Boy bitten by Labrador retriever

Klamath Falls Herald News ^

[Cathleen]

Dog bite victim, 8, expected to recover

Published September 10, 2003

By DOUG HIGGS

A Dairy boy bitten in the face by a dog Monday received about 100 stitches from a plastic surgeon in Medford, but hopes to heal with little or no scarring, his mother says.

Justin Wessel, 8, had no warning he might be bitten by the 6-year-old yellow Labrador retriever dog, Michelle Wessel said. The incident happened in the Shady Pine area about five miles north of Klamath Falls.

"He was just petting him. The next thing we knew, he had his face in his mouth," she said. "We don't know why it happened."

Justin was taken first to Merle West Medical Center, then to a plastic surgeon in Medford, where he received about 100 stitches, both inside and outside, on the left side of his face.

An initial report that the boy was taken to a Portland hospital was incorrect.

"Justin is doing fine. The doctor said that, in about a year, we probably won't even see the scars," Michelle Wessel said.

The boy and his parents, Tom and Michelle Wessel, were at the residence of Richard Rodgers at 9030 Shady Pine Road when the incident happened on Monday evening.

The dog belongs to Rodgers, Michelle Wessel said, adding that she feels bad about what happened, and is concerned because there are children living at the residence.

The Wessels were at the Rodgers residence to get an all-terrain vehicle with a spray tank that was stolen from them on Aug. 12 and recovered by hunters in the Hagelstein area last Saturday.

Reporter Doug Higgs covers public safety and courts. He can be reached at 885-4412 or (800) 275-0982.

[Cathleen]

All dogs will bite.

[Dan from Michigan]

The most friendlies dogs I've seen were labs.

I've also seen some labs that were very mean dogs.

[Mr. Mojo]

Justin is doing fine

A long time ago the (7 year old) brother of a girlfiend of mine had his ear bitten off by a Lab. ....and the kid's name was Justin.

[TankerKC]

Was this in response to the Pit Bull thread?

Pitbull Alert

[scab4faa]

This is news why??

All dogs will bite..

Even mooses will bite!

[clamboat]

Was this in response to the Pit Bull thread?

Probably, yes. Infantile, but true. Equally true is that probably every dog will bite, but still without anything like the ferocity or damage that is inflicted by pit bulls and rotweillers. Even a handful of bites by labs does not change that.

[yarddog]

I have a young lab mutt mix although he looks almost like a purebred except for some white on his chest and feet.

He is the friendliest dog I have ever seen. He has never even hinted that he will bite someone but ever since he was a tiny pup he bites nearly everything he can get his teeth on.

I don't think he would ever bite a kid but I still would never trust him alone with a young one.

BTW, a few days ago I cranked the lawn mower and he danced around it barking and growling then grabbed a wheel and held on. I suspect he has a little bulldog in him.

[yarddog]

I have a young lab mutt mix although he looks almost like a purebred except for some white on his chest and feet.

He is the friendliest dog I have ever seen. He has never even hinted that he will bite someone but ever since he was a tiny pup he bites nearly everything he can get his teeth on.

I don't think he would ever bite a kid but I still would never trust him alone with a young one.

BTW, a few days ago I cranked the lawn mower and he danced around it barking and growling then grabbed a wheel and held on. I suspect he has a little bulldog in him.

[yarddog]

Oops, sorry about the double post.

[lawdude]

"Equally true is that probably every dog will bite,..."

Ya, those big spikey teeth on the sides are called K-Nines (canines). Dogs are carniverous. That means they eat meat. Those teeth are made for tearing mest. And little boy faces are meat.

I do hope he isn't traumatized to where he hates or fears dogs. I was bitten as a kid and didn't lose my queasy feeling about dogs until I was in my 50's.

[TXBubba]

I can't even tell from this article if the dog really "bit" the kid or not. Except that the dog is 6 years old it almost sounds like it was playing rough. I mean it didn't say the dog was growling or anything. Or maybe it just didn't like the kid in it's face.

[ElkGroveDan]

The kid probably pulled the dog's ear or pinched him, or was wearing barbecue sauce. The only things a lab will bite are 1)food or 2)expensive sofas.

[Mercat]

I've never liked Labs. But, I had to have 53 stitches in my forehead and there's no sign of scar unless you look very very closely. 100 stitches are not that many. They do about half of them under the skin.

[EggsAckley]

Cathleen Since Sep 11, 2003

Pretty heavy for your first post.

[TheBattman]

OK---here goes:

#1 - Any dog can bite.

