Each year 800,000 Americans seek medical attention for dog bites and half of them in Florida are children.
There have been 33 fatal dog attacks in the past 42 years. The victims were 12 adults and 21 children. Of child victims, more than 80 percent were attacked when left unsupervised with unfamiliar dogs or they wandered off to the location of an unfamiliar dog.
In the Region
Clay County: Averages about 30 reports of dog bites each month. Two fatalities in 18 years.
Duval County: 1,327 cases of dog bites reported to the Health Department in 2006, 890 this year.
Nassau County: Numbers unavailable, but official couldn’t recall any recent fatalities.
St. Johns County: Averages about 30 reports of dog bites each month, 149 this year. None has been fatal in 13 years.
Sources: the National Canine Research Council, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Clay County Animal Control, Duval County Health Department, Nassau County Health Department, St. Johns County Animal Control