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Cops: Woman, Dog Attacked By Pit Bull

OLYPHANT — Two dogs are dead and a woman had to be rushed to a hospital after a violent dog attack in Lackawanna County Tuesday. Police in Olyphant say a ...

OLYPHANT -- Two dogs are dead and a woman had to be rushed to a hospital after a violent dog attack in Lackawanna County Tuesday.

Police in Olyphant say a pit bull, owned by man in the borough, became so aggressive that it attacked and killed another dog and seriously injured a woman. The attack only stopped when a neighbor shot and killed the pit bull.

A neighbor living along Gravity Avenue in Olyphant says a pit bull she had never seen before became aggressive when it ran onto her property around 10:30 a.m. 

"I was sniffing everything, jumping up and down, pulling those apart," the neighbor said.

Then, the neighbor told police the pit bull spotted a woman walking her dog down the street. The pit bull went after them, according to cops, and first latched onto the shih-tzu puppy then bit the woman's hand.

Another neighbor heard the woman's screams, came outside, and fired a shot that killed the pit bull. The woman was rushed to the hospital and the puppy later died.

"It was a vicious dog, my puppy was ripped to shreds. And my daughter's in the hospital now," said Jill Kidwell, the shih-tzu's owner, after the attack.

Kidwell says she had never seen the pit bull before either. But, when a humane officer was called in, she found the pit bull had a micro-chip and belonged to a man living only a few blocks away.

Police officers say the man who shot the pit bull won't face charges. The pit bull's owner, though, will.  Police say the owner violated the Olyphant's dog leash ordinance.

Humane officers say shooting the pit bull is not a case of animal cruelty, that it may have been necessary in the case. The pit bull will now be tested for rabies.

Newswatch 16 was not able to reach the pit bull's owner for comment.  The pit bull is now in the hands of the Lackawanna County dog warden who will run the rabies tests.

The woman who was attacked was treated at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton and released.

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