TEMPERANCEVILLE — Continuing a trend of dog attacks that goes back more than a year, an Accomack County man was bitten twice by a neighbor’s pit bull — once in his yard and once in his own home.
Stephen Hopkins has filed a criminal complaint against the owner of the dog, has contacted an attorney and plans to file a civil lawsuit against the owner.
“I’m not going to lay down after getting bitten in the face and on the hand in my own house,” he said.
He thanked Oak Hall Rescue, which arrived at the scene quickly. He was disappointed that it took two hours, by his count, for the sheriff’s department to arrive.
The dog is under quarantine by the Health Department to see if it has rabies. If it shows signs of rabies, Hopkins will have to have post-exposure rabies treatment.
He said several children were in his back yard on the day of the attack and began screaming when the pit bull began to fight his pet beagle.
Hopkins ran out to rescue the beagle, and the pit bull bit him in the face.
“I get my beagle away and I run back in the house,” Hopkins said. ‘The pit bull chases me inside my living room and bites me on the hand.”
Hopkins thanked Supervisor Ron Wolff, who he described as being concerned about the attack and about Hopkins’ welfare.
“He was very, very helpful,” he said.
The beagle was fine afterward, he said.
Hopkins also asked that a photograph of him, bleeding from the face, be published so people would know the dangers of dogs running at large.
“From what I understand, there is a lot of this going on,” he said.
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