A woman in the US state of Oklahoma has died after she was attacked and mauled by a pack of dachshunds last Thursday night.
52-year-old Tracy Garcia died after being set upon by seven dogs, reportedly belonging to her neighbour, in the town of Ardmore just north of the Oklahoma/Texas border.
Police attended the scene and encountered the dachshunds, one of which charged at an officer, leading to police shooting and killing the animal. After they were captured, police transported the remaining six animals to a nearby Veterinary Hospital where they were euthanised at the owner’s request.
Officials investigating the animals asserted they were all predominantly dachshunds, with a mix of terrier. One animal was a border collie cross. All seven of the animals weighed less than 18kg and stood below knee-height. They were estimated to be aged between one and three years old.
According to investigating vets, none of the dogs had any visible or notable health concerns, but they all were infested with ticks and fleas, and it was obvious they had been living in the nearby woods for some time.
Carter County Sheriff Chris Bryant described the scene, including what lead to police shooting one of the dogs, in a media appearance following the incident.
From what it appeared, about seven dogs had attacked her. Unfortunately, yes, we had to shoot one dog. It did charge our deputies and to protect our deputies, as well as the medical personnel, we did have to put down a dog.”
This is a bad situation, a very unfortunate situation. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the victims. This is just a bad deal all the way around.
Police confirmed that the attack is still under investigation.
