FREEPORT, Maine — An allegedly unprovoked attack at a Freeport home by two English bulldogs hospitalized a 65-year-old woman, who suffered bites to her ear and shoulder area.
The attack by the pets at 43 Flying Point Road was the second in just weeks. Both dogs are now quarantined at the Coastal Humane Society and scheduled for euthanasia.
Freeport police declined to release the name of the victim, who was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland after the attack, and her current condition is not known.
On June 17, the two dogs also bit a teenage boy in an incident that did not require emergency medical transport but did also result in a summons for the dogs’ owner.
Sarah Heath, 32, of 43 Flying Point Road, received a summons in both incidents for keeping a dangerous dog.
Karen Stimpson, executive director of Coastal Humane Society, said that both dogs were up to date on shots and did not pose a danger of transmitting rabies to the bite victims.
Stimpson said she did not know the exact weight of the dogs but said both are “rugged dogs.”
After a 10-day quarantine, Stimpson said, the dogs are scheduled to be euthanized.
“We very seldom euthanize,” Stimpson said. “The town has made that determination.”
For more from the Times Record, go to timesrecord.com.
Any dog that attacks a human needs to be put down immediately. There is no excuse. I’ve heard people say that dogs have been provoked, harmed, scared, abused. No matter. Once it bites, it will bite again. Hope this lady heals well and quickly.
As much as I love dogs, I agree that in SOME cases that you are correct. What’s sad is that more often than not, it’s the owner’s fault that dogs become mean. Maybe THEY should be
quarantined and euthanized.
Dog’s can be rehabilitated! I would much rather “put down” a human who has violent tendencies than a dog!
Well thankfully your opinion doesn’t matter- and in this case as well as many other, the dogs were / will be put down.
I disagree 100%..like another person said,once a dog bites it WILL bite again and in some cases it leads to dead of the victim!!!
Lease laws are good, I remember when we did not have lease laws, dogs used to chase cars for entertainment, I am serious, but you are far more apt to be attacked or hurt by a dog, than by a human. I would not keep a dog on a forty acre lot. You do not rehabilitate a dog’s bad behavior, don’t be so stupid!
Dogs have personalities just like humans do, and yet we rarely put humans down. People harm more than dogs do!
depends on what kind of dog we’re talking about here…
really? so when you were a child and bit another child, should you have been put down???? Just as euroexpat stated, dogs can be rehabilitated. I know this because i have one!!!! Are you a cat person?
I have 4 dogs, and dislike cats. My dogs are big babies. They also don’t tend to rip peoples faces off nor do they need shrinks.
who said anything about “shrinks???? I have a big baby as well, and he was left at the humane society because of his aggression, but you know what??? He is now as gentle as can be, and lives with 2 small children. He’s a pit, and a great dog! So what if someone reported that your dog bit them, and it was even a lie, but the police believed it happened…should it be put down because of hearsay? Think about that one, it could happen!!
Pits should be outlawed
really??? so you are obviously ignorant to dogs! why do you say this? I would love to know what your reasons are, and what type of dogs you have. I believe that people who have no clue about a certain breed should not judge! Its pretty much the same as judging a race, person of a specific sexual orientation, religious background etc. Get around a pit, that has a good owner and you will see what kind of dog they are. Funny thing- I know of a boy that was attacked by a pug, and has a huge scar across his face for life, and another boy that has a scar down his arm because of a mini schnauzer. Should they be outlawed, afterall it seem to be that the smaller dogs are more aggressive and bark more often.
Pit Bulls don’t bite your ankle and run.. I have never heard of a pit bull biting someone once, then stopping. Once they are in that mode they attempt to kill their victim…
That is a completely untrue and an ignorant statement! As someone who has worked in dog rescue for many many years – I have never had a pit bull try to bite me – but I have been bitten many times by small breed dogs – and not just nips…
THANK YOU!
People who compare pitbull bites to a pug bites lack a little thing known as common sense.
So it’s okay for a pug to bite, but not a pit bull, simply because of it’s size?
exactly ok_sure!!!! And as i said, a lil boy has a mark down his cheek because of a pug!
I like hot dogs with mustard.
I know someone who was attacked by a yellow lab, no reason the lab just attacked! I’m so sick of pits getting a bad rep!
Interesting you say pit bulls should be outlawed, since the dogs in this article are English Bulldogs….perhaps we should outlaw them also?
no they shouldn’t! People who raise them to attack should be outlawed! I have had pits for the last eight years and they aare the biggest babies and love everyone!
People who treat their dogs as though they are humans are pretty darn annoying.
AMEN!
Anyone who would use this argument has a screw loose. Maybe you should rehab the next Great White that kills a surfer.
It’s a difficult concept for some people to grasp, but listen closely: Animals are NOT people!
Archer speaking of having a screw loose, I just figured i would inform you that great white sharks are not domesticated animals. Figured i’d tell you that so you don’t go out to petco and embarrass yourself when you try to buy one. It may be good for you to know, for future debates, but fish don’t think or understand the language of a human, they are instinctive
“Archer speaking of having a screw loose, I just figured i would inform
you that great white sharks are not domesticated animals.”
… although that would be amazingly cool.
