VIDOR, Texas — Before a pair of dogs killed an elderly man on Monday, a Vidor woman says she was nearly mauled her to death in her own neighborhood over the weekend.
This is just one of several dog attack stories that Southeast Texans have told 12News, and it's leading to more people pushing for stricter leash laws.
Mandy Sherrard has epilepsy. She says it has been over 10 years since she had a seizure, but that all changed Sunday afternoon when she says she was mauled by her neighbor's dog.
"I was on the right side of the road against oncoming traffic, and all of a sudden out of nowhere I get yanked off my bike by this dog," said Sherrard.
Prior to the vicious attack, it was a typical Sunday for Sherrard as she biked home from a friends house.
Then without provocation, her neighbor's Great Pyrenees was on her.
"Then he lets go, and then he grabs me again and drags me across the road," said Sherrard
Sherrard was helpless as the large dog completely overpowered her.
"He was pulling. Like I was face down, and I couldn't move. His teeth, felt like they were just on the bone. That dog was fixin' to kill me," said Sherrard.
Sherrard played dead until a neighbor finally came to her rescue.
"A lady come out and she grabbed a shovel, and I heard it hit the dogs head. The dog was like hurt and then it went after her," said Sherrard.
Unfortunately for Sherrard the trauma wasn't over, looking down and seeing the severity of her injuries sent her into a seizure.
"I think in that moment everything just got to me," said Sherrod.
She is now advocating for Southeast Texans to follow local leash laws.
Vidor Police Chief Rod Carroll says in Vidor city limits, dogs must always be chained on a leash or behind a fence.
"By having a dog on a chain or within an enclosed area he doesn't even get access to anybody outside the household," said Carroll.
The dog that bit Sherrard is still in the neighborhood because she recently had puppies.
"We don't have a facility that can deal with 14 puppies here. If we separate the mother dog from the puppies we know the outcome will be on the puppies," said Carroll.
The chief said the dog is on house arrest for the next 10 days.
"Would not let the dog outside the house, other than on a leash, and that we were gonna come by twice a day and observe the dog," said Carroll.
Sherrard said house arrest or not, she has a message for the dog's owners.
"You just hurt an innocent bystander, you know? Now not only do I have to worry about infections and all of that, but there's going to be a scar," said Sherrard.
Chief Carroll says that if the owners violate quarantine rules, the dog will be put down.
Sherrard ended up receiving 14 stiches at the hospital, and is now unable to work.