Posted on August 29, 2022 by Colleen Lynn

Victim of Domestic Pit Bull Attack Reemerges After TikTok Suspends Account Over Graphic Content

Why Did My Dog Try to Eat Me Unprovoked?

Tya Lucas, 40-years old, suffered life-threatening injuries in a domestic pit bull attack.

Watch Recent Video
Lewisville, TX - On May 16, Tya Lucas, 40-years old, was viciously attacked by her daughter's large pit bull. The dog destroyed her dominant arm. Medical professionals told her she was lucky to be alive. While hospitalized, Lucas began sharing her story on TikTok. That proved to be too controversial (no surprise). In short order, TikTok silenced her voice. Lucas is now back online, hoping to share how she is recovering. We will take readers through several of her key videos.

Released from Hospital

The dog first attacked her boyfriend. Lucas ran outside to see if her daughter and her son-in-law were there -- they were not. So, she knew she had to help him by herself. "The dog was attached to the back of his neck," she said. He had to get about 18 staples. She put him into the bathroom for his safety. Then the XL pit bull started attacking her. Despite her screaming that she was dying, her boyfriend did not or could not try to help her. He's "not my boyfriend any longer," she said.

There was a history of interpersonal violence in the home. The dog had gotten between Lucas and her boyfriend fighting in the past. This time, however, the dog attacked the boyfriend then attacked Lucas, essentially eating one of her arms. An earlier video also describes the attack. "I was getting thrown all over the house. Watched the skin literally peel off my arm," Lucas said. When police arrived, the swat team was upstairs, "my dog was basically sitting in my bedroom eating my flesh."

Now we learn about the bloody bathroom door. During the attack, Lucas had been banging on the bathroom door, where her boyfriend was protected. She could not get inside the room. He did not open the door for her, or come outside to help. "It's kinda messed up," she said nearly in tears. Fortunately, her daughter's husband arrived and began "beating the dog off me, saving me, taking me outside. Last thing I said was, 'I love you,' and passed out from blood loss," she said.

"I saved somebody's life who never came out of the bathroom to help me," she said. "Also has barely been to the hospital to see me."

Elevated to National News

In June, a local publication, the Denton Record-Chronicle, reported her attack. Eight months earlier, Lucas' daughter, Tana Dollar, 20, her husband, Harley Dollar, 21, and their pit bull named Hercules, had moved into the apartment Lucas shared with her then boyfriend. The young couple had found the dog on the side of the road two years earlier covered in cigarette burns. "He was always happy-go-lucky," Harley Dollar said. "He never showed any signs of aggression."

She remembers yelling, “Hercules, it’s me!” but he still had his teeth sunk into her arm, thrashing his head and shredding her skin and muscles.

Panicking and trying to get away, she left blood splatter everywhere she went. She tried desperately to get into the bathroom where her boyfriend had fled. But she said the door wouldn’t budge, even though there was no lock, as if her boyfriend was braced against it.

Tana and Harley Dollar arrived home to find the carpets, walls and bathroom door all painted red with blood. They could make out a forensic trail of Lucas’ and the dog’s movements. - Denton Record-Chronicle, June 9, 2022

We learned of this attack in June while reading the Record-Chronicle piece, which linked to a study co-authored by Laura A. Reese, a pit bull advocate, who failed to disclose her conflicts of interest, "The authors have no conflict of interest in this project," states the study. Reese co-authored a policy paper in 2016, Pit Bulls, Perceptions, And Public Policy, loaded with pit bull propaganda, and wrote an editorial decrying breed bans after pit bulls killed a boy in Detroit.1

Days after the attack, a GoFundMe to help pay Lucas' medical costs was launched, labeling the animal an "XL dog." The photographs of Lucas' injuries on the GoFundMe are gruesome. By mid-June, her medical bills were roughly $180,000 after spending 19 days in the hospital. She also made a TikTok video. That was when her account got suspended due to graphic content. Despite news articles about her attack going national in July, Lucas' fund has yet to raise over $6,000.

