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    Dog safety

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March 15, 2010

Prevent a bite

Therapy dogs help keep kids safe

By Patrick Cooley

Sherry Gereb of Clark, a representative of Therapy Dogs International, showed 7-year-old Brandon Gosnell of Greenville a series of pictures of different types of dogs.

As she showed him each picture, she asked, “Do you think that dog is safe to pet?”

The answer in every case was no. In one, the dog was with puppies, and might be protective of them; in another, the dog was behind a fence; in still another, it had a toy ball.

The bottom line with each picture was that the owner was not around to tell the child if the dog was safe to touch.

Mrs. Gereb was at the Shenango Valley Mall in Hermitage over the weekend with her associate Robin Adler to teach children how to be safe around dogs that are not theirs.

The group presented a series of statistics: there are 4.5 million dog bites in the United States every year, and they are often severe enough to lead to hospitalization.

If you are alone and you are around a dog that seems dangerous, they told the kids, don’t run. The dog might think you are a toy or an animal and chase you, they said.

Their advice: take a toy or piece of food if you have one, and throw it into the dog’s view to distract it, so you can slowly sneak away.

Both Mrs. Gereb and Miss Adler had dogs with them, and as children approached they would show them how to pet the animals.

“First, you ask the owner if it’s OK,” Mrs. Gereb told Kelly Walton of Hermitage.

She then told Kelly to make a fist and let the dog sniff it.

“If a dog is going to bite your hand and your fingers are out, that gives them something to snip on,” Mrs. Gereb said.

After that, she told Kelly to softly pet the dog just below its chin.

If a dog is OK with someone touching it there, it is going to be all right with being patted on the head.

“Always approach a dog from the side,” Mrs. Gereb said. “If you come at them from the front they might get scared.”

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