(NewsReady.com) – Approximately 4.5 million people in the US experience dog bites each year. Up to 50 people die from the attacks annually. A 93-year-old California grandma has now been added to the list of fatalities.
On August 31, the Modesto police department responded to a call about a woman, identified as Chanthy Philavong Mateu, being attacked by dogs. Witnesses told authorities they saw two Cane Corsos escape a neighbor’s yard and attack the elderly woman. One neighbor, Jenece Dendulk, reported hearing screams from nearby and said she knew the dogs weren’t friendly.
The woman saw the dogs mauling the victim. She started throwing her shoes at the animals, but they continued attacking. Eventually, she and other people were able to save Mateu and lead her into her house. They were forced to hold the doors closed as the dogs continued trying to attack.
First responders rushed the woman to the hospital. She was listed in stable condition later that evening, but, the next day, she succumbed to her injuries. According to Newsweek, the woman’s family launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money. They said their “grandma was brutally attacked” by their neighbor’s dogs and died “unexpectedly.”
In August 2022, 61-year-old Pamela Rock was delivering mail in Putnam County, Florida, when her truck broke down on a dirt road. Five dogs escaped from their fenced-in yard and attacked the postal worker, who died from her injuries.
In July, 27-year-old Demarcus “Sam” McKenzie II died in the driveway of a Montgomery, Alabama, home. Police initially thought he died from a gunshot wound. However, they later found home security footage showing that as he was leaving the house, a dog became aggressive. The victim started running, and other canines joined the attack. He fell on the ground, and about five or six dogs overpowered and killed him.
The same month of the Alabama attack, a six-year-old in North Port, Florida, was attacked by a family dog and killed.
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