As summer creeps closer, Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control asks parents to review dog bite prevention tips during National Dog Bite Prevention week, this week. Every year, 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Animal Care and Control spokesperson Peggy Bender notes that dog attacks “can be prevented by dog owners using good judgment and proper confinement.”

To avoid dog bites:

♦Never approach an unfamiliar dog.

♦If you are approached by an unfamiliar dog, remain motionless until the dog leaves the area. Do not scream or run from dog.

♦If a dog should attack, throw at it a purse, jacket, backpack or anything that can come between you and it.

♦If you are a dog owner, have your dog spayed or neutered, take your dog to obedience classes and avoid chaining your dog.

♦If you see a loose dog, report it to Animal Care and Control at 427-1244.