Danger from Packs of Dogs

creativeliza

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Sep 30, 2004
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Last night my brother was attacked and bitten by a pack of dogs in Gazcue.

I have lived in Gazcue, Santo Domingo for almost 7 years and consider it to be one of the safer neighborhoods in the city. However, last night my brother, who was visiting, wanted to go out so I took him to the Colonial Zone. He stayed after me and since it's only a 10 minute walk, he decided to walk home instead of pay the exorbitant taxi fare.

It was around 2 am, my brother is 6'6", very fit, he walks up Calle Cervantes from the Hotel Melia and when he turns on Bolivar to go to my apartment, he was attacked by the pack of dogs who knocked him down (note his height) and proceeded to bite him deeply in the calf. Of course we are taking him to a doctor right away.

I have walked up that street many times, earlier in the evening, and never thought about this potential danger. I shudder to think what might have happened if he was smaller and less fit.

I always felt bad for the animals on the street but I know see that there is another concern.
 

mountainannie

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Dec 11, 2003
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elizabetheames.blogspot.com
Rabies!!

Last night my brother was attacked and bitten by a pack of dogs in Gazcue.

I have lived in Gazcue, Santo Domingo for almost 7 years and consider it to be one of the safer neighborhoods in the city. However, last night my brother, who was visiting, wanted to go out so I took him to the Colonial Zone. He stayed after me and since it's only a 10 minute walk, he decided to walk home instead of pay the exorbitant taxi fare.

It was around 2 am, my brother is 6'6", very fit, he walks up Calle Cervantes from the Hotel Melia and when he turns on Bolivar to go to my apartment, he was attacked by the pack of dogs who knocked him down (note his height) and proceeded to bite him deeply in the calf. Of course we are taking him to a doctor right away.

I have walked up that street many times, earlier in the evening, and never thought about this potential danger. I shudder to think what might have happened if he was smaller and less fit.

I always felt bad for the animals on the street but I know see that there is another concern.

There has been at least one death here from rabies in the Capital.. and I think that there were two other cases which survived.

They treated the rabies with some sort of pills here which is not SOP in the States where you have to get a series of abdominal injections.

So I hope that your brother is OK and that you CALL THE US EMBASSY to make sure of the treatment here....

and, yes, I have lived here in the neighborhood (and yes, the two of us are friends.) for 5 years and have NEVER heard of the street dogs -- of which we have quite a few-- ever behaving like this.

So there is going to have to be some sort of eradication,

I am sorry for this from both the human and canine perspective,

Keep us posted, Eliza

and best to your brother...
holler if you need help
 
Sep 22, 2009
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The Clinic

Last night my brother was attacked and bitten by a pack of dogs in Gazcue.

I have lived in Gazcue, Santo Domingo for almost 7 years and consider it to be one of the safer neighborhoods in the city. However, last night my brother, who was visiting, wanted to go out so I took him to the Colonial Zone. He stayed after me and since it's only a 10 minute walk, he decided to walk home instead of pay the exorbitant taxi fare.

It was around 2 am, my brother is 6'6", very fit, he walks up Calle Cervantes from the Hotel Melia and when he turns on Bolivar to go to my apartment, he was attacked by the pack of dogs who knocked him down (note his height) and proceeded to bite him deeply in the calf. Of course we are taking him to a doctor right away.

I have walked up that street many times, earlier in the evening, and never thought about this potential danger. I shudder to think what might have happened if he was smaller and less fit.

I always felt bad for the animals on the street but I know see that there is another concern.

So I do feel for your bro. Need do a 7-day-plus booster (highly recommended).

Last year I was doing a nightly run and was bitten badly by a stray "kept fed by a colmado owner".

The anti-rabies clinic located near Duarte Vieja (arriba), frente al Liceo Juan Pablo Duarte is in a real bad area, but have free and services (treatments). There the locals will be happy to share dog bite stories and bite comparisons while you wait for your injection.
 
