The attack happened in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. Witnesses said it looked like wild animals attacking a deer.
SEATTLE — A Seattle woman is demanding the city clear a Georgetown homeless encampment after two dogs living there mauled her dog and injured his walker.
The attack occurred along South Lucille Street, between 7th and 8th Avenue South, where roughly eight RVs are parked near Georgetown’s main commercial strip and Georgetown playfield.
Frank, a 7-year-old American bully, suffered puncture wounds nearly an inch deep during the attack, resulting in a $2,500 veterinary bill. His dog walker suffered a sprained wrist, scratches, and a mild concussion after being pulled to the ground. She has not returned to work.
Frank’s owner, Sarah Engstrand, said her dogwalker was not near the encampment when the two large dogs — described by witnesses as possible Dobermans or Rottweilers — charged across the street and dragged Frank into the road.
“They said it was like watching wild animals attack a deer,” Engstrand said. “They were just ripping him apart.”
Engstrand said she has not spoken with her dogwalker once without her breaking into tears.
Paul Waterson, a nearby business owner who witnessed the attack from his truck, said he slammed his brakes as the dogs bolted in front of his vehicle before turning on the dog walker and Frank.
“I [braked] hard, they ran right smack in front of me,” Waterson said. “They ran right toward that poor lady with the dog and immediately just started ripping and tearing. I wish I’d never seen anything like that.”
Waterson said a woman driving in the opposite direction pulled over and attempted to break up the attack by kicking the dogs and grabbing their leashes. A police officer also arrived on scene. Eventually, a woman from the encampment retrieved the dogs and walked them back inside.
“She walked across the street like nothing ever happened,” Waterson said.
Frank underwent emergency surgery and spent his first week home heavily sedated on antibiotics and pain medication. Engstrand and her partner slept on their couch to be close to him. Now recovering at roughly 30 to 40 percent of his normal energy, Frank grows anxious on walks and flinches at the sight of other dogs or people approaching from behind.
“As soon as we go out on walks, you can tell that he is still dealing with some stress,” Engstrand said.
In the days following the attack, Engstrand’s partner, Bryce Aberg, emailed the office of District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka. Erik Schmidt, Saka’s director of operations, acknowledged the encampment problem in a written response, noting that Georgetown sits in a district with the largest number of RVs in Seattle and that cleared encampments routinely return within days.
“It’s not fair to you and your community, and we recognize this,” Schmidt wrote.
Schmidt said the city has been working to rebuild Seattle’s Parking Enforcement Officer unit, which currently faces significant vacancies. He also noted that a new RV safe lot is expected to open off West Marginal Way within the next month or two, and that his office has asked that RVs currently in Georgetown be prioritized for placement there. The lot is expected to house up to 70 RVs.
But nearly 10 days after the attack, Aberg wrote back to Schmidt to report that animal control had still not assigned an officer to the case.
“The dogs in the attack are dangerous and it’s only a matter of time before another animal or person is hurt by them,” Aberg wrote.
Schmidt responded that he would escalate the matter to the Department of Finance and Administrative Services, which oversees animal control.
Animal control has since assigned an investigator to the case. Engstrand said she remains pessimistic about a long-term fix.
“I understand that everybody needs a place to live,” Engstrand said, “but they have dangerous dogs that are a threat to us.”
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