An 85-year-old Puna woman remains in critical condition and two men were injured after a vicious attack involving multiple dogs on Saturday, August 14, 2021, in Kea‘au. Hawai‘i Island police and Animal Control are investigating the incident that took place at about 5:43 p.m. in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision on 12th Avenue.
The woman was searching for her lost dog when two neighboring dogs tragically attacked her. The two injured men, one 89 years old and the other 85 years old, tried to fend off the two dogs during the attack.
The woman was bitten about the head, neck, and arms, receiving multiple puncture wounds and lacerations. She remains in critical condition.
The two men were bitten multiple times and were treated for their injuries and released from the hospital.
The two dogs were taken into custody and remain at a secured location in the custody of Animal Control.
The dog owner is under investigation. The property in question where the dogs came from has a partially fenced yard, the dogs were not secured, and were able to get outside of the property. Prior to this incident, authorities reported no history of previous reports or incidents involving the dogs being loose in the area where the attack occurred. It has not been determined at this time what provoked the dogs to attack the woman.
The incident remains under investigation and is classified as a dangerous dog incident under the Hawaii County Code 4-31.
Police are asking anyone with information on this incident to call the police department’s non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311. Members of the public wanting to report vicious dogs can call the police non-emergency number to report those incidents as well at (808) 935-3311.