Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 27, 1993 TAG: 9307270027
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TERI BOARDMAN BOGGESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In the golden light of a late-summer evening, a little girl, about 9, stands on a sidewalk beside a baby in a stroller. A stubby-legged dog with long, floppy ears and a panting smile trots up to the stroller. The little girl pushes in between dog and the baby. The dog lunges.
I can't count how often I have awakened from that dream with a start. I've gone months, even a couple of years, without the nightmare. It sometimes recurs in times of stress, but most often it returns in times of sadness, when I learn another child has been forced to share my nightmare.
Recently, a 9-year-old Salem girl visiting relatives in Vinton was mauled on the face, shoulder and thigh by dog chained in its yard.
As she grows up, what will she remember?
My hope is that she doesn't share the scary images that still flash into my mind 22 years after I was bitten: blood on the shirt of the man who ran to my aid; the look of horror on my mother's face as she ran from our apartment; the glare of the lights in the operating room; the masked surgeons peering down at me; my parents' tired faces when I awakened in the hospital room; and the moment I first dared look in a mirror.
Somewhere another girl stares at her new purple-red scars with their tracks of stitch marks and wonders if they will ever go away. Yes, I can tell her; not completely and not this year, and probably not next, but they will fade.
And I can tell her that when her classmates in their curiousity gather around and someone she thought was a friend makes comments that sting, that pain will fade, too. She will grow less self-conscious about her scars, but there will be moments like today, when I notice my colleagues, after reading this, looking a little more closely at my face and seeing the slightly crooked upper lip and the thin white scar that runs up to my nose.
And years from now, when she discovers a long-forgotten box of keepsakes, she might be glad she didn't sit out school pictures. I can tell her that's how I found a third-grade photo of myself, still-bright scar and all - proof that, yes, the scar does fade and that the nightmare is no product of my imagination.
As an adult, I've often pondered what would have kept me from getting bitten and what would keep other children from the same fate. Certainly, I was old enough to know not to touch a strange dog - I did know, really - but I pushed him back anyway when he tried to sniff the baby.
The result was a terrible ordeal for myself and my family. And when the dog's history of biting became known, the cute beagle-bassett hound mix by the sinister name of "Bubbles" was ordered put to death. Imagine the anguish when the parents down the street had to explain to their children what happened to their pet.
Adults can fault a child for touching an unfamiliar dog or for overlooking a "Beware of Dog" sign and trespassing on a chained dog's territory. Common sense warns us of those dangers now, but nobody's ever accused children of having good sense all the time. Parents and dog owners share the responsibility for preventing tragedies.
A computer search of this newspaper's files over the past two years revealed nearly three dozen stories relating to dog attacks, legal action involving attacks and legislation aimed at dog owners. Some of the local headlines: "Samoyed mauls Roanoke girl, 4;" "Roanoke SPCA worker hurt in dog attack;" "Girl may face surgery after bites;" "Loose dog attacks children at bus stop;" "Dog attack sends woman to hospital;" and "Owner sentenced for dog's attack." And one from San Diego: "Woman, 70, loses arm in dog attack."
How many maulings might have been avoided if a parent had kept a closer eye on a toddler, if leash laws had been observed, or if a fence - even a flimsy chicken-wire one that wouldn't keep in a dog but would herd away a straying child - had surrounded a chained dog?
Too time-consuming? Too expensive? What about a lawsuit seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages?
If the judicial dangers aren't frightening enough, simply consider what can happen to a child. Look at a child's face. Imagine a nickel-sized chunk of that child's upper lip missing because of a dog's bite. Imagine the child's terror. Then imagine all the ways that ordeal could have been prevented - and go out use that vision to prevent similar incidents.
Hindsight would prevent many trips to the emergency room; maybe some foresight can prevent a few.
And keep a nightmare out of a little girl's dreams.
Teri Boardman Boggess is a copy editor in this newspaper's sports department. She has two dogs.
by CNB