Breckenridge dog attack update: Dog to be euthanized, owner cited
The Summit County Sheriff’s Office released a statement Thursday morning about the horrific dog attack on Peaks Trail Friday, Sept. 14.
The statement said that at approximately 6 p.m. on Sept. 14, sheriff’s deputies and animal control responded to a report of a woman seriously injured by a dog bite on the Peaks Trail in unincorporated Summit County.
As the dog, identified as an Anatolian Shepherd, was passing the victim, it lunged out and bit the victim on her tricep from behind. The dog dragged the victim down, shaking and tearing a bloody chunk out of the victim’s arm. Graphic photos posted on social media showed the extent of the injury. Those photos and accompanying posts have since been deleted.
The dog’s handler unsuccessfully attempted to contact the owner at the scene, and then left with the dog promising to return to aid the victim. She did not return.
The victim was transported by ambulance to St. Anthony Summit Medical Center.
The dog was leashed and in the care of a person who said she was dog-sitting the dog. That person was later revealed to be the dog owner’s girlfriend.
On Sept. 17, an individual called Summit animal control and identified himself as the owner of the dog in question. He said that the handler was his girlfriend, and that she had handled the incident poorly. The owner has been summoned to court on a Failure to Prevent Hazard charge.
The owner also said that he is voluntarily euthanizing the dog.
“The dog’s owner had scheduled the euthanasia of the dog after being made aware of the attack,” said Summit Animal Control Director Lesley Hall in the sheriff’s office statement. “Tissue samples from the dog will be sent to the state laboratory and tested for rabies.”
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