Olympic qualifier, Cowtown winner attacked by dog while running in Fort Worth
A runner was hospitalized after she was attacked by a dog Sunday on a Fort Worth trail, according to police.
Caitlin Keen, 26, was running alone near the Hulen Street Bridge when the dog — described as a pit bull terrier mix — began to chase her, according to Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.
Keen said the dog grabbed her arm multiple times. The right side of her body was bitten and clawed by the animal. She told WFAA-TV that she tried to fight off the dog, but the dog didn’t stop until another runner began to throw rocks.
Just a week before the attack, Keen won the Cowtown 10K and placed third in the Cowtown half marathon. Keen, who went to high school at Nolan Catholic and ran track at SMU, has qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials in the marathon.
“I was a 10K runner in college and I haven’t run a 10K in awhile and I was trying to jump start my training again,” Keen told the Star-Telegram after the Cowtown race. “I’ve been training for marathons for over a year and I just wanted to have some fun. I ran three marathons in the course of a year and I wanted to do something a little outside of my comfort zone. It was great.”
Keen said that she doesn’t want the attack to make her fear running by herself.
The dog was restrained by another runner until animal control arrived. Animal Control has possession of the dog, according to the Fort Worth Police Department. Police didn’t make a report, officer Bradley Perez said.
This story was originally published March 5, 2019 at 10:24 AM with the headline "Olympic qualifier, Cowtown winner attacked by dog while running in Fort Worth."
