ANC Commissioner Tom Donohue represents the Fairlawn neighborhood in Southeast. A video of the attack posted to his Facebook has more than 150,000 views.
WASHINGTON — DC Animal Control was investigating on Sunday after ANC Commissioner Tom Donohue said he was attacked by a pit bull while walking his dog in the Fairlawn community he represents.
A video appears to capture the moments when Donohue and his foster dog, Rusty, were attacked near 19th Street and Naylor Road Southeast last Monday.
The video, which has racked up more than 150,000 views on Donohue’s Facebook page, shows the attack, which happened on a residential sidewalk. Donohue is walking his dog, when another dog runs out and appears to try and bite the ANC commissioner’s dog. Donohue cries out for help during the video.
Donohue said he received three stitches on his hand at a nearby urgent care after attack and that his dog had bite marks on its groin. Although the ANC commissioner added that he believes Rusty will be O.K.
“Owners need take ownership of their animals, they need to make sure that the community is safe, they need to leash their dog, no matter how big or small that they may be,” Donohue told WUSA9 on Sunday. “When somebody can’t walk down the block around their block because they’re concerned for their safety, then something else has to happen.”
Brandywine SPCA spokesperson Erin Johnston told WUSA9 that the animal care and control service was investigating the attack and had been working with Donohue to treat his dog.
“Brandywine Valley SPCA is aware of the incident. And has been in contact with Mr. Donohue. A medical clinic has treated his dog,” Johnston said on Saturday. “We want to assure the community that we take these incidents seriously.”
In his Facebook post from last week, the ANC commissioner also recalled that he was surprised by the lack of response from neighbors in the moments after the attack.
“I was disappointed and hurt by the people who saw me bleeding and asking for help but simply walked by. Shame on you,” Donohue wrote in his Facebook post. “To the kind neighbors who finally came to my rescue and brought a towel to help stop the bleeding, thank you so much. Your compassion made a huge difference.”
One of those who came to help was Crystal Scott, who said she could hear Donohue’s screams from her home office last Monday.
“I’ve seen (the pit bull) sitting on the porch without any leashes,” Scott told WUSA9.
Scott said she knew what was happening as soon as she heard Donohue crying for help, noting that she had been attacked while walking her rottweiler two days earlier.
“I’m an animal lover, and I was honestly just trying to protect my dog,” Scott said, adding that she bared the brunt of the attack, which she said left her with scratch marks across her abdomen.
Scott said she was worried that the dog could be rabid but hesitated to call animal services, worried about what might happen to the pit bull. Instead, Scott said another neighbor, who is a paramedic, examined her wounds.
“I’m afraid to walk in the neighborhood, now,” Scott said.
Donohue’s constituency, 8A01, comprises most of the Fairlawn neighborhood in Southeast.