2 residents bit in Wildwood attack

Search fails to locate 3 dogs

7/6/2013

Two Toledo residents were hurt by one or more of three dogs roaming in Wildwood Preserve Metropark when they tried to protect their own dog from an attack Friday morning.

The victims, identified by park officials as Steve Thompson, 35, and Nicole Ferrel, 36, were bitten at 8:30 a.m. They drove themselves to Mercy St. Anne Hospital, where they received stitches, said Scott Carpenter, a Metroparks spokesman. Their dog was not injured.

The Lucas County Dog Warden sent three patrols to the Sylvania Township park but were unable to locate the dogs, Dog Warden Julie Lyle said. Two dog traps were set in the hopes of catching the dogs and will be checked by park personnel.

The east entrance to Wildwood Preserve and trails leading to that side of the park were closed after the incident.

Metroparks brought in rangers from other parks and the Sylvania Township Police to sweep Wildwood’s east side. While rangers believed the dogs were no longer in the park, they continued to search Friday afternoon.

Mr. Carpenter said it was the first serious dog-bite incident to his knowledge at Wildwood.

“There’s no way to know if they are somebody’s pets that got loose or if they are strays,” he said. “We’ve dealt with stray dogs and dogs not behaving well, but certainly not this severe of an incident.”