Local

Victim of vicious dog attack reunites with people who rescued her

After three months and two hospital stays, a Seattle woman was finally able to thank the people she says saved her life after a vicious dog attack.

Amy Craven was walking in Eastlake near the 3200 block of Fairview Avenue East in May when two off-leash dogs followed her and then began to attack. The dogs — pit bull mixes — bit Craven nearly a dozen times.

“He had my leg, and I remember getting pulled to the ground,” recalls Craven.

Employees at the nearby Union Marine, a boat dealer and service center, heard her screams and ran to help. One man threw hammers at the dogs in an attempt to scare them off. Two men carried Craven to safety inside Union Marine, while another person applied a tourniquet. Verlyn Kolmer, an employee there, called 911 and worked to calm Craven until medics arrived.

“She was screaming at the top of her lungs, ‘Am I going to die?’ I said, ‘No, you’re not going to die,’” said Kolmer.

Craven was taken to the hospital where she received a skin graft on her leg. She outlines her long recovery after initially thinking she might lose her leg.

“It’s been infected twice. I ended up back in the hospital, and the first skin graft didn’t take. So I did a second skin graft with a five-day hospital stay,” said Craven.

On Thursday, she was back on her feet to thank the strangers who helped her at Union Marine. She brought the office lunch as thanks for their actions.

“I’m grateful of where I was when it happened because everyone really calmed me down. Saved my leg!” said Craven. “I can still walk, and I’m grateful.”

After Craven’s attack, Seattle Animal Control found the dogs and took them to a shelter. Craven believed they need to be euthanized so an attack doesn’t happen again.

“If this happened to me, it could be worse the next time,” says Craven. “It could be a kid.”

KIRO 7 reached out to animal control, who confirmed that the dogs were still being held at a local shelter.

“The shelter believes it is unsafe to release the dogs back into the community and has recommended euthanasia,” responded Melissa Mixon with the city of Seattle. “The owner of the dogs has filed an appeal, and we’re currently working with the Seattle hearing examiner to schedule an appeal hearing.”

Mixon added that “the decision to euthanize an animal is always a last resort for the shelter and only pursued after all other options are deemed either unfeasible or the potential risk to the community following an animal’s release is too great.”

The dogs’ owner is not currently facing any charges.

Craven has hired an attorney but says her main priority since the attack has been her health.