An 86-year-old retired army veteran is fighting for her life in hospital in Gainesville, Florida, after being attacked by two dogs on May 26.
The attack took place while Gertrude Bishop, known to many as Ms Terri, was getting groceries from her car outside of her home in Hawthorne.
“The attack left my mom with several major injuries which include: Multiple lacerations over all of her body, a damaged trachea, a right ear that was chewed off and a right leg so badly damaged from the attack, that it had to be amputated,” her son, Wayne Thomas, said on the GoFundMe fundraiser to support Bishop’s treatment.
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Bishop has been a public servant for her entire working life. She served in the army, as an executive director for the largest federally operated homeless shelter in the country, as a social services director and as a food pantry officer in Gainesville.
“With all of that, she still finds time to always help someone in need and will always try to give her last to help the downtrodden,” Thomas said.
Roughly 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs every year in the United States, according to data from the National Library of Medicine. Of these, 19 percent necessitate medical attention, making dog bites the thirteenth leading cause of nonfatal emergency department visits in the U.S.
Fatalities are still fairly rare, with between 30 to 40 being reported every year in the U.S., according to data from the National Canine Research Foundation and the National Canine Research Council.
The dogs involved in Bishop’s attack lived across the street and had managed to escape through the fence, according to local reports. Her neighbor, Larry Edwards, was able to throw off the animals, one of which was reportedly a pit-mix, using a metal chair before calling her family.
As of May 31, Bishop has undergone numerous surgeries and requires a trachea tube to help with her breathing. But her son said that her vocal chords were finally healing and she was beginning to talk more. “She will continue to be in the ICU for a few more days but she is a fighter,” he said.
“This road is long, but our journey will not stop until my mom comes home and gets back to her routine of life.”
According to Thomas, the dogs are now under observation with Animal Control and Bishop has met with the local sheriffs office to give her statement. Charges will likely be forthcoming.