A woman in Fox Lake, Illinois, had a tragic end after she was mauled to death by her pet dog. While all three of her pet dogs had blood on them, one of them is believed to have bit her.

According to reports, the woman, identified as 52-year-old Lisa Urso, was found dead on Saturday (May 9) on the back porch of her home on 622 Knollwood Road. An initial investigation pointed out that Urso escaped from the attack inside her home and got to the back deck but her injuries were so serious that she later succumbed to them.

According to the Fox Lake Police Chief Jimmy Lee, Urso suffered serious bite injuries which may have been caused by one of her three pet dogs. Although all three of the dogs had blood on them, the suspicion narrowed down to one of them as it had a history of attacking people.

Her body was sent for the novel coronavirus testing after which an autopsy was conducted. According to the autopsy results released on Tuesday, Urso succumbed to injuries after her French Bulldog viciously attacked her.

Lee, who described the incident as “gruesome”, said the dog mauled the owner’s boyfriend twice in April, once on April 13 and then again on April 21. The dog was then taken and temporarily housed at a Lake County Animal Care and Control facility.

Urso, who loved her dogs, requested the animal control to give her dog back, which Lee said turned out to be her “fatal mistake.”

“The lady wanted her dog back and it attacked her viciously and killed her,” Lee told local media.

Hannah Goering, a spokeswoman for Lake County Animal Control, confirmed the bite incident in April. She said that the owner had also complied with the requirements for rabies observation.

“The Animal Control Act regulates animal quarantine requirements, and disposition requirements, once it’s been determined an animal can be released,” Goering said.

She did not give any additional information as the investigation was currently ongoing.

All three dogs were taken in and were under Lake County Animal Control care as of Monday night.

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Representational image. AFP / Mladen ANTONOV