Fortunately, Lucas also created a back-up TikTok account. On July 20, she shared about her recovery, including that some muscles in her arm "are firing," as in they are learning how to function again. But her hand still lacks functional use. Lucas stopped creating video updates for awhile because she started having suicidal thoughts. Then something happened. "Things started to get better," she said. "Maybe I could become an advocate for dog attacks?" She said.

"This is a really controversial issue," Lucas said. "There will be people that blame me for this. That is why I get death threats. Or, I'm ignorant and stupid because I had a pit bull. Well, it wasn't my dog. It was my daughter's. And the only way she was going to move in is if I let her bring that dog. So, if I want my kid, I've got to take her dog too." - Tya Lucas

In mid-August, Lucas provided another update (she explained that it took a few months to get her TikTok account back). One can see improvements in her dominant arm, though, her wrist still dangles. She is undergoing physical therapy twice weekly, and also went back to work as a server. How are you going to work with one arm, the staff asked her? She said, "Wait a minute. I have two arms. One just doesn't work the same as the other." Lucas said her job is working out just fine.

Her daughter and son-in-law have since returned to Tennessee. Her mother, who lives in Florida, is now staying with Lucas. "There are still certain things I can't do," she said. "Like sometimes I get stuck in my shirt. I can't get it over my head," she said. "Or, I can't put my own hair up. Or, I did my make up today," but I am still learning how to use that hand, she said. Now that her account is active again, she hopes to make more videos. Lucas asks that you follow her and like her videos.

XL Bully Designer Breeds

Hercules is yet another hulking "designer" pit bull breed -- known interchangeably as an XL pit bull or XL bully -- that has inflicted a horrific attack. Hercules falls into the same category as "Blade," the XL pit bull-type dog that killed Serenity Garnett in March; "Beast," the XL bully that killed 10-year old Jack Li last November; the 120-pound beast that killed 41-year old Amber LaBelle last September; and "Nikko," the 130-pound monster that killed 4-year old Mia DeRouen back in 2014.

To gain a better idea of how large Hercules was, review the nearly 40 images Tana Dollar, the dog's owner, attached to a Facebook post in May, where she said, "I will never own this dog again in my life. I let everyone face their own opinion, but me and my family do not need you saying that the bite marks do not add up so it’s fake, reporting our pages, name calling, and death threats because none of us knew that we would wake up and our lives would be changed forever."

Summary

Herein lies the problem with pit bull injuries. Pit bull-type dogs disproportionately inflict permanent disfiguring injuries, requiring multiple surgical interventions, including reconstructive surgeries and skin grafting. That a "family dog," an XL pit bull in this case, "ate her arm," consuming chunks of flesh, is a behavior that earlier generations of dog owners never would have tolerated. But pet pit bulls "consuming chunks of flesh" from household victims today has become "normalized."

That domestic violence existed in the household prior to the pit bull arriving, is significant as well -- we see this factor in fatal dog maulings at times. When there are perpetrators of violence and/or victims of violence in a household (actively or with a history of), and a pit bull is added to the home, a dog breed selectively bred for fighting, the results can be devastating. Lucas ditched her former boyfriend and Hercules was put down after the attack, hopefully ending this cycle.

Images showing the bloody bathroom door and where the dog dragged Lucas around.

Images of "Hercules" posted to the dog owner's Facebook page after the violent attack.

1Animals journal - "All authors must disclose all relationships or interests that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include but are not limited to financial interests (such as membership, employment, consultancies, stocks/shares ownership, honoraria, grants or other funding, paid expert testimonies and patent-licensing arrangements) and non-financial interests (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, personal beliefs)."

Posted on August 26, 2022 by Colleen Lynn

2022 Dog Bite Fatality: Dogs Suspected in Man's Death in Channelview, an Unincorporated Area in Harris County

Police suspect that a man found dead Friday in Channelview was killed by dogs.

