Report of Dog Mauling Foot Is Discredited

A comatose woman whose foot was maimed so badly last month that it had to be amputated was apparently not attacked by a dog, as first reported, officials said Thursday.

But although animal regulation officials said there may have been other causes of the incident, they did not elaborate.

The woman, whose identity was not released by police, was found Nov. 16 in her Sun Valley home. Her foot was amputated a day later at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills.

Detectives from the LAPD’s Foothill Division said at the time that the woman apparently had been attacked by a dog that had entered her home through a pet door then fled.

An investigation by the Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation found no sign that the injury was caused by dog teeth, according to a letter obtained by The Times.

“During our investigation, we have been unable to find evidence indicating that a dog was, in fact, responsible for the injury,” manager Sharon H. Morris wrote in a Dec. 1 letter to LAPD Det. Mike Majors. “We believe there may have been other causes of the injury.”

Neither Morris nor Majors was available for comment Thursday evening.

Peter Persic, a spokesman for animal regulation, would not discuss the potential “other causes.”

“All we looked at is whether there was evidence of a dog being involved, and there was none,” Persic said.

He said the results of the investigation have been turned over to the Los Angeles Police Department and Adult Protective Services.

Pam Smith, a human services administrator with Adult Protective Services, said the case would probably be referred to her department as a potential case of abuse against an elderly or dependent adult.

The victim has been in a coma for several years, authorities said.

The woman’s mother told police that she scared a dog away after spotting it in her home, and that she later discovered her daughter’s injuries.

The animal was never found.