Dogs euthanized after attacking woman in South Dallas

The city of Dallas is considering whether to criminally charge the owner of four dogs it says mauled and critically injured a woman.

Dallas Animal Control euthanized the dogs it seized early Sunday morning. The animals are being tested for rabies since the city says they were not vaccinated. That's one of the things the owner has been cited for, so far.

Officials say the tickets were for loose dog violations, dogs without rabies vaccines, dogs without microchips and for dogs not being spayed or neutered. The investigation is far from being over.

“She had several bites around her body, especially one on her neck, her arms, her legs, I mean they were attacking,” said a neighbor who didn't want her face shown.

She says the 37-year-old woman’s family was sleeping Sunday morning when her son-in-law was woken up by his own dog and heard her screaming outside.

“As he got closer, he saw the dogs attacking someone. He didn't know what it was. He says he started scaring them away and they ran off,” she said.

Witnesses say the dogs got hold of the woman’s neck and legs. As one neighbor scared the dogs away, another called 911.

“The lady on the ground was bleeding from everywhere because she had a bunch of bites everywhere,” said the neighbor. They just said if they didn't make it in time, that she'd probably be dead by now.”

The victim is still recovering in Baylor Hospital. She was in serious condition in the intensive care unit early Monday.

Neighbors say the dogs that attacked the woman, which the city says are two Pitbull mixes, a boxer mix, and a Queensland heeler mix, have been an issue before.

Residents say the victim lives in the area and the dogs that attacked her belonged to another neighbor.

“They're always loose. There's other dogs that come around that are always loose in the neighborhood but we haven't reported them loose,” she said.

Authorities say the dog owners told investigators they weren't aware the dogs got out and didn’t know how they got loose.

“I just know they get out from time, just run the street but I've never known them to bite a human,” said neighbor Bobby Sherman. "She's a nice person, happy go lucky, likes to have fun."

Dallas Police did not release the woman’s condition but say she is expected to survive.

“I hope she gets well soon, I believe she'll make it she's strong,” said Sherman.

According to city code, there are various options for what could happen to the dogs, including the dogs being declared dangerous and ordered removed from the city, or even euthanized.

Donald Glover says this weekend wasn’t the first time four of his neighbor’s dogs got loose. Police say they viscously attacked a 37-year-old woman walking in the neighborhood early Sunday morning just south of Fair Park.

"This ain't the first time,” Glover said. “They run up and down the streets all time of night."

An animal services supervisor left a notice at the home of the dog owners. He says it's still an open investigation and the dogs are being quarantined.

"Right now, they're under surveillance for rabies just to make sure there's no rabies transmitted to the victim,” said Ray Zavala with Dallas Animal Control.

Glover says he sometimes carries a taser and is concerned about his two teenage daughters.

"A lot of times, I'd be afraid for them. Get mauled by dogs trying to go to the store or maybe even just being outside," he said.

Council member Kevin Felder represents the neighborhood where the attack happened and heard the same complaints.

“I had an opportunity to go to the neighborhood yesterday because I wanted to see what was going on,” Felder said. “These dogs had been out chasing people before. So there was a problem with these dogs.”

Felder says the dogs were put down so quickly in part to allow officials to test for rabies. That would allow doctors to better treat the victim if there were a rabies case. One of the citations the city issued was for dogs lacking a rabies vaccine.

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