DogsBite Blog ::

Grandma Battles Pit Bull-Mix that Bites Her and Kills Her Dog

Grandma Must Endure Lengthily Rabies Shots
Minneapolis, MN - Margaret Johnston, 70, was out for an afternoon stroll with her 2-year-old grandson and dog, when a pit bull-mix attacked her dog. She intervened to save her pet and had a chunk taken out of her leg by the attacking dog. Johnson is now undergoing a series of rabies vaccination shots for the bite.

The 3-5 rabies vaccination shots costs about $2,000.

Johnston said she was walking with Schultzie, her miniature schnauzer, as two neighbor girls pushed her grandson, Hunter, in his stroller. The pit bull mix came up from behind them and attacked her dog. She was bitten on the right leg as she tried to break up the dogs, but not before her pet was killed.

After killing her dog, the pit bull mix turned its attention to Johnston and pounced on her, sending them both down a hill in the 3100 block of 80th Street. She punched the dog several times. Once the girls, on spring break from elementary school, came to her aid, the dog fled north through a grocery store parking lot.

The police seized the dog late Friday. It will be quarantined for 10 days at the South St. Paul Animal Hospital. Johnston, retired after 30 years as an emergency room nurse at Regions Hospital, said she had never seen the dog before and has never had trouble in her 20 years of walking Schultzie or other family dogs in the neighborhood.

Why Mrs. Johnston needs the rabies shot series is unclear. We are following up.

In other news:

Pit Bull Taken by SPCA After Biting Postal Worker
Visalia, CA - A 70-pound pit bull dog was impounded and could be put down after biting a U.S. postal worker Wednesday afternoon in a central Visalia neighborhood. Fortunately, the postal worker was not seriously hurt, appearing to have suffered only scratches behind her right ankle.

Suzanne Longoria, whose son owns the 5-year-old pit bull, "Corduroy," said the animal and two smaller dogs in the backyard pushed open a wooden gate as the postal worker was walking by. Longoria and her daughters said the postal worker tried to get away but that Corduroy nipped her in the lower leg. One of Longoria's daughters pulled the dog away from the postal worker and took it inside.

Family Bullmastiff Bites Woman
Cooper City, FL - A family bullmastiff turned vicious Thursday, sending a 19-year-old Cooper City woman to the hospital with a bitten leg. The attack happened about 12:30 pm, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Stephanie Barry, 19, was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. She was conscious and alert when authorities arrived. The normally friendly pet was chasing the family's Chihuahua around the living room as Barry was sleeping. The dog, which was a stray the family took in a year ago, then turned on the woman, biting her on the right leg.