A nine-months-pregnant Milwaukee woman was bitten on the hand and stomach, her 15-year-old daughter was bitten on the leg, and a neighbor's small dog was killed after two pit bulls escaped from a nearby home and tore through a residential block near 44th and Hampton last Wednesday.
Isabella Rush described the chaos to FOX6 News Milwaukee, saying one dog knocked her down by the hand while the other bit her stomach. She said the attack could have cost her family their lives. Her fiancé tried to pull the dogs toward a door to force them back outside as the animals chased her daughter into a home.
The dogs also attacked the fiancé of a neighbor, Gwendolyn Powell, as he tried to shield his family and their small dog, Honey. He suffered a severe bite injury to his arm, and Honey did not survive the attack, according to the same report. Police were called to the scene once the attack was underway.
Dogs Now Held Under a City Hold
The two pit bulls are currently being held at the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission facility under a Department of Neighborhood Services hold, per MADACC. A mandatory 10-day state rabies observation quarantine applies to animals involved in bite incidents. MADACC itself functions only as a housing and stray-hold facility for 19 municipalities across the county, without independent law enforcement or investigative power of its own, per Urban Milwaukee.
A MADACC director told FOX6 that the dogs are suspected to ultimately be declared dangerous prohibited animals, which could lead to their euthanasia or removal from the city.
What Happens if DNS Issues the Order
If the Department of Neighborhood Services formally issues a Prohibited Dangerous Animal Order, the dogs' owner would have to remove the animals from Milwaukee within seven days or have them destroyed. The owners are entitled to a hearing.
Milwaukee's enforcement framework shifted on July 14, when the Common Council voted unanimously to repeal breed-specific restrictions that had targeted pit bulls and Rottweilers, according to CBS 58. That change means any dangerous-dog determination now hinges entirely on the animals' individual behavior rather than their breed, which is central to how DNS will evaluate this case.
Civil Liability Beyond the City's Order
Separate from any municipal action, Wisconsin law exposes the dogs' owner to civil liability regardless of fault. Under Wisconsin Statute § 174.02, dog owners face strict civil liability for damages their dog causes to a person, domestic animal or property, meaning victims do not need to prove negligence to recover compensation, according to Third Coast Lawyers. If the owner previously knew or had been notified that either dog had broken skin in a prior unprovoked bite, victims could pursue double damages under the same statute.
The attack lands amid a broader rise in dog-bite injuries nationally. U.S. emergency department visits for dog bite injuries climbed 15% between 2018 and 2023, according to DogsBite.org. The organization also reports that U.S. homeowners insurance carriers paid out $1.86 billion in dog bite and related injury claims in 2025 alone.
The Milwaukee attack comes about a month after Hoodline reported on a separate case in which a Milwaukee woman sicced her dog on officers during an arrest, hospitalizing two police officers.
