Pit-bull pack attacks man, mother and son in NC neighborhood, sheriff says

A pack of pit-bull dogs has been caught — and one killed — after attacking an older man and a mother walking with her 12-year-old son in a Chatham County neighborhood.

Chatham County sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call around 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Firefly Overlook housing development near Jordan Lake, according to a news release. They found the woman and her son with multiple bite wounds to their legs and a bite to the woman’s left hand.

Deputies worked to capture the dogs, while the victims were taken by ambulance to WakeMed Hospital in Wake County, the release said.

During their investigation, deputies learned the dogs had also bitten a 66-year-old man from Cary around 2 p.m. Monday. The man drove himself to a Wake County urgent-care facility, where he was treated for several bites.

Deputies captured three of the four pit bulls and took them to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office Animal Resource Center, where they are being held for the 10-day rabies observation period required under state law.

The fourth pit bull got away but was found later Monday. A deputy tried to capture the dog and eventually shot and killed it “to prevent further damage to the community,” the release stated.

That dog was sent to the state laboratory for rabies testing. The owner of the dogs has not yet been found, deputies said.

What does state, local law say about aggressive dogs?

The local health director can declare that a dog is “vicious and a menace to public health” when it attacks a person without provocation, causing injuries.” The law allows the owner to appeal the decision within 10 days of the health director’s decision.

The health director can also order the owner to confine the dog to the owner’s property, unless the dog is leashed, muzzled and in the care of a person who is able to control the dog.

The owner of the vicious dog can also be held liable in court for damages and face misdemeanor charges. The owner also can be charged for the cost of keeping the dog in the animal shelter.

If the owner is not found, the health director can order the animal to be killed.

Anyone with information can call the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office at 919-542-2811.