She Was Pretty Ripped Up': Texas Woman Killed by Adopted Stray Dog

Texas deputies were on the hunt earlier this week for an aggressive dog who brutally mauled and killed a woman who had been feeding it. The dog was found a day later, identified by a Dayton resident's tip, and shot by a deputy fearing for his own safety.

Deputies had to shoot the dog that killed a woman earlier this week. (Image: KHOU video screenshot)

According to the Houston Chronicle, Linda Oliver and her husband took the hungry black-and-white stray under their wing, beginning to feed it a couple weeks ago. On Monday though, Leeland Oliver said his 63-year-old wife was trying to rescue their own smaller dog from the "Labrador mix," which had begun to attack, when the stray then turned on her instead.

"She was pretty ripped up, but managed to somehow crawl from the yard into the house to telephone her husband that she'd been bitten," Liberty County Sheriff's Office Capt. Ken DeFoor said, according to the Houston Chronicle. "He said she sounded real weak and then the phone went dead."

Linda Oliver was found dead in her living room, according to the Chronicle.

When authorities arrived on the scene, the bloody dog was in the front yard and charged at officers, refusing to let them move forward. An officer fired at the animal, which was believed to have been shot twice but it still ran away and escaped.

The dog shortly before it was shot and killed Tuesday by authorities. (Image: KHOU video screenshot)

While the dog was still at large, locals were told to avoid approaching it if they saw it and to keep children indoors.

KHOU, which described the breed as a rottweiler-mastiff mix, reported police receiving a call about the dog's location Tuesday evening. Crews from the local news outlet followed a deputy to the location and witnessed officers chasing the dog and then shooting it dead with a 12-gauge shotgun.

“I think it’s a tremendous relief off of everyone. I have gotten numerous calls from parents who have small children and small pets,” DeFoor said, according to KHOU.

Watch KHOU's report (Content warning: footage might be considered disturbing):

Tests are being conducted to review the possibility of rabies.

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