Tennessee: Woman mauled by pit bull; police and animal control refuse to do anything about it

TENNESSEE -- A Johnson County woman is calling for justice after she was mauled by a dog. One surgery and more than 300 stitches later, she is speaking out about the attack. News 5's Kristi O'Connor met with her where it all happened.

It is the first time Lou Anne Hoak has been back to the Trade Community Center since the attack.

Animal control officers told News 5 the dog is a pit bull, but Hoak says it does not matter what kind of breed the dog is; she just wants something to be done.

God I am so sick of people saying this. How many people who have been attacked by German Shepherds say this? How many people attacked by Labrador mixes say this? They only ever say this about pit bulls.

Last Monday started out as a typical day for Lou Anne Hoak, she was cleaning up at the Trade Community Center after an event was held there the night before. Her day took a quick turn for worse, when she approached a gate surrounding the park at the center that is open to the public.

She was trying to warn two people who were playing with their dogs that a cleaning crew would be at the park soon.

"She says get back in your car, and I'm like what? and I just saw this brown thing just bolt across the bridge and just come and stuck her head through the gate, and was on top of me," Hoak said.

According to the incident report, the owner told the officer the dog was not restrained, and he did not feel it was necessary since the park was fenced in.

However, Hoak says the gate going into the park was closed, but not locked. She says when the dog ran toward her it pushed through the gate and she was knocked to the ground.

"She dragged me. She grabbed my right leg and just dragged me around the back of my car," Hoak said.

Hoak says the owners pulled the dog off, but she got loose again and attacked Hoak's arm.

"I thought I was going to die," Hoak said. "You know right after it grabbed me, you're watching it's head. It was like something out of a movie, she was just, she wouldn't let go," Hoak said.

Her husband Edward has tried to make the gates more secure, but they say both the owners and the county needs to take responsibility.

"I knew right off nothing was going to be done because there is no animal control here," Edward Hoak said.

"If they could have seen what I went through this week and what I'm still going through, could you imagine a little kid a little child with a little leg. It would have killed them," Hoak said.

The sheriff's office is not pressing charges against the owners, but the dog was put into quarantine for 10 days.

Really, it should say "The sheriff's office won't do their jobs"

News 5 learned the Watauga County Animal Control is investigating the attack since the dog and her owners live in North Carolina.

Animal control officers say they are meeting with the owners to decide if the dog should be euthanized. If they choose to not put her down, she must be leashed and muzzled anytime she is in public.

Hoak says she may undergo plastic surgery, but she will find out more at her next doctor's appointment in September.

(WYCB - Aug 31, 2016)