Risk of Dog Bite Related Injuries are Sharply Elevated on Halloween.

With Halloween less than 10 days away, it’s a good time for pet owners to plan ahead and keep their pets calm and trick-or-treaters safe.

Halloween is a time of wonderment for our children, but it can quickly turn into a tragedy if precautions are not taken. Strange costumes and continuous ringing of the doorbell can create anxiety for even the calmest of house hold pets. This increased stress can cause “mans best friends” to behave out of character; scratching or biting simply out of fear.

Statistics show that children between the ages of 5 and 9 years old are at the highest risk of a dog-bite related injury. This risk is considerably elevated on Halloween.

Dog bites can lead to serious physical and emotional injuries and leave permanent scars. To avoid injuries, The Kahler Personal Injury Law Firm offers these Halloween safety tips:

• Leave pets in a separate room with the radio or television on to disguise the sound of strange noises and trick-or-treaters.
• Be sure to leave enough of toys in the room for your pet so that he doesn’t think he’s being confined as a punishment. If the doorbell is likly to provoke your pet, consider disconnecting the doorbell for the evening.
• Alternatively, you can leave a bowl of treats near the door outside where trick-or-treaters can help themselves.
• While you might think it would be fun to bring you’re dog trick-or-treating, your pet may not share your view. The strange sights and sounds of Halloween can cause normally friendly dogs to bite if they feel scared or threatened.
• Children should avoid trick-or-treating at homes where a dog can be heard barking from behind the door or within the yard. If approached by a loose dog, children should stand still and not do anything that may provoke an attack.

In Ontario, irresponsible dog owners may be held accountable for injuries inflicted by their pets. A dog owner may also be held liable if he or she allows a dog to escape from the home or yard or allows it to stray in violation of a local leash law, and a dog bite results.

The Kahler Personal Injury Law Firm has helped victims of animal attacks and serious dog bites in Toronto and throughout Ontario obtain compensation for their losses.