Due to another case of a rescued dog attack, a Michigan mother is now at risk of losing her arm from being critically injured.
The woman was seriously injured and is at risk of losing an arm after a dog her son brought home attacked her and dragged her out of the house onto the front yard.
Norton Shores Firefighters and Pound Buddies Assist
Norton Shores Professional Firefighters, in a post on social media Monday afternoon, said that they responded to a "report of an individual found down with traumatic dog bite injuries and both dogs still inside the fence next to the individual."
Officers who arrived at the scene, including medical personnel, were able to retrieve the individual and "temporarily contain both dogs humanely," said the agency.
Pound Buddies, a community animal rescue service serving Muskegon County, Michigan, also arrived on the scene to help control the dogs.
Son's Rescued Dog Attacked Aggressively
Norton Shores Fire Chief Bob Gagnon stated that the call for a subject being attacked by a dog came around 9:30 a.m. Monday. Gagnon said that a passerby had seen two dogs attacking a woman in the front yard and alerted authorities.
"When our crews arrived on the scene, they found the subject lying face down in the front yard, being attacked by the dog," Gagnon said.
The fire chief said that removing the woman from the dogs' grasp was challenging because the dogs were also aggressive towards the police officers and firefighters.
While they were eventually able to successfully pull the animals away from the woman, it was not before the woman was seriously injured.
The Fate of the Dogs and Victim's Recovery
"We found a patient with extensive injuries to the arm, and the patient was semi-conscious," Gagnon said. "The extent of the injuries were so severe that we're pretty certain that they're probably not going to be able to save the arm."
"I don't know for sure, but it does not look very good," Gagnon said, adding that the woman is still at the hospital. The victim's age and identity have not yet been revealed.
Pound Buddies Executive Director Lana Carson said that the dog that attacked the Michigan mother had to "unfortunately be euthanized" because it would be a risk to let it back into society.
The other dog, however, continues to remain at the shelter, said Carson, as they wait to hear back from the victim's family.
Gagnon said that the woman was alone at home when the accident happened, and the son was not home.
Had the passerby not alerted authorities, no one would have known about the attack, Gagnon said. No contact has been made with the son regarding the incident.
"As a firefighter, you prepare for anything in this job. But certainly, in my 30-plus years as a firefighter, that's probably the worst dog attack that I've ever witnessed," Gagnon said. "It's definitely going to take a toll on her [the victim's] family, and, you know, that's the kind of stuff that weighs pretty heavily even on our firefighters."
