Victim of Pit Bull Attack Sues Dog Owners, Pierce County

A Gig Harbor woman is suing Pierce County and her neighbors for a pit bull attack that took place almost four years ago, according to The News Tribune.

The documents from the Pierce County Superior Court state that two pit bulls entered Sue Gorman's home through the back door on Aug. 21, 2007, and attacked the 63-year-old woman, her service dog and a neighbor's dog that she was watching.

(Click here to watch the story on KOMO News from 2007.)

Gorman suffered wounds to her face, neck, breasts, nose, arms and hands, and her neighbor's dog died from its injuries. Gorman's dog escaped from the home, which is in the 10600 block of 132nd Street Court NW.

One of the pit bulls, Betty, is owned by Zachary Martin, who lived with his mother, Shellie Wilson, just two houses down from Gorman. The other pit bull, Tank, was owned by Jacqueline Evans-Hubbard, who lived near Martin and Wilson.

Gorman claims that Wilson, Martin and Evans-Hubbard were negligent in the care and supervision of their dogs, which were both euthanized as a result of the attack.

She also said the Pierce County Sheriff's Office and Auditor's Office did nothing, despite previous complaints against the neighbors and their dogs.

In February 2007, Gorman called 911 after Betty tried to attack her and her service dog while she was bringing in groceries. Just a month later, she reported another incident where Betty tried to break through her window to attack her and her service dog, according to court documents.

The TNT reported that in May 2008, Wilson and Martin served 30 days of home monitoring and were ordered to pay $23,000 to Gorman after they pled guilty to misdemeanor counts of attempting to own a dog that attacks.

To read more about the story, check out the article on thenewstribune.com.