Woman Brutally Attacked, Killed by 7 Small Dogs
An Oklahoma woman is dead after authorities say she was attacked by seven dogs.
Carter County Sheriff Chris Bryant says deputies were dispatched Thursday night to an area just east of Ardmore, which is about 100 miles south of Oklahoma City. Bryant says medical personnel were already on the scene treating the woman, who had been attacked outside her home, but she later died at a hospital.
(Warning: The link below directs to an article that includes graphic images)
According to KXII, the victim was identified as 52-year-old Tracy Garcia. The dogs reportedly belonged to her neighbor.
According to the Daily Ardmoreite, Ardmore Animal Shelter director Tena Layton said six of the dogs appeared to be about a year old, with one possibly being the mother of the other animals. All of the animals appeared to be a mix of dachshund and some sort of terrier and were infested with ticks and fleas. It is not clear if the dogs suffered from any diseases.
"We were cleaning ticks off ourselves all day," euthanasia technician Amanda Dinwiddie said. "They are very covered, you can tell they have been living out in the woods."
Dinwiddie said none of the dogs weighed more than 40 pounds.
The sheriff says the dogs were euthanized at the owner’s request. The animals will not be tested for rabies.
"If there was any possible issue of them biting someone else, then it would've been (done), but the dogs are deceased as well as the victim, so there's just no reason to go spend the thousands and thousands of dollars," Dinwiddle said.
"This is a bad situation, a very unfortunate situation," Bryant said, according to KTEN. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the victims. This is just a bad deal all the way around."
Autopsy results will be sent to the district attorney's office to determine whether the dogs' owner will face charges.
"It's really scary because my kids play out here all the time," one neighbor told KTEN. "Even if I'm out here with them, it's just scary having dogs roaming around attacking people."
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