New Jersey Accident and Injury Law Blog : New Jersey Injury Lawyer & Attorney : The Grossman Law Firm : Serving Monmouth County, Bergen County

The issue of breed specific legislation is an extremely touchy one. These efforts have received mixed success wherever they have been introduced. One parish in Louisiana has now passed an ordinance banning pit bulls.

St. Mary's Parish in Louisiana passed the ordinance during the parish council’s meeting this week. According to the ordinance, it is illegal to own, keep or sell pit bulls within unincorporated areas of St. Mary's Parish. The bill, which will go into effect on 1 July 2010, also places restrictions on current owners of pit bulls.

The ordinance was passed by unanimous vote, and was preceded by intense debate at public hearings. One of the issues that came up during the hearings was the requirement that pit bull owners obtain an annual pit bull license for a one-time fee of $50 per license. After several pit bull owners protested that provision, it was struck off from the ordinance. Besides, the signs that pit bull owners will now be required to place outside their properties were changed from ”Beware Dangerous Dog” to “Beware Dog.”

Pit bull  owners in St. Mary's Parish must meet the following conditions.

• ·         The dog must have a license tag on the collar, and must be micro-chipped for identification.
• ·         Pit bulls must be placed in a secure 4' x 7' pen, with a 2 ½ inch thick concrete floor
• ·         The pen must be surrounded by 6-feet fencing.
• ·         Violations will be fined not less than $500 for a first offense, and between $300 and $500 for second offense.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey dog bite lawyer representing injured victims of dog bites in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic, ocean Counties and across the state of New Jersey.

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The University of Alabama in Birmingham is conducting a study to determine the effectiveness of a software training program in teaching children about safe interaction with dogs.

The study will involve giving the children a software program called the Blue Dog, developed by the Blue Dog Trust in the United Kingdom. The program features a series of instructions for little children to be safe around dogs and avoid possibly antagonizing behaviors around these animals. The children will then be tested with a live dog to study how much they have absorbed the instructions given in the program. If it is found that the children have learned a lot about safe interactions around dogs from the Blue Dog program, then it could help in preventing at least some of the thousands of dog attacks involving children every year. 

Many dog attacks involve children who unwittingly provoke the animal by pulling the animal’s ears, or teasing it. Children are the most frequent victims of dog bites in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year there are more than 4.5 million dog bite incidents occurring in the country. Of these, an overwhelming majority involve little children between the age of five and nine. Children of this age group are not only more likely to be involved in the bite incidents, but are also more likely to need medical attention for their injuries. Teaching children to be safe around dogs is a big part of preventing these attacks.

Scott Grossman is a dog bite lawyer in New Jersey representing injured victims of dog bites around the state of New Jersey.

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A dog attack can not only be physically painful but also emotionally scarring. According to a Rush PR News article there are several ways to prevent a dog attack and how to handle your self if involved in one. “Avoid making eye contact with the dog. Dogs perceive eye contact as a challenge and a threat. Look slightly down or aside of the dog, but keep him in your vision. Avoid smiling at the dog. You may be putting on a friendly face, but an aggressive dog sees you baring your teeth for a fight. Look for warning signs. Most dogs are not aggressive but rather just curious or defending what they perceive as their territory. It is important to be able to tell if a dog is just playing or is being truly aggressive. If the dog approaches you with its head held high or low, it is probably not going to attack. A dog whose head is level means business.” There are many more tips on how to prevent a dog attack and what to do after involved in one in the article.

            As a dog bite attorney lawyer covering Freehold, Manalapan, Marlboro, Howell, Jackson, Paterson and all of central and northern New Jersey and know how physically painful and emotionally traumatizing a dog bite can be. The article cited above provides a lot of good information on how to handle dog bite attacks and how to care for the injury afterwards. Some important statistics cited are “In the US alone, nearly 5 million people are attacked by dogs per year, and 1,000 people go to emergency rooms per day as a result of a dog attack; many of them are children, and about half of them have been bitten in the face.” Dog attacks are a serious problem throughout the country and New Jersey is no different. I suggest reading the article several times so you can be well informed on what to do if a situation arises. I hope this information can be useful to your family and friends in helping to prevent dog bite attacks.

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