Dog bite

M

Meemselle

Just A Few Words
Oct 27, 2014
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So I was bitten by a dog this morning as I was walking to Orange to pay my bill.

There's a pair of really snarly, mean dogs that scare the pi** out of me and my mild-mannered mutt every time we walk by. Usually we walk on the other side of the street, but the Valeria construction is all over that sidewalk. This morning I did not have my dog, but these two hounds from hell bark at me even without my dog. Too late, I noticed that the gate was open, and one of the two dashed out and sank its teeth into my leg.

I have a pretty good high-pitched girl-scream with excellent volume (who says theatre training isn't useful?) and I started wailing. All the workers on top of Casa Valeria started yelling and pointing, all the taxi drivers on the street rushed over, and astonishingly enough, Cestur was there in seconds. By now blood is pouring down my leg and pooling in my Birkenstocks, and I'm shaking so hard I think I'm going to faint. Cestur drives me to CMC, where I'm whisked into Emergency.

Here are my questions:

1.- CMC gave me a tetanus shot , a couple of stitches, a prescription for antibiotics, and an injection for pain, because I told them I was not having an IV. This seems like a reasonable protocol. Any thoughts?

2.- A Cestur guy came in to "interview" me and suggested I report it officially. I personally think the dog should be put down, because it is clearly dangerous, but I don't want to paint a target on my back. The people who own the dog are---for lack of better words---not exactly the classiest, if you know what I mean. The yard is filthy; I am sure the dogs are not vaccinated. I think it was grossly irresponsible to leave the gate open, but I am not sure there is anything to be gained by discussing this with the owners.

I guess the good news is that all of the taxi drivers met me when I got onto my street and wanted to know if I'm OK. (I am; a fair amount of pain and a little shocky, but fine). One of them had called the owners and reported it to them. And I feel as if the police know about it without me having to make a report.

What would DR-1 do?
 
T

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
83
0
Meemselle said:
So I was bitten by a dog this morning as I was walking to Orange to pay my bill.

There's a pair of really snarly, mean dogs that scare the pi** out of me and my mild-mannered mutt every time we walk by. Usually we walk on the other side of the street, but the Valeria construction is all over that sidewalk. This morning I did not have my dog, but these two hounds from hell bark at me even without my dog. Too late, I noticed that the gate was open, and one of the two dashed out and sank its teeth into my leg.

I have a pretty good high-pitched girl-scream with excellent volume (who says theatre training isn't useful?) and I started wailing. All the workers on top of Casa Valeria started yelling and pointing, all the taxi drivers on the street rushed over, and astonishingly enough, Cestur was there in seconds. By now blood is pouring down my leg and pooling in my Birkenstocks, and I'm shaking so hard I think I'm going to faint. Cestur drives me to CMC, where I'm whisked into Emergency.

Here are my questions:

1.- CMC gave me a tetanus shot , a couple of stitches, a prescription for antibiotics, and an injection for pain, because I told them I was not having an IV. This seems like a reasonable protocol. Any thoughts?

2.- A Cestur guy came in to "interview" me and suggested I report it officially. I personally think the dog should be put down, because it is clearly dangerous, but I don't want to paint a target on my back. The people who own the dog are---for lack of better words---not exactly the classiest, if you know what I mean. The yard is filthy; I am sure the dogs are not vaccinated. I think it was grossly irresponsible to leave the gate open, but I am not sure there is anything to be gained by discussing this with the owners.

I guess the good news is that all of the taxi drivers met me when I got onto my street and wanted to know if I'm OK. (I am; a fair amount of pain and a little shocky, but fine). One of them had called the owners and reported it to them. And I feel as if the police know about it without me having to make a report.

What would DR-1 do?
Click to expand...

i hope everything works out well for you, and that you will be fine, in short order. at this juncture, you might as well be mindful of the bromide which suggests that you remember where you are. this is the Wild , Wild, *West. i am sure that there are no legal strictures pertaining to dog bites. the whole notion of a lack of personal responsibility is too deeply embedded in the society. had this been a country such as the USA, it would have been *a matter of absolute liability. in the DR, it was a dog bite.
 
Harleysrock

Harleysrock

Gold
Nov 4, 2012
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Gaspar Hernández, Espaillat, Dominican Republic
I would not bother pressing charges. Dog bites happen here....

The wife and I were bitten by our neighbours rottie, mine got infected twice even though i did everything the Dr at CMC and google said to do. We got a tet shot, a few stitches, it should not be completely stitched up, just a few to keep it kinda closed.
PLease watch for infection!!

Rabies is the only thing that freaked me out, can you somehow find out if the dog has had it's shot or at least that it is somewhat healthy and does not show sings of Rabies? I don't think it is that common here but still a bit scary!

