Alabama mother mauled to death by seven dogs during afternoon walk just three days before her 37th birthday
NAUVOO, ALABAMA: A woman lost her life while out on a walk on Monday, October 19, when a pack of vicious dogs attacked and killed her. The victim identified as Ruthie Mae Brown was walking at around 2 pm in the town of Nauvoo when at least seven dogs mauled her to death. The incident reportedly happened just three days before Brown’s 37th birthday.
As reported by The Daily Mail, local police said when they arrived on Jagger Road where the incident happened, the mother-of-four was already dead. "I've seen a dog bite, I've seen a dog attack but I've never seen a situation just as horrible as this," Walker County Sheriff's Office PIO TJ Armstrong told ABC 33/40. Armstrong added that witnesses claimed to have seen seven or eight dogs attacking the victim and four or five of the animals have been captured by the authorities.
Walker County Coroner Joey Vick pronounced Brown dead at around 3 pm. “We are not talking about just gaping wounds. One of her feet was completely dislocated from her ankle,” Vick said as he added, “Regardless of what situation this woman was in at the time in her life, she didn’t deserve to die like this.” It has also been said that an unnamed person has said that two of the dogs involved in the attack belonged to them. All of the caught canines have been sent to the Walker County Humane Society. While the authorities are trying to capture the remaining dogs.
Meanwhile, the body of the woman has been sent to the Alabama Department of Forensics in Huntsville to determine the official cause of death. Once done, the report will be given to the district attorney's office after which it will be decided whether the owner will face any charges or not. The incident has left people of the area terrified. A local resident Robin Johnson said, “It’s got us all on edge right now. It is really scary. I’ve seen them actually attack a deer.” She added that she too had an encounter with the dogs in the past. “I actually had a stick in my hand which I know the owner's name and I would call the owner's name and they would back off. They're really aggressive dogs. They were very aggressive. If I wouldn't have known the owner's name it probably would have happened to me,” Johnson stated. Other people have demanded more enforcement for dog owners. "I'm a believer in keeping them up, if you're going to have them in the yard and they're guard dogs fix your yard where they can't get out," neighbor Joanne Walker said.
The Sun reported that a GoFundMe page has been started for Brown to help her family members in arranging funeral services for her after her tragic death. “She was a beautiful Mother, Daughter, Sister, Aunt, and Friend. Most importantly she has a beautiful soul,” the message on the page read. While police in the area have asked people to come forward with information on dog attacks and call 205-302-6464.