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A 67-year-old woman from rural Ephrata, Washington was hospitalized the morning of October 1, 2024, after being attacked by six dogs, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded around 7 a.m. to the 8000 block of Road 10 Northwest after a neighbor heard the woman screaming for help during the attack.
“The quick action of the neighbor undoubtedly helped save the victim’s life,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. After the attack ended, the neighbor drove the victim home, where emergency medical technicians began treating her “extensive severe injuries” before transporting her to Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata. GCSO spokesperson Kyle Foreman said the woman had clearly tried to defend herself against all six dogs. “Thank goodness the neighbor was home and was able to go out and stop the attack from happening,” Foreman said.
Foreman said neighbors described the dogs, owned by a nearby resident, as a known problem before the attack, with reports of them aggressively approaching people walking by and attacking livestock and other animals in the area. The owner surrendered all six dogs, described as pitbulls or pitbull mixes, to Grant County Animal Control Officers. They were placed on a standard 10-day hold at Grant County Animal Outreach to verify vaccination status, after which they may face euthanasia given the severity of the attack. The owner was also cited $1,025 per dog, totaling $6,150. The responding agencies included GCSO, the Multi-Agency Communications Center, LifeLine Ambulance, Columbia EMS, and Grant County Fire District 3.
My thoughts: The detail that stands out is Foreman’s comment that the dogs were already a known issue in the neighborhood before this happened, aggressive encounters with pedestrians and attacks on livestock. That’s the kind of pattern that often gets noticed informally by neighbors long before anything official is done about it, and this case is a stark example of what can happen when it isn’t addressed sooner. The neighbor’s decision to go outside and intervene, rather than just call for help and wait, is very likely what kept this from being even worse.
Source: Columbia Basin Herald (TNS), with additional reporting from KREM, KIRO 7, KHQ, and KPQ, based on a statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office
