Woman in intensive care in Upstate after attack by three dogs

CORTLAND, NY (WSYR-TV) — Just before 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 2, first responders were dispatched to an apartment on Main Street in Cortland for a disturbance.

The emergency number 911 received two calls reporting an attack by several dogs on a woman.

Inside, Cortland Police and Fire Departments and TLC Ambulance found a 42-year-old woman who had been attacked and bitten by three dogs.

Cortland police said she suffered serious injuries to her head, chest, shoulders and arms.

Officers tried to stop the dogs with pepper spray. When the spray didn’t work, an officer shot the most aggressive of the three dogs, after which they all stopped biting the woman, police said.

“Officers were able to herd two of the dogs into a bedroom and isolate them there. They were able to take the dog injured by the gunshot into the kitchen and isolate him there,” Cortland police said.

Police had placed tourniquets on both of the woman’s upper arms to stop the bleeding. Police said officers applied hemostatic dressings to two wounds on her shoulder and chest.

The victim was semi-conscious when he was brought to the porch. From there, he was treated by paramedics from the Cortland Fire Department and TLC Ambulance before being transported to Upstate Medical Center.

She has undergone numerous operations and is in a critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit.

The three affected dogs were taken to Country Acres in Homer. The dog that was shot succumbed to his injuries. The other two are under quarantine.

The Cortland Police Department was assisted by the Cortland Fire Department, TLC EMS, Cortland County Sheriff’s Office and Country Acres.