A woman was “ripped apart” and dragged to her death by two pit bull dogs as her horrified partner tried to save her life. Jodi Cowan, 50, died after she was brutally mauled by the two canines who attacked her as she walked her small dog in the city of Cocoa, Florida, on Tuesday May 19.
Ms Cowan’s partner of 30 years Donnell Smith told local media of the nightmare moment he saw Ms Cowan being dragged along the road by the out-of-control dogs. Mr Smith returned home around 1am when he realised animal lover Ms Cowan had gone out to walk their dog.
He told NBC affiliate WESH that he was confronted with a horrific scene when he found his partner.
He told the broadcaster he used a knife to try and scare the dogs away and found Ms Cowan lying in a pool of her own blood.
Mr Smith added: “It was brutal. Seeing the same woman I’ve loved for the last 25-30 years just ripped apart by two animals was just… I’ll never get that image out of my mind.”
Mr Smith phoned for the emergency services but his partner later died from her injuries at nearby Holmes Regional Medical Center.
A neighbour told the Mail Online that the gruesome attack had been caught on CCTV.
Bruce Midkiff said the two pit pull-type dogs were well known in the neighbourhood and there had been concerns about them. He said there had been multiple reports to the sheriff’s office about the dogs.
Another local, Scott Chase, said he had called the authorities twice to complain about the dogs.
Ms Cowan’s father, Martin, told Florida Today: “I’m not going to throw stones but it’s tragic. I have lost my daughter. She was my little girl.”
He described Ms Cowan as an animal lover who had a “big heart” and could “get along with anybody”.
Brevard County Sheriff’s Office’s Animal Services said they had seized the two dogs connected to the attack. According to Florida state law dangerous dogs must be seized immediately by animal control and placed in quarantine for at least 10 days.
The owner of the animals has not yet been identified and no arrests have been made at the time of writing.
