A Topeka woman who was 24 weeks pregnant with twins is recovering from severe injuries after being attacked by two dogs earlier this month, her partner says.
According to C.J. Austin, his longtime partner Audrey Suarez was walking toward a relative’s home near Highland Park Townhomes on July 17 when she was suddenly pulled into a dispute that had nothing to do with her. During the chaos, a child belonging to one of the people involved reportedly let two dogs loose, and the animals turned on Suarez without warning.
Austin said her first instinct wasn’t to run — it was to protect the babies she was carrying. She curled around her stomach to shield her twins from the dogs’ bites, breaking one of her fingers in the process.
The Topeka Police Department confirmed that officers responded to the scene and that one officer shot and killed one of the dogs during the incident. The second animal has since been placed under quarantine.
Suarez’s injuries were extensive. She underwent a 10-hour surgery to reconstruct her face and a separate four-hour procedure after her eye was lacerated by one of the bites — an injury doctors say nearly cost her the eye entirely.
Austin credited a bystander with saving her life, saying the family’s friend physically intervened and pulled the dogs off her before the attack could turn fatal.
Police say the dog owner was issued a citation, a response Austin called far too light given what his partner now has to live with. He described her ongoing nightmares, saying she wakes up in the middle of the night screaming as she relives the moment of the attack.
Despite the trauma, the family says both unborn twins remain in good health. Suarez now faces a long physical and emotional recovery, with her family asking the community for support as she heals.
The Topeka Police Department says its investigation remains active.