Atlanta residents who are concerned about the possible dangers posed by unrestrained dogs in their neighborhoods may be interested in knowing about a case that is unfolding in a county in the northeastern part of the state. While taking an afternoon walk on March 7, a Jackson County man was seriously injured when he was attacked by what media sources describe as a pack of dogs. The case is under investigation by Jackson County Animal Control.
According to news reports, the man was confronted by a mastiff and three pit bulls as he walked on a road not far from his residence. After the largest dog attacked him, he attempted to run, and the three remaining animals then also began biting the man and ripping his clothes from his body. The man was transported to Athens Regional Medical Center where he received rabies shots and underwent 2 1/2 hours of surgery for his wounds.
A responding sheriff's deputy photographed the dogs at the scene, but law enforcement officials have since handed the case over to animal control. Although few additional details are available as of press time, it is known that one of the dogs was a stray and that the remaining three are owned by two neighborhood residents, who have been cited for no proof of rabies shots and violating the leash law.
Georgia's dog bite law is quite different from that of most other states. Accordingly, people who have been injured by another person's animal where the victims had the legal right to be may want to have the assistance of an attorney in seeking compensation for medical expenses and other losses that they have sustained.
Source: WSB-TV Atlanta 2, "Man suffers severe injury in Jackson County dog attack," Chris Patterson, March 9, 2016