Florida: Animal control officer hospitalized after dog bites her in face

FLORIDA -- A Walton County Animal Control officer was taken to the hospital Friday morning after being bitten in the face by a dog she was trying to catch.

The dog had killed two billy goats the night before. Its owners had called animal control to have the dog picked up.

“(The owners) were concerned the dog was going to keep being harmful,” said Corey Dobridnia, spokeswoman for the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.

Officer Ruth Henthorn went out to the home on John Boland Road to get the dog, but called for help about 9:30 a.m. She told deputies she'd been bitten in the face.

Henthorn was taken to North Okaloosa Medical Center in Crestview, but will need to be transferred to a hospital with a plastic surgeon, Dobridnia said.

“She’s in good spirits,” Dobridnia said. “She’s going to need to go somewhere else so she can see a specialist.”

She said the owners of the dog had been trying to rehabilitate it, but after it got out Thursday night and killed the goats, they decided to relinquish it.

"Our animal control officers work very hard and are very passionate about their jobs," Dobridnia said. "Please keep Henthorn in your thoughts."

(The Northwest Florida Daily News - ‎Jan 15, 2016‎)