Meet the stars of the day, here at a neighborhood park in Danville: Kimber, Mia and Gracie. Different breeds and different owners, but all very popular with the little ones.
Dr. Ron Scorpio met us here. He's chief of pediatric surgery at Janet Weis Childrens Hosptial, at GeisingerMedicalCenter and also a dog owner himself. “Dogs that are male, unneutered, and chained are more likely to bite than female, male neutered, or unchained.”
Dr. Scorpio says dog bites pose three risks: the wound itself, risk of infection, and worry about rabies.
Obviously the bigger the dog and the smaller the child, the more likely the chance for serious injury.
“One of the big things is prey drive. A wolf sees prey running and runs after it, because that's how they eat. Dogs have that too.”
All dogs, to a certain extent, even the talented and well-mannered dogs we got to spend some time with.. Although Gracie's owner laughs that she's more likely to lay across you than attack and Mia's says, she'd rather play with a stick.
Dr. Scorpio says it's all about teaching your kids how to approach a dog, something Trish Hutchinson has already done with 6-year-old Adeline and 2-year-old Nathaniel.
Hutchinson says, “Usually owners are good about saying, this dog is friendly, or they'll warn you if not. Dog owners are good about that and we usually ask.”