Woman bitten by dog in Scotland; Dog owner being summoned into court

After a woman reported she was bitten by a pit bull/Labrador mixed-breed dog in Scotland, a Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy investigated and reported the three-year-old dog had never received immunizations as required by law.

Alisha Terrell, 32, is facing a preliminary charge of harboring a non-immunized dog, a Class B misdemeanor.

GCSD Deputy Terry Wade began an investigation on Friday, April 12, when a woman called the sheriff’s department and said she had been bitten by a dog while she was out walking on South West Gate Drive in Scotland.

When Wade talked with the woman, she said she was walking north on West Gate Drive toward State Road 58 around 9:20 a.m. when the dog entered the roadway, barking and stamping its front feet at her. She said she stopped and raised her hands but the dog bit her on the back side of a knee. The bite left a hole in her jeans and a puncture wound on the back of her leg. At the time when he spoke with her, she was seeking medical treatment for the injury.

Wade determined this took place in front of a cabin-style residence with a porch located at 7713 South West Gate Drive in Scotland, which has a Newberry mailing address.

Wade then made contact with Alisha Terrell who resides at that location and arranged to meet her there.

When he arrived, the dog was properly restrained but he learned it was running loose when Terrell arrived home before he got there.

According to Wade, when asked if the dog was current on rabies immunizations, Terrell said she thought so but she would have to check with the person she got the dog from.

Wade noted the dog, a brindle-colored pit bull and lab mix named Onyx, was nursing six-week-old pups at the time of this incident.

When Wade talked to Terrell again on Tuesday, August 16, he learned the dog was three years old and had never been vaccinated and was not current on immunizations.

Wade said any owner of a dog in Indiana that is over the age of six months is required by statute to have the dog immunized against rabies.

Terrell has been ordered to appear in Greene Superior Court for an initial hearing in May.

No further information has been released regarding the status of the dog.