SOUTH CAROLINA -- An Anderson County animal shelter employee is recovering from injuries after being attacked by a dog there this week.
Jessica Cwynar, the director of Anderson County Paws, said the dog has been kept at the shelter since May because of a court order. She said she believes the dog is “in the bull terrier family” and may be a pit bull.
Cwynar said the same shelter employee has been working with the dog the whole time it has been at the shelter and that, for some reason, the dog “turned on him” Wednesday.
“They get more aggressive the longer they have to stay in their cage,” she said.
She said the worker had handled the dog with no problems earlier in the day Wednesday, before the attack.
Cwynar said the worker was trying to put water in a dish for the dog when the dog lunged at him.
The man suffered injuries to his wrist and ankle and will be out of work for about a week, Cwynar said. She said the worker was initially taken to AnMed Health Medical Center in Anderson before being taken to “another facility.” - likely because it was such serious injuries that the medical center couldn't handle it.
She did not disclose where else the employee was treated, and officials did not identify the worker by name.
Cwynar said Thursday that the worker had been released from the hospital.
Chad McBride, spokesman for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, said he did not have any information about the unresolved court case for which the dog is being kept, except that the court order was sought by the 10th Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
McBride said no sheriff’s office report about the attack was available Thursday.
McBride said the dog was still being kept at the shelter, which is on U.S. 29 South in Anderson, as of Thursday.
“There is a process that they could go through that will probably be pursued to request that the animal be removed,” McBride said. “There is a process if you can prove that the animal is a danger to people.”
(Independent Mail - Oct 20, 2011)
