PEMBROKE — A 63-year-old woman underwent surgery Thursday after she was attacked by two pit bulls inside the town limits of Pembroke, according to Bill Smith, director of the Robeson County Health Department.

Smith said there was no proof the animals had been vaccinated so they were to be killed and their brains examined to see if they are rabid. He said the county’s Animal Control officers handled the emergency call as Pembroke’s Animal Control officer was out of town.

Smith did not have additional information, including the woman’s condition, who owned the animals and if criminal charges had been brought. He said the woman’s name would likely not be made public because the case is a “communicable disease investigation.”

The Robesonian tried Thursday and this morning to reach Pembroke Police Chief Grant Florita, but as of press time he had not returned the newspaper’s phone calls.

Early during 2016 a pit bull attacked and killed a Lumberton child, prompting the city to adopt an ordinance targeting dogs deemed “vicious.” A Pembroke woman lost an arm after being attacked last year by a pit bull.

Staff Report