Arleta : Rottweiler Attacks 79-Year-Old Woman

A 79-year-old woman was mauled by a Rottweiler on Wednesday when she went to the Arleta home of the dog’s owner to advise her the dog was loose, according to police.

Officers responding to a call in the 10600 block of Arleta Avenue said they had to shoot the dog when it appeared the animal was about to attack them.

The victim, Evangeline Simon, was reported in fair condition at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills.

Several neighbors, including Jackie Schneider, who lives four houses away, heard Simon screaming and ran to help. Schneider said she yelled to her father to call 911 and ran down to the scene, where she grabbed a hose and tried to chase the dog off with a stream of water.

The dog “had [Simon’s] head in his mouth and was shaking her around like a rag doll,” Schneider said.

“I sprayed him and he paused for a second, then turned back to the woman. It didn’t faze him.”

Joel Linares, who was driving by, saw the attack. He drove his car onto the sidewalk, trying to control the dog. He then swung a metal steering wheel locking bar out the window of the car at the dog.

“I was able to hit it once and the dog, which had the lady by the neck, let her go, but then he grabbed her arm. It was ugly, she was covered with blood,” Linares said.

According to Linares, when police arrived, the dog walked toward the officer, who tried to subdue the animal by spraying it with Mace. But that only seemed to irritate the Rottweiler, Linares said. The officer then “fired three shots and killed it,” he said.

Neighbor Jaime Castro said that Simon and a couple of other women walk by the house every morning. “I see them every day,” he said.

LAPD Lt. Jerry Nicholson said that when officers arrived, “a crowd had separated the dog from the woman. But then the dog approached the officer and it appeared he was going to attack when he was shot,” he said.

Albert Gallegos, one of the dog’s owners, said, “He was a good guard dog. This is a tough neighborhood with lots of gangbangers and he foiled a lot of robbery attempts. As far as I’m concerned he was just doing his job.”

Police said that no charges have been filed pending the completion of their investigation.