An Alabama woman was mauled to death by two of her neighbors’ dogs in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Ronda Persall, 57, was known in the small town of Jones Chapel in Cullman County as a gregarious, sociable dog lover who was a longtime friend of her neighbors and frequently visited them.
Law enforcement officers in Cullman County in the midst of investigating how the dogs got out to attack Ms Persall on Wednesday morning. The dogs’ owner told WBRC that it is a “mystery” how the dogs got out. The neighbor, who declined to reveal his name to local media, said that he was awoken by a commotion on his property at 2.30am. When he went outside, he saw the dogs attacking Ms Persall.
“She was laying over here beside the car and the dogs had surrounded her and they were biting her. I picked her up out of them. They started biting on me. I took her and put her in the thing and I asked her if she was ok. She said ‘baby I’m ok, but I’m hurting,’” the man told WBRC.
When the man tried to pull the dogs off Ms Persall, he too was scratched and bit. The man drove Ms Persall to an area hospital, but it was too late.
Cullman County officials said that they have confined and are testing two dogs, both lab mixes, while the investigation into Ms Persall’s death continues. The neighbor told WBRC that he shot and killed at least 12 “yard dogs” in the aftermath of the attack.
Ms Persall’s death is a tragedy in a number of ways. The retiree was known as a dog and animal lover, which made her manner of death shocking. Her close, 15 year personal relationship with her neighbors adds another layer of heartbreak.
“I gotta live with that forever, I gotta see that picture,” the neighbor told ABC 33/40. “Sooner or later I gotta explain that to my children because all they know is Miss Ronda is not here.”
