ALABAMA (WBMA) —A Cullman County woman is dead after being attacked by dogs early Sunday morning.
57-year-old Ronda Persall of Jones Chapel, Ala. was killed in the attack.
The dogs' owner told WBMA that the dogs involved in the attack have been shot and killed.
That information has not been confirmed by animal control.
In a statement, Cullman County Commission said that animal control has the dogs and is doing testing.
The statement came from Cullman County Attorney, Emily Niezer Johnston, from the Cullman County Commission:
With heavy hearts, the Cullman County Commission and Animal Control staff must report that a Cullman County citizen, Ronda Persall, lost her life in an unfortunate attack by multiple dogs on the dog owner's property. The dogs involved in the incident are confined and being tested during this ongoing investigation. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family during this difficult time.
The owner of the dogs, who is also a nearby neighbor, said he knew Persall for 15 years. He described her as a "good woman, kind hearted," and "good to everybody." He also said "she was always helpful."
He said it is difficult knowing she is no longer here.
"I gotta live with that forever, I gotta see that picture," he said. "Sooner or later I gotta explain that to my children because all they know is Miss Ronda is not here."
The neighbor explained his accounts of what happened that early morning. He said he was asleep in bed, when he heard some commotion from his dogs outside. He said he immediately took action when he realized what was happening.
"I grabbed her up, picked her up and started kicking the dogs back and I asked her 'are you okay' and she said 'yeah baby, I am okay, I am just hurting.' I looked at her and was thinking 'you don't look alright.'"
He said he yelled for his wife inside for help and 911 was called. Because they live in a rural area, an ambulance would have taken some time before it could get there, so he took Persall himself to meet the ambulance over by the interstate.
"She was tore up," he described. "She had been attacked pretty bad."
He said Persall would come over and play with the dogs. He still has a lot of questions about what exactly caused the attack.
"People play with them. They are not that kind of dog, They aren't a dog out to kill anybody," he said.
The man was also injured trying to get the dogs off Persall. His legs got torn up. He said he just wished it would have been enough to save his friend's life.
"It's killing me," he said. "I'm not gonna lie, but there's nothing I can do about it."
The incident is still under investigation.