GOLD BAR, Wash. — A Snohomish County woman is recovering from a pit bull attack that left her with a gruesome bite mark above her ankle.
The attack happened outside the Family Grocer in Gold Bar on Sunday night.
Tamzyn Mackenzie told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Chris Legeros that she didn't do anything to the dog to provoke the attack. She claimed that she was just talking to someone outside the store.
"I wasn't touching it or egging it on to attack me," she said.
Mackenzie said the dog lunged at her while still on its leash. The owner was unable to control it, and Mackenzie's brother had to kick the animal to push it away.
Mackenzie's clothing was torn apart by the dog and it bit into her leg, leaving teeth marks.
"The dog ripped through my tendons and my arteries, and everything just all ripped apart," she said. "It felt terrible. It was very, very painful."
The dog's owner left the area quickly, and a Snohomish County sheriff's deputy is still trying to track her down.
Witnesses don't think the owner was trying to run, however. Shari Ireton told Legeros that she was probably just trying to control her dog during the attack.
"(She probably) realized that, because of the crowded conditions of the parking lot and other people being around," Ireton said, "that the safest way to most likely do that would actually be to put the dog in the car and try to leave the area."
Mackenzie told Legeros that she thinks the dog should be put down before it hurts someone else.
She also said that she feels the owner should take responsibility for the attack and pay her medical expenses. So far, an ambulance ride and hospital treatment have cost her more than $2,000.