HONOLULU (KHON2) — A Big Island woman and her mother are recovering tonight after a dog attacked them over the weekend.
Amber Clausen, 32, is still in a lot of pain and recovering at the Hilo Medical Center after a brutal dog attack over the weekend.
“It went on for like 15 or 20 minutes, I was screaming for help. I was trying to hold my arm because my arm felt like it was going to fall off,” said Clausen.
Clausen was injured with several cuts and wounds on her arms.
Amber’s mother was also reportedly bit, possibly by another dog during the attack.
The owner of the dog is 51-year-old Frederick Kassebeer who turned himself in to the police.
The incident was classified as a felony and charged with permitting a dog to stray and negligent failure to control a dangerous dog.
Helping Clausen’s recovery is a letter by Violet. KHON2.com reported on a dog attack incident in 2021 when Violet was only six years old.
Violet’s mother Shay Newman is close friends with Clausen and said it’s hard to leave these incidents that happened.
“There’s still nightmares and hard days and anxiety, you know, and Violet has unfortunately lost most of her vision in her injured eye,” said Newman.
Hawaii County police said the dog in this latest incident has not been euthanized and the outcome of the case is pending.
Hawaii County Animal Control Services shared a message for dog owners.
“If they know that their dog can be reactive towards new people or unknown animals they should absolutely keep their dog contained, whether that is tethering or an enclosure or inside the residence,” said Charyse Emmons, the lead animal control officer area 2.
Clausen thanked the good samaritan who stopped the attack and helped her get medical treatment.
She said, “Thank you so much to the guy who helped me, I would of, you know, died because no one else came.”
The dog owner was released after posting bail and the investigation remains active.