A teenager on Cape Cod is recovering after she said she was attacked by a dog in her own backyard. Now, she and her family say they are desperate to identify the dog before it attacks again.
Genevieve Cote said it happened Thursday morning in her backyard on Lakeshore Drive in Sandwich, Massachusetts. She said she only came outside to check on her cat after she heard growling, and that is when she spotted a dog she had never seen.
"He was the most aggressive dog I've ever met," Cote said. "I genuinely thought he was going to kill me."
Cote said the dog immediately started to attack her, biting her leg and knocking her to the ground until she was able to fight him off.
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"I just put my leg back and kicked him in the nose as hard as I could. He started whimpering and ran away. I was pouring blood," Cote said.
She was rushed to Falmouth Hospital in an ambulance with over a dozen puncture wounds, but the dog has not been found. Cote's mom posted on social media telling the community to keep an eye out for the dog, which has no collar, a brindle coat and a muscular build.
"It's a nice neighborhood. People feel safe, and to have this dog who is incredibly vicious running around the neighborhood is terrifying," said Gena Cote, Genevieve's mom. "We don't want to see this happen to another family."
Both police and animal control responded to the incident. They are investigating, but they said they cannot comment further at this time.
Until the dog is found, the Cote family said it is hard to feel safe, even in their backyard.
"I'm horrified if they don't find the dog. What if it was my little brother? He's 6 years old and that dog would have killed him. I had to fight that dog off to get him off me," Cote said.
