Group of dogs bite multiple people in Arbor Hill Cove area, ATCEMS says

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) says a group of dogs bit five people in the Arbor Hill Cove area.

ATCEMS posted about the incident at around 9:15 a.m. on Thursday, August 17. It says the incident happened near Bullhorn/Sugar Brush.

Tamara Mimbela says it hurts to move her arm after she was bitten by a dog in her neighborhood.

"I have six or eight punctures all around," said Mimbela.

Thursday, Mimbela recalls getting ready for the day when she heard dogs barking. She says her mother-in-law had just left the house for her daily morning walk with their dogs, so she sent her husband outside to see what was going on.

"He didn't even close the door all the way, so I knew something was wrong," she said. 

Once Mimbela got outside herself, she says she saw two huskies off leash with no owner in sight. She says the two dogs did not seem friendly and were circling her family. She says her instant reaction was to grab both dogs by the collar to keep them away.

"When I grabbed the big one, he freaked out and turned around and grabbed my forearm a couple of times," she said.

She says the dog bit her multiple times.

"I didn't feel anything at first. I think all the adrenaline and shock was going. I started walking back to the house and blood was dripping down," said Mimbela.

She says the two dogs followed them to their front yard and stayed there until officials came.

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office, Manor police and Austin-Travis County EMS all responded. On scene, EMS tweeted out first responders were unable to exit their vehicles at first due to the threat of the dogs.

"Once the deputies got on scene and assessed the situation. The owner of the dogs came forward and was able to get them under control. Our deputy issued citations to the owner of the dog for unlawfully not restraining them," said Kristen Dark, Senior Public Information Officer for the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.

Mimbela was taken to the hospital and treated for puncture wounds. She says she will have to keep the bite bandaged for at least a week.

Other neighbors told FOX 7 Austin it was only a matter of time for something like this to happen. They claim off leash dogs are pretty common in this Manor neighborhood

"We have quite a lot of people here that will leave their dog while they are walking," said a neighbor.

This neighbor says it is such a problem, he carries a bat with him on his morning walks to protect himself from potential aggressive dogs.

"Not everybody likes dogs. I've been attacked by dogs before, so that's why I'm scared. Even with a small puppy, I don't even want to deal with that," he said.

As for Mimbela, she says she has seen the huskies that attacked her off leash before.

She says it will be a while before she feels comfortable walking outside alone.

"I don't know if I would go by myself for a little while. At least until I know for sure that that dog is nowhere near," she said.