***Warning: Details in this story are disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.***
CLEVELAND (WJW) – A special visit is planned to show support and comfort for a Cleveland woman recovering from horrific wounds after she was attacked by what animal control officials call a “wolf-hybrid.”
Community activist Laura Cowan says a group is being organized to visit the victim Laeann Amos-Reed at her home Monday at 5:45 p.m.
“Let’s show the victim that the village still exists and that she is not alone,” Cowan said.
The injured woman is upset that the animal was being kept in her neighborhood and that it was not taken off the street until more than two weeks after the attack.
She says animal control officials picked up the alleged “wolf dog” Thursday, although the woman was attacked on July 31.
“It hurts to crawl. To still go up the stairs, I have to either crawl forward or go down the stairs like this,” said bite victim Laeann Amos-Reed.
Amos-Reed struggles to get around her home more than two weeks after she was viciously attacked by what Cleveland animal control officials are classifying as a wolf-hybrid.
She says she was doing cardio around her neighborhood on East 147th Street and had run seven miles when an animal snuck up behind her.
“It bit the whole from this side all the way around the back to the opposite side and when I was bit, of course, I screamed really, really loud,” she said.
She injured her hand and wrist trying to fight off the alleged “wolf dog” until a good Samaritan drove up, trying to scare the animal away.
“The owner of the animal comes running outside being very aggressive, yelling at it, cursing at it to grab it. When he started yelling at it, it turned around and charged at me again,” said Amos-Reed.
“I’m not going to be able to work out. I’ve got to go through physical therapy, but I’m in good spirits,” she said.
The victim spent four days in the hospital. The injuries to her leg are so graphic, we cannot show them to you.
“It’s very gruesome and unfortunately, we can’t show these types of images online, but can I show you?” Amos-Reed asked.
“Ah, oh my goodness, oh gosh!” responded a shocked FOX 8 News reporter Kevin Freeman.
“My whole calf muscle, a whole chunk of it was ripped wide open,” she said.
Laeann Amos-Reed says even after she returned home, her family took video of the animal still sitting in its backyard down the street.
An email she received from the city’s chief animal control officer says the dog is classified as a wolf hybrid and as a level two threat.
He states it is currently at the city kennel and does not have rabies.
“I’m really thankful that my son was out of town when it happened because normally my son is with me. That could’ve been him, that could have been any child,” she said.
The chief animal control officer told FOX 8 that they are still trying to determine whether the hybrid is actually the dog that bit her, since the owner has two dogs.
The attack happened about a block from an elementary school.
Amos-Reed works in the entertainment industry and recently starred in a movie.
“It stops me from traveling, doing bookings, hosting events, movie premieres, like it stops me from working,” she said.
According to the email, the wolf-hybrid’s owner will be arraigned on Wednesday.
Animal control officials also sent the owner a certified letter with requirements needed to keep the animal. The charges filed could lead to the owner being fined up to $1,000 and be sentenced to up to six months in prison.
Laeann Amos-Reed says doctors tell her it could take one to two years for her to fully recover.