Kristin Potter, a 38-year-old Pennsylvania woman, was brutally killed in a dog attack while feeding her neighbor’s canines.
Potter and her young son had gone to the Centre Township home in Perry County to provide the three Great Danes and one French bulldog with sustenance, a task she had previously agreed to do and had done before.
When Potter attempted to feed the dogs, two of the Great Danes viciously attacked her and she did not survive. Potter’s son, who had been present at the scene, witnessed the attack and ran to get help. Coroner Robert Ressler noted that the child did not witness the entirety of the attack. The third Great Dane and the French bulldog did not join in the attack.
When emergency responders and police officers arrived, Potter had already passed away. The officers had to wait for animal control to arrive and tranquilize the dogs before they could get to her.
The two Great Danes responsible for the attack were euthanized by a veterinarian.
State police are currently investigating the incident and have not yet determined if the dogs’ owner will face criminal charges. The owner expressed her grief and disbelief, claiming she was “heartbroken” and “wanted to die”.
Potter’s sister Jennifer Keefer remembered her for her “beautiful personality”. She also noted that Potter always believed in God and that she was “loveable to be around” and “never judged anyone”.
The American Kennel Club noted that Great Danes are typically “easygoing” with a height of 32 inches, although they can be “alert home guardians”. Between 1979 and 1998, there were only seven fatal dog attacks by Great Danes.
This is the second dog-related death this month, as an 81-year-old man in Texas was killed by a dog in San Antonio last month and a 65-year-old man was mauled to death by a pack of dogs in Alabama earlier this month.