Breaking: After Pit Bull Bites Woman at Salina Animal Shelter, City Manager Addresses Euthanasia Reports

A woman in her 50s was bitten by a pit bull at Salina Animal Services Wednesday afternoon, according to initial police scanner traffic and information later confirmed by City Manager Jacob Wood.

Scanner traffic indicated the woman was bitten in the stomach area and that those at the scene were working to control the bleeding. Salina EMS responded, and Animal Services staff secured the dog.

Wood confirmed to Salina311 that the dog involved was a pit bull. The extent of the woman's injuries has not been released.

The incident occurred the same day Salina311 contacted the City regarding separate reports that shelter staff believed there had been a direction to begin euthanizing pit bulls at the facility.

Wood denied that any such directive had been issued.

“There has been no directive to euthanize all pit bulls,” Wood said in a written response.

According to Wood, the shelter is currently limiting animal intakes to emergency calls only while staff work to reduce the overall dog population. The shelter currently has 17 pit bulls in its care.

Wood said the City's primary goal is to place dogs through adoption or transfer to qualified rescue organizations. Shelter staff have contacted both in-state and out-of-state rescue partners that have accepted dogs from Salina in the past.

The City's euthanasia policy includes several criteria, including an animal's length of stay. Wood said the policy is currently under review, but no dogs have recently been euthanized because of length of stay.

“Euthanasia remains an option of last resort,” Wood said.

Wood also said he requested a list of dogs and their respective lengths of stay, along with a current census of all dogs and cats at the shelter, to better understand current shelter capacity and population needs.

“No direction was given to euthanize any animals,” Wood said. “It appears there may have been a misunderstanding or miscommunication among shelter staff.”

The dog bite and the City's comments about shelter population management are separate matters, and the City has not indicated that the biting incident resulted in any change to its euthanasia policy.