Dog Attacks Owners in St. Francois County

It was a scary night, Saturday, August 3, for a St. Francois County couple, as their dog caused them injury.

According to the press release from Jasen Crump, at approximately 10:20 p.m., Crump heard someone beating on his front door screaming for help. He and his wife, Bobette, went to the door to find their elderly female neighbor covered in blood. She said their family dog was attacking her husband, and she was afraid he was deceased. Jasen immediately called dispatch as as he and his sone went across the street to check on the male victim. Jasen says his wife stayed with the female neighbor to check her injuries. 

"When my son and I got to the house, the husband was located with severe bleeding, and the dog was still aggressively biting him," Jasen said. "Unfortunately, I had no choice but to use lethal force on the dog to stop the attack."

Officers arrived shortly after the dog was neutralized and assisted in removing the male from the home so EMS could treat him. The female was transported and treated at a local hospital and released a short time later. The male was airlifted to a St. Louis Hospital in critical condition. As of Monday, the male was in stable condition, but has a long road ahead of him, according to Jasen.
 
It's believed that the male may have been suffering a medical issue, causing him to fall and startle the dog, and that's when the dog attacked. 

"I am very familiar with this family and their dog," said Jasen. "I never dreamed of anything like this ever happening. I'm just glad we were home at the time and able to stop the attack. I'm afraid a few more minutes of the violent attack would have had a completely different outcome."

"My wife and I would like to give a shout out to the St. Francois County Ambulance, Park Hills Fire Department, Park Hills Police Department, Arch Helicopter, and the St. Francois County Sheriff's Department for their response to this situation."

Both victims are in their 70's. The family dog was a 10 year old Boxer/Great Dane mix that the family had for several years.