Half of All Children will be bitten by Dog by 12th Grade

According to Dr. Alison Tothy, chairwoman of the committee on injury and poison prevention of the American Academy of Pediatrics Illinois chapter, half of all children in the US will be bitten by a dog by the time they are high school seniors. 

Tothy said there has a been a recent effort throughout the nation involving of her group, along side the U.S. Postal Service, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and several other groups to prevent the nearly the 4.7 million Americans bitten by dogs annually.

Loren Schechter, a plastic surgeon from the Illinois and an active participant in fight to prevent dog bite injuries said more than 30,000 reconstructive procedures due to dog bites took place last year. That percentage is up 9 percent from 2008. 

Next week, May 16 through the 22nd, is Dog Bite Prevention Week. If you would like more information, please visit the America Veternarian Medical Association.