Medical experts are warning residents that the dog days of summer are also the dog-bite days of summer in the city.
According to the Shanghai Disease Prevention and Control Center, 50,000 to 60,000 people are bitten by dogs every year in the city, with more than one-third of the attacks taking place in summertime.
"June, July and August are the peak periods for such incidents," said Hu Jiayu, an official with the center's immunity prevention department. "According to the latest statistics, 7,800 people have had to get rabies vaccination in the city. About 7,000 were bitten by dogs, and the rest were bitten by other pets."
Experts say the rise in attacks during the summer is due to owners spending more time outdoors with their pets and people wearing less clothing during the hot weather.
The Yangpu District Disease Prevention and Control Center reported a total of 757 dog-bite cases in the second quarter of this year. According to the center, in May alone 308 people in the district were bitten by dogs, an increase of 40.1 percent from the same period last year.
"It might be a great fun for those pet owners to have a walk with their beloved animals in the community during summer nights, but sometimes senior residents like me and children are really scared by the big dogs strolling nearby when enjoying the cool outside," said an 80-year-old woman surnamed Pan who lives in Pudong.
"Most injured people came here for wound washing at first and went to a district disease prevention center for vaccine injection," said He Xiang, an official at Yangpu District Central Hospital.
Currently, the city is home to about 100,000 registered pet dogs, but officials suspect there are four to five times as many unlicensed dogs.