A Topeka woman who was 24 weeks pregnant with twins underwent at least 14 hours of surgery after her neighbor's two pit bulls attacked her on July 17, leaving her with gruesome facial injuries and nearly costing her an eye and her nose. Audrey Austin has since returned to her apartment at the Highland Park Townhomes complex, saying she refuses to let the attack keep her from home.
Austin has blamed her neighbor, Tina Buck, for the attack, according to the New York Post. The complex sits at 2301 AH Bellview Avenue in Topeka's Highland Park neighborhood, a 200-unit income-restricted affordable housing property, according to AffordableHousingHub.org. During the attack, Austin said she initially thought blood was coming from her stomach, fearing for her unborn children before a friend tackled the dogs and pulled them off her.
Her unborn twins were unharmed in the attack, though Austin broke a finger while trying to shield her stomach from the dogs. A responding police officer shot one of the animals during the incident. Austin plans to deliver the twins in November, per the same account.
Buck Faces Municipal Citation and Additional Charges
Tina Buck was issued a municipal citation for dangerous dogs and was separately booked on charges of interfering with law enforcement and having dogs running at large, the outlet's report states. Buck posted bond and is expected back in court next month. The Topeka Municipal Code includes provisions concerning dangerous dogs.
Animal control enforcement in Topeka falls to the Topeka Police Department's Animal Control Unit, while Helping Hands Humane Society accepts stray and seized animals. It remains unclear what will ultimately happen to the second dog still in custody, and whether Shawnee County prosecutors will pursue charges beyond the municipal citations already filed against Buck.
Residents can contact Animal Control Dispatch at 785-368-9203.
A Recovery Marked by Nightmares and Scars
Austin's partner, CJ Austin, said his daughter will be scarred for the rest of her life and reported that she has nightmares about the attack, according to the Post's reporting. Despite the trauma, Audrey Austin has said she does not blame the dogs themselves for what happened, and she has insisted that no dog would keep her from coming home to Highland Park Townhomes.
A GoFundMe campaign was raising almost $9,000 as of Tuesday morning to help cover Austin's medical expenses and ongoing support needs, per the same report. The scale of her injuries, and the extended hospital stay and surgeries that followed, reflect a pattern seen nationally in severe dog attack cases.
A Breed-Neutral Policy With Roots Going Back to 2010
Topeka repealed its municipal ban on pit bulls in 2010 after officials determined breed-specific legislation was ineffective at curbing dog bites and difficult to enforce, according to a discussion documented on Reddit's r/pitbulls. Kansas has local breed-specific ordinances, according to DogsBite.org. Topeka has a dangerous-dog ordinance to address such incidents.
DogsBite.org has also reported that almost two-thirds of fatal dog-bite attacks nationally involve pit bulls, and that 30 to 50 fatal dog-bite attacks occur in the country annually. The organization further estimates that about 800,000 dog-bite victims require professional medical treatment each year. Separately, the CDC has estimated that 4.5 million dog bites occur annually in the United States, with 800,000 to 885,000 victims seeking medical care and more than 330,000 requiring emergency department treatment.
According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Kansas Syndromic Surveillance Program captures over 98% of emergency-department visits.
Dog-bite injuries can require extended hospital stays, and severe dog-bite injuries can require plastic and reconstructive surgery.
For now, Austin is focused on healing at home in Highland Park while awaiting the birth of her twins in November. Buck's next court date, set for next month, is part of the municipal case against her, though it remains an open question whether Shawnee County prosecutors will pursue further criminal charges beyond the citations already issued.
