Fabien, who contacted us via the orange Alert us button, had a traumatic experience. While jogging on Sunday, this father residing in the Beauraing region saw himself being attacked by a Rottweiler and a Pit Bull. “I was off for a week, and I didn’t even get a word of apology from the owner,” he says, still marked by the fangs of animals on his thighs.
At the beginning of last September, Fabien, accompanied by two friends, started jogging, as he is used to, in the Luxembourg region and more precisely between Poupehan and Botassart (Bouillon). “After about ten kilometers, my two companions let me go, because they are faster than me and I find myself alone“, he explains. “I then take a small path, and I pass in front of an unfenced property. Two dogs then see me and start chasing me.“.
It lasted a good 20 minutes
Realizing the situation, Fabien, distraught, continues to run while the two dogs pursue him and attack his legs. “The pit bull just ran after me, while the rottweiler bit me on the thighs“If Fabien did try to fight back, he nevertheless continued to run, so as not to be at the mercy of the dogs.”If I stopped, I felt like they would attack me even more. It lasted 20 minutes, it was endless“.
After a good quarter of an hour, the owner finds the track of the dogs, while these were beginning to be left behind by Fabien. “He didn’t even apologize! He told me that I would have done better to turn around rather than continue running, he took his dogs and left. He was almost angry with me for having made him lose time of his day!“
Result of this painful morning: injured legs, ripped jogging and a few euros lost. “I had to do booster shots, pay for medicine and take a week off. That’s a bit much for what was supposed to be a simple jog!”, he explains. But Fabien also filed a complaint against the owner of the two dogs.
Because as indicated by the general regulations of the Police Zone of Semois-et-Lesse, the owner was in violation on several points. Here is a brief reminder of the rules if you own an animal.
Obviously aggressive and prone to biting, the two dogs were in the public space, not muzzled.
As the second sentence explains, the master must be able to control his animal, which was not the case here.
Finally, the owner, according to Fabien, let the dogs roam in the public space.
“A dog bite can be very traumatic”
After such an experience, can we be more wary, even frightened at the sight of big dogs? For Dr. Rodolphe Oppenheimer, a psychologist specializing in the field, these attacks can have a real impact on the victim. “VSIt’s completely different than being assaulted by another human: with a human, you can leave room for a discussion, you can leave room for a certain form of reasoning on the part of an individual. Even if the aggressor does not want to hear anything, it is conceivable for us to find a way out. When a dog of this type runs after us, our conscience sees death arriving in an inevitable way, no ‘negotiation’ no ‘discussion’ by definition is possible, which makes the experience quite traumatic”.
Cases of trauma are therefore not uncommon after being bitten by a dog. “The brain will create a new mathematical equation: dog = bite, bite = death, and the subject will have to be helped to understand that this mechanism is false.“
A diagnosis that corresponds completely with the feeling that now lives in Fabien, who, however, is comfortable with dogs: Fabien has been working in a pet shop for several years! “With small dogs no worries, but now when I hear a bark, I’m on my guard. I’ve resumed jogging, but if I hear barking while running, I’ll change direction and walk away“A normal feeling, according to psychologist Rodolphe Oppenheimer.”Shortly after an attack, you have to be able to rebuild, little by little, your relationship with dogs“.
Can you become cynophobic after an attack?
Dog phobia has a name, cynophobia. If some are affected without even having ever suffered dog attacks, it is possible to develop a certain form of cynophobia after an experience like the one Fabien had… But it is not inevitable and can be worked on. , explains Rodolphe Oppenheimer.
“It works in behavioral and cognitive therapy with our patients, we will try to reason about the aggression of which they have been victims. First of all, not all dogs are mean, start with small examples like this. There are other methods, to do at home, such as exposing yourself to watching them, even in photos if videos are still too anxiety-provoking. It could also be watching dogs in a movie and then gradually increasing the level of exercise.“, concludes the professor.