Lessons from a dog attack

Viewpoint Canines may bite and scratch when excited or caught by surprise

- Akshita Nanda

I was recently attacked by a stranger's pet dog. The Shiba Inu ripped my favorite linen slacks and left me hobbling for over a week.

My home in the north of Singapore is in an area with public and private housing. I'm used to seeing families walk dogs of various sizes at all hours. Labradors patiently wait outside the laundromat; dachshunds are held in their owners' arms outside the veterinary clinic; and toy poodles excited to go on a walk are held in check by the humans holding their leashes.

This peaceful co-existence left me unprepared for the events of Nov 4. After alighting from a bus near my home, I barely registered the approach of a man walking two small dogs.

I paid no attention to them as our paths crossed on the pavement. I had passed similar pet-human groups dozens of times without incident.

This time, however, I felt a piercing pain in my left knee. A weight dragged on my left leg.

It was dark and I could not see what was happening. I just heard a long ripping sound and felt agony as my slacks tore under the weight of the attacking dog.

Shocked and in pain, I could barely speak. "Your dog attacked me," I said to the man, now trying to control his leaping little pet.

We quickly moved beneath a street light. I snapped photographs of my knee at once. A breeze ruffled the tatters of my slacks.

"Oh no, you're bleeding," the stranger said.

We exchanged phone numbers.

I limped the 300m distance home, changed into shorts and headed for the medical clinic next door.

The doctor asked me whether I had been bitten or just scratched. I could not tell and neither could he. The wound was deep, and bleeding.

Cleaning and dressing it took a good amount of time, as the doctor looked for debris and fragments of tooth or claw.

GET FIRST-AID ADMINISTERED

I was lucky to be near a doctor, but first-aid after a dog bite can also be performed at home.