A teenage girl in Tennessee died in the hospital, where she was rushed after getting mauled by a pack of dogs, a family member said.
Adrieanna O'Shea was attacked by five dogs on Aug. 23 on Crescent Drive in South Knox County. She was rushed to the hospital and remained there until her death.
According to the teen’s Facebook page, she was studying at Walters State Community College after graduating from Heritage High School in Maryville, where she lived.
O'Shea hailed from Gulfport, Mississippi.
Deputies said in a report that the five dogs that attacked the girl included two mastiffs, a Rottweiler, a pitbull, and a mastiff/lab mix.
The latter was shot dead by responding deputies while the others fled the area.
Deputies said an electric fence that was not buried into the ground was at the home where the dogs were kept. When deputies told the owners of the dogs that the type of fence wasn’t adequate, one of the owners said the deputy was hostile and shouted: “You shot my dog!”
The owners told WLVT that they didn’t train the dogs to attack and were surprised to learn the pack mauled the girl.
O'Shea had been at the house the night before the attack and forgot her purse there. When she went back to get it the next day, she was mauled, causing her to lose a lot of blood as she suffered bite wounds all over her body. A witness said the victim called one of the dogs by name as she tried to escape.
The house where the teen went was next to the house where the dogs lived. The owners of the dogs also own that house and land.
The dog owners decided to euthanize all of the dogs that survived, one of them told the broadcaster.
No criminal charges have been filed as of yet.
Dog Bites
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 20 percent of people who are bitten by a dog require medical attention. The agency notes that any dog can bite people.“Adults with two or more dogs in the household are five times more likely to be bitten than those living without dogs at home. Among adults, men are more likely than women to be bitten by a dog.”
People should always ask if it’s okay to pet a dog before doing so, remain motionless when approached by an unfamiliar dog, and curl into a ball if knocked over by a dog.
Since 2001, the latter have accounted for 37.5 percent of the bites reported in medical literature, while the percentage from mixed breeds and German Shepherds have dropped.