Authorities in Pennsylvania reported that a mother went over to feed her neighbor’s two Great Danes while the owner was away and was viciously mauled to death in front of her young son.
According to Perry County Coroner Robert Ressler, Kristen Potter was killed when two large dogs attacked her inside the neighbor’s house on Thursday night.
Until animal control officers arrived and tranquillized the dogs, first responders and police officers were unable to reach the 38-year-old victim, according to Ressler.
While the owner was away, her young son helped her feed the dogs, but when the dogs started pursuing Potter, he hurried outside for assistance.
“He was present at the scene, but I don’t think he was there for much of it,” Ressler said, according to WGAL. “As soon as he saw the dogs starting to attack his mother, he ran across the road to have his brother call 911.”
The two dogs that attacked Potter were later put to death at a veterinary clinic.
According to officials, a third Great Dane was also housed there but was not involved in the fatal mauling.
According to Penn Live, Brandon Zeiders, whose fiancée is Potter, said he was informed by state police that the two Great Danes may have been fighting before turning their wrath on Potter when she intervened.
The dogs’ owner told the outlet she was “heartbroken” by the incident.
“I’m heartbroken, I’m in shock, I’m in disbelief and I just want to die,” Wendy Sabathne said. “I can’t believe this happened.”
Potter’s father, Bill Keefer, reportedly said one of the dogs previously bit Potter “two or three years go.”
Potter already endured her husband dying several years ago as well as the death of one of her sons, who was 11 when he was fatally struck as he rode his bike in 2020, family told Penn Live.
She was engaged and soon supposed to move to Florida with her future husband, relatives said.
The victim’s younger sister remembered the Centre Township mother of two as someone who had “a very beautiful personality.”
“When you’re around her, you just feel better,” sister Jennifer Keefer told WGAL. “When you talk to her, you just feel better.”
“She was just loveable to be around,” Keefer continued. “Everyone loved her.”
