Dog Bite Hospitalizations Are On the Rise

January 2011

Man’s best friend is adding a little more bite to his bark – the number of Americans hospitalized for dog bites almost doubled from 1993 to 2008, according to a new government study.

There were 5,100 hospitalizations in 1993 and 9,500 in 2008, an increase that far exceeded population growth. Furthermore, pet ownership increased only slightly over the 15-year period, according to the study’s author. Experts have yet to find an explanation for the trend.

Over 860 people went to the emergency room with dog bites each day in 2008, and about 26 were hospitalized. Children under the age of five and adults 65 and older were most likely to be hospitalized following a bite. Rural area residents were hospitalized three times as often as their non-rural counterparts.