A deputy was injured Sunday after being shot in the leg while trying to defend herself from a dog attack, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Deputies said they responded to a call on 6th Street in Eloise at 10:39 a.m. regarding four or five cows that had gotten loose and were roaming a residential neighborhood.
The sheriff’s office said that after locating the cows behind a home, one deputy set out to find the owner.
According to the sheriff’s office, as the deputy was walking around to the front of the property, a large pit bull began to aggressively charge at her.
The deputy drew her firearm to defend herself against the attacking dog.
According to the sheriff’s office, the deputy fired several shots at the dog, striking it at least once and accidentally shooting herself in the leg.
The other deputy rendered aid and applied a tourniquet to the wound before the injured deputy was taken to a hospital.
Her injury was treated, and it was determined that the bullet entered and exited through her right calf without hitting any bones or an artery.
According to the sheriff’s office, the dog is in stable condition, and the owner was cited.
As for the cows, they were returned home, and the fence they escaped from has since been repaired.