Animal Welfare Professionals

This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous

As a volunteer, I was recently in a situation where I was alone with a dog who had some misplaced aggression after seeing another dog on the other side of the fence.  When he could not get to that dog he turned on me and I received multiple bites. Luckily I had a sweatshirt on, so the bites barely broke the skin, but I do have bruises up and down my arms.  The problem I'm having is that this poor dog is very confused in the shelter, and I think he's just totally overwhelmed. I don't want him to be labeled as a biter when I feel he hasn't had a chance to acclimate to his new surroundings and isn't yet set up for success. I did report that he was aggressive towards the other dog, and mentioned that it caused him to get a little mouthy and grab my sweatshirt, so they are aware of the root cause and know that's an issue. I've spoken to friends who volunteer at other organizations and am getting a mix on whether I should be reporting the bite or if I said enough to flag the problem without labeling him a biter. I'd love to hear your advice?

#Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment

You absolutely need to report that it bit you, especially if it broke skin. Different states have different bite quarantine requirements but most require animals to be on a 10 day quarantine after a bite that broke skin, even if it was just a little bit. Leaving out this information poses a risk to everyone working with the dog in the future because it is leaving out important information. It doesn't matter if you want it to be labelled as a biter or not, it bit you, you need to report it. What you reported is not enough to protect people working with the dog and is not helpful to the dog's improvement at all.

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Laurel Wilton
Cat Welfare Supervisor
Nebraska Humane Society
NE
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