RICHMOND, Va. -- A Richmond woman said she was encouraged to undergo rabies treatments after a dog bite left her bloodied in Richmond's Bryan Park. Kenney Toms Cobb posted a photo of her bloody arm to Facebook last week following the incident. Not knowing if the dog that bit her was up to date on its vaccinations, Cobb hoped the picture would help her find the dog and its owner.
"I need help," her initial Facebook post read. "I was walking my greyhound, on lead, along the wooded creekside paths in Bryan Park. A black shaggy dog ran down the path ahead of its owner and attacked my dog. Kong escaped and I was able to retrieve him safely. However, in the scuffle, the black dog bit me."
She went on to describe the dog's owner as a young woman with shoulder-length brown and blonde streaked hair who was walking two dogs at the time.
"I did not get her information at the time. That was my mistake. I was angry at her insistence that her dog wouldn’t do that and I wanted to get back to my car," Cobb wrote. "Please help me to find out if this dog is up to date on its shots and be careful out there."
In the days that followed, Cobb's Facebook post was shared among friends and strangers looking to provide the worried dog owner with the answers she sought. Unfortunately for Cobb, those answers never came.
Kenney Toms Cobb and Kong
"I have not found her," Cobb told WTVR CBS 6 News. "Per my doctor's instructions, I began rabies treatment Sunday morning... one shot in arm, to be repeated three more times over the next two weeks. One very large and full syringe of antibodies poked into numerous locations around the wound itself."
Cobb said since she went public with her story, she has heard from others concerned about walking their dogs in Bryan Park due to the "large number of loose dogs."
"Be careful out there. Keep your dogs on lead, for their safety and out of respect for those around you."
Kong
While dogs are allowed in Bryan Park, all dogs must be on a leash, according to rules posted on the Friends of Bryan Park website.
If you are looking for a park where your dog is legally allowed to be off of a leash try Baker Field at Byrd Park, Church Hill Dog Park at Chimborazo Park, Ruff House Dog Park at Rockwood Park, Barker Field, or Northside Dog Park.
