Woman mauled to death by pit bulls as horrified husband tried to save her

A husband has made a heartbreaking admission after desperately trying to save his wife from a deadly attack by neighbourhood pit bulls.

A 50-year-old woman has died after she was viciously mauled to death by a pair of pit bulls.

She was found, while under attack, by her heartbroken husband, who said he’ll “never get the image out of my mind”.

Donnell Smith returned to his Florida home shortly on Tuesday afternoon, after helping neighbours across the street.

He noticed his wife, Jodi Cowan, and their small dog had disappeared.

Mr Smith then suddenly heard Ms Cowan’s cries for help in the distance, local media reported.

“I saw the silhouette of the two dogs dragging my wife down the road, off into the grass in front of the truck down there,” Mr Smith said.

Ms Cowan was found lying on the grass in a pool of blood with dog bites all over her body, her husband said.

The dogs, who live in the neighbourhood and were known to terrorise the community, apparently returned and tried to drag Ms Cowan away again.

Jodi Cowan, 50, was mauled to death by two neighbourhood pit bulls in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Picture: Donnell Smith

Donnell Smith said his wife’s dog attack was ‘brutal’. Picture: WKMG
“I pulled my knife out, you know, just swinging it with one hand and holding the blood with the other, trying to stop her from bleeding,” a distraught Mr Smith said.

“It was brutal. Seeing the same woman I’ve loved for the last 25 to 30 years just ripped apart by two animals was just … I’ll never get that image out of my mind.”

He called emergency services and Ms Cowan was flown to a hospital but died hours later from her injuries.

“She just loved people, loved dogs more than people, and for her to go out that way, it’s not right,” Mr Smith said.

A neighbour’s surveillance footage captured Ms Cowan walking down the street carrying her small dog just moments before she was chased and horrifically attacked by the dogs.

Ms Cowan had reportedly helped free one of the pit bulls after their collar got stuck in their fence, according to Mr Smith.

“They must have been chasing our little dog, and she went to save her little dog to get him,” he said.

The grieving husband claimed the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office were aware of the pit bulls past terrorising the neighbourhood, but never did anything about them.

“My wife lost her life because of it,” Mr Smith said.

Neighbours told FOX35 that the pit bulls were frequently left outside and had previously attacked passers-by.

The two pit bulls were known in the area for being aggressive. Picture: WKMG
One resident said they had been previously trapped in their vehicle for 30 minutes while the duo surrounded their vehicle.

Another neighbour recently called animal control with concerns and even bought pepper spray for protection.

The two pit bulls have been seized by the sheriff’s office’s animal control services but no arrests have been made, according to WESH 2 News.

The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.