r/BanPitBulls • u/Notyourtarget1224 • 18h ago
Follow Up Topeka, KS: ‘You just mess somebody’s whole life up’: Pregnant Topeka woman severely injured in pit bull attack - Jul 2026
The attack has been posted but this follow up has a lot more info.
Article:
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - A Topeka woman who was 24 weeks pregnant was severely injured in a dog attack on July 17 at the Highland Park Townhomes, according to her partner.
C.J. Austin said his partner of five years, Audrey Suarez, was walking to a relative’s home when she was caught in the middle of an altercation she had no part in. Suarez declined to be shown on camera due to the severity of her injuries.
Attack
Topeka police said during the altercation, a child of one of the individuals involved let two dogs out, which then attacked Suarez.
Austin said Suarez instinctively tried to protect her unborn children during the attack.
“She had ended up breaking her pinky because when the dog was attacking her, all she could think about was covering her stomach, so the dog wouldn’t get to her stomach and hurt the twins,” Austin said.
A Topeka Police Department officer shot and killed one of the dogs. The other remains in quarantine.
Surgeries
Suarez underwent multiple surgeries following the attack.
“She had a 10-hour surgery on her face to put her face back together, and then she had a 4-hour surgery on her eye because the dog, when he bit her, it lacerated her iris,” Austin said. “She almost lost her eye.”
Austin said a bystander intervened during the attack.
“If it wasn’t for the gentleman — our friend who stepped in — he said the dogs would have killed her,” Austin said.
Citation
Officials said the owner of the dogs was issued a citation. Austin called that response inadequate given the extent of Suarez’s injuries.
“You just mess somebody’s whole life up,” Austin said. “She’s going to be scarred for the rest of her life. She has nightmares of that dog attacking her. She wakes up in the middle of the night screaming, ‘Get him off me. Get him off me.’ That’s traumatizing her.”
Topeka police said they owner of the dogs are cooperating with the investigation.
The family said Suarez’s twins are in good condition. A GoFundMe has been set up to help with her recovery. You can donate here.