bit my jaw which wasn't that bad, I think he was playing with me and didn't mean to bite, it was a little snap but it hurt just the same.
1 person likes this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
15 Jul 12
Oh, both your bites happened from your fault. You were too young to know when to stop teasing your dog. I hope you won't need to be in the situation of being bitten by any dog, not only yours.
1 person likes this
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
6 Jul 12
What a terrible encounter you had with that stray dog. That has not happened to me thank God. You need anti-rabies vaccination. Don't take that for granted because that could kill. Dog bites are not to be taken for granted go and see a doctor.
1 person likes this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
15 Jul 12
I know rabies can kill. I didn't want to take any risk and I went to the doctor right away. I got all the anti-rabies vaccines, plus the anti-tetanus, which was the most painful. Grrr!
1 person likes this
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
5 Jul 12
I have a deep respect for animals in general and try not to put myself in the situation where I will get bit.(We live on ten acres and our dog has plenty of room and does not have to be walked) Normally, if I am outside, I have to be extra careful because I have 3 small children with me. If the neighbors dogs or any strays happen along I take the kids back inside. If the dog is harassing our dog I will go outside and intervene if I feel it is necessary. We have a small pack of 5 dogs that some stupid moron lets out at around 3am every morning. They are all small dogs but they are in a pack and have that pack mentality. Either me or my husband has to go outside and chase them off every time they are let out. I really wish I could get a good hold on one of the boogers and find out who they belong to. I would turn them into the sheriff's dept. as well as the animal control officers. They always surround our dog and attack her. Even though they are small five on one is not a good match. They are easily chased off but it is annoying to have to get up in the middle of the night to chase them off and it causes her too much stress as well. I feel for you having been bit. Do you think perhaps you need to start carrying pepper spray of some sort? You also have to be careful of such things as rabies. It sounds as if your bite was bad. I hope you will recover fully. I do enjoy animals but I also respect them and come to realize that sometimes good dogs go bad and they need something done about them. If you are a grown up and that dog will attack you what do you think it might do to a child playing in the same area? There are too many people not taking responsibility for their animals and this leads to this sort of bad happening. I am glad you still have a heart for dogs and do not hold one incident against all of them.
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
6 Jul 12
That makes sense about the pepper spray and not using it because it could also hurt your dog. Water is a good substitute for you then. The little rascals that attack my dog don't stick around long enough for me to douse them with water. I would love to get the opportunity but it never happens. One of these days I might get lucky and catch one of them. I hope you are feeling better now.
1 person likes this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
6 Jul 12
Thank you, I am well now, I only "suffer" because the ugly scars I have to wear for all my life. I don't have any idea how could you catch one of the little unfriendly dogs. Unless you have one of those sticks the dog catchers have. Have you tried to follow them home, to see where they live and try to talk to their owners?
1 person likes this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
5 Jul 12
I know that dog's place is not on streets. No dog should live on the streets but here are a lot of strays and nobody wants them. The authorities don't do very much to solve the problem. I think if that dog had bit a child, it would have been killed by his parents. And they were entitled to do so. I can't carry pepper spray with me, because when I'm with my dog, the pepper could harm her, too, not only the aggressive dog that attacks us. I would rather carry a bottle with water to spray it in front of the aggressor. You could try this, too, with the small pack of dogs that attack your dog.
1 person likes this
@pandora22 (868)
• Romania
7 Jul 12
Yes, I can tell from your nickname that you love dogs. I was never bitten by a dog, but as a future vet I always interact with dogs, and they are all unique just like us. It is good that you made the anti rabies injections. It seems that the male dog was actually protecting the female. It happens often if a dog is healthy - I am talking about having rabies; he will usually bite to protect something-food, pups, female. dogs which are psychically disturbed, will have a bigger tendency to bite- the dogs which were beaten, abandoned, hurt.
1 person likes this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
17 Jul 12
I can understand the dog was protecting something. But he shouldn't be in the situation to protect anything. We don't live in the wild. We should not walk on streets with fear. Dogs should not walk free on the streets. But what to do? The authorities don't do anything to solve this problem...
1 person likes this
• Romania
22 Jul 12
The authorities will keep ignoring this problem, as long as they make a lot of money thanks to the stray dogs. I don't know about the situation in your country, but where I live every year, the authorities are claiming to spend a huge money amount on neutering and giving shelter. The reality is that the dogs are still on the streets, and they keep breeding. The old-fashioned belief among the population is another cause: they refuse to neuter their dogs because they believe that it is an unnatural way of solving the problem and when their dogs give birth the owners simply dump the puppies on the street. Until the mentalities of the people won't be changed the situation will go on like this.
