Woman hurt trying to stop dog fight

LIHUE » A Lihue woman was in good condition last night after being attacked Sunday night by four American bulldogs.

The woman, whom police did not identify, was playing with the dogs in her boyfriend's yard at around 8:30 p.m. Sunday when they became aggressive.

The woman had helped care for and train the dogs since they were puppies, said Kauai Humane Society Director Dr. Becky Rhoades.

"That is the tragedy," she added.

Apparently, the four dogs began fighting each other, and when the woman tried to break up the fight, she was attacked herself. Her boyfriend and a neighbor wrestled the dogs off her with the help of water from a garden hose, Rhoades said.

Both the 37-year-old woman and her 45-year-old boyfriend were treated at Wilcox Hospital for lacerations and dog bites, county officials said.

The dogs were turned over to the Kauai Humane Society, and when the man was released from the hospital Sunday night, he went to the Humane Society and asked that his dogs be euthanized. They were put down Monday morning, Rhoades added.

"Dog fights are very dangerous," the veterinarian said. "It is one of the most common ways for people to get bit."

At the Humane Society, officers there use water or try to lasso the dogs with leashes to avoid getting bitten.

None of the dogs had exhibited aggressive behavior toward any members of the public that the Humane Society was aware of, and the owners had never been cited for any violations, Rhoades added.

"It was in their yard and it was their dogs," she continued. "It's a tragedy."