What to Do When Bitten By a Feral Dog
A dog bite can be more than just frightening. There are other medical and legal concerns that are a part of the process. Here are some of the steps that you’ll want to take following being bitten by a feral dog.
Seek Medical Care
Medical care is your number one priority after you’ve been bitten. Where and what type of medical care that you receive will depend on the severity of your injury. Stopping the bleeding, cleaning the wound, and applying a bandage are your first steps for a minor bite. A more severe bite wound may require that you visit your local emergency room. You’ll need to follow up with your doctor for both scenarios because you may require additional medical treatment.
Establish Vaccination History
The biggest thing following a dog bite is that you may not know whether the animal as been vaccinated. This puts you at risk of contracting rabies or some other illness. It would be to your best interests to be able to establish if the dog was ever vaccinated. Even one rabies vaccination reduces the likelihood of the dog transmitting the disease. If you can’t make that determination, you’ll need to receive your own rabies vaccinations to ensure that you remain healthy.
Look into Legal Avenues
Personal injury attorney services can help you to navigate the legal processes that may be involved following an injury. You may be able to establish that the dog had an owner that was negligent. There may also be other laws in your area to take into consideration. Seeking out legal advice will give you the best range of options for how to tackle the situation and any type of recovery process that may be involved following your injury.
Report to Local Authorities
Notifying your local authorities about your injury will allow them to take steps to ensure that no one else will be bitten by the same dog. They may be able to capture the animal and determine if it has an owner or a vaccination history. All of these steps are to enable you to make the right decision in regards to your own medical care. The notification process should take place after you’ve received medical care so that the appropriate steps can be taken.
Being bitten by a feral dog can mean a lot of pain and suffering on your part. Use these tips so that you can handle the matter and remain healthy.