Results tagged “dog bites” from South Bay Pets

The days are getting longer. The weather getting warmer. That must mean one thing: It's Dog Bite Prevention Week.

I was once bitten by a very big and very mean dog. I was a kid and the thing chomped out a piece of my belly.

The problem hasn't gotten any better since I was six years old, said Katie Casey of the World Wide Pet Industry Association.

"It's an epidemic," she said.

There were 5 million dog bites last year, Casey said.

And the South Bay gets more than its share. A couple of years ago, I wrote a story about it and found out that the South Bay ranks in the Top 10 of dog bite areas.

The reason probably has something to do with the weather, Madeline Bernstein told me at the time. Bernstein is the president of the Los Angeles branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.  

"Even if you have as many dogs in a colder climate, they may not be out as many days of the year," she told me at the time.  "And of course, when you leave a dog outside, it becomes unsocialized and tends to become aggressive."

Socialization is the key, Casey said. Introduce your young dog to people and other animals.

"You should take it out in the neighborhood," she said. "Training is an important investment. Dogs that are trained know how to properly interact."

And here's something interesting: Pit bulls don't bite more than other breeds, she said. It's all in how they are raised.

Casey offered some tips, which I offer after the jump.

A stray German shepherd that attacked a 15-year-old Lomita boy on April 13 near Machado Lake was captured early Saturday morning by Los Angeles Animal Services workers and park rangers.

The teen, who was rushed to the hospital, was released on Friday, but continues to undergo painful rabies treatments as a precaution. He told authorities that a "police dog" jumped out of the bushes unprovoked to attack him and was "foaming" at the mouth.

The dog eluded officers for days by swimming across the lake where Reggie the alligator lived for nearly 2 years before being captured. The lake is in Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park near Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Harbor City.

The animal is now in quarantine at the San Pedro animal shelter.

Animal Services Capt. Daniel Pantoja said officers had tried catch the dog after the inident finally was reported to them last Wedneday, three days after the attack.

"The dog was very evasive," Pantoja said. "He would swim into the lake to the island so on Saturday (at 4:30 a.m.) we went out there with a tranquilizer gun."

The tool wasn't needed, though, after authorities were able to move the dog toward the golf course and finally lasso him at about 6:30 a.m.

The unneutered, purebred German shepherd, estimated to be between 1 and 3 years old, appeared to be underweight and cowered from officers when they tried to approach, Pantoja said.

And while he had no collar ID, the canine did have a microchip, as it turns out. Officers said the registered owner is a San Pedro woman who now says she'd given the dog away to someone -- she couldn't remember who -- six months ago.

But guess what?

"Legally she's the last known owner," Pantoja said, since her name is registered to the microchip.

Possible dangerous animal charges are pending, he said.