Man Found Dead
Channelview, TX - A man found dead near his bicycle early Friday morning is believed to have been killed by dogs. Harris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) investigators said the body was found at about 1:00 am in the 15700 block of Garlang Street near Sheldon Road in Channelview, an unincorporated area in Harris County. Investigators said the man had multiple dog bite wounds on his body. The man was described as Hispanic and between the ages of 30 and 40-years old.

An autopsy will be conducted by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. There were no witnesses to the attack, police said. Detectives are asking area residents to review their surveillance cameras for evidence of the attack. Dogs are known to roam the area. "This area is known for having lots of dogs. I haven't seen any recent reports, but it is known to have stray dogs in the area," HCSO Homicide Detective Wallace Wyatt said during a press conference Friday.

KHOU spoke to neighbors who said they believe they know where the dogs came from. There have been multiple close calls with pit bulls coming from one house that is close to the attack site. Jerry Davila said the same pit bulls have come over to his restaurant. "They go look for food around our dumpster and we chase ‘em off. Now, they’re getting to where they attacked him. They’ve never attacked anybody. Now they have," said Davila, owner of El Tejano Restaurant.

Back in June, Nicolas Vasquez, 51, died after being attacked by three pit bull-mixes in Huffman, also an unincorporated community in Harris County. In 2020, Veterinary World published a study of risk factors for dog bites in unincorporated Harris County. Channelview and Huffman were in the top ten highest incident rates for dog bites. County-wide, pit bulls had the greatest frequency of bites (25.07%), and the greatest frequency of severe injuries (49.57%), the study found.

Also, "a strong correlation between dog bite incidences and stray dogs was found after controlling for the human population and income," states the study. The "stray dog admissions" map by zip code shows that Channelview was in the highest level of stray admission (the darkest purple). In the study, any dog without an owner ID on its bite case record was considered to be stray. Overall, stray dogs had a significantly fewer percentage of severe injury bites than non-stray dogs.

Both Channelview and Huffman were in the top ten highest dog bite incidence rates.

A look at the incidence and risk factors for dog bites in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, USA, Hasoon BC, Shipp AE and Hasoon J, Veterinary World, 2020 Mar; 13(3): 419–425

Baseline reporting requirements:
Law enforcement departments across the United States should release consistent "baseline" information to the media and the public after each fatal dog mauling, including these items.

Posted on August 26, 2022 by Colleen Lynn

Mini Horse Needs Your Help After Vicious Dog Attack in Bethune, South Carolina; One Mini Has Already Died

While Preparing this Post, We were Informed that Rebel Died

The pregnant mini horse, Chocolate, seen from one side of her stall after the dog attack.

Chocolate Died
UPDATE 08/27/22: We were informed on Saturday, August 27, that Chocolate, who was pregnant, was found dead in the family's pasture at about 5:00 pm. Both of the family's mini horses died due to injuries from the vicious dog attack on August 5. "Chocolate is dead, she was just found dead. Both of our horses are dead just thought I would inform you," Hinson wrote in. Rebel, the male mini, was discovered dead on August 26 after suffering extreme injuries to his genital area.

"Another Painful update, Chocolate, our sweet girl has passed away one day after Rebel. Both of my children’s pets were killed by this vicious pitbull attack any further funds received will be strictly for horse replacement or legal advice fees. Thank you all." - Erica Hinson, GoFundMe, August 27, 2022

pit bull attacks mini horses in bethune south carolina

Chocolate, who survived nearly a month after a vicious dog attack, was found dead August 27.

08/26/22: GoFundMe for the Mini Horses
Bethune, SC - On August 20, Erica Hinson, the organizer of a fund supporting two mini horses attacked by a pit bull along with two other dogs, sent an email into our Press Alerts. The injuries inflicted by the dogs truly are "like something from a horror film." Rebel's mutilation injuries are shown in one photograph. Chocolate, who is pregnant and fighting for her life, suffered multiple deep lacerations to both sides of her neck, torn tendons and gashes to her abdomen and legs.

