Woman Jumps Into Dog Fight

A frightening video of what appeared to be a woman being attacked by several dogs along a busy highway sparked calls directly to the sheriff and prompted deputies to take a second look at what happened. The situation turned out to be a little more complicated. According to the sheriff's report, the woman wasn't simply attacked while walking along the road. She was injured after jumping into a fight involving multiple dogs and attempting to pull them apart. Lawrence County Sheriff Jeff Lawless contacted a deputy after receiving several calls on his personal cell phone about the incident, along with a video that appeared to show a woman being attacked by dogs along State Route 93 just north of Ironton. Another deputy had responded to the area a couple of hours earlier, but the sheriff requested a follow-up at the home where the incident reportedly occurred. When the deputy arrived, several people were standing in the driveway and confirmed there had been a dog fight. They said a friend had been bitten while attempting to break it up and was on her way to seek medical treatment. According to statements provided to deputies, the homeowners had met the woman and her husband only a day or two earlier. The couple was homeless, and the homeowners had offered to let them stay temporarily in a camper on the property. The visiting couple also had two dogs. Since several dogs already lived on the property, everyone reportedly agreed that the two groups of animals would be kept separated. That plan fell apart while the homeowners were away at a children's birthday party. The injured woman told deputies she was inside the camper attempting to use the restroom when her dogs escaped through the screen door and began fighting with the other dogs. She called the homeowners for help, then tried to break up the fight herself. According to the report, the combined group of dogs overpowered her as she continued trying to separate them. The woman suffered a bite that broke the skin on one hand, another laceration on her opposite hand, scrapes to both legs and claw marks on her back and stomach. She could not say which dog had bitten her. The homeowners rushed back from the birthday party, got the dogs under control and helped the woman clean up before taking her for medical treatment. Despite the alarming video and her injuries, the woman told deputies she did not want anyone charged and was concerned that reporting the incident could result in her own dogs being taken away. The deputy explained that the follow-up was intended to determine what had happened, make sure everyone was safe and document the incident. All parties requested that no charges be filed.

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