Sep 22, 2009
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So I do feel for your bro. Need do a 7-day-plus booster (highly recommended).

Last year I was doing a nightly run and was bitten badly by a stray "kept fed by a colmado owner".

The anti-rabies clinic located near Duarte Vieja (arriba), frente al Liceo Juan Pablo Duarte is in a real bad area, but have free and services (treatments). There the locals will be happy to share dog bite stories and bite comparisons while you wait for your injection.

Carrying a stick, long tree branch or a piece of iron bar is HIGHLY effective when waved at approaching dogs.
 
Sep 22, 2009
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People come first, if they are getting out of control then they need to alarm the streets and get out and shoot any on the streets. Simple. I love dogs but every couple of months when I lived in Las Nigras ESP they would sound the alarm so people with dogs knew to keep them indoors, and dogs on the street were target practice for the guardia and policia local

A dog early warning system. Interesting...
 

belgiank

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Jun 13, 2009
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sorry for your brother, and yes the abdominal injections(painfull ones) are the only real protection.

there is a device called dogstop, made by Multivet, which is a can producing a very highpitched ultrason sound, which is extremely effective in scaring of dogs. we sold plenty to the postoffices in Belgium for mailmen having rounds with not such nice dogs on it.

I also feel bad about the dogs, but a dog who has bitten once, will, in all likelyhood do it again. What if it had not been your brother, but a child.
 
Sep 22, 2009
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sorry for your brother, and yes the abdominal injections(painfull ones) are the only real protection.

there is a device called dogstop, made by Multivet, which is a can producing a very highpitched ultrason sound, which is extremely effective in scaring of dogs. we sold plenty to the postoffices in Belgium for mailmen having rounds with not such nice dogs on it.

I also feel bad about the dogs, but a dog who has bitten once, will, in all likelyhood do it again. What if it had not been your brother, but a child.

It's in the back, not the abdomen.
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
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Yesterday when taking my wife in town (Santiago) we turned the corner and there were 12 dogs in total (One was obviously female) crossing in front of traffic.

Whenever a gang of dogs come up where I live I try to discourage them.
One thing they seem to be afraid of is rocks thrown at them.
Being behind a very high wall does make it safer to do this and many times I catch them on their approach up the hill via the security cameras.

Once dogs are in a pack they become much braver and harder to control, similar to us humans.

Paintball guns and pellet pistols would be nice to have access to.
(It's appears easier to get an illegal gun then one of those in the D.R.)


Don
 
Jun 18, 2007
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Wow that's quite a story. Grew up with dogs myself as my dad use to train dogs in the Netherlands for the police and military. Have only been bitten twice in my life and both times was by my own dog by accident though because my dogs were involved in a dog fight and it was my own mistake because I involved myself in their fights. Hearing that dogs attack a person to me it sounds that the dogs most likely had rabies. My experience after living in the New World for quite awhile now is that dogs are normally a lot friendlier towards foreigners than Dominicans, they love to go after the Haitians. Have 2 dogs myself now and they always go after the Haitians when they walk by, a foreigner walks by and they just wiggle their tales. This is not normal dog behavior that's for sure!!
 

Adrian Bye

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Jul 7, 2002
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I've been attacked by 2 dogs in santiago a few years ago. It was on the route I went for walks each day. I did nothing to cause it - they just came up and one of them bit me a couple of times. The bites weren't serious, but I was pretty freaked out. It could have been much worse.

Afterwards, I bought a electrified baton/zapper and a very strong pepper spray in case it happened again (which it hasn't).

Keep in mind what you will do if one of those big rotweilers escapes from its owners yard while you're walking by. There's a lot of dogs; someone is bound to leave a gate open eventually.
 

whirleybird

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Feb 27, 2006
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I believe that you are far more likely to be attacked by a 'gringo' dog than any Dominican "packs!.....
 
