DUMAS, Ark. — A 73-year-old woman is pleading for justice nearly a month after she says she was attacked by dogs at a Deshea county property that she frequented every year to pick pecans.
Patricia Watkins says she needed 14 staples in her head, in addition to stitches in her ears and legs, following the Dec. 11 attack.
“I could literally feel them tearing my flesh,” Watkins says.
The former Dumas teacher has since recovered but wonders what is in store for the dog owners and whether they will be held accountable.
According to a Deshea County Sheriff’s report, on Dec. 11 two women confronted Watkins in an area near the Leach cemetery, just norteast of Dumas.
“Each year, I go out and pick up pecans,” Watkins says.
An argument ensued about whether Watkins had a right to be there, then the two women called on two dogs to “sic” Watkins, according to the report.
“When she said ‘Eat her’ I could feel them starting to bite,” Watkins says.
“I knew that I could not be afraid. I knew that I could not panic.”
The sheriff’s report lists “battery” as the type of call deputies responded to.
The two women listed in the report as dog owners have not been arrested, but a Deshea county sheriff’s investigator confirmed on Monday that felony aggravated assault charges had just been filed against the two female suspects.
They will soon be summoned to court to face the charges, according to authorities.
Meanwhile, the dogs were taken to a pound back on Dec. 11, according to the sheriff’s office report. But, Watkins says some of her family members have seen the dogs back in the area of the reported attack.
“All we are asking for is justice,” Watkins says.