What about cat fish?
well thats just depends on the time of year
What about people that agitates or provokes a dog and the dog reacts? Shoot that dog too?
yep if it bites someone
I tell ya what come to my yard uninvited, and harrass my dog and then if he does happen to bite (highly unlikely) you see if you can win that case in court.
If someone verbally agitates you, and you attack them physically, you’re the one who gets in trouble for assault. Dogs are no different.
One reason vicious dogs have to be put down is because too many dog owners think animal rights trump people’s rights and don’t (in fact refuse to) control their dangerous dogs.
See here is my argument, most dogs that are bite are not vicious. This case here it seems that putting them down is the right thing, however ever case is different and a blanket statement “any dog that bites someone should be put down.” is assinine. I had a dog that has bit many people. But it was a Military Working Dog and was doing what it was trained to do? Should we shoot all MWD’s when they bite a haji who runs a checkpoint or an LE dog trying to apprehend a suspect or protect its handler?
LOL! Oh, the pro dog arguments are hilarious. You’re comparing a military/police dog with house pets? LOL! Of course, I wasn’t referring to police dogs who are capturing criminals. The fact that I have to explain this to you is scary. The lack of common sense among dog owners is scary.
The fact that you think you have to explain this to me proves how pompous and arrogant of a person you are. I pointed out a well known exception to a generalized blanket statement that debblogger wrote, if you think you are so much smarter than me, well bless your heart. Im bored right now as Im currently deployed and we havent had any rocket attacks today, so I will entertain your comment because I really have nothing better to do right now and have some downtime, I have way more common sense than you probably give me credit for this is my fourth tour and most guys dont last this long by being dumb. You can continue to think your better than me and everyone else. But seriously man, getting all worked up about a simple blog on a newspaper websight is pretty lame. LOL….
Well, they’re slightly different, in that the great majority of dogs are unaware of the precise state of current jurisprudence regarding provocation and inappropriately scaled response. Being that they’re dogs and all. Weren’t you just rolling your eyes about people attributing human-like qualities to animals?
would you be so adamant if that uninvited person was a child? Dogs don’t always need provocation…
A child should not be left unattended to wander into someone’s yard that has a dog…children are much more likely to be bit than adults. If a child is wandering into a yard unsupervised and gets bit – his/her parents are to blame.
what kind of dogs do you have? you havn’t responded, so i’m guessing you are not telling the exact truth
I agree 100% So sick of dog lovers acting as defense attorneys for dogs who have proven to be violent. One attack, game over.
I don’t necessarily agree with that. If a person was being assaulted and they defended themselves against their attacker, they probably wouldn’t face criminal charges, so long as they didn’t take it overboard and cause more harm than was necessary to stop the assault. If some ignorant teenagers were throwing rocks or hitting the dog for their amusment (I have seen this happen, some kids just behave badly at times), and the dog snaps to stop the abuse, it does not mean that dog is bad. But if said dog continues to attack until significant bodily harm or death is caused, or if it was a completely unprovoked attack, then it could be necessary and justified to put the dog down.
We do put down humans. All the time. Particularly in Texas. Give them the double tap.
BAD OWNERS is how dogs become that way.
I just can’t belive how many value the life of an animal over a human being. This Country is getting scarier every day.
I don’t believe you can make a blanket analogy regarding dogs biting humans. In this case, the dogs should definitely be put down. The dogs have a history, as does the owner. There are other situations where a dog should bite such as when protecting its owner or a family member from somebody with not so good intentions (Scooby snacks in order!). Each set of circumstances needs to be looked at before making a judgement.
What danger did a 65 year old woman pose to the dogs? My advice to her is get some bear spray for your next walk. if she dares walk around again. Works on dog owners too.. mellows them out for a while.
wonder if the owner will be responsible for the ladys hospital bills???should be!!!
Yes they should be made to pay for everything and EVERYTHING they own including their home should be at risk…They also should be arrested for assault with a deadly weapon for allowing it to happen..Do this a few times and these cases will disapear all on their own…No more attacks and no more pets being put down…
I am so sick of all you Pit Bull haters.
I don’t have a big problem with these particular problem dogs being put down. However, know that whenever somebody says “once a dog bites, it will bite again” or that a bear is destined to attack again once it has “tasted human blood” they are feeding you a line they heard somewhere that is completely made up bullshit.
I would have gotten rid of them the first time they attacked. I get a kick out of these dog owners that can’t handle their dogs, they should not own them if they can’t keep them under control. I really hope this lady recovers.
beware of humans
I feel for the lady that was attacked. But the article said English Bulldogs attacked her and the bites were to her head and shoulder area? I honestly cannot see any dog of that breed being able to run fast enough to catch a person and knock them to the ground. Maybe an Olde English Bulldog (which is actually breed ‘created’ by mixing Pitbulls, Mastiffs, and Bulldogs) or an American Bulldog, both of which are taller, faster, and more aggressive on average than a regular English Bulldog.
Pretty much what I was wondering too. She’d pretty much have to be laying on the ground for this to happen. Certainly possible she fell down but those dogs get out of breath if they have to walk 5 feet let alone chase someone. Almost wonder if she was a guest in the home and laying on the couch or something and they got possessive and just walked up and bit her
2 dogs is a pack and they feed off one another. I feel very sorry for the 65 year old victim.