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Animal bite is a major public health problem not only for the associated risk of acquiring secondary infections and occasional death due to trauma (which occurs often in children) but also for the possibility of contracting rabies which, if left unrecognized and untreated, is almost invariably fatal. 'Animals never hurt their babies'. This is a common belief among people. But is this really true. Can your pet be trusted enough to leave your baby around it totally unsupervised? You can never tell what ticks animals off. They might not really bite your baby but even a warning nip is enough to send your baby into frenzy. Dogs generally don't bite unless provoked. If you tease them with food or pull their tail or run when you are not supposed to, it can prove to be very painful, if not fatal. This is not an exaggeration. If you are being chased by a pack of stray dogs and you cant get away from them in time, they can do some serious damage and the trauma can even kill you. This is what happens to babies many a times. Even if they survive the attack, the trauma of the incident often takes their precious little lives. On some occasions, the dog is probably mad and because of his mental condition, it starts biting every person it sees. This is a very dangerous situation and dogs suffering from such an illness are put to sleep by the concerned authorities. "I have a huge dog". This is often all one needs to say to scare someone off-sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. Most people are so scared of dogs that they would probably never visit your house if you were to tell them that you have one for a pet. Dog bites are one of the most dreaded incidents some unfortunate people have to suffer. The tragedy of the whole matter is that due to a handful of the ones that do bite, people start fearing every dog they see. Just the sight of one makes some people run a mile to get away from them. These lovely, wonderful creatures are feared all thanks to a few ferocious ones. Fear is indeed a state of the mind and it should be totally under our control. But imagine the trauma someone might have had to suffer on being attacked by a pack of dogs. After having gone through something as horrifying as that, anyone would fear the very sight of one. You should always keep in mind that you need not run to the doctor as soon as a dog attacks you. It might not be required if the dog has only nipped or superficially scratched you. In such a case, all the scratch needs is to be washed with water and soap and an application of an antibiotic ointment on the area twice a day. If there are visible signs of a deep wound or blood, you need to rush to the doctor and get yourself tested for rabies. Bites on the face and neck can prove to be more dangerous as compared to bites elsewhere on the body. The face and neck have a number of blood vessels which acne open up and create excessive blood loss. In this case you need immediate medical attention and may need stitches to close the wound. But till medical help can reach you, you must try to reduce the blood flow by pressing a gauze pad or clean cloth on the wound. On the event of being bitten by an animal, you must try to keep a cool head and think straight. If you get too panicky, your brain will stop functioning properly and you will end up loosing a lot of precious time that you could have otherwise used to give yourself first aid. Most pets are vaccinated for rabies' but on many occasions it could be the case that the pet is not vaccinated. Either ways, it is most advisable to get yourself tested for rabies. If the pet has been vaccinated, the owner of the pet will have documents to prove the same but in case it is not, you will need a series of anti-rabies shots. Other than dogs; animals like cats, raccoons, skunks and bats can also carry rabies. Rabies if not treated in time can lead to death. The visible signs of rabies are when the animal is foaming from the mouth and is acting strangely. If you ever come across an animal like that, the least you can do is to inform the concerned authorities so that they can put the animal out of its misery. Other than the human rabies victims, it is quite traumatic even for an animal actually suffering from rabies. The condition of the animal deteriorates steadily and it dies a slow but extremely painful death. Many a times, your own pet can get into a fight with another animal and can get bitten and seriously wounded. If in this case, your pet has been vaccinated properly, half the problem is solved. It will still need to undergo tests and painful medical treatment, but it will have a better chance of survival as compared to a pet that has not been properly vaccinated. The WHO (World Health Organization) recognizes rabies as an important health problem and tourists visiting certain parts of the world are advised to undergo pre-exposure vaccination to safeguard themselves against rabies on the event of being bitten by an animal. According to the WHO reports, a very large number of human deaths take place every year on account of contracting rabies and other diseases from animal bites. Initially, anti rabies vaccines were prepared using the spinal cord of rabbits. As time passed, the formal phenol-treated vaccines came into use. These were prepared using the spinal cord of lambs. This method is in use in many parts of the world. Any warm-blooded animal can be a rabies carrier but dog bites are proved to be the main cause of rabies. Herbivores like man and domestic dogs are less susceptible to rabies as compared to carnivores like foxes. The problem of animal bites cannot be completely eliminated but as for our part, we can get our pets adequately vaccinated so that they cannot do any harm to the people and animals around us and also to protect them from contracting any diseases from other animals. IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED, YOU NEED THE LAW FIRM OF BOURGAULT & HARDING CALL 800.880.1438 Copyright 2006 - All Rights Reserved Bourgault & Harding, A Law Firm 1100 East Bridger Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89101 tel 702.384.8023 fax 702.384.5731 Nevada Dog Bite Attorneys Disclaimer: The Las Vegas Auto Accidents, and Big-Rig Accidents, Motorcycle Accidents, Bicycle Accidents, Airplane Accidents, Bus & Train Accidents, Pedestrian Accidents, Boating & Watercraft Accidents, Swimming Pool Accidents, Amusement Park Accidents, Construction Site Accidents, Drunk Driver Accidents, Defective Roads Accidents, Wrongful Death, Spinal Cord Injury, Traumatic Brain Injury, Burn Injury, Animal Attacks/Dog Bite, Slip and Fall Accidents, Premises Liability, Dangerous Drugs Litigation, Defective Medical Devices, Medical Malpractice, Legal Malpractice, Product Liability, Toxic Substances in Nevada. Please contact a Nevada Personal Injury Lawyer, Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney. This web site is not intended to solicit clients for matters outside of the state of Nevada. ©2006 The Law Offices of Bourgault & Harding. Las Vegas, Nevada Personal Injury Lawyers, serving the communities of: Las Vegas, Clark County Nevada. 
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