A Salt Lake woman who said a dog on a leash bit her while out on a run Sunday evening in her neighborhood hopes sharing her story will help warn others.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, shared exclusively with 2News images of her bite wound from the encounter which occurred near Warm Springs Park at 200 W and 700 N, in the Marmalade neighborhood.
After the attack, the woman took a video on her phone as she approached the dog owner a second time to speak.
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The bite victim can be heard saying to the woman walking the dog, “I don’t know your name, but I would like to know your information because you have to report dog bites that break skin.”
After that, video interaction escalates quickly and the dog walker can be heard telling the dog to attack the woman again.
The victim tells 2News her biggest concern is that police haven’t been able to locate or identify the woman or dog. It’s something law enforcement teams said they are actively working on for several reasons.
“We need to check that the dog is current on its rabies vaccines to ensure there’s no risk. Rabies does exist in the Salt Lake Valley. We live close to the mountains so it is a real risk,” said Karl Carpenter with Salt Lake County’s Animal Control.
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“Obviously, as you’ve seen in the video, the incident seems like it was exasperated a little bit and there was a disagreement, there was some hostility, so we need to determine the level of responsibility there in the dog owner,” he said.
Carpenter reiterates it’s not necessarily a case of blaming that person for the dog biting the woman, but that oftentimes it is within the owner’s capacity to prevent that or minimize the risk of that happening. He invites anyone who may recognize the woman or the dog to contact Salt Lake County Dispatch or Animal Control.
Carpenter said the video the victim shared gives them a snapshot of what happened, which he acknowledged is alarming, but that it’s also important to speak with both parties, which the victim also wants.
The victim immediately reached out to police following the incident and was able to file a police report. She also filed a bite report through the health department.
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She sought medical care and was informed the dog had likely bitten through her tendon, which impacts her ability to walk. The woman shared with 2News that walking has been extremely painful and she’s hopeful for a speedy recovery.
She is also hopeful the woman seen walking the dog will come forward to sort this out with police or that someone who saw the incident will let police know.
If you have any information, call Salt Lake County Dispatch at 801-840-4000 or Animal Control at 385-468-7837.
