The other dog, which she described as a pit-bull mix, crouched down and was getting ready to lunge at Phineas, who was only three months old at the time. Sensing what was about to happen, she picked up Phineas just as the other dog began to lunge at him, she said.
“The dog lunged and knocked Phinny from my hands and bit me,” she said.
Morrow’s left hand was caught in the dog’s grip. Phineas was knocked out of her arms. Her son managed to grab the other dog by its hind legs and fling it away, she said. The dog’s owner then came up and leashed his dog and began walking away, she said.
Her husband, Paul Genecin, called police and told the owner to wait and to provide proof the dog had its rabies vaccination, but the other owner left with his dog, Morrow said. Police took an initial report at Yale-New Haven Hospital and broadcast a description of the dog that allegedly attacked Morrow, according to a police report.
Morrow is not alone in facing the aftermath of a dog bite.
The number of reported dog bites in the city varies from year to year but there were 10 reported bites in 2011 and 42 in 2010, according to a state Department of Agriculture report. Waterbury had the most reported dog bites in 2011 at 139 for the year. Groton came in second with 100.
Bridgeport had 20 reported dog bites in 2011 and Hartford had 18.
Morrow eventually learned the identity of the dog’s owner and relayed information to police who gave him an infraction ticket for allowing his dog to roam and for owning an unlicensed dog, according to a police report.
Morrow said she learned the dog was an alleged nuisance in the neighborhood after speaking with neighbors.
Yet, a large number of bites go unreported or our only reported after a dog bites someone else, said police Officer Stephani Johnson, animal control officer for the city.
“When I have a bite reported to me and then there are claims the dog has attacked other people in neighborhood and they don’t have documentation,” she said. “I can’t go on hearsay; that creates problems for law enforcement period.”
The dog in Morrow’s case was taken by police to be quarantined for 14 days, which is mandated under state law after a dog bites someone in a public area. Police observe quarantined dogs for signs of rabies, a rare but deadly disease, said Johnson.
Dogs that attack someone in the owner’s residence can be quarantined within the residence for the required period of time to watch for signs of illness.
Rabies is a viral disease that can be transferred through the bite of a rabid animal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It typically kills one or two people per year since the 1990s. Total public health costs associated with rabies detection, prevention and control exceed $300 million annually nationally.
In Connecticut, it is most common to see rabies in raccoons. There have been 46 confirmed cases of rabid raccoons in the state between the beginning of the year and June 29, according to the state Department of Public Health.
In total, there have been 66 confirmed cases of rabies in the state during the same time period. New Haven County has had 16 of those cases. About eight domestic animals tested positive for rabies in 2011 throughout the state, according to statistics from the Department of Public Health.
Police are also able to contact veterinarians to confirm that a dog in quarantine received an up-to-date rabies vaccination, Johnson said. Animal control officers then send verbal assurance to a dog bite victim if they learn the dog received a vaccination.
Paperwork is also filed and sent to the dog bite victim, the dog owner, the state Department of Agriculture and a copy also stays with the city’s animal control office.
Morrow said that her doctors advised her that verbal assurances and the provided paperwork weren’t enough and that she would need to get treatment for possible rabies as a precaution, which she did. She said she experienced a number of side effects from the treatment and missed time at work.
Johnson followed the proper notification procedure, said Raymond Connors, chief state animal control officer with the Department of Agriculture.
But the case serves to highlight the issue of unlicensed dogs in the state.
New Haven, a city of roughly 130,000 people, only had 580 licensed dogs last year, according to the city clerk’s office. Bethany, which has about 5,500 people, had 510 licensed dogs last year, with registration counted until March 2013, according to the town clerk’s office.
Numbers so far this year are similar with New Haven up to 433 licensed dogs as of July 18 and Bethany at 429 as of July 25.
Johnson said she couldn’t guess as to how many unlicensed dogs there are in the city, but that it would be a significant number.
New Haven is far from alone among cities for a low number of licensed dogs. Bridgeport had 834 licensed last year and has around 600 so far this year as of July 25, according to the city clerk’s office. Hartford had almost 700 licensed last year, but is only up to 250 as of July 25 this year.
The fine for not licensing a dog is $70 in the state, Connors said. The disparity in licensing between towns and big cities isn’t surprising, he said.
‘Prioritizing has to be done and public safety will always come first,” he said.
Animal control officers in larger cities have to deal with more cases of roaming or aggressive animals and have less time to do license enforcement, he said.
Dogs are considered property in the state and the license essentially is used in lieu of paying taxes, Connors said. Licenses have to be renewed by June 30 annually for dogs six months and older. Owners must show proof of a current rabies vaccination.
A neutered or spayed dog costs $8 to license and a non-neutered or spayed dog costs $19. There is a $1 late fee for each month a dog isn’t licensed. Dogs are licensed through municipalities.
There are benefits to licensing a dog besides avoiding a potential fine.
“It’s not only for dog control purposes, it also helps dogs get back to their families,” said Alicia Wright, public relations director for the Connecticut Humane Society.
Dogs that bite people are rarely disposed of, Johnson said. She could only recall three cases in 10 years where a dog was not turned over to its owner after it was quarantined.
Two were voluntary cases and in the other a dog had to be disposed of because it had attacked seven people, including at least one unprovoked attack on a child, she said. The owner was uncooperative and the dog had to be tracked down.
The owner contested the decision in court and stole the dog from the shelter, she said. The dog was at the animal shelter for about a year before it was euthanized.
(Middletown Press - July 29, 2013)