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belgiank

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Jun 13, 2009
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Wow that's quite a story. Grew up with dogs myself as my dad use to train dogs in the Netherlands for the police and military. Have only been bitten twice in my life and both times was by my own dog by accident though because my dogs were involved in a dog fight and it was my own mistake because I involved myself in their fights. Hearing that dogs attack a person to me it sounds that the dogs most likely had rabies. My experience after living in the New World for quite awhile now is that dogs are normally a lot friendlier towards foreigners than Dominicans, they love to go after the Haitians. Have 2 dogs myself now and they always go after the Haitians when they walk by, a foreigner walks by and they just wiggle their tales. This is not normal dog behavior that's for sure!!

Sorry Frank, it is perfectly normal dog behavior... an foreigner walks by and shows no fear... so the dogs wag their tails...
a Haitian walks by and shows fear in his behavior and body-language, the dog reacts to this "unusual" behavior as threathening... there is a saying a dog can smell fear... and yes they do...
It is the owner's responsability to train their dogs to ignore this... and to be honest, to ignore all strangers when out for a walk...

as for the big rottweilers escaping... what does this have to do with the DR... the same problem excists in Belgium, Holland, and prob most countries in the world... irresponsable owners keeping dogs they do not know how to handle... (in Belgium and Holland it is the pitbull and stafford scare... mind you most of those dogs are owned by sociopatic morons... and before I get attacked over this last comment... not all staffs and pitts are bad dogs, and not all owners are morons...)

Peter
 

linmagic

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Sep 20, 2009
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Rabies injections are given in the stomach - see below:

Rabies injections were ordinarily given around navel because a complete course of treatment takes 14 days or 21 days in some cases. For adequate treatment one (very painful) injection daily without fail is essential. Only the abdomen has sufficient muscular area for so many injections in different spots. Hence, injections are given in the stomach.

Lin
:bunny:
 

twhitehead

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Nov 1, 2003
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Last night my brother was attacked and bitten by a pack of dogs in Gazcue.

I have lived in Gazcue, Santo Domingo for almost 7 years and consider it to be one of the safer neighborhoods in the city. However, last night my brother, who was visiting, wanted to go out so I took him to the Colonial Zone. He stayed after me and since it's only a 10 minute walk, he decided to walk home instead of pay the exorbitant taxi fare.

It was around 2 am, my brother is 6'6", very fit, he walks up Calle Cervantes from the Hotel Melia and when he turns on Bolivar to go to my apartment, he was attacked by the pack of dogs who knocked him down (note his height) and proceeded to bite him deeply in the calf. Of course we are taking him to a doctor right away.

I have walked up that street many times, earlier in the evening, and never thought about this potential danger. I shudder to think what might have happened if he was smaller and less fit.

I always felt bad for the animals on the street but I know see that there is another concern.


And what did your brother do to provoke this attack???
 

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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Sorry Frank, it is perfectly normal dog behavior... an foreigner walks by and shows no fear... so the dogs wag their tails...
a Haitian walks by and shows fear in his behavior and body-language, the dog reacts to this "unusual" behavior as threathening... there is a saying a dog can smell fear... and yes they do...

Peter
Very true, and Peter knows what he is talking about.

Our big Great Dane Toby is a friendly puffball...until someone approaches him with trepedation and fear. Then he turns into Cujo.
 

creativeliza

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Sep 30, 2004
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Just an update and a few comments.

Turns out it was two different dogs that bit him, making it that much more important that he gets rabies treatment. However, he has decided to start the treatment in the US. After going to the National Anti-Rabies Center, he was offered the treatment but it is a series of shots over 5 days and he's going back to the US today. They were adamant that he needs a card to take with him to continue or start the treatment in the US but when we were there, the administrative person had gone and no one else could give us the card which meant we had to return this morning. My brother has refused to do this and is convinced he can easily get treatment in the US regardless.

I have several issues/comments on this matter:

1) I called the US Embassy yesterday and explained what happpened. I was referred to a list of approved clinics. However, NO ONE told me about the process and the reality is the clinics can do no more than clean the wound. What I don't understand is why the Embassy did not inform me about the rabies process here since that is what I was asking about AND facilitate it.

