Pitbull
Pit Bull | Representational Image Getty Images/ LIWANAG

In Kentucky woman was mauled to death by two pit bull dogs on Christmas Eve while her husband was seriously injured in the attack.

The incident took place at 10:20 a.m. EST in Bell County in Arjay, Kentucky. The deputies who rushed to the scene discovered that the couple “had been savagely attacked” by the dogs, Fox News reported.

Lorraine Brock Saylor, 66, was feeding the birds when she was viciously attacked by the pit bulls at her residence.

"She loved animals and every morning she would go out and put wild bird seed out on a metal roof of a little work shed they had there and feed then birds," Bell County coroner Jay Steele, who has known the couple for the last 30 years, told ABC affiliate WATE. "That's what she was doing this morning and two dogs attacked her while she was doing that."

Johnny Saylor, Lorraine’s husband came running out after hearing a commotion outside and that is when one of the dogs started attacking him. Johnny’s brother was at the house at the time and was able to keep the dogs distracted long enough to allow him to rush inside and grab his gun.

"Johnny got a gun and shot both dogs, killing one of them instantly," said Steele. He managed to injure the other dog which got away.

Emergency services were notified immediately, but Lorraine was pronounced dead at the scene. "They were both active within the community and just, like I said, two of the nicest people you would ever meet. She was just a sweetheart" said Steele.

Johnny was admitted to the Pineville Community Hospital but not before he had made the necessary arrangements to have his wife’s body taken care of. "The ambulance kept trying to get him to go to the hospital but he wouldn't leave until I took her into our care," Steele said.

Lorraine will be autopsied at 9 a.m. on Monday. Also, the dog which was killed by Johnny will undergo a necropsy. Bell County sheriff has warned residents to be on the lookout for the injured brown pit bull which managed to get away.

“Under no circumstances are you to engage this dangerous animal,” the sheriff’s department said. One can get in touch with Bell County Dispatch at 606-337-6174 or simply dial 911 if one happens to come across the crippled creature.

The sheriff’s department has confirmed that the dogs, which were responsible for the attack, did not belong to the couple. According to Steele, the pit bulls belong to the Saylors’ neighbors, although there hasn’t been an official confirmation of this fact.

This is not the only pit bull attack of the year. A seven-year-old boy was attacked killed by a pair of pit bulls on Nov. 21, 2017, in Lowell, Massachusetts.

The toddler had entered a fenced enclosure which housed two pit bull dogs when the creatures started attacking him. Following the attack, Massachusetts councilor Rodney Elliot proposed a citywide ban on pit bulls.

"The strength, the power, and the aggressive nature of this dog is different from other dogs," Elliot said, in explanation of his proposal. “What I would say is we just lost a little boy. I think we have to take a measure to do what it takes to prevent that from happening again.”