A 61-year-old Florida postal carrier died this week after a pack of dogs attacked her when her delivery vehicle broke down in Interlachen.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as Pamela Jane Rock and said she died Monday night after the Sunday afternoon attack.
Putnam County Chief Deputy Col. Joseph Wells said that a preliminary investigation indicated the dogs had been in a fenced yard “but were able to escape it” by moving some rocks that had been along the bottom of the fence.
The sheriff’s office said deputies arrived on the scene shortly after noon and found the woman on the ground bleeding severely. They noted five dogs inside a fence nearby.
Witnesses told deputies they heard a woman screaming for help and saw the attack in progress when they ran outside. Several neighbors, including the dogs’ owners, rushed to assist, trying to pull the dogs off the woman. Another fired a rifle into the ground in an attempt to frighten the animals. That attempt was unsuccessful, and in the end, Wells said, it was the owners and other neighbors who got the animals back into the fence.
Deputies began applying tourniquets until emergency medical personnel arrived. She was transported to HCA Florida Putnam Hospital by ambulance and then flown to a trauma center in Gainesville in critical condition.
“Our hearts are with the victim and her family as they navigate through this tragic event,” Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach said. “It is imperative that dog owners take responsibility in keeping their animals in a secured location for their safety and those around.”
Animal Control took custody of the five dogs identified by witnesses, and Wells said the dogs would be euthanized because they were involved in a death.
He added that the sheriff’s office had responded to the neighborhood for animal calls four times in the last three years. Early indicates are that at least two of the dogs involved in Sunday’s incident were involved in previous incidents, but that is still under investigation.
Wells also said that deputies were working with the state attorney’s office to determine what, if any, charges would be filed.
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