Dog Bite

[kinthenorthwest]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? State of Oregon
Last Friday(March 27) I was bitten by my neighbor’s dog on my property. Apparently the dog broke through a couple of slates of the fence separating our two yards.
I was trying to retrieve my cat who was howling and cowering under my bar b que on my patio! As I came up I heard a growl and was bitten on my upper thigh(thought once but looked like twice) I got into the house immediately and checked my front gates which were all secure
I called 911. Law enforcement and medics arrived in about 20 mins. The bite was not deep, but wide and bleeding. The officer left to talk to neighbors while the medics talked to me. I opted not to use an ambulance at $1,000, due to lack of insurance. When medics were leaving, I asked about where the officer was and what to do. They said they guess I could go to the ER, but they thought the officer had left too.(Turns out the officer was still next door).
My questions are
1) Isn’t law enforcement supposed to ask about the dog’s shots? (Finally got a call back from the responding officer). Turns out he didn't ask.
2) When dogs bite aren’t they put in 10 day quarantine when they bite someone?
I have been keeping a daily journal and taking pictures of the area, which actually seems to look worse than the first day. The bruising extends from just above my knee to just below my butt check. There is a bite at mid-thigh and just below the butt cheek.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? State of Oregon
Last Friday(March 27) I was bitten by my neighbor�s dog on my property. Apparently the dog broke through a couple of slates of the fence separating our two yards.
I was trying to retrieve my cat who was howling and cowering under my bar b que on my patio! As I came up I heard a growl and was bitten on my upper thigh(thought once but looked like twice) I got into the house immediately and checked my front gates which were all secure
I called 911. Law enforcement and medics arrived in about 20 mins. The bite was not deep, but wide and bleeding. The officer left to talk to neighbors while the medics talked to me. I opted not to use an ambulance at $1,000, due to lack of insurance. When medics were leaving, I asked about where the officer was and what to do. They said they guess I could go to the ER, but they thought the officer had left too.(Turns out the officer was still next door).
My questions are
1) Isn�t law enforcement supposed to ask about the dog�s shots? (Finally got a call back from the responding officer). Turns out he didn't ask.
2) When dogs bite aren�t they put in 10 day quarantine when they bite someone?
I have been keeping a daily journal and taking pictures of the area, which actually seems to look worse than the first day. The bruising extends from just above my knee to just below my butt check. There is a bite at mid-thigh and just below the butt cheek.

First, if you are looking to recover any damages from the dog owner (which could potentially be difficult for you in Oregon), you will need to mitigate the harm caused by the dog by taking care of the dog bite injury in a responsible way. This generally means that a dog bite victim should seek medical attention.

Usually the dog's owner will provide proof of vaccinations, sometimes voluntarily and sometimes upon request of the dog bite victim and sometimes upon request of an investigating officer and sometimes at the request of medical personnel. It is possible that the dog had vaccination tags that the police made note of, or it could be the dog owner offered that the dog was up-to-date on shots, or it could be that the dog owner needed to get proof of vaccinations from the dog's veterinarian, and it could be that the police officer was remiss in not asking about vaccinations - perhaps one of the law enforcement members of the forum can answer this for you. I don't know.

Whatever the case, I think that proof of vaccinations would be something you would want to get from the dog owner. Rabies would be a major concern and, although the vaccination information is often not as vital when the dog lives in a home as it would be if the dog were a stray or known to stray, rabies is so serious that you want to rule out any worry about that. Infection is probably a more realistic worry.

Depending on the facts, dog quarantines can be home quarantines. This could be likely if all vaccinations are up-to-date or if this is the dog's first escape from confinement and the dog's first biting incident.

Oregon, by the way, is one of the few states that has a "one bite" law. The dog owner can be held responsible only if the owner knew or should have known that the dog would bite, or if the owner made the dog bite, or if the owner was negligent in his control of the dog - by either not restraining the dog properly or by not preventing preventable harm. You had a cat wandering, which might have provoked the dog.

Finally, the owner of the dog might have violated a city or township dog ordinance and could potentially be fined for his failure to keep the dog on a leash or confined (if the police did not already issue the dog owner a ticket for this).

 

[kinthenorthwest]

Thanks for the Information...It rally helpful....


The Cat was sitting in a chair on my patio on my property When she goes out she just sits in one of the chairs and seldom goes any further.
When the dog bit me I was in my fenced yard, holding my cat. In fact the dog was way into my yard. The neighbors live on my east side. My cat and I were on the west side of my house.
As it stands now I can't even go to the west side of my house due to the dog bouncing on the fence and viciously barking and growling at me. The dog does that no matter where I am in my east side of my yard

 

[quincy]

Thanks for the Information...It rally helpful....


The Cat was sitting in a chair on my patio on my property When she goes out she just sits in one of the chairs and seldom goes any further.
When the dog bit me I was in my fenced yard, holding my cat. In fact the dog was way into my yard. The neighbors live on my east side. My cat and I were on the west side of my house.
As it stands now I can't even go to the west side of my house due to the dog bouncing on the fence and viciously barking and growling at me. The dog does that no matter where I am in my east side of my yard

The vicious barking and growling and jumping should be a sign to the owner of the dog that it might bite - and this could potentially help you if you seek damages from the owner of a one-bite dog.

By the way, it seems each county in Oregon has a slightly different reporting process for dog bites, so you might want to check out your own county's website to see what it says. Dog bites need to be reported to the health department but how it is reported and who makes the report can vary. It is possible/probable that the police have already made a report and the dog owner could receive something in the mail about providing proof of vaccination information.

I hope your bite heals quickly and without complications. Good luck. And thanks for the thanks.