Hair of the dog

Saturday morning was spent painting a dog into the largest canvas. My friends, J&K's dog, Jack, a beautiful white and brown German short haired pointer, was my model. He was just what the painting was waiting for and his lithe muscular body was fun to paint.

Late afternoon we packed up and headed to my brother's to celebrate his 50th birthday. What started as a great family celebration ended in catastrophe. My three year old niece was bitten by my brother's Labrador. Her face injury required 15 stitches and although she came through like a little trooper the scars of the attack will be with her for life. I don't think I will ever forget the horrifying feeling that came with the sudden-ness of the attack, her cries of pain and the general panic that everyone was jolted with.

I'm a big dog lover though I don't own any now. I've taught my boys how to approach and respect any dog they meet, whether a stranger's, a friend's or a familiar pet. However, the one thing always in the back of my mind has been the potential of a dog attack. Every dog owner will tell you how friendly their dog is but statistics show that of the 400,000 dog bites that occur in this country, 80% are bites to children and a large percentage of these bites are from dogs they know.

Among things to remember: dogs see direct eye contact and barred teeth as a sign of challenge. Kids' smiling faces are usually at the same or near the same level as a dog's. Happy faces eager to greet a dog can be interpreted as a challenge. The dog reacts by snapping. Dogs are also territorial so a child's playful reaching for a dog toy or food is particularly dangerous. Sudden erratic movements from kids are also confusing to dogs.

I encourage everyone, parents, non-parents and dog owners, to visit the Humane Society's page and read up on how to avoid dog bites. My niece was lucky that the bite wasn't worse but the traumatic event won't soon leave her or the rest of us that were there or know her. I wouldn't want anyone else to have to experience such a thing.