"On Friday, August 5, 2022, my Father’s miniature horses were viciously attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull along with their two other dogs. The injuries were like something from a horror film. The male stud, who’s name is Rebel, was mutilated in his genital area resulting in an emergency at home vet visit where he tragically lost a testicle. He is torn from where his leg meets his stomach all the way down to his private area, he has flesh tears to the neck, legs and nose as well. The female, named Chocolate, is pregnant & fighting for her life. She has a foot long, two inch deep laceration to her neck with torn tendons on one side of her neck on the other side she has two 6 inch long slashes to the neck along with gashes to the abdomen and legs, she is retaining fluid..." - GoFundMe/Erica Hinson

We asked Hinson several more questions and she responded. The vicious attack occurred in Bethune, a small town of less than 500 people in Kershaw County, South Carolina. Hinson's father is disabled. The primary attacker was a pit bull; two other dogs belonging to the same owner were also involved. The owner was fined $400 for owning a vicious animal, made to pay the emergency veterinary bill of roughly $720 and was ordered to rehome all three of the dogs in 30 days.

Hinson provided a detailed update about the condition of her mini horses. Both continue to suffer gravely from their injuries. Many more veterinary visits are expected. "Daily treatment consists of 15 minute wound wash per wound, followed by antibiotic spray. The vet did no stitching as the wounds are so open and missing meat in several areas," she wrote. "Antibiotics are administered by mouth daily along with pain medication, all these cost fall on my family," Hinson wrote.

On August 26, just before we published this post, Hinson told us, "Rebel was so strong but he was found dead this morning around 8:30 am."

Hinson's family also has to face the cold, hard reality of a civil case, which often requires waiting until all of the injuries have stabilized or healed before filing a lawsuit, "so that we could have an accurate number to present to the court system." In the meanwhile, her father and family have to pay all of the veterinary medical costs. "I don’t understand how so much of this is falling on my father while the dog owner is given a petty fine and only one emergency vet bill," Hinson wrote.

There were no media reports about this attack. Hinson hopes to spread the word of her GoFundMe on different social media platforms. She mentions Reddit, which is an excellent choice. We encourage readers to share Hinson's GoFundMe on your favorite social media platforms, especially with groups that are horse-related. Making a donation, however small, ensures that you will receive updates about Rebel and Chocolate, as well as developments in the civil case.

"Daily treatment consists of 15 minute wound wash per wound, followed by antibiotic spray. The vet did no stitching as the wounds are so open and missing meat in several areas. I will attach photos, they are graphic though I must warn you. The incident happened in Bethune, SC and the police agency in charge was Kershaw county law enforcement along with Kershaw county code enforcement. A citation was made to the dog owner and a hasty trial was held at the trial the dog owner was only fined 400 dollar for owning a vicious animal, made to pay the first vet bill which was roughly $720 dollars and told the dog must be rehomed within 30 days. My family was shocked as many more vet visits will be necessary, our stud lost a restocked and is in high risk of losing the second one as well, all it would take would be for him to brush across something in that area and the other would fall out of the sack holding it, we are trying our best to prevent this from happening. The female is pregnant and severely mauled in her neck area (both sides), abdomen and knees, she is swollen (the vet says it is from air entering her body through the large lacerations). Antibiotics are administered by mouth daily along with pain medication, all these cost fall on my family. The judge said we would have to sue at a later time in civil court which would be months away, as we cannot pursue a civil case until all vet care, medication cost, the cost of a farm hand when needed is accumulated and that would be after the horses are healed at least to a point that the daily regimen of cleansing and care and healing has taken place so that we could have an accurate number to present to the court system. I don’t understand how so much of this is falling on my father while the dog owner is given a petty fine and only one emergency vet bill. There has been no media attention just word of mouth in a small town of a population less than 500. I'm trying my best to spread the word on GoFundMe I’ve never used the platform before, someone suggested posting to Reddit and I have gotten around $400 worth of support which I am grateful for but I just don’t know how long we can go on like this, the cost and care are draining and our beloved horses never saw this coming and they will never be the same. Thank you for the email, I appreciate your concern and taking time from your day to ask about our minis." - GoFundMe/Erica Hinson

