An elderly Queens woman was mauled to death and her son injured by her dog Monday. The woman reportedly planned to give the dog up because it was too vicious. NY1's Gene Apodaca reports.
"Her son comes knocking on My door telling My mother's calling you she's saying she's dying the dog just attacked her."
Rosa Lopez says that's all she needed to hear when she grabbed her phone to call 911.
But she didn't realize just how bad the attack was until she entered her neighbor’s basement with paramedics.
"I just saw my neighbor in the floor her body towards the ground and her arms like destroyed and she had blood all over her," Lopez said.
Police say the mauling happened shortly after midnight early Monday morning.
75-year-old Louise Hermida, was attacked by her family’s mastiff pet and died at the hospital. Neighbors describe the dog as large, more than 100 pounds. Cops say the pet also attacked one of the victim’s sons, who is 39. He is expected to be OK.
People in the neighborhood say the mastiff seemed aggressive. A worker at a nearby construction site, John Brien, says he saw the mastiff viciously attacking a much smaller dog in the street a week and a half ago.
"They just started, butted noses and then he just snatched him and that was it," the construction worker said. "He just starting ripping him apart like a rag doll the little dog had no chance at all."
Brien says he believes that smaller dog died. The victim had several dogs in her home, but it was not immediately clear if she or her sons owned the dog that was attacked. Neighbors tell us she had a medical condition, which seemed at odds with owning such a large pet
"She barely could walk I don't know why she would have a big dog like that, aggressive dog in the house," said one neighbor.
Animal Care and Control says the mastiff was adopted from one of its shelters nearly six years ago —but not by the victim. Police say they have sedated the dog and brought it back to animal control. Its fate was not immediately clear, but the police investigation continues.