Monday night, Antoinette Brown's son Laquan confirmed to NBC 5 his mother passed away. She had been in a coma at Baylor Medical Center Dallas with critical injuries from more than 100 dog bites, according to relatives. The family took her off life support Monday afternoon.
Eariler Monday, Dallas leaders promised animal control improvements after the mauling the 52-year-old woman was attacked a week ago by a pack of loose dogs.
Relatives declined to discuss the tragedy further and city officials said they regret there is a need to discuss it.
“It is certainly very discouraging to be here today for the situation that we’re here to talk about,” Dallas City Council Member Tiffinni Young said.
Young represents the neighborhood where the attack occurred in the 3300 block of Rutledge Street, near Dallas Fair Park.
Mayor Mike Rawlings visited the place over the weekend. He spoke with neighbors who heard the attack. Those neighbors already knew about the problem dogs.
“It’s heartbreaking on a personal level to have something this tragic happen,” Rawlings said. “And so I’m bound and determined to change some things about how we deal with these issues.”
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Dallas Animal Services has been under intense pressure the past year to combat loose dogs in Southern Dallas.
A program unveiled last fall put regular patrols in the areas with the most loose dog complaints. More animal control officers were hired. Citations for irresponsible owners increased. But the neighborhood where the attack occurred was not one of the target neighborhoods for animal control officers.
“The priority has not been high enough, ok, obviously. Progress is great, but we were in a deep hole and we’ve got a long way to go,” Rawlings said.
Police responded to the attack at about 4:45 a.m. on Monday, May 2. But it was Friday before Animal Control seized six dogs believed to be responsible.
“When somebody sees somebody that is bitten and mauled, Animal Services needs to be called immediately on that,” Rawling said.
The mayor said City Manager A.C. Gonzalez is working on a new approach.
“What constituents want to see is making sure that the dogs are picked up and that we’re out there on the street, in the morning, at night and in the evenings,” Young said.
A message left at the dog owner’s home Monday was not returned. Officials said the owner could face criminal charges in addition to animal control code violation citations after the attack.
NBC 5's Noelle Walker contributed to this report.
