Woman who died after dog bite in Norfolk is identified

NORFOLK

Authorities are investigating the death of a woman who was bitten by a dog early Saturday.

Theresa Ann Ellerman, 49, of Jacksonville, N.C., was visiting friends in Norfolk, said Officer Chris Amos, a Police Department spokesman.

When police and paramedics arrived at a residence in the 8200 block of Tabor Court, they found Ellerman having difficulty breathing and took her to a hospital, where she died at about 3:45 a.m.

Animal Control placed the dog, an Alaskan malamute, in quarantine pending the outcome of the medical examiner's evaluation of the body.

Police are also investigating. They declined to say where Ellerman was bitten but said the incident happened inside the residence and she was not mauled. They did not identify the dog's owner.

An estimated 4.7 million Americans are bitten by dogs each year, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Most of them are children. About a dozen deaths are attributed to dog attacks annually, the association says.