Dear Readers,
C., 23, a college student, writes from Mandeville. In the recent past she was attacked and bitten by a pack of dogs in Mandeville. She was seen and treated but remains concerned about the episode. She hopes there will be no lingering physical complications although she has some scars. She wonders how this could have happened to her in a large town. She did not identify the premises associated with the dogs.
C. should report this event to the police for the record. Other such incidents might have occurred in the area and have been investigated. After consulting with a legal colleague I note that there isa "Towns and Communities Act" which provides for any constable to lawfully destroy any dog which is suspected to be rabid. The act states that it shall be lawful for any constable to destroy any dog or other animal reasonably suspected to be in a rabid state. Let me say however, that rabies is not a disease found in Jamaica. C. should also make reports to the parish council and to the Jamaica Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA). It is of some note that the parish council cannot assist.
Under the 'Pound Act', although this act includes many animals which can be impounded, for some reason dogs are excluded, and so cannot be removed form the streets. The JSPCA could however, also include the area where she was attacked in their area of surveillance and ultimately remove these dangerous and uncared for animals.
Another law, termed the 'Dog Bite Law' states under the 'dogs act' that the owner of any dog shall be liable in damages for injury occurred due to neglect on the owners part. It also says that the occupier of any house or premises where any dog was kept or permitted to live or remain at the time of injury shall be deemed the owners and be liable.
It would seem that the only way to obtain easy legal recourse as a part of closure of a dog bite event would be to know who owned the dogs. It is my layman's opinion (and the opinion of consulted legal counsel) that our citizens are not well represented in this area. It would be helpful if:
The Towns and Communities Act could be extended to include attacks by wild animals.
The Pound Act could be extended to include dogs.
Incidents like these can lead to an individual suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and some debriefing of the incident and psychological counselling might be necessary. If obvious scars have resulted from the dog bites a dermatologist or plastic surgeon should be consulted.
Larger scars can be excised surgically and new available LASER therapy can remove evidence of some scars.
Medically, after any dog bite, the wound should be cleansed, treated with topical antibiotics and dressed. If the wound is large it might require stitches (suturing). If bites are deep and tendons involved in movement are damaged then surgical repair may also be necessary.
A tetanus toxoid injection should always be given to the bitten individual to ensure that 'lock jaw' (tetanus) does not occur, especially when wounds are deep. Rabies does not occur when wounds are deep. Rabies does not occur in Jamaica for which we can be very grateful, so no measures need be taken against rabies infection. When wounds are extensive, oral antibiotics should be prescribed.
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