In 1999, seven-year-old Kelly Voigt of Palatine, Illinois was seriously injured when a neighbor’s dog attacked her as she walked near her home. She received approximately 100 stitches in her face and neck and later required treatment for posttraumatic stress syndrome and depression. Sadly, what happened to Kelly is not uncommon, as almost half of all children in the United States will be bitten by a dog by the age of 12. There are more hospital emergency room visits every year due to dog bites than from skateboard, in-line skating, baby walker, all-terrain vehicle, and horse-back riding accidents combined. Incredibly, nothing has been done in most communities to address this problem, although several major studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control have concluded that an educational program for children would be a critical factor in reducing the number of dog bites in our country.

Prevent The Bite (PTB), a nonprofit organization, was formed two years ago in order to teach children how to be safe around dogs. Using information from many different sources, school psychologist Nancy Skeffington and Kathy Voigt (Kelly Voigt’s mother) have successfully developed and implemented an effective educational program for elementary school aged children. Nancy and Kelly Voigt, along with Nancy’s certified therapy dog, have presented these safety strategies to thousands of children in Illinois and Wisconsin. This program has received both local (ABC and NBC) and national (Today Show, Oprah, WGN, and People Magazine) media exposure, and Prevent The Bite has been flooded with requests from around the country for this critically needed safety program. A number of people have also offered to become actively involved in carrying out the PTB mission.