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Deputy Forced To Taser Dog During Fatal Deltona Attack
POSTED: 12:10 pm EDT June 29,
2007
UPDATED: 6:08 pm EDT June 29,
2007
DELTONA, Fla. -- A family was grief-stricken, Friday, after a vicious pit bull attack that killed a 63-year-old woman. The attack left the dog's owner shocked.
SLIDESHOW: Images From Scene Of Fatal Attack
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Dog's Owner Talks After Fatal Attack
It took a deputy's taser to get the dog off the victim. Mary Bernal, 63, lived in the same house as the pit bull for a month before the attack. She was at the house, on Roble Lane in Deltona, with her sister when the dog attacked. Her sister tried to stop the attack and was also badly injured.There were at least nine dogs in the house when the attack happened. The victim was in the backyard and was leaning down to pick up one of the dogs when the male pit bull attacked.The dog's owner comforted the victim's husband, Friday, just minutes after learning Mary Bernal had died from the attack.
The city said it has never had an animal problem at the house, until the 911 call came in Friday morning."Is it there attacking someone right now?" the dispatcher asked during Friday's 911 call."Yes! Yes! Please hurry!" the caller yelled."What does the dog look like?" the dispatcher asked."It's a pit bull, my pit bull," the caller said.When the first sheriff deputies arrived, one had to use his taser just to get the dog to stop attacking.Eliasar Macias said he raised the dog involved since it was a puppy and has never seen it act like it did Friday."They've been staying with us for almost about a month. Nothing happened before until now," he said. "I don't really know what happened today."Macias gave the city permission to euthanize the dog after observing it for 10 days, but late Friday afternoon the dog had a sudden seizure, possibly a heart attack, and health officials put it down.Eyewitness News checked with the city and, because only three of the nine dogs in the house were adults, no city codes were violated and, because there were no previous complaints, no charges of any kind are expected.The woman who received bites to her hand and arm was in stable condition, Friday evening.
SLIDESHOW: Images From Scene Of Fatal AttackWEB EXCLUSIVE: Dog's Owner Talks After Fatal AttackIt took a deputy's taser to get the dog off the victim. Mary Bernal, 63, lived in the same house as the pit bull for a month before the attack. She was at the house, on Roble Lane in Deltona, with her sister when the dog attacked. Her sister tried to stop the attack and was also badly injured.There were at least nine dogs in the house when the attack happened. The victim was in the backyard and was leaning down to pick up one of the dogs when the male pit bull attacked.The dog's owner comforted the victim's husband, Friday, just minutes after learning Mary Bernal had died from the attack.
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