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A UTAH woman has died after being attacked by a family of pit bulls owned by her son.
Officers from the Taylorsville Police Department were called to the home of the 63-year-old woman on the afternoon of October 31, according to CBS News affiliate KUTV.
Police said that the woman had used her mobile phone to call for help while the family of pit bulls — a mother, father, and five puppies — were still attacking her in her backyard.
The woman was still being attacked when first responders arrived on the scene, police told local reporters, and they had to use pepper spray to chase the dogs away from the seriously injured woman and remove her on a stretcher through a hole in the fence.
The woman arrived at Intermountain Medical Center in critical condition with wounds on her face, legs, and hands.
One of the woman’s legs had to be amputated immediately due to the extent of the injuries, police said.
West Valley Animal Services tried to remove the animals from the property after the woman went to the hospital, but the adult female dog broke loose and tried to continue attacking rescuers.
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As a result, police had to shoot and kill the dog on sight.
The other six dogs were taken to a shelter and later put down because of their role in the lethal attack.
Police are currently investigating the tragedy and the possible reason the dogs turned on her.
Officials told KUTV that none of the dogs were licensed, as is law in Utah for dogs over four months old.
Police also said households are not supposed to have more than two dogs in total, according to state law.
While deadly pitbull attacks are rare, they have happened before.
A 2-year-old was recently mauled to death in Brazil by his family’s 7-month-old pitbull just two days after they bought it when the child’s ball rolled into the garden where the dog was tied up.
And a ‘family pet’ pitbull seriously injured a man, woman, and 10-year-old child in Britain in September.
Another woman in Pennsylvania had her nose completely ripped off by a pitbull mix earlier this year.