On February 8, Colorado’s 9NEWS morning Kyle Dyer was bitten in the face by a dog while interviewing Max, an 85-pound Argentine Mastiff, Max’s owner Michael Robinson, and the firefighter who rescued the dog from a freezing reservoir after he had fallen through the ice.
During the interview, Dyer sat down on the floor directly in front of Max, holding his face in her hands, looking at him and talking over his head to his owner and the firefighter. Then the dog lashed out and bit Dyer on the face.
Vice President of News at 9NEWS Patti Dennis said in an article at 9news.com, “The dog bite accident that happened [Wednesday] at 9NEWS was unfortunate and certainly not expected based on what we knew about the dog and his owner.”
It might not have been expected based on the dog’s past behavior. But if you’re the slightest bit familiar with dog behavior, Max’s bite was not unexpected at all. In fact, he was communicating very loudly and very clearly that he was stressed, feeling trapped and getting ready to express those feelings in a more forceful way.
Kyle Dyer, 9News anchor who was bitten in the face by a dog during an interview. (Photo 9News.com)
First, I want to make sure that everyone understands that Dyer’s injuries, while not life threatening, are very, very serious. She underwent reconstructive surgery, received 70 stitches and a skin graft, and had her mouth sewn shut to allow blood blood to circulate through the graft. I cannot express enough how much pain and suffering she has to be experiencing. Please keep her in your prayers; you can follow her progress on her Facebo0k page.
Max is back home as well, after spending a mandatory 10 days in quarantine. His owner was cited because his dog bit someone, for a leash-law violation because he did not have control of the dog at all times, and for not having Max vaccinated for rabies.
This was a tragic incident all around. So it’s important to take a moment to go back and see where things went wrong, so that other people can hopefully avoid the same outcome. Because even a nice dog with no bite history will bite under the right circumstances. Continue Reading »
Tags: 9News, CO, Denver, dog bites, Dogs, Kyle Dyer
