Dogs Kill Elderly Owner

A 74-year-old animal lover was found dead in her home after what police believe was a brutal attack by the woman's two mixed-breed dogs.

Neighbors reported a commotion Thursday at the house of Laverne Ford, a retired nurse's aide who lived alone with the dogs and many cats.

When an officer arrived, the larger dog was sitting next to Ford's body, Wheeler County Sheriff James Peacock said. Both dogs had blood on them and are believed to have taken part in the attack.

"I've seen dog bites before, but I'd never seen anything like this," Peacock said.

The officer shot the larger dog after it threatened the officer, and the other dog fled into a bathroom and officers locked it inside.

Neighbors said the dogs had become mean, and Ford put up a gate to keep them out of her living room. Mary Cheek, who used to work at a hospital with Ford, said the woman took in "any stray dog or cat she could get."

"That was her only company," she said. "The very thing she had loved and took care of all her life killed her."