Five pit bulls quarantined after pair of local attacks

By Christian Boone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A pit bull that attacked a Douglasville woman has been recaptured -- three days after the dog escaped from the county animal shelter.

The canine was one of three pit bulls that attacked Frankie Forsh, 56, Monday afternoon. Three days earlier, Doretha Crews, 80, was mauled by two pit bulls while getting the mail at her Jonesboro home. Both women have been released from local hospitals but face long recoveries following surgeries to close gashes and bite marks all over their bodies.

Forsh was walking along Independence Drive when the dogs belonging to Akmad Rahim Coleman attacked. Douglas County Sheriff Phil Miller told the AJC Forsh was rescued by neighbors who hit the canines with rocks, sticks and "anything else they could find."

Animal control then picked up the three pit bulls, who were quarantined. On Tuesday, one of the dogs "cleared several fences" and escaped, Douglas County spokesman Wes Tallon said.

The pit bull was spotted by a family that lives between the Douglas County shelter and the Governor's Ridge subdivision, where Monday's attack occurred. Family members kept the dog around by feeding her, allowing time for animal control to respond, Tallon said. The dog was positively identified by one of the neighbors who helped save Forsh.

Coleman, out of town when the attack occurred, faces 20 misdemeanor charges.

Joel Robinson, owner of the two pit bulls that bit Crews, was previously cited for cruelty to animals and for failing to get the dogs rabies shots, WSB-TV reports. Charges against Robinson are pending and the fate of his dogs will be decided by Clayton County's animal control board.

Coleman's three pit bulls will be held for evidence until a court hearing, then likely will be put down, Tallon said.

--Staff writer Marcus K. Garner contributed to this report