Firefighter attacked and bitten while responding to Life Alert call…

Photo: Barnstable Animal Control Officer Charlie Lewis was finally able to wrangle the angry pet using a fresh dog control pole, the first pole broke at the beginning of the fray…

COTUIT — A firefighter was “attacked and bitten” by an elderly woman’s dog after responding to a Life Alert call this afternoon.

The dog’s name was Mason, a rescued lab mix… (possibly some golden retriever?)

Firefighters backed off and immediately called police and animal control. Police arrived at the Eisenhower Drive address shortly before 5:00PM…

After a stand off, a Barnstable Police officer was able to distract Mason using a blanket (like a toreador), allowing the firefighters the time they needed to safely attend to the elderly woman.

According to a source, the elderly woman had reportedly been down on the floor and unable to get up for 3 days. She was conscious while being placed into an ambulance.

A Cotuit firefighter had a bite wound to his hand, according to a source… he should be okay.

It’s uncertain if Mason was up-to-date on his shots, but the Animal Control Officer did provide the Cotuit Fire Chief with paperwork on the pet.

It remains uncertain what caused the woman to only just activate the Life Alert button today, after being down on the floor for 3 days.

The outside of the property was well cared for… and the woman had several concerned neighbors who said they will be checking in on her more in the future. According to a source, a couple of her neighbors went down to CCH to check on the stricken woman.

Mason, the lab mix, was taken into custody by Barnstable Animal Control, but not without a fight… Apparently a dog control pole broke on the first attempt, with a police officer having to jump on the dog’s back. After a brief fray, the dog was finally secured with a second dog control pole and walked out into an awaiting Animal Control van.

According to neighbors, the rescued lab mix was friendly with the owner, but could occasionally become cranky with others.

Elderly services was also contacted and the woman does has a family member who was also made aware of the situation.

The following footage highlights today’s scene, it also shows the “doggy perp walk…”

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In other news:

Today’s “Government on Fast Forward… 3/10/2016”

One hour and 10 minutes of Government news programming and information edited down to 19 minutes and 26 seconds of the finer points, which are sped up at times for those listeners who are thrifty on time and need information quick. Sarah Colvin’s and Sara Mannal’s entire broadcast, however, can be viewed on the Town of Barnstable website.

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