Just a few days after our own dog-bite incident, which I wrote about in a previous blog, I saw this article on our Web site. Sure enough, the number of dog bites, and court cases, is rising. This isn't a surprise after my experiences in the past few months with some dog owners, who let their dogs run around off-leash and don't want to take responsibility for their actions.

In fact, the article, dated Sept. 14, stated that jury awards and medical costs for dog bites are climbing. Homeowners insurance liability claims for dog bite injuries are up a whopping 28 percent since 2003, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Claims for canine bites are also “biting into” homeowners insurance costs (sorry about the pun, couldn't resist). Dog bites account for one-third of all homeowners' insurance liability costs. This totaled $387.20 million in 2008—up a whopping 8.7 percent over 2007!

The organization said the average cost of dog bite claims was $24,461 in 2008 (the most recent figures available). While this was down slightly from $24,511 in 2007, the number of claims increased 8.89 percent to 15,823 in 2008 from 14,531 in 2007.

The Institute noted that more than 4.5 million people in the U.S. are bitten by dogs annually, and nearly 900,000 of those—half of them children—require medical care. This was according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With more than 50 percent of bites occurring on the dog owner's property, the issue is a major source of concern for insurers, the Institute noted.

The I.I.I. mentioned that in some states, the owner is not held liable for the first bite the dog inflicts. Once an animal has demonstrated vicious behavior, however, such as biting or otherwise displaying a "vicious propensity," the owner can be held liable.

These trends are not surprising as more people are adopting dogs. As I said before, this is a very good thing, but this is the down-side. And there is always a down-side.

As I witnessed recently in the incident with my dog, the other dog's owner did not have her dog leashed and did not seem to care that my dog was injured.

Sadly, this lack of understanding, compassion and common sense is a bad reflection on dog owners overall, not to mention potential harm to their dogs, other dogs and people.

Special Reports /

More Dogs, More Incidents: Part II

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