Rabies Test Conducted After Reading Dog Bite Incident
A Reading newspaper reports that a rabies test came back inconclusive. The test was conducted after a Reading dog bite incident last month. A laboratory was unable to determine if the pit bull that attacked its Exeter Township owners last month was rabid.
There was not enough brain material from the animal, which was killed during the Reading dog bite incident by a neighbor who shot it in the head with a shotgun. The pit bull, an unneutered male about 5 or 6 years old was described as normally not aggressive. The dog got loose and was near the Stonersville Hotel on the Boyertown Pike. A female owner got the dog in her car but when she returned home the dog wouldn’t get out of the car. When she tried to help it out, it attacked her hand. She screamed, the man came to her assistance and it attacked him. A neighbor struck the dog with a metal bar. Another neighbor, at the request of the owners, fatally shot the dog in the head. The owner had one of his thumbs torn off during the Reading dog bite incident. The female victim suffered hand lacerations and other injuries and was also hospitalized.
On June 1st, a 5 year old girl was bitten in Shoemakersville. There are not many details on this incident.
Brad Douglas from fourstateshomepage.com reports of a new report from the University of Missouri shows dog bites increase in the summer months. As the warmer weather hits, more children are outside and more interact with dogs. There are a few tips to keep kids safe.
Those include not playing with dogs without supervision and do not approach unfamiliar dogs. If you’re approached by an unfamiliar dog, stay still and avoid direct eye contact. Also, don’t disturb dogs that are sleeping, eating or caring for puppies. Some small dogs may be more likely to bite than big ones.
“Everything is huge to them. So even a five year old, sometimes it’s worse with children because the children are excited. They run over to the dog, they’re making noise, they’re reaching down from over top. They’re doing everything you should not do when you meet a dog,” said Lysa Boston, Joplin Humane Society.
It’s estimated that 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs each year.