HASTINGS, Fla. – A 73-year-old woman attacked by two dogs Friday morning in the front yard of her Hastings home was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
According to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy who was protecting fire-rescue personnel tending to the victim and securing the scene on Luter Beck Road was charged by two rottweilers. He shot both dogs. One died. The other was taken to a veterinarian and was later euthanized, according to St. Johns County Animal Control.
The woman, Tamara Degolyer, was bitten on the back and arm. She was taken to Orange Park Medical Center. Because of the severity of her injuries, the Sheriff’s Office called out detectives and conducted a full criminal investigation.
Cpl. Samuel Delucca said they learned the dogs belonged to someone who lived down the road in this rural area off State Road 13.
“In St. Johns County, if the dog is off of a property it needs to have a leash on it and, obviously, these dogs were not leashed,” Delucca said. “We did find where they came from. It looks like it was a fenced-in area that they were supposed to be in and they dug under the fence, so that’s how they got out today.”
Animal Control told News4Jax that both dogs have a history of biting. One bit a family member in May and the other bit a family friend in June. Both were minor.
Both dogs are being tested for rabies, and the results should be known later this week, Animal Control said Tuesday.
A roofer who had just helped replace the roof of the Degolyer and her husband, a retired military man, described them as a very sweet couple.