Verified incident record · 2026-08-27

Joppa woman recovering after repeated dog bites; Animal Control imposes dangerous-dog restrictions

Shantel Washington said she was repeatedly bitten while walking in Joppa on Aug. 27; WMAR reports surgery, rabies-shot follow-up and Harford County dangerous-dog restrictions.

Nonfatal · 1 human bite victimBreed: Pit bull (media-reported)Joppa, MD

Date2026-08-27 · Morning; exact time not reported

LocationJoppa Crossing Way neighborhood; exact house not pinned

Victim(s)Shantel Washington

Dogs involved1 dog reported

Injury severityExtensive bites to arms and legs; hospital surgery reported; ongoing rabies shots

Breed attributionPit bull (media-reported)WMAR-2 News identified the dog as a pit bull. BiteDB records that attribution as media-reported and does not independently verify breed from images or appearance.

What the record currently shows

Incident summary

Shantel Washington said a dog attacked her while she was walking in her Joppa neighborhood on Aug. 27, repeatedly biting her arms and legs. WMAR-2 News identified the dog as a pit bull and reported that Washington underwent surgery and later began a series of rabies shots because no dog-registration record was found. Harford County Animal Control confirmed the owner received a citation, the dog was quarantined at home for 10 days and was deemed dangerous, triggering confinement, leash and muzzle restrictions.

Legal-status note

Harford County Animal Control confirmed an owner citation, a 10-day home quarantine and a dangerous-dog determination with confinement, leash and muzzle restrictions. BiteDB does not characterize those administrative actions as a criminal conviction.

Media & source coverage

Video, reporting and source material

BiteDB embeds media only when a source-hosted player is suitable for embedding. News photographs and footage remain with their publishers unless reuse rights are clear.

↗Primary incident reportingMaryland woman questions why pit bull that attacked her is still at homeOpen the original publisher or agency-linked report for source media and context.

Source provenance

Primary record used by BiteDB

Maryland woman questions why pit bull that attacked her is still at homeWMAR-2 News local reporting with victim interview and Harford County Animal Control statements · Published 2026-09-03 · Accessed 2026-09-09

WMAR-2 News reported that Shantel Washington was attacked while walking on Joppa Crossing Way, identified the dog as a pit bull, and reported surgery, rabies-shot follow-up, an owner citation, a 10-day home quarantine and a dangerous-dog determination with additional restrictions.

Open original source ↗

Additional sources

WBAL-TV — Woman recalls leashless dog attack in Joppa that left her injured — Independent local victim interview / injury corroboration · 2026-09-07

Data-quality notes

What BiteDB does not infer

Breed is recorded only at the provenance level shown above. Missing injury details, dog history, ownership facts or circumstances remain unknown unless a reliable source establishes them. This record may be updated as police, animal-control, medical, court or follow-up reporting becomes available.