My dog bit my 7 year old sister

[mariewalter]

I can’t find anything about this online, it’s all “what if my dog bites another kid” or “what if another dog bit my kid”. So here’s the situation, my 7 year old sister was bit around the eye by my dog Luna, a golden doodle. She was biting a toy, and my sister got to close to her face. Luna, being territorial, bit her but immediately knew she did something wrong before my sister even realized what happened and the pain set in, backing away and whimpering. She was frazzled too later, acting very lovey to me and sad, not wanting to play at all and licking me a lot.

I don’t know what this means though, is the thing. The bite is not that bad now that the swelling has gone down, but we need to take her to the doctor to check for infections, and are worried they will report it to CPS, or report it to the county. So really I’m asking A. Will they, or do they have too or whatever, B. If it is reported, what could happen to Luna, and C. How can we stop her from being put down. This is the first time we have ever seen her bite more than just normal puppy bites that drew blood every once and a while, though those have gone down a lot and she was finally getting more mature.

My sister is 7 and knows she got to close to the dog’s face, and isn’t scared of her at all or anything. Luna is around 9 months old, and is around 75 pounds, hence why such a simple little bite left a large enough mark to be concerned. We live in Euless, Texas if that could help with laws in the area or whatever.

I really don’t know what to do, or what we could in this situation. Luna is such a good and loving dog normally that has helped my whole family so much, and I can’t bear for her to lose her life after such a simple mistake that everyone acknowledges is one, even the dog herself.

(Note, originally posted on r/advice , and I was recommended to ask here too for some more knowledgeable opinions on the topic)

 

[m0majesty2021]

@mariewalter I live in Texas (if you’re a minor, you might want to remove your town name from you post to protect your anonymity). I’m not a child but when I was bitten by a dog and had to seek medical attention, the doctor asked if I knew the dog’s vaccination and bite history. If either piece of info had been unknown to me, my doctor would have contacted local animal control to locate and quarantine the animal and I would have had to receive treatment for rabies.

If your dog is unvaccinated, your local animal control may require that your dog be quarantined. If your dog has bitten this child or other people before, or if law enforcement or CPS have been contacted recently regarding conditions in your home, this bite might be an issue.

Generally speaking, bites happen and dogs typically aren’t put down in Texas for non-critical biting behaviors, but you and your family are now on notice. If your dog bites someone again, this situation may be treated very differently, and you (or your parents) could be found to be legally responsible (in a civil lawsuit) or criminally negligent, depending on the severity of a future incident.

I would look for a certified trainer or behavioralist now who specializes in high-energy breeds to help you learn how to manage things like resource guarding (your dog should love her toys but also be able to let them go without becoming aggressive) and to work with your sister/family on appropriate pet behaviors. Talk to your vet or your local ASPCA for help with finding a professional who can help you. This sub also has great resources for positive behavior training models that you should look for in a trainer, as opposed to someone who trains dogs to be fearful of human anger.

Good luck with your pup. I hope you and your family are able to find a good trainer where you are.

 

[mariewalter]

@m0majesty2021 Luckily she is fully vaccinated, as much as you can at 9 months I don’t remember what you can and can’t get at that age. Thanks for the advice though, I’ll have to give it to my mother cause I do think behavioral training is a good idea for her moving forward once we get out of this mess

 

[przemek]

@mariewalter If they do quarantine (my state does it regardless of if the dog is vaccinated), they won’t take your dog. Someone will reach out to you when it is reported, then again 10 days after the incident, just to make sure everything is ok and the dog didn’t die (a rabid animal would die within those 10 days). The “quarantine” is actually a “confinement”- the dog stays indoors, on a leash, or in a fenced in yard for the duration of the 10 days. Which is the way most people’s dogs live anyway.

I work at the health department and handle these cases. This stuff happens All. The. Time. No one will take your dog unless you choose to surrender it.

The ONLY time CPS or social services would be involved is if the dog somehow has rabies, the child requires rabies post exposure treatment, and your mother for some reason refused to get her treatment.

 

[m0majesty2021]

@przemek Here in Texas, I have only seen and heard of quarantines where the animal is relocated to a shelter or facility where they can be observed. When an animal is deemed safe (and isn’t wildlife), the owners can pick them up or surrender them.

Your CPS info falls in-line with what I have seen working with families involved with CPS and/or the legal system. There’s just nuance to every scenario, and it’s important for OP and her family to think about all the factors involved in their specific situation.

