IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) — Southern Idaho postal carriers are reporting an increasing number of dog bites and close encounters with dogs as they deliver a growing number of packages to doors and porches this holiday season. The injurious scenario is often the same; Postal carrier walks up to a house to deliver a package, the customer opens the door, the dog runs out the door and bites the carrier. According to USPS District Manager Laura Hubrich, these dog attacks are preventable. “If a carrier delivers a package or a certified letter to your front door, place your dog into a separate room and close the door before opening the front door,” Hubrich said. “Dogs have been known to burst through screen doors or plate-glass windows to get at strangers.” So far this holiday season, three Southern Idaho postal carriers have suffered dog bites with hundreds of reported close calls. Some of the attacks resulted in medical attention beyond first-aid, and in carriers being … [Read more...]

COLUMBUS — A dog must not have been previously designated as dangerous under Ohio law for an owner to be prosecuted when the pet attacks someone, the Ohio Supreme Court held Tuesday. But the court went on to say in a Hamilton County case that the dog owner’s conviction for failing to confine the animal should be reversed because the prosecution failed to meet its burden of proof. The decision as to whether a prior dangerous-dog designation is required in such a case resolves a dispute raised by two separate appellate court rulings that reached different conclusions. The decision stems from a 2016 incident for which Joseph Jones, of Cincinnati, was prosecuted for letting his American pit bull terrier off its leash. He said he removed the leash so his dog could protect him from an approaching stray. The two dogs interacted well together, but the stray then attacked a small Chinese Crested Hairless dog being walked by Alyssa Rushing, who had just exited the same apartment … [Read more...]

Owner of pit bulls faces 21 charges after attacks in Akron Update: Oct 11, 2019 Full Story: Four people, including a mail carrier, were attacked by a group of dogs in two incidents in Akron on Monday morning. Officers responded to the 800 block of Reed Avenue in East Akron for a report of three dogs biting. The dogs were gone by the time police arrived. A 36-year-old Norton woman told police she was getting out of her van when she was attacked around 10:30 a.m. Monday. She said she was knocked to the ground, and the dogs bit her along both sides of her body, from her torso to her feet. A 32-year-old Akron man heard the woman screaming and tried to fight off the dogs. He was bit numerous times on the left arm. The dogs then attacked a 38-year-old Akron mail carrier on the back of his left thigh. He sprayed the dogs with pepper spray, and they retreated, running east. He had puncture marks on his pants, but he didn’t believe the dogs bit his leg. The man and woman … [Read more...]

A 63-year-old man from Germany has died because of a rare infection traced back to a lick from his dog. “Pet owners with flu-like symptoms should urgently seek medical advice when their symptoms exceed those of a simple viral infection, which in this case were severe dyspnoea and petechiae. The disease contracted by the man, who was admitted to Red Cross Hospital in Bremen, Germany, was due to the bacterium capnocytophaga canimorsus. It’s found most commonly in the mouths of cats and dogs, and is transmitted to humans in rare cases, usually through an animal bite. The most susceptible are those who suffer from immunodeficiency, splenectomy or alcohol abuse, but the report notes that the patient didn’t suffer from those conditions. In this case, the man had also not been bitten. Instead, he was only licked by his pet during the weeks before he was admitted to the hospital. When the man arrived at the Red Cross Hospital, he reported severe symptoms for three days, such as an … [Read more...]