Good Samaritan tells of pulling dog-attack victim to safety, getting bitten, too

SEATTLE -- Two pit bulls remain under quarantine nearly 24 hours after they attacked a woman on Beacon Hill.

On Thursday afternoon, the victim was listed in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center.

“Whoever owned these dogs just has allowed a tragedy to happen,” said Katy Banahan, a good Samaritan who saw the horrifying scene unfold in front of her.

Two pit bulls attacked the woman near South Cloverdale Street. Banahan says at first the dogs acted friendly.

“I watched it happen and it happened in two or three seconds,” she said. “The whole encounter had shifted and they were attacking her.”

Banahan rushed to the woman’s aid, trying to get the dogs off of her. But by then the woman was already badly injured.

“I saw a handful of her hair with some scalp. And they were not letting go of her,” she said.

Banahan was also injured, with deep puncture wounds to her left arm, but she feared the other woman could have been killed if she hadn’t intervened.

“If she had been on the ground until the police got there, I believe her skull would have been crushed," she said.

Police arrived and corralled the dogs and then animal control officers took custody of the animals.

The dogs will likely be euthanized after 10 days unless someone comes forward claiming ownership.

“We don’t have a definitive owner right now,” said Don Jordan with Seattle Animal Shelter. “We’re asking for the public’s assistance who live in the area where this happened, and if you recognize these two dogs or know where they have been residing, we want to hear from you.”

Banahan blames the dog’s owner for letting them escape and roam freely in the neighborhood.

“They should never have been out, off of leashes, they should never have been out unsupervised,” she said.