An elderly woman was partially devoured by her neighbour’s dogs after she tripped in her driveway. The woman, who remains unidentified, was attacked by the dogs as she tried to get up after falling.
The horrifying incident happend in Louisiana on Randall Avenue in Livingston Parish on Tuesday, according to neighbour Randall Averette. Averette described the gruesome scene: “When I went over there, she was laying on the ground, paramedics bandaging her up.”
He detailed her injuries as “graphic.” adding: “The paramedics said she was torn up pretty good around her calf, her right leg was bit, her arm was bit and the dog bit her on the back of her neck.”
Another neighbour witnessed the horrific attack and immediately called 911 upon seeing the woman on the ground. Cheryl Boudreaux, the daughter of the witness, recounted her mother’s distressing call for help: “She had to stand there and watch it.”, reports The Mirror US.
She continued: “She was like, ‘Y’all need to hurry up and get here. Hurry up and get here. They are eating this woman. Then, Mama said the lady wasn’t moving and Mama thought she was dead.'”
The woman was quickly rushed to hospital. Meanwhile, Maria Vincent has been arrested and charged with negligent injuring and allowing her dogs to run rampant. Sheriff Jason Ard of Livingston Parish issued a stern warning to dog owners, stating: “You can be charged with negligent injuring and you can be sued by these homeowners for medical bills. It’s going to come back to bite you, that’s what’s going to happen.”
Ard noted that this was not the first incident involving Vincent’s dogs, as she had been previously cited for a past incident in which one of the dogs bit someone. Unfortunately, investigators were unable to determine which dog was involved in that case.
He said: “She’s been through the system already, she’s been fined. Here we are again, same dog, same situation. Now someone’s seriously hurt, something has got to change.”
Bourdeaux also claimed that her 85 year old mother had been bitten twice by the same dogs and required medical attention both times. The daughter expressed frustration that multiple people had to get injured before something changed.
“We’re just furious, you know, because we don’t understand why it had to get to this,” she told the news station. Ard confirmed that all three dogs were taken to the Livingston Parish Animal Control Center on Wednesday, with the owner surrendering two of them.
The future of the surrendered dogs is uncertain. Nonetheless, Ard suggested that individuals should take steps to safeguard themselves when faced with a threatening canine.
“You do whatever you think is necessary,” Ard advised. “You have a right to protect you, your property, your kids.”