#2 - Some breeds are far less likely to be biters. Unfortunately, poor breeding habits can result in animals that do not behave in a way that is "standard" for the breed. One example is a Golden Retriever that was brought to the obedience class we had our first golden at (nearly 9 years ago). Goldens are considered one of the most friendly and gentile breeds. That golden was the result of some truly horrible breeding. Although a beautiful dog, that particular dog had to be muzzled, and even then it tried to attack everyone and every thing it got near. The dog was not welcome back.

#3 - Notice we have no eye witness report of what the child was doing, other than the child's mother who really cannot be counted on to give a totally un-biased report.

#4 - Our youngest golden (7 year old) had never met a child she didn't just love - until two weeks ago. My step-brother's youngest child was visiting my father and step-mother (he is 3) and the same wonderful natured golden just did not like the child. This child was a total heathen - I said he was Satan-spawn. This same dog has taken tail pulling, ear pulling, poking, prodding, screams, laying on, sitting on, etc. with never a complaint; yet this child really bothered her. She didn't bite the child (I still cannot imagine her doing that), but she did let him know with her bark and movements that she didn't want any more from him.

#5 - dogs can be territorial, even when considered gentile.

So, what it boils down to (and what I would imagine really happened) is that these "strangers" go to this house. The child naturally wants to pet/play with the dog. The child is a stranger to the dog, but the dog deals with it at first. The child in a very normal child-like manner gets a bit rough with the dog - particularly getting near a favorite toy, food bowl, or just plain gets in the dog's face and irritating the dog. The dog, had enough, or was provoked in some way. A really well-bred Lab is much like a well-bred golden: they can take a lot of grief without a complaint and remain very gentile. What we don't know is the breeding of this "Lab". We also don't know how the dog had been treated in it's life - was it always loved and well taken care of? Was the dog ever abused? What's really interesting - the dog lives in a home with children. If the dog has never shown any agression towards these children, then what might have triggered it to attack in this case? Could the dog have felt the child was a threat to the children who lived there?

I do feel for the "victim" and the family - the child learned a difficult lesson in a VERY hard way. Unfortunately for the family, Lab should probably be put down. If it has attacked someone in this vicious a manner then it is a prospective threat from now on.

Primary rule #1, regardless of the perceived disposition of a dog, especially a strange dog is to keep children (and adults!) away from them until at least the dog get's to know the child. Also NEVER leave child unattended with a strange dog.

[TheBattman]

OK---here goes:

#1 - Any dog can bite.

#2 - Some breeds are far less likely to be biters. Unfortunately, poor breeding habits can result in animals that do not behave in a way that is "standard" for the breed. One example is a Golden Retriever that was brought to the obedience class we had our first golden at (nearly 9 years ago). Goldens are considered one of the most friendly and gentile breeds. That golden was the result of some truly horrible breeding. Although a beautiful dog, that particular dog had to be muzzled, and even then it tried to attack everyone and every thing it got near. The dog was not welcome back.

#3 - Notice we have no eye witness report of what the child was doing, other than the child's mother who really cannot be counted on to give a totally un-biased report.

#4 - Our youngest golden (7 year old) had never met a child she didn't just love - until two weeks ago. My step-brother's youngest child was visiting my father and step-mother (he is 3) and the same wonderful natured golden just did not like the child. This child was a total heathen - I said he was Satan-spawn. This same dog has taken tail pulling, ear pulling, poking, prodding, screams, laying on, sitting on, etc. with never a complaint; yet this child really bothered her. She didn't bite the child (I still cannot imagine her doing that), but she did let him know with her bark and movements that she didn't want any more from him.

#5 - dogs can be territorial, even when considered gentile.

So, what it boils down to (and what I would imagine really happened) is that these "strangers" go to this house. The child naturally wants to pet/play with the dog. The child is a stranger to the dog, but the dog deals with it at first. The child in a very normal child-like manner gets a bit rough with the dog - particularly getting near a favorite toy, food bowl, or just plain gets in the dog's face and irritating the dog. The dog, had enough, or was provoked in some way. A really well-bred Lab is much like a well-bred golden: they can take a lot of grief without a complaint and remain very gentile. What we don't know is the breeding of this "Lab". We also don't know how the dog had been treated in it's life - was it always loved and well taken care of? Was the dog ever abused? What's really interesting - the dog lives in a home with children. If the dog has never shown any agression towards these children, then what might have triggered it to attack in this case? Could the dog have felt the child was a threat to the children who lived there?

I do feel for the "victim" and the family - the child learned a difficult lesson in a VERY hard way. Unfortunately for the family, Lab should probably be put down. If it has attacked someone in this vicious a manner then it is a prospective threat from now on.