These poor little minis have a long road ahead of them, assuming they both survive. Their injuries are savage. When Hinson writes, "I just don’t know how long we can go on like this," it makes our heart break. All of it is heartbreaking; the attack, the injuries and what will be a prolonged aftermath. If Rebel and Chocolate do survive, "they will never be the same," she writes. Horses are known to carry traumatic experiences with them for many years, a form of equine PTSD.

The vicious dog attack inflicted mutilation injuries to the genital region of Rebel, the male mini.

Posted on August 23, 2022 by Colleen Lynn

2022 Dog Bite Fatality: Rural Postal Carrier Dies After Vicious Attack by Pack of Dogs in Putnam County, Florida

Pam Rock, 61, a rural postal carrier, was killed by a pack of dogs in Interlachen, Florida.

No Charges After Mauling
UPDATE 03/03/23: The State Attorney’s Office is not filing charges against the owner of a dog pack that killed a rural postal carrier last year in Putnam County. U.S. Postal Service employee Pam Rock, 61, was on her mail route in Interlachen on August 21 when her vehicle broke down. Upon exiting the truck, she was attacked by five large dogs belonging to Edgar Jowers. Deputies applied multiple tourniquets to control the bleeding, but she died of her injuries the next day.

Jowers' dogs routinely escaped his property and roamed the area, neighbors said. Putnam County animal control had been called to the area four times in the past. At least three calls were to Jowers’ home about his dogs. What we did not know last August is that Jowers had tried to surrender his dogs to animal control twice because he could no longer care for them; each request was ignored or denied. He also tried to fortify his “wire” fence to keep the dogs from escaping.

The Palatka Daily News obtained the 101 page investigation carried out by the State Attorney’s Office through a public records request. State officials summarized in their findings that given Jowers' actions --- his attempts to surrender the dogs and his attempts to fortify his fence -- they found “insufficient evidence" to prove the dogs’ owner “demonstrated a willful or wanton reckless disregard under the circumstances beyond and to the exclusion of a reasonable doubt.”

According to the filing, Putnam County Animal Control was first contacted about the dogs on September 15, 2021 because they needed to be fed. At that time, Jowers was incarcerated for a family felony offense. He was not released until October 5, 2021, which is why someone else was given the task of feeding his dogs. That person, who ended up contacting animal control, could not enter the property “because one of the dogs was too aggressive,” according to the State's filing.

The first time Jowers reached out to the county agency to surrender his dogs was on February 4, 2022. The call had been left on the agency’s answering machine. Due to a lack of resources, that call was never returned. No one from animal control spoke to Jowers. One week later, his dogs escaped again and attacked a man walking by Jowers’ property. The severity of his injuries required treatment at a hospital. Deputies told Jowers to home quarantine the dogs for 10 days.

The dogs attacked a second time too. On August 10, a woman filed a complaint that these dogs had escaped and attacked her vehicle. Animal control contacted Jowers and ensured that he made an effort to fortify his “wire” fence once again. During this meeting, Jowers tried to surrender his dogs again, but his request was denied. Eleven days later, the dogs escaped the fencing again and brutally attacked Rock after she exited her truck that had stalled close to Jowers’ property.

According to the State's filing, at no point did animal control attempt to classify the dogs as dangerous. Apparently, due to the county’s “no-kill” policies they do not accept owner surrenders, unless the intake situation is “dire.” At this very same time, the Putnam County shelter was over capacity due to its no-kill policies, which places the 90% “save rate” priority over public safety. The agency continues to beg for a newer and bigger shelter too, so they can warehouse more dogs.

