Teenage Girl Dies After Getting Mauled by Pack of Dogs

A police car in a file photo. Mira Oberman/AFP/Getty Images

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.

“It’s hard to believe you’re gone Adrieanna. I am so proud of you for fighting so hard, and I know you were just to tiered to keep fighting! I will never forget your beautiful face, corky sense of humor, and full of so much energy!! You are my birthday twin. And forever I will be wishing you a happy birthday in heaven!! I love you so much! Fly high sweetheart, you’re at peace now!” her aunt, Darlene Schultz-Scott, wrote on Facebook.

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.

According to records obtained by WVLT, when the victim arrived at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, she was covered in mud and blood and her hair was matted. All of her clothes were gone because the dogs had ripped them off.

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.

According to the sheriff’s report, though, owners told deputies initially that “the dogs were doing their jobs,” reported WATE. The dogs did not have their rabies vaccinations up to date, one of the owners admitted.

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.

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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.

“Children are more likely than adults to be bitten by a dog, and when they are, the injuries can be more severe. Over half of dog bite injuries occur at home with dogs that are familiar to us. Having a dog in the household is linked to a higher likelihood of being bitten than not having a dog. As the number of dogs in the home increases, so does the likelihood of being bitten,” the agency stated.

“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.

According to a 2017 review of dog bites in the United States from 1958 to 2016, the majority of dog bites came from German Shepherds prior to 1980; between 1981 and 2000, the majority came from the breed, mixed breeds, and pit bull-type breeds.

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.