A volunteer at a Fort Worth animal shelter who was working with hard-to-adopt animals is recovering after she was bitten in the face by an aggressive dog, officials said.
It happened on Friday at the Chuck Silcox Animal Care and Control Center in the 4900 block of Martin.
The woman, whose name has not been released, was rushed to a hospital by ambulance and received a number of stitches, said Fort Worth Code Compliance Director Brandon Bennett, who manages the shelter.
"This was not a bite that would be characterized as minor," Bennett said.
The dog was later euthanized.
The cage was clearly marked “aggressive” but the volunteer had been trying to tame the shepherd mix in order to take photos and get him adopted, Bennett said.
The volunteer worked for a group called Urgent Animals at Fort Worth Animal Care and Control.
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Nobody from the group returned messages from NBC 5.
Bennett said adoption rates have shot up in recent years because the volunteers have publicized the animals’ plights on Facebook. But allowing the citizens into the shelter around dangerous animals comes with a risk, he added.
"One day they can be a very nice puppy and the very next day be the one that bites you in the face," Bennett said.
Bennett added that these types of attacks are rare.
