Random passers-by soon to be liable for other peoples unrestrained dogs
WARNING satiric paraphrase of Baltimore Sun's recent article:
The state's prosecutor's office expressed frustration over the states current animal cruelty laws as they do not cover random passers-by in public streets that encounter an unrestrained dogs in attack mode. The Anne Arundel County prosecutor's office said clearly this is not right just because the dog's owner could not control the dog does not mean that a random passer-by can't. Dogs love to chase and bite and for some stranger who does not know how to handle the dog to forcefully prevent the dog from following its natural instincts... well that is just inhumane.
So please everyone be kind to animals and let a unrestrained dog bite you if they want to, after all this is the most humane thing you can do.
Don't belive me?
[If you are a jogger] this is what the Partnership for Animal Welfare recommends:
How to keep kids - and adults - from getting bitten by dogs:
* Do not run past dogs. Dogs like to chase moving objects, and tend to try to catch moving things with their teeth.
If you see a loose dog:
* Dogs like to chase, so don't try to run away from the dog.
* If a dog lunges or tries to bite, give him your bag, bike, coat or anything else to chew on.
If I read this right it says give up jogging and let the dog bite something [even if it is you.]
[end of satire]
If your way of handling unrestrained dogs is not recommended by the Partnership for Animal Welfare, it is most likely excessive and cruel and you will [might??] be subject to violation of the new law.
Please do not forget our poll on the right column of our home page:
Update The story in the Baltimore Sun:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.to.dogs03feb03,1,7640174.story
The literal quote from the article: Prosecutors have not decided whether to charge him and have expressed frustration that some of the state's current animal cruelty laws are aimed at abusive caretakers, not random passers-by.
The Anne Arundel County prosecutor's office is considering trying to expand the law to cover all people.
Partnership for Animal Welfare recommendations:
http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_AvoidBites.php
[Note: These are not bad recommendations, they just don't cover what to do if you are running, or cycling.]
Last BaltimoreSpokes article contents:
Another Baltimore Sun Article
Statistics from National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
Anne Arundel County Animal Control laws
In the comments
Relevant Maryland Code
Channel 13 coverage
The action alert sent out by PETA
http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20060201091428827
How big of a problem is dog bites in AA?
Q: What is the Animal Control procedure concerning bite reports? A: Animal Control handles approximately 1,300 bite reports each year; it has a fairly extensive protocol for handling these cases. Each day Animal Control Bite Officers retrieve bite reports from Police Communications. IT IS A STATE LAW REQUIREMENT THAT ANY ANIMAL BITE THAT BREAKS THE SKIN OF A HUMAN BE REPORTED TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
http://www.aacounty.org/AnimalControl/faqs.cfm?CATID=54842&DISPLAYMODE=SubPage#54880
How much of does it cost homeowners with dogs?
The Insurance Information Institute reports that about a third of all homeowner claims involve dog bites. Insurance companies are now pursuing a strategy to avoid paying these claims. The companies either refrain from selling insurance to households with dogs, refrain from selling insurance to people who have certain breeds of dogs, or exclude dog bites from coverage.
http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/insurance.htm
Do people die from unrestrained dogs?
Of deaths with sufficient information for classification, 30% involved an unrestrained dog off the owner's property
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00047723.htm [Note; this is the best I could find.]
Related bike links and how to be safe around dogs:
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/traffic/dogs.htm
http://hubbikes.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=123
What's Related