Primary rule #1, regardless of the perceived disposition of a dog, especially a strange dog is to keep children (and adults!) away from them until at least the dog get's to know the child. Also NEVER leave child unattended with a strange dog.

[jrushing]

The Wessels were at the Rodgers residence to get an all-terrain vehicle with a spray tank that was stolen from them on Aug. 12 and recovered by hunters in the Hagelstein area last Saturday.

These dogs are so gentle that this is hard to believe. They can get agitated by too much unusual activity (see above) & strike out in frustration. They don't take changes in their routine very well.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Our friendly dog is a black lab, and he is the sweetest dog you will ever meet. He also acts more human than some humans I know.

[Coleus]

We put our lab down, he just bit too many of us. He was a very dangerous and jealous dog with a bad temper. Not even the Labrador Refuge wanted him. They say when a dog bites it's master it's a bad dog.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

I never have liked people who don't like Labs...

[aruanan]

"He was just petting him. The next thing we knew, he had his face in his mouth," she said. "We don't know why it happened."

I wonder if the dog had to be treated for an inexplicable case of testicular torsion.

[wilmington2]

The dog probably picked up on the tension between the families because the meeting was about a stolen ATV.

[correctthought]

A moose bit my sister once

[Kiss Me Hardy]

when my son was a todler, he jammed a handful of uncooked spaghetti up our cocker spaniel's back passage as she had her head down eating her dinner. Well, she turned on him with fangs bared -- and I was too far away to try to stop her. But then, angel of a dog that she was, she stopped herself about a foot from his face and just paid out verbally -- as in arrrf, woof, woof, woof, arrf, growl, grrr! She was like some old lady setting a young pup straight about the right way to behave, all the barking adding up to a sort of doggy syntax. Anyway, my son never did anything as wicked ever again, and the dog lived to be almost 17. But after that, she kept her back to the wall when eating. Oh, and we pulled the spaghetti out of poor creatures's posterior. (tasted funny after that, though)

[LizardQueen]

Primary rule #1, regardless of the perceived disposition of a dog, especially a strange dog is to keep children (and adults!) away from them until at least the dog get's to know the child. Also NEVER leave child unattended with a strange dog.

This can't be repeated often enough. And I never leave my Lab unattended even with children she knows well. Kids can hurt dogs, as well as the dogs hurting kids. And if the kids hurt the dog sometimes the dog will lash out, the kid gets hurt, then the dog gets put down.

I trust my Lab 99% with kids, even with strange ones. If they annoy her she will get up and walk away. You can stick your hand down her throat and she won't bite. BUT: that other 1% is something you never know about. There's no way to be absolutely sure that nothing will happen, so that's why she's never left alone with kids or even strange adults.

If they aren't feeling well and/or as they get older it can change their temperament as well. Most Labs are wonderful, happy,loving, friendly, gentle animals, but they can get grouchy if sick or in pain. Mine is now 10o 1/2 years old and is definitely getting less tolerant of being annoyed by kids. She still doesn't get ugly with them, but will get up and walk away quicker than she used to. As a responsible owner it's my duty to protect her from rough or annoying kids, as well as protect the kids from her.

LQ

[DaGman]

My brother-in-law's shed in the backyard got broken into even though there was a large lab in the back yard.

We're certain the lab opened the gate for them and probably even asked if they needed any help.

[yankeedame]

Oh, for the love of Pete! This is news??

About a 800 years ago when my husband was a kid the chain broken on his bike while he was going down hill. He crashed into a curb, split his chin wide open and ended up getting 99 stitchs, though even today if only looks like he got maybe 3 or 5... if you can spot it at all.

He also developed epilepsy from the blow to his chin (skull)...but,hey, like I said this was like 800 years ago or so, so nobody got sued: not the maker of bicycle, not the maker of the bicycle part(s), not the city, not anybody.

[Porterville]

Oh no, this breed should never be allowed to be kept as pets, they are only bred for fighting, of course their natural instincts get them to pray on children, evil, evil dogs... But if you try and take my two labX I will run you over with my car and run to Mexico.

[July 4th]

#3 - Notice we have no eye witness report of what the child was doing, other than the child's mother who really cannot be counted on to give a totally un-biased report.

Yeah, our Cocker Spaniel, which was 6 years old and had never bitten anyone, sunk his teeth into my 5-year-old cousin's hand. My uncle saw my cousin try to shove her finger up the dog's nose, and the dog responded.

[Sir Charles]

Every time I even look like I'm going to start any gas engine, except the car, my yellow lab goes bonkers, barks and carries on, but does not bite the tires. He even gets excited at the battery powered mower.

