A deaf woman was killed in the backyard of her Missouri home by a pack of dogs that attacked her and her elderly husband. My birthday was just a week away.
The 62-year-old woman was killed by three dogs that descended on the couple's St. Louis home around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday. According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
The woman, who was deaf, was later identified by her family as Gladys Anthony. KMOV reported.
“They took part of her arm,” her daughter Kaysar Anthony told the magazine.
“Her legs were dug in. There was nothing they could do to stop those damn dogs from touching her.”
Police were called to the home after the victim's 73-year-old husband fired a shot into the air in an attempt to scare off the killer dog, which was captured by ShotSpotter technology.
Police found the animals surrounding the couple in the backyard, barking furiously, authorities said.
Responding officers pepper-sprayed the dogs and pulled the unconscious and profusely bleeding woman into the home, where they helped her before she was rushed to a nearby hospital.
She later died during surgery, police said.
The unnamed husband was bitten several times on his arm and leg when he tried to avoid the dog with a broom after the warning shot was fired.
“This was an absolute tragedy,” St. Louis Police Department spokesman Mitch McCoy told the outlet.
“We want people to feel safe in their neighborhoods. They have a right to feel safe in their neighborhoods, and we expect that.”
Police said they tracked the dogs to a neighbor's home, where they found their 54-year-old owner, who is cooperating with the department's ongoing investigation.
The deceased dog was seized by the city's animal control department, police said.
“She was sweet. She was a lovely person. Everyone who knew her loved her,” Anthony told the magazine.
“It's really crazy that something like this happened to her. She didn't deserve it at all. She didn't have it in the slightest, and now she has a grandchild without a grandmother.”
