Pit bulls that chased woman found in Cobb County

By Mike Morris and Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Cobb County animal control officers Tuesday found two pit bulls that chased after an elderly woman and her Jack Russell terrier at a Marietta apartment complex.

The dogs were quarantined at the shelter and are now at the state laboratory to be tested for rabies, Cobb County animal control spokesman Nathan McCreary told the AJC.

Marietta police spokesman Michael Gardner said the 67-year-old woman was walking her dog in the breezeway of a building at the Walton Village apartments on Roberta Drive off Austell Road  shortly before 6:30 a.m. Tuesday when the two pit bulls, which were running loose, attacked her dog.

McCreary said the dogs chased after the woman, trying to get to her terrier. The woman, whose name has not been released,  sustained minor injuries to her nose and hand as she fought off the pit bulls.

Gardner said the woman refused treatment at the scene and told officers she would take her dog to a veterinarian for treatment. He said the terrier was apparently not seriously injured.

The pit bulls were found along a wooded area near the intersection of Sandtown Road and Saine Drive, McCreary said. An animal control officer saw the dogs and chased them until they were able to be contained and taken back to the shelter.

Officials contacted the owner, who signed the dogs over to the shelter's control, McCreary said.

"He was cooperative and understood the severity of the incident," McCreary told the AJC.

The owner was not able to provide officials with a current record of the dogs' rabies vaccinations, which is why they must be tested for rabies at the state lab, McCreary said.

The owner was cited for six counts:  two on failure to control his animal, two on having a vicious animal and two for failing to have current rabies vaccination, McCreary said.

Each count carries a penalty of up to 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, he said.