Victim seeks owner of dog that bit her

Unless she can verify that the Lab mix had its shots, Celeste Moore will have to get rabies shots.

By ADRIENNE P. SAMUELS
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 2, 2002

SEMINOLE -- A woman bitten on the arm by a mixed-breed black Labrador retriever might have to get rabies shots unless the dog's owner can be found.

Celeste Moore, 46, said she went with her husband, Pell, and their two Siberian huskies to the new Millennium Dog Park in Seminole on Friday. Twenty minutes after they arrived, the lab attacked one of the huskies, Loosie.

"It came at (Loosie) with all the viciousness in the world and started attacking her," Mrs. Moore said. "I scooped down to pick my dog up, and that dog attacked me. I pulled off my sweat shirt, and the cut on my left arm was so deep you could see the bone."

A family friend found the dog's owner on the other side of the park. The woman identified herself as Sharon Brown and said she lived in Seminole. Brown said the dog was 1 year old, was not dangerous and had all of its shots.

After getting the information, Moore's husband took his wife to the emergency room, where she was stitched up and given antibiotics.

Later, the family discovered the woman had given a false name, address and phone number. The Moores filed a report with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, but deputies have been unable to find the woman.

"Why would this gal be giving all this fraudulent information?" Pell Moore asked Friday. "(The dog) probably has a history of attacks. She hasn't called us. The fear of rabies is at the top of our list."

The family now worries that the woman lied about the dog's shots being up to date. Unless the family can be sure, Celeste Moore will have to undergo a series of rabies shots before Dec. 9.

The Moores describe the woman as white, 5 feet 10 and about 180 pounds, with frosted blond hair. The woman drove a silver SUV that might be an Isuzu Trooper.

The lab weighed between 65 and 70 pounds, the Moores said.

Anyone with information was asked to contact the Sheriff's Office at (727) 582-2600.

-- Adrienne Samuels can be reached at 445-4157 or samuels@sptimes.com

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