Woman fears dogs after bite

An Onslow County woman said she is now frightened of dogs and worried whether she has any diseases after being bitten by a pit bull earlier this week.

“What if I get rabies?” an anxious Chris Alvarez asked rhetorically Friday afternoon.

Alvarez, who has lived on Pony Farm Road for 15 years, said she was walking with her daughter on Murrill Hill Road when a pit bull jumped over a small fence and attacked them.

“I think the dog was after my daughter because I’ve been by there before and this never happened,” she said. “But when I walked by with my daughter the dog tried to get her, I pushed her out of the way and got bit on the leg.”

An ambulance responded, but Alvarez was not transported to the hospital.

Onslow County Animal Control Director Dino Einsig said the bite was not as serious as it could have been.

“This was not a mauling, but the dog did bite her and we are keeping the dog contained for 10 days,” he said.

The 10-day quarantine is the only way to check a dog for rabies without taking a brain tissue sample, which would require the animal to be euthanized.

Alvarez said the pain goes deeper than the injury to her leg.

“I am genuinely afraid of dogs now,” she said. “I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”

Alvarez said she does not hate pit bulls, but people should be more responsible with them.

It is a law in Onslow County that dogs must be fenced or on a leash. It was not immediately clear whether the owner of the pit bull faces any possible criminal charge.