A Florida woman is recovering after being viciously attacked by two dogs while delivering food in Ormond Beach.
Frances “Fran” Williams, 55, was walking up to a house on June 20 to make a delivery when she was suddenly mauled by a Staffordshire and a Labrador retriever mix, according to reports from Fox 35 and the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
The dogs’ owner, Stephanie Sullivan, reportedly attempted to warn Williams not to approach the house, shouting “look out!” — but it was too late.
“Before anything could be done, I realized there was a dog hanging on my leg,” Williams told the News-Journal. Moments later, a second dog latched onto her arm.
“I was screaming for help. I really felt like I was going to die,” Williams recalled.
Sullivan’s husband eventually pulled the dogs off, and Williams was rushed by ambulance to Halifax Health Medical Center, where she underwent emergency surgery. According to her daughter, Meghan, doctors performed a five-hour procedure and multiple blood transfusions to save her life.
“They told her there were a few times they were worried she wouldn’t survive due to blood loss,” Meghan shared on a GoFundMe campaign created to help cover her mother’s medical expenses.
The two dogs involved in the attack were seized by Volusia County Animal Services and remain in custody while the owners appeal the county’s decision to declare the animals “dangerous.”
The News-Journal reports that Sullivan had been waiting outside for the delivery when her baby started crying inside the home. She stepped away to check on the child just as Williams arrived. Authorities say Williams did not hear Sullivan’s warnings to stop walking toward the house.
Despite the severity of the attack, Fox 35 reports that the dog owners failed to appear at a scheduled hearing on July 9 to contest the “dangerous” classification. The case remains pending.
Williams faces a long recovery, but her daughter says the family is grateful she survived and is receiving proper care.
