Pit bulls attack Littleton runner

LITTLETON, Maine — A vicious pit bull attack at 266 Carmichael Road last Thursday around 5 p.m. resulted in charges against a Littleton woman and treatment for the victim who suffered numerous puncture wounds, according to state police. Police are charging dog-owner Mary Smith with “keeping dangerous dogs.”
    Angela Ewings said she is “improving each and every day” since she spent the night in Houlton Regional Hospital’s ICU to monitor her post-operative condition where doctors cleaned out and treated her wounds. Ewings, who says she has been running past the house on her regular regimen for the last nine years, was on her return home when the attack occurred. She said the dogs “ripped the flashlight from my hands” and  she feared for her life. During the attack, she said the owner was hollering but not able to control the dogs. Ewing positioned herself against a locked car and tried to protect her face by flailing her arms but, “it was stay there and die or take my chances and run to the next house about half a mile away. I thought it was my last day. I was never so scared.”
Ewings said she managed to reach a neighbor’s house where she collapsed. She credits the neighbor, Bonnie Codrey, with helping to save her life by calling 9-1-1 for an ambulance. “I helped her as much as I could until the ambulance arrived. She was badly shaken up and bleeding,” said Codrey who also said she could see puncture wounds in Ewings’ black spandex running suit. “She was very distressed and pale.”
The most difficult part of the ordeal, 41-year-old Ewings says, is that she can’t lift her baby Teanne who, at a year-and-a-half, does not understand why her mother can’t pick her up. Her 6-year-old, Teagan, handles the situation better.
State police say the dogs are under quarantine for 10 days. Houlton Humane Society President, Cathy Davis, said: “Those dogs did not come from the shelter and our heart goes out to the victim of this brutal attack.” The dogs’ owner, 44-year-old Smith could not  be reached for comment and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 3. The investigation into Smith’s actions could lead to additional charges.