German Shepherd Mauls 61-Year-Old Woman Visiting Friend, Dog Euthanized

A 61-year-old woman was seriously injured after she was mauled by a dog in South Carolina’s Cherokee County on Wednesday morning,

A deputy responded to the home after receiving reports of a dog attack. When he arrived, he found the dog, a German shepherd, standing over an injured woman in the yard of the home.

According to a statement from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the dog continued to be aggressive after which the officer tried and failed to stun the canine with a Taser. When the dog charged at him, he fired several shots at the dog but did not kill it. The deputy then tried to stop the unidentified victim’s leg from bleeding by applying a tourniquet. Paramedics reached the home and the woman was airlifted to a nearby hospital.

In the meantime, the dog was taken away by animal control officers and euthanized due to the extent of injuries it sustained.

Officials said the victim had arrived at the home to meet a friend and the canine was inside a fenced-in area.

Speaking to NBC-affiliated television station WYFF News, Sissy Painter, the dog’s owner, said her four-year-old guard dog named Duke jumped on the victim’s leg and she flailed her arms. Duke thought the victim was going after its owner and hence attacked her, Painter added.

Painter added that she tried to save the woman by hitting her pet with a tennis racket and when she was unsuccessful in getting the dog away from the victim, she called the police.

The victim remained in hospital and was getting treated for her injuries. Meanwhile, Sheriff Steve Mueller said the dog’s owner will not be charged because the canine was in a fenced area when the victim was attacked.

The incident comes two days after an 83-year-old Washington woman was left permanently disfigured when she was attacked by two pit bull mix dogs. Officials said the dogs attacked the woman after escaping a nearby yard. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital and was expected to survive. Meanwhile, the officials were on the lookout for the canines.