A vicious seven-minute-long dog mauling has left an L.A. Animal Services veteran hospitalized in San Pedro.
KNX News’ Nataly Tavidian spoke to Leslie Corea, who’s in the hospital preparing for her fourth surgery. Corea said she’ll never go back to her job, despite being there for 20 years.
“I thought I was going to die,” she said.
She was attacked while preparing a dog named Brie to be picked up from a rescue. Staff shortages have been a problem at the animal shelter — Correa was alone at the time of the mauling.
Brie hadn’t shown aggressive behavior but may have been spooked when other dogs started barking. After being attacked for seven minutes, Corea eventually found a brick to throw at the dog. The brick scared off Brie, allowing Corea to get to a phone and dial 9-1-1.
Corea has worked with animals since she was a teenager. She said the attack has given her nightmares that have progressively gotten worse.
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“I need to go home and heal. Try to let this get out of my head. It's really bad,” Corea said.
On her left leg, there are about seven big punctures with sutures. On her right leg, there are two huge holes – one on her calf and the other on her hip.
Brie has since been euthanized.
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