I thought of putting the neighbour down but not the dog.
 
malko

malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
5,561
1,345
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My experience of a dog bite.
Local public hospital checks if u are up to date with tetanos shots ( which I was not :( )
Next they send a gvt health official round to catch the dog ( in my case no need to catch it as it was one of mine ;) ).
The dog is placed under observation for a few days for signs of rabies. Obviously they run down the owner and ask for dog passport ( sort of vaccination book ).*
Rabies vaccination is obligatory in the dr and best of all free.
So the dog owner can be up sh.it creek without a paddle.
IF the dog presents signs/doubts on the rabies side, it is promptly beheaded. The head is then sent to Santo Domingo for analysis ( cos rabies in humans, and dogs for that matter is a serious affair ).*
I kid you not, this apprently is the protocol, at least in my campo ( there was mis-communication at the hospital and they didnt realise the dog was mine.

So hopefully, without you having to denounce/file complaint, the dog owner still should be held responsible for his dogs behaviour ( and his own stupidity ). In theory..... but its the dr.....so......
You didnt stipulate the size of the guilty dog, but if u needed stiches it had to be a fair sized mutt. I hate to think of what it could have done to a small child. I would say its a criminal offense leaving the gate opened.
I hope the police pay him a visit and take away his dogs. Even better, the owner goes Wacko-style, barricades himself in his home and ends up being shot 27 times.
I also hope ( but I wont hold my breathe ), that he pays for your trips to the doctor/clinic/hospital, as it should be.

As for you, memselle, I hope all goes well, and that the discomfort is not too bad.
Not to alarm you or anything, in my case, the bite hurt, but not that much really. The worst was the itchy rash I had for a couple of days around the bite :( :( :( .

I am a dog owner, 4 big dogs, but I would feel responsible if my dogs roamed free and bit people . ( just so people dont think I am dog hater :) :) ).
 
M

Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
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Dog bites are not usually stitched to allow the poison (dogs have lots of bacteria in their mouths) to make its way out and to stop infection. Antibiotics a good idea. The usual Dominican way is to go and ask for money. They should pay at least your medical bills and some hush money. Also do ask if the dog has rabies as there is rabies here and if the dog has not had its rabies shot (they should have the paperwork) you should go to the local hospital and get one free there - or the series of shots they do. Dominicans do take dog bites seriously - is a good way to make money - but unfortunately they do hurt like hell.
Please note - I have been bitten twice by dogs - both times mine, and did none of the above. No rabies shots, no tetanus, no stitches, the odd antibiotic - and lived to tell the tale. However when my dogs bit other people - twice from memory, we had to pay to make them go away and not report them or the authorities would have put them down - the dogs that is. And they only bit them as these guys had machetes - to cut down trees - but the dogs are trained to attack anyone with anything that looks like a weapon.

Matilda
 
E

Expat13

Silver
Jun 7, 2008
3,255
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Matilda said:
Dog bites are not usually stitched to allow the poison (dogs have lots of bacteria in their mouths) to make its way out and to stop infection. Antibiotics a good idea. The usual Dominican way is to go and ask for money. They should pay at least your medical bills and some hush money. Also do ask if the dog has rabies as there is rabies here and if the dog has not had its rabies shot (they should have the paperwork) you should go to the local hospital and get one free there - or the series of shots they do. Dominicans do take dog bites seriously - is a good way to make money - but unfortunately they do hurt like hell.
Please note - I have been bitten twice by dogs - both times mine, and did none of the above. No rabies shots, no tetanus, no stitches, the odd antibiotic - and lived to tell the tale. However when my dogs bit other people - twice from memory, we had to pay to make them go away and not report them or the authorities would have put them down - the dogs that is. And they only bit them as these guys had machetes - to cut down trees - but the dogs are trained to attack anyone with anything that looks like a weapon.

Matilda
Click to expand...

Be careful, this could resemble the "rule of the road" meaning the dog owned by Dominican now has a very sore jaw and has costly vet bills and in need of professional training due to trauma. You Gringo( i assume) are at fault for allowing the dog to bite you. No different when your parked at a stop light and a moto hits you. Gringo=Fault. They may already have a lawyer!
 
Bronxboy

Bronxboy

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2007
14,107
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Take it like a Yankee fan. ;)

Hope your wound gets much better............
 
M

Me_again

Bronze
Nov 21, 2004
901
2
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81
Always consider rabies. I know that it's not been reported often of late in the DR. Nevertheless if the dog that bit you was infected and transmitting the virus in the saliva, you have a good chance of contracting the disease. But what the hell does chance matter. By the time you show signs it's too late to do anything or you except sedate you and strap you down while you die.

