HANOVER COUNTY—
"It was horrible, two dogs just mauled this woman horribly," exclaimed Hanover County resident Katherine Lewis.Lewis was pulling out of her driveway on Hanover Avenue when she observed her mother screaming from the side of the road, and then turned to see a pair of American Bulldogs tearing at a 41-year-old woman across the street.
"I can't describe it, I've never seen anything like that before," said Lewis. "The owner came out and tried to help [the victim], but the dogs just wouldn't stop."
Hanover County officials tell CBS 6 the attack took place at 1:36 Thursday afternoon, when the woman voluntarily walked on to the property to visit a friend.
She was seized shortly thereafter by two canines in the front lawn of the house. The home is surrounded by a fence with a "no trespassing" sign placed by the entrance.
Richmond man Steve Talton happened to be driving down the road at the time of the attack, saw what was unfolding and immediately sprung into action.
Talton grabbed the larger dog, a male, by the collar and twisted it until the animal's jaws opened and he could pull the Bulldog away. He then helped pry the smaller dog from the victim's arm.
"I did what any man would do," shrugged Talton. "You see something like that happen, and you're going to jump out [of the car] automatically- that's instinct."
Lewis believes if Talton had not interceded, the victim may be looking at a very different fate. "If not for that man, I believe the woman would have been dead," sighed Lewis.
According to a relative of the victim, she is in stable condition at VCU Medical Center but has received upward of 170 staples to keep her skin intact.
The Hanover County Animal Control division is investigating the matter.
According to county spokesperson Tom Harris, the dogs were up-to-date on their rabies vaccinations, but were not properly licensed.
No criminal charges have been brought against the property owner, but the Hanover County Commonwealth's Attorney can proceed down that path after reviewing the evidence.
"There have been at least two incidents in the last couple of years where officers were called to this property because of dog bites," explained county spokesperson Tom Harris. "However, we're not sure at this point if it was the same dogs."
The property owner runs a licensed daycare operation out of her home. It stipulates in her license that none of the children in the program should have any contact with the dogs.
Social Services officials have investigated the daycare facility once already, in 2007, and have launched another investigation in light of Thursday's incident.
