Elderly Woman Mauled By Pit Bull Mix Dogs, Permanently Disfigured

An 83-year-old woman who was mauled by two pit bull mix dogs in Tacoma, Washington, Monday afternoon was permanently disfigured following the attack. According to reports Wednesday, the incident took place in the 4300 block of S. Thompson Avenue.

Local police said the pit bull mix dogs escaped a yard nearby and attacked the woman. The dogs belonged to the grandson of the victim's friend. They allegedly knocked the woman to the ground and bit her. She was taken to a local hospital and was expected to survive, reports said. However, the woman was permanently disfigured.

Police identified the victim's friend as Alfred Butler. "It's sickening, I loved the lady,” Butler told local media. “I couldn't believe it, no one could believe it."

"It's hard to believe that those dogs did that because them dogs were playful,” Butler added. “My little 5-year-old great-grandson plays with them and they never get mad, I never have seen them mad."

Investigators said the dogs’ owner was not home at the time of the attack, but when authorities reached his residence, the owner ran away with the dogs. Police said as the owner escaped before questioning, he could face criminal charges.

Police were on the lookout for the dogs as the animals have to be quarantined and evaluated. They said if the owner had stayed and talked to them, the dogs would have been checked for diseases and then potentially returned to their owner.

Investigators also said they were yet to determine if the pit bulls needed to be euthanized or not.

In another recent incident, two women and an emergency service (EMS) worker were bitten by a pit bull in the Wake County neighborhood in North Carolina. Media reports said one of the women was trying to get into her car when the dog bit her. The dog also bit the paramedic who responded to the scene. The pit bull was quarantined following the incident.

In late April, a Massachusetts woman was attacked by six pit bulls while trying to save her dog from one of them. The victim told authorities she was walking her dog when one of the pit bulls escaped from a house and started attacking her pet. When she tried to rescue her dog, five other pit bulls attacked her. The pet dog was killed in the attack.