Fear of dogs can last long after an attack

Sometimes, as Doris Mixon Smith drifts off to sleep, she can feel the pit bull that tore off most of her left arm chewing on the stump that is what’s left and licking blood off her phantom fingers.

Such feelings are not uncommon among victims of trauma, experts say. They sometimes can give rise to anxiety, phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD — the same syndrome that can afflict soldiers who face death in battle.

Smith said she hasn’t suffered from PTSD since the attack, when the dog also bit into her face. What’s left of her arm after it was amputated above the elbow, Smith calls “Charlie.”

“My five kids made me go see a psychiatrist, and (the doctor) said I didn’t have it,” Smith said. “She said, ‘I wish I was as strong as you.’”

Smith credits her strong faith in God that she survived the day, but she knows her life is not the same, and not just in the way she’s had to learn to handle daily activities with just one hand.

Now, when she takes her little dog Penny for a walk through the neighborhood these days, she carries a gun and a bottle of Mace.

Lindsay Bira, a clinical health psychologist and assistant professor of psychiatry at UT Health San Antonio, said that after a trauma, “there may be imagery or sensations linked to the trauma that a victim can experience again.”

More Information What to when a dog threatens you Pepper spray can be a deterrent but can be problematic because of wind and blowback. Air horns are a relatively cheap way to deter an approaching animal, as is a loud noise like a shout. Chasing an animal away is not recommended, nor is running away, because it can excite a dog’s “prey drive” to chase you. Put up a barrier between yourself and the dog, such as a purse, bag, walking stick, umbrella, or a bike, if you are riding. Children should be taught SAFE — stay still, arms crossed, face away, eyes down.

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In PTSD, the brain essentially gets “ hijacked” by the body’s response to the attack, fear that lingers long after the threat is over and spreads to other areas of life, and can manifest in nightmares, flashbacks and other psychological torments. The mental toll also can lead to physical health problems.

“Recovery becomes complicated when the trauma is over but the brain thinks there's still an immediate threat,” she said. “The fear response continues to get triggered moving forward, and this makes life hard.”

(Bira, who treats those experiencing PTSD from military combat or other forms of trauma, including serious dog attacks, commented on trauma’s effects in general, not Smith’s case in particular.)

Someone who’s had a bad experience with an animal — a dog, a snake or whatever — can develop anxiety or a specific phobia, where something as simple as seeing a picture of the same type of animal can trigger a fear response. With significant trauma, like a serious dog attack, where a person’s sense of safety is threatened, the symptoms spin out of control. This can be true for even those witnessing a dog attack or other trauma.

“Most people recover naturally, but the experience of a trauma can negatively change a person's view of themselves, other people and the world,” Bira said. “The world can then seem to be a dangerous place, and the person may start using avoidance behavior to cope, like avoiding crowds. When this becomes a pattern, their world begins to shrink, and the unhelpful thinking is reinforced. They might not trust people or situations like they used to. The fear can also generalize to many other things.”

The brain and nervous system can get stuck in a state of hypervigilance, she said, which, over time, can cause not just mental health issues like anxiety and depression but can be linked to chronic illness, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and a weakened immune system.

“That’s why it’s so important to get proper treatment for PTSD and anxiety,” Bira said. If symptoms persist more than a month after a trauma, it is wise to seek help.

Various proven-effective therapies exist, including exposure therapy, where a person gradually is desensitized to the threat. For example, they might visit a dog park with their therapist.

“It comes down to calming the nervous system and retraining the brain,” said Bira, who added that sometimes medications are recommended in conjunction with talk therapy.

Attack on beloved dog

Becky Snodgrass was chatting with an elderly neighbor on the latter’s front porch in Terrell Heights when the woman’s family dog escaped or was let out of the backyard.

The dog — Snodgrass thinks it was an English bulldog — was smaller than her dog Sampson, a gentle Golden Retriever that sat at her feet on a leash, but it was vicious.

“The dog comes barreling at us full-on,” she recalled. Sampson couldn’t get away and she fell on the ground. “I thought, ‘Sampson’s going to die, and then I’m going to die.’”

The dog lunged repeatedly at Sampson, but somehow Snodgrass wasn’t bitten. Finally, a man from inside the house came out and grabbed the dog. Snodgrass, shaking, yelled that she was going to report the attack to ACS. The dog has never behaved this way, the man said.

Once home, Snodgrass realized Sampson, a therapy dog used to comfort children whose families are involved with Child Protective Services, was bleeding. She rushed him to the vet, where he got stitches. For two days, he lay on the floor, barely able to move.

Snodgrass never reported the attack to ACS, although she told people she did.

“I knew that if I did, (the neighbors) knew it was me who reported them, and the next day a piece of (poisoned) meat would get thrown in my backyard, and Sampson would be dead.”

Several days after the attack, Snodgrass and Sampson took part in the Fiesta Pooch Parade, which turned out to be a bad idea.

“I kept waiting for disaster to happen,” she said. Every time a dog would bark, adrenalin would course through Snodgrass’ body. Even now, several years later, when she takes Sampson for a walk in the neighborhood, she carries a knife.

“I’m always on guard, which is a good thing,” she said. Those neighbors have since moved.