Broward animal control officer hospitalized after dog attack, police say
A Broward County Animal Care officer was hospitalized Thursday evening after an American Staffordshire Terrier attacked her at a home in Fort Lauderdale, police and Animal Care officials said.
A woman called 911 shortly after 7 p.m., screaming about a dog 'mauling' an animal control worker in the 700 block of Southwest 14 Terrace, according to Fort Lauderdale Police spokesperson Casey Liening and the 911 call released Friday.
The animal control officer was on a call for a wellness check at the time of the attack, Zachary Rinkins, spokesperson for Broward County Animal Care, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
'Emergency, please!' the woman who called 911 screamed.
'What's the address?' the dispatcher asked.
'The dog is mauling her! There's a dog mauling her!' the woman shouted back.
The caller said the woman who was being attacked was 'screaming for help.'
The dispatcher struggled to get any information out of the woman who called 911. She screamed and shouted for help to come continuously. Her son was trying to help the woman, she told the dispatcher. The dog could be heard growling and barking at one point in the background while the woman who called 911 yelled 'No!' repeatedly.
Fort Lauderdale Police arrived three minutes after the 911 call. The animal control officer was taken to Broward Health Medical Center, Liening said. She remained there Friday with serious injuries but is expected to recover.
The woman was taken to the trauma unit at the hospital, Rinkins said, and the dog was humanely euthanized.
The dog had been injured during the struggle when witnesses tried to intervene, Liening said. She did not provide further information about how the injuries occurred.
Broward County Animal Care is investigating, along with police, Rinkins said. Liening said the department is not expecting to conduct any criminal investigation as of Friday.
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5 days ago
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Dog mauls Broward County Animal Control officer in Fort Lauderdale, police say
A dog viciously attacked a Broward County Animal Care Control officer Thursday in Fort Lauderdale, police said. The attack happened around 7:15 p.m. in the 700 block of Southwest 14th Terrace, police said. In a 911 call released by police, a woman witnessing the incident is heard frantically screaming for officers to hurry. 'Oh my God, it's mauling her,' the woman tells the 911 operator. 'The dog is attacking an Animal Control officer. Please send somebody!' Police arrived about three minutes later and found the officer with life-threatening injuries, said Casey Liening, a Fort Lauderdale Police spokeswoman. Witnesses trying to help the woman injured the dog in the process, Liening said. Zachary Rinkins, a spokesman for Broward County Animal Care Control, said the officer was conducting an animal-welfare check on the property when she was attacked. The dog, an American Staffordshire terrier mix, was 'humanely euthanized,' Rinkins said. Paramedics took the officer to Broward Health Medical Center. Liening said Friday that her injuries are serious, but she is expected to survived. It was not immediately clear what will happen to the owners of the dog. Broward County Animal Care Control is leading the investigation into the attack, Rinkins said.
