5 days ago
Woman hospitalized, Chihuahua killed in off-leash dog attack at Lawrence park
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lawrence police are investigating a dog attack after a woman was injured and her Chihuahua was killed by an unleashed dog on Sunday.
According to a , at about 2 p.m., officers were called to Centennial Skate Park on reports of a dog attack.
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The investigation revealed that a woman in her 70s was walking her three dogs when an unleashed dog attacked her and her Chihuahua. The other two dogs were not harmed.
When police arrived, they found the woman suffering from a severe bite wound to her arm, a broken finger, and several other minor wounds. Her pet Chihuahua was killed in the attack.
Police said they found the attack dog pinned down by men who had been witnesses to the attack. Officers then created a makeshift muzzle to control the dog and took it away from the scene.
The woman was taken to a hospital with one of her dogs, police said. The other dog had run off during the attack but was later found by law enforcement and returned home.
The dog that initiated the attack was taken to the Humane Society, as well as the deceased Chihuahua.
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At this time, officers are working to identify the owner of the unleashed dog, but have not been able to make contact with him yet.
Investigations are ongoing, police said.
How to prevent, stop a dog attack
FOX4 spoke with Dr. Melia Washington, chief veterinarian at Pet Resource Center of KC. She shared the following tips to prevent and stop a dog attack:
Loud noise/auditory stimulus (yelling in a deep voice, clapping, foghorn)
Bite stick
Pepper spray
'The first step would be obviously getting their attention,' she said. 'You can do that in various ways…yelling, clapping.
'We always had milk jugs with rocks in them. So just like shaking something, just a weird sound.'
She also said the tone of your voice makes a huge difference, so you want to yell in a deep and assertive tone.
Bite sticks are also a great way to stop a dog attack.
'The other thing is a bite stick,' Dr. Washington said. 'You can use the bite stick to stick in their mouth and pry their mouth open.'
Pepper spray is also good to carry, she said. You can spray it in the dog's eyes to try and stop an attack.
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