A 63-year-old woman in the US had both her legs and parts of her hands amputated after being attacked by three pit bulls, Fox News reported. Brittany Skoland was attacked by the trio of hounds near her home in Fort Dodge, about 100 miles northwest of Des Moines, on November 24. Notably, all the dogs are owned by her 38-year-old son, who lives with her.
After neigbhbours heard her screaming, they called the cops who found Ms Skoland being mauled by the dogs. They initially attempted to scare the dogs away with pepper spray but were forced to shoot each dog multiple times, killing all three.
"The officer attempted to scare the dogs away to stop them from attacking the woman, but the dogs would not stop. The officer on scene then drew his duty weapon and shot all three dogs multiple times to stop the attack," Police Chief Dennis Quinn said in a statement on the department's Facebook page.
The attack left her in a critical condition and she was rushed to Unity Point Trinity Medical Center before being airlifted to Iowa Methodist Medical Center. She suffered severe head trauma and underwent several surgeries. She had both legs amputated to her knees and also lost parts of her hands.
''This is a tragic situation involving a mother and her son's dogs in the backyard of their home. Our hearts are heavy following this incident, and we are grateful the victim was able to call 911 for help as quickly as she did — even as the attack was happening. It likely did save her life,'' said Police Chief Brady Cottam.
Her neighbour Rosemary Possehn who saw the events unfold, told KCCI, "I was sitting in my living room, and I was just sitting there and all of a sudden I heard bang, bang, bang, and I come to the door and I saw all the cops, well there was only one at the time, and I seen the lady laying on the ground and the dogs going at her and the cops shot them.''
On a GoFundMe page to help pay for Ms Skoland's medical bills, her aunt Teresa Hanus wrote, ''As of 12/2 Brittany has lost a lot more than we originally thought. She's had many surgeries and procedures in the last few days. She has had both legs amputated to her knees. Brittany did not need surgery on her hands as we had originally thought. However she is going to need facial reconstruction surgery, she also has serious head trauma and much more.''
''Those who know Brittany, know she loves to be outside, doing yard work, helping her Mom decorate for the Holidays. She also enjoys playing outside with her younger children,” Ms Hanus further wrote.
Police are currently investigating the nature of the incident but have not filed any charges.
