What happens after a dog bite? Here’s what you need to know.

SAN ANTONIO – The City of San Antonio Animal Care Services responded to several dog bites in 2024.

KSAT reported on at least seven of them in the second half of the year, most involving children, and at least one of the children died.

Preventing the problem sounds simple, but it keeps happening, so here’s what happens after a dog bites a person.

According to the Public Relations Manager for ACS, Lisa Norwood, the first step after a dog bite in San Antonio should be contacting 311.

“Make sure that you’re getting that medical treatment that you need for the (bite),” Norwood said. “But you do need to call 311 to report the bite, and that’s actually something that’s in state law.”

“You need to give (311) some pretty specific information,” Norwood said. “You need to give them information about where that bite occurred, not just location-wise, but where it occurred on your body, a good description of the animal that bit you. All of these things are really important for animal care services so that we can find that animal and quarantine that animal as state law.”

Baptist Health System Emergency Medicine physician Dr. Bradley Rockoff told KSAT that medical treatment afterward could be lifesaving.

“If it’s an unknown animal, then we do want to give prophylaxis for rabies because rabies is one of those horrible diseases that is not treatable but is preventable,” Rockoff said. “Dog bites, in general, are not just a bite, but also tend to be a crush injury because dogs’ mouths are a lot stronger than, say, other family pets like a cat.”

Although a rabies shot isn’t required if the dog’s vaccinations are up to date and documented, Dr. Rockoff encourages getting a rabies shot within 48 hours if a person needs one.

According to those who have received it or checked with hospitals and their insurance, the rabies shot can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, even with insurance coverage.

The City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District offers rabies exposure shots after a risk assessment. Metro Health did not specify how much a rabies shot could cost. However, they sent KSAT the following statement:

“Metro Health conducts a risk assessment to determine whether Rabies biologicals should be administered. Metro Health hosts a Rabies Depot supported by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and follows the guidelines set by the CDC and DSHS on when to administer rabies vaccine and rabies immune globulin. The charges for rabies biologicals dispensed through the depot are determined by DSHS and can fluctuate depending on the insurance coverage.”

The dog is also quarantined after the bite to check for rabies.

“If the animal goes through the rabies quarantine and there’s no questions about it, then there is the possibility that animal could return home,” Norwood said. ”In some cases, we have animals that don’t have an owner. That requires a different type of testing, in which case the animal is euthanized.”

If the dog’s owner is known, ACS said the entity is not responsible for deciding who would pay for the medical treatment of someone bit by a dog. ACS said that the process should be handled civilly by the two parties.

If you are the owner of the dog that bit a person, you’ll still be spending money, regardless of medical bills.

“If your dog bites somebody, you’re looking at at least one criminal citation because your dog bit somebody,” Norwood said. “If they do not or you cannot prove that they have that rabies vaccination, there’s another criminal citation.”

Norwood said you can also be criminally cited if your dog is not microchipped correctly and if the dog bite happened off the owner’s property.

“Criminal citations come with a very hefty price tag,” Norwood said. “It’s much, much less expensive and certainly more helpful if you (sic) just be a responsible pet owner.”

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