Update 5:30 p.m.
A 36-year-old Lame Deer woman was brutally attacked by nearly a dozen dogs early this week on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, leaving her with severe injuries that required her to be life-flighted to Billings for treatment.
A neighbor, Lance Littlebird, witnessed the attack of Teela Atwood and stepped to the rescue after she had been dragged into a ditch by the pack of dogs.
Watch neighbors react to the woman getting attacked by several dogs:
“They were all just literally going for the kill on her,” Littlebird said Thursday.
Littlebird said the dogs were tearing Atwood apart when he intervened.
“I just reached down and I started swinging as well as I could. 'Cause there were just, like, so many dogs there. There were so many of them,” Littlebird said.
Deborah Bishop, who said she was Atwood’s sister-in-law, described the extent of the injuries.
“Right now, she's still having skin grafts done on her. She has the heart, she has the heart monitor on her right now, you know, and they took chunks out of her legs, literally,” Bishop said.
Atwood’s sister, Amber Marie, said once she was airlifted to St. Vincent hospital in Billings, she went under emergency surgery for nine open wounds that were closed with stitches and staples from head to toe.
“I have been with her in the hospital for the past few days and have watched her stay strong for her unborn baby, who she balled up to protect during the attack. She has received excellent care here and the staff are continuing constant monitoring (of) her and baby,” Marie said.
Marie said that Atwood is stable and will be in the hospital for a while to heal from the attack.
Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council Rep. Robert Simpson said dog attacks are not uncommon on the reservation. He said that when dogs cannot be properly cared for, they become more dangerous.
"They can't take care of them, and they become territorial. They become stronger as a pack, you know. They get more aggressive as they're more, you know, they got more backup with them," Simpson said.
Steven Littlebird, a Lame Deer resident, confirmed this has been an ongoing problem in the area.
"There's a lot of talk around town about that happening. And that's happened to several other people too as well. And they've getting bit by dogs. I even got bit by the dog from that same area," he said.
In 2021, a Lame Deer man, Duke Little Whirlwind, was killed in a similar incident involving a pack of dogs.
Simpson noted there's often confusion about whether the dogs are strays or owned animals that roam freely.
"I guess they're not stray dogs, but they're owned, but they're very vicious. And how people train them, I guess. I'm trained to res dogs around here. There's a lot of stray dogs around here, but those are mainly the ones that attack people around in that area," Simpson said.
(first report) LAME DEER — A woman was attacked by a pack of dogs earlier this week in Lame Deer, leaving the Northern Cheyenne community shaken and calling for action.
According to a post from the Northern Cheyenne Tribal President’s Facebook page, at least nine dogs attacked a tribal member, who family members say is pregnant. The woman was flown by helicopter to a Billings hospital for treatment.
Tribal officials said seven of the dogs involved in the attack were euthanized, while two remain loose in the area.
It’s the latest in a string of serious dog attacks reported on the reservation.
In 2021, a Lame Deer man, Duke Little Whirlwind, was killed in a similar incident involving a pack of dogs.
Community members say the latest attack has once again left residents fearful and calling for better control of stray and aggressive animals on the reservation.
Authorities have not confirmed the exact day the incident happened, and details remain under investigation.
