RHOSLC’s Bronwyn Newport Suffered 37 Puncture Wounds in Vicious Dog Attack: ‘I Could Not Get Him Off’

Bronwyn Newport. Photo:Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Bronwyn Newport is opening up about the terrifying moment she was attacked by a dog that left her with 37 puncture wounds in her arm and legs. 

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City newcomer spoke to PEOPLE about the incident, which occurred back in April while she was with one of her six dogs at a dog park.

“There was a dog running around. He wasn't barking, nothing seemed weird, but he was alone,” she recalls. “So I reached out to pet him and he did make a weird kind of skid move. He jerked away from me.” 

Bronwyn Newport's leg after the dog attack, as seen on 'The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' episode.Bravo
The 39-year-old explains that the dog suddenly circled around and lunged toward her, biting her behind her knee. At that point, she says the situation escalated and she “did everything wrong.”

“I know you're not supposed to scream, you're not supposed to jerk your arm. I did all of those things,” she remembers. “I totally freaked out. I'd never been bitten by a dog before. I totally lost my mind, and I honestly think I made it worse.” 

“He did bite me behind the leg. He got me on the other side of my calf. As I tried to pull away, he got my other leg on the thigh,” she continues. “I think at that point I must have leaned forward or was trying to push him away. He ended up getting my right arm, where my bicep is, very badly and clamped onto my arm. I could not get him off.” 

Bronwyn Newport's arm after the dog attack, as seen on 'The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' episode.Bravo
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Newport says it took a bystander at the dog park intervening in order to get the unattended dog off of her. The police and an ambulance were called and she ultimately had to go to the hospital.

“I had 37 separate bites when I went to the emergency room. They had to do a really comprehensive overview. I had stitches in both my arm and my leg,” she shares. “When he clamped down on my bicep, he fractured it. I had a little hairline fracture on the bone, and the bruising was really intense and it was throbbing.”

Newport later learned that the dog who attacked her was a foster dog left unattended while its caretaker was taking a phone call.

“You've got to know if your dog is the kind of dog that can be at a dog park. You have to be watching them,” she stresses. “If it had been an older person or someone younger than me, it could have been much more life-threatening injuries. I'm grateful they weren't.” 

“I did feel for the dog,” she admits. “I have rescue dogs who've been through it.” 

Bronwyn Newport.Koury Angelo/Bravo
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Newport adds that the dog also had medical problems that affected its behavior. She says that she and her husband Todd Bradley paid for the dog’s treatment and made sure that he was placed in a proper home with a better environment.

The reality star tells PEOPLE that she’s “healed” now and is working with someone to prevent scarring from the bites.

“Honestly, even as a dog lover, I was terrified of dogs for a long time afterwards. You just are,” she admits. But, “the most important thing to me is that the dog is doing well and I'm doing well,” she says, noting that she also didn’t press charges following the attack.