[Will]

Labs and Goldens are some of the most vicious dogs on the planet (only trailing Pit bulls and Rotts). I have known of at least two attacks on children by them, several attacks on passing pedestrians, several attacks on passing bicyclists, two fatal attacks on cats, and just a month ago a near fatal attack on my miniature pinscher. If my neighbor had not physically intervened, my dog would have soon been dead - almost died anyway. All by these two kinds of retreivers. Not only are they vicious, they don't seem to be able to be controlled. I have seen nice ones, but, sorry, my experience shows too much of these wrong behaviors.

The one that attacked my dog is as bad a dog as I have ever seen. The day before he attacked my dog, he snarled at my 11 year old son menacingly when my son was getting our mail from the street side mailbox. As soon as I am sure that our vet bills for taking care of our dog are complete I will present the bill to the dogs owner for reimbursement. If he ever attacks a family member he will be dead in very short order.

[Focault's Pendulum]

Our friendly dog is a black lab, and he is the sweetest dog you will ever meet. He also acts more human than some humans I know.

It's spooky..isn't it. I got mine from the Pound as a runaway. She's about a year old, as far as anyone can tell.

Although I thought of her initially as smart as bag of rocks....as she gets older....she not only communicates her needs to me...but she understands my commands...such as pointing to an area... where she can pee/ or where she can poop...without my saying a word/phrase.

I'm a relatively new dog owner...so this might be common with other veteran owners.

[BluH2o]

Where's the "Pit Bull" Labrador caption? Thought every dog that sank his/her teeth into humankind is a pit bull or at the very least related to one. Isn't this the same area of the country where a woman who rescued a doberman from the animal shelter a few weeks back was killed by the dog? Apparently she was trying to clip its toenails when it attacked her.

[LizardQueen]

Labs and Goldens are some of the most vicious dogs on the planet (only trailing Pit bulls and Rotts).

Your experience has been the total opposite of mine, then. I've actually had the worst problems with smaller dogs - poodles, chihuahuas, and assorted Terriers, particularly Jack Russells. I've never been so much as growled at by a Lab or a Golden. Most Rotts I know have been real nice dogs. I don't know any pit bulls.

LQ

[Will]

They are extremely territorial and their sense of territory doesn't correspond in any way to property lines or aceptable reasonable limits as observed by humans. They should be in wide open areas on owners property bigger than their "territory". They make absolutely terrible dogs for neighborhoods and towns.

Unfortunately so many people have decided that they will get these dogs as a symbol (mischaracterized as it is) of being some sort of "elite" landed gentry on their estate in spite of the subdivision reality in which they live. It goes with the Expedition, don't you know! It is a stupid, stupid decision and a recipe for these vicious attacks...

[Coleus]

All dogs will bite. >>>>>

Even Petey??

[Porterville]

I was joking, my dogs, I stick my face in their face and antagonize them to try and muster up anger; I also give them raw meat on occasion to test their sense of dominance. You have to break your dog and teach them that biting and growling at humans will end them up in bad trouble... I don't hurt or abuse my dogs, on the contrary, I spoil them to the ends of the earth, but if they growl or snap, which I try to bring out of them on occasion, I make sure that they learn their lesson. They do not bite, if they do, they'll be put down.

[Porterville]

I do agree, they need wide open spaces to run and you have to absolutely have at least 2 dogs to keep them sane... I climbed Bishop's peak with my dogs today, it took 2 and 1/2 hours off the leash, with two gallons of water.... that is the kind of commitment I have to my dogs... obese, lazy, neurotic dogs, never. Though my one dog hates motorcycles.

[CholeraJoe]

This is so atypical. Labs, and I have two are not violent. The boy must be at fault. /dog lover.

[AllTerriersRule]

Most Labrador owners are so ignorant when it comes to Pit Bulls and "Pit Bull type" dogs. Pit Bulls are not evil dogs by nature. They truly are loving and loyal family dogs. People train them to bite people and other dogs to make them tough. Most, if not all, Pit Bulls you hear of on the news for attacking people were of bad breeding or trained to be aggressive. The things the wrong kind of people do to Pit Bulls are horrific. If you've ever seen Animal Precinct of similar shows you know what I'm talking about. Even these terribly abused Pit Bull can be great family pets. I have never met an aggressive Pit Bull ever but I have met a large amount of aggressive retrievers. My friend was even bitten by a Retriever that we knew for a long time. Any breed can bite and be aggressive and Labs are no exception. In fact, "Pit Bull types" scored higher on temperament tests than retrievers and in Memphis(i believe) the Lab was the breed of dog that bit the most people. Personally I think the Pit Bull is a much better family pet than a Lab.