Debra George from the nonprofit group that is now handling Burien's animal control services reports the runaway pit bull involved in Thursday's biting incident has been found.
George from Burien CARES said the dog showed up at the back door of its owners Sunday night. The owners live in the 15600 block of Maplewild Avenue Southwest. The home is about four blocks from the 15900 block of 25th Avenue Southwest where it was spotted about 9 p.m. Sunday night.
George reported the pit bull has been turned over to CARES for treatment and and a required 10-day quarantine.
George reported the dog still had a taser dart in it when it returned home.
In the first media interview with former Burien mayor Sally Nelson, Nelson told the Times/News Sunday night that the dogs came after her with "a vengeance."
Here's our coverage from Sunday night with the first media interview with Nelson:
The case of a possibly dangerous pit bull running loose in Burien illustrates the frustrations of a couple of new Burien residents trying to be good citizens.
My wife and I recently moved to the 15900 block of 25th Avenue S.W., the next street east of Maplewild Avenue Southwest where two women were bitten Thursday afternoon. One pit bull was killed and another one with it ran away.
My wife went out to her car this evening (Sunday about 9 p.m.) and she saw a copper-colored pit bull running north up the street at a purposeful gait. The pit bulls involved in the Thursday incident were described as being copper-colored.
She immediately ran into the house and called Burien Animal Control. The city of Burien has opted out of King County’s animal control services and recently hired a non-profit group to take over animal control services for the city. She called one number and got a message that the mailbox was full.
My wife hung up and called 9-1-1. The emergency operator had absolutely no interest in the fact that a potentially dangerous dog had been possibly located after being on the loose for four days. My wife was advised to call Burien Animal Control even though she informed the operator that she could not get a hold of animal control.
She went looking in her car for the dog but couldn’t find it. She managed to warn a couple walking on the street.
She came home and found another phone number for animal control and after waiting through a long automated spiel finally was able to leave a message.
Not knowing what else to do, I called former Burien mayor Sally Nelson, who was the second woman bitten on Thursday.
Describing the situation to her, Nelson said it sounded like an example of Burien’s “lax policy” toward animal control.
Nelson described her Thursday experience as “frightening.”
She said she arrived at her home along Maplewild about 12:45 p.m. Thursday, to find police there.
Neighbors told her two pit bulls had attacked a woman walking by. There are reports the woman was walking from a Three Tree Point bed and breakfast with a baby in a stroller.
Nelson said she was told the woman was bitten on the buttocks.
The former mayor said police were trying to corral the pit bulls in the yard next to her house where the dogs lived. The owners reportedly said the dogs ran out their front door when someone tried to break into the house.
Nelson said she was walking up to her house through a break in a hedge.
“The dogs came after me with a vengeance,” Nelson reported.
She said a grocery bag she was carrying had blood on it after she was bitten on the leg.
“It hurt like hell,” Nelson added.
A Burien police officer got the dogs off Nelson and she immediately went to her doctor. One of the dogs was shot and killed.
Luckily, Nelson said she is current on her tetanus vaccination so didn’t need another shot.
It’s now about 10:30 p.m. and we haven’t heard back from animal control. As far as we know, the potentially dangerous dog is still out there in our neighborhood.
