Dog Bites Take Physical, Emotional Toll on Victims

Increasing numbers of Indiana adults are becoming victims of dog bites as education efforts in cities like Fort Wayne help teach children proper ways to approach animals they don’t know.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 4.7 million Americans are bitten each year by dogs. More than half are children.

But Peggy Bender of Fort Wayne’s Animal Care & Control tells The Journal Gazette says a local effort to reach out to schools has paid off in fewer bites involving children. Less than a fourth of the bite victims in Fort Wayne in 2012 were 11 years old or younger.

Bender says getting adults to listen is more difficult because they can get careless.

Victims say dog bites can leave lasting emotional and physical scars.