Animal control officers don't see spike in bite numbers

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Daily News Transcript

By Sean Murphy/ Daily News Staff

NORWOOD - There is no upward trend in dog bites, despite scary numbers recently released by the state, according to one local animal control officer.

A report by the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy indicated Norwood had 31 dog bites in fiscal 2004 that required a trip to the emergency room. There were 25 such cases in Dedham, 24 in Walpole, and eight in Westwood.

But Henry Cerqueira, Norwood's animal control officer, said yesterday that in his town's dog bites rarely result in serious injury. "The majority of the bites are really nothing," he said.

The state's 2004 figure is pretty much the norm, he said. But last year only three reported bites were what he called "serious," meaning bad enough to cause a wound requiring stitches.

Many of the reported bites, he said, were caused by family pets or freak occurrences when the animal felt threatened. Pet owners, he said, should remember to keep their dogs leashed at all times, and socialize the animals starting as young as possible.

Even then, Cerqueira said, it's a good idea to keep strangers away.

"Sometimes dogs react to different people differently," he said. "I wouldn't let (just) any stranger in town touch him."