Rescue Dog Fatally Mauls 84-Year-Old Wheelchair-Bound Woman, Attacks Her Son At Florida Home

A wheelchair-bound elderly woman was mauled to death by her rescue dog in an attack that also left her son severely injured. The incident took place at a home in Margate, Florida, on Friday night.

First responders arrived at the home and pronounced the woman, identified as 84-year-old Carolyn Varanese, dead at the scene. The son, 57-year-old Joseph Varanese, was rushed to a local hospital with serious injuries.

Margate Police Department Lt. Al Banatte said the mother-son duo was bitten multiple times by their rescue dog, believed to be an American Boxer mix. The Broward County Animal Care and Adoption Center has taken the canine into custody and it will be held there until the investigation is over.

Speaking to Local 10, Jimmy, a friend of Joseph, said the family had recently adopted the dog from a rescue group. Jimmy said Carolyn was enjoying the company of the dog and had even let the canine sleep in her bed.

"He [Joseph] was trying to save his mom and the dog kept going for her jugular. The dog grabbed her ankles and he started beating the dog with the wheelchair," Jimmy told Local 10.

Speaking about Joseph's injuries, Jimmy said, "The dog messed him up pretty good. His eye is all messed up, his nose, his whole arm is all messed up."

Neighbors spoke to Sun-Sentinel and said Carolyn and her son were nice people.

"It killed her? Oh wow. I know the woman who lives there was kind of sick. I’ve seen her when they come to take her to the doctor," said neighbor Fabian Gonzalez.

Raheem Menendez told the outlet that he witnessed a commotion Friday night when authorities arrived.

"They took Joseph Varanese to the hospital and he looked calm, no emotion or nothing. The mother was already dead," he said, adding that the officials then took away the canine.

"It was a very calm dog. It wasn’t aggressive," he said, adding that the canine rarely barked.

Investigation into the case was ongoing.