DETROIT – A 68-year-old woman on Detroit’s east side nearly lost her life when she was viciously attacked by pitbulls, according to her family.
Around 8 p.m. on Sunday (March 29), Rita Emery was outside her home, picking weeds.
It seemed like any other spring Sunday, but soon, it took a bloody turn.
“This right here is where that blood was, right?” Local 4’s Kyla Russell asked their son.
“Lost two pints of blood before she was taken to the hospital,” her son, Sean Emery, said.
You can still see the signs, stained and splattered, on the concrete and on the couch.
Sean Emery says it felt like just another ordinary weekend at Pulford and Meldrum streets.
“The dogs pulled her to the ground and just were mauling her the entire time,” Sean Emery said.
A block away, a Good Samaritan heard her cries and biked to her to help.
“Heard her all the way from Mack,” Sean Emery said. “He drove down Meldrum on his bicycle to try and help her.”
“Grateful for it,” Sean Emery said. “He is my mom’s guardian angel.”
She crawled to the house where her son was inside.
“What was it like when you saw her?” Russell asked.
“It was the most gruesome thing I’ve ever seen,” Sean Emery said. “The dogs had stripped her naked and blood from head to toe.”
Rita Emery got to the hospital and endured a 7.5-hour surgery. It’s one of several maulings to happen in recent days across the area.
“If you have a dangerous dog, then please, keep it contained because the consequences can reach beyond your home,” Sean said.
The family shared a GoFundMe to help cover Rita Emery’s medical expenses.