Postal carrier mauled by 5 dogs after vehicle breaks down in rural Florida, cops say

Update: The postal worker has died, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Aug. 23. The office did not immediately release her name.

Original story below:

A 61-year-old postal worker was attacked by five dogs when her vehicle broke down in a rural area of Florida, according to a sheriff’s office.

Witnesses in Interlachen said they heard a woman screaming for help on Aug. 21, and when they went outside they saw her lying on the ground with five dogs mauling her, reads a post on the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

Interlachen is about 115 miles north of Orlando.

Neighbors tried to pull the dogs off the woman, and one fired a rifle into the ground to try to scare them away, the post says.

Deputies found a woman lying on the ground, with severe bleeding. Five dogs were behind a fence at a nearby home.

The deputies applied tourniquets to the woman until paramedics arrived and took her to a hospital. From there, she was flown to a trauma center in Gainesville, where she was in critical condition, according to the sheriff’s office.

Local animal control officers took custody of the dogs, which were identified by witnesses.

“Our hearts are with the victim and her family as they navigate through this tragic event,” Putnam County Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach said in a statement. “It is imperative that dog owners take responsibility in keeping their animals in a secured location for their safety and those around.”

This story was originally published August 22, 2022 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Postal carrier mauled by 5 dogs after vehicle breaks down in rural Florida, cops say."