OREGON -- An 86-year-old Hermiston woman was treated at Good Shepherd Medical Center earlier this week after she was attacked by a pack of dogs near her home.
Leona Stewart was attacked in the road around 11 a.m. Memorial Day as she was walking across the street to her neighbor's house on East Cherry Street.
Stewart suffered scratches and bruises to her arms and legs and is taking antibiotics. The attack came as a surprise, since she and her grandchildren had previously petted the dogs at her neighbor's residence.
"I was not a stranger," Stewart said.
Leona Stewart was attacked in the road around 11 a.m. Memorial Day as she was walking across the street to her neighbor's house on East Cherry Street.
Stewart suffered scratches and bruises to her arms and legs and is taking antibiotics. The attack came as a surprise, since she and her grandchildren had previously petted the dogs at her neighbor's residence.
"I was not a stranger," Stewart said.
Stewart's granddaughter, Melissa Pellham, was worried about her grandmother.
"She's 86 years old and all she had was a cane," Pellham said.
Pellham said Stewart takes "blood thinner" medication and worried she could have bled to death if she had been knocked down.
One of the dogs believed to be the primary aggressor was a female pit bull, according to a police report. The pit bull was quarantined at Pet Rescue, Pellham said.
Pet Rescue’s Beau Putnam does not believe the pit bull has had a rabies vaccination. Putnam said it's not very common for humans to contract the virus.
"She's 86 years old and all she had was a cane," Pellham said.
Pellham said Stewart takes "blood thinner" medication and worried she could have bled to death if she had been knocked down.
One of the dogs believed to be the primary aggressor was a female pit bull, according to a police report. The pit bull was quarantined at Pet Rescue, Pellham said.
Pet Rescue’s Beau Putnam does not believe the pit bull has had a rabies vaccination. Putnam said it's not very common for humans to contract the virus.
"When a dog bites a person they have to be quarantined for 10 days," Putnam said. "It's just to make sure the dog doesn't have rabies."
Jason Bothwell was cited for having a dog at large and failure to contain a vicious dog, according to a police report.
"Just keep your dogs contained, that's all I ask," Pellham said.
In a separate incident, another pit bull allegedly attacked a chihuahua mix in Hermiston on Tuesday.
Cesar Romo, 19, of Hermiston was asleep early Tuesday morning when the incident took place in the backyard of his East Main Street home. Romo's younger sister witnessed the attack. Romo said his dog suffered a puncture wound to his backside, an injury to his foot and a bite mark on his face.
Romo said the pit bull entered his back yard through a fence door that was partially open and that Romo's dog had growled at the intruding dog.
The pit bull then "overpowered" the chihuahua mix before the neighbor, who had followed his dog into Romo's backyard, "tackled" the pit bull.
Romo said doctors estimated a surgery for Chico's foot could cost between $2,000 and $3,000. Romo said he plans to take the pooch to a specialist in Pendleton.
Romo is glad nothing happened to his sister, who is in the fifth grade. He also said he’s worried about a pit bull being loose in a neighborhood that is often filled with children.
"It's a huge concern for the neighborhood," he said.
Recent dog attacks on livestock and pets in and around Hermiston in the last few months have emphasized the need for residents to adhere to city ordinances and license their dogs.
Six pit bulls were recently captured by the Hermiston Police Department after the dogs killed two chihuahuas. The dogs were not licensed and thus the owners could not be identifed. Two separate attacks on herds of sheep were also reported recently, but the dogs were not caught.
Since the beginning of March, the Hermiston Police Department has had to respond to an average of at least one “dog complaint” per day in the city. Most simply involve dogs running loose or complaints about barking.
But at least six calls in March involved residents being bitten, with at least two complaints involving dogs biting children.
“The last thing any officer wants to respond to is an incident with a child or an adult having been mauled by a pack of animals that should be under the control of the owners,” Police Chief Jason Edmiston said earlier this year.
The cities of Hermiston, Stanfield and Echo require that dogs be licensed and vaccinated. The city of Umatilla has its own form of animal control through a code enforcement and animal control officer.
The city requires all dogs be vaccinated but dog licenses are optional depending on whether the owner intends to take the animal off the property.
Edmiston said risks to the public can be significant if an animal at large has not been given proper care such as shots.
The penalty for the owner of a dog found at large is up to $720 or a Class A violation, according to a city ordinance.
(Hermiston Herald - June 2, 2012)
