Dog Attack Ruled Out in Mauling Case

A comatose woman whose foot was mauled so badly last month that it had to be amputated was apparently not attacked by a dog, as first reported, authorities said Thursday, and police are investigating.

The woman, whose identity was not released by police, was found Nov. 16 in her home in the 9900 block of Maude Avenue in Sun Valley. 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 was apparently the victim of a dog that entered her home through a doggy door, then fled after the 11:30 a.m. attack.

But an investigation by 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,” Sharon H. Morris, manager of the department, wrote in a Dec. 1 letter to Los Angeles Police 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 the animal services department, would not elaborate on the potential “other causes” mentioned in the letter. “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 animal services investigation have been turned over to the LAPD and Los Angeles County’s Adult Protective Services program.

Pam Smith, a human services administrator with Adult Protective Services, said she had not yet received the file, and that she was prohibited from discussing specific cases due to a confidentiality policy. After listening to a description of the case, however, Smith said such a case would likely be referred to her department as a potential case of abuse against an elderly or dependent adult.

“That’s what I would infer,” she said. “We do investigate reports of alleged elder and dependent adult abuse when they come to our attention.”

The victim of the foot mauling has been in a coma for several years, authorities said.

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

In the wake of the alleged attack, Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation launched a search for the dog, possibly a Rottweiler. The dog was never found.