A woman volunteering at the Kenai Animal Shelter was bitten multiple times by a dog she was putting into a holding kennel on March 4.
City Manager Rick Koch said he was notified within minutes of the attack from a ‘pit bull’ type dog.
Koch: “It happened a few minutes after 5 o’clock one afternoon so I knew about it right away probably as our EMS personnel was responding and before the volunteer was taken to the hospital for treatment.”
The volunteer was identified as Kay Best and Koch said she received lacerations to her legs and arms which required stitches after she was transported to the hospital.
Koch: “The animal became I guess the way I would say was instantly aggressive, there were not any warning signs, like growling or anything like that, and the volunteer was knocked down by the animal and she sustained bites, probably initially on her legs and then after she was knocked down on her arms.”
There has never been an incident like this at the shelter but the city is considering a temporary hold on volunteers while officials investigate protocol.
Koch: I personally and the city of Kenai were so sorry that one of our volunteers was injured doing a very charitable task and just want to take a little bit of time and look and see if there’s something that we can key in on to make that not happen again even though it has not happened for as long as we can research.”
Koch said he believes the animal had been at the shelter for about a week. It is currently in quarantine based on city code and will be euthanized.
