I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but I thought FML readers would be interested in knowing about our experience with a dog bite incident, and how differently it was handled compared to ferret bite incidents. Two weeks ago, our dog bit the Avon lady while we were staying at my parents' house during my father's hospitalization. My dad had life-threatening complications after his surgery; our dog probably realized that we were very upset and, unfortunately, overreacted to a stranger. His canine teeth make deep punctures in her arm. They bled a lot so we accompanied her to the emergency room, where she got seven stitches. We were asked at the emergency room about our dog's vaccination status; we said he was up-to-date on his rabies shots, but we did not have proof with us. (We were in New Jersey, three hours from home.) We were home 2 days later, and our veterinarian here in Maryland advised us to get an exam and health certificate right away and again in ten days, in case they were demanded. I just took Lupi for his second exam today. What has amazed me about this is that we never heard from the health department in New Jersey, even though we did not present proof of vaccination, even though there were deep puncture wounds. My vet confirmed today that she had not been called either. I did mail the injured woman a photocopy of the health certificate and a vaccination certificate signed by our vet. She would have received these in the mail 5 or 6 days after the bite. I don't know whether she may have been in contact with the health department. I am just very amazed at the health department's nonchalance about a dog bite compared to the notorious overreaction to ferret bites. It is truly amazing that our dog bit someone, she had to go to the emergency room, yet we were not asked to verify his vaccination status or his health. Yet if one of our ferrets bit someone and broke the skin a tiny bit, a vaccination certificate and health certificates would not be enough to save the ferret's life. It just doesn't make sense at all. Clare Sebok [Posted in FML issue 1649]