Authorities say a 61-year-old Florida postal worker died Monday after being bitten by a pack of five dogs.
Pamela Jane Rock died one day after the incident in Interlachen, Florida, in a local hospital, Putnam County Sheriff’s Col. Joseph Wells stated at a press conference on Tuesday.
When the dogs began to attack Rock, numerous neighbors, including the owner of the dogs, responded. Investigators suspect the dogs escaped by moving boulders at the base of a fence.
Well added that the neighbor brought his handgun and fired three bullets in the air to interrupt the onslaught. That was a failure.
When authorities got to the scene, Rock was on the ground, and the dogs had been trapped inside a fenced yard, according to Wells. Officers used tourniquets on Rock until medical personnel came and took her to a nearby hospital.
Rock went into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital, however medics were able to revive her, according to Wells. She was later taken to a trauma facility in Gainesville, however died on Monday evening from her wounds.
According to Rock’s niece, Rock had just begun her employment as a postal worker in December and was driving a postal truck when it broke down in the neighborhood on Sunday afternoon.
She had completed her training, and she was just so thrilled about this new journey, Rock’s niece expressed before recounting her aunt’s wounds from the incident.
She had one arm amputated before she died, said Rock’s niece. And they were slinging her other limbs to try to save them, her heart stopped twice, and her blood pressure was all over the place.
According to Wells, all five canines engaged in the assault on Sunday will be destroyed in accordance with Florida state law. He identified the dogs as “mixed breed,” but provided no additional information.
Rock’s niece wondered how the incident could have occurred.
Rock’s niece questioned, How did it make it this far? Why were there so many dogs allowed to approach her? Where had the owners gone? Why weren’t they imprisoned?
Wells stated that animal control and sheriff’s officers had been called to the area numerous times in the previous three years, and that the dogs responsible for Rock’s death are suspected of being involved in at least two prior complaints.
They suspect there have been further service calls about these dogs, Wells added.
In a statement, the US Postal Service said it was “deeply grieved” by Rock’s passing.
A postal family member was killed by a dog bite, the agency reported. The United States Postal Service is extremely grieved by the death of one of its employees. At this moment, their thoughts and prayers are with her family and coworkers.
The canines’ owner is assisting with the inquiry. Although the investigation is ongoing, the owner might face misdemeanor charges if they understood their canines were threatening yet neglected to “exercise reasonable caution,” according to Wells.
