Lower Saucon Woman’s Dog Bit Officer, Police Say
A 42-year-old Lower Saucon Township woman has been charged after police say her dog lunged at and bit a township police officer last month.
According to a LSTPD update published Tuesday on Crimewatch, officers were responding to a medical call in the 1200 block of Seidersville Road on the evening of June 9 when the dog owned by Melissa L. Gunther allegedly “broke free from the property, jumped over bushes and aggressively lunged” at the officer. Police said the officer was bitten on his lower leg and thumb before the German Shepherd retreated back to Gunther’s property. After being treated at a local hospital, the officer was released.
Lower Saucon Police said their investigation in conjunction with the state dog warden determined that Gunther’s dog has been involved in previous biting incidents, including a January 2024 incident in which a Freemansburg police officer was bitten and a June 2024 incident in which a United States Postal Service employee was bitten.
Police said the dog was also found to be unlicensed and lacked vaccination records.
According to Northampton County court records, Gunther pleaded guilty in April to summary charges of violating the state’s rabies vaccination requirement and a dog license violation in two Freemansburg borough cases from 2024.
Gunther is charged in the Lower Saucon Township case with failure to confine her dog and having an unlicensed dog, with both charges filed as third-degree misdemeanors. She is also charged with two summary offenses, including one for “History of Attacking without Provocation” and one for a rabies vaccination requirement.
A preliminary hearing for Gunther is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 9:15 a.m. before District Judge Alan Mege, according to the case docket. The docket did not list an attorney for her.
Note:Â All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty. This story was compiled using information from the Lower Saucon Township Police Department and Northampton County court records.
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