Limited Intake Policies

We have seen multiple fatal dog attacks due to limited intake policies. On February 25, 2019, four of Courtney White’s pit bulls viciously attacked a man and killed a dog. At that time, White called Lubbock Animal Services to surrender the dogs, stating he could no longer keep them secure -- part of his backyard fence had blown down. The alleged “open admission” shelter told him he needed to “make an appointment” to drop off the dogs and the earliest timeslot was March 1.

On February 27, all six of White’s pit bulls escaped and fatally attacked Johnnie Mae Garner, 88. After the dogs killed Garner, animal control seized all six pit bulls -- no “waiting period” was required. During this same year, Johana Villafane, 33, was forced to board her two biting pit bulls at a private veterinary facility because the bite quarantine block at the Irving Animal Shelter was “at capacity.” While visiting her dogs at the veterinary facility, they attacked and killed her.

For inexplicable reasons last year, after a pack of dogs belonging to Brandy Dowdy viciously attacked Michele Sheeks, who had to be airlifted to a trauma unit, Franklin County Animal Control did not seize Dowdy’s vicious dogs. The very next day, Jaqueline Summer Beard, an Alabama Department of Health employee, went to Dowdy’s home under the impression they had been seized. She was wrong -- the dogs attacked and killed her. Her estate is now suing the county.

Three of these cases involve a “pack” of large dogs known to be dangerous due to previous attacks within a few days of the fatal attack. White had six pit bulls, a blown down fence and two previous victims. Would that qualify as a “dire” situation for intake? Jowers could not keep his pack of large, powerful dogs inside a flimsy “wire” fence held down by cinderblocks and rocks. Shouldn’t a “pack” of large dogs with a history of escaping and biting qualify as a “dire” situation for intake?

An Intake and Disposition Report from Putnam County Animal Control from August 10, 2022 to August 23, 2022 is filled with zeros. There were 0 intakes, 0 adoptions, 0 dogs being quarantined, 0 euthanasia, 0 escaped or stolen, 0 service calls and most importantly, there were 0 bites.

08/24/22: Dogs Escaped Enclosure
On Tuesday, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office held a press conference regarding the death of Pamela Rock, 61, a rural postal carrier, who died one day after being viciously attacked by five dogs while working her route in Interlachen. Deputies found Rock lying in the street with "heavy trauma." They applied multiple tourniquets to control the bleeding, Col. Joseph Wells said. The dogs were initially behind a wire fence, but were able to escape underneath it, Wells said.

There was no evidence of a breeding operation at the site. The owner of the dogs is cooperating, Wells said. We are treating this as a criminal investigation, he said. Sheriff's deputies and animal control officers had responded to this area four times in the past three years for animal-related calls, Wells said. At least two of those previous calls were related to the same address. It is not confirmed if those calls involved one or more of the same dogs that attacked Rock, he said.

Several neighbors, including the dogs' owner, rushed to pull the dogs off Rock. "One of the neighbors even brought his firearm along and fired several shots into the air and to the ground in an attempt to disrupt the attack," Wells said. "The investigation is still very active," Wells said. His office is in communication with the state attorney's office. However, in the state of Florida, a felony offense is only possible if one of the attacking dogs had previously been declared dangerous.

The New York Times spoke to a Ms. Campell, who lives near the dogs' owner and saw the ambulance and deputies drive down the dirt road and park beside the house where the five dogs resided. "They’re all aggressive," Campbell said, referring to the dogs. Those dogs "jumped the fence all the time," she said, causing problems in the neighborhood. Tyler Neelon, 24-years old, who lives next door to the dogs' owner, said the dogs once got loose and killed a chihuahua.

