Fortunately I "missed" the 1993 release of the movie Man's Best Friend which featured Ally Sheedy and a dog turned from man's best friend into man's worst nightmare as he attacks everything that moves. The dog, Max, endowed with intelligence and other special abilities, is at first lovable, but also proves to be a ferocious, unstoppable killer.
Dog bites typically cause a crushing-type wound because of their rounded teeth and strong jaws. An adult dog can exert 200 pounds per square inch (psi) of pressure, with some large dogs able to exert 450 psi.2 Such extreme pressure may damage deeper structures such as bones, vessels, tendons, muscle, and nerves.
The sharp pointed teeth of cats usually cause puncture wounds and lacerations that may inoculate bacteria into deep tissues. Infections caused by cat bites generally develop faster than those of dogs. As many as 40 percent of cat bites become infected and require medical care. If you were to get bitten by a cat you should immediately clean the bite with a disinfectant and monitor it closely so that it doesn't get infected. If in doubt, always visit a doctor to be safe.
Here are some of the facts:
- According to the Journal of the American Medical Association there are almost 800,000 dog bites each year.
- One out of every six are serious enough to require medical attention.
- Overall, dogs inflict 80 to 90% of the animal bites that require medical attention.
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the odds that a dog bite victim will be a child are 3 to 1.
- Severe injuries from dog bites are highest for children ages 5 to 9 years of age.
- Three quarters of dogs involved in bite incidents belong to the victim’s family or friend.
- The majority of dog attacks (61%) happen at home or in a familiar place.
- A cat bites one in every 170 people in the U.S. each year.
Not only were reactions to the Katrina rescue efforts divided along lines of class, race and political party, they have also highlighted another schism: between dog and cat haves and dog and cat have-nots. Animal owners around the country responded with outpourings of sympathy, hurt and outrage: How could rescue workers have barred pets from helicopters and shelters?
This may come as a shock for some, others knew this all along: canine companions have been hounded out by catty competition as man's new best friend. New research out today reveals that cats are the purr-fect pal, with both men and women saying they would prefer to wake up with their puss (46%) than their partner (26%).
Long gone is the image of a cat as a 'girls' pet. They are good news for blokes too, as research shows they are the new 'babe magnet' - 98% of single women would prefer to date someone who loves cats and, amongst women who are attached, 86% said that a cat enhances, or could enhance, their relationship.
There is serious competition between these ferocious, unstoppable canine killers and pointed toothed feline vampires for the title of Best Friend for man or woman. Can an animal, which may bite and inflict illness be called a friend? Here are some common features of friendship:
- co-operative and supportive behavior
- a relationship
- mutual knowledge, esteem, and affection
- loyalty
- for many, friendship is nothing more than the trust that someone or something will not harm them.
A friend is a lover, literally. The relationship between Latin amīcus “friend” and amō “I love” is clear, as is the relationship between Greek philos “friend” and phileō “I love.” In English, though, we have to go back a millennium before we see the verb related to friend. At that time, frēond, the Old English word for “friend,” was simply the present participle of the verb frēon, “to love.” The Germanic root behind this verb is *frī–, which meant “to like, love, be friendly to.”
Take a deep breath dear readers. I will assume that most of you can make the leap of faith and accept that an animal can be a friend. We do love our pets! Some of you, unfortunately, may want to turn away. Those with an open mind are willing to accept that not only are your cats and kittens your friends, but "Dogs are our friends, too." My next post will be an interview with a friend (human) of mine where we discuss her friend "Remy".
You may enjoy reading: Why, she'll eat a little bird as soon as look at it!
You may also enjoy reading: Come men, can't any of you sing?.
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