Dog Attack: Webber Park
Many dogs never bite. But, any dog can, regardless of breed.
That is what Dawn Hunt, of Minneapolis, realized after a scary encounter with a dog in Webber Park, along scenic Shingle Creek, last Thursday afternoon.
'I saw the dog, it saw me and charged me as hard and fast as it could, totally unprovoked,' Hunt said.
Multiple deep gashes mark both of Hunt's legs, some deep enough to require stitches or staples.
'I just kept getting bit and bit and bit, and I was left bleeding,' she said.
She got mauled, then she got mad.
'I mean, it was so fast and it was hard core.'
Hunt described the dog as a Jack Russell mix, white in color with tan spots. She said it was wandering on it own with a leash attached to its collar, dragging it on the ground. Hunt said it didn't growl or bark before pouncing on her and leaving gaping wounds, teeth marks and punctures.
'This one on my left thigh, it got ahold of me and started shaking back and forth,' Hunt said.
She said she struggled to stay standing and did whatever she could to pry the dog's teeth off of her, kicking and hitting it with a water bottle.
In the meantime, Hunt maintains the dog owner, a woman she didn't know, stood nearby before retrieving the leash and taking off with the dog.
'I was screaming for her stop, tell me who you are, where are you going, you can't leave me, it's a crime to leave a person like this,' said Hunt.
But, the stranger kept walking toward the woods before briefly stopping and turning around to say, 'my dog doesn't bite,' Hunt said.
Hunt was left alone, bleeding profusely on the walking path and in a lot of pain. She said the stranger didn't apologize, which hurt as much as the multiple injuries.
'I just kind of would like to know why.'
Hunt said she's aware of two other people and two dogs who claim they were also injured by a dog matching the same description in the same area. She chose to speak out Sunday with the goal of jogging someone's memory of who the woman and her dog might be.
Minneapolis Park Police along with Animal Care and Control are investigating. In Minnesota, pets are personal property and owners are liable for their dog's actions.
The city of Minneapolis keeps a map online of the dogs deemed dangerous, their owner's name and address, and about 25 dogs are currently listed.
If anyone recognizes the woman and dog in the crime alert poster, you are urged to call police.
For a map of dangerous dogs in Minneapolis curated by Minneapolis Animal Control & Care, visit their website here.
Story re-posted from Eyewitness News ABC 5. Written by Beth McDonough