2) In reviewing the comments on my post I find some quite absurd. No one walking at night as a tourist is going to be carrying rocks, sticks or paint guns to deter a pack of dogs. The issue is that a pack of dogs should not exist nor threaten, especially in a central residential neighborhood so advice on how to ward off an attack is pointless since as a tourist one should not worry about that.

3) Which brings me to my next point. If Santo Domingo is going to be a tourist destination in my lifetime, the following must get addressed: garbage, animals, crossing guards -- of course there are many more issues but the bottomline is that tourists need to be able to walk around the city.

4) Lastly, to me the issue is a call for an animal control unit to collect these street dogs and euthanize the sick ones at the very least. I am a major animal lover but the situation is not good for the animals either.
 
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After arriving at home I realized that I forgot to mention that if the "victim" was walking quickly that might have set off the dogs. I power walk 10kms a day and pass a lot of dogs all the time and I slow down not to provoke them. I always talk to them and then they leave me alone.
It's not only that dogs smell fear but there're several other reasons involved they go more after the darker skinned people which I've been told by experts.
Apparently dogs only see black and white and a dark person appears to be more like a "shadow" which makes the dogs a little afraid. Furthermore most of the darker people treat the dogs a little rougher therefore causing these reactions, dogs stereotype. Another one is that darker people have normally a thicker skin than whities giving a stronger chemical reaction and therefore a stronger smell that we humans do not detect. Blacks look therefore normally younger than whites. Darker people normally have to use a perfume based on herbal ingredients while for the whites it's a flower based perfume. this I learned when I was in the perfume business.
Anyway we can keep on speculating what happened and maybe it was just a freak incident.
And yes I do agree that it's the owner's responsibility but street dogs don't have owners.

Sorry Frank, it is perfectly normal dog behavior... an foreigner walks by and shows no fear... so the dogs wag their tails...
a Haitian walks by and shows fear in his behavior and body-language, the dog reacts to this "unusual" behavior as threathening... there is a saying a dog can smell fear... and yes they do...
It is the owner's responsability to train their dogs to ignore this... and to be honest, to ignore all strangers when out for a walk...

as for the big rottweilers escaping... what does this have to do with the DR... the same problem excists in Belgium, Holland, and prob most countries in the world... irresponsable owners keeping dogs they do not know how to handle... (in Belgium and Holland it is the pitbull and stafford scare... mind you most of those dogs are owned by sociopatic morons... and before I get attacked over this last comment... not all staffs and pitts are bad dogs, and not all owners are morons...)

Peter
 

belgiank

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Jun 13, 2009
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something has to be done about loose streetdogs, but the question is always... what? I know they had a huge similar problem in Athens, Greece, a number of years back, and their solution was to shoot more than 500 dogs. Rounding them up, and euthanising the sick ones, sounds great to me as an animallover, but what are you going to do with the other ones? Who is going to pay for their keep? Where are you going to put them? Who is going to decide which dogs are safe to be adopted (and retrain them), and which ones are too dangerous? I wish I knew all the answers but I don't.

And throwing stones at dogs who have not shown signs of agression as yet, is not a smart thing to do, as this will learn those dogs humans can be dangerous and are out to hurt them.

Frank, for a long time experts assumed dogs could not see colours. They have now changed that view, and are convinced dogs do see colours, but in a completely different way than we do. I will give a simple example... when you play frisbee with your dog, the colour of the frisbee can be important. Actualy the best colours for a dog are purple and green, the worst yellow. I know a dog where the owner has 7 discs of different colours, and the dog only wants to play with 1 colour, pink. As the owner is somewhat macho he did not like this, and he tried with putting 7 brandnew disks on the floor in front of the dog, and the dog, without hesitation picked out the pink one. BTW, the dog is a huge mean-looking German Shepherd...:cheeky: