Malamute kills woman (Norfolk, VA)

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Death of woman bitten by dog ruled accidental
Posted to: News Norfolk


By Meghan Hoyer
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 15, 2009
NORFOLK

A woman bitten by a dog early Saturday died of the injuries she received, medical examiners said Monday.

The death was ruled accidental, said Donna Price, administrator of the Tidewater district office of the chief medical examiner.

Theresa Ann Ellerman, 49, of Jacksonville, N.C., was visiting friends in Norfolk when she was bitten by the dog, an Alaskan malamute, Saturday morning.

When paramedics arrived at the 8200 block of Tabor Court, they found Ellerman having difficulty breathing. She was taken to a hospital, where she died about 3:45 a.m. The cause of death was ruled to be a dog bite to the neck, Price said. Police said the animal did not maul Ellerman.

The dog was quarantined by Animal Control, and city officials late Monday could not say what its fate would be.

Officers did not identify the dog's owner.

"We're not looking to charge the owners with anything," police spokesman Chris Amos said. "It's just an accidental, freak incident."

An estimated 4.7 million Americans are bitten by dogs each year, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Most of them are children. About a dozen deaths are attributed to dog attacks annually, the association says.

Meghan Hoyer, (757) 446-2293, meghan.hoyer@pilotonline.com