 

[neenaneena]

@m0majesty2021 My brother and his ex wife had to put down their dog after she bit the ex wife’s new boyfriend’s daughter who was tugging her tail and being an awful nuisance, this was in Texas. Iirc the mother of the girl requested that the dog be put down so I’m not sure what the details are like in that situation

 

[m0majesty2021]

@neenaneena From what I understand from speaking to local vets and vet techs in my area (friends and family who just happen to be in the profession — the dog bite I experienced sparked some interesting conversation in my small social circle), it’s pretty uncommon for the police or animal control to euthanize a healthy domesticated pet that is not exhibiting obvious, constant aggression. There was some division in opinion about whether or not that’s a good thing, but the general consensus was that after an attack that produces a minor wound (from a medical professional’s standpoint), a dog should be monitored and retrained or potentially rehomed, but euthanasia is not automatically the answer.

Your brother and ex-SIL may have been making the best decision for their family, but the euthanasia was not mandated or vice versa if the dog was senile, ill, or otherwise at risk of causing greater harm. I’ve seen a couple of comments in this thread about the risks of aggression and whether or not euthanasia is the best choice, but I don’t feel called to judge that for anyone. I do think it’s important to make every attempt to save the animal’s life where possible, but that’s just my take.

 

[tiernon]

@m0majesty2021 I spend a lot of time in r/reactivedogs & the difficulty of rehoming a dog with a bite history gets brought up quite a lot. It could easily be the case that the dog in that story was "voluntarily" euthanized because the family absolutely couldn't keep the dog in the same home as the injured child, but they were unable to find somewhere else for the dog to go. It wouldn't be a true case of mandated euthanasia but it also would have happened because the owners had no other option. (The last time I went to the city pound, I would also choose euthanasia before surrendering a dog that it was unlikely for anyone to adopt. The noise and the chaos were overwhelming and most of the kennels were already in double occupancy. And several of the smaller cages were occupied by large dogs pulled tightly into the furthest corner out of misery or terror. Whatever lingering discomfort I had about euthanizing unadoptable animals vanished right then.)

 

[dallaschristian13]

@m0majesty2021 This is the answer OP is looking for

 

[mary201258]

@mariewalter Texas AFAIK doesn't have strict child protection laws (unfortunately). But what it does mean is that you should be fine.

 

[mariewalter]

@mary201258 I thought Texas had pretty strict ones based on the whole trans thing that happened recently?

 

[catnapper]

@mariewalter Strict transphobic laws ≠ caring about children

 

[mariewalter]

@catnapper I mean, yeah that’s fair, just kinda assumed that would only be allowed if the rest of the system was strict. Don’t know why I assumed Texas would care though, mb

 

[catnapper]

@mariewalter I think it’s one of those ‘don’t have abortions but also abstinence only sex ed’ things

 

[mary201258]

@mariewalter What @catnapper said.

I'm genderfluid and it's nothing but BS. Transgender kids who can't get lifesaving care will result in a higher suicide and self-harm rate, we already know this. But they don't give a shit about us - they preach "privacy" and then create government overreach of the worst, most abusive, most invasive kind.

Texas's laws on actual child abuse are much laxer, and are not as enforced - Texas sees kids as parents' or guardians' property, akin to livestock or pets, not as separate human beings.

 

[mariewalter]

@mary201258 God damn, I didn’t know it was that bad here, thanks for the info. Especially being a trans woman in Texas lmao, not a good place or time to be havin dysphoria, though I hadent really heard about the increase rates thing, so I’ll have to look into that later. You know after the dog thing has an actual (hopefully not bad) verdict

 

[mary201258]

@mariewalter When your body doesn't match with who you are, it's fairly natural to become suicidal at that point, and it's exacerbated when you A. Aren't in a supportive environment (such as Texas, where things are transphobic AF) and B. Can't get the medical care necessary to transition (now due to this whole "gender affirming care is child abuse and we care SO MUCH about the children that we're not going to let them have medical care they need" BS, so even supportive parents and supportive medical providers would be charged with child abuse), which is why we need to stop this shit - kids are going to die. Adults are going to die. And it's perfectly preventable, if only we had politicians who actually listened to experts and actual transgender and gender non-conforming people.

Trans women in particular face a LOT of violence, sexual as well as plain physical.

 

[mariewalter]

@mary201258 It makes a lot of sense, and is probably a big reason I struggled so much with that kinda thing when I think about it, I just hadn’t thought about the law itself increasing rates. Makes me sad for all the LGBTQ+ In new generations honestly, having to deal with even worse then I did while transitioning

 

[mary201258]

@mariewalter Yep. They really don't care about us. Be careful out there.

 

[fragment]

@mariewalter If the bite didn’t require treatment at a hospital and your parents aren’t wanting to make a report, then legally you should be in the clear.

But, as you’ve seen, resource guarding can be a dangerous behaviour. Luckily, Luna is still young enough that with the help of a good trainer you should be able to eliminate the behaviour. I’d also recommend that you and your family do research into dog body language and warning signs & make sure your sister knows not to get in Lina’s face so that this doesn’t happen again.