Police investigating after several people were bitten by pack of dogs on Hilton Head
At least seven people reported being bitten or chased by a pack of four dogs running loose on Hilton Head this week, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
The incidents began pouring in on Nov. 16 when a deputy was called to Hilton Head Hospital for a dog bite, police said in a sheriff’s office report. A woman reported to police that she was in the driveway of a home on Indian Trail on Hilton Head when three dogs attacked her. The woman said in the report that she was bitten three times before being driven to the hospital.
Another man at the hospital told police he had been walking to his car while leaving the gym on Marshland Road when he was attacked.
A woman and her son who reported being bitten by the animals said they live down the street from the dogs. When they were attacked, the woman said she was trying to call the dogs closer to her home “when they turned on her and attacked,” police said in the report. The woman was knocked down by the dogs and bitten on her right leg. The dogs bit her son on his left leg.
Another man told police he was driving down Matthews Drive when he saw the dogs and stopped to help. When he got out of his car, one of the dogs bit him and he had to jump on top of his car to get away from them, police said in the report.
“At this point, the owner has been cited for allowing the dogs to run at large,” said Maj. Angela Viens, a sheriff’s office spokesperson. “Many times, the county handles minor things [animal incidents] and this elevated itself to the level we [police] need to be involved and we’re going to get through it.”
Three of the dogs, described in the report only as golden labs, were found that day by police around 7:30 p.m. on Marshland Road. One other dog had been hit by a car near Beachwood Drive and was taken to Coastal Vet Clinic where it later died from its injuries.
Police are currently investigating the incident and will bring their findings to a judge who will then determine the next steps for the three remaining dogs and their owner, Viens said. These next steps could include euthanizing the animals or setting up guidelines for how the owner may confine the dogs which would entail proper confinement and signs alerting people in the area that there are dangerous animals inside.
The incident, said Beaufort County Animal Services Director Tallulah Trice, is a rare one on Hilton Head, though she sympathized with people’s concerns.
“People should feel safe in their community,” she said.
