Allis Township woman attacked by three pit bulls

A quiet country walk on a pleasant summer evening turned into a nightmare for an Allis Township woman who found herself fighting for her life when three pit bulls attacked her July 1 at about 9 p.m. Theresa Arkwood, 42, was walking to the Dick Nash residence on West 638 Highway near the county border, to meet up with her husband Bob, and had been walking for a mile-and-a-half when the first dog appeared and threatened her. Arkwood threw rocks at the animal, but it didn?t leave her alone.

?NEXT THING you know, all three dogs came out,? said Arkwood, recovering at home last week. The attack intensified as the dogs bit at her legs and arms, and, at one point, had ripped her shorts off. ?I thought the dogs were going to kill me,? she said. ?They weren?t letting go.? Arkwood said she was screaming for help when two vehicles appeared. Lisa Schleben was driving the first vehicle to get to Arkwood.

?I said, ?these dogs are attacking me, they are going to kill me,? ? said Arkwood. ?She said, ?Get in the car, get in the car.? The dogs took off back to the house, where they belong.?

SCHLEBEN DROVE Arkwood to the Nash residence where an ambulance was called. The Onaway Police Department, as well as the Presque Isle County Sheriff?s Department, responded to the area to assist in the search for the dogs. Arkwood was taken to Cheboygan Memorial Hospital, where doctors counted eight severe puncture wounds. She also received six staples for the cuts, one of which was two inches long.

According to a spokesman from the sheriff?s department, the dogs? owner, Bradley Grove, was cited for allowing the dogs to run at large. The pit bulls were placed in quarantine for 10 days at Grove?s residence.

Arkwood?s country walks won?t resume any time soon. She says she?ll walk on the school property for the time being. In reflecting back on the attack, Arkwood said she was thankful there wasn?t a child in the area because ?they wouldn?t have made it.?