Saturday, a 4-year-old Loris boy was bitten by a dog, but the Department of Health and Environmental Control wasn't made aware of the dog bite until they saw the story on NewsChannel 15.
4-year-old Tyler was with his stepfather at a home in Loris, when the family says a yellow lab bit the boy.
Tyler was rushed to Loris Community Hospital. He had to undergo emergency surgery and get 18 stitches.
The Smiths contacted us because they were concerned they couldn't find anyone to quarantine the dog. South Carolina law states any dog that bites someone is to be quarantined for 10 days. The agency that handles that, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, http://www.scdhec.gov/health/region6/index.htm is closed on weekends.
Calls made by both the Smiths and NewsChannel 15 resulted in answering machine messages. We tried three different numbers for DHEC, including an on call week public information officer. Two of the three messages listed business hours as Monday-Friday. The on call number went straight to a voice mail that was not set up, so a message could not be left.
On Sunday, Harold Lewis, the dog's owner, says an Animal Control officer visited and asked him some questions about the dog, but he hasn't be required to quarantine it.
Horry County Police say they responded to the call about the dog bite Saturday. The responding officer filed a report, which is now handed over to DHEC.
Vicki Blair, with DHEC's Myrtle Beach office, says the hospitals have pager numbers for local DHEC nurses who are on call for those types of emergencies. Blair says Loris Hospital should have contacted DHEC when the child came in with the dog bite.
"It is to be reported to us immediately, and they did not do that. They faxed us, but that was on our fax fax machine until 7:00 a.m. (Monday)" Blair said.
A quarantine notice was served to the Lewis's home Monday morning. He was not home, but is required by law to confine the dog for ten days. Lewis has said the dog's rabies vaccination is current.
Blair says if the pager would have been called over the weekend and contact could have been made with the owner, the quarantine would have be able to begin even if an inspector or official notice hadn't been sent to Lewis' property.
"DHEC Protocol could not be followed because the reporting protocol was not followed." she added.
We have made a phone call to DHEC's contact at Loris Hospital. That call has not been retuned.