• Philippines
7 Jul 12
Thats sad to hear :( But how are you? have you had a check up already? If you havent, try going to your local doctor because stray dogs might not have their rabies shot yet. I havent been bit but my friend has. It was a pretty traumatizing experience for her.Ever since then, she wont go near dogs again. EVER! I hope that won't happen to you. God bless
1 person likes this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
17 Jul 12
You have to convince your friend that not all dogs are bad. She must be careful in their presence, especially if she doesn't know the individual, but she must not decide to stay away from dogs. I visited the doctor and I have all my anti-rabies vaccines done. I was courageous.
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Jul 12
When I was living in Connecticut I had a good friend who took care of her neighbors dog almost twice a month every month. The dog loved her and she thought of the dog as her own. One day she was walking past the house and the dog was outside, when she went up to say hi the dog bit her so hard that she was in the hospital for a week. The dog bit all the way through her hand--it was awful. It was very shocking because the dog knew her and had always been very friendly toward her. She still loved dogs and such, but I know if that was me I would be much more hazardous around all dogs. I am a huge dog lover but certain dogs can't be trusted.
1 person likes this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
17 Jul 12
I can't see any reason for that dog to bite your friend. Maybe you don't have all the information. Maybe she was protecting something - her food maybe? A normal dog would not bite a person that she knows. I am sorry for the suffer of your friend. I didn't need to stay in the hospital, still I can tell the wounds were terribly painful.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
26 Jul 12
I have never been bit by a dog all my life. And I a ma dog lover myself. All I can say is, if you have a dog you would understand why you wouldn't want to be away from them. They are loyal and they love you unconditionally. Don't you agree?
• United States
2 Jul 12
Wow... And there was no owner around for the dogs? They were just stray dogs? That is scary cause you don't know if they have any diseases or not since they are strays. I have never been bit by a dog but when I was younger a friend got bit by another friends dog and a huge chunk of skin was taken from her leg from the dog bite. It was gross but it wouldn't scare me off from dogs. The dog was just reacting to its territory and maybe it was scared or frightened or so on. It is hard to be scared or hate all dogs because of one incident
1 person likes this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
4 Jul 12
I will never hate any dog because I've been bit by a mad dog. I don't even hate that dog. In his mind, he was probably protecting her female friend or something. I don't know how the stray dogs problem is solved in your country but in my country it seems there is no solution. There are many dogs on streets, nobody want them, nor the authorities do something to clean the streets.
2 people like this
@Jshean20 (14348)
• Canada
27 Jul 12
I've been lucky enough that I haven't been in a situation like this, I hope that you healed OK and I'm glad to hear that this incident didn't cause you to stray away from dogs. Makes you wonder what kind of experiences this dog has been through to make him react like that, sadly he has probably never experienced companionship and assumed you were another "bad person".
@narnia007 (1050)
• India
5 Jul 12
Did you put a anti-tetanus vaccine or anti rabies after the dog bite,because in my area,we used to give them after stray dogs have bitten.Better check that out. Regarding my experience,I was 12 years old when a dog chased me when I was riding my bicycle.I rode my cycle so fast that I crashed at the end of the street into a wall.On seeing that,the dog fled away.Also,I was shouting on my run and so many people from their houses came out to help me after the crash.After this,I never liked dogs,though I have one in my home.
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
5 Jul 12
Now this is something new to me: you don't like dogs yet you have one in your home. I'm confused. Oh, you rememberd me about the anti-tetanus vaccine! I had it, too, and it was so so painful! I used to say it was more painful than the bite itself!
1 person likes this
@helloss (37)
• North Bay, Ontario
26 Jul 12
When I was a little girl I wore ski pants and this little dog came after me and bit me, it was angry for some reason. If it wasn't for the ski pants, I would of been in big trouble because my family reported the dog and we found out later that it had rabies.
@bjc66bjc (6730)
• United States
11 Jul 12
No inu, I have never been bitten by a dog, but I am very very afraid...People often will say "he dosen't bite" talking about their dog,,,and my first response is "how did he eat his breakfast"? was it thorough a straw....I am just so afraid of dogs...all dogs..
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
17 Jul 12
You shouldn't be afraid of all dogs. Especially when it comes to dogs that have owners who tell you they don't bite. Nobody forces you to love and hug dogs but you should not live with fear of dogs either. Do you love other animals instead of dogs?
1 person likes this
@Shavkat (139827)
• Philippines
28 Jul 12
I did experience this, there is no reason for me to stay away from dogs. Things happen, dogs became vulnerable depending on the environment they live. Some dogs bite for securing their territory, trying to be protective in nature.