Girl struggles to recover from dog attack

Karen Zekan

Wednesday, April 8, 1998 | 10:06 a.m.

A 2-year-old girl remained hospitalized in serious condition Tuesday after being mauled by four dogs at her North Las Vegas home.

Tineshea Adams has undergone two surgeries at University Medical Center to correct injuries to her head and feet, which were bitten during Sunday's 5 p.m. attack.

Authorities are still unsure what provoked the dogs to attack. Family members said the child had grown up with the dogs and that her safety had never been previously threatened.

The dogs carried the toddler by her head and feet through an opening in a wire fence and into a dirt lot, pulling and tugging before an adult could intervene and rescue the child, authorities said.

North Las Vegas Animal Control officials seized the dogs and reported that all four will be destoyed.

Dog bites account for nearly 334,000 visits to U.S. emergency rooms each year, according to a study by the American Medical Association.

The study found that boys between the ages of 5 and 9 years old were the most frequent dog-bite victims, injured most often on their heads, necks and ears.

Statistics from the November issue of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics' journal, reveal that most children are bitten by dogs familiar with the child. Dogs were a household member in 30 percent of the cases, and neighbors' dogs were involved in 49 percent of the incidents.

Aggression can be triggered by otherwise passive dogs if canines sense that their territory or family may be threatened.

Dr. Richard Swanson, pres-ident-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association, explained that canine psychology is based on hierarchical dominance, with a leader and subordinates.

In a household where a dog might perceive an adult to be dominant, Swanson said the dog might try to assert its dominance over a child -- in a manner which could include biting -- if it perceives the child or other disturbance as a threat to its territory or family.

Another significant element in understanding dog psychology and child bite statistics, experts say, is that children are usually fearless, curious, and closer to eye-level with a dog than adults.