SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Greene County woman is hoping a dog owner can be held responsible after she says the owner and their two dogs attacked her at the David C Murray Trailhead north of Springfield on Oct. 5.

“It was Thursday night about 7:30. I frequently ride on our local greenway trails. I love them, and usually [go there] about sunset,” the woman said. “It was just getting dark, and I came up to the trailhead and I saw they were about 50 yards away from me. I saw a couple, and two dogs and I can tell the dogs were off leash and I just wanted to avoid them.”

The woman has wished to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation from the owner of the two dogs.

“I tried to cut across the grass over to the parking lot to get to my car,” she said. “When I was about ten yards from my car, one of the dogs grabbed my ankle and shook.”

She said when she shouted to the owner about the initial bite, that’s when it spun out of control.

“[The owner] hit me in my helmet, and then she grabbed my ponytail and basically shook me like a rag doll back and forth and up and down while her dogs bit me multiple times.

The Springfield-Greene County Park Rangers have confirmed they are investigating the attack and the subsequent assault but would not comment further or interview for the story.

Signs posted throughout parks require by city ordinance to have all pets on leashes.

The woman says her injuries have led to thousands of dollars in medical bills.

“I have ten stitches in my knee, which they had to flush out,” she said. “I think they wrote seven centimeters, but it was about as a couple inches long and very deep. I could see my own fat cells. In total I’ve got like 25, 26 stitches. The E.R. bill was over $3,000 before insurance. I have to go back and get more rabies shots because if they don’t find the dogs, there’s no way to know if they don’t have rabies, so those are $1,240 each before insurance.”

She tells OzarksFirst that based on her recollection, she believes the dogs that attacked her were German Shepherd/Husky mixes.

“They were a little smaller than you’d expect a German shepherd or husky to be. I think they may have been younger, like younger than two years old or maybe some other kind of mix. They had very pointy ears and pointing out the dog that grabbed my ankle was blacker and like German Shepherd coloring.”

She says the reason behind speaking out, is to warn others in the area and try to make sure the owner can be held responsible.

“I know there are kids that ride their bikes out there, but just, you know, it’s a family park. There are kids out there all the time. I think she’s dangerous. I think the dogs are dangerous.”

She adds that she plans on returning to the trail, a trail she goes out of her way to visit because she enjoys it, but will be more cautious moving forward.

“I’ve lived in the Springfield area my whole life, except for maybe a couple of years,” she said. “It’s a good place to raise your family and it’s, you know, historically pretty safe. I see that it is not as nice as it used to be. Not as safe as it used to be.”

If you have any information, you’re told to call 417-869-TIPS