'It was violent, like a black bear coming at me,' says woman, who received 100 stitches
TENNESSEE -- A dog that attacked a Lebanon woman walking in her neighborhood on Wednesday evening will be euthanized.
Jane Counts, 50, was walking her dog on Washington Drive, about 500 feet from her home on Brockten Street, when another dog, weighing about 125 pounds, attacked.
“Not just biting, but clamping down and shrugging,” Counts said. “I had to pry his mouth open with my hands, but he was shaking and ripping. It was violent, like a black bear coming at me.”
A motorist stopped when she saw the incident, and Counts was able to fight off the dog long enough to get in the vehicle and slam the door.
Lebanon’s Vicki Smith was driving through the neighborhood and saw the attack from a distance.
She said it appeared unprovoked. When Smith got closer, she told her daughter to stay in the car and call 911, but their phone was dead. They remained in the car and Smith tried honking the horn, attempting to scare the dog.
“Someone needed to help her. She was in a desperate way,” Smith said. “He was relentless, just relentless.”
Smith said someone was with the dog, trying to get it away from Counts.
Counts eventually pulled away from the dog and was able to get into the car. She was immediately taken to University Medical Center’s emergency room and treated for injuries to her legs and arms. She estimated receiving about 100 stitches.
Lebanon Chief of Police Scott Bowen said he does not know why the dog attacked Counts.
The dog’s owner, Andy Poston, immediately agreed to release the Pyrenees to Lebanon Animal Control, which allows officials to euthanize the animal without a court order. The Pyrenees will be put down because of the severity of the attack, Bowen said.
Poston was cited because the dog did not have an updated rabies shot. There have been no signs of rabies since it has been held at Lebanon Animal Control, Bowen said, but the dog will still be sent to the state for testing.
Tennessee law requires dogs, cats or ferrets that bite a person to be observed closely for 10 days, said Department of Health spokeswoman Shelley L. Walker.
The Pyrenees will be euthanized after the required 10-day holding period and then will be tested for rabies, Bowen said.
Attempts to reach Poston were unsuccessful.
(The Tennessean - May 24, 2013)