"They did not just attack her. They were ripping her apart." - Kaydee Richley

WTLV spoke to Rock's niece, Kaydee Richley, who described some of Rock's injuries. "She had one arm amputated before she passed and they had her other limbs in slings trying to save them," Richley said. "Her heart stopped twice and her blood pressure was all over the place," she said. Devasted, Richely wonders how this happened. "How did it get so far? Why was there just so many dogs just able to get to her? Where were the owners? Why were they not locked up?"

postal carrier attacked by dogs putnam county, florida

Putnam County Sheriff's Office press conference after a rural postal carrier was killed by dogs.

08/23/22: Dogs Kill Rural Postal Carrier
Putnam County, FL - On August 21, a 61-year old postal carrier was attacked by a pack of dogs in the Interlachen Lake Estates area after her vehicle was reported to have broken down, states a media release from the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. Putnam County deputies found the woman on the ground bleeding severely. Five dogs were nearby inside a fence at a residence in the 2000 block of Walker Drive. An unconfirmed social media post states the victim died late Monday.

On Tuesday, the victim was identified as 61-year old Pam Rock. The Putnam County Sheriff's Office also confirmed that she died.

Witnesses told deputies they saw the woman on the ground with five dogs attacking her. Several neighbors rushed to her aid, trying to pull the dogs off the woman. One neighbor shot a rifle into the ground to scare the dogs off. Arriving deputies began first aid, including applying tourniquets until rescue units arrived. The woman was taken to HCA Florida Putnam Hospital by ambulance then airlifted to a trauma center in Gainesville where she remained in critical condition Monday.

WJXT spoke to the man who shot the rifle. He said that helping the woman, "was the right thing to do," and that, "I would want someone to do it for me." She was a sweet lady who left "apples in the mailbox for the horse, and little notes here and there," he said. "She would ask about your kid, how your kid was doing." She was "a really nice lady," he said. Neighbors said the dogs involved were "bulldog-mixes," which in this part of the country means pit bull or American bulldog-mixes.

"Three of the four dogs suspected in the mauling death of a 62-year old doctor have been captured and are being held as evidence by police ... The dogs are reportedly "bulldog-mixes," which is a generic term in much of the south, including Georgia and Florida, that refers to both American bulldogs and fighting bulldogs -- pit bull terriers." - DogsBite.org, death of Dr. Nancy Shaw in Georgia, 2020

Another neighbor interviewed said the dogs have been a problem for a long time. The dogs routinely roamed the rural area, characterized by dirt roads, in a pack without collars or tags. "The dogs have been a nuisance for a long time," said the neighbor who wanted to remain anonymous. "They get into my garbage three or four days a week. When I try to shoo them away, they bark and growl and snarl at me." Animal control seized five dogs identified by witnesses in the attack.

POSTAL CARRIER ATTACKED BY DOGS SUNDAY IN INTERLACHEN

August 22, 2022 - A 61-year-old rural postal carrier was attacked by several dogs yesterday afternoon in the Interlachen Lake Estates area after her vehicle was reported to have broken down. Deputies responded found a woman on the ground with severe bleeding. Five dogs were nearby inside a fence at a residence in the 2000 block of Walker Drive.

Witnesses told deputies they heard a woman scream for help and when they went outside they saw her on the ground with five dogs attacking. Witnesses said several neighbors rushed to help by attempting to pull the dogs off and one neighbor shot a rifle into the ground to scare the animals. Deputies arriving on scene and started first aid assistance including applying tourniquets until rescue units arrived. The woman was transported to HCA Florida Putnam Hospital by ambulance and then flown to a trauma center in Gainesville where she remains in critical condition.

Animal Control arrived at scene and took custody of the five dogs identified by witnesses in the attack.

“Our hearts are with the victim and her family as they navigate through this tragic event,” Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach said. “It is imperative that dog owners take responsibility in keeping their animals in a secured location for their safety and those around.”

This is an ongoing investigation. There is no further information available at this time. Additional information will be released when it becomes available. - Putnam County Sheriff's Office