Example of Level 4 Bite, Top of the Hand

This is a photo of my left hand where I was bitten by a client’s aggressive dog. Because he was so aggressive, I had decided they needed to come to my office for training as it would be safer. This was during their first visit to my home-based office. I showed her what I wanted her to do with her dog by having her work with one of our dogs. Then she brought her dog in from the car and I was supposed to go behind a baby gate and observe. My mind was racing with things I wanted to be sure to tell her and I forgot to move before she came in. I was behind the couch, the dog was leashed and she was holding onto the leash. In order to see what the dog was doing, I leaned to my left and immediately realized my mistake.

I’ll never forget seeing the whites of his eyes as he started towards me. I was able to grab a chair with my right hand and moved it quickly to protect my right side, but before I could move the chair (it was on wheels) he came around and chomped on my left hand. I’ve never felt such intense pain in my life. He was able to get to me because she dropped the leash. I will always see the leash slip through her hand and hit the floor.

Management is NEVER 100%. People are human and imperfect.

We’ll never know, but I feel confident in saying he would have full out attacked me if she hadn’t regained control of the leash. The only threat to him, was my presence, which isn’t a threat at all.

There is a bite mark on my pinky finger that was caused from his back molars. My entire hand was in his mouth. I don’t bruise easily so I didn’t bruise. There is some swelling. I did seek medical treatment with a tetanus shot and antibiotics. Go to the next photo to see the palm side of this bite.