Officers investigate dog bite on trail

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating an incident in which a man was bitten by a loose dog on the Peterson Ridge Trail at the south end of Sisters on Wednesday, March 25.

A man was reportedly running on the trail when a medium-sized black dog ran past him and bit him on the calf. According to an account provided by a friend of the runner, the man fell to the ground and threw rocks at the dog to scare it off.

Two women described as being in their 50s to 60s approached and according to Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Sgt. William Bailey, “were not cooperative with providing information” to the victim. One woman was wearing a dark coat, the other a white coat. The runner did not have a mobile phone with which to take photos.

The victim reported that he was bitten a second time as he turned to run back down the trail.

There was a second dog present on the trail, apparently belonging to one of the two women.

Bailey told The Nugget that, according to the victim’s report, “There was a verbal confrontation between them and the dog bite victim. One of the women (pulled) out a taser-type device and pointed it at him and told him he needed to ‘get the (expletive) out of here.’”

The runner contacted the sheriff’s office and deputies responded to investigate. Bailey said that deputies confirmed that the runner exhibited two dog bites, one of which broke the skin.

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the identity of the women and the dog involved.

“We want to follow up on the dogs themselves, their history, their shot history, and get (the women’s) perspective on what happened,” Bailey said.

Anyone with information who can help deputies located and contact the women involved is asked to call the non-emergency dispatch line at 541-693-6911.