Four dog attack victims admitted to hospital every day

The number of dog attack victims being admitted to Victorian hospitals reached record numbers last year. Here’s what experts believe is behind the alarming spike.

Four Victorians were admitted to hospital every day last year because of dog bite injuries, new data shows.

The number of hospital admissions jumped by 19 per cent in a year as dog ownership, especially in inner-city Melbourne, increases.

People in their 20s were most likely to be attacked, followed by children under 10, according to analysis of hospital emergency department data by the Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit at Monash University.

URGENT EGG RECALL ACROSS AUSTRALIA

EARLY RATINGS WORRY FOR NEW-LOOK FOOTY SHOW

ELITE SCHOOL STUDENTS LEFT WITHOUT CLASSROOMS

Most injuries occur to the wrist and hand while the home is the most common location for attack.

Dog registration numbers have soared in line with the city’s population growth, especially in inner Melbourne.

Over the past five years, dog ownership has risen 44 per cent in Yarra and 17 per cent in Melbourne.

Dog numbers also grew in Darebin and Port Phillip in the past two years.

The dog bite data does not analyse locations of the incidents but is drawn from 38 emergency departments from across the state. Dog breeds were not included either.

Attack victim Christina, 46, was in a Newport dog park walking her kelpie cross Elvis last August when a large aggressive dog attacked Elvis and then ran into her leg with such force it broke her left tibial plateau.

“I had to have a bone graft and plates and pins put into my leg to hold it together,’’ she said.

“I spent four days in hospital and months and thousands of dollars recovering.’’

Christina had been a 10km runner, mountain biker and practised yoga and pilates until the attack.

“I’m now scarred for life. It was so traumatic.’’

Dog attack victim Christina recovering in hospital. Pic: supplied

A dog walker had left the animal off-leash in the park but Hobsons Bay Council has been unable to find against the company.

Stonnington Council brought in a new rule that limited dog walkers to just four animals at a time, in response to aggressive and out-of-control hounds in the municipality’s parks.

Dog walking company owners said a few unregulated and unscrupulous operators were giving the industry a bad name.

Victoria introduced laws in 2015 aiming to control and manage certain breeds.

RSPCA Victoria chief executive Liz Walker said laws about particular breeds were ineffective in preventing or reducing dog attacks.

“Dog attacks can occur for a variety of reasons, and breed alone is not a reliable predictor of aggressive behaviour,’’ Dr Walker said.

RSPCA Victoria CEO Liz Walker says laws about particular breeds were ineffective in preventing dog attacks. Picture Rebecca Michael.

“Each individual dog should be assessed based on their behaviour.’’

“Any dog of any size, breed or mix of breeds has the potential to be aggressive in some circumstances: when injured, ill or very scared. Education plays a key role in the effective management of dogs in the community.’’

The injury surveillance unit statistics revealed that the total number of hospital admissions because of dog bites in the 2017-18 year was 1418, from 1193 the year before, and up by 77 per cent in five years.

The number of dog bite victims attending an emergency department rose by 111 to 3045 last year.

Men and women were almost equally represented in the data.

One in six victims admitted to hospital was a twenty-something, while under 10s made up 15 per cent of the total.

Two thirds of patients were released within two days but nine victims were in hospital for more than a month.

@IanRoyall