As a dog owner it is definitely a stressful situation when your dog has bitten someone. We know how much you love your dog and want to protect them so the immediate concern you feel for your dog and the individual is common. But have you ever wondered what would be the next steps for your pet if that unfortunate circumstance happened to you? Understanding and knowing what are the next steps for your dog is important to best protect them and ultimately yourself according to a dog bite lawyer with our friends at Brandy Austin Law Firm.
Dog bites are a troubling matter especially for dog owners. In many cases when looking at the next steps for your dog after they have bitten someone there can be different courses of actions available all of them entirely depending on how severe the bite was. Dog bites can be classified into 6 different levels depending on the severity of the wound. Being well-read on the different types of potential injuries will help you in the future knowing how to provide aid to the victim and to understand what different injuries mean for your dog.
Different Classifications:
The first level is when there is no contact by the teeth and the injury is simply a contact, but overall no evident injury. Level 2 is classified as an injury with only small lacerations, nothing too major. Shortly following, a level 3 injury is determined to be when there are approximately 1-3 shallow punctures from a single bite. A level 4 injury is when there is one bite mark but because of this bite mark there are deep 1-4 punctures in the skin. Level 5 dog bite is when there are multiple deep puncture wounds from multiple different bites. Finally, a level 6 bite mark is when as a result of the bite or bites it has resulted in the victim passing away.
Knowing these classification helps educate all parties involved in the event of a dog attack to understand just how bad the injury is and what you can anticipate for matters involving the extent of treatment the victim would be receiving.
What Is The Next Step For Your Dog?
Being concerned about what will happen to a dog after an attack is totally understandable! After a dog bite incident has occurred the safest next steps would be to call for medical help and also animal control. Calling animal control is important and necessary because they are able to test your dog for rabies.
The next steps after calling the appropriate authorities would be the dog will have to quarantine at the expense of the owner. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, your dog is expected to be quarantined for 10 days after the attack occurred and during this quarantine your dog will be tested again for rabies. Under special circumstances, your dog can be humanely euthanized. This would happen if your dog has tested positive for having rabies, if your dog has attacked and bit 2 or more people previously, and if as a result their bite led to someone being seriously injured and they were raised to attack.
We understand your fears about what might happen to your dog after a dog but it is still vital to call your authorities after an accident has happened resulting in someone getting hurt. The most important thing in these events is to make sure both the individual and your dog are alright and the proper authorities will help get treatment for them both! If you or your dog are involved in an incident, reach out for legal help immediately.