Hawthorne woman, 85, has leg amputated after being attacked by dogs

An 85-year-old Hawthorne woman had her right ear bitten off and later her right leg amputated after being attacked Friday by two dogs in her front yard while unloading groceries from her car.

According to a report from the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, a deputy responded to a call regarding an animal bite at 129 Little Orange Lake Drive, in Hawthorne, which is just east of the Alachua County line.

EMS informed the deputy that Gertrude Bishop, also known as "Ms. Terri," was taken to UF Health Shands Hospital. The deputy was shown pictures of Bishop's "severe leg injuries."

The deputy then observed what "appeared to be (two) mixed breeds of Pitbull dogs" in the yard across the street, with the front gate standing open. After securing the dogs behind the gate, the deputy spoke with two neighbors who heard the attack and came to Bishop's aid.

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Kathleen Edwards heard Bishop scream and observed her being attacked by a brown and white dog, according to the report. Larry Edwards immediately ran to the scene and was able to stop the attack after hitting the dog with a chair.

Emergency services was immediately called.

Larry Edwards told the deputy that Bishop "sustained significant injuries to her legs and right ear because of the attack," the report notes.

The deputy then made contact with 35-year-old Christopher Smith, the dogs' owner, and informed him about the attack. Smith reportedly said that he didn't know how the dogs got out. He also said, however, that he knew the property's gate was left open, and that his dogs had gotten out before by digging under the fence.

No charges have been filed, but an investigation is ongoing, according to an emailed response from the Sheriff's Office on Tuesday afternoon.

The dogs are currently in the custody of Putnam County Animal Control until it can be determined that they don't have rabies, after which they will be euthanized.

A GoFundMe was started by Bishop's son, Wayne Thomas. The page says that Bishop suffered "Multiple lacerations over all of her body, a damaged trachea, a right ear that was chewed off and a right leg so badly damaged from the attack, that it had to be amputated."

"This great lady, deserves as much love as we can give her after this horrific tragedy," he wrote on the GoFundMe, which, as of Tuesday afternoon, had raised more than $7,000.

An update on the page Monday noted that Bishop, an Army veteran, had "completed her first session of physical therapy and her wounds are healing."

"The road is long, but our journey will not stop until my mom comes home and gets back to her routine of life," he wrote.