Five pit bulls descend on woman and her dog - then attack again when cops show up

A 28-year-old Rockville, Md., woman was walking her dog Addie when she was besieged by five pit-bull mixed-breed dogs, who tore at Addie’s abdomen before turning on her owner, Montgomery County Police said in a news release.

Then the dogs came back.

“She couldn’t get away,” said Officer Lindsey Gilson, according to Fox 5 DC. “Whichever way she turned, there was another dog there.”

Police said the woman was walking her dog, a 7-year-old Foxhound, down the street in her Rockville neighborhood on the afternoon of October 18. The woman had noticed dogs barking at a yard gate, and so she crossed the street.

“Every indication points to the dogs being outside, and not inside, of the house,” Animal Services director Thomas Koenig said, according to Bethesda Magazine.. “The woman heard the dogs barking when she walked by.”

Suddenly, five of the dogs were loose - and running toward the woman and Addie, police said.

They attacked Addie first. The woman reached down and scooped Addie into her arms, holding the dog away from the snapping jaws, WJLA reported.

Then the dogs turned to her, biting into her left leg, cops said.

The woman fled to a neighbor’s porch and stayed there to call police. Cops arrived to find her bleeding from her leg and Addie bleeding from her stomach.

“She was so upset,” Gilson said, according to Fox 5 DC. “She was shaking like a leaf. Obviously just traumatized.”

As they spoke, three of the dogs were out in the yard in front of the porch. One suddenly ran at the porch, and the others followed, launching a second attack, cops said.. The woman and her dog were bitten again before police were able to contain the loose dogs.

Pictures from the scene showed blood splattered on the porch steps.

Animal services seized the five dogs, which have all been declared “dangerous,” police said. They are expected to be euthanized if the owner does not make an appeal, according to police.

The woman was taken to the hospital and treated for “multiple severe bite wounds” before being released. Her dog, Addie, was in critical condition and was undergoing procedures, according to police.

Police have not identified the owner of the dogs, but said interviews were taking place that would determine whether or not any citations would be issued, Bethesda Magazine reported.

This story was originally published October 22, 2018 at 9:00 AM.