Neighborhood safety going to the dogs
| Saturday, Sep 19 2009 12:00 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Sep 19 2009 12:00 PM
PET TIPS
-- Restrain your dog behind fences and on leashes;
-- Socialize your pet by taking it to the park, obedience classes, on walks in your neighborhood and allow it to interact with other animals;
-- Spay or neuter your pet;
-- Supervise. Any sign of snapping or growling at family members or strangers could be a sign your dog needs behavioral training.
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Alex Horvath / The Californian Peggy McCabe walks her dog Winston in the early morning hours near her home off Lincoln Street. She walks three to four miles every morning and for protection she carries a taser.
Alex Horvath / The Californian Peggy McCabe shows off her tase she carries for protection against other dogs. Peggy walks her dogs in the early morning hours near her home off Lincoln Street.
Alex Horvath / The Californian Peggy McCabe walks her dog Winston in the early morning hours near her home off Lincoln Street. She walks three to four miles every morning and for protection she carries a taser.
English teacher Peggy McCabe is armed and prepared for combat when she takes her dogs for their morning walk.
"Every time I step out the door I'm in warrior mode. You have to be," she said. "I love animals but after what happened to me, I have to be willing to kill or injure a dog to protect myself and my dogs."
Last year, McCabe was walking her dog when a neighbor's rottweiler attacked. The 49-year-old bravely stepped between her pet and the rottweiler.
Although she was not bitten, McCabe was knocked to the pavement by the powerful attacker and suffered serious injuries to her knee, elbow, wrist and thumb. No more will she be able to ride a bicycle or bound up a flight of stairs, she said.
Now when she leaves the house for her morning walk, McCabe carries an 18-inch long, 800,000-volt stun baton capable of temporarily disabling an aggressive animal in a matter of seconds.
DOG BITES RAMPANT
More than 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thousands are mauled so badly they require reconstructive surgery.
There's a practical and societal cost, too. Dog bites represented one-third of all homeowners insurance liability claims last year, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
And closer to home, the threat of dog bites and loose dogs can affect perceptions of safety in our own neighborhoods.
More than 2,400 dog bites have been documented by animal control services in Bakersfield and areas of unincorporated Kern County since January 2007. Many others are simply not reported, officials say.
By a wide margin, the breed that bites most often is the pit bull, according to records compiled by county animal control. The city does not keep track of breeds in its bite reports.
Since 2007, pit bulls have bitten 389 victims in Kern. Mixed-breed dogs hold a dubious second place with 254 bites, and German shepherds are third with 140 bites reported.
"It comes back to responsible pet ownership," said county Animal Control Director Guy Shaw, who sees the evidence of irresponsibility every day in the hundreds of dogs and cats that fill the county animal shelter.
QUALITY OF LIFE
Tammy Davis, animal control field supervisor for the city of Bakersfield, acknowledged dog bites are a serious problem, one that is affecting the quality of life for large numbers of area residents.
"I always tell people not to walk their dogs in residential areas," Davis said. "I don't. It's too dangerous."
Too many dog owners let their pets run loose during parts of the day. Others don't have a fence tall enough or strong enough to contain their animals.
Dogs that are allowed out to the front of a home may see people walking past as a territorial threat, Davis said. And it's not at all unusual for pit bulls and other strong breeds to break through fences in their zeal to get at a passing person or animal.
In many cases, "if they want out, they're getting out," she said.
As the population of metro Bakersfield has multiplied, ever more dogs and cats are running amuck -- with fewer animal control officers on the streets to handle the load.
In 2002, when the city's animal control duties were still handled by the SPCA, between 10 and 13 animal control officers covered the city. Now there are three.
NATURE VS. NURTURE
While pit bulls are clearly a problem as biters, the high number of reported bites by the breed is also a function of its huge popularity here, said Davis and Shaw.
With so many pit bulls in area households, it's sure to skew the statistics upward.
But there's also a tendency among some cultures and individuals to train pit bulls to be aggressive, officials acknowledge.
Daren James, an animal behavioralist who volunteers at the animal shelter, said a lot of bites could be prevented if owners were better educated about their dogs -- and dogs were better trained by their owners.
Some bites, he said, happen because a dog is frightened. "Never grab a panicked dog," he said.
And teach dogs at a young age not to bite, James said. It may seem cute when your puppy is allowed to bite on your finger, but it's anything but cute when the puppy is fully grown.
McCabe, the teacher who was attacked by a neighbor's dog, said she has not had to use her stun baton, though she has "sparked" it once or twice, which has been effective at scaring away approaching dogs.
Meanwhile, she says, her neighbors continue to let their rottweilers run loose, and calls to police have not solved the problem.
Many of her own students report they have been attacked or harassed by loose dogs.
"It's very shocking how our freedoms are being lost," she said, "because of the disregard of others."