If the dog is still around and healthy (maybe vicious but healthy) in ten days . . . you're probably OK. If I were living in the DR I'd have my rabies titre checked and boosted. But then I've seen the videos and studied the figures.

wbr
 
M

Meemselle

Just A Few Words
Oct 27, 2014
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Harleysrock said:
I thought of putting the neighbour down but not the dog.
Click to expand...

Me, too.

I checked with my vet tech friend and she says rabies is not really an issue here, but of course, that was my first thought.

The dogs appear to be as healthy as any other Dominican dogs that get fed scraps of rice and pork. I may try to ask the owner if the dog is vaccinated, but I'm pretty sure I know how that will go down. They'll tell me whatever they think my gringa ears want to hear.
 
M

Meemselle

Just A Few Words
Oct 27, 2014
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Matilda said:
but the dogs are trained to attack anyone with anything that looks like a weapon.
Click to expand...

I looked again at my handbag to see if it looks like a weapon. And I looked in the mirror to see if I remotely resemble a weapon.

I do give the dog props for recognizing me without my terrifying 17-lb. mutt.
 
U

USA DOC

Bronze
Feb 20, 2016
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I thinks you need to handle this one your self. Have the dogs put down quietly, you know wild west style, by someone that is inclined to do these type of things. Then by all means rabies shots, asap. If there is rabies present, and no shots, wellll then ADIOS the hard way. Meemselle from your posts in the past, I think you are one healthy and lucky lady.Sooo what I would worry about is infection, a gimlet eye on your wound, and keep up the antibiotics......DOC.......
 
W

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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Meemselle said:
Me, too.

I checked with my vet tech friend and she says rabies is not really an issue here, but of course, that was my first thought.

The dogs appear to be as healthy as any other Dominican dogs that get fed scraps of rice and pork. I may try to ask the owner if the dog is vaccinated, but I'm pretty sure I know how that will go down. They'll tell me whatever they think my gringa ears want to hear.
Click to expand...

Not a time for 'hearsay evidence', Miss

You need your own intel !!
Just do the checking before blowing the whistle....
May not have a problem.....
 
U

Uzin

Bronze
Oct 26, 2005
1,386
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There are some dogs here that are just strange they bark constantly without much reason and also constantly attack Haitians who might happen to pass close by. I sometime think they were brought up badly, abused and traumatized or were taught to do this all the time.

There are a few that when anyone passes by they just bark the hell out of them, no matter what - I can imagine if the gate is open they could attack. The owners should be pressured to do something about it, it's fair enough if they are guard dogs, but jumping at anyone at any time doesn't make sense, plus the constant annoying noise that can be heard far and away.

What do we do with people who are a bit crazy and disturb the peace, and attack others, well, why put up with dogs that do this, should do the same to these dogs, lock them up - no, that's expensive, round them up and put them down... !

And yes, you guessed it, I don't care much about dogs, specially crazy ones who bark and attack people for no reason. Interestingly there are quite a few dogs loose in the street here, but they are very quite and never bother anyone, except that terrible smell and dirty fur all over....

Hope you get better soon.
 
T

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
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Uzin said:
There are some dogs here that are just strange they bark constantly without much reason and also constantly attack Haitians who might happen to pass close by. I sometime think they were brought up badly, abused and traumatized or were taught to do this all the time.

There are a few that when anyone passes by they just bark the hell out of them, no matter what - I can imagine if the gate is open they could attack. The owners should be pressured to do something about it, it's fair enough if they are guard dogs, but jumping at anyone at any time doesn't make sense, plus the constant annoying noise that can be heard far and away.

What do we do with people who are a bit crazy and disturb the peace, and attack others, well, why put up with dogs that do this, should do the same to these dogs, lock them up - no, that's expensive, round them up and put them down... !

And yes, you guessed it, I don't care much about dogs, specially crazy ones who bark and attack people for no reason. Interestingly there are quite a few dogs loose in the street here, but they are very quite and never bother anyone, except that terrible smell and dirty fur all over....

Hope you get better soon.
Click to expand...

ok, so i am right. i have always thought Dominican dogs do not like black people...
 
W

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
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BoBo the Boxer, a Cdn import HATED blacks... of any nationality

My man called him 'racist'..... my Dominican man. just coffee colored.

Certainly, without prompting or training, they are noisier with darker skin.
Who knows why?
 
W

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,330
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william webster said:
BoBo the Boxer, a Cdn import HATED blacks... of any nationality

My man called him 'racist'..... my Dominican man. just coffee colored.

Certainly, without prompting or training, they are noisier with darker skin.
Who knows why?
Click to expand...

Oh, and BoBo was black !!!
